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Promises - BNHA/MHA

hello ew tumblr's new colours lmao what. anyways!! sorry ive been so busy ;; hopefully the chapter makes up for that a bit www to the like. 4 people who read this lmao Genre: fantasy Ships: kirishima x bakugou Word Count: 6662 Author: @undinefin

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Eijirou had seen towns before. When he had finally perfected his human form, he’d gone into a few near his nest before his family had to relocate. The towns there were simple. Eijirou liked that about humans. Their little daily schedules, the way they would pack bond with objects or other species, and how they put value on things like clothes or paper.

All the towns he’d seen up until this point were quiet ones, where the most action or drama would be a party, or a bar fight. Occasionally the town would hold a festival and items would either drop or raise in price. But none of them were big, he could probably cross the town in a few strides as a dragon.

But Charnom was not one of those towns.

Above the buildings were streamers and flags of different colours. The central location where Katsuki had taken him was bustling with people. Eijirou was constantly being jolted from side to side. The boy had told him to look out for something called “pickpockets” and if he did see one, he could punch them.

Eijirou could pick up all sorts of conversations. Some were discussing a ball that was supposedly next week, others were haggling for goods at stalls, a few were simply joking around with friends, though a few conversations seemed to hold some tension. The dragon had never been this overwhelmed before. He’d felt this sense of wonder from humans before, and the warm feeling of appreciation and amazement was filling him once more.

“Close your mouth, you look like an idiot,” Katsuki ordered.

Eijirou smiled instead, letting his sharp teeth show. It was the one thing he was unable to fully change. He assumed it had to do with survival and his body ensuring he could still eat properly. Sometimes he’d have little success with shaping them into small rectangles, but within a day or so they’d grow back to the sharp state.

Katsuki led them through the busy market. Eijirou wasn’t able to properly process all of the stalls around him. He could point out some food or clothing stalls. A few seemed to sell weapons, or rather strange-looking drinks.

“Oh, Katsuki-chan! It’s been a very long time,” an old woman said weakly. The pair approached a small stall that seemed to sell food.

“I’ve brought some fruit.” He placed his pack onto the counter and took out the pots. “Oi, you too.” Katsuki gestured to Eijirou, who took a moment to pay attention to the boy’s orders instead of the thousand other things happening.

The old woman smiled softly. “It’s always nice getting fruit from you Katsuki-chan. You don’t charge a lot for your services, even though finding these fruits is so hard.”

Katsuki seemed almost concerned. “Is the business going okay?” he asked.

“Well, my daughter is supposed to take over, but she’s been so busy taking care of her son. I know my son-in-law won’t want to sit here running a fruit stall, but I don’t want to pressure the family either,” the old woman explained.

“Is there anything we can do?” Eijirou asked. He struggled to untie the pot lid.

The woman’s face brightened. “Oh, if you could! I wouldn’t want to trouble such nice young men. If you could, look after my grandson for a bit, then I’d be able to go out and sell my produce to a regular buyer.”

Katsuki opened his mouth, about to reject the offer, but he turned to see Eijirou’s pleading eyes. “Fine, when do you need us?”

The smile on her face made her weathering skin wrinkle more. “Oh, just after lunch!”

Eijirou nodded pleasantly as Katsuki dragged him back into the crowded street. They blocked themselves off into a side street. The smell of garbage and rotting food was extremely pungent there. Eijirou covered his nose in order to block out the disgusting stench.

“What the fuck man? I don’t wanna babysit some kid!” Katsuki pushed Eijirou’s shoulder back.

The dragon pouted. “Well I do! I almost never get to see human children.”

“That’s what this is about? You want to see a kid?” Katsuki shouted, his voice getting throaty from exasperation. The wrinkle between his brows became bigger, signifying his annoyance. The boy took a step back, realizing he was taking up the dragon’s space and forcing him against a wall.

Eijirou nodded shamelessly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Please?” he begged.

Katsuki sighed, “Whatever, we already agreed. But you’re doing all the work, okay? If the kid shits himself I’m not cleaning it up.”

“But I don’t know how!”

“Well neither do I!”

This sent Eijirou into a bit of a frenzy, worrying and fretting over taking care of human children. He knew the problems of taking care of dragon babies, the most concerning issue being losing sight of a small reptile.

