I Royally Decline// Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Chp. 29: A Letter from Home

Rory's POV
Flashback
"Nice kitty... nice kitty, kitty. It's ok, I won't hurt you," I nervously murmured as a shadowy panther with glowing white eyes walked towards me. I had been scouring the library when I found a strange book. It was covered in dust and the pages looked as if they were hardly touched. The cover intrigued me for it said "Obscurum". I had studied enough Latin to know that it meant "darkness". When I opened the pages it, surprisingly, spoke of the first quirk holder— a boy that shown like the sun. I found it odd that I book titled "Darkness" would begin with light. I turned through the stuff pages until I came across a page with the header "Tenebrae Possessor" or "Darkness holder". The page perfectly described my quirk: emitting darkness, weird dark gas for blood, solidifying darkness... everything. Intrigued, I continued to flip through the pages speaking of the powers of my quirk. It was then that I landed on a page with a picture of a black panther. The animal was called "Custos aspicientis" or "Guardian of the Beholder". The panther could be summed by the quirk holder and it would protect and give the user wisdom.

Dubious, I closed my eyes and focused my energy on listening for a voice. The book said that the Guardian will only speak up if the user listens for it. In my disbelief, a voice spoke out in my mind and said, "Finally." My eyes shot open as darkness emitted from my body. In front of me, the eerie mist formed the shape of a large feline. Now before me was a dark, foggy, panther with glowing white eyes. It bared it's teeth at me and I became defensive, concedes that my so-called guardian was going to kill me.

"Rory, Child of Darkness, I have been waiting for you to summon me," the creature spoke in a deep voice.

"Y-you have? You... you know my name?" My voice cracked.

"Yes, Prince Rory of Crystalli... I know everything about you... I am part of you. I am here to protect and guide you. You can summon me whenever you need assistance, but it takes great focus and energy. You will need to build up your strength in order to speak to me longer. I must go or you will become too exhausted. Goodbye, my child." The panther bowed its head and faded away... and with perfect timing as my sister walked in the next moment. I would have to study it further, but now was not the time.

End of flashback

"A guardian, William! I have some sort of guardian of my quirk! And it's a panther! What kind of witchcraft did I sign up for?!" I threw my hands up into the air as I lay on my bed next to my tarantula's terrarium. My day had been completely chaotic. First the whole guardian ordeal and then (Y/n) finding out about Quinn and assuming things.

"Rory, open the door," (Y/n)'s muffled voices snuck through the cracks in the door, followed by knocking. I had nothing to hide, aside from my embarrassment, so I got up and opened the door. I looked at her with a plain face before turning in my heels to plummet face first into my bed and fill the room with darkness.

"Oh come on, Rory, don't be like that. I thought you were over the whole girlfriend thing!Y/n) sighed.

"I can be however I want to be after that," I groaned, face hidden in my sheets.

"Ok, I already said I was sorry! You seemed fine!"

"Well somehow pretty much all the guards found out and they give me weird looks every time I'm alone with Quinn!"

"So what if they do? You've never been one to let something like that bother you... what's really up?"

"It's nothing!"

"You're lying."

I threw myself backwards into my bed and Out of the corner of my eye, I watched (Y/n) walk over to William and take him out of his terrarium. She set him in my face, letting him pace from my chin to my forehead. "See, even William knows you're lying."