Chapter Text
Todoroki wasn’t surprised by the fact that when he was to be seen off by his family his father said he wasn’t going to be in attendance. He had hoped that he could see his father one more time and make him feel as bad as possible, but in the end he knew that wouldn’t work, and being able to be around the family he actually cared about was better than having to pretend to be some strong savior who was happily doing this or at least attempting to seem content about what was happening) around his father.
He had a feeling that his siblings wouldn’t fully understand his reasoning behind doing this, but maybe that would be for the better. If they were upset at him for up and leaving like this, maybe it would be easier for them to handle him being away.
Standing on the steps with Iida and patiently waiting for his siblings, he began to think back to his mother. He really wishes she were here to grant him some form of comfort, or even fight for his ability to stay and not be married, but he knew that wasn’t possible.
Ever since she had burned him he had hardly seen her face, and no matter how much the burn hurt, not having his mother around hurt ten times more. If it were up to him, she would still be here and he would have the guts to protect her and his siblings from his father.
But all of that doesn’t matter anymore.
He has to accept the fact that he probably won’t see his mother again anytime soon, or get proof that she loved and accepted him in any way, shape, or form.
No, none of that matters.
What matters right now is that he sees his siblings and lets them know he’ll do whatever he can to get back to them, no matter how far in future, how far away he was, or how it would affect his status.
The longer he stood there and thought, the more time passed, and Iida eventually spoke up, “are you sure they’re coming?”
The question was off-putting to Shoto, the words making his heart race and stomach sink.
“Yes. I’m sure they wouldn’t allow their youngest brother to leave their kingdom for what may be the rest of his life to get married without seeing him off. It’s just extremely early, that’s why they aren’t out here yet,” he replied quite bitterly, the words coming out harsh no matter how hard he tried for them not to.
“Well, it is getting to be about time to leave. We can wait a little while longer, but once the sun starts to fully rise we have to go,” Iida bargained, earning a curt nod from Shoto.
They waited in silence, Shoto becoming all too aware of the seconds passing by.
What if they really didn’t come see him off? Were they upset with him for accepting this proposal from his father? He knew it was hard to understand, he himself didn’t even fully grasp why he was doing it, but he though his own siblings would at least know he wasn’t doing it to help his father or his own personal gain, but that he was doing it to try and help make sure their family name wasn’t tarnished for them and their own futures.
Just as he felt Iida begin to shift impatiently beside him he heard the loud thudding of what seemed to be running and immediately perked up.
Seeing Natsuo and Fuyumi bounding out of the door made him elated. He knew that they wouldn’t just abandon him like that, that they all cared for each other and couldn’t stand to lose anyone else they cared for as deeply as they do for one another.
“Oh, Shoto, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” Fuyumi cried as she left into Todorokis arms, earning a surprised grunt from the younger male.
He chuckled as he hugged her back, rubbing soothing circles into her cardigan as he spoke, “I really wish I didn’t have to leave.”
“You know you don’t have to, right? It isn’t your job to be that assholes knight in shining armor,” Natsuo replied with a scoff, clearly irritated at the situation and knowing it wasn’t fair to Shoto that he would have to give up his own wants to help save his father for the umpteenth time.
“Be nice about your father,” Fuyumi scolded as she pulled away from Shoto, hitting at Natsuo in hopes of reprimanding him. She always cared so much about trying to keep the family peaceful with their father, and Shoto never understood why. Almost everyone knew Enji Todoroki wasn’t a good man, and living around him and seeing the full extent of it you’d think you would love to hear someone disrespect him, but never Fuyumi. She was too loving for her own good.
“I wish I didn’t have to, but It’s my obligation to keep the families name as respected as possible. I’m not doing this for him, I’m doing this for us. I want you both to be able to live the best lives possible, and if that means I have to get married to a revered princess in a far off kingdom to make sure our family is still respected, then so be it. I really don’t mind, as long as you both are safe and happy,” Shoto replied, trying his best to get his siblings to understand his decision, and not only that, but to understand that nothing he did would ever be for his father, but for the only people who had ever shown him any form of companionship and love. Them.
He never thought of himself as the selfless kind. Sure, growing up he had always dreamed of himself being some knight in shining armor hero who would defeat a dragon and save the world, but as he grew older and experienced all sorts of hatred and awful behavior, he realized that no one would ever truly be like that, no matter how hard they tried. So sure, he grew up aching to be a hero, but deep down he knew he would never be one, so this was his own sort of selfish desire manifesting to be considered some sort of savior for his family.
