To the End of the World
Tenya Iida x Fem!Reader Apocalyptic AU
Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Alright, Bud
"L/N, is that you?"
You lower your gun as Iida emerges from the brush, straddled on the back of his sturdy, brown speckled horse. "What are you doing out here?" he questions, sliding himself onto the ground, guiding his hands along the animal's side as he walks towards you.
"Iβ I..." You can't even get one word out before crumbling onto the boulder behind you, tucking your legs against your chest with your back against the cold stone. "I don't know".
And really, you don't know anything. You don't know who's after your mom. You don't know why. You don't know if she's even alive.
Iida doesn't say anything. He sits next to you, utterly unsure of what to do. Should he give you a pat on the back? A Handkerchief? Console you???
You don't cry, you just blankly stare at the gentle water carrying twigs and dried up leaves downstream, each moment leading to another gruesome thought about what might have happened to your mom.
"I guess I have to go all the way to North Dakota, on foot, alone," you mutter, voice quivering.
"Oh. That's quite the, uhm, predicament you're in..."
"And get this, I had a whole five minutes to prepare for the twelve hundred mile hike"
"I see," he responds dryly, but definitely no less sincere than any other response. "Please, fill me in on your situation."
The next minute or so consists of you talking and talking about your crazy morning, slowly bringing you back to sanity. Realizing all he needs to do is listen, Iida rhythmically nods, asks questions and replies to you with two word phrases. When you've finished, neither of you say anything. You both sit quietly with the sounds of nature.
"Well, it's about time we get going. Come on". Iida stands, brushing non-existent dust off his worn blue jeans and cotton button-up, which are cuffed at his elbows, then offering a hand.
"Yeah..." You grab hold of his large, rough palm, then stand up. "Wait, 'we'?"
"Do you not want to come with me? North Dakota isn't far off of where I'm headed," he says with a deadpan expression, like he didn't just offer to take you on a journey across nearly half the country.
"You can't offer that. I'll just slow you down..." you say, secretly hoping he'll insist.
"Right... As you wish, L/N."
Oh. Whelp...
Iida hops back onto his horse, one foot in a stirrup, and the other swinging around the back, but before he leaves, a stalker comes hurdling towards you. You don't even have time to react before it's flat on the ground, a black, spear-point pocketknife embedded in the center of it's forehead.
You blink once, twice, then you look back to him.
"Hold on a sec!"
...
And so here you are, trotting through the eastern cascades alongside Iida, hours away from your home. Your chin is resting against his backpack while you both bob up and down with the strut of his horse.
You've been tasked with the job of tracking where you are on the map, though, you've dropped the compass on the ground an embarrassing amount of times.
"So, how do I know you're not a murderer, or a burglar, or a weirdo trying to assault me in my sleep?" You say while observing the crows fly through the vibrant pinks and oranges of the sunset; a sight that almost makes you forget about this morning, and the months ahead.
"Huh. I guess you don't..."
"Well, at least you're honest," you say before another interlude of silence. "So, where are you going to? It's not far from North Dakota, right?"
Iida pauses before speaking, like he's got something he doesn't want to share. "I'm going to Safe Zone 3 in Minnesota."
"Why?"
"My, whereabouts are a personal matter".
"Your response doesn't make you seem any less shady". For a moment, all you hear is hooves on gravel, then a quick breath.
"I grew up at the USCRP fort in Northern California. My brother was a respected officer".
The United States Civil Reconstruction Program (USCRP) was a topic your mom constantly avoided. She said that they're a greedy, corrupted organization that only provided for the people of privilege, completely severed from the web of locally started Safe Zones across the country.
"A couple weeks ago, after waking up for an early patrol, he wasn't there, and after asking around, I found out he, along with a few other men, had been relocated to Minnesota, so-"
"So you stole a horse, and ran away to find him?"
"It was an... impulsive decision that I am far from proud of".
"Your vocabulary isn't doing much for you, Bud"
"Don't call me 'Bud'"
"Alright... Bud"
You don't think you've ever heard a man sigh harder in his life.
Author's note:
Wow, I just found out how to add GIFs, this is amazing.
Also, what do I name the horse??? She's a brown spotted, appaloosa mare π. Look at me go, using all these fancy horse words like I'm not from the city.
And again, PLEASE leave some critique. The last thing I want to be is boring.







