Coming for the Crown

Thirteen

The LOV fortress was huge.

Bakugo stood on the edge of a black cliff, gaping up at the mass of dark stone in front of him. It had taken the group about a day and a half to get there, following the shifting pin of Izuku's compass. Earlier, the blonde had been fully prepared to bust into the LOV's hideout, snatch Izuku, and dip, but now that didn't seem like an option.

"How are we supposed to break into that?" Kaminari said, his voice going high with worry. Jirou smacked his arm, scowling slightly.

"No negativity! We'll figure it out." She turned from Kaminari, who was rubbing his slapped arm, to face Todoroki and Iida. The pair was looking at the fortress, and Bakugo could almost see the gears turning in their heads. 

"We shouldn't try breaking in directly," Todoroki said, reaching over his shoulder to grab the bag slung there. "We need to be stealthy." He started pulling cloth from his bag as Iida pointed out something slightly to the side of the fortress.

"It looks like there is a small town there. We should go check it out and see if anyone there can tell us anything."

Todoroki nodded, throwing a grey cloth at Bakugo before turning and doing the same to all the others. The blonde caught the cloth, turning it over in his hands to inspect it. It looked like a simple grey poncho. The fabric was thick and tough, giving only slightly under Bakugo's grip. The blonde glanced around, and upon noticing the others slipping their ponchos on, he did the same. 

"Ok, here's the plan," Todoroki said, turning to the small village. "We go in, we look around, we don't get caught."

"That isn't much of a plan," Bakugo scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. Todoroki just smiled wryly at him.

"Nope, but it's the best we've got. Let's go."

.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-.

At least Izuku would get to go into battle with a weapon.

The green haired boy glanced over the weapons rack that had been offered to him, frowning slightly. There weren't many sword options, and the ones available looked like they had been dipped in acid. 

Sighing, Izuku picked up a long blade that was sitting near the end of the rack. It was a thin, black blade with a leather wrapped handle, small notches along the sharp edge standing out like scars. 

"Are you ready?"

Izuku stiffened, turning to the man standing in the doorway behind him. All for One smiled down at the green haired boy, his eyes sharp with malice. 

"I suppose so," Izuku responded shortly, walking briskly past the king without looking at him, heading for the arena. 

The sand of the arena floor was stained with red, small stones getting kicked up as Izuku marched out into the center. The crowd cheered as the green haired boy squared his shoulders, turning to face the other door at the far end of the arena. 

"Citizens," the king's voice boomed from all around the stands, causing the crowd to cheer louder. "Today you get to see a very special fight. It is between the heir to the OFA throne, Izuku Toshinori Midoriya!"

The crowd's cheering turned to boos, and Izuku even saw some of them throwing things at him. The king continued, turning the people's attention to the far end of the arena.

"And his opponent, my very own son, Tomura Shigiraki!"

Izuku felt his blood run cold. The blue haired man that had visited him was coming out of the doorway, holding no weapons at all. 

So this was what had made the prince so nervous.

Izuku was in a fight to the death against the king's own son.

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(A/N) So, I kinda pushed myself to write this today, mostly because I wanted a spot to say something at the end. Basically, I kinda started spiraling yesterday, and I won't even be home tomorrow, so there probably won't be a part. But maybe if I feel better I'll do something on Saturday. If you can't tell from my incoherent writing, I need sleep. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to take a nap now.