Queenie「女王様」

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[apexqueenie]

Hey everyone

I know it’s been a long while since my last post- and I’m sorry bout that. Things have been crazy these past few months. I’ve lost some special people in my life, got myself into some messy situations, and It’s just been hard finding the motivation to write. I haven’t given up on my stories or on you guys, so please be patient with me. I appreciate you all!

[apexqueenie]

I was wondering if I could join the taglist- it's alright if u dont though, no worries :))

Yes ofc you can!!! Thank you so much for the support on the Blood King series!

[athenoot]

deku vs kacchan III 

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader Medieval AU) Ch 5

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: School started back up way sooner than I thought it would- I’ve been swarmed! Anyways, I also realized my autocorrect was changing “Shigaraki” to “Shirigaki” last chapter -_-

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence, a little bit of dead meat, I’m sorry animal lovers! :((((

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

You know, the day was amazing. Wonderful. No one was trying to kill you. At least, not yet. Not until the boar came along.

“Katsuki!” You yelled, the boar still slowly raising its head. You could feel its eyes on you, determined to crush your puny body against the ground. 

Katsuki was at least a good 40 feet away, lying on his back with Atlas directly on top of his legs. The horse whinnied in confusion, but was otherwise ok. His rider cushioned most of the horse’s impact, thankfully. Atlas struggled to get up though, his poor horse brain was still in shock. Katsuki was left to shimmy out from under his pal, little by little.

This boar had been wandering around the outskirts of Sol territory, but it knew the boundaries. Katsuki, Denki, and a few others had explored a bit past the territory, stumbling into its home. It chased them out, but stopped once they left the boar’s designated territory. It just so happened to live by a lake that Denki claimed to have seen mermaids in… and because Denki was intent on proving their existence, the hunting party had been back enough times to know where the boundaries were. Now, it was far from its home. Something must’ve happened

You kicked desperately in the air trying to hoist yourself on top of the tusk, but you had no such luck. The strap was too tight around your torso to do anything, squeezing your ribcage just a little too tightly.

“K-Katsuki, I can’t get out! I’m stuck!” You tug at the strap as hard as you can in a last ditch effort. Breaking an ankle seemed much more appealing than dying at the moment.

A woosh flew right by your ear and a loud thunk sounded from behind. You look down and a shield landed onto the sand below. The boar stopped raising its head and jerked it back down to look at where the shield came from.

“HEY, STUPID PIG!” Denki yelled. He stood courageously in front, but looked a bit uneasy at the same time. He was a good distance away; not as far as Katsuki, but far enough that he couldn’t reach you in time. His horse was gone too, probably scared out of its mind just like you, except, it had the chance to run away. 

How could he think a little wooden disk is going to do anything? He’s going to get himself killed! What was he planning? “What are you doing Denki?” You yell shakily. 

Denki looked at you, but didn’t respond. Then, to your surprise, he started to yell in the same language Katsuki was speaking earlier to his mother. He lets out powerful hoots, pumping his chest like a gorilla. If you weren’t in a life or death situation, you would’ve thought it was weird, and a little intimidating. The man looked the boar dead in the eyes, not backing down. The beast responded by scruffing back its hind legs. Oh no. It was gonna crush Denki along with you- two birds with one stone.

“Denki?!” You screamed desperately.

He still ignored you, continuing his routine, so you closed your eyes and waited for the flashes that you thought were gonna start when your life was about to end-

But it never happened. Your heart jumped at the sound of an explosion that caused the boar to turn its head. Denki cheered, and another, more powerful explosion sounded, this time knocking the boar’s legs to the side and causing it to shuffle. Confused, it whipped its head around the other wat, looking for the source of damage. 

Something tapped the back of your head over and over again while you swung around, or rather, your head tapped it. You thought it was your head hitting the tusk, but you could hear the faint sound of metal klinking. You mentally slapped yourself for forgetting. Your sword!!! You were the only one here with an actual weapon! If you could get it to Katsuki, maybe, no he could definitely fight off this beast!

You pulled on the handle eagerly, but a sudden jolt in the boar’s movement caused a small but deep gash on the base of your neck. You cried out in shock, mostly, of warm liquid dripping down your shirt. You slid the sword back in the holster, thankful for adrenaline. If you weren’t careful, you could cut off your own head! You need to figure out something else.

“(Y/n)!!! What happened?!” You heard Katsuki yell. You looked around and saw the blonde running around the side of the beast. “Don’t do anything stupid, you hear me?!”

The boar roared and turned its whole body into a 360, whipping around that spiked tail to try to hit Katsuki. You heard another explosion and little to your knowledge, Katsuki found his way atop the animal during that. He cursed himself for not bringing along his own sword. The power to cause explosions with the palms of his hands were terrifyingly deadly, but he couldn’t use them here. He couldn’t blow this thing out of the way without you getting hurt. 

What could he do? He could try to undo the sword sheath, but you would fall and hurt yourself badly- not to mention that you could get stomped on easily once you were on the ground. You didn’t know that but he did. Or… he could grab you before you fell, using the force of his explosions to cushion the fall, but there’s one horse and three people. Death. He couldn’t carry you fast enough. He could have Denki ride back and get Kirishima, but there’s no guarantee the boar wouldn’t kill you by then. That’s a no go. Plus there’s always the off chance that it could follow Denki back to the children in the Kingdom. 

Shit. His only option was to kill the damn thing. It's a shame, this animal didn’t bother anyone, and it was the only one of its kind that his hunting party had found.

You still hung below, racking your own brain. You were by no means a fighting genius, or even a genius, but you wanted to try something. Anything. Katsuki said Awherian metal was sharp enough to cut through even dragon scales, so what’s keeping it from cutting your own sheath? 

You pulled on the handle again, but this time, to the side. You hear the top quality leather start to rip slightly, and you silently apologize to the Todoroki family. It was hard though. With your body being flung around like a ragdoll and your terribly pitiful arm strength, you could barely make any progress past that one little tear.

Below you see Denki riding Atlas just out of the spiked tail of death’s reach. “If you can get the princess down, I could zap it to sleep again-“

“No! This thing is berserk, you’ll die!” Katsuki yelled from above you. 

“Katsuki?” You questioningly yell. So many weird things were happening at once. Giant boar, explosions outta nowhere, Katsuki is on this thing somehow, and Denki can “zap” things? You needed another really long nap after this.

“Something is wrong! It’s deliberately chasing us on our land, and you know it doesn’t go this far!” He yells. “Plus! You won’t get here in time, even if we jump off!”

“Ok?!” Denki eyed you with worry, “so what should I do!?”

With the other blonde being on its back, all of its attention was on the horse and it’s rider. It charged after them in circles as Denki pulled Atlas in tighter circles than the lumbering beast could manage. 

“Shit, just be nearby! I’ll think of something!” Katsuki cursed. He had to think of something quick, Atlas only had so much energy. 

You continued to pull at the sword, but the leather was thick, and the awkwardness of your position didn’t help in the slightest. 

Katsuki climbed the boar’s head to get a better look at you. You looked every bit as uncomfortable as you felt. Because of how much the boar was moving, it was hard for Katsuki to stay balanced standing. He crouched down and gripped the fur hard, cursing loudly in frustration. It must’ve been painful because the boar squealed and bucked its head upward, hard enough to knock Katsuki all the way to the base of its tail. He grabbed on to the fur just before he could fall off.

For you, however, it managed to make some good progress in freeing your sword. The upward motion became a little painful once gravity pulled on you again, but it was worth it. The leather ripped and you could bring the sword out further. It wasn’t much, but it was good enough, one more should do the trick.

“Katsuki!!!” You called, but he was too far away to hear.

Denki rode up from behind the boar quickly, before it noticed him. “What? What happened?”

“He needs to do that again!” You breathed. The pressure on your ribs becomes increasingly unbearable. “He needs to jerk the boar’s head up!!!”

“What? Why? That’s too dangerous for you!” He says worriedly. 

“If I can cut the sheath open just a bit more, I can throw it to Katsuki! And then he can take this thing down, right?”

Denki thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Ok! I’ll let him know! Sit tight!” He says before you were yanked away from him. The boar had found him again.

Just as it was about to charge, a loud and ominous low roar sounded from the forest. It was a sound that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The boar froze momentarily before turning to the direction the sound came from. Katsuki regained his footing and crouched on its back, ready for it to run. Instead, it fell to its side, the opposite side of the one you were on luckily. It didn’t crush you, but it forced the unprepared Katsuki off its back. You could hear his yell when he jumped off and landed onto the coarse sand. The boar quickly got back up and ran straight towards the forest, to the awful noise. 

“Shit! Denki!” you could hear Katsuki’s voice get alarmingly distant within seconds. You tried to call out, but the shaking was intermittently forcing the breath out of you every time you bounced. 

As the boar charged through the trees, and the branches scratched against your arms and legs, you couldn’t help but notice how slowly the surroundings turned more monotone. The trees became more sparse. The ground turned from a lush green and healthy brown to a grim grey and black. Even the little bit of coastline you could see through the trees lost its vibrant color, and reflected a dark green. In other words, the world around you became more and more...dead. It scared you even more, and you didn’t think it was possible.

You were breathing just as hard as the boar by the time it had slowed down. By now it had completely forgotten about you and looked for something almost like it was under a spell. It began walking leisurely, like it had never encountered you, Katuski, or Denki. It gave you time to recover enough to start pulling on your sword again. Still, your arms were pitiful, and the hilt prodded against the back of your head. You just need one more upward force and it’ll be free. 

“Katuski, please hurry...” you whispered, struggling.

As if the man himself could hear your plea, a certain someone headed towards you with his own roars and booms. “YOU LITTLE SHIT!” he yelled as he flew out from in between the boar’s front legs. Katuski’s hand lit up with a blinding light and he launched it straight for the ground below him, effectively stopping the boar in its tracks. 

It squealed and took a couple steps backwards, shaking its head and huffing. It looked around frantically for him, pawing the ground ready to charge. Another boom erupted behind the boar now, accompanied with some horse hooves and yelling.

The boar whipped around and took no time in barreling right for the first thing moving, which was Denki and Atlas. It let out a frustrated roar- or no, it sounded more like distress. Maybe it was your imagination, but you had no time to think, you had to get your sword to Katsuki now. This place was giving you an uneasy feeling

“H-hey! Denki! Did you tell him?!” You cry out.

“Dunce face told me, yeah!” You hear Katsuki above you again. “Want it to look up, yeah?!” He exclaims, then launches an explosion at the back of the boar’s head. The boar squeals in pain, but doesn’t move its gaze from Atlas. “What the hell?” Katsuki mutters, and tries another explosion- this time, bigger.

It still doesn’t budge.

“Oi!” He yells, then jumps down on its enormous snout, clutching the fur between his knuckles.

“What are you doing? You’ll get knocked off!” You yelled out to him as you saw his feet out of the corner of your eye.

And you were almost correct. As soon as Katsuki was in its sight, it snapped its head to the side, flinging Katsuki onto its other tusk. He caught himself in time, but as soon as he wasn’t directly in front of it, it forgot about the man’s existence. 

“What the hell?!” He spits with annoyance. He climbs back up to the top of the head, looking down at you. “Shit, it doesn’t care when it can’t see me. The only way I can make it look up is if I completely knock out its back legs!”

“Then do that!” You yell.

“If I do, you’ll go straight up. There’s no guarantee I can catch you, do you really wanna do that?”

You were about to respond when the strange roar from the forest sounded again. This time, much closer. The boar skidded to a stop and immediately turned around to chase after it. 

“Hey hey hey HEY!” Denki called out after it. He had Atlas turn around and run right beside the beast. He ran up in front, trying to make it turn around, but it blew right past him. Nothing grabbed its attention. 

“Katsuki!” You yelled. It could be your brain jostling around, but you had complete faith in him. There wasn’t a single doubt in your mind. “I- I trust you!”

Those words...they were very meaningful to him. 

He huffs. “Count to three, ok?” He says, then moves carefully to the back legs of the beast.

You gulp and hang onto the handle of your sword. You count to three in your head, but you really didn’t need to. Katsuki’s voice yelling out “DIE” signaled the explosion and jerked the boar’s upper body straight up. It’s legs were knocked out and it skidded it’s rump along the ground with alarm. The force was enough to make your sword cut clean through your sheath and send you flying in the process.

Then everything seemed to slow down.

You saw everything, and your opportunity. Katsuki turned his head to you, already in the process of making his way towards you. He still had a ways to go. Turns out, that worked out perfectly fine. You were scared, but your body moved on it’s own, grasping the sword tightly. Your hands moved the sword up front and pointed it straight down. The boar had hit a tree when it was hit, and fell slightly to its side. Just by chance, luck, fate, or whatever you wanna call it, the sword landed hilt deep… right into its poor eye. 

Fortunately, you couldn’t see the gore. Blood splattered everywhere, blinding you momentarily and causing you to lose your grip on your handle. You felt the fall for half a second before you were encased in a strong arm and held close. You were still falling, but in broken bits thanks to Katuski’s explosions. He flew from side to side, dodging trees and cushioned the final few feet to the floor.

Once the both of you stopped, he immediately rolled you to the side, wiping the blood off your eyes and checking your body for broken bones. You reached up and wiped your eyes as well, blinking rapidly. 

“You ok?” he asked.

You nodded at the sight of a slightly dirty, but still strikingly handsome face, “uh.. Huh.”

He nods his head ok and gets up, lending you a hand. Denki trotted Atlas to the boar cautiously in the background. He peered at it carefully, making sure that there were no sudden movements.

“Is it dead?” Katuski crosses his arms.

Denki slid off the horse and approached the sword stuck in its eye. You’d forgotten that you didn’t actually see it and gasped, turning around quickly. This was the first time you saw freshly killed meat. Horrifying. Usually it was stuffed or cooked to beauty, and now you know why. Denki pulled the sword out with barely a sound, turning around to face his king. 

“Mhm, died instantly.” He says, and upon seeing your reaction, added, “I’m sure it barely felt anything”. He handed over your sword to his King.

Katsuki nodded, taking the sword and sliding into his belt loop. “(Y/n), I’m going to borrow this for now. Dunce face, take Altas and the princess back, it was safe coming here, so it should be safe going back. Make sure she gets washed off and Deku looks at her again- and then wake up Shitty Hair. Tell him to bring the nets too. I’ll stay here and watch the game.” He barks.

Denki nods and hops onto Atlas again. He trots over to you and waits for Katsuki to hoist you up, which he does still with a surprising amount of strength. 

“Are you going to be ok-?” you ask.

“I’ll be fine,” he interrupts. He didn’t want to risk keeping you here any longer than you should be, “Denki will get you back safely.”

And without another second to spare, Katsuki gently slaps the backside of his horse. Atlas starts into a full gallop, and you hold Denki’s torso with one arm. He watched the three of you off, and you watched him disappear behind the trees. 

“I hope he’ll be ok.” You mumble

Denki snorted, “Who, him? He’s been through worse and he’s still in one piece.”

You hummed in response, not really content with the answer. But then you guess, the faster you get back, the faster Kirishima can arrive as an awesome dragon.

“Don’t worry about it,” he continued, “he’s just a tough nut on the outside, but he’s really a teddy bear! Except, uh, you probably don’t wanna hug him, so like, an angry teddy bear-” 

The ground Atlas ran on changed, and you were back on the beach again. Denki’s voice was drowned out by the scenery. It was bright and sunny, with stunning blue waves and a nearly cloudless sky. It’s like you left one world and arrived on another. You passed a dent in the sand’s nearly smooth appearance. The only reminder of the terrible events that just happened. It got you thinking, you know, this all started when you left your home. It’s like you weren’t meant to be here. Your kingdom had a crazy voodoo lady that talked about this all the time, and you were told to ignore her. But what if she was onto something? What if you were supposed to be married off- you were a princess after all. Maybe you should go back..

No, that’s crazy talk. Your life would be far worse for not only you, but your best friend. At least out here, you have freedom, right? Looking up at the sky, you can see birds soaring, able to go anywhere they want. They could cross the ocean and never come back. No one chained them to one place. You looked at the horizon, pondering it. Perhaps that was a little too far for a bird you thought- but that’s when you saw the weirdest thing. A pure white horse that seemed to shimmer with the reflective waves, wading through the water ankle deep…except… it was far from the shore. 

You gazed at it silently, not wanting to distract Denki from his navigation or his rambles. How was it doing that? It spared you a glance…or at least, you think it did. You blinked once, and that was all it took for it to vanish. Was it even real? Or were you so traumatized from recent events that you started hallucinating?

“You…ok back there?” Denki asked.