“Shoto, you worry too much about others. Put yourself first for once. We can all handle this as a family, you don’t have to force yourself to marry some random princess to save our families reputation. You don’t have to leave, you don’t have to listen to dad anymore, and you don’t have to be the perfect hero son everyone always hopes for,” Natsuo stated, his tone much softer than before. He knew he wasn’t mad, just upset that everything was being put on Shoto once again, and he wanted his brother to know that he didn’t have to do everything alone all the time or give up his own life to protect the people around him.
“I’ve already agreed to doing this, I won’t back out now. Who knows, we might not even end up being married. Father said that if the princess doesn’t think we’re suitable for each other that we won’t have our marriage finalized,” Shoto spoke with a hopeful grin. Who knows, maybe their personalities would clash and the relationship really wouldn’t work out, even without Todoroki doing anything he was against.
“Shoto, please know you can come back whenever you want. You don’t have to marry someone if you don’t like them just for our sake, and even if you do end up loving this woman, you’re still always allowed to come home and visit,” Fuyumi earnestly replied, hugging Shoto once more, even tighter than before, something that Todoroki was surprised was even possible.
“I know, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Shoto replied, hugging Fuyumi back just as hard, burying his head in her hair as he took in the last last bit of skin ship he would be getting from his sister for at least the next few months.
After parting with Fuyumi, Shoto turned to Natsuo, giving him the biggest grin he could muster.
“God Shoto, I really am gonna miss you,” Natsuo said with a watery smirk, pulling Shoto in fora hug of his own, though it wasn’t as bone crushing as Fuyumis Shoto could still feel all the emotions being poured into it, ruffling Shotos hair as the longer they held each other.
“I’m sorry to have to do this, but it’s almost dawn, we really need to get going if we want to arrive on time,” Iida butted in awkwardly, all three siblings turning to him simultaneously.
“Shoto, please be safe, and send us letters so we know everything going on,” Fuyumi said as she gave Todoroki one more fleeting hug, Natsuo nodding next to her with his arms ccrossed, his face screwed up so as not to start crying.
“I will don’t worry,” Shoto replied quickly, turning away and beginning his descent down the stairs, throwing glances over his shoulder every now and then, waving to them once he reached the bottom of the stairs.
He sighed to himself as they began walking farther from the castle, all his belongings slung over his shoulder and making the weight of everything feel all the more all consuming.
“Are you doing okay? You know you really don’t have to do this,” Tenya commented as they walked, eyeing Todoroki skeptically.
“I don’t think I can turn back now, can I? I’ve already agreed, I may as well follow through now,” Shoto replied wearily.
Iida nodded, taking it as a sign to end the conversation.
The two walked in silence to the outskirts of the Kingdom, Tenya eventually stopping them in their tracks before they could get any further from the town.
“I have to get our horses, I’ll be right back,” Iida stated, jogging off into one of the stables near the edge of town.
Shoto stood there by himself stupidly, not sure what to do. He felt out of place already and he had barely even made it ten feet from his home town, he wasn’t sure how he would deal in a completely different kingdom with strange new customs and rules when he didn’t feel like he belonged in the woods of his own city.
The longer he stood there by himself the more awkward he felt, and he wanted nothing more than for Tenya to come back with their horses so they could leave and get to the new kingdom awaiting them as smoothly and timely as possible. Call him rich and spoiled, but he really didn’t want to have to camp out on the woods.
After what felt like hours, Shoto heard the faint sound of crunching leaves and looked up to see Iida returning with two horses, speaking with both of them in a hush tone to seemingly keep them calm.
Todoroki couldn’t help but give a soft smile at the sight. The guard was clearly a caring person, and Shoto could admit he would trust him with his life if anything were to happen given his protective demeanor and all the time they’ve spent becoming friends. He could confidently say that Tenya was a man with good morals and that he knew what he was doing, enough so that Todoroki would allow himself to lower his guard ever so slightly while they traveled.
“Sorry, that took longer than I expected. I thought they would have the horses ready when we got there, but I guess not,” Iida chuckled when he got close enough that Shoto could hear him, his words getting the man out of his reverie.
Shoto nodded, taking the reins Tenya was offering him. He allowed the horse to get comfortable with him, smelling his hand, petting it softly, whispering to it, all while Iida began to pack his own belongings onto his horse.
