"Are you doing okay, Shoto?"
"Yeah...I'm fine. Let's keep going-"
You looked back and smiled weakly at the prince, seeing him leaned against a rock and painting quietly.
"We've been walking for hours, and the sun is almost set. Come on, there is a river up ahead, and I think it's...The Arcan River."
You studied the map, showing the prince where you had been, where you were, and where you were going, making Todoroki sigh and hang his head.
"That's...quite a distance."
"Do you not travel often?"
Todoroki stood up and readjusted his clothes, pouting at the blood stained clothes from the incident earlier that day.
"No, I do. Just, Uraraka usually teleports us, or we have horses..."
You glanced down at the blood stains and hummed, pointing off ahead of both of you. The prince sighed and continued up the hill, stopping at the top as he looked down at the river off in the distance.
"We can rest at the Arcan River, okay? I can wash those clothes of yours too, if you'd like."
Todoroki stared at you, a blush resting on his cheeks from the heat, and he sighed, nodding as you once again began the trek down towards the river. You looked off in the distance, past the water and seeing the Lake of Enjeer, narrowing your eyes. Behind the lake sat the capital, and you frowned, remembering everything that had happened there. If you went back, would things be different? Todoroki reluctantly said he wanted to go back...but should you? You came out of your own mind when Todoroki poked at you, motioning to the capital.
"Did you like the capital?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. It was...interesting."
You told Todoroki about how you had stayed at the Yuuei Inn, how you had met Shinsou Hitoshi and Aizawa Shota, and how you ended up meeting with the King. Todoroki rolled his eyes slightly at the mention of his fathers name, and you pouted, looking off nervously.
"Everyone...has their own histories. Is there a reason you don't like him?"
The Prince hesitated, looking down at his hand before bringing it up to the scar covering most of his left side.
"It's...a tragedy not worth telling."
You watched the prince remove his hand, seeing it shaking slightly as he stared back at you deadpan. You nodded in understanding, apologizing for prying as he brushed you off, telling you it was okay. The walk became silent again, listening to the wind rustling the tall grass that trailed on for miles around you. Eventually, the sound of water came into earshot, and you both groaned, happily picking up the pace as the idea of taking a break became reality.
"Hey, (F/N)?"
"Yes?"
Todoroki opened his mouth, hesitating once again, before shaking his head, muttering out a quiet 'nevermind'. You wanted to question him, but stopped yourself when the riverbank came into view. Shouting happily, you grabbed Todorokis hand and started to run, pulling the prince along the pathway and into the sandy sediment near the edge of the river. It bubbled lazily, the speed of the water almost stagnant as you jumped into the shallow area, lifting up your skirt to keep it dry as you danced along the edge.
"Finally, a chance to relax."
You sighed happily and tossed the map back into your bag, throwing both near a rock as you cracked your knuckles, looking around.
"I'll set up a camp, want to help?"
"Sure, I can try."
You smiled, a little relieved to be traveling with someone who, not only spoke your language, but was so easy to work with. You made your away around, making a fire pit and setting up the basic necessities from your supplies. Todoroki struggled to light a fire, glaring at his hand before seeing you crouch down next to him.
"I have these, you can't start a fire with just your hands."
You dropped Bakugous small flint and pyrite into the princes hand, smiling as Todoroki stared at the two stones, chuckling quietly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
You kept your smile, but your lip twitched as you watched him once again struggle to start a fire, and you ran your hand through your hair tiredly.
"I-I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but-"
"You can ask anything, I don't mind-"
"-but you've never really done anything like this, have you?"
Todoroki blinked, his expression pained as he handed you back the small fire starters and fell back onto his butt, ruffling his own hair.
"Y-You're correct, (F/N). I don't really travel like this."
"Survivalist wise?"
"Without a large group, or without people who know what they're doing."
"Ouch."
"I didn't mean it like that-"
You chuckled and shook your head, playing with Todoroki as you started a fire, stoking it and adding more twigs and grass before getting to your feet. Stretching and yawning loudly, you motioned for Todoroki to get up and moved back over to your bag, pulling our the cloth and hairbrush you kept on you.