Dragons, like most creatures, were free to nature as their bathroom. However, humans, somewhere along the line, found the concept rather disgusting and insisted that there be rooms dedicated to personal hygiene. This was another interesting thing about humans, though definitely one that Eijirou found quite troublesome. A bit needless if anything.

“How do you go to the bathroom, Bakugou?”

Katsuki whipped his head around, glaring. “What the fuck man? Why do I have to tell you?”

“Well, I didn’t see a bathroom in your house so I was just wondering,” Eijirou replied. He didn’t match the embarrassment that Katsuki seemed to have.

“There’s a river a few hundred meters out I use if it’s shit, but other than that I’m just like some animal,” he begrudgingly explained. The red on his face spread to his ears. “We’re not talking about this anymore.”

The two reached the town centre, which was a large circle that held no large building or structures, save for a wooden board and a large tower. The area had a brick path that lead around it, but there was also a fair amount of greenery. All of it was planted though.

“How are those flowers even surviving here...?” Eijirou wondered aloud.

“Why? Are they not supposed to?”

“These are Campanulas, they shouldn’t grow in Amagata’s climate at all. They’re obviously imported, and someone’s regulating the temperature around them. Or maybe it’s those weird...pesty-sides? Is that what they’re called? Maybe it’s fart-ill-eezer?”

“Fertilizer? Pesticides?” Katsuki guessed.

“Yeah that! Or magic I guess. But using magic for flowers seems like a lot more work than needed.”

Katsuki stared at the pretty blue flowers. “You’d be surprised.”

Eijirou watched in pure confusion as Katsuki approached the large wooden board. He could read some of the slips of paper with relative ease. They seemed to be requests, asking for favours in return for nik.

Bored, Eijirou let his eyes wander around the rest of the opening. Unlike the busy street they had been on, the town centre was lined with little cafés, and shops that sold odd, likely unnecessary, but still fascinating trinkets.

Eijirou found himself drawn to the large tower. It was made of dark brick that seemed to be fading in the sunlight. The structure looked far too thin to house people, but the exterior wasn’t particularly interesting either. He concluded it wasn’t a form of art, but still couldn’t make heads or tails of the weird circle at the very top.

“Hey Bakugou, what’s the tower for?”

The boy looked up towards where Eijirou was pointing. “That’s a clock tower,” he said simply.

“What does it do?”

“Can you shut up and give me a few seconds, then I can explain? If you’re not going to earn money then keep quiet,” he ordered.

Eijirou nodded, though not scared or worried about Katsuki’s tone. He amused himself with the birds that were flying from one building to the next, and the few who were waiting patiently at the cafés for a speck of food. He watched a few children running around the centre, playing some game he couldn’t understand.

Finally, Katsuki turned to him. “So, you see the numbers inside the circle?” he said out of the blue. Eijirou was surprised by the sudden conversation, but quickly nodded. “And the big sticks?” Eijirou nodded again. “Well you read those, and it tells the time of day.”

“It...it’s like a sundial?” Eijirou asked. He was confused enough by the odd device at Katsuki’s house, but the clock tower seemed even more vague. Time was another concept that Eijirou didn’t share with humans. It wasn’t something so organized for dragons. Perhaps because they lived so much longer, they didn’t need such strict schedules.

“No, it doesn’t tell you the month or day. It’s just used as a general thing,” Katsuki explained.

Eijirou did notice that the circle with numbers on it – the clock perhaps – was flat, unlike the sundial Katsuki owned, which dipped inside, creating a spherical shape. “Can you read it?”

“Yeah, it’s not hard. But it’s still sort of new to Piece. From what I’ve heard, they’re gonna stop using sundials. Speaking of time, we have to go pick up that old woman’s kid soon,” he mentioned.

The dragon would have stayed and tried to figure out how the clock worked but the excitement of meeting a human child outweighed the clock tower. The two made their way back into the crowded marketplace. Again, his senses were overwhelmed from the commotion.