“Yeah” you responded half heartedly. You gripped Denki’s torso, bracing for another change in landscape from sand to dirt- but it just didn’t feel right. 

It didn’t feel like Katsuki.

***

The King let out a sigh of relief, laying a hand on the hilt of your sword. He turned towards the dead boar that you’d slain. He remembered its glazed eyes. Shit. The thing was in pain, and he had a good idea what was causing it. He could feel eyes boring into his skull from the shadows in between the trees.

“Bring it on, fucker” he growls, walking around the carcass. He was almost certain it was the work of him. This was probably a petty distraction set up by Shigaraki and his lackeys, salty about the fact that they got their asses handed to them by Katsuki. Jeez, how low could they get? The King marched down the long track that he had chased you down on, past the boar’s turn around point, and stopped- just before an imaginary line set by a burned down tree. A little stump that was a grim reminder of the battle that took place over a year ago.

“Why don’t you come join ust, all mighty King?” A sly voice coos. The man the voice belonged to dropped down from a tree, walking to the other side of the stump where Katsuki stood. Dark hair and patches of dark purple scars under his eyes, neck, and arms were the signature look of the hellflame tramp named Dabi. He smiles at him like he was an old friend, hands shoved into the ragged cloak he wore. 

“Shut the fuck up and tell me where he is, shit head.” Katsuki snarls.

Dabi mocks a flinch, smiling, “oh no, please don’t hurt me,” he says, waving his hands by his face. He takes a small pause to look at the unamused face of Katsuki and chuckles. “The big boss wanted me to give you a little message.”

“Tell the bastard to give me the news himself.” Katsuki draws your sword. “You sicken me.”

“-Oh,” Dabi interrupted, “but how do we know you won’t kill him, good king?”

“Well I just fucking might.” The blonde snaps. “I know you little assfaces are up to no good. You did something to that animal, and you fucking put one of my own in danger.” Katsuki says, pointing the sword to Dabi. 

The dark haired man just smiles, “I see your swear bank is plenty full. It’s all for a good cause, I assure you. Anyways-”

“-Don’t change the fucking subject you fuckin-”

“-you know the little princess you took in?”

Katsuki pauses mid-insult, “...What about her?”

“Now what about her indeed?” Dabi shrugs.

“Quit playing games,” Katsuki was starting to lose his patience, “what the fuck are you getting at? Don’t think I won’t push this fucking border back.” he threatened.

Now that was a sign that Dabi was starting to cross the line. He sighed and looked at the King as empathetically as he could. “It was fun pushing your buttons while it lasted, oh well. Let’s get this over with before your dragon friend arrives.”

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[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader Medieval AU) Ch4

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: It’s here my loves! Enjoy the pampering because you deserve it!!!

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

When a man is born in darkness, he could only be at peace in darkness.That was the motto this cult lived by. 

They had no one name for themselves. They were called what they earned, and they were taught never to forget it. 

Savages. Monsters. Scums of the Earth.

It was their way of life. 

They were shunned from society, but why? Because they were different. They were dangerous, and they were ruthless. Food was food, and if they couldn’t find enough deer, well, a prisoner or two was just as good. He was the one who led them, the king of darkness, wearing a crown of snow white hair. He led his people to do what they had to do. And the world feared them. Fought them. Lost to them. They were on the brink of reclaiming their glory, so close to ruling the entire southern hemisphere. But then that boy, that blonde who fought with the dragon. That damn boy. Made a fool of them all, dwindling their numbers down to a tenth of what they previously had, and sending them running with their tails between their legs to the darkest parts of the forest. People called the clan ruler an outcast for leaving bloody footsteps along the road, but praised the boy’s river of the cursed liquid. They feared the specks of red on the tips of his hair, but swooned at the sight of the cape the boy wore so proudly. Oh the hypocrisy.

He was going to make him suffer.

Make them all suffer.

“Shiggy-kun~” he heard the tip tap of his underdog’s feet echo along the cave walls. She swung something shiny in between her fingertips, giggling.

“This better be important.” he scowled.

“Huuuuuuuh? I think it’s more important than your brooding.” She says, tilting her head as if she was truly pondering it. She really didn’t care either way.

He hummed in slight annoyance. He didn’t like to be bothered, but he was rarely bothered anyways- not unless his followers had something more valuable than their life.

The girl held up a small golden chain with a small pendant attached to it. A crescent moon with a flying dove in the middle. The crest of the (L/n) family.

“I watched him take them in. They were lost.” She whispers excitedly.

“And?” He grit his teeth. How the hell was this important?

“What?” She pouted. “This belongs to a girl, like me. Oh she tasted so sweet-“ her face flushed red just remembering the taste.

He ignored her little “moment” and pondered for a moment, thinking. Formulating. Then it hit him. 

For the first time in two years, Shirigaki smiled. He had a plan, and he was going to come out on top.

********************

The breeze woke you, but much earlier than you wanted. Looking through the balcony window, you could see that the sun was just barely up. Soft rays peeked through trees and houses just along the forestline. You’d never seen such a beautiful scene this early. Usually, it’d just be the satin covering the top of your bed or the walls of your room that you’ve seen a thousand times before. It was new, and you liked it.

You yawned, ready to let yourself fall back into slumber- but a sharp rap at the door kept that from happening. Just as you were about to turn and look, the door swung to a loud: “WAKE UP YOU BRAT! I’M BACK!” by a raspy female voice.

You sat up groggily to a blonde lady with a fur coat, similar to Bakugou’s cape. She wore pants and boots unlike most of the other female citizens you’ve seen. As you were taking in her image, she notices you on the bed instead of Bakugou. Both of your eyes lock and her mouth slowly drops open as she freezes in shock.

A man with brown hair appears behind her, not noticing the change quite as fast. “My love, I don’t think it’s necessary to ye-“ he pauses as he notices what you presume is his wife’s face. He looks at her line of sight, then mirrors her shock as well.

As the two newcomers stared at you, Bakugou groaned from his position on the couch. He props himself up by his shoulders with several pops of his bones. “What the hell you old hag, haven’t you ever heard of ‘privacy’?!” He yells raspily, rolling his neck. 

But the pair ignore him. The woman raises a hand to her chest, like mother’s do when they see something adorable like a baby. “My,” she says, her tone much sweeter than when she first barged in, “apologies, I didn’t know my son had finally brought home a beautiful young lady!”

Your cheeks flushed red at the compliment. Son? This was Bakugou’s mother? She barely looked a day over 20- she could pass as his older sister if she wanted to. You slide yourself out of bed to stand, bowing politely to the couple. “Pleasure to meet you both, I’m princess (y/n). I’m here because Bakugou saved my life.”

Bakugou’s mother tilted her head and awe’d at your manners. “I’m Mitsuki, and this is my husband Masaru Bakugou, former chief of the Sol tribe. Or the Sun tribe, whichever one you feel comfortable with the most, sweetheart- but feel free to call us mom and dad-”

“OI!!!!” Bakugou interrupts, his voice wildly deep, “I know what you’re thinking, you witch, don’t get any ideas.” He says, still on the couch. He leaned forward, body tense. He was anticipating something.

Mitsuki waves a dismissive hand at her son, “oh don’t mind him, I know he can be a pain in the, well, everywhere at this point, but he’s a good kid. I’m glad to see the two of you get along~”

“I second that,” his father nodded. You were surprised at how gentle his voice genuinely is compared to the other two. “And sorry again, we must’ve scared you coming in like this.”

Mitsuki suddenly leaps forward, grabbing your arm. “Oh my, you’ve been hurt! Katsuki, what did you do to this poor girl!”

Oh, your arms. They’re still covered with scrapes and gashes, though they weren’t as bad as before.

“I didn’t do shit, that was all that damn cult outside.” he sighs.

Mitsuki smooths some of your stray hairs down with concern. “Watch your language, boy. I’ll just get Deku then-”

“No you aren’t, Deku already looked at her. She just needs rest.” He squinted his eyes at her.

“Nonsense, we can still have him check up on her again.” she backs to the door.

“I know what you’re doing.” Bakugou says, standing up. He was hunched slightly, like he was ready to fight. “And it’s not gonna work, you old bat.”

Musaru steps to the side, allowing his wife to inch slowly out of the room. “What? I’m just worried about her, what’s wrong with that? Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll get you some assistance.” she smiles sweetly at you. A split second later, she dashes out to the side.

Bakugou leaps across the room, skidding out of the doorway to follow his mother. “You can’t run! You know I’m faster than you!”

As both blondes run to who knows where, Masaru gives you a pat on the shoulder with a gentle smile. “Well, while my wife gets hunted down, why don’t we take a walk to Deku? His room is just over there.”

“Thank you” You nod and rush around the bed to grab your sword before you follow him out of the room. 

The kingdom was covered in warm sunlight as some citizens walked the nearly empty streets. You could even see some begin setting up their shops with merchandise. You saw a lady carry rugs to her tent and began unrolling them for buyers to see. A cook setting up the pans for his customers later on. It was all so peaceful.

“Uhm, so what was that about?” You ask.

“Oh it’s nothing, I assure you.” Masaru waved his hand. “My wife likes to tease our son. We almost never get any time with him, not since he took over for us two years ago.”

“Two years ago?” You repeat, “so, how old is he?

“I’m guessing not much older than you, only 18.” He smiles.You turn your head to the ground below, hoping he didn’t catch the flustered look on your face. 18? Insane. Even if he was a bit immature, you had respect for someone who could run this whole place at 16. “I’m not sure if it was the right move to let him start running a kingdom by himself, but I have faith in him. Anyways, how did he go about finding you?”

“It’s a bit of a story,” You laugh nervously, clutching your sword close. “My friend and I were attacked in the forest, and Bakugou saved us. I got hurt, and he carried me up here to give me my sword back...and…yeah.”

Masaru chuckles, “well that’s good- and that sword, what kind of metal is it?”

“Bakugou said it was… Awherian?” You racked at your brain.

“Awherian metal?” Masaru’s eyes widened, “well now, whoever gave that to you must really care about you. If I had to put how rare it is to come by, well, if you sold it, you could feed five villages for at least half a year.”

“Half a year…?” You echoed. Holy shit. Memories of how you thought about tossing the sword away came back to you, and it made your gut queasy with guilt again. It was a terrible feeling, and you’ve felt enough of that for the past few days. Sliding the sword’s strap over your head. You try hard to think of something else to talk about, but luckily, you have already reached your destination.

“Ah, we’re here.” Masaru says.

The two of you come across a decent cabin, not that big, but big enough to be cozy. He tapped on the door twice and waited. Shortly after, Deku opened the door with a big smile and a bag in one hand. 

“Welcome, Former Chief Masaru, Lady (y/n)” he bows lightly to each of you.

The both of you nod back. “My wife was just wondering if (Y/n) here needed a checkup?” Masaru mentions to you with his hand.

“Oh, of course!” Deku perks up, “Kacchan said to bring you to the bath house to get you cleaned and properly dressed, but first, any more pain so far?”

“No.” You shake your head. By some miracle, every bit of pain you felt was gone. He was either a magician or your body was greatly overreacting to your pain. Maybe a bit of both.

“Great!” He says, giving you a thumbs up, “let me show you to the baths then.”

He closes the door to his cabin, bowing to Masaru and thanking him for bringing you here before leading you back across the bridge. 

“I need to drop this off at Sho’s room first,” he lifts his bag. “It's on the way.”

“Sho...how’s he doing?” You worry. It hasn’t been long, but anxiety still eats at you. 

“He’s recovering quickly, don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll have enough strength to wake up within the next few days.” He says, slowing down to cross the bridge to Shoto’s tree.

The both of you quietly enter the room. While Deku sets the bag on the table, you head over to your friend. He’s still sleeping just as peacefully as ever. 

“Thank you, Deku, for taking care of him. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” You say, moving stray hair out of Shoto’s face. 

“Yeah, of course. Saving people is what I do best.” He responds. He waves a hand at the door with a polite “after you” and follows you out. 

For the first time in the past two days, you made contact with the ground. Actual ground. And it was also at this moment that you realized you weren’t wearing any shoes. You look down at your feet in the grass to see that you weren’t even wearing socks, but instead, your feet were covered in bandages. The blades of grass could still poke the thin material, tickling your feet as you walked. 

Deku led you past the bustling marketplace and to a large, steaming building in a quieter area. It was a big, one floored building with fenced walls built more to prevent peeking rather than invasion. The entrance had no front wall, allowing anyone to freely walk in and out. Alongside the side walls of the entrance were cubbies filled with guest items like shoes and, oddly enough, sheathed swords. In the center of the open, tatami lined room was an oval desk, operated by three attendants. 

“Wait here.” Deku says. He jogs over to the desk, waving a hello to one of the employees. They exchange a few words while the young attendee nods frantically. Then, he waves a thanks while they run off. “They’ll get you cleaned and bring you fresh clothes.” He smiles. “I’ll let Kacchan know you’re here too, so they can come meet you while I take care of Sho.”

“Oh, ok, thank you!” you say, giddy that you’ll be able to properly clean yourself up. 

He nods as the attendee from before, an older lady with her hair tied up neatly in a bun runs up to you with a folded bathrobe in hand. She bows as soon as she reaches you, a little out of breath. “Welcome, My Lady! My name is Saiki, I will be attending to you today with my fellow maidens. Please, follow me!” she says and turns back to the bath house.

You wave to Deku and follow Saiki through the halls of the bath place. The steam wafting from each separated room had its own distinct scent. One smelled like lavender, the other like mangoes, another smelled like kiwi. Laughter and chitchatter came from all rooms as people enjoyed themselves, the different genders being separated of course. Attendants dashed back and forth from room to room, sliding all kinds of toiletries through a flap at the bottom of each door. The people here handle the chaos well, all while taking the time to greet you on the way. It felt natural too, like you were one of their own.

Saiki finally stops at a room at the far end of the hallway, opening the sliding door where two other attendees waited.

“Welcome, Lady (y/n)!” they both announce, bowing deeply. They motion to the pre-filled bathtub, stepping aside to give you space to walk through. They helped you undress, making sure to avoid irritating any wounds. Stepping into the tub felt like heaven. Warm water encased your sore bones, gently ebbing the pain away as the ladies cleaned your hair and body. A scent mixture of fruit and flowers hung in the air around you, calming your mind of almost every negative thought. This was like nothing you’ve ever had back at your kingdom. Bathing was more of a chore then, something you had to do to be “perfect”, but here, it was a treat.

You left the room refreshed and content in the bathrobe they gave you, you almost forgot you needed actual clothes. Saiki then led you to a dressing room filled with outfits of all sizes and shapes, along with more attendants to help you dress. Puffy jackets to skimpy pieces of cloth, there were a variety of styles to choose from. Bakugou really had it planned out.

{{{{{disclaimer, Bakugou said “give the princess a bath and clothes, I don’t fuckin know”, and the attendees translated. Props to the bath house employees!}}}}}

They held up all different kinds of dresses, especially the thin ones because of the summer heat, but the whole time they recommended each clothing piece, you kept thinking to yourself, why not wear what I want to wear? 

Maybe it’s time to change it up a bit. 

So you walked out of the bath house, thanking the employees profusely for all their hard efforts. You had settled on a loose, short, and colorfully patterned blazer with a simple white tube top. It complimented the sheath of your blade and made it much easier to reach your handle. Threaded fabric was wrapped around your arms, as well as braided through your hair. You were also given a pair of sturdy ankle high boots that were much more comfortable than the flats you were forced to wear constantly. And best of all you were wearing-

“What the hell are you so happy about?” You hear behind you.

You turn around to Mitsuki knocking the backside of her son’s head in, annoyed. “Just let her be happy if she wants to, you damn brat!”

Masaru gives a light hearted chuckle as his son shoots his head back up to yell incomprehensible blabber in another language. Probably insults if you were to guess. She yells back even louder, smacking him again for good measure. Citizens who walked by only gave light hearted laughs at their king and his mother’s bickering. You couldn’t help but smile as well. The royal family acting so casual, and close. 

You walk over to them, beaming. “Well, to answer Bakugou’s question, I’m happy because of this!” You presented your legs.

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, “because of pants?”

“Because of pants!” You wave your hands giddily.

Mitsuki and Masaru stifled laughs behind their son, who could only stare back at you blankly. “Do you not have pants in your kingdom?”

“Just for the men,” youhung your head, “My father said I wasn’t allowed to wear pants, it’s ‘improper for young ladies’.”

“The women in your kingdom must be fuckin miserable.” He scoffed, which earned him another slap from his mother.