"Get undressed-"
"(F-F/N)?"
You glanced over and blushed, face palming as you pointed to the river, avoiding Todorokis confused and shocked expression.
"To bathe! I don't know about you, but I'd prefer not to walk around covered in blood. A-And give me your outfit, like I said, I'll wash it for you."
Todorokis breath caught in his throat and he nodded, moving over to the riverbank with you as he began to undress. Piece by piece you collected his clothing, shouting for him to hurry up and get in the water so you could move around without seeing him. The prince cried quietly as the freezing water attacked his body, and you shook your head as he whined about the cold.
"Do you not bathe in cold water?"
"Never. It's always hot."
"What's with princes and them getting to always have hot water. How unfair..."
You mumbled under your breath, glaring at the stains in the material before sneaking behind one of the large rocks along the edge, undressing and bringing all of the clothes into the water with you. Todoroki went to speak to you as you poked your head into view, waiting for him to turn around before carefully wading into the water, your voice closer than he anticipated.
"Why are you traveling anyways, Shoto? Is it all because of the curse?"
Todoroki turned around again, seeing just your shoulders and head, the rest of you hidden under the water. You scrubbed at the clothing, the blood draining out slowly and passing him by.
"Originally, it was to help Midoriya with the war. My father wouldn't allow any information to be given to just anyone, so I offered to sneak Midoriya and Uraraka in and out of the library."
"Library?"
"Enjeer has an extensive library, hidden away within the castle, and filled with information on everything, which is pretty helpful when you're fighting enemies with unknown powers."
You hummed and nodded in agreement, thinking back to anything Midoriya had told you.
"He mentioned the library, and I think he mentioned something about there being almost no information on Egaby..."
Your eyes lowered, remembering how Midoriya had asked for information on your people the night you were ambushed by his people. Sighing quietly, you continued to work at the bloody stains within Todorokis clothes, listening as he mumbled.
"I remember that. It's the reason the library was moved into the Castle."
"Huh?"
The prince looked off towards the capital, glancing up to see the sun setting in the distance. He ran a hand through his hair, dipping down briefly to wet it and flipping it out of his eyes.
"The Royal Library. It used to just be 'The Library', but a group of citizens thought any information on Egaby was worthless. It took over a day for the fires to be put out."
You frowned and slowly laid out the clothes that had finished being cleaned onto one of the rocks jutting out of the water, hoping they would dry in the sunsets heat. You carefully waded back into the deeper part of the river, scrubbing your skin and offering your hairbrush to Todoroki.
"That's...terrible."
"The King is the one who saved what was left over, so I guess he's done one good thing."
You glanced back over at Todoroki, seeing him staring off at the castle. You sighed and mimicked him, dipping under the water to wet your hair as you brushed out the tangles with your fingers, almost whispering.
"You know, we don't have to go back to the capital, Shoto."
"Where else would we go-"
"If you let me use that communication stone from Uraraka, we could find Midoriya and the others."
Todoroki looked hesitant, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned around, letting you leave the river to change into a new outfit.
"I don't know..."
"You aren't hiding your curse from them anymore, you have a little more control, right? So it should be okay?"
"I abandoned them."
You froze, blinking and shaking your head as you stepped into the baggy pants similar to the night of the festival. You chose a different top, one that was not as decorative and stood out as least as possible.
"...Abandoned?"
You snuck out from behind the rock, crouching near the riverside as Todoroki looked off, pained and slowly turning blue from the freezing water. You called out to him and pulled out the cloak you had purchased from the capital, setting it near the water before turning around and letting the prince cover himself. When you turned around again, you held back a laugh, trying your best not to comment how cute he was; he looked like a confused kid, snug in the massive cloak that draped over his body.
"I said I separated from them earlier, and that's true, but-"
He looked back towards the capital, his eyebrows pinching in slight pain.
"It's more like...I ran away. Left without telling them where I was going, or why."