Between the different food stalls, potion shops, and lamp tents, Eijirou could have sworn he saw a booth that sold trappings made from dragon scales, blood, and teeth. He didn’t focus on the stall for very long. Most humans would pay thousands for items such as those. Causing a commotion would only lead to suspicion, but he still couldn't help but quicken his pace.

“Katsuki-chan, over here!” the old woman waved from beside her stall, which had a sign telling patrons that it would be temporarily closed. Beside her was a very small child, which fascinated Eijirou more than anything. Human children were often extremely cute, with their miniscule hands and impossibly high voice.

As the pair approached the old woman, the boy sneaked behind her legs, using her as a barrier. “Oh, he’s just shy! Thank you so much for doing this, it’s such a huge favour!”

Katsuki grunted. He crossed his arms and refused to pay attention to the child. Eijirou on the other hand was excitedly waving towards the kid.

“It’s no problem ma’am. We’ll take care of him for a few hours!” Eijirou promised.

The old woman stepped aside, forcing the kid out in the open. He still clung to her legs, but his small, red face was facing the pair at least. “This is Kota, my grandson. He’s twenty-months old. He knows a few words, mostly ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ but—”

“Mommy!” Kota cried out. Tears formed at his eyes, and he clutched onto his grandmother with greater strength.

“Well, Kota can walk just fine. Take him somewhere where it’s distracting, but not busy. It’ll be great trouble if you lose him,” she laughed.

Eijirou felt his heart melt as the child begrudgingly let go of his grandmother’s leg. The dragon held out his hand, hoping Kota would take it.

“Now Kota-chan, this here is Katsuki-chan.” She pointed to Katsuki, who still refused to properly greet the child. “And this is...?”

Eijirou was caught off guard. Should he use the name he gave Katsuki? Or would someone, somehow catch onto it? No, Eijirou couldn’t take any chances. Not with his family and dragonkind being at risk just because of some stupid fight, which is what landed him in this position in the first place (not that this position was necessarily awful, it was just dangerous).

“I’m Kirishima. Nice to meet ya Kota-kun!”

The old woman pushed her grandson towards the pair. “Yes, this is Kirishima-chan. Be a good boy, okay Kota-chan?” With a kiss on the cheek, the grandmother made her way through the busy marketplace. Kota tried to follow her with his eyes, but quickly lost her in the crowd.

“Baa...Baa-cha...” he mumbled. His small voice, paired with teary eyes made Eijirou’s heart squeeze. Dragon children weren’t this cute.

Eijirou managed to slip Kota’s small hand into his, and Katsuki led them down a side street to stay away from the busy crowd.

“So, you’re twenty months old, huh Kota-kun?” Eijirou asked. His voice unconsciously pitched when talking to the child. Kota nodded slowly, bringing his thumb to his mouth to suck on. “How...how old is twenty months?” Eijirou asked, realizing he didn’t actually know what the value meant.

“God you’re a fucking idiot.”

“Hey! No swearing around the children!”

Katsuki sighed. “I don’t care damnit. The kid isn’t going to pick up any words from just two hours of being together.”

“Can I start calling you Katsuki-chan then?” Eijirou laughed.

“Absolutely fucking not! Also, twenty months is almost two years old, so he’s still basically a baby,” he answered Eijirou’s previous question.

“I...I don’t know a lot about humans but something tells me that’s incorrect.”

“Kids are all the same to me,” Katsuki defended himself. “Whatever. Where are we going with the brat?”

Eijirou looked towards Kota again, who was getting saliva everywhere from sucking on his thumb. His eyes were pinned to the floor. “Do you wanna go anywhere Kota-kun? Or do you want me and Katsuki-chan to choose?”

“Hey! Fuck you!”

“No swearing!”

Kota’s bottom lip trembled. “Baa-cha,” he said quickly.

Eijirou frowned. “I’m sorry Kota-kun, we can’t go to Baa-chan right now.” The child hung his head, whimpering and mumbling ‘Baa-cha’ over and over. “How about the town centre? Maybe we can eat something there? Or look at the birds!”

“Birdie?” His face brightened at the response. The widening eyes and curious expression slowly turning into excitement was enough for Eijirou to turn, and beg Katsuki to lead the way to the town centre.

“Look, you’re the one keeping him entertained, I’m just here babysitting two idiots,” he called from ahead. Eijirou paid the insult no mind, instead focusing on Kota, who was now excitedly jumping up and down.