“They just have different customs.” She fumed at him. Then she smiled sweetly at you, changing her tone of voice. “I’m sure the women still dressed wonderfully.” 

“It wasn’t illegal, but if anyone saw a woman wearing pants, they’d probably laugh…” you rub your arm sheepishly.

Mitsuki strode over to give you a hug, encasing your head with her gentle arms. She smelled like coconuts. “Oh sweetie, no one is gonna make fun of you here, right Katsuki?” She gave her son a pointed stare.

Bakugou rolls his eyes, “whatever, wasn’t planning on it.”

Katsuki? Now that...that was a name you’ve heard before. You remember the rumors that went around, steadily growing murmurs of the same name. Katsuki, the Blood King. He was merciless, cunning, and handsome, according to nearly all the ladies in and out of your kingdom. 

But you imagined this man to be older. In your head, he was a heavy drinker, probably with a beard and a stocky build like King Enji. You also did hear that he swung a giant sword of six feet on his greatest battles, and you could not see Bakugou-erm, Katsuki as he is now to be swinging a sword that was as tall as he. No wonder why it seemed astonishing that he was so young, you couldn’t believe anyone like yourself would do this two years ago. Not even Shoto. Katsuki made a name for himself in such a short time, stories upon stories about how he trained his soldiers to be almost superhuman. They could silently take out a whole camp of 500 or more in a single night, leaving a single red flag poking out of a hill of the fallen warriors’ weapons. He cleared out many of the continent’s cruelest and most corrupt gangs, kingdoms, and killers personally, which swooned all the women talking about it. You were just in pure awe at the realization that he was standing right in front of you, being disciplined by his mother like a little kid. 

Mitsuki must’ve noticed your stiffness and pulled away from you, concerned. “Oh my, I think I hugged her too hard.” She waved a hand in front of your face, wondering if you were going to blink.

Eventually you did, looking up at the man who saved her life. “You’re… The Katsuki? The guy who destroyed-“

“Destroyed 7 kingdoms with my bare hands, yeah yeah, so what? That shit was fuckin long ago” he crossed his arms. He pretends to be annoyed, but you can see the small curl of pride in his lip from being recognized. When it came to battle, he wasn’t gonna be another “Bakugou” in his lineage of fighters. No, he was Katsuki, the one and only.

“Be nice.” Masaru placed a hand on his kid’s head.

“B--but, you told me your name was… Bakugou” you stutter.

Mitsuki sighs, “The brat only calls himself by his first name out there because he wants to be distinguished from the rest of his family.”

“Well you guys all call yourselves Bakugou when you do cool shit, how are people gonna know which Bakugou did what?.” Katsuki huffs.

“For some reason, I thought you’d be older” you whispered, mostly to yourself, but Katsuki caught it. 

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he lowered his face to yours. “Hah? Were you expecting some old fart fighting on the front lines?”

You stared right back at the Vermilion irises, embarrassed that he’d heard what you said. You opened your mouth in a panic, trying to come up with an excuse, but you could only manage a few “uh”’s. Then your brain switched to the next logical course of action: apologize, which you were about to do until you were saved by Mitsuki, who pulled her son’s head back by the ear.

“You’re scaring her, you brat! And you still have things to discuss with her- or did every word I said just now go in one ear and out the other?!” She hisses sternly.

Katsuki bats his mother away, moving to head behind you. “Alright, fine, take the other old geezer and go already!”

Mitsuki lifts her nose into the air, waving her son away. “Fine, but you better not make her upset. So long, your hiiiiighness” she mocks before taking Masaru’s outstretched hand. 

“Respect the title you hag!” He yells back. The couple laugh as they walk off to the market, greeting their many subjects along the way. 

It made you smile, seeing the Bakugou family close like this. They didn’t care about their status, or their image- they didn’t care about perfection either, nor did they expect it from Katsuki. They were goofy and lighthearted together, something you never really had the pleasure to experience. It tugged at an empty spot in your heart, one that your own parents carved out a long time ago.

The thoughts must’ve seeped through your skin because Katsuki shook you gently, looking at you with concern. “Oi, are you sad or somethin?”

Immediately, you fixed your face, smiling back at him the same way you smiled at your pants. “No, I’m fine! I was just thinking.” 

Katsuki hummed, not really content with the answer, but he let the subject go. He wasn’t really good at emotional talk, that’s Deku’s expertise. He was, however, very perceptive. He had to be, he’s a powerful man in charge of a powerful army, and lots of people wanted him dead. Learning to determine friend from foe keeps him alive. That aside, he made a mental note not to pry too deep about your parents. It was what he had to talk about though, which made things a bit difficult. 

Actually, this whole thing was difficult. Usually, he didn’t have to talk with women, and every woman that he did talk to aside from his mom were warriors under his command. He could push them to their limits, harden them for the brutality of war- but you...you weren’t like that. You were a fighter for sure, but you were still very much a meadow of flowers compared to the bloodstained wasteland he was shaped into. Your lives were different, and he just didn’t know how to deal with that..

“So uh, what do we need to talk about?” You ask, balancing on the balls of your feet. He blinks at you, still dreading the conversation.

He sighs, thinking about how he’s going to do this. What would his dad do? His dad was always much more gentle, apprehensive to the emotions of others. If he really had to, his dad would make sure the other person was comfortable and gradually ease into the conversation. 

A waste of fucking time if you ask Katsuki. You’re gonna get there either way so why not throw the truth out there? Faster. Much more efficient.

But again, you were different, he didn’t know how you’d react. He already felt bad for scaring you in the Throne room, and he was not about to do it again, so he just has to deal with it.

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” He asks.

You shook your head no, “That... was another thing that wasn’t common for women.”

“The hell, why?” Katsuki snorts, wondering if you were joking or not.

“Because women don’t have the strength to control one...that’s what my father tells me.” You shrug.

Katsuki shakes his own head in disbelief. “Your dad needs to meet some of the women living here” He waves his hand forward, mentioning you to come follow him. The two of you take a long walk to the front gates of the kingdom, where the King was greeted with great respect. He nods to his men as each of them stand to attention when he walks by. You awkwardly trot along behind him.

The burning question in the back of your mind as to where you were going was finally answered when you arrived at a fenced off lake just outside the gate. The area was massive, like, you couldn’t see the extent of the fence massive. Long grass covered the area around the glistening lake, with smaller, more manicured trees dotted here and there at random. Horses of all different colors roamed the area freely while some of the kingdom’s civilians tended to the horses and plant life. A handful of people worked on a small planted garden just around the smaller curve of the lake, a good enough distance away to not be able to make out specific details. 

Katsuki let out a loud “Oi!” while waving a hand to them. They waved back and one of them leaned down to talk to someone you couldn’t see behind a tree. A young child ran off with an orange object that you assumed to be a carrot in hand. 

As you two walked, you passed a couple of horses, all beautifully groomed and healthy. They nuzzled Katsuki as he walked by and he gave them a good run along their necks. He was so gentle with them, he must take care of them often. It was kind of cute. His face was content and relaxed, not angry like it was most of the time when you saw him. Eventually, he caught you smiling at him while stroking the snout of this one mare and scowled, turning to walk even faster to his destination. You had to half jog to keep up with him. 

The little girl ran back with a beautiful all black stallion with a pure white mane, the carrot she had while running off was no longer in her hand. She wore a cute red dress, feet bare on the grass. She slowed her running to a timid walk as she shyly handed the reins to Katsuki. 

“Thanks,” he ruffled the girl’s long grey hair. “This is Eri, we rescued her from another cult, similar to the one you were attacked by. Say hi, Eri.”

“H-hi.” she says softly, staring right at you, wide-eyed. 

You kneeled down in front of her, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Eri, I’m (Y/n).” You do your best to fight the urge to smother her in a bear hug, she was just too cute! It would probably scare her right now, but one day, one glorious day, you’ll get your hug. For now, you settled on giving her a compliment. “Your hair is very pretty.”

She took a strand of her hair and twiddled it in between her fingers, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. “Thank you. I like yours too.” She mumbles.

“Alright, we have to go now, Eri.” Katsuki says, gently swatting his horse’s mouth away from his hair. A little tuft of hair was standing upright, Katsuki’s horse continuing to nip at it despite the arm in its way. He held his other hand out to you and you took it. He guided your hand to the horse’s snout so it could sniff, “His name is Atlas. He’s gentle, when I tell him to be.” he said.

You let the animal sniff your hand before you gingerly rub his nose. It was kind of cold, and fuzzy, like a peach. He exhales in content, shocking you for a quick second, but you relax yourself. He doesn’t want to hurt you, you can tell. Atlas nudges your hand out of the way and went to nibble at your hair, making you squeal a bit and duck out of reach. It was playfully adorable, and it made your heart swell with affection that you couldn’t quite describe. Maybe it wasn’t the ability to control horses that the men in your kingdom feared, it was the jealousy that they’d have to share these beautiful beasts with twice the amount of people. 

Katsuki narrowed his eyebrows at Atlas and reached to move the horse’s snout away from you. “He has this weird obsession with hair, you could mistake him for a damn goat.” You chuckle softly and pet him again. Meanwhile, Katsuki unbuckles his cape and wraps it around Eri, nearly covering her entire face with the white fur. “Hold that for me until I get back.” he says softly. Going back to his horse, Katsuki kicks off the ground and slides on to Atlas where the saddle should be, purely on muscle memory. Speaking of saddles-

“No saddle?” You ask.

He reaches an arm down to you with a questioning expression. “Atlas hates saddles. Last person who came at him with a saddle broke his nose- you know how much that shit hurts? Felt like fire right in the middle of my damn face for two weeks- now c’mon, we don’t have all day.”

You giggle slightly at the thought and grab his forearm. He hoists you up with incredible ease, making a hollow threat to drop you if you laugh any more. He helps you position yourself behind him and you blush when he instructs you to wrap your arms around his waist. His chiseled, muscular abs that you were now able to hold onto-

“GYah!” you shake your head, trying to banish the thoughts with it. Stop!  It was just to keep you from falling off, nothing else. Nothing. At. All.

“What?” Katsuki tensed.

“IT’S..It’s nothing.” You lie, “I thought it was a bug.”

He snorted, “Hah, it’s a wonder how you survived walking out in the forest, isn’t that right Atlas?”

 The horse whinnied in return, anxious to get out running, but Katsuki took it as a ‘yes’ instead. He gave his pal a pat on the neck for agreeing with him and waved goodbye to his people. He then craned his head to look at you with a scheming grin. 

You followed back with a confused stare. Something was going to happen, wasn’t it? “Why are you looking at me like that?” You ask cautiously.

“Heh, nothing. Just don’t fall off.” He says, cracking his neck from side to side.

“Don’t fall off-?” You started, but you soon realized what he meant.

You let out a small shriek as the horse reared backwards with a neigh, then leapt into a full gallop with incredible speed. The wind whipped through your hair and your grip on Katsuki’s waist grew tighter. He was holding onto your arms for good measure, but you already had a death grip on him. You were going to get him back for this later. Your face, which was previously snug up against his shoulder blades, peeked open just in time for you to feel weightless as Altas cleared the fence. This time, you couldn’t even scream, the weightlessness was completely overwhelming your senses.

Instead, you closed your eyes shut again, only opening it after you landed on the ground. You peek to make sure that there are no more fences to hop, but quickly get distracted by a whole new view of the forest that you’ve never seen before. Atlas ran across the large pathway, diagonal to the kingdom gates and to a smaller trail off to the side. The trees you ran past were much more welcoming than where you first entered that night you ran away. The shade of the trees was more of a soothing shade rather than looming shadows isolating you from the light. It was beautiful. It was so much more than the palace gardens. It was untouched. Free. 

Time passed by in the blink of an eye, and before you knew it, the three of you had reached a beautiful coastline. Bright blue water lapped at the white sand in small, steady waves while birds flew in and out of the forest. 

Katsuki swung his right leg over Atlas’s neck and dropped to the ground, turning around with both arms out to help you down. Once you were down and Atlas was hitched to a nearby tree, the both of you made your way over the rocks that separated forest from beach. You inhaled the refreshing ocean scent, something completely new and foreign to you. It was nice.

“Here.” Katsuki says from behind you. 

You turn around to a leaf wrapped object and take it, unsure what you were supposed to do with it. Then Katsuki pulls out one of his own from a little pouch attached to his belt. You hadn’t even noticed it before. He plops down on the sand and unwraps the leaf to reveal a rice ball, which he takes a generous bite out of. 

“Are you not hungry?” he asks.

You realize that you’d just been staring at him eating like an idiot, and clumsily take a seat next to him to unwrap yours. You look everywhere except him, utterly embarrassed, but a single bite makes you forget about it instantly. It was sweet rice, perfectly balanced and chewy. How was this even real? It’s like you woke up in a dream, one that you hoped you would never wake up from. It was like the universe was trying to make up for almost killing you the other day.

“So…..?” you ask in between bites.

Katsuki swallowed down his last bite and hummed. “I need you to tell me why you ran away.” he says after a slight pause. 

“Uh, who says I ran away?” you ask nervously.

“It’s pretty fricken’ obvious, you venture off into the wilderness, get attacked, proudly claim you’re from the North, then tell my friends that you don’t want to send a message to your kingdom. What the hell else would it be?” He waves a hand outwards.

You sigh, swallowing down the last of your own food and scrunching your knees up to your chest in surrender, “yeah, ok, I don’t run away from home often.” In fact, you barely go anywhere outside your kingdom. You’ve read books about the outside world in the royal library, seen trinkets that travelers bring to sell, and maybe once or twice went with your father to a friendly nearby kingdom, but you’ve never been alone. Even this time, you had Sho with you.

What were you even thinking? It seemed so clear in your head before, you were buying time. You were doing this for Sho. Well, that was what you were telling yourself. But were you really? 

“It’s a long story.” You mumble.

“Well, we aren’t going anywhere.” He sits back on his hunches. 

So you told him everything, well, everything aside from your feelings about Shoto. You tried your best not to choke when you talked about his “unknown reason” for not being able to marry. You still didn’t understand it anyways. Katsuki sat there quietly the whole time, staring at the waves. 

“I see,” he says when you finish. “What’s done is fine I guess, I don’t understand why you can’t just tell your dad ‘no’, but you know him better than I do. You’re just lucky I found you, cuz otherwise you’d be in a cage watching-“ he pauses, looking at the slight worry starting to appear on your face. He clears his throat, cursing himself for almost being too blunt.“N’uh, watching the cult beat up more prisoners..So now what? What are you gonna do here?”

“Now what? I...I don’t know..” you shook your head.

Katsuki sighs with his brows furrowed, thinking. There were so many ways this could go wrong. He had to take into account his own people since the cult had been spotted again, then had to take into account the Northern Kingdom plus Northern allies now that their princess and allied prince is under the care of the Blood King. He knows you didn’t want to go back, but this wasn’t his fight. He has a kingdom to run already, and he can’t dictate what happens in yours, you just have to reap the consequences of your own actions. It might be cruel to some, but it’s the way all kids are raised here. 

He looked over to you, your eyes so sad and conflicted. He’d never openly admit this, but he hates seeing sad and distressed women. Far too many times he had seen the heart-wrenching looks of widows and daughters when his father, and eventually he himself had returned the swords of the fallen to their homes. It broke him in a way he couldn’t describe. Soon, he would have to tell you that he could only let you stay until your friend’s wounds heal, then he’d have to send you back home. He wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t win a war against the North, they just had too many people, too many resources to spare.

“Wait here” he says, deciding to hold the subject off for now. He walked back to where Atlas was hitched and led him to where you still sat. 

“Where are we going?” You stand up upon hearing horse hooves behind you, powerful legs kicking up sand without even trying.

“Just here.” Katsuki replies. “You know jack shit about riding horses, and that’s all you’ll be able to use here so you might as well learn.”

He hoists you up, practically throwing you on top of the horse as you awkwardly try to correctly position your legs. Being further up on the horse than you were before, you could feel the strong lungs and muscles more evidently now. Atlas was itching to run, you could tell. You grab the reins tightly, praying you don’t fall off because it was a long way down. “Uh-h, are you sure about this?”

“Relax, princess, I train my horses pretty well.” he pats Atlas’s side. He could tell you all kinds of stories from when Altas was a ‘rebellious little shit’, as he would say. Eventually, he calmed the horse down with respect, giving the horse complete trust with Katsuki, even if he wasn’t his rider. “Alright, give him a small tap with your heel.”

You follow his directions and Atlas starts moving. It was hard to keep your balance now that you had to move with his shoulders directly. You had no idea how much strength and practice it’d take to balance not only yourself, but an untrained rider as well like Katsuki did for you. You were getting accustomed to it quickly though, thanks to Atlas walking at a leisurely pace. There was only one problem: he was heading...straight for the ocean? 