You sighed and sat down, trying to keep the fire bigger as Todoroki sat down next to you, pouting slightly.
"You know, they're probably worried about you, Shoto. Finding them should be our top priority."
The prince stared at the fire, silent for a moment, before looking down at his left hand, balling it into a fist. The second his fingers bent, the fire shrunk, almost dying out as you quickly tried to rebuild it.
"You're...also trying to get back, to Bakugou, aren't you (F/N)?"
You froze, kneeling near the fire before sighing and nodding slightly.
"Y-Yeah. I...left them behind."
Your eyes watched the fire dance, the flames reflecting back as you looked over at Todoroki.
"I need to get back to him and Kirishima as soon as possible. I don't think they're in the capital, but I don't know where-"
You cut yourself off, remembering when you had seen Bakugou traveling with Midoriya, carrying Kirishima on his back. Uraraka had been unconscious too, would the stone even work if no one noticed it? You hummed to yourself, grabbing your own communication stone from your bag, brushing your thumb against the chip on its surface.
"I know that at least the four of them are together. I saw it, I saw Katsuki and Deku, walking together."
"Did you see where they were, at all?"
You shook your head, telling Todoroki the things you had seen and the things you created in the cave. The images the magic had created, and even the illusion of your home village. Todoroki looked down at the fire, his eyes lowering once again.
"Magic does nothing but hurt people. Even if it seems like it's helping in the moment, it'll only hurt you in the end."
"I don't think that's true."
Todoroki glanced over at you, seeing the fire dancing in your eyes.
"Uraraka used magic to save us. I think...I think she's hurt now, but she still saved all of us. I don't know what would've happened if she hadn't teleported them away."
"Them? And not you?"
You sighed again and nodded, explaining in more detail about how Uraraka hadn't been sure if she could save everyone, so you made her take Bakugou and Kirishima, to ensure their safety. Your mind flashed with Bakugous terrified expression, helplessly free falling, and you shook your head, trying to ignore the painful image.
"But, magic can be good. Even if it seems to hurt others, it still does some good, and that's good, right?"
You smiled weakly at Todoroki, the smile fading when he only stared back, unconvinced. You coughed quietly and tried to change the subject, pulling the map back out and flattening it in the sand to let him see.
"Anyways, we're here, see? The capital is here, but...it looks like this way is a road, that leads West. What's West of here?"
Todoroki pointed to the coast of the country, a smile finally forming on his face.
"Yaoyarozu leads as Lady Commander here in Langston. I wanted to head West after we had all split up, but we never got the chance."
You glanced over, seeing his expression soften with yet another light blush dusting his cheeks. Your lips curled into a smirk and you leaned closer, almost whispering.
"Would you like to go see Yaoyarozu?"
Todoroki winced and sat up straighter, glaring at you for a moment before ruffling his hair in embarrassment, looking away. You laughed and folded up the map, adding some more fuel to the fire before pulling out the dried rabbit meat, sighing as it looked inedible. You could go hunting tomorrow morning.
"It's...It's not like that-"
"It's okay, Shoto, I was just kidding."
You smiled back at the prince, waiting for him to smile again before setting up one of your bags as a pillow and handing him the other that held most of your clothes. He hesitated for a moment, looking down at the ground before watching you fall onto your back, stretching and yawning before turning around to face away from him.
"If we sleep right now, we can be up early and get a head start on traveling."
"Are we...going to walk there?"
"No, of course not, we'll teleport there with magic!"
"...Your sarcasm hurts me, (F/N)."
You snorted and playfully apologized, listening to the river on one side of you as Todoroki shifted around on the other. Your mind immediately began to wander, and you frowned, thinking about how fast you were able to fall asleep now. Was it magic? Was it the League of Villains? All For One? You weren't sure, but one thing was always certain...
"Princess."
"Katsuki!"
You hummed his name happily, sitting up and rubbing your eye as you yawned, feeling the blonde pull you into a hug. Glancing around, the fire was out, but you could still see clearly in the moonlit night. Todoroki was still passed out nearby, and you wondered if you could talk to him as well, or just Bakugou?