***

Eijirou was impressed by how well Katsuki knew Charnom. He navigated the backstreets well, easily leading the three to the town centre. Again, Eijirou rested his eyes on the clock tower, but Kota tugging on his arm quickly distracted him. He seemed to be eagerly heading towards a flock of birds gathered at a café.

“Let him run around, it’s not as busy here. Just keep an eye on him and yell at him every so often,” Katsuki said.

Eijirou nodded, telling Kota to not wander far. The boy ran towards the birds, excitedly chasing them as they either hopped or flew out of his grasp.

“You know, the kid reminds me of you. I wonder if he’ll be anything like you when he grows up,” Eijirou commented. “Like, the spikiness of his hair is sorta’ similar, and his eyes are scarily angled that it kinda’ looks like he’s a bit mad all the time.”

“I do not look like some idiotic kid!”

The dragon laughed, showing off his pointy teeth. “Aww, is Katsuki-chan angry? Need a nap?” he teased.

“Shut your stupid face, or I’ll shut it up for you,” Katsuki growled.

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“By punching your damn jaw so hard you won’t be able to laugh anymore.” Katsuki cracked his knuckles, letting out an intimidating grin. His pupils seemed to reflect a fire that wasn’t present, but Eijirou could easily picture it.

Somehow, the dragon was disappointed by the response.

At some point, between when Kota had fallen onto the floor because some bird kicked dirt into his face, and when the woman at the café had given the boy crumbs to feed the birds, a man selling balloons walked by.

Eijirou had only seen balloons about two times in his life. They were a truly mysterious creation. He found it odd how humans found happiness and excitement in some thin sheets of paper being lifted by air. When he first saw them, he initially believed the user would control the balloon by manipulating the air. It turned out that a small flame would be conjured within the paper sphere, which would lift the entire contraption. Attaching a rope to it would give humans control over the balloon, preventing it from floating away.

Balloons could come in different colours, and different shapes too. Eijirou, who was a being that relied purely on magic, marveled at the amalgamation of science and magic. His intellect might play a part in his fascination—because Eijirou could never wrap his head around such subjects like arithmetic or science—but the limitless human imagination was still amazing.

Kota ran up to the two. “Please?” he pleaded, pointing at the balloon vendor.

Eijirou turned to Katsuki, who was in charge of the wallet. “Please?” he imitated the child. The boy caved, handing a single nik to Eijirou. The dragon took Kota’s petite hand, leading him up to the vendor. As they approached the man, the toddler grew increasingly nervous.

After some fumbling, and broken conversation, Kota walked away with a forest green balloon. The pair ran back to Katsuki, who looked unimpressed by the decision.

“Here, pass me the string,” Katsuki demanded. Kota looked hesitant, hiding his small figure behind Eijirou’s legs. Eijirou slowly pulled the child from behind him, placing Kota’s hand into Katsuki’s. The boy kneeled while tying the string around Kota’s wrist. “There, now it won’t float away.”

Kota ran around again, this time his green balloon trailing behind him. Eijirou worried a bird would pick up the piece of paper, and fly off, leaving only a fire in a small wicker basket. To distract himself, Eijirou focused again on the clock tower.

“How does it work? Magic?” he asked, noticing how the rods of the clock were now in a different position.

Katsuki shrugged, “Hell if I know. If it isn’t on magic, then it probably started with it. Most things do that.”

“So, you guys just develop from magic to science?” Eijirou echoed.

“I think so. I dunno much about either of ‘em though,” Katsuki said, finishing the conversation. “Hey, didn’t we come here to get more books in the first place? Why don’t we go over there now? Even if the kid doesn’t wanna come he doesn’t have much a choice,” he grinned.

“Bakugou!”

“I thought I was Katsuki-chan to you,” he gibed. “Oi kid, we’re going to a new place now.”

Kota was startled by Katsuki’s yell. He scurried over to Eijirou, and this time took the initiative to hold Eijirou’s hand himself. Again, they followed Katsuki’s lead to the bookstore. The building was further from the busy market place, and west of the town center. There were only four or five other people on the street where they walked, none of them conversing.