“You’ve got to use the reins to steer him. Pull it to the side if you don’t wanna start swimming with the fish, literally.” Katsuki instructs, walking close by.

So you gently tug the reins enough to walk alongside the water instead. You feel utter delight at how well Atlas responded. Even if it was just light horse riding, you felt confident in yourself. You were doing something out of the ordinary, and you were enjoying it! Endorphins were overloading your brain right now, and it left you a giggling mess.

“Oi, you didn’t eat the fuckin salts in the bath house before we left, did you?” Katsuki’s gruff voice barges into your happy place. But you didn’t care at the moment, you were too busy steering Atlas in a small circle. You giggle a “no” and the man just shakes his head, feigning annoyance, but failing to hide the curl of his lip in one corner.

“I didn’t know this was so much fun!” You smile, circling around Katsuki now.

He scoffs as he turns with you. “Well, looks like you can do that now, so give the reins a short tug to stop.” You do as he says and Atlas stops at a dime. “Scootch.” He motions his hand, signaling you to move up the horse’s back a bit. He gets up behind you, but respectfully keeps the space in between the two of you. “This part is bumpier than walking, and since I’m guessing you don’t normally fall from a height of more than three feet, I’m going to make sure you don’t crack your fuckin skull in.”

You turn around, eyes wide in worry again. “You can do that on sand?!”

“Wha- no, I was exaggerating. Do you people not do that?” He asked. He took one look at your blank face and decided it was a question better left unanswered. “Never mind, just do the same thing again with your heel, but this time, click with your mouth.”

“Click?” You repeat.

“Yeah? Like when you’re annoyed?” 

“Uhm...” 

“When you want to call your dog then.”

“I don’t have dogs, unless you count the guard dogs. They don’t really listen to me though-”

“Alright, ok, just- repeat what I do.” he interrupts, and clicks his mouth twice sharply. Atlas moves slightly, but stops himself realizing that he didn’t feel the second part of the command yet. “See?”

“Ok, just that…”

You copied the sound and tapped your heel against Atlas's side. He reacted to the full command and bounced forward, trotting. You didn’t expect it so suddenly and teetered to one side a bit too far- 

“Aaaaaand this is what I was talking about.” Katsuki said, steadying you with one strong arm. You felt your balance come back to you again, along with a blush on your face. You wondered how he was balancing without his hands, then the blush got even deeper when you realized that his erm, very nice core muscles were probably a result of years of experience in this and more.

-Anyways, Atlas was definitely going at a faster pace now, and it made you slightly nervous. Thankfully, you had Katsuki right behind you if something went wrong, you thought.

As if on cue, Katsuki perked up to a noise of some sort, trained ears trying to pick up where and what was heading right for them. Still hyper alert, he cautiously reached over you, grabbing the reins. He sensed the confusion, but he didn’t want to freak you out. “Listen, we might need to go really fast soon, so just be ready to hold on to me.”

“Wha..Katsuki?” You squeaked.

“Shh, it might be nothing...” he trailed off.

He slowed Atlas down to a slow walk, still trying to pinpoint what he was hearing. It didn’t help that the waves were right next to him. Maybe starving himself for three days really did some damage to him because he swears he could hear…. screaming?

Then he gets it, and snaps the reins. It was the unmistakable sound of a screaming Denki Kaminari, who was most likely in trouble. 

The sound came from just beyond a curve of the coastline, hiding his comrade and leaving Katsuki no choice but to go after him. He notices your nails digging deep into his arms out of fear, and hesitates. Should he..? Yeah, formalities left when he realized one of his own is in danger. He wraps the reins around his right hand, curling his left arm around your waist. He couldn’t let you fall, not at this speed. 

You no longer dug your nails into Katsuki’s arm, but you still held on for dear life. You had no idea what was happening or why. You listened for something too back then, and heard absolutely nothing before Atlas bolted into a run like before. But this wasn’t like the first run. This was Atlas’s muscles pushed to the max, the true power of this beast. Even on sand you felt like you would fly off his back if Katsuki weren’t keeping you in place.

As the three of you round the corner, you start to hear the sound of a guy screaming getting louder and louder. Just as the beach straightens out once more, the first thing you see is a massive boar. Well, boar thing. Easily bigger than two houses stacked on top of one another, it’s brown fur was littered with pink scars and occasional broken arrows. Its yellowed tusks remained sharp despite the clear beatings it had gone through, and they curled inwards, like the horns of a bull. What made it less like a boar was the jagged teeth that glistened with slobber, as well as a powerful spiked tail waving behind it. It charged under a small rock arch, completely breaking through then slowing down, dazed. Rocks flew in every direction, scaring every bird within probably 3 miles. In front of it was a long haired blonde man with a single shield above his head, trying his best to dodge the falling rocks on horseback. 

“Denki!” Katsuki yelled.

The other man looked in the direction of the noise and his eyes lit up upon seeing his friend. “Bakugou! Man you gotta help me, this thing is back!”

“Yeah, I can fuckin see that!” Katsuki runs Atlas in a wide half circle, slowing down slightly to let Denki catch up. “How the hell did you find it?!”

“I didn’t, it found me! I found some deer and then it came out of the trees I swear! Look, I have one on the back, see?” He says frantically and points behind him, showcasing the dead animal. Luckily, it was the back half facing you so you didn’t have to see its poor face.

Katsuki stares at him silently, knowing full well that Denki wanted to spy on some mermaids, but he didn’t have the time to lecture him now. The beast roared from the broken archway, now fully ready to charge.

“Drop the meat,” he says, “hurry! You need to get the princess the fuck away from here!”

“Yes, your highness!” Denki hails, immediately cutting the ropes of the carcass and extending an arm to you.

“Go!” Katsuki urges, but it was already too late.

Before any of you could react, the thundering footsteps were too fast for any of you to escape, and a tusk landed right behind the two horses. Scarily, the boar could crash its own skull against the ground instinctively, and somehow receive little to no brain damage. The ground shook tremendously, and all horses and humans went airborne. 

Your vision tumbled and your eyes filled with sand as you crashed to the ground. Luckily, your body flew forward and you were able to instinctively shield your face with your arms. Your mouth collected sand when you screamed and you coughed, trying to lift yourself up with a stinging pain erupting in both palms. Thundering sounded again and suddenly, your body was jerked upwards much higher than any human could lift you. You slid backwards, feeling the hot and disgusting breath of the beast behind you, and you found yourself stuck on the tusk of the boar you were all running from. Your luck decided to turn on you last second for the worst. 

Atlas had landed on top of Katsuki, crushing his legs momentarily as the horse struggled to get up. Through blurred vision, her saw the horrifying image of you dangling in front of the beast’s mouth. He tried to call out, but he had the wind knocked out of him.

The boar nearly deafened you with another loud roar, swinging you around and making it nearly impossible for you to cover your ears. Doing your best to feel your back, you figured out what the boar had caught you on: the strap of your sword. You’d forgotten you were wearing it. The tusk was thick enough that it trapped you uncomfortably tight against it. You couldn't shimmy out and even if you could, you were at a scary might-break-your-legs height. The boar’s head was tilting upwards again, and it didn’t take you long to remember what it had just done before. 

You were gonna be crushed if you didn’t figure something out.

 A/N: Lmk what you think happens next and if you would like to be added to the tag list! I appreciate all of you lovely people for reading!!!

---------------> Tag List: @akihoeeeeeeeee @pasteldaze @decayz @hiro-gari  @blubglub​  @jaxyboy246​  @skylan666​ @obsessed-tyrant​  @bipolarbitchneedsahugandapunch​  @stan-josie  @orsaxhearts​  @angie-1036  @aforrestofstuff​  

[apexqueenie]

Hey y’all, just letting u know I’m still working on the Blood King chapter 4, and it’ll be released soon! I just finished classes for now and I’ll have a few months of glorious unbothered writing time, so thanks for sticking around!!!! 🥺❤️

[dilucssv-deactivated20251203]

starting a new thread since the other was getting quite long hehe

thank you for the tag @sugawara-sweetheart

NO CHEATING: you’re starring in a movie with the last person saved in your camera roll and the last song you listened to is the title. Who/what is it?

hmmm...interesting 🤔 but Hirooooo 💕

tagging @kiyoo-omi @mintmatcha @saetyrn9 @myelocin and whoever else who wants to play!

[haru-senji-deactivated20220703]

thank you for the tag phoebe!!

i got these! tagging @nakizumie @mguqiis @inumakiful !

[kazumie]

thank you for the tag haru <33

when am i not ever listening to that song ;-;

tagging: @mintys-playground @nexirious @jellyfishsart <3

[nexirious-deactivated20210601]

thank you for the tagg!!

this is gonna be interesting- but im here for it

tagging: @fukurotiny @onyxoverride @nevcrmxre @n1xx1e @driima @kansroji @kaasdeya @erens-kitten @seraphdreams @semisgroupie + anyone

[seraphdreams]

jean kirstein + drugs & money ; i see what type of movie this is

tagging- @fiaficsxo @sondersnk @glittrkink @izukine and anyone else who’d like to participate

[fiaficsxo-deactivated20210725]

thanks @seraphdreams for tag :)

chain by lolo zouai and porco galliard, i like it

tagging; @mxhi @mikasasmoochie @kirsteiiins @oblxvion @kuroosperiodictable + anyone who wants to do it!

[kirsteiiins-deactivated20210702]

Thanks bubbas <3 @fiaficsxo I be lacking on these tag games—my bad💀

So we’re going to be badasses killing people?👀 shiii say less. Might make out with her too when we’re done

Tagging; @ghvsts @bertlebear @namrekcaivel @izukine + whoever else wants to join.

[namrekcaivel-deactivated2021070]

oh.... interesting 🧐. but thankq for the tag nay!

tagging: @healpeony @alingawngaw @vinseul + whoever else wants to play

[pupsea-deactivated20210829]

thank you for the tag, lay! 🤍

RULES: you’re starring in a movie with the last person saved in your camera roll and the last song you listened to is the title. who/what is it?

oh well well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tagging: @ultimate-astridwriting, @hajisuu, @yeagerslut, @instantnuma, and @oblxvion!

[saumau-deactivated20210729]

THANKS FOR THE TAG BABES!

AND I ALSO CANT BE MAKING THIS SHIT UP!

tagging: @decayz @deludedimagines @namrekcaivel @izukine @odmlevis @bakugohoex @katsuhera

[decayz-deactivated20211102]

__haven’t done a tag game i a while so why not. thanks for the tag btw soft! (#jojobizzareadventureisthebest)

tagging: anyone!

[peachesncreampies]

@sneck-lemonade @unclegarou hey guys it's a tag game

Gay gay gay gay gay

[unclegarou]

thanks! i love doing these lol ❤️

yesss sirrrr. guess i’m twerking on sukuna

@hiro-gari @anthoosies @hanii-rose 💞

[hiro-gari]

ooo fun 😄 tysm!!

HM idk

tagging @apexqueenie @saltyfuckingslushy @whyamiinopmhellagain if u guys wanna 💕

[apexqueenie]

Thank you for the tag!!!

Literally the latest picture I have, and it’s King B.👀

Tagging: @hypothesaurus @aforrestofstuff @akihoeeeeeeeee if you want❤️

[apexqueenie]

Couldn’t stop thinking about Barbarian Katsuki as Sakuna’s vessel, and I drew it just in time for his Bday! Happy Birthday hubby❤️😘

[kaincuro]

Making another one of these because it’s fun. :)

Tagging: @aforrestofstuff @metalbatandzenko @sneky-sneck @the-goddessfighter @freedomaboveallelse @greyskies2002 and anyone else who wants to do this.

[aforrestofstuff]

Thankx for the tag I love you dearly ❤️

Tagging: @hiro-gari, @fijiflower

[hiro-gari]

aw heck (〃ω〃) thabks

tagging: @decayz @hearts4niah @saltyfuckingslushy @apexqueenie @blubglub if you wanna ♡

[apexqueenie]

Awweeeee I love seeing these notifs❤️

@blubglub @hypothesaurus @akihoeeeeeeeee @fijiflower

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader, Medieval AU) Ch 3

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: AAAAAAAHHHHH, I'm so sorry this took so long! It may have a few mistakes cuz I added on to this after I finished homework sooooooooooo I'm usually half asleep by then. This one is sorta long, so yah, enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

“SHO!!!” You scream, snapping your torso up from the bed you lay on.

Wait...A bed..?

Your brain just tripped over itself as the memories came flooding back to you. The forest, the attackers, the beast, and then...that man.

You clutched your forehead in pain. Where the hell were you?

You place a hand on the furry and weighted blanket that covers you. It was nice. Quite a bit warmer than the blankets you had at home-

You shook your head. If this is how distracted you get now, you must’ve hit it at some point. You look around the room you were in. It was nice and dimly lit due to closed curtains, but plain. All that filled the space were you, the bed, and a small wooden dresser to your left with a tall cup of water on top.

Water. Sweet, sweet water. You chugged it down, throat parched from the previous events. The cool refreshing liquid woke up some of your senses. Slowly, your grogginess was replaced with the soreness of your muscles. You started to regret sitting up so suddenly. The side you were kicked on started to throb more and more.

You look down at the side in pain, seeing that your blazer and dress were replaced with a simple white wrap skirt secured with a knot around your chest. You felt almost naked, cold too. Never have your arms, chest, and legs been as exposed as they are now. Even your long nightdress had sleeves.

But that wasn’t important. You were in this strange place, Sho is nowhere to be found, and your things are gone. You needed to know more. Now, you may have been overreacting a bit, but what’s the harm in coming prepared? You break the glass you drank from earlier, grabbing the biggest piece and tearing some of the fabric you were wearing to wrap around the shard for a handle. You didn’t know what to expect, but at least you had something to defend yourself with.

You held it in the front as you slowly pushed the creaky door open. You thought you were ready for anything, but you weren’t expecting to be atop a balcony overseeing a complex combination of treehouses, bridges, and grounded buildings all surrounded by stone walls, complete with archers in loose armor patrolling the top. It wasn’t like any of the armor your guards wore though. It consisted of metal, like the knights in your father’s army, but they also wore feathers, leather straps, and colorful face paint. If you had to guess, you were nowhere near your own kingdom. They kept watch of the forest while the rest of the citizens of this odd town bustle happily below. Adults traded and conversed with one another while the children played with balls or kites below. All of them wear similar outfits to yours, comfortable and with a closer connection to nature. Some women wore clay beads around their heads like crowns paired with bright, multi-layered dresses made of choppy fabric. Most men wore loose shirts, some went bare chested, all wore slightly baggy pants, usually with multiple belts. A stark contrast to the puffy floor length dresses and tight pants of your people.

So where exactly were you?

“Do you like the view?” a voice said behind you.

It made you jump, and instinctively, you turn to hold out the makeshift knife you temporarily forgot about. The man you pointed the sharp edge at yelped and held both hands up as he rounded the corner.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have sneaked up on ya.” he smiles sheepishly.

He was a red-headed man with spiky hair, a short vest, bandana, and baggy pants. Similar to the people below. From what you could see, no weapons. Still, you keep the blade pointed at his exposed torso. You’ve never killed anyone before, and the thought scares you, the overwhelming fear of being here in strange clothes scared you even more.

You take a step back, trying to distance yourself from the newcomer. “Who are you?”.

“Eijiro Kirishima, right hand man of King Bakugou. I’m glad to see you awake and well.” he says, not moving from his spot. “We’ve met before, your highness.”

“Huh?” You say, dumbfounded. You’ve never seen this man in your life. You would’ve known if you did, his face is...very memorable.

He pointed to the decently sized scar on his face. It traveled from his right corner of his lip and up to the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t bright red, but it still looked like it had only recently healed. A cut like that would’ve taken at least a week for it to stop being inflamed; you wondered how he’d gotten it or why he was pointing to it.

You shook your head, not understanding.

Kirishima chuckles nervously, “Well uh, it might be hard to explain, but uh first things first, I came here to check on you. How’s that rib feeling?”

“My rib? It...hurts a lot” you admit, lowering the glass shard. ‘Hurt’ was an understatement though, it felt like it was on fire. Your side throbbing painfully with each breath you took. Adrenaline could only mask it for so long.

He nods and slowly approaches you again, hands out where you could see them. “Let’s get you back in bed” he says, gently scooping the glass out of your hand and placing it in his back pocket.