"I'm so sick of not being around you."
"I know, Katsuki. But, we have a plan; Todoroki and I are heading West, out to Langston. Have you been there?"
Bakugou shook his head, thinking for a moment before nuzzling his face in your neck.
"I want to say no, but I'm not sure. Deku probably has."
"Hah, and how's that going?"
"Terribly, I want to kill him."
You smiled and squirmed in his arms, turning to properly hug him back as you ran your hands through his hair. Your eyelids lowered, and your smile faded, unsure of whether or not you should talk about everything that had happened.
"I know what you did."
"I-I figured you did-"
"I thought I said not to fuck with magics? Why can't you ever listen to me?"
You groaned as Bakugou pinched your cheek, pulling on it as he scolded you. You whined and tried to swat his hand away, muttering under your breath.
"Even if things went bad, I still learned a lot. I learned that you were still alive, and still with Deku! And Kirishima-"
Kirishima. You felt a chill run down your body as Bakugou sighed and hugged you closer, whispering against your skin quietly.
"I'm sure he's fine. You know it would take a lot more than one little incident to kill that bastard."
"But...it's still my fault. He got hurt because-"
"He got hurt because I wanted to bring you home, fully knowing they wouldn't accept you."
Your frown grew sadder and you tightened your arms around Bakugou, fighting off the urge to cry even in your dreams. Bakugous voice was low, almost pained as he spoke, eventually dropping off into a barely audible mumble.
"We both knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyways. I thought we'd be okay, but I...was wrong. And Kirishima got hurt, because I was wrong."
The prince sat up and grabbed your jaw, forcing you to face him as both your faces were red from feeling emotional. Even in his eyes, you could see the watery glaze of Bakugou holding back tears as well, and it made you feel even more heartbroken.
"But he's okay, okay? None of it was your fault, got it?"
"...Got it."
"I love you, dumbass."
"Should I even say it back after being called a dumbass?"
"Yes. Obviously."
Bakugou smirked and kissed you, pecking at your cheeks and down towards your ear before whispering that you were going to wake up soon. The weightless feeling of the dream ending began to grow, and you quickly hugged Bakugou one last time before feeling him stand up and drop you back to the ground.
"And tell that fucking half bastard if I ever see him touching you like that again, I'm gonna shove my sword up his-"
Your eyes shot open and you blinked in the dim morning sunlight. It was way too early, the moon still setting as the dew stuck to your face and clothes. What did Bakugou say? Who's the half bastard, Shoto? You went to sit up, unable to as a weight held you down, and you glanced over to see an arm slung over your body. Turning your head more, you saw Todoroki centimeters from you, hugging you close as he slept peacefully.
"Ah!!"
"Ahh!!"
You shouted and rolled away, stumbling to your feet as Todoroki woke up, gasping as his hand immediately went over his scar. He looked up at you, panting quietly from the shock as you turned around, trying to rub the sleep and embarrassment from your face.
"G-Goodmorning, Shoto-"
"I'm sorry (F/N), I didn't mean for that to happen-"
You both froze in awkward silence, sighing as the Prince got to his feet, brushing himself off. You turned slowly, immediately looking away when you made eye contact with Todoroki. He looked almost scared, like he was going to get in trouble for his actions, and you sighed, waving him off.
"N-No it's fine. Let's just, clean up and head out? I can find us something to eat."
Todoroki pouted and nodded, handing you back your bag and moving to change into his original clothes, now dried and almost completely clean. You gathered your things and fixed your items while he changed nearby, thanking you for giving him the cloak for the night. When you looked back at Todoroki, you saw him readjusting his typical prince outfit, buttoning his cufflinks and fixing the collar of his dress shirt.
"Are you alright with leaving this early?"
"Hm? Of course (F/N). It's fine-"
Todoroki glanced off in the distance, squinting at the blurry vision of the roads up ahead, and he sighed.
"I just hope it goes faster than the walk from Shiketsu..."
You chuckled and pulled out the map once more, whipping it open and pointing to the road you were heading towards.