After Todoroki felt the horse was comfortable enough with him, he began to do the same. He had packed a lot less than he initially thought, the largest item he packed being kept on his person, his brand new sword.
He just couldn’t bring himself to leave it behind, not after that man had given it to him out of the kindness of his heart. Especially if he was to be wandering around the woods with only one guard, he knew he’d need some form of protection in case anything did end up happening, and he thought his new prized possession would be the perfect means of protection.
Adjusting the sheath at his hip, he hopped up onto his companion for the next few days of travel.
He waited patiently for Iida to signal the start of their journey, using the reins and clicking his tongue once Tenya did so that he could follow slightly behind him.
“So, are you feeling any better about all of this?” Tenya asked, quickly glancing back at Shoto as they began riding.
“I think I’m feeling worse now that we’ve left actually,” Shoto replied with an awkward chuckle. Now that they had actually left he was feeling the dread tenfold. He was feeling extremely anxious about making a good impression on this mysterious family, he wasn’t going to give up what could be months of his life trying to see if he was going to be married to this princess just for them to not end up together. Sure, he could end up not liking her, but at the end of the day he had already given up more than he should’ve, and if he a=walked away with nothing, he was going to be severely disappointed.
“You’re an amazing person Shoto, and you’re quite handsome, you don’t have to worry about impressing her, she’ll see you and fall in love,” Iida replied with a lopsided grin, clearly trying his best to comfort him.
“It’s not just that that I’m worried about, what if I’m wasting everyones time? And even if I’m not, what if I never truly feel how I’m supposed to for this woman, or if I don’t fit in in the kingdom?” Todoroki worried aloud. He normally never spoke like this with others, but what else could he do now? He practically had no family anymore, and they were who he would always confide in, so he may as well voice his fears with the next closest person to him. Plus, Tenya practically grew up up with him, the two having sparred together and having been accustomed to each other over the years of support the Iida family had shown to his own family, being their most trusted and respected guards after all.
He hated how much stress this was causing him. Normally Shoto was very laid back, he could handle things without any fear or complaint, but now that he was being forced into this and his families reputation was riding on the success of this marriage, It was truly messing with his head.
“Well, I don’t think this is a complete waste of time, even if you don’t end up marrying her, at least you can say you left your kingdom once in your life, and you at least tried to help out your family. Plus, even if you don’t end up fitting in we’ll both be there together, so you don’t have to worry about being alone or anything. Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I’ve heard the people of the kingdom are very accepting, so I really don’t think you’ll have much of a problem,” Iida confidently spoke, and not only his words, but also his tone helped simmer the pit in Shotos gut. Was he still nervous? Absolutely. But the fact that he had someone who cared enough about him, even if it was just because of the sheer fact it was his job, and was going to be by his side through his situation helped calm him down.
Shoto gave him a shy grin, trying his best to show his appreciation without having to say anything else.
Iida took that as his cue to drop the conversation, though Shoto could tell he knew that his words helped calm Todoroki. He wished he knew what to say, but he was truly at a loss for words. Nothing seemed to be worth talking about after everything that had happened in what had barely been a day, he really felt like nothing he said would convey how he felt, or god forbid change the outcome of things.
The silence was kind of calming for him though, the sounds of the early morning birds and the crunching of leaves and branches in the woods helping to keep him grounded. The further they got into the woods, the less aware he became of his surroundings. He tuned everything out at a certain point, putting his full trust into Iida in case anything were to happen.
He hadn’t left his kingdom for years, always having to stay near in case he was needed by his father, and it did feel sort of freeing for him to finally be leaving and ridding himself of the burden which was being his fathers golden child who was expected to never cause trouble and only be seen as some handsome prince there to please the people and never look out for himself, like his sole purpose in life was to get married and do whatever he could to appease the kingdom when he took over after his father.
Sometimes he felt a strong desire to just up and leave and finally put himself first, so you would think this would be enjoyable for him, but the circumstances once again proved not to be in his favor. He knew it was selfish, but he really wished he could’ve left on his own, not going to meet this mystery princess, and just lived his life the way he wanted. Who knows, maybe he could become some renowned fighter, or even settled down and become a father who showed his family all the love he could. Though he knew he never really wanted to be a father, but the thought of being able to pick what he wanted to do with his life always incited him, they do always say you want what you can’t have.