Hesitantly, you complied, weary of the shard being in his possession. At least, he seemed like he didn’t want to kill you. You leaned back into bed, muscles screaming from the short encounter. It’s only now you truly realize the extent of your injuries. You hissed as Kirishima readjusted your pillow as best he could, shaking the bed a bit.

“Now that you’re awake, I’ll let Deku take a look at you. He’s our medicine man, or doctor if you like.” And with that, he walks out, closing the door behind him.

But you couldn’t stay still. Even though your ribs hurt, you couldn’t sit back and wait. If you’re being nursed here, Shoto must be nearby. And besides, they don’t want to hurt you, right? After all, as you hauled yourself up and headed to the door once more, you found it still unlocked. You weren’t their prisoner.

You took a peek around the corner that you saw Kirishima come around last time. It led to a free hanging wooden bridge to another tree. The other side of your cabin led to some steps that took a wide curve around a wooden pillar of some sort, but taking a look upwards only showed you that it wasn’t a pillar at all: It was an absolute unit of a tree. Incredibly thick, and at least 500 feet tall, the tree had stairs carved from all over its sides and bridges split off to smaller trees holding up houses. An even more intricate pattern of pathways sat above your head than what you saw the first time when you looked on the balcony.

You clutched the railings, making your way up the stairs and onto the first platform branching off into other paths. Your “room” was just a simple block, fitted halfway into the trunk of the big tree. Woven branches and leaves make a simple flat roof; not much different from any other building here. Guess you’re just gonna have to find someone who knows this place. Preferably not Kirishima. You had a feeling he’d just bring you back to your room.

You hauled yourself up more stairs, opting to take the paths closer to the tree. Traversing mazes was never your strong suit, and this place could get you lost in a few seconds.

The further you went along the stairs, the harder it was for you to breathe. Your injury was draining your energy fast, making your body feel like a thousand pounds. Maybe going back to bed wasn’t a bad idea at all.

Just as you were about to give up and sit down, you came across a wider bridge, one that was definitely a lot more extravagantly built than the last. Thicker, and with decorative railings. It was built between the tree itself and a large mountaintop so tall, you couldn’t see the top. The bridge extended in a T shape, the horizontal bit from the tree built to the length of one wall of the kingdom to another with stairs down to where the guards patrolled. At the smaller section of the T sat a huge double doorway, carved from the wood of the tree you’ve been climbing around for the past 10 minutes. It depicted battles, warriors wielding swords and fighting alongside winged beasts of enormous size...Dragons. Then it clicked. Kinda. You swung at that large beast before, at its snout right when it was right behind you. And Kirishima had a scar along his mouth and nose...

Kirishima = Dragon?

You shook your head, unable to fully convince yourself. It must be your pain fogging your mind a bit. You guess it was the same reason you were walking through those double doors. Big doors were the norm for you, being a princess after all. In your state of confusion, it’s better to go with more familiarity. You pulled it open with a bit of difficulty and slipped in as the doors slowly closed behind you without a sound. Just as you suspected, it was a grand hall for royalty that was almost as big as your father’s. The room was curved, thanks to the tree’s natural design. Flowered vines decorated the plain walls. An empty throne of wood and bones sat in front of what you thought must be the opening to the other side of the tree. You could see the sunshine bathe the throne in its gentle light.

You straightened your composure subconsciously, as you’ve been taught to in throne rooms like these, and walked to the throne. Bones and wood, delicately intertwined with one another to form a beautiful crest along the top of the backrest and pair of armrests. You dragged your fingers along the sanded wood gingerly, admiring the craftsmanship. Swords were stabbed in between, like trophies. Some chipped, others completely broken in half. All went through obvious signs of battle. Losing battles, that is. This was a throne for a King that should be feared. Unlike your father and birth giver’s thrones, which symbolized elegance and formality, this one was fierce, powerful, and dangerous. For some reason, your mind was reminded of the man with the Vermillion eyes. How he strode proudly with bold movements, the same way you’ve seen your father or King Enji act when confronted. Was he the one who owned this throne?

A few feet behind it were steps leading up to a large balcony, open to give an extraordinary view of the kingdom you saw before. You walked up the steps slowly, entranced by the calm sight of the sky and trees. A warm breeze lifted the stray hairs from your face, and you felt calm, your injuries temporarily forgotten. You thought you saw everything from the height you were at when you first woke up, well, you were a couple hundred feet higher now and so much more had been revealed. You could see the exact boundary of walls that protected the civilians, previously hidden by other trees. A huge, open gate on the other side of the kingdom guarded by tiny soldiers both on ground and up on the wall. The complex bridges you saw earlier seemed to build around this area so as to not obstruct the view. You dared not to go straight to the railings though, it felt out of place for you to be watching over someone else’s civilians. So just at the top of the stairs you stayed.

Along the sides of the extended walls where the stairs were built, hung swords of all shapes and sizes, snugly staggered amongst each other like decorations. Each one told a story, from the blade type down to the hilt decorations. You wonder who wielded each magnificent weapon. The man you fought had a sword worn down from no doubt years of battle, more so than any of these blades on the wall.

“I wonder where he is.” you spoke out loud.

“Where who is?” a gruff voice responded.

You froze in place.

Speak of the devil. There he was. He appeared around the left side of the throne, nonchalantly leaning an elbow above his head on it. He wore the same attire as before, cutlass hanging at his side- only this time, tribal beads and threaded teeth hung around his neck. The sunlight coming from the open spaces behind you revealed his hair to be golden, as well as uncovered the many battle scars that previously blended with his skin underneath the pale moonlight. He made your shrink a bit in his presence.

He cocked his head to one side, lifting an eyebrow at your staring. “Well?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you forced yourself to say something. “Sorry, You, you’re..and then...Uh…” you managed to spit out, ears burning. You couldn’t look at him straight. He only narrowed his eyebrows in response. ‘Great job (y/n), he thinks you’re a moron now.’ you scold yourself.

“Maybe that shitty Deku got it wrong, and you’re the one with the concussion.” he scoffed.

“I have no such thing!” you blurted out. You tried to look him in the eyes again, but the dominance they radiated made you feel like a pup caught disobeying her master. But why? You’re royalty, a future Queen! You shouldn’t let the likes of him intimidate you like this!

So you stood up straight again, taking a deep breath and raising your chin to address the man in front of you properly. Your insides felt like they were being stabbed with a flaming rod, but you refused to succumb to it now. “I lost myself a bit there. I’ve come here for answers.” you say, clasping both hands together. “Where is the leader of this Kingdom?”

Unfazed by your new composure, he stared right back. “You’re lookin at him.”

“And your name?”

“Why does that matter?”

“It matters because I’d like to know to whom I’m speaking with.” you grit your teeth.

“Oh, and what gives you the right, little thief?” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not a thief,” you growl, “I’m princess (y/n) of the Northern Kingdom, first and rightful heir to the throne. As a fellow royal, I deserve the right to know who you are.”

At your words, his body went rigid. “You deserve it, huh?” He moved from his spot at the throne, up the stairs towards you and towering over your figure. You shuffled backwards in alarm. “You, a Northern pansy with your tea parties, lazing around in your kingdom, not giving a damn about the ecosystem around you. You call that royalty?” He spat, raising his voice. You could feel the heat radiating from his body, physical heat, fueled by his anger. “Destroying more of my home to make room for your stupid roads. Killing my people’s food for sport and leaving the skinless carcass to rot so you could have your stupid exotic rugs- I’ve seen how much you people take for granted. If it weren’t for the size of your army, I would’ve conquered you assholes by now. Why did I even listen to that damn Kirishima, I should’ve left you and your boyfriend in the forest. At least you’d be useful for once-”

“Wait, I think you’re overreacting here, and he’s not-” you tried to reason, stumbling over your feet. You completely lost your composure now, your heart practically beating out of its chest.

“Or your brother, I don’t give a damn who he is, my people are running out of food because of yours- but I don’t think you ever knew, huh? Probably worried over some bullshit like what you’re gonna wear, or if some other pretty boy prince out there thought you were cute.” He continued. You back found the edge of the railing and you latched your hands onto it. Taking a quick glance backwards, you found the height a little terrifying now.

“Well, I’m over here hunting day and night to find meals and what do I get? Two more mouths to feed. Useless, pathetic weights on my back. If you wanna talk about being my fellow royal-”

“Bakugou, stop!” you hear Kirishima’s voice echo.

Kirishima. Oh thank god Kirishima is here.

The newly identified “Bakugou” snaps his head to the side at the voice. You look around Bakugou’s figure to see the redhead entering through the doorway, a stranger with green hair trailing behind him.

“You need to eat, Kachaan.” the stranger says. “We’re not starving, Denki found a whole new area with more game- but you can’t hunt it if you’re the one hungry.”

“Stop telling me what to do, I’ll eat when the provisions are restocked.” he turned to the side to face the pair and glared.

Kirishima in the meantime had already ran across the hall, climbing the stairs up to you two. “It’s been three days, brother, you’re getting aggressive.”

Bakugou took another glance at your shocked figure, and for a moment, you could see a pang of guilt hit him. But it was fleeting. His face returned to and scowl and he scoffed, fully turning around and heading down the steps past his comrade. “Aggression is what’s kept this kingdom prosperous.”

“Well, yelling at her highness isn’t very prosperous.” he shot back, tracking the blonde with his eyes.

The stranger made his way next to you, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. Kirishima acknowledged him and rushed off towards the doors with his leader.

“Well they’re always talking about equality for some goddamn reason, why can’t I yell at them like men?” Bakugou threw his hands up in the air.

“That’s not what they’re talking about…” the other man responded.

Their voices grew distant as they left the hall, leaving you and the kind stranger. With Bakugou gone, you released the breath you didn’t realize you were holding and fell to your knees, groaning.

So, that was Bakugou. You didn’t wanna think about what could’ve happened if Kirishima hadn’t stopped him.

“Woah, hey, uh, we should get you back to your room.” he says, cradling your shoulders. “I’m Izuku Midoriya by the way, but you can call me Deku.”

“(Y/n)” you strained. “Nice to... nice to meet you Deku, but I can’t go back yet. I have to make sure Sho is ok…”

Deku brought you back up to your feet, sliding an arm around your waist and a head under your arm. “Sho? Is that your friend?”

“yeah,” you nodded as the two of you began heading to the door yourselves, “my childhood friend. We were...we got lost...”

“Lost? We could send a messenger out to your kingdom and let them know you’re here-” He says.

“No!” You yelled. Deku looked taken aback and gave you a concerned look. A little embarrassed, you cleared your throat. “No. It’s ok, I uh, I’d prefer we don’t make a huge deal about this.”

Deku chuckled, “Oh, of course my lady, but, are you sure you’re ok to go visit him?”

“Please, I was the one who caught him in all of this mess.”

He smiled as he pushed one of the doors open with his foot, and headed down the steps almost as far as where your own room was, only before the last flight of stairs he took a bridge across to another tree where a small cluster of buildings sat. He gently slid out from besides you to open the front door. Sho laid flat on the bed in front, quietly sleeping. He looked much better now. The lump on his face had almost disappeared, wrapped heavily in clean bandages. He was shirtless as well, only more bandages covering his chest and parts of his arm. He had bruises everywhere, but otherwise, he looked taken care of. In addition to the bedside dresser, there was a small wooden table to his right with tools, bandages, and washcloths. He must’ve needed stitches. You teared up at the sight, feeling guilty again for all the trouble you caused.

Deku gently placed a hand on your shoulder again, leading you to a couch on the side of the room. “He’s got a concussion as well as deep cuts here and there, but he’ll make a full recovery in about three weeks. I’m going to have him stay in bed for a week and a half and then go from there.”

“It’s all my fault,” you whispered, voice cracking. At this point, you couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

“What? No, it’s those people in the forest. Wild people. They like to mess with anyone caught out at night. Except for kach- erm, The King. They’re terrified of him.”

You sniffed, “Bakugou, right?”

“Y-yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “we grew up together, so I’m used to calling him Kacchan. It was just a name and uh, oh, and, I’m sorry for the way he acted, he’s been out scouting food for a while, not eating at all. He thinks the forest is slowly going dry. He’s a good person, I promise, he just has a mean face. He must’ve scared you.”

“It’s ok,” you shook your head. “He was...he was right. About my people.” You wiped the tears from your eyes, staring at the wall in front of you. “My father, he likes money and power. He likes seeing happy and rich citizens. I used to think it was because he cared about them when really, it’s so he could show off to other kingdoms. I could hear them sometimes, talking about expanding towards the forest, cutting down more trees for a new library or something. He liked the pelts too, making me little stuffed rabbits when I was younger. I always thought it was ok though, I never knew people lived here. Now I feel awful.”

Deku gave you a kind smile. “Hey, but it wasn’t you, right? That was your dad. Don’t beat yourself up over his decisions.”

“Yeah” you sighed, “I guess.”

Deku’s smile grew bigger, and he pushed himself off the couch. You watched him walk over to the dresser and opened up one of the drawers to pull out a small blanket.

“Here” he said, unfolding the blanket and handing it to you. “I’m gonna go grab the medicinal tea I brought to your room, it’ll help with the pain. Uh, I’m not quite sure, but I think you may have slightly fractured a rib, so the best thing we could do is let it heal itself for a week. Who knows, it might just be bruised.”

“Thanks.” you say, laying yourself down on the couch in the meantime. After Deku came back with that tea, you passed out fast.

You had a dream. Your father was right in front of you, raising his sword above his head. He was scared of something, but you couldn’t tell what. The background was fuzzy, but you could see it was destroyed. You were raising your arms, protecting someone. Everything was in slow motion, fading slowly to white.

You spasmed awake, inhaling sharply. The image faded fast out of your mind. Shoto was snoring lightly on the bed, arm lazily resting atop his stomach. Good. Sighing, you set aside the blanket and walked out the door for some fresh air. The tea helped you a lot, even now. You didn’t even feel any pain. The moon shone brightly again as the breeze cooled your skin, giving you deja vu of the whole fiasco from before. Except this time, this was peaceful. You weren’t lost. No one was chasing you. And most importantly, you and Shoto were safe. Everything was good for now.

A large shadow fluttered in the corner of your eye, causing you to jump a bit. A red dragon with magnificent wings landed in the clearing by the kingdom gates, which were now closed shut. Its rider, the buttholeish King, yelled at the guards. They notched their arrows, shooting into the forest with expertise. A roar of some sort of animal retreated, rustling trees in its wake. Bakugou slid down from its neck to untie the fresh animal carcasses secured on the dragon’s back. Other soldiers came from the buildings to help carry them. Then, as Bakugou hopped to the ground, the dragon began to shrink back into itself. Wings folded into his backside, neck shortening, and body losing its color to turn into...Kirishima. It blew your mind. So you really did hit him hard back there. You had to apologize.

You rushed down the steps to find them, not really thinking about the fact that you had absolutely no idea where you were going. Nor did you really think about your stamina. Five sets of stairs and you were already panting.

As you leaned against the tree, trying to be careful with your breaths. It still didn’t hurt, but damn did you get tired quick. Just as you were turning to tackle another flight, a head of blonde hair appeared from below, scowling.

“Again? What is it with you and not sitting still?” he grumbled. You could hear the fatigue in the way his voice cracked.

You sat up from the tree, surprised that he climbed so fast. “I, er, wanted to apologize to Kirishima for the wound is all.” you rubbed your arm nervously as he stopped in front of you.

He eyes you with skepticism, probably wondering if you were telling the truth or not. “He’s gonna be taking care of the fresh meat for a while, and probably sleep till late afternoon knowing the lazy idiot.” he grumbles.

“Oh.” you say, still kind of embarrassed.

“And besides, he’s fine. He heals like it’s nothing.”

“Because he’s a dragon…?”

“Heh, something like that.”

“Oh.”

You two sit in silence for a moment after that. The awkwardness was almost unbearable.

“This reminds me, Shitty Hair wanted me to do something. Can you walk up the stairs?” he finally asks.

You shrug, “I’ll get up there eventually.” you respond.

“Well, I don’t have time to wait for ‘eventually’” he says, and lifts you up off the ground with both arms. He hugs you close to his bare chest and climbs the stairs with no problem, not even a slight change in breathing.

You help a bit, holding on to his neck for support. “Where-“

“I have to give you your shit back.” He grunts. “You lived so I don’t get to keep your sword.”

“What an awful mouth you have for a king.” You frown.

He smirks in response, “you haven’t seen the half of it, princess.”

Princess. The way he says “princess” sends shivers down your spine. You don’t know why, but you found yourself staring at his features again. Hair shining almost white again, gently waving in the wind. Piercing eyes, sharp jawline, defined collarbones…

“Oi, quit starin.” He interrupts your thoughts.