"It won't be long before we reach the main road, and then it should be a straight shot to Langston."
"Maybe we'll come across someone traveling along it? There's a lot of merchants that travel between Enjeer and there."
You smiled weakly, nodding as you tucked away the map, not wanting to say that you'd prefer to not run into anymore strangers. At least now you had a proper map. Looking over at Todoroki, you tilted your head, noticing he looked as if he wanted to say something.
"Shoto?"
"Hm, yes?"
"Do you want to say something?"
The prince coughed and scratched his cheek nervously, shaking his head as he looked away.
"No, why?"
"You look like you want to is all."
You leaned closer and nudged Todoroki with your shoulder, smiling wider as he groaned quietly.
"I, just wanted to apologize, again, for everything. You're doing a lot, putting up with me-"
"You're not a burden, Shoto. Come on, we're doing fine!"
You grabbed his arm and held it close, smiling as you led him down through the tall grass. Todoroki inhaled sharply, keeping his eyes forward as you walked with him.
"Besides, you've been useful too you know. If I didn't find you, I'd still be alone!"
Todoroki stared off, his eye twitching before nodding softly, smiling back at you.
"Y-You're right. I'm s-"
"Please don't say sorry again!"
You whined and leaned your head on his shoulder, teasing the prince and pleading for him to stop being so apologetic. It felt like you were toying with a sibling; like a younger one for how innocent the prince was. He continued to let you hold his arm until you made it onto the gravel road, sighing and once again pulling out the map. Glancing up and down the road, you squinted in the hazy air of morning, looking for any sort of crossroad or a directional sign.
"Where exactly do you think we are?"
"I'm...not sure. But I know we're somewhere along this road."
You pointed and dragged your finger along the small line that ran towards the capital. You looked up and over to the castle in the distance, the wind rustling both yours and the princes clothes. Todoroki glared in the same direction, turning his head and looking down the opposite way.
"So this way, is Langston."
"Would you rather go there?"
The prince pouted, kicking at the ground in concentration before sighing, his voice filled with defeat.
"I want to go where you think we'll make the most progress. If going to the capital gets us more help, or more information, we should go there. Langston, and more importantly, Yaoyarozu, might help us find the others from the group, and they could help us find Midoriya."
You sighed and mimicked the prince, kicking at the ground weakly. You stayed on the grass; the lack of shoes slowly strengthening your feet, but still making you reluctant to walk barefoot on the rocky terrain. Todoroki looked back at you, offering to carry you if your feet were hurting. You laughed him off and shook your head, shaking your hands as you slowly made your way into the road to stand with him.
"I agree with that idea. But, whichever way we go, there's help. Iida is a part of the Royal Guard right? If we found him in the capital, he could also help us find everyone."
"Ah...that's true."
You both stood in silence, a quiet rumbling off in the distance. Was it thunder? It's too constant to be thunder. You whipped the map to flatten it again and stared at it, pointing to the markings and labels.
"There's also one of those springs if we head West."
"Springs?"
"Ah, the one that helped me heal you when we first met."
You chuckled nervously and moved on, unsure if Todoroki knew about the locations ability to help you speak to the Gods. Did Midoriya know about that? Since he was the one mapping them out? The strange rumbling sound grew louder, and you groaned, about to comment on how all you wanted was one day where something didn't change your plans or get in the way.
"Oi watch it! You're in the way!!"
"(F/N)!"
Todoroki knocked you out of the way, pushing you off the road and back into the tall grass. You braced yourself as best you could, groaning quietly as you coughed, checking to make sure the wind hadn't gotten knocked out of you again. Feeling a weight on you, you glanced up to see Todoroki hovering weakly over you, seeing his sky blue eye slightly glowing, slowly glazing over with that cursed orange color. His arms were shaking as he held himself up, his breathing panicked sounding as you quickly turned in place, wrapping your arms around the princes neck.
"It's okay Shoto, it's okay. Calm down, we're fine. We're okay, I'm okay."
"(F-F/N).."
"I'm right here, try to calm yourself."