He tried to shake himself out of his thoughts, he knew he was fine with Tenya beside him, but you never know when you’ll need to be on guard. Plus, his thoughts were keeping him from telling how far they had made it, as well as what time it was. When he finally got out of his own head the first thing he did was look up towards the sky, noting that it must’ve been at least 2 hours since they had left. They clearly made good progress on their trip, and he was beginning to get the urge to rest, his legs feeling stiff and his stomach starting to grumble in protest even though he hadn’t done much anything nor had he been up long enough to even justify it, but he was feeling too jittery to not want a break.
“Tenya, can we sit for a while?” Shoto proposed, finally acknowledging the man beside him after the start of their trip.
“Of course, just say the word and we can take a break as you need them,” Iida replied cheerfully, the bit of optimism and happiness sort of raising Shotos mood.
“Thank you,” Todoroki nodded, pulling his horse to the side of the wood to clear a path for others passing through.
He hopped down from his horse, petting it softly as he began to rummage through his saddle bag, trying to pull out his flask of water.
Once he managed to retrieve his flask from his bag he took a seat next to his horse in the grass, running his fingers through the grass as he practically chugged the whole thing.
He took note of Tenya brushing his horse as he sat, looking away after the guard noticed him. He began to instead look around the forest, admiring the foliage and flowers that just began getting their color and blooming due to the early spring rain.
There sound of grass crunching near him that made him look up, and he saw two men walking in tandem.
These two men were definitely a sight. One of them had jarringly bright red hair, and every time he opened his mouth to animatedly speak to his companion all you could notice were his sharp and spiky teeth. He was also wearing a skull headdress, making him stand out much more compared to the seemingly aggressive, if him yelling was anything to go off of, blond beside him.
The red head seemed to sense his staring, the two of them making eye contact, who shot him a quick smile. This caught the blonds attention, and he whipped his head around so he was now looking at Shoto.
“What the fuck are you looking at you bum,” The random man yelled, a very choice set of first words to say to someone.
“Excuse me, but you really shouldn’t be speaking to someone like that,” tenya spoke up just as Shoto was about to retort.
“Fuck up, four eyes,” The blond replied as he pointed a finger at Iida, before he turned back to Shoto, “I asked what you’re looking at.”
“I wasn’t looking at you, if anything I was looking at your friend, but if you must know you two were being so obnoxiously loud that I automatically looked up to see what the noise was,” Shoto scoffed, annoyed at the audacity of these two random deviants.
As he tried to remove himself from the situation by walking away, Todoroki felt a hand wrap around his wrist, pulling him back aggressively.
“Who told you you could just walk away?” The blond asked, getting all up in his face.
“I don’t need your permission, thank you,” Shoto scoffed, yanking his wrist out of the harsh grip the other had on him.
“Do you think you’re better than me pretty boy? Just because you have some useless guard following you around doesn’t make you special,” He spit back, continuing to follow Shoto even as he walked away.
Out of the corner of his eye Shoto saw the man’s red-headed friend following close behind him, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder and trying to calm him down, whispering something in his ear that earned a scowl from the aggressive man practically barreling towards him.
“I don’t think I’m better than you, I know I am. If you and your little pet could please leave us alone, we have somewhere we need to be,” Todoroki replied, putting his flask back in his saddle bag and preparing to mount his horse once more.
“Oh, I get it. You’re scared of me,” Todoroki looked back at the man as he had his foot in the stirrup, completely ready to leave as soon as possible, but the smug smirk on the man’s face made him stop in his tracks.
“What is there to be scared of?” Shoto shot back, lowering his foot from the stirrup and planting his feet firmly on the ground, standing face to face with the fiery blond.
The man finally pushed his friend off him, getting all up in Shotos face much to his friends obvious chagrin if his groaning and profuse apologizing was anything to go off of.
“You’re scared because you know if we were to fight I would win. I know for a fact a pretty princess like you couldn’t fight to save their life,” He chuckled, stepping closer to Shoto, practically pressing him up against his horse.
Tenya finally decided to step in, pulling the man around by his shoulder, “I think you’re sorely mistaken here, and if you would please back away from Prince Shoto so we can leave it would be deeply appreciated.”
“I don’t want to hear it from you four eyes, this is between me and him. I don’t give a shit if he’s an entitled princess shithead, or if you’re paid to protect him, I want to fight him and prove I’m better than he is,” The smug smirk returning to his face as he fought out of Iidas grip, facing Todoroki once more.