“Huh? Why...uh, why would I stare at you?” you say, your voice an octave higher.

He chuckles lightly while you try to look everywhere but him. He passes Shoto’s room and instead keeps heading upwards. Past the throne room too, taking a staircase to a room above it. He pushes it open to a gorgeous bedroom. The amount of oil lamps lining the walls could barely light up the entirety of the room. Giant bed with plush pillows along one wall, a balcony on the other side of the room, a door leading to what you think is a bathroom, and lots and lots of “trophies” hanging up on the wall. Helmets, swords, capes, horns, claws- must be from what he killed. One horn spread the length across the wall from his bed, being almost 10 feet long. You’d be terrified to know what creature that belonged to...or, had belonged to. Still, they were oddly beautiful. Clearly, they were a struggle to take down, judging by the damaged sword Bakugou wielded and the slight deformities in the trophies themselves. A crack down the middle of a knight’s helmet. Multiple tears in a blue and white feathered cape. It was almost surreal to you, that a man that could win all these vicious battles can gently place you on the soft cushions of one of the few couches that occupied his room.

Walking to his bed, he picked up an object propped up against the bed frame. He trunks to you, holding it flat against both hands. Your sword!

He unsheathed it, examining the blade in the dim lamplights with approval. “This is made of Awherian metal, better not lose it.” he says, sheathing it and handing it back to you. You take it gingerly, propping it by your feet.

“Awherian?” You repeated.

“Awherians used to be a tribe up in the North before going extinct a long time ago. Legends say they used to battle giants, cuz they ate their dragons...or some bullshit my old hag likes to talk about.” he crosses his arms.

He took notice of you lowering your head, and sighed, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“I uh,” he cleared his throat, “I shouldn’t have said all that. Earlier, I mean. Kirishima was right about being hungry, I don’t usually yell at women. Unless they’re trying to kill me, you know.”

“It’s ok,” you lean back into the couch, “you weren’t wrong. I said this to Deku earlier already: I thought my father was doing the right thing because he, well, he’s my father. If I had known there was a whole civilization here...I just...I hope I can help.”

He looked at you for a few seconds, calculating. Were you genuinely being honest? Maybe, he thought. He has his doubts still.

Bakugou was always weary about newcomers, and didn’t take too kindly to them. The only reason these two were brought in was because Kirishima urged him to. The king refused at first, reasoning that this could’ve been a set-up, that the cult that pranced the outskirts of their territory had a plan to send in spies this way. Of course, Kirishima says that there’s no way they would possibly injure their own like this, leaving them one step away from death, but Bakugou has seen their ways. They would eat each other if they wanted to. Eventually, he gave in on the reasoning that they weren’t the smartest of people. You seemed different. He ordered his closest men, including that shitty Deku to keep an eye on you both.

“Maybe you could. Who fuckin knows” He says, “but not when you can’t even climb fucking stairs without wheezing like a granny.” He says, earning a slightly offended whine from you. He smiles lightly, then points to his bed with a thumb. “Go.”

You look at him, perplexed. “In your bed?”

“No shit, it’s the middle of the night.” He narrows his eyes.

“I’m, b-but we’re not married-“ you stuttered.

Bakugou rolls his eyes, “relax princess, you have it to yourself. I just don’t feel like taking you back down to your room, or to that half n half bastard.”

With a grunt, he picks you up off the couch and onto the bed. The plush blankets swallowing you almost immediately.

“Do you like insulting people?” you ask as he throws the blanket over you.

“I dunno, do you like breathing, or is it just something you do?”

“You’re impossible.” You rolled your eyes. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“The couch.” He replies, undoing the buckles on his cape. “Sleep, we’ll have you properly taken care of tomorrow, starting with a bath.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Hey!” you pouted. A bath sounds wonderful though.

“You were supposed to be in bed all day today, but whatever.” he sighs. He folded his cape neatly and placed it on his bedside dresser, then flopped onto a couch on the far side of the room, facing away from you. Eventually, his muscles relaxed and you could hear soft puffs of breaths as he slept.

It was calming in a way. Every night, even as a small child afraid of the dark spaces in your room, you slept alone. You had to overcome that fear alone, your mother definitely didn’t want you bothering her, and your father was far too tired from dealing with the kingdom all day. But knowing someone else was in the room felt, in an odd way, nice. You drifted off again, but this time, without dreams.

Tag List: @pasteldaze @decayz @akihoeeeeeeeee @blinkingsuns @stan-josie @skylan666 @hypothesaurus

Let me know if you’d like to be in the tag list!❤️

[apexqueenie]

I swear, I’m workin on Pt3😭😭😭

[weebianplebeian]

Ayy thanks for the tag @the-nysh

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

relationship status: single (ish)

favorite color: light blue or purple

three favorite foods: chicken katsu, hot pot, roast duck

song stuck in my head: Let It Happen- Tame Impala (the guitar riff WHEW)

last song I listened to: Venus- Lady Gaga

last thing I googled: Erik from animal crossing cause I got him in my campsite today 🥺

time: 1:56am

dream trip: kinda cliche but Japan. Also Canada probably.

anything I really want: a good job in this broken economy ahaha

Tagging (if you want!!!): @cherryhands, @foilfreak, @saiizel, @freedomaboveallelse, @gottahaveguts, @wanshotta, @stolen-ass-name

[freedomaboveallelse]

Thank you so much for tagging me @weebianplebeian and @handlewcaare <3 <3 Much love!

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

relationship status: in a relationship

favorite color: black (also pastel colors)

three favorite foods: shrimp and spaghetti aglio e olio, butter-basted rib-eye steak/t-bone steak, ebi tempura

song stuck in my head: Let It Happen - Tame Impala <3

last song I listened to: Where We Started - Lost Sky, Jex

last thing I googled: starbucks grounds for your garden

time: is relative pff

dream trip: Hagia Sophia, Galata Tower in Turkey; Maldives; Bali, Indonesia; Palawan, Philippines; Jeju Island, South Korea; Ao Island, Japan

anything I really want: to finish my master’s degree

Tagging: @garous-nipple @fishing-for-blood @dacian-assassin @blackkpridee

[hearts4niah]

awwweeeee thank u for thinking of me🙈❤️❤️

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

relationship status: single

favorite color: yellow, but ive been starting to like green and brown lately

three favorite foods: orange chicken, big fat juicy steak, red velvet cake

song stuck in my head: Streets by Doja Cat

last song i listen to: 80/20 by Chloe x Halle

last thing i googled: discount calculator….☠️

time: 11:56AM

dream trip: Egypt!!

anything i really want: more skincare products (I would like to start a collection 😊)

Tagging: @noticemedeku, @sneck-lemonade, @sems-diarie, @hypothesaurus (only if u want too ofc 💕)

[hypothesaurus]

🥰 oh my gosh thank you sm!!! I love seeing these ahh

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

relationship status: in a relationship

favorite color: that light green/blue pastel color mint? seafoam green? idk

three favorite foods: potato salad, broccoli cheddar soup, literally any bread lmao

song stuck in my head: Monsters by All Time Low

last song I listened to: Jenny by Nothing More

last thing I googled: KMT2A rearrangement aml

time: 1:57pm

dream trip: New Zealand 🏔

anything I really want: a good night’s sleep, damn 😔

tagging: @saltyfuckingslushy @xerox-candybar @apexqueenie if u wanna :3

[apexqueenie]

Yayyyy! Thank you for the tag @hypothesaurus ily!!! It makes me so happy to see this notif❤️

Rules: Tag 10 people you want to get to know better

Relationship status: taken by @decayedz 🥰

Favorite color: Deep reds like Scarlet, silver, and Green-Blues

Three favorite foods: Baked Sushi, Panko Breaded Fish, and Chicken Katsu

Song stuck in my head: Billie Jean by Micheal Jackson...IDK WHY, HELP

Last song I listened to: Floating by Alina Baraz and Khalid, very dreamy

Last thing I googled: how to stop your fish from stealing the other fish’s food😭

Time: 11:36pm

Dream trip: Caribbean Islands/Japan

Anything I really want: For Katsuki Bakugou to marry me already😩. Ik, impossible, but damn I really love him.

Tagging @decayedz @aforrestofstuff @bubblegum-writes @akihoeeeeeeeee

[apexqueenie]

Hey, I noticed your posts aren't getting as many notes as they used to, but your doing great! I'm excited to know where your new series goes!

Awwweeee thanks, I’m just happy to write🥰

Thanks for sticking along too, I appreciate you!

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader, Medieval AU) Ch 2

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: Second Chapter! Im so excited for you all to read!

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

Dear my beloved father, 

It breaks my heart to write this letter on such a short notice, but my feelings have become too strong to ignore. This wedding, although it brings me great joy, overwhelms my heart to a great extent. Please understand, I will be with Shoto throughout this journey, to find time for myself before I devote my duties to being a Queen. Do not fret, I have made this decision on my own, and my wish is that our kingdoms keep the peace during this time. 

With love,

(Y/n).

“Well, my letter is done, did you write yours?” you ask Shoto.

He hands you his piece of paper, and you read the messy handwriting on it. 

Enji,

(Y/n) needs me, don’t declare war on anyone. Bye.

Shoto

You look back at him, puzzled. “Sho, is this really what you’re…?”

“He doesn’t need anything else from me. He’s never been a good father.” he says. “Besides, I only did it because you asked me to.”

“Well, it’s something,” you sigh, putting his letter next to yours on the dresser before sliding your bag and sword over your back. Shoto does the same and the both of you start to climb the large window in your chambers. With a gentle push of the glass, the warm summer breeze finds its way into your room, easing a bit of your nerves. The moon was full, its light illuminating the cloudless sky and showering the forest in front of you with a magical glow.

It’s been two days since the announcement of your wedding. You brought the news up to Ochako, who was initially ecstatic… until she heard the rest of the story and your “plan”. With a heavy heart, she agreed to prepare you for the trip, secretly packing long lasting foods, tea, and water containers for your journey. 

“When will you return?” she asks

“I’m not sure, but I promise, I’ll be safe” you reassure. “In the morning, make sure you are the first to come into my room, and bring the letters to my father with panic. That way, you’ll be safe from his suspicion, ok?”

With that, she grasped you into a tight hug, tears flowing from her eyes. “I’m going to miss you”

“I’m going to miss you too,” you say, eyes tearing up as well, “You were always like a sister to me...thank you...for everything”

You felt deep sorrow at having to leave her behind, but you didn’t want her to get involved in your trouble. If the three of  you were ever caught, the most you and Shoto would get is a slap on the wrist and an extravagant wedding. For her...death for defying the king. It sent shivers down your spine just thinking about it. 

“Careful” Sho says, holding your arm to support you as you grab onto the rope attached to the metal railings of your window. You slid down with your feet as Sho taught you and landed on the grass with a soft thump. Moments later, he follows. 

You take one last look at your home, saying a silent goodbye to everything you knew, before heading into the forest in the opposite direction from where Shoto came from. In this general direction, Ochako’s grandmother resided in a peaceful town, where she is cared for by the locals. There, you’ll be able to prolong your wedding and figure out how to stop it without causing an outrage. It might not even be possible, but you decided to cross that bridge when you got there.

Ocha left her grandmother’s house when offered a position to serve a king, which was a great honor to many small towns. You remember how excited you were when you were told you were getting a personal handmaiden, one that was close to your age. You remember the time you two would spend in your room playing together, as if she were another princess. A sad smile ghosted your lips. Sho took notice, and gently rubbed your shoulder as you two got closer to the forest edge. You couldn’t bring yourself to look back. 

***

A couple of hours into the journey, your legs felt as they were going to collapse. Sure, you ran around the castle and gardens often, but that did little to prepare you for the untamed ground of the wild forest. For the 50th time, you almost face-planted from tripping over a root.

Shoto seemed unbothered by his surroundings, barely giving any indication of whether or not he was tired. “(y/n), why don’t we camp here for tonight?” he asks as the two of you come up to a slight clearing. 

You nod, trudging up to one of the trees and sliding to the floor against it. Shoto hands you his pack with the blankets attached to it.

“I’m going to find some firewood for tonight, sit tight,” he says, walking into the lush woods.

You slide off your own pack and pull out your water canister for a good long swig before getting to work on unrolling the thick fabric you’ll be sleeping on tonight. Placing a hand on one of the blankets, you look around, unsure of whether or not you should. The night was unsettling, especially in these woods. Crickets chirped everywhere around you, and the sound of the leaves rustling in the trees seemed a lot more apparent now that Sho wasn’t with you. But something else was off. You were further into the forest than you’ve ever been before, your last recognizable landmark was walked by only half an hour into your journey. 

Obviously, the forest got denser the further you strayed into it, but the space between the trees was unnaturally dark. No matter how long you tried to stare into it, your eyes wouldn’t seem to adjust. The aura emitting from the spaces felt like it was warning you to stay out. You were trespassing. The slim spaces between the leaves from above was what little light you had in this clearing, but it was hard to distinguish what were leaves and what were trees. They were just black shapes, like the rest of your surroundings. What was worse was that it seemed like you were being watched. You could’ve sworn something moved within the shadows. 

As quietly as you could, you slipped your bag back on, unsheathing your sword in one hand and holding Shoto’s bag in the other. You took another glance at your surroundings, and as sure as you could possibly be, you saw a faint image of a gleaming pair- no, two pairs of eyes in the trees ahead of you. 

Terrified, you immediately turned in the direction Sho left and ran at full sprint to find him. “SHO?” you yell, weaving your way around the trees. “SHO!”

Branches scratched your arms and face as you desperately searched for him, roots seemingly getting more abundant as they tried to trip you the further you fell into panic. You swear on your heart that you could hear the echoes of hyena-like laughing.

Finally, you hear Sho’s voice to your right. Blindly, you call back while heading in that general direction, until you could see him. “We’re not alone here” you pant, shoving the bag in his arms.

Without a second to spare, the two of you run off side by side, Shoto slinging his bag over his shoulders and grabbing his sword in the process. 

From above, you can hear a voice cry out, “Aw, back together already? What a shame! We spent all this time waiting for a chance like this and you catch on a little too quickly- but that’s ok, nothing wrong with a good chase, am I right?” He laughs. 

“I wonder what their blood tastes like....” a female voice giggles feverishly.

The both of you stick close to one another, but it was difficult to navigate in the darkness. The voices echoed in the vast forest, seeming to be everywhere and nowhere at once. They mocked you two, amused at how lost and hopeless you were on their turf. They were like cats, toying with mice.

In the midst of your blind running, you felt a sharp pain erupt from your left cheek. You cried out, losing a bit of your footing while you covered your wound. Shoto caught your free arm in time, guiding you around a tree you were about to hit. The female let out a pleasured sigh, and for a slight second, you caught a glimpse of her tongue slip over the knife covered in your blood.

“They’re delicious” she squealed to her partner, “Can we catch them now? Can we?”

He laughed in response, “I guess we should, while they’re still warm.”

Immediately, you received a harsh kick to the side, knocking you away from Shoto.

“(Y/N)-!” he yelled, before he was given the same treatment and tossed aside in the darkness.

Groaning, you scrambled to get up, pure adrenaline clamping your hand shut on your sword. You heard the leaves shift behind you and instinctively swung backhanded. It paid off, as your attacker, the female, was caught off guard. A fresh gash on her forearm started to paint her hand red when you turned to look at her. 

You could see her figure better now, a slim, pale haired girl about your age with a deep blush on her face. She donned a black, gauze-like fabric around the majority of her body, which you assumed to be the reason behind her stealth. She creeped you out.

“Do you like blood too?” she asked in the same feverish tone she used before. 

You didn’t answer, only taking a defensive stance. From what you could see, she only had a small dagger with her- she should be at a disadvantage...right? Well, you were dead wrong.

She was agile. Like a fox, she wrapped around the trees with ease, spinning above you as she bounded between you and your surroundings. If you weren’t in immediate danger, you would’ve stopped to watch her movements in awe. With each chance she got, she sliced into your skin and into the fabric of your clothes. She took off large chunks of your dress and ripped an entire sleeve off of you, dyeing the fabric with your blood. You tried your best to parry her fast movements and catch her off guard again, but you were stuck in the defensive. She, on the other hand, was still playing with you, giggling each time she branded you with a new cut.

From somewhere else in the forest, you could hear the clanging of metal as Shoto fought off the second attacker. Shoto was much more skilled at sword fighting than you, but even he sounded like he was struggling. Fear was crawling it’s way into every fiber of your being with every second. 

You’ve always tried to prepare for this moment, but the real thing was much more horrifying than your imagination. These people were really out to kill you in their own, sick way. Is this how it ends?