Walking into the bookstore, the unusual smell of parchment and leather filled Eijirou’s nose. The room was filled with books of different lengths. There seemed to be signs on the shelfs, marking different genres, and even languages.

It was a different sense of wonder than the market. Here, Eijirou knew that the heart and mind of all humans were collected within these pages, all concentrated in this very store. People poured their thoughts, their studies, their emotions onto the pages and spun them so the words would turn into an idea, perhaps a different idea, in another person’s head.

There was a certain kind of magic that humans held with these books; one that Eijirou hoped to understand, even just an inkling of what they contained.

Kota pointed to a book that was stood on a table at the front of the store. It was clearly on display for people to look at. “Aw-Might!”

“Who?” Eijirou asked.

“Aw-Might! Strong!” he shouted. Kota ran towards the book, and flipped through it. When the contents proved to have no images, he sadly put the book down.

Eijirou faced Katsuki. “Who’s ‘Aw-Might?’”

The shopkeeper spoke up, “Oh! Are you Bakugou-kun’s friend? I heard that you don’t get out much. But even if you live under a rock, you should surely know of the Champion.” Eijirou shook his head in confusion. “Are you a foreigner?”

“Uh...yeah,” he responded. “Not from Piece.”

The old man beamed. “I’d be glad to tell you about the Champion! You know, he’s the Pride of Piece, the Unassailable Soul, the Champion–All Might! He’s a part of the Royal Guard, but he’s so strong that he’s basically a unit on his own. I don’t think there’s a day in Piece history, where he’s lost or surrendered.”

“Woah...so he’s a super strong, manly, man?” Eijirou asked.

“Strong! Aw-Might!” Kota nodded. He held his hands out in front of him, fists balled, and began running around the room. The child spewed nonsense, copying phrases and words that were on the cover of the All Might Book.

“He is!” the shopkeeper laughed. Eijirou picked up the book, and noticed the image on the front. The Champion seemed to be a big, burly man with the largest smile Eijirou could conceive of a human. His hair seemed to be a signature of sorts. The way the blond locks formed a V-shape atop his head was unusual. On his shoulder was a massive sword, as big as the man himself. It was rusted, and cuts on the blade itself told stories in themselves of the battles the Champion had fought.

“If you’ve ever heard of the Chimera Crisis, it was the Champion who fought off the beasts from the west coast. He participated in gladiator fights when he was younger, winning them three years in a row. It’s how he became so well known. Oh! He also took out the entire Darkwing Organization on his own,” the shopkeeper rambled on.

He listed many other achievements, including a preventing an assassination on the Royal Family, and resolving the conflict between the naiads and the selkies, who were flooding the towns and displacing many habitats.

“You know,” the shopkeeper chuckled. “Bakugou-kun used to come in here and read all sorts of stories of All Might when he was a child. He was obsessed with the Champion, weren’t you Bakugou-kun?”

The boy flushed, sputtering, though not denying the statement. “I was not obsessed!”

“He was passionate,” the old man said gently.

“All kids are passionate about All Might! He’s the strongest knight in Piece!”

Eijirou laughed, mimicking whatever action Kota had done before with his arms outstretched and fists balled. “Did you pretend you could go around like this? And carry a huge sword? Huh, Katsuki-chan?” he teased.

“Don’t call me that! All Might is the idol of every kid in this country, it’s only natural that I was also a fan!”

“Oh? Are you going by Katsuki now?” the shopkeeper asked, straying from the topic.

Katsuki let out a growl, grabbing Eijirou by the flaps of his vest. His voice was hoarse from shouting, his eyes filling with white. “I don’t! Shitty Hair if you don’t fucking stop—”

“Kaccha?”

The boy saw red.

Katsuki turned to see Kota looking up at him, but his small face rounded more, and his eyes looked much bigger. His red cheeks from excitement looked instead like he was crying. The small figure was shaking in Katsuki’s eyes, and suddenly it wasn’t Kota standing in the bookstore anymore.

“Kaccha?” the toddler repeated.

Katsuki strode up to the child, his blood boiling. A part of him knew what he saw wasn’t true, but that alone wasn’t enough to stop his fist from raising above his head. Katsuki cocked his head to the side, his neck straining from the position. He stared at Kota, who was no longer Kota to him. Adrenaline ran through his blood, urging him to bring down his hand.

