They whispered as the young pup passed, enough for him to hear. The pup of the great demon king Izuku and his consort, sorcerer Katsuki, had come out as a complete dud. A heir without a hint of magic in his blood. A true disgrace to curse the demon king bloodline.

They’d hoped that the king would have another pup, a true, worthy heir to inherit the throne from Izuku. But eight years have passed since the first pup, Hiro, had been born and no such luck with fertility after Hiro turned one.

Many had wanted Izuku and Katsuki to disown Hiro the moment he showed no signs of magic. Be rid of the dud and start over.

Those who said that before the king didn’t leave his throne room alive. Some burnt to a crisp by Katsuki’s fire magic.

No one dared to speak ill of their pup while in the king and consort’s presence ever again. But that didn’t stop them from jeering at Hiro whenever they could.

Some maids, ladies and lords, and especially their kids, showed off their magic skills right in front of Hiro.

Many nights, Hiro would huddle in his bed and cry himself to sleep, thinking himself as unworthy to be the child of the demon king. So, when not occupied by studying, Hiro would venture off into human lands, his dam’s former home, hiding his demonic features with a simple cloak.

He would venture into nearby human villages and observe their way of life. He was very fascinated by them, the good and the bad actions that humans displayed. He was part human from his dam, so he felt a connection to them. Many didn’t even have magic like him!

He didn’t see many kids his age cruelly displaying their magic to non magic users. On the contrary, they showed off their magic as a means of fun. Unlike the demon kids of the demon kingdom that only displayed their magic as a means of acting superior to others.

The more time Hiro spent in the human lands, the more he loathed going back to the demon ones. He loved his sire and dam though. And he knew they loved him very dearly as well. But the cruelty of the demon court was damaging his very health.

There were times he didn’t even want to get out of bed. Only by the gentle coaxing of his sire got him out most days.

Other days, Hiro fantasized in just... leaving the demon kingdom for good. Venture off despite being only eight into the rich nature of the human lands.

Never to return to the cruelty of the demons. And no longer be a disappointment to his parents.

Then Hiro got his wish...

His sire and dam had just announced that they were expecting another child... Not realizing Hiro wouldn’t even stay to see them even be born.

And that’s how Hiro’s journey began.

The night his dam was giving birth to his sibling, his screams of labor echoing against the castle walls. Guards were too focused on protecting the vulnerable consort to notice him slipping through their defenses.

Hiro escaped that night and never looked back.

Being an eight year old half demon had it’s perks when it came to inhuman speed. Not so much so with how much energy it ate up.

Hiro didn’t have human money and had resorted to stealing food from vendors when they weren’t looking. Also, humans had a fear for the unknown, which caused him to constantly hide his appearance and stick to the shadows.

He didn’t stay in places long before pilgriming to another location for a couple of weeks.

And he definitely never went to the same place twice.

Hiro would also steal paper and pencils from human school buildings, learn new words and wrote them down as best he could.

He also made sure to be on the look out for demon guards, searching for him amongst the shadows.

He had many close calls, seeing his family’s best trackers in the forests and towns. But he was always able to give them the slip.

He was his dam’s son after all.

There were many nights, sleeping in forest canopies, he dreamt of heading back to his parents. He missed his sire and dam so much. But he didn’t miss the demon court or lands at all.

The name calling, sneers and disgusted looks.

Calling him worthless and that they should have

gotten rid of him the moment he showed no signs of magic.

The constant depression at such a young age to the point he didn’t even want to leave his bed.

But the moment he left that night on the birth of his sibling, he finally felt free...

***

Izuku glared at the trackers across from his desk, smoke emitting from his mouth.

/“What do you mean you mean you lost him again?”/ He snarled with an alpha rumble in his throat. The beta trackers in front of him fought the urge to go to their knees and submit.

Saying Izuku was pissed was an understatement.

He was downright furious!

His young pup was out there all alone and even he didn’t notice when his little one left. Izuku blamed himself the most for not seeing how truly miserable Hiro was.

Katsuki, his poor omega, was holed up in Hiro’s room with their newest addition, their beautiful daughter Akiko.

Hiro had ran away the day she was born and didn’t even get to see her.

Katsuki was letting her smell what remained of their son’s scent on the items he left behind

“W-We are sorry, your majesty,” stuttered a tracker. “H-He had set up elaborate traps and fake trails, catching us completely off-“

/“Silence.”/ Izuku commanded with his alpha voice, making the trackers freeze and fall silent.