Your attacker knocked you backwards with a kick, instantly pouncing on your neck as soon as you touched the ground. The impact caused you to lose your grip on your sword, and it fell just out of reach.

“You’re so pretty,” she said, licking the first wound she inflicted on your cheek. You hear Shoto yell out loudly in pain, but it was quickly replaced with a buzzing in your ears as you were deprived of air. You grabbed the hands latched on to your throat, but it was useless. Her grip was impossibly strong. “-Oh,” she smiled, “maybe they’ll let me keep you as a pet-“

-She wasn’t able to complete that thought. An ear shattering roar erupted from nearby, causing the girl to snap her head in all different directions. She looked off in one direction and nodded, signaling to her partner.

“Awwww, we have to go now,” she pouted, “I’ll get you next time.” With that, she jumped back into the forest, leaving you choking for air. Another shadow soon followed her, presumably the male attacker.

Sluggishly, you brought yourself to your knees and reached for your sword. You rapidly tried to blink the black spots in your vision away, almost keeling over as you heaved. You needed to hurry and get to Shoto. Whatever that roar was, it was much more dangerous than these guys. 

The lack of air messed with your sense of time. You weren’t sure how long you’ve been there, but it was too long. Directly behind you, a low growl erupted from the snout of...a terrifyingly large creature. How did it do that? You were afraid to look behind. Before you could think, your instincts kicked in and your arms sliced a good sized cut into the snout of this creature. It swung its head back, a bit of its blood landing around you. You didn’t stand around to analyze it, but it was huge.

As it roared in pain, you took the opportunity to dash away from it in the opposite direction of Shoto. You couldn’t risk it finding him. You didn’t know where he was or what his state of being is, but you knew he was injured. 

The beast crashed against the trees as it wailed, paying you no mind as you ran in the cover of darkness. For once, you were glad it was pitch black. It stomped quite a bit away from Sho, knocking over the surroundingsin its wake. Carefully, you made a large loop back around, conscious of every step you took while your heart pounded in your ears. Finally, in the dark, you could see the faint glint of his sword on the leafy ground.

As you shuffled towards it, you could see him lying a couple feet away, unconscious and bleeding from several places. He lay next to a small ditch, too small to be a life threatening fall, but big enough to be an uncomfortable ride down. He must’ve been cornered here, you think. You sheath your sword and push your wobbly legs to reach him faster.

“Sho!” You whispered, collapsing on your knees next to him. You’ve never seen him in worse shape, in fact, you’ve never seen anyone this bad before. His head lay in a puddle of blood, and fear gripped your heart as you pressed two fingers to his neck looking for a pulse. You prayed to a god, any god, to feel a beat underneath your touch. Tears stained your face as the realization hit you. 

He was alive.

You felt a mixture of relief, terror, and guilt. He wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you. You needed to get him medical attention, quick, but you don’t know a single thing about first aid. How are you going to help him now? On the left side of his head, a giant welt formed where most of the blood came from. Deep cuts littered his clothing, and you find an especially nasty gash on his arm. This wasn’t good.

Another roar pulled you out of your thoughts and you quickly got a move on. You had to get him to safety first.

Reaching for Shoto’s sword, you fling it down into the ditch. Hiding there was probably your best chance at survival. As gently, but quickly as you could muster, you dragged Shoto’s limp body down the ditch, using your legs to slow your slide and cushion his injured head. His face contorted a bit, and you winced at the pain you were probably causing him. ‘Sorry, Sho’ you thought to yourself. The creature’s thumping were still quite a distance away, but they were getting closer. It probably heard the dirt shift from your feet.

Quickly, you located Shoto’s sword again, sliding it in the direction you were headed. A few yards away, you see a decently sized bush you could hide in. If you could just get there…

Another roar vibrated the ground, even closer than the last one. You tugged at Shoto desperately, but the boy was heavy, and even unconsciously, he groaned in pain. 

So here you were: lost, scared, and soon to be food for whatever beast was heading straight towards you. This could’ve been avoided if you’d just stayed and talked.. but the truth was, you were scared. You didn’t want to stay and face your father, you wanted to run away. Just like with everything else in your life as a princess, you could run away and someone else would fix it for you. But you were alone here. No one was going to fix your problems. For a moment, you drowned out the sounds of the forest, and your mind cleared. You’ve accepted your fate. You weren’t going to run away from anything, anymore. You ran up to the top of the ditch, ready to be the only obstacle between the monster and Sho. 

At the very least, you could die protecting your best friend. 

You can hear the thundering stomps of the beast grow louder and louder, reacting to the noise of your shuffling.

“Come at me you ugly bastard! I’m not afraid of you!” you screamed, your sword at the ready. 

…

The forest truly fell silent, save for the rustling branches above.

Then, the sound of footsteps directly in front of you. Human footsteps.

“You should be” a low voice growled out. 

Under a single ray of moonlight, a man walked out, shirtless and caped in tattered fabric. His hair appeared almost white, like a halo framing his blood red eyes. Deep shadows defining his muscles would put any and every man in your kingdom to shame. And the way he carried himself, proud and robust, had you really staring in awe.

With a single glance, he was simultaneously the most beautiful and terrifying person you’ve ever seen.

And he was your enemy.

In his hand, glittered a jagged cutlass, chipped from the many battles it went through. Slowly, he raised it to yours, sliding metal against metal in a relaxed state. He was not intimidated in the slightest.

“First you wake me up, hurt my friend over there, then call him ugly…” he says, pacing around your rigid figure. “Do you know what I do to people who wake me up before I want to?”. He begins to trace his blade along your jawline, but you’ve had enough cuts for today.

You swing towards him at lighting speed, surprising yourself at your sudden surge of energy, but he parries it with one arm easily. You swing two more times, and each time he deflects. Slight amusement curls his mouth upwards. 

“So, you’ve got the bite to match the bark, huh?” He smirks, suddenly hunching into an attacking state. 

Quicker than you could comprehend, he launched himself at you, relentlessly releasing blow after blow. You were back in the defensive. You parried and dodged around trees whenever you could, but he left no opening for attacks. He yelled a lot, challenging you to strike back. 

“C’mon, where’d all that speed go, hah?”, “Don’t you run away, dammit!”, “you swing like a hag!” He would say

-But strangely enough, every time you fell, he gave you time to stand back up. Every time you left yourself vulnerable, he held back, not once maiming you.

What’s his deal?

You felt like a kid again, holding the wooden sword Shoto handed you as he taught you your first moves. But this was different. It was like this man was judging you- grading you almost.

In one particularly hard hit, you lost your grip, and your sword bounced off to the side as you landed on your back. Sweat dripped down the sides of your head as you rolled over, exhausted. 

He picked up your sword and examined it in the dim light. “So which royal douche did you steal this from?” He asked.

“It’s mine,” you rasped, “and you have no business touching it-“

“Everything here is my business” he snaps, stabbing your sword into the ground next to you. “Now get up and fight, thief!”

And you tried. “I’m not… a thief…” you grunted. You tried to push yourself up off the ground with shaky arms, but your fatigue overwhelmed your anger, and you fell back towards the Earth. The leaves and grass were cool, urging you to take a nice, long, eternal nap. 

“Sho...to…” you mumbled, reaching out towards the ditch where he lay.

Then sleep overtook you.

***

Tag List: @pasteldaze @decayedz @blubglub @akihoeeeeeeeee​ @bubblegum-writes​

[imarizaki]

Name your 2d lover(s) and tag a few people to do this

- 🆗

omg i have far too many CBIB but for the sake of this, i’ll keep it haikyuu centered!! so, mainly: kenma, akaashi, osamu, suna, and ushiwaka

tagging: @fukurodianthus @syrenblubs @tsukishumai @forgetou @nekomabvc @aitarose + anyone else who wants to!!

[fukurodianthus]

pls i’ve lost count of my self ships at this point-

but these are my main daddies🤩bakugou, aizawa, shinsou, hawks, levi, ukai (jr ofc🙄 but ukai sr is sexc too-), terushima, tsukishima, ushiwaka, asahi, nishinoya, atsumu

tagging: @yourlocalfrenchfrie @koutarousangel @hajimewhore @gellysticks @artemisnotfowl + any moots who wanna do this!

[oikirstein]

pls not ukai sr. IVE HAD ENOUGH

anyway, i’ve also lost count of everyone i simp for so i’ll put the main five of each gender here:

oikawa, jean, todoroki, suna, & suga

mikasa, kirigiri, yuri, annie, & mai

tagging: @aitarose @hikariakaashi @laineywritesstuff @sugas-cookie @tsukishumai + anyone else that wants to join !

[hikariakaashi-deactivated202107]

ok did my dumbass not hit rb or somethin? idk i went back to add gojo and it was just gone? huh weird ok…

anyway my mains from haikyuu are akaashi, iwa, and oikawa. but like other than that it’s kaminari, bakugo, momo, gojo, rin matsuoka, oh and makoto oh also kyoya haha

tagging - @nekomabvc @sugas-cookie @hvnlydmn @akaashi-bby @sweetsamus & anyone else who wants to! 😚

[toraashi]

okay my top 2d lovers:

from haikyuu: obviously akaashi. oikawa is a close second

other: LITERALLY megumi and inumaki from jjk. also saiki PLS the way I’d die for him. Dazai from bsd used to be high up too but I haven’t watched bsd in forever so… ALSOOOO LISTEN LITERALLY MARY FROM KAKEGURUI I would let that woman do anything to me she could legit rip my throat out and I’d literally be in tears thanking her okay that’s all bye

tagging: @u-make-my-heart-tsumtsum @smolmo @waitforitillwritemywayout @venuskoushi @mindfulvenus

[kentoangel]

wow, uh 😳 i have so many, lol

but my top ones are probably: sugawara, oikawa, kuroo & sakusa from haikyuu!! and then gojo and nanami from jjk ‘cause i like older men. and levi ackerman and mikasa ackerman + eren from aot! i also really love dazai and oda from bsd! and laurent thierry from great pretender absolutely owns my heart, i’m in love w/ him <3

tagging: @arminswifeasfk @basket-flower-chick @hisokaslittlepogchamp @applepiekyuu and anyone else who would like to participate!!

[basket-flower-chick-deactivated]

thank you for the tag vale! and also @catchmewiddershins​ ! love you guys ahhh <3

ok well damn, where do I begin?

From aot: Eren, Connie (yes it’s koi’s fault), Levi, Armin, Porco + Mikasa and Pieck.  From bsd: Akutagawa! Chuuya! Yosano + Tachihara and Sigma!   From hxh: Kurapika! Leorio, Machi and sometimes Chrollo when I am having a bad day :)   From hq: Tsukishima (honestly a big simp), Tanaka, Oikawa and idk literally everyone else!   From ffvii: Reno! Rufus, Aerith, Cid and Cloud!   and I legit have so many more, namely: boba fett, bonnie gold, ponyboy curtis and near!

tagging: @callmepromise , @mikasasmoochie , @emptyxstar , @pockou , @poisonivy-music , @webkinzfroggie , @missmorosis , @aangzeo , @erenjaegersimp , @ererokii , @erimins , @sof-yeager , @flaminghottiddies , @yakshaswish , @namischild  (if you want to!) + everyone else!

[pockou]

ty for tagging me vi 🖤

uhhh

for aot, mainly connie & jean, kinda porco

for tg, touka and urie!

yeah thats it lmao i dont really simp or whtv outside of those two!

tagging @alert-arlert @jeankirstins @characterswithtrauma + anyone else who wants to!

[marsandsaturn]

kou! ily

from aot: eren, levi, jean,historia, and pieck

from hq: kageyama, oikawa, kenma, bokuto, akaashi, iwazumi, hinata, ukai

from my hero academia(even though i haven’t caught up on the anime, ive seen clips of certain characters): deku, bakugo, todoroki, denk, hawks, shigaraki, aizawa, shinsou, dabi

there’s probably more but i don’t remember ive watch to many animes to remember everyone lmao

tagging: @oikslut (is it okay if i tag you? idk) @eremiie

[eremiie]

thank you for the tag!

from aot; eren, levi.

from naruto; itachi.

that’s literally it, i don’t really simp for that many characters, i might still consider dabi a lover but no, not really😔

tagging; @junisfics @shisoaya + whoever wants to do this!

[junisfics]

from aot: eren, armin, pieck,

from mha: todoroki, shinsou, hawks, bakugou

from haikyuu: kageyama, atsumu, bokuto, oikawa, suna

tagging: @alert-arlert + @aramiih + anyone else who wants to join !!!

[aramiih-deactivated20210227]

naruto : naruto, itachi, hidan, pain shikamaru

aot : armin n yelena

mha : kirishima, dabi, denki

hq : suna😩, tsukki, atsumu, tanaka, sakusa

tagging: @katsukied @anzais @murmikaa + anyone else

[murmikaa]

aot: mikasa, jean, porco

haikyuu: atsumu, kuroo, kenma

mha: bakagou

tagging: @welcometotheclubhoe @onyxoverride @puredivinity + anyone who wants to join 🥰

[welcometotheclubhoe-deactivated]

thank you mika! 💞

attack on titan: jean + eren + zeke

jujutsu kaisen: maki + nobara + nanami

haikyuu: bokuto + daichi + osamu

tagging: @xiaoli-i , @1252291 and anyone else that wants to do it!

[1252291-deactivated20250321]

shoutout 2 my homie jay for tagging me. i’m just gna include my hyper-focuses n then a mix of whoever else, y’know. 

aot: reiner ( you would never know with how much i talk about everybody else, but he is my #1 pls don’t look at me ), bertholdt, levi, zeke. porco……….smtimes…….yes. 

dn: mello, matt . 

overall: howl, ashitaka + san (step on ME). i’m sure there’s more bc my parents sat me down in front of everything 2D and said ok watch. 

tagging: @setenuma ,  + anybody else!  i got ( 2 ) friends on this site

[setenuma-deactivated20210305]

niaaaaaa bb thanks for the tag, THIS WAS MADE FOR ME! <3

AOT: Levi (duh I feel like that’s obvious— I own a tea shop with the man), Eren (S4 eren got me feeling a certain way), Porco (it’s self-explanatory), Armin <3 (somebody protect this man please), Jean (they don’t call him the horse for no reasons >:) — okay nevermind imma log out now),Zeke (don’t tell levi but I kinda like his monke ass :P),Yelena (I said what I said and I meant what I said.)

MHA: Izuku (can we all collectively agree deku is SO fine?), Katsuki (I just like men to yell at me sometimes (: ), Shouto (I just love him so much), Tamaki (HES SO PRECIOUS, HE MAKES MY SEROTONIN LEVELS GO UP), Dabi (again self-explanatory— he’d fucking dabi.), Kai (okay look, overhaul is fucking hot.), Aizawa (okay. i have daddy issues. so what? who doesn’t)

HQ: Asahi. Just Asahi. (and a little bit of the whole karasuno, nekoma, johsai, shiratorizawa, inarizaki gang but shhhhh)

TAGGING: @torpid-writes @decayedz @bakugohoex @katsuhera @keisurin

[decayz-deactivated20211102]

— thanks for the tag soft! this seems fun so ima write one for each fandom i write for.

HQ — kenma kozume + tanaka ryuunosuke

MHA — toga himiko + bakugou katsuki

JJK — takuma ino + megumi fushiguro

OPM — metal bat + zombieman

BONUS — LEVI! ( @setenuma, please tell him i love him >_<) 707 from mysticmessenger, Ace and Law from One Piece!

TAGGING — @kc-braun + @hero–for–fun + @unclegarou + @hiro-gari + @mguqiis + @anyone! (ignore it you want too!)

[hiro-gari]

yaaaas I love this!! thank u for the tag scar~

AOT - Levi ಠ_ಠ

OPM - Garouu bb 🐺

MHA - Bakugo & ✨Suneater✨

and of course I must include my first anime crush,,, angery catboy Kyo Sohma

tagging @perpetuallyobsessed @apexqueenie @blubglub if u wanna!!

[apexqueenie]

Ooooooooooooh nice, thanks for the tag!!! I got a couple daddies and mamis up in this biz✨

MHA: My number one fav of all time, and honestly my dream guy, Bakugou. If he was real, Aw man, panties would drop so hard, they’d dig a hole to China. Kirishima is my second, I love my little snarky boy💕

AOT: Leviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (obvs reasons)

OPM: wheeeeeew, I got a thing for Hot Cyborgs...Genos is one of em.

Naruto: Gotta love Kakashi...but I also rlly love Itachi...and Madara...you know what, Sharingan men in general.

