BakuTodo - Prince of Kings

7

It was deep into the night when Todoroki came back to the castle. He had given his greetings to the empty castle, devoid of family but filled with servants, guards, and other staff. After a hearty meal, he made his way down to the castle records.

They were as old and forgotten as the library which had recently begun to collect dust. It was typically his sisters resting place but now with her gone from the palace, it was nothing but an ancient relic.

The archives were just left of it, down a narrow hall and a narrower set of stairs. Todoroki would have assumed he was entering a dungeon if he didn't know where he was going. A low candle light filled the entrance and Todoroki slowly opened the wooden door, hinges creaking from their disuse.

Todoroki was assaulted with rows and rows of papers and books, stored away in some sort of meticulous order that he couldn't comprehend. Just looking upon the rows, he had no idea where to start on his quest to find his fathers will. The dim lighting of the room helped little.

"Ah, Prince Todoroki!" A man exclaimed, nervous air to his voice.

Todoroki turned to greet the figure, man of a small, rugged stature greeting him with a low bow. The Prince assumed he was the keeper of the archives. Vaguely, he realized that this was also the man who had read his fathers will to his family after his passing.

"Rise," Todoroki instructed.

The man rose, not meeting Todoroki's eyes but close enough."What can I help you with, sir?"

"You are the keeper of these archives, correct?"

The man nodded."Yes, sir."

"Then tell me where my fathers documents are," Todoroki commanded coldly."His personal documents. I want nothing to do with his past business."

"Right away, sir!"

The small man led him to the left, turning a sharp corner down one of the rows a few out from the door. From there, he led him to the end of the aisle and stopped there.

"Here's where all your fathers records reside. Is there anything in particular you would like me to help you find, sir?" the man asked.

"No, you may go," Todoroki dismissed him.

The man scurried away and left Todoroki to his own devices.

The prince started looking through the various papers, mainly finding his fathers ramblings and records of his kingship. At the top of one of the stacks at the bottom of the shelf he finally found what he had been looking for.

It was a long will because of the large amount of children he had. There was much legal work that Todoroki skimmed through, looking for any sign of his name on any of the papers. There was stuff he was included in with his siblings but he was yet to find anything solely for him until he reached the section speaking of inheritance. From there, he read the sentence that would shake his whole world to its core.

In light of past events, my youngest son, Todoroki Shoto, will become King of the Salvo Kingdom after my passing.

Todoroki couldn't believe what he was reading. Maybe he just didn't want to believe it. Understanding that these words were meant for him and meant to be his future would be betraying his trust in his eldest brother. By believing what was on this page, he would be saying that his brother betrayed him.

Why? Why would he do such a thing? Why did he take away what was rightfully his? What was this pitiful attempt at power?

Todoroki was enraged.

Swiftly, he reached the front of the archives and had the keeper by the lapels of his suit. An inferno of rage entered his features as he shook the man back and forth, simply wanting to choke him to death.