Kota swallowed, his eyes no longer glowing. “...scary,” he mumbled. The boy ran to Eijirou, who could only stare at the scene.

Katsuki turned to Eijirou, seeing the unnatural white in his face. Slowly realizing exactly what his actions had implied, he rushed towards the two, preparing an apology in his head. He was sweating, the palms of his hands wet from fear and anxiety.

“I didn’t—”

“No! Not Kaccha!” Kota screamed. The sound ripped through Katsuki’s ears. He lunged, preparing his hand to grab a throat.

At contact, Katsuki was holding onto small red scales. A small hiss, and a bit of smoke was released from his hand. Looking up, he met Eijirou’s eyes which wore an emotion Katsuki had never seen in them before. His eyes shone, maybe because of his draconic nature, but to Katsuki, it felt as though the dragon was going to cry.

Snapping his hand back, Katsuki stormed out of the shop. He didn’t look back, but did wait at the door for the other two. There was no movement for a long time. Katsuki simply stood, looking onto the empty street and forcing himself to push out his violent and grey memories. No, right now he had to focus on living. He wouldn’t see that damn useless guy anymore.

Katsuki slapped his cheeks. It was still a habit to call that guy useless, but Katsuki knew better than that now. That’s what he promised.

The door beside him opened slowly, and Kota walked out shyly. His hands were gripping onto his shirt, and he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Bakugou-san!” he shouted.

“Good job!” Eijirou’s voice called from inside. The dragon lead the child out, so all three were on the street. Katsuki could hear the shopkeeper call out a farewell through the wall.

Katsuki took a deep breath. “Me too kid. Sorry for being bad.” He bowed his head slightly. Bad was an understatement.

Eijirou nodded. “We won’t call you that anymore. Sorry.”

Kota couldn’t hold it anymore. He began to whimper, and transitioned into a full-blown meltdown. Big tears fell down his cheeks, and his small mouth let out a perpetual, high-pitched cry. Eijirou tried to hush him, but Kota only panicked from the proximity, flailing his arms. Eijirou took the message and backed up.

The boy raised his hands and began rubbing the tears away from his eyes. Katsuki watched as the balloon’s rope slowly slid off his wrist with each rub. When Kota finally pulled his hand away, the balloon took off into the sky.

This only prompted more crying. The child grasped for the string, which was already out of reach for him. Katsuki jumped to grab the string, but it slipped from his fingers which were still sweaty from before. He cursed, backing up and hoping to gain more leverage.

Before Katsuki could jump again, a pair of wings crossed his field of vision. When he blinked, Eijirou was on the ground with the balloon in his hand. His vest was tossed to the side, leaving a man shirtless in the street with a balloon in hand, and a smile of sharp teeth.

He put a finger to his lips. “Kota-kun, don’t tell anyone you saw that okay?” Eijirou bent down, and gave the balloon back to Kota.

“Pretty...” the child whispered. Katsuki watched the child stare intently into Eijirou’s eyes, which radiated onto his cheeks. The beautiful gold had returned to the dragon's eyes, but slowly faded.

“You promise you won’t tell anyone?” Eijirou asked again.

Kota nodded, still fascinated with whatever creature stood before him. “Promise!”

***

The last purchase the pair made was a candlestick and saucer for the walk home. They didn’t share much conversation on the way back to the glade. Eijirou kept on asking if he could bring out his wings and fly back, since walking was really tiring, but Katsuki had already given him a heavy scolding from his stupid, past actions.

The Wyrm Forest felt much denser at night, as if the canopies closed in without the sun. It was eerily quiet, only the sounds of cicadas filling the air.

“Are you sure we won’t be attacked?” Eijirou asked for the nth time. “I swear this forest gets creepier at night.”

Katsuki groaned. “I already told you Shitty Hair, wyrms don’t attack unless they feel threatened! And considering how big they are, that isn’t very often! Unless you go around poking a stick at them or some crap, they won’t attack you. They’re your cousins y’know. They’re smart.”

