Kirishima POV:

No.. I had gotten away from him.. Sho and Izu had taken me away! Bakugo said I was safe.. I thought I was safe..

"And as for your entertainment tonight, I present you the execution of Prince Katsuki Bakugo, and his troublesome crew!"

My body began vibrating intensely, and tears clouded my vision. I thought I was safe, he said I was safe, I was safe. 

"TRANSFORM!"

"USELESS LIZARD!"

SNAP

SNAP

"He can take it! Get out of my way you disgusting filth before I whip YOU instead!"

"Red?"

"A monster like you would enjoy watching this, huh?"

"E---ro? Hi baby! Oh yes, you are my precious li----"

"UGLY!"

SNAP

SNAP

"Red. You need to snap out of it!" I hear somebody say, but my vision was clouded with tears. 

At some point I had fallen to the ground, but I didn't remember when. The cool stone floor felt relieving against my cheek, which somehow was hot and dampened with tears.

"Come on, get up. Your alright, I'm here." The person whispers, pulling me up and off of the ground.

It didn't seem that I had attracted much attention with my outburst luckily, since most of the chatter surrounding me was of the excitement of the upcoming entertainment. The entertainment... Bakugo..

"Bakugo okay?" I say, my voice was breaking apart.

"No. He's not.." King Aizawa whispers, as my eyes well up with tears again. "But its okay, because we can help him alright?"

I nod as he wipes a tear that was rolling down my cheek. Why would they take me here? Was I bad again, was this a punishment for running away?

"Why don't you go with Eri and grab some food? Hizashi and I will go figure things out, okay?" This king offers, to which I hesitantly nod. "Eri?"

"Yes, Daddy?" The Princess voice wavered, she was also crying.

"I need you to be brave, okay? You friends will be ok, but why don't you go get something to eat with Red?" 

"O-Okay." She says, hopping off the chair to grab my hand. 

Leading me to the table full of meat, she points to a plate stack at the very end. I think we needed those plates to eat, which wasn't my first choice. But whatever the Princess was hungry for I guess she could have it..

"Thank you," Eri said after I handed her a plate to eat. "You need one too, right?"

"Don't like." I shake my head, putting my hands out for exaggeration. She just giggled at me, wiping the final tears off her cheek.

"They aren't for eating, silly! You put your food on plates." She explained, I just made an 'o' with my mouth as she standed on her tiptoes to grab another plate.

I follow her along the table as she grabs small snacks here and there, and eventually filling her entire plate with goodies. Most of her plate consisted of different tarts and cookies. 

"Princess Eri! What a lovely dress you have there!" A deep voice exclaimed from behind us, I freeze, unsure of how to respond.

"Oh, thank you! My D-" She started before turning around and also freezing.

"Who this you got there Princess? I don't think I recognize him." The person says, slamming a hand down on my shoulder and causing me to flinch.

"H-He's my favorite guard.. His name is Red.." Eri said shyly, glancing down at her feet. The hand forcefully turns me around, and I make eye contact with him.

"Nice to meet you." The king said between teeth, sticking his hand out. 

I was petrified, he was staring into my soul. His piercing blue eyes have never been this close before, and they were filled with hate. His hand was left there, hanging as I couldn't bring myself to touch it.

Glancing around on his face, he kept getting scarier and scarier, and my eyes were tearing up again. No, I can't..

No peeps, no sounds, and he won't hurt me. No peeps, no sounds, and he won't hurt me. No peeps, no sounds, and he won't hurt me. No peeps, no sounds, and h-

"Ah King Todoroki! I see you found my daughter and her personal guard!" King Yamada said out of nowhere, interrupting my thoughts once again.

Master took his hand off my shoulder and turned to face Yamada. He bowed slightly, and gave him a smile.

"Why yes I did, how come I've never seen this guard before?" He asked, causing Yamada to tense up.

"He join the ranks recently, a foreigner.." 

"Oh, well I don't think he was trained properly."

"Why would you say that? Are you saying my guard is weak?"

"Oh no, not at all. Just that this guard is weak, he froze at the sight of little old me! What did I do to deserve such a thing?" 

"I'm sure there was some misinterpretation.. Eri? Dad needs you, go run along now and take Red with you."

"Leaving so soon? But we just started talking!" Master laughed, Eri took my hand and quickly walked away from the food covered tables.

"Daddy!" She said, letting go of my hand and running over to her father. I blankly walk after her, still startled from the interaction just moments before.

"I thought you were getting food? What happened?" He asked as the Princess clung to his neck, glancing up at me. "Red? You alright?"

"No." I shake my head, more tears threatening to fall.

"What happened? You guys were gone for three minutes, and both of you guys come back upset." He asked, confused.

"He." I said, unsure of how to pronounce his actual name.

"He?" Aizawa questioned, I pointed behind me, trying to deny the tears access to falling.

"Scared." I breathed out, tears now flooding my cheeks.

"Oh," He said, finally spotting him behind me. "Red? I need you to be strong. You remember that you have to be brave, right? You are supposed to be a super brave and cool knight that protects Eri from trolls. Especially the ones under the bridge. Remember that?"

"Yes." I say, bringing a hand up to wipe away the tears. Brave knight that protects the Princess, I was a hero..

"Thats good. Okay, stay here and eat something. Hitoshi and Denki will be back in a minute or so. But I have to go talk to the king with Hizashi." Aizawa explained, putting the Princess back on her feet and walking behind us.

Eri grabbed my hand again and pulled me two steps to sit in my chair. She sat next to me, and carefully began to eat her sweets as I sat there with my chin resting on my fist.

She offered me a tart, it think it was a lemon one, but I denied. I was far from hungry after seeing Master again..

"Red! You holding up okay?" A familiar voice says from behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. At this point I was too scared to say anything, and the tears were already puddling in my lap.

"Toshi!" Eri said excitedly, mouth full of tarts.

"Hi Eri, whats wrong with Red?" Shinso asked, as I was still to afraid to move. I don't want to see him again.

"We saw the king," She said, her mood suddenly dropped and her smile was nonexistent.

"I think everybody saw him at this point.." Kaminari said bluntly.

"No, we saw him. And he touched Red.."

"Oh," Shinso whispered, as I still couldn't find it in myself to move. "You're alright though, right Red?"

"No.." I whimpered, barely making a sound.

"But look how brave you are! Facing him like that, thats something only the bravest of knights can do.." Shinso complimented, peaking my interest.

"Really?" I said, finally turning around to face him with my tear stained cheeks.

"Yup! You are so brave facing him like that, Red! So brave!" He smiled, I returned a soft smile.

"Yay." I said, the small smile still lingering.

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I please have your attention!" A voice rang once again through the dining room as everyone went quiet. "As we hope you have found the food tables and have filled your plates, we would now like to bring you our entertainment for tonight!"

My stomach and smile dropped, remembering what Master had announced just thirty minutes ago.

"Please, bring them out!" The voice echoed again, as familiar faces were drug onto the stage. 

Almost immediately spotting Bakugo, we make eye contact. And for the first time, he looked scared..

i think one of my favorite things to do is wake up and read all the comments, all of you guys were freaking out last chapter, and it was low-key pretty funny ngl

so i thought you guys might appreciate an early chapter today, but don't worry, another will be posted tonight as always! 11-12am pacific time

angst? we love her

-1387 words-

~tragedy out <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 (sorry for forgetting them last chapter, so I'm giving y'all extra)