/“I want you to bring Kirishima Eijirou the next time you head out. He’s the kingdom’s best tracker. If anyone can find my pup, he can.”/

After weeks (possibly 3-4 months since he ran away), Hiro was officially starving, winter having finally arrived.

He hadn’t seen a village in he doesn’t know how long and animals were becoming scarce. Snow blanketed the ground.

He shivered, his clothes having become thin and dull. His shoes didn’t fare any better and he had to keep them together with some thin rope he found.

The only thing that wasn’t as badly damaged was a large cloak he found after his got torn to bits while running from some angry

villagers that he swindled money from.

It was oversized and Hiro had to be careful not to trip over the fabric. He didn’t want to face plant in the snow another time.

He groaned and leaned against a leaf less tree. His body wracked with shivers and the world seemed to spin a bit.

Hiro barely registered that he was now face down on the ground, nausea engulfing his mind. His limbs felt like lead, his breathing slowing down...

Hypothermia?

Most likely... So this was it, huh? He was going to die all alone in the wilderness...

Memories of his dam and sire flashed before his eyes, little tears streaking down his dirty cheeks. A hiccup escaped his lips.

“I’m sorry...”

His dam cooking their favorite spicy curry as his sire whined at the heat.

“I’m sorry....”

His sire reading him stories of far away lands and demon history.

“.... I’m... sorry....”

Both his parents humming him a lullaby that made him fall asleep...

“I’m... s.... sorry....”

His vision turned black.

Through a foggy mind, Hiro began to hear voices. He could barely make out what they were saying.

“Poor... He’s running a... Have to take him back.... village.

“What is he... here? Is he... orphan....?”

“We can dis... later. Have to..... village now!”

Hiro felt arms scoop up his tiny body, warmth trying hard to radiate through his cold skin. He groaned a bit and a warm hand was placed on his forehead.

“Burning... Severe fever....! Have to hurry!”

And with that, Hiro’s mystery rescuers ran through the forest and into the inky shadows.

***

Kirishima Eijirou, considered one of the best trackers in the demon lands, was at a stump.

“Of course the little guy had to take his skills and brains from both his parents...” He was at a crossroad where two paths diverged from one another, both smelling exactly the same.

He honestly couldn’t tell which path was real and which one was fake.

Very clever of the little pup.

But he made an error...

Kirishima bent down and looked at a paths little set of footprints. Too uniform and not in a big hurry, whereas the other path had footprints that

kicked up dirt in a run.

Also, the fast footprint path had more animal tracks to later hide down the road while the other did not. So...

Kirishima spread out his dragon wings and took off down the real path, the scent later becoming stronger.

He better thank the deities he noticed the footprints or Katsuki would have eviscerated his dick from his body so he would never please his omega Kaminari ever again.

Kirishima kept going down the path, finding more traps other trackers have experienced along the way.

The pup really doesn’t want to be found...

Kirishima felt sorry for the little guy, having no magic and all that. In all honesty, he wished he had stayed long enough to see

Izuku punish those awful lords and ladies for the mistreatment of the prince.

But now his job was to bring little Hiro back to his sire and dam.

Kirishima kept following the trail for weeks, always missing the pup by at least a week or two.

He came across human villages that talked of a half blood child swindling money with scams along with other kids in the village. Making a mockery of them.

Oh, if Katsuki or Izuku heard this, Mina and Sero would get a severe tongue lashing for teaching their pup bad ways.

The path led further up north, more than Kirishima was comfortable with as winter began to set in, fresh snow on the ground.

Kirishima shivered as he passed the last village in the vicinity and nothing but wilderness greeted him.

Hiro’s trail led into the thick forest, the snow having covered up any footprints he may have left behind. This made the job more tricky now, but Kirishima persevered.

He followed the trail, noting how the scent was fading instead of growing stronger.

This got him worried, thinking he may have followed the wrong trail when Hiro’s scent was joined by two unknown scents. He took another whiff.

An alpha and beta by the smell of it.

All three scents ran together further into the forest and Kirishima tried to follow...

Only for the trail to suddenly stop dead in it’s tracks.

And Kirishima couldn’t pick it up any further. Ice formed in the pit of his stomach...

He had lost Hiro’s scent...

Should I continue this thread?