You stayed in place, eventually feeling your body drop back onto the ground as Todoroki weakly dropped his arms. You held back any complaints, chuckling to yourself for being so used to Bakugou laying on top of you to handle having another body weigh you down. Ruffling his red and white hair, you praised Todoroki for staying calm, flinching when that familiar voice shouted from above on the road.
"Oi! You two alright?! Sorry about that!"
"It-It's okay! We're fine, thank you!"
"Do you need any help?"
"Ah N-No we're fine! You can go ahead and-"
"Woah, is that the prince?!"
The grass rustled for a bit, revealing a young man with bright silver hair. He stared down at the scene in front of him, shocked at seeing the prince before laughing loudly, seeing you underneath him.
"Gods, I never thought I'd see this! Oi, Itsuka, come check this out! The prince eloped!"
"What? But I thought he went off with Yaoyarozus group?! That's what she told me!"
"They were clearly lying!"
Todoroki breathed slowly, climbing off of you as he apologized, offering to help you at least sit up. You thanked him and tried to whisper that it was okay, but stopped when the stranger got in your face.
"And what the heck are you wearing?! Those don't look local."
"I- uh-"
"Oi, Itsuka, I think the girl he eloped with is a foreigner!"
"What?! No way, why would he?!"
The stranger whipped his head back around to look at you, peering into your eyes. His pupils were small, but his eyes were surrounded by thick tuffs of...what are those? Eyelashes? His teeth reminded you of Kirishima, but you forced yourself to stay focused. You shook off your question and slowly staggered to your feet, brushing yourself off as Todoroki followed suit.
"I-I'm not a foreigner, it's just...a new style-"
"Ah ah ah, your tricks won't work on me. You're clearly a-"
"Tetsutetsu, it's rude to judge others like that. Get the hell back up here so we can go!"
"You never let me have fun Itsuka!"
You glared him down as the male named Tetsutetsu waved to you and Todoroki lazily, listening to him bark about how you don't get to see such scandals everyday. Suddenly the name clicked in your head and you grabbed your bag from the ground, scrambling up the ditch and back onto the road. In front of you sat a large carriage, run by two small horses. One of them huffed at you, kicking at the ground as you stared wide eyed. Todoroki continued to brush himself off, coming up behind you and whispering as you flinched.
"You've seen horses before, right?"
"O-Of course I have!"
"Hey, prince. What are you doing out here?"
Todoroki looked up, squinting in the sunlight to see a redheaded girl smiling down at him. Her hair was long and pinned up, her bangs just brushing above her eyes. Todoroki stared, concentrating for a moment before whispering.
"Kendo Itsuka..."
"Tetsutetsu! Tetsu Metals, right?"
You moved closer to the wagon, glancing around to try and find the silver haired male.
"Hah, hear that Itsuka? I'm famous, even to forein- ow!"
He shouted from above, yelling in pain as the redheaded girl let her fist crash against his cheek, knocking him back slightly. The girl named Itsuka groaned and shook her head, looking back down at you and Todoroki.
"Yes, he's from Tetsu Metals, we're transporting his work to Langston right now. Do you need a lift?"
"Don't just invite strangers, there's enough of us as it is."
"Shut it Neito. You're the one who didn't even have to come with."
A blonde male with a smug look sat up from inside the carriage, looking both you and Todoroki up and down.
"Mirag..."
"Hah?"
You rubbed the back of your neck and looked away, laughing nervously.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're fine, you're fine. We love all types of people. Come on up here, you're only being offered a ride since you're with the prince after all-"
Now Neito was the one flinching in pain, Itsuka smacking him over the head.
"Show some hospitality."
"We'll take your offer, thank you, Itsuka."
"Of course, Prince Todoroki! Call me Kendo. This is Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and this bum is Monoma Neito."
"Bum?!"
Todoroki offered his hand to you, helping you into the carriage as you sat across from the blonde named Neito. He smiled at you and you smiled back, feeling Todoroki bump his shoulder against yours.
"I guess we're going to Langston."