“I’ll fight you,” Shoto responded, determination clear in his voice. He had fought so many times before, how could this be any different? If anything, this would be easier than his old opponents, given the fact he’s fighting some random cocky deviant.
“Bakugo, come on. Leave him alone and let’s go,” The redhead sighed, trying to pull his friend, Bakugo, away from the situation.
“You heard him, he wants to fight, so we’re gonna fight. I’m not some sissy bitch who’s gonna back down just cause you’re telling me to,” Bakugo scoffed, hand resting on his sheath as he prepared to pull out his sword for the duel.
Shoto stepped away from his horse, bumping shoulders with his opponent, who scoffed at the action, as he made his way into a more open space in the wooded area.
“Is there something you would like if you win?” Todoroki asked, pulling out his new sword and taking a ready stance as he waited for Bakugo to come closer.
“I want that sword, must be worth a lot, right?” Bakugo chuckled as he approached, taking out his own sword. It wasn’t bad, though it definitely had less value than Shotos own, just a plain old silver sword.
“Yes, it was an engagement gift,” Shoto nodded, putting his sword out in an attempt to salute the man before him.
“Oh, pretty boys got a wife at home,” Bakugo mocked, tapping their swords together, completing the show of respect before stepping back slightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
The two danced around one another for a short while before Shoto lunged forward to attack, which was immediately blocked.
“You wanna share who the lucky lady is?” Bakugo asked, taking his own attempt at attacking Shoto, which he narrowly dodged due to the shock of the question.
“Uh, It’s an arranged marriage of sorts, I haven’t met her yet. That’s why I’m here, actually. We’re traveling to her kingdom,” Todoroki replied nervously, taken aback at the sudden interest in his love life. Why was this man who was so aggressive before asking about his future wife unprovoked?
“Ah, of course a pretty boy like you is in an arranged marriage,” he laughed, lunging forward again, though Shoto quickly countered, jabbing at his left arm, earning a wince at the cut it made.
“And of course an unskilled fighter like you is already losing,” Shoto retorted, a grin finding its way onto his own face, matching the cocky one Bakugo had been sporting previously.
“Bakugo, quit while you’re ahead. If you lose this and get hurt we won’t be able to do anything about it for at least three days,” Bakugo’s redheaded companion advised, shaking his head in disapproval at the fact that this situation was even occurring.
“Shut it, shit for brains, I know what I’m doing. You’ve seen me fight, you know that,” the blond replied, dashing forward to use a feint, causing Shoto to swerve right into his real attack.
“Told you,” he boasted, earning a scoff at his cockiness from his friend and Shoto, though Tenya grimaced at the contact of the blade to Todorokis side.
“You’re too cocky for your own good, It’ll come back to bite you one day, you know that,” Shoto grit out as he thrust forward, moving his blade quickly onto each side of the man’s body, hoping he would get at least one touch on him.
“And you’re too flow to beat me in a fight,” Bakugo chortled, noting forward with his sword at his side, barreling into Shoto at full force, knocking him onto the grass.
Before Shoto could even process what had happened he felt a weight on top of him, making it so he couldn’t get up.
He looked around, finding Tenyas eyes that were filled with sympathy, at the fact that he lost or that he would have to give up his newly acquired sword, Todoroki couldn’t tell.
“Maybe I’m too cocky, but at least I have the skill to back it up,” The sharp grin on his face enraged Shoto, and he wreathed underneath the man, trying to turn the tide so he could pin him down and prove he was as skilled as he claimed.
Bakugo rolled his eyes at the sad attempt at escaping the hold, putting even more weight onto Shoto in retaliation.
“I know you can do better than that,” He scoffed, looking down at Shoto with contempt.
Todoroki looked up at him, disgust on his face at the way he was being spoken to. The added weight didn’t do much to quell his attempt at escaping his hold. If anything, it only added fuel to the fire, shimmying around till he freed his arms and began trying to shove him off that way.
It was clear that Bakugo was getting more and more irritated the harder Shoto fought against his hold, the frustration overtaking him to the point he grabbed his Shotos face.
“Would you quit and just give up already? You clearly can’t win this, just admit defeat,” Bakugo spit, holding Todorokis face till his cheeks scrunched up and the two were staring intensely at one another.
“I don’t want to give up my sword,” was Shotos reply, though it came out slightly muffled due to the fact his cheeks were scrunched up beyond belief.
