I Royally Decline// Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Chp 10: The Explosion

(Y/n) POV

"...you're better off alive.. and with me..." I trailed off. I bubbled with anger, no longer from him not watching his mouth, but over the fact he would actually tear himself down like that. Wait a second, am I starting to CARE about him? No, heck no.

BOOM
...
*incomprehensible screaming*

Shouto fell backwards and I jumped at the sound of a loud explosion. A horse cried and I saw the white stallion making a break towards his master. Bright orange fire lit up the forest and smoke quickly snuck up on us.

"What's going on?!" I shouted. In a matter of milliseconds, I was tackled to the ground. "Hey! What's your probmmmmm hmmMMMMMM HMMMMMM!!" A warm hand clasped around my mouth. I looked up to see the outline of the hot-and-cold prince. I realized he was actually trying to protect me from the smoke and tapped his hand, indicating I understood the situation. We both got low on the ground, as Shouto checked to make sure his horse was okay.

We crawled out of the clearing and onto a pathway. The smoke seemed to be lighter in this area so Shouto helped me onto his horse and then hopped on himself.

Shouto's POV

I helped (Y/n) up onto Alaska, before getting on, too. Orange fire... loud explosion... obnoxious screaming... it can't be? Can it? It added up all too well, but now was not the time to make assumptions. On my que, Alaska raced through the light smoke. I felt (Y/n)'s grip around my waist tighten. For some reason, I felt more confident... strange.

As we hurried towards the fire, the smoke thickened and visibility became poor. I heard some muffled coughing from behind me.

"(Y/n)?" I slightly turned to look at the princess. "You okay?" She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I turned back around, only to hear more muffled coughs, but these led to less muffled ones. The coughing became more violent and I suddenly felt something heavy drop on my right shoulder. I yanked on Alaska's reigns, causing him to skid to a stop. I carefully turned around to face (y/n), but I did not find her in the state I wanted to.

I held (Y/n)'s head in my hands and saw she was struggling to breath. Her skin looked bluish and the area around her nose was tainted with soot. She seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness, too. I knew, all too well, that these were signs of smoke inhalation. This could easily kill her, especially since she wasn't used to large amounts of smoke and fire, like I was.

"(Y/n)! Stay with me! It's going to be okay!" I cried. No response. It seemed more like I was saying this to reassure myself, than her. I slid off Alaska, (y/n) in my arms, and pulled her head to my chest. She was sweating so I placed my right hand on her head, hoping to cool her down. When she seemed to stop sweating a bit, I started running. The smoke was everywhere, at this point, so I just picked a direction and hoped for the best.

I had been running for about 10 minutes when I heard screaming...

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" You have got to be kidding me. I am not in the mood to deal with... HEY WAIT A SECOND! HE'S THE MEANING OF THIS! OH WE'LL SEE WHO WILL DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I held (Y/n) close, as we grew closer to my screaming enemy. The smoke didn't seem to be as thick around him, which was good for (Y/n)'s sake.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase. What the heck do you think you're doing?" A vein popped out of my forehead as I squeezed my eyes tight.

"WHAT AM I DOING?! I THINK IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS HALF-AND-HALF! I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU BECAUSE I'M A GOOD GUY!" The prince of the Kingdom of Explodo Kills shouted. I sweat-dropped.

"And how is setting this entire forest on fire saving me?" I sighed.

"Kacchan, let me handle this," a well-known greenette appeared from behind the exploding menace.

"P-P-Prince Midoriya?" I stammered. I couldn't wrap my mind around why the prince of the Kingdom of All Might was hanging around someone from Explodo Kills. Especially Bakugo.

"SHUT IT DEKU!"

"Yeah, sorry, but no. We came to warn you about a growing party, referring to themselves as the League of Villains. We were attacked by one in this forest, but she seemed to have vanished. Sorry Kacchan went so overboard. Wait, is that... Princess (L/N) (Y/N) the treasured princess of Crystalli?! Is she okay?!" Midoriya became flustered quickly. I had heard my father mention this party once before, but ignored it, but if Prince Midoriya teamed up with Bakugo to tell me this... it must be serious.

"(Y/n)?" Bakugo became speechless.

"Yes, this is Princess (L/N). Thanks to the firecracker, she's suffering from horrible smoke inhalation symptoms. I need to get her back and to a doctor as soon as possible. My horse is also somewhere back in the forest, but he is smart and I trust he will find a way out," I explained.

"I'll clear a path out," Bakugo grumbled. I was dumb-founded over the fact he wasn't yelling. I wondered if he and (Y/n) had some history that she never mentioned. I knew she had had several suitors, but I'd never imagine someone so refined... no nevermind I could definitely see her parents pairing her with Bakugo.

"Kacchan, I don't believe that's the best-"

"SHUT IT, DEKU!"

"I hate to say it, but I have to go with Bakugo's call on this one. The princess needs medical attention as soon as possible, just try and keep the smoke to a minimum," I exhaled, irritated that I had to agree with Bakugo.

"I'LL DO WHAT I WANT AND THAT'S PRINCE BAKUGO TO YOU, THERMOMETER!" His insults made less and less sense.

(Y/n), we're almost there. You're going to be okay. You're going to wake up and I'll be there to greet you. You can watch Sir Rory rip me to pieces... yeah I kind of deserve that. It's going to be okay though. I'll make sure of it.