royally arranged

Sneaking Out [chapter 17]

You once again found yourself sitting in the library reading a book after being summoned by Enji. Your hair was tied back, glasses on the bridge of your nose, and brows furrowed as you read the book with much curiosity on what was to come next. (ik some of you don't have glasses, but i've never made a reader with glasses so here we are.)

This book was one of the few books you couldn't predict what would happen next in, and it definitely got you excited for what was to come. And you were starting to get to the point where the action sequences were building up, getting you closer and closer to the really big climax of the story.

"Pst— y/n," Natsuo whispered to you from the other side of the table, throwing a balled up piece of paper at you.

You just wanted to continue your book, so you decided to ignore him. It was the simplest solution in your eyes. Of course, that tactic did not work on Natsuo, not in the slightest bit.

"Y/n~" he was a bit louder this time, leaning over the table and poking your arm, "I know you can hear me; don't act like you don't."

You let out a sigh before folding the top corner of the page and closing the book. You looked up at the grinning male in front of you with dead eyes, "What?"

"Come with me," he gave you no time to think, going around the table and dragging you to the door. Without your consent may I add.

"Where the fuck are we going, and do I have to make up lies?" you asked immediately as Natsuo lead you down the corridor, indirectly giving him permission to take you wherever his desired destination was. You noticed that he was wearing a cloak like he was planning on going outside.

"On an adventure," he answered, "And I don't need you to make up any lies, but only if we don't get caught. If we do, please say anything but the truth."

You mutely nodded, following Natsuo to wherever. Eventually, he stopped in front of the lounge room for the kids, pushing the door open to where you could see the other three Todoroki siblings waiting there. They all had cloaks or jackets covering them, Fuyumi having an extra one draped over her arm.

"So is she coming with us?" Fuyumi asked, eyes lighting up when her eyes landed on Natsuo and you standing behind him.

"Yup!" Natsuo chirped.

"Does she even know where we are going?" Shoto asked with a cocked eyebrow, noting the confusion that danced in your eyes.

"No clue, but I guess I'm going along," you nodded.

"We could be taking you to a cliff to plot your murder, and you're deciding not to question us?" Touya raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

"Fuyumi wouldn't allow you to kill me," you retorted.

"Sadly..." you heard Shoto whisper under his breath, gulping when Fuyumi sent a harsh glare his way. "Sorry. I promise I didn't mean it..."

"Mhm," you hummed, waving him off as you entered the room and took a seat down on the couch next to Touya. "So can someone explain to the clueless girl what's going on, or is she just going to have to be dragged along into something?"

"Oh, right, sorry," Fuyumi rubbed the back of her neck, "We're waiting for Enj— dad to fall asleep so we can sneak out and go to this field that's really pretty. It's open and there's always fireflies there."

"So like a firefly trip?" you asked tilting your head to the side, the look of innocence coming back on your face. That always seemed to happen when they talked about things outside of your area of expertise.

"Yeah! Like a firefly trip," Fuyumi smiled, nodding her head at what you called it.

"And we'll wait until Enji falls asleep so it's easier for us to sneak out?" you asked.

"Correction, we don't need to wait. The bastard goes to sleep by ten thirty, and as you can guess," Touya sent a wink and a cheeky grin your way, "Past ten thirty."

"So how are we going to get there? Are we going to walk?" you asked, "If so, can I grab a pair of shoes?"

"Nah, we have this old wagon we use whenever we sneak out," Touya waved you off, getting up and stretching his arms above his head. "There's a bunch of random things in it too. Like glass jars, blankets, spare clothes, and probably even some food."

"That's cool," you smiled, getting up as well and walking after the other three siblings who were already exiting the room.

They took a sharp turn, the Todorokis in front of you and Touya, pushing open the doors to a balcony. You were confused on how they were supposed to get down until you saw a ladder to the side of it.

I wonder how often they do this.

"I'm going down first," Natsuo spoke, reaching over the edge of the balcony and grabbing the ladder, propping it up so it was easier for him to get down without the ladder being unstable.

You watched as Natsuo quickly slid down the ladder, holding it in place from the bottom and sending a thumbs up. Fuyumi was next to go down, not being nearly as quick as her younger brother, but still pretty quick. Then you, you taking your time, but not too much to the point it was irritating. Then Shoto and Touya who both skipped like the last five steps.

"Just follow me," Fuyumi whispered to you, hiding behind a pillar as a guard walked by the five of you.

She continued to sneak behind different areas, being quiet with her foot steps. You were always hot on her trail, hearing a bit of rustling with the boys behind you, but overall they were silent.

Fuyumi lead you to an old rundown barn that was far away from the main areas of the palace, but still technically on castle grounds. She opened the big doors to the building that looked to be falling apart.

"This place was an old barn our great great grandparents used to use," Fuyumi explained, taking a quick glance behind you and her to see the boys making their way closer to the doors.

"Really?" you asked, eyes lighting up at the new information you were being fed. Even though it could be considered rather boring.

A horse neighed as soon as the doors opened all the way, seeming happy to see Fuyumi. The girl with glasses smiled, walking over to the horse and patting it on it's mane. She reached into a pocket, which she had self stitched into her dress, and pulled out a carrot.

"Hi Charlie," Fuyumi spoke in a baby voice, using one hand to pat the horse's mane and the other to feed him the carrot.

"Charlie but my finger," Natsuo spoke in a British accent, him and Touya passing Fuyumi with a laugh.

Touya got in the front part of the wagon, grabbing a blanket from the back to cushion the hard wooden bench he was sitting on. Natsuo opened the door in the back, helping Fuyumi up after she finished feeding Charlie the carrot.

Natsuo got in after her, rearranging things to try and make room so everyone could be comfy. Shoto walked by you, grabbing your hand and leading you towards the back of the wagon so you could get in.

And I'm not going to lie, his small gesture did make your heartbeat quicken in pace.

That wasn't the last of it though. His hands wrapped around your waist, picking you up and setting you down in the wagon. He hopped in after you, pulling the door up to close it.

"Let's get a move on?" Touya asked from the front after lighting a match and setting a candle in a lantern ablaze, handing the device to Natsuo as he picked up the reigns to the horse, "I want to get back before 3."