His response earned a sigh from Bakugo, and he momentarily thought that Bakugo would be kind enough to get off him and just be able to say he won the fight and not need a reward, though of course that wasn’t the case.
The feeling of the cold metal on his warm neck caused Todoroki to gasp, the press of the blade causing his heart to speed up.
“I won, I want what I was promised.”
“Bakugo, let it go. You won, that’s all you need, let him keep his sword,” The redhead finally spoke up, walking towards the two and yanking on Bakugos collar.
Whipping around Bakugo shouted, “Fuck off me! I won the sword, and I’m gonna get it even if it takes killing him!”
While his back was turned to him Shoto pulling the sword off his neck, using all the force he could to shove Bakugo off him, jumping up to his feet and shoving his foot down onto his abdomen when Bakugos back hit the ground.
“Fuck!” The blond cursed, groaning as he stared up at the sky, his hands finding Shotos boot and trying to pry it off of him.
“Don’t let your guard down just because you think you’ve won,” Shoto grinned down at him, roles completely reversed now.
He basked in his victory for a moment, the fact that he was able to win despite his rusty skills and the fact he was completely pined and still managed to win causing great satisfaction for him.
Removing his foot from the man beneath him he turned his back, starting to make his way toward Tenya once more so they could continue his journey when he felt a warm arm around his waist and a the familiar cold press of metal on his neck.
“You should take your own advice,” Bakugo whispered in Shotos ear, hot breath fanning against his skin causing him to shiver.
The press of the blade became harsher as Bakugo spoke, and Todoroki knew that if the press was even slightly harder it would draw blood.
“Give me the sword princess, you know I deserve it,” The chuckle in his ear was infuriating, but he knew if he were to push away his throat would immediately be cut.
“You snuck up on me, I don’t think you really deserve it now, do you?”
Shoto knew he could handle this himself, and that it really wasn’t either Tenya or bakugos companions place to step in now since Shoto had agreed to the duel, but he really wished someone would help him out now. Why couldn’t Bakugos mouthy friend step in again?
He made eye contact with Iida once more, his face completely blank, causing confusion to take the forefront of Shotos mind. It didn’t make sense to him that his own guard was having no reaction to his boss with a knife pressed against his throat. Who knows, maybe he was thinking of a way to help? He truly couldn’t tell anymore, but he knew he needed to think of something quickly incase no one wanted to intervene.
The press of the blade become even harsher, and Shoto felt the cold trickle of blood run down his neck.
Blood trickling down his neck wasn’t surprising to him, the harsh pressure of the blade making it easy to expect, but he what he wasn’t expecting was the wetness of tongue on his neck, lapping up the bit of blood that had begun spilling down his neck.
“I think that’s enough,” He heard Tenyas sharp voice cut in.
Finally!
He heard the harsh footsteps of Iidas boots against the grass, and he was quickly removed from Bakugos grip, cold air immediately overwhelming his senses due to the lack of barrier.
“Give him your sword,” Tanya commanded, the confusion coming right back to Shoto. Why was his own guard agreeing with this random man who had just practically violated him?
“Why should I? He snuck up on me after I beat him!”
“Shoto, give him the sword now so we can go,” Tenya said, grabbing the sword from Shotos hand a thrusting it towards Bakugo who took it with a simple nod.
“Thanks princess,” He said nonchalantly, making his way towards the redhead who was waiting for him with a look of shock on his face.
What just happened? Did this guy really just lick up his blood and take his sword like he was some holy deity that deserved anything he wished for?
He watched in awe as the man and his companion just walked away like nothing happened before he turned to Tenya.
“Why would you give him my sword? What’s your problem?”
“Don’t get mad at me, you agreed to the duel in the first place, and it’s your fault you lost!”
“But I didn’t lose and you know it! You watched the whole thing, I got more hits on him than he did me, and you saw how I got out of his hold!”
“Shoto, what’s done is done. Admit you lost and let’s go,” Tanya replied as he made his was to his horse, and what else could Todoroki even do at this point?
He scoffed to himself.
What the fuck was his problem, and why was he being so uptight all of a sudden? It’s not like he was the one who got his neck cut and the blood licked off it by some rabid man in the woods!
Who was he to argue anymore, like Tenya said, what’s done is done, and he had to accept the fact that his new most prized possession was gone already and he would never be able to get it back, sighing in defeat as he too mounted his horse.
“Whatever, let’s go.”