Kakegerui: Yumeko and Kirari are hot mamas

Noragami: Yato and Bishamonten could take me in any day, any time

Akame ga Kill: Esdeath....

Tagging: @hypothesaurus @akihoeeeeeeeee @bubblegum-writes + anyone who wants to do dis❤️

[apexqueenie]

The moon is so beautiful tonight, I just had to draw it to preserve the memory~

[apexqueenie]

The Blood King (Bakugou x Reader, Medieval AU) Ch1

Synopsis: In fairytales, princesses like you got to marry handsome princes like your best friend Shoto, but you’re not living a fairytale. You find the harsh realities a punch to the face as you and Sho run away outside palace grounds and into the real world. But the harsh brings out the beautiful, and in your case, it took the form of the scarlet covered barbarian king, whose territory you disturbed.

A/N: This is the first long series that I’m writing, I hope you all enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, a bit of violence (This is Bakugou lol), eventual smut (I’ll put a warning dw, totally skippable)

[Ch1]->[Ch2]->[Ch3]->[Ch4]->[Ch5]->[Ch6]

You didn’t know how much more badly a plan could go, but here you were, lost, wounded, and scared in the middle of the freaking forest, the sound of a very angry beast trailing after you. You tugged at the unconscious man on the floor, his head bleeding severely. He was losing too much blood and you couldn’t keep pulling him along without stopping the bleeding first. Your only option was to fight. How did this all start exactly? Well, it started when you decided to ditch your wedding.

***

In a daze, you pulled yourself from your slumber, rising to the sound of gentle knocks at your door. “Who’s there?” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. 

You shivered slightly and crossed your arms, realizing that you had kicked off your blankets in your sleep. Your best handmaiden, Ochako, barged in, not even bothering to answer the question. 

“Good morning princess” she sang delightfully as she opened your large curtains, allowing the morning light to spill into the huge room. Ochako, although not being of royal blood, was a close friend of yours throughout the years. It was her job to serve you, but you loved her and treated her as your sister. 

“Chako, I told you (y/n) is fine when we’re alone” you said with a yawn.

Ochako hummed as she walked to your wardrobe, sifting through it for the perfect dress. “Ah, but you see your highness, we aren’t alone.”

Before you could question her, a familiar face peeked around the door, heterochromic eyes glancing around the room. “Hi” he says before entering the room and closing the doors behind him.

“SHO!!!” You yelled, launching yourself out of your bed to give your childhood friend a big hug. You haven’t seen him since last summer.

The both of your fathers were Kings of kingdoms who traded with one another, meeting in person once a year to discuss the details. While they both enjoyed a bit of drinking and chess, you and Shoto ran around the gardens barefooted with sticks in hand for fake swordplay. They were always about knights and dragons, and since there were only two of you, you took turns being the dragon or the knight. Princesses weren’t taught to practice swordplay, so Shoto took it upon himself to be your mentor. He taught you what he remembered from his private lessons, insisting that if you were to meet a real dragon like in your games, you would be able to fight it off. 

“But won’t you be here to protect me?” you asked, lowering your stick.

“Yeah,” he said, “but when we meet a real dragon, we’ll be protecting each other.”

Every year, you two would meet to run around the gardens, hiding from your handmaidens and butlers until meal time. Every year, you would shy a bit away from the games and start sparring for real, Sho providing the wooden swords to teach you what he’s learned from the top sword fighters across the continent. Every year your blades danced with his until the both of you could read each other’s movements with a single glance. And every year, you felt a growing affection for the boy that you were too afraid to bring up. 

The two of you talked about your home lives often, sharing stories and complaints about being “perfect” and a “role model” to your citizens. Shoto’s father constantly pushes everyone in their family to their limits, causing the Queen to go insane and burn Shoto, leaving a signature red scar on his left eye. While she was locked in the medical housing part of the castle, Shoto started to understand why his mother lost her mind and silently started to rebel against his father. Your father was similar, always correcting you and forcing you to practice perfect mannerisms. You were his first born, you were supposed to be the perfect example of what a future Queen was to be, especially for your younger siblings; the second born son barely of age to train by sword. If you were anything less, you were to be locked in your room until you had time to “reflect”, your maids unable to speak to you in fear that the King would hear and throw them in the dungeon. Your mother, being too vain to involve herself with any of her children, never saw any of you until your birthdays. She opted to drown herself in self-pampering every other day. Both of your lives were royal hell until “The Meeting”, where the both of you could forget about being perfect for a day.  

You wrapped your arms around Shoto’s neck and buried your face in the crook of his neck, the both of you clutching each other close. His body radiated its own heat, warming you more than the thin fabric of your nightdress could. You pulled away, realising he got even taller this year. 

“I missed you Sho!” you smiled.

“Likewise” he replied, slinging his sword from his back, only there was another object wrapped in silk next to it. “Did...anything interesting happen this year?” 

“Hmmm,” you pondered, walking to your vanity and grabbing a brush. “Well, Jinko is pregnant again.”

“Your mother?”

“Heh, she was never around enough to be a ‘mother’, she’s merely my birth-giver.” you snorted, combing your soft locks. 

“So, is that the fourth…?”

“Fifth.”

“Well then.”

“Yep, and as soon as she’s done pushing it out, she’ll ignore it 364 days of the year. Hell, Ocha was there more for me than my mother ever could be” you say, earning a small blush from the girl.

Shoto sighed, taking a seat on the edge of your bed and placing his sword next to him. 

“Anyways, what’s the meeting about this time?” you asked now moving onto cleaning your face.

“That’s… uh...well, I have to talk to you about something soon, but first, I brought you a gift” Sho said a bit awkwardly. He turned and handed you the silk wrapped object. You took it gently, afraid of breaking it, that was, until you unwrapped it. Your mouth dropped as you felt the silk fall off and onto the floor, completely forgotten as you held up the object in awe. In your hand was a long silver blade engraved with delicately curved patterns surrounding a single mother pearl at the center and down the blade itself. The hilt fit perfectly in your hands, the weight completely balanced. 

You were damn near about to cry. “Sho...its-”

“Get dressed so we can try it out” he smiles and hands you the sheath.

Giddily, you sheath your sword and headed to the dressing curtain where Ochako waited for you with a big smile. She seemed to have known about this whole visit because she held up a bit more of a casual dress, one that wasn’t as long as it normally would be. You never understood why you had to wear dresses as a princess, but it couldn’t be helped, you had no control over your clothing choices. Ochako however, had the power to hem the dresses for you so you could run with a bit more freedom. 

***

“Sho! I can’t believe you did this! How’d you manage to sneak this by your dad?” you ask once you are dressed. You moved to take the direct route to the gardens, but Shoto pulled you to a different route around. “Sho?”

“That’s the thing I have to talk to you about,” he said, peeking into all the rooms and hallways before entering, “I don’t want to run into anyone else right now.” He pulls you along swiftly until you reach the gardens, taking one last look around you before relaxing a bit.

“Hey, Sho, what the heck is going on?” you ask, lowering your voice.

The boy in front of you couldn’t look you in the eyes. He was worried about something, which was totally uncharacteristic of him. Trying to ease his nerves, you reach out and gently squeeze his hand, but he doesn’t respond back. Instead, he just sighs, finally about to say something.

“So...you know how we...always meet up every year?” he asks.

You nod, slightly confused at where this was going.

“Well, our fathers have been discussing…”

“Discussing what?”

“Something very.. special for next week-”

“My birthday isn’t for a couple of months”

“It’s not that-”

“Then?”

He turned his head and sighed. 

“...Discussing our marriage…” he trails off.

“Sho! Oh wow, This-this is great!” you beamed. You always thought about the day you’ll have to marry someone. Your role as a princess was to marry a prince, and become a beloved Queen to your kingdom. You dreaded that it would be for trading purposes, that you’d have to marry some pudgy old man so that your father could share more land, but you had the option to marry your best friend! Anyone would be delighted at the thought...anyone but Shoto.

Your smile quickly faded as you studied his face. He expressed a mix of guilt, awkwardness, worry, and something you haven’t seen before…was that fear?

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, still unable to look at you, “I can’t do this-”

“Is it too early still? Because it’s ok, we don’t have to-” The words stung, but you couldn’t let that get to you.

“No! No, that’s not it, it’s just that I can’t”

“You can’t what? Tell me what so I can help you.”

“I… I love you (y/n), just...not like that” he says, furrowing his eyebrows.

“What? Wait, what do you mean?” you asked, stomach dropping.

“I just mean that I, I don’t see you like that.” he said.

“So, I’m not good enough?” you shook your head.

“-No-”

You could feel the tears stinging in your eyes, “so...there’s someone else?”

He lets go of your hand to rub his arm in a nervous manner, “No, that’s not it either, I just don’t know how to explain it-”

But he was lying. You knew Shoto was a bad liar around you. It was bad enough that he couldn’t look at you, but even worse that he was taking steps away from you, slowly inching backwards in the opposite direction. He wasn’t trusting you with something and you didn’t know why, but your anger took over, and suddenly, you didn’t want to know why either.

“Well then, I’ll leave it to you to inform our fathers that this wedding won’t be happening, Todoroki.” you huffed. You saw the hurt in his face when you called him by his last name, but you could care less right now. You turned around and headed back to the castle, back to your room, and back to Ochako so you could cry in comfort. You kept your eyes trained at the ground, a silent message to all your servants to leave you alone. However, the message was left unknown to someone who didn’t live in the palace, someone like King Enji. 

You were cut off from the path to your room by the tall and heavily built man, his eyes cold and harsh staring at you from above. You stopped and immediately curtsied in respect, as you were representing your father every time you met with a leader of another kingdom. 

“Good morning, King Enji.” you said, giving him a well practiced ‘princess smile’.

He only grunted in response, nodding his head to the sword strapped to your back. “I see you received my son’s wedding gift, do you find it satisfactory?”

“Oh-the sword, right! It’s beautiful, your greatness. I am so humbly honored to receive such a gift.” you bow. You had completely forgotten it was there after what happened with Shoto. It was supposed to be a wedding gift, a sign of his love for you, but he didn’t love you like you loved him. You should be throwing this thing away, you should feel disgusted...so why did those words come out so naturally? Why did the sword feel so familiar? Hopefully Ochako could help you answer those. 

King Enji nodded in approval, motioning to some servants he had waiting out of your sight. “You have good manners, young one. Perhaps my son could learn a thing or two from you when it comes to respecting his elders.”

Two female servants took place besides you, awaiting further instructions from their King. 

“Your father has agreed to allow me to provide the dress, courtesy of the profits he helped me make last year. My servants will be taking your measurements, as well as note your likes and dislikes for the preparations.” he says before walking off.

All you could do was smile now. You couldn’t make your father look bad, even in front of servants. You continued to hold back tears as the handmaidens escorted you to your chambers.

So much for spilling your heart out to Ochako. 

***

The maidens were merciless, insisting that every measurement be as precise as possible. You tried to delay them, but your efforts were futile. They brought every bit of conversation back to the dress, and to the wedding plans you know you won’t have. Guards were installed in front to ensure no one came in or out until every inch of your body was measured to perfection. They measured your breasts and behind about five times over to ensure that “your best qualities were perfectly framed” for the wedding. Best qualities? Were you just boobs and ass for the future King? You sighed, still letting them continue their measuring. Shoto wouldn’t have cared…

No, he was Todoroki to you now, until he can give you an explanation. 

But...do you even deserve one?

As King Enji’s servants gave you a break to bring out supplies for your fitting, you walked over to the sword your “fiance” gave you, unsheathed for its glory to shine on your bed. He knew how you liked it, designing it to perfectly mirror you. He took note of everything you loved, remembering your style interests from whenever you two would talk for hours on end. You traced the flawless engravings on the blade itself, almost tearing up again. Turning the sword over, you saw the engraving on the bottom of the hilt, small, yet beautiful nonetheless. 

“Let’s protect each other from now on”

All the anger you felt before was gone, replaced by pure guilt.

He really did love you.

Just not in the way that you had hoped. 

You were being selfish, and you needed to make it right. 

Before you knew it, you were yanked back to the full length mirrors for more measurements. 

Both the measuring and interrogations lasted nearly the entire day with the servants drawing several designs and re-measuring you for each one. Of course, they didn’t accept a “that looks fine” or “this one is good'', so they continued to create new ones, each more extravagant and beautiful than the last. Evening came, and the maidens packed their materials to head back to their own kingdom. You thanked them sincerely for all their hard work and rushed off to say goodbye to Shoto until he disappeared over the hill and into the forest, like you’ve always done...except you weren’t.

You arrived to meet your father, King Enji, and Shoto in the main hall a little out of breath while they said their last goodbyes. King Enji broke his attention away from your father to give you a polite nod, acknowledging your presence. Your father noticed this and turned to give you a big hug, laughing heartily. 

“Can you believe it? You’re getting married in a week! I need to tell your mother straight away! She would be so proud.” he says, pulling strands of your hair behind your ear. 

“Yes, I believe she would” you smile. You weren’t in the mood to explain that she’d only use this as an excuse to out-fashion you on your own special day. 

Shoto hung his head in silence right next to his dad, still not making eye contact with you. You tried to pay him no mind and instead focused on building up your courage to ask something of King Enji in the politest way possible. 

When you got the chance, you squeezed out every bit of bravery left in your system to say “Erm, King Enji, is it alright if Prince Shoto stays?”, twiddling your fingers innocently.

The red headed man looked a bit taken back by the question, but he didn’t seem opposed to the idea. He snorted, waving his hand to Shoto, who stared at you with an open mouth.

“Ah, young love,” your father chuckled, and went to see his comrade out the door.

Without a second to spare, you grabbed Shoto’’s hand and led him to your room, closing the door behind you quickly. 

“(y/n), what are you doing?” he asked, watching you shove a chair underneath the handles of your doors. You had enough palace servants for today. 

You turned around and immediately threw your arms around his waist. He stood rigid with surprise before hesitantly hugging you back with a light grip. He was still confused from the fiasco earlier, but didn’t blame you.

“Sho....I’m so sorry, I should have understood.” you whispered. “I hope you could forgive me..”

He gave you a slight squeeze, “Of-course, (y/n). I’m sorry too, I-”

“Stop. You don’t need to explain anything to me. All we need to do is get this wedding cancelled.” you interrupt, looking up at him. “Also, I’m glad you didn’t say anything.” 

He looked relieved, giving you a soft smile. “Thanks, (y/n).” He pulls away from you and takes a seat on your bed next to where your blade still sat, unbothered. “But, I realized that if I were to tell my father, he’d assume it to be an insult no matter what I say, and end the friendship. with your people. Then he’d have me married off to someone else and make my life more hell than it already was. I’d rather be married to my best friend than a stranger.” he smiled.

You opened your mouth to say something, but the words escaped you. You were stumped. After all of this, it turned in your favor, but you didn’t want this anymore. 

You huffed and stood up abruptly, heading to your drawers and searching through them. 

“What are you-?” Sho trailed off, standing up with you. 

Finally, you found an assorted set of bags you use to collect things on your trips to the forest. With most of your years being devoted to molding you into a perfect queen, you haven’t used these for anything more than bringing home a pretty set of rocks in hopes that your mother would pay attention to you. Now, you were finding the biggest ones, planning to fill them with essentials to help you survive the woods. 

“We’re not going to do anything we’re forced to be into,” you said, “No matter what, our fathers won’t allow us to cancel this, but they can’t do anything if we’re not here.”

“(y/n), you’re not thinking of leaving are you?” he asked, worry apparent all over his face. 

You handed Sho a bag, staring him straight in the eye. “I’m absolutely thinking of that.” You grabbed a bag for yourself and shoved the rest back into your drawers. “We both have siblings who can inherit the throne, right? And if we disappear together and write a note saying something like “oh this is going too fast and we decided to take a break together in the mountains”- neither of our fathers could blame each other, so-”

“Hey,” Sho laid a hand on your shoulder, “we don’t have to do this. I told you, I really thought about this, and as long as it’s you, I’ll be happy-”

“No, Sho,” you said, shrugging off the hand and looking through your closet for extra clothes, “you can tell yourself that, but that’s not going to be true. I want you to be just as happy, and that’s not gonna happen if we go through with this marriage. Look, I know Ocha’s grandmother lives in a small town East of here, past the forest. If we can get there, we can rest and figure out what to do, ok?”

You looked at him for confirmation, his brows furrowed and his lips spread into a thin line. For a few seconds, he contemplated the terrible outcomes of your plan, but he knew you would just do this yourself if he didn’t come with you. 

Finally, he nodded before he could change his mind.

This probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but at least you were together.