Still jittery, Eijirou gave a hesitant nod. “How do you make this journey so often? It’s so long,” the dragon whined.

“Ya get used to it. Why? Not strong enough to do it? Need me to carry your lazy ass?” Katsuki jeered. He bent over, as if inviting the dragon for a piggy-back-ride.

“Really?” Eijirou played along. He grabbed Katsuki’s shoulders and almost jumped up onto his back, but the boy ran ahead, laughing.

Katsuki was the one holding the candle, but Eijirou needed neither light nor warmth. His glowing eyes provided enough light for him to see, and as a fire dragon, he could certainly regulate his body temperature. Katsuki found it almost frustrating how magical Eijirou really was. Every component of him worked off of, and in turn, exuded mana.

“You wanted to know why my wing got torn, yeah?” Eijirou broke the momentary silence.

Katsuki nodded rather shamelessly. His childlike curiousity took over from the main point he was trying to make.

“The truth is that, well, I got too close to a group of travelling humans. They were hunting some egg or something. I was fascinated by their carriages, and the way they had enchanted their swords. I wanted to see humans do what they do best: make things happen.” Eijirou’s eyes flashed a brighter orange. “But they must’ve had some ranger or someone else hiding where I couldn’t see, or even hear!

“Before I knew it, I was being fired at. I couldn’t properly protect myself without jeopardizing all dragons as a whole. I tried to fly away, but as I began to flap my wings, they must’ve shot some explosive projectile or maybe some magic but whatever it was, it tore my wing.”

The two broke through the forest wall, entering Katsuki’s glade. He watched as the form beside him fell onto all fours, the skin and hair stretching and slipping off. It was sickening to watch Eijirou's eyes roll back into his head, and his nails growing abnormally long. He struggled to get off his vest and pants while scales enveloped his entire body, which was now four times the size of Katsuki. The dragon took a step forward. His body mass was finally big enough to shake the ground. His sharp teeth simply grew in size, and a second row sprouted up behind the first. Finally, with a shake of his head Eijirou returned to his full form and his eyes slid back, fiery orange.

“That was horrifying what the fuck. Doesn’t it hurt?”

Eijirou nodded. “A bit. It hurts more to go the other way though. Anyways, after my wing was shot, I set some nearby trees on fire and ran until I reached the North Mountains. Stayed up there for a few days but that damn Cherufe was so infuriating I left. That’s when I got to the forest, and I met you soon after.”

“Huh, you’d think dragons could heal faster,” Katsuki mentioned.

“Man, I wish!” Eijirou exclaimed. “It’s because we’re so reliant on magic, and so huge that it takes a long time to heal stuff. We can take lots of blows, but it usually requires a year to recover from a full fight. Well, then again, a year isn’t worth much to a dragon.”

“Why do you still like humans if they’re trying to kill you all the time?”

“You’re not trying to kill me,” Eijirou said. Katsuki glared. “Okay, okay. To be honest, I don’t even know. But everything you li’l guys do is so fascinating. You’ve built castles and churches larger than even some of the biggest dragons! By yourselves too! And the paintings, or songs, or the way you live your lives is so odd, but always so interesting.”

“So, you’re just a fuckin’ nerd,” Katsuki concluded.

Eijirou snorted, “Sure.”

Katsuki stopped at the door to his hut. He looked the dragon in the eye, and hardened his expression. “I’m definitely gonna do it. I’ll create a kingdom where I’m the king, and there’s gonna be dragons everywhere. You and I will be sitting on a massive pile of gold.”

Eijirou’s amber eyes shone, and the dragon gave a massive, toothy grin. He nodded, nudging Katsuki with his snout. With the silent exchange, Katsuki watched the dragon walked away to hide himself in the woods to sleep.

Katsuki dreamed of flying in the sky. He couldn’t tell if it was from his own abilities, or another force, but beside him was Eijirou. Instead of a dragon, it was his human form with wings sprouting from his back. The sky was a clear blue. The boy knew it was a dream. Eijirou wouldn’t fly so freely when he could be spotted, but Katsuki wanted to stay in the moment a little longer.

But the Eijirou in his dreams was too one-dimensional. Sure, the dragon’s laugh was pleasant to the ears – almost addicting – but it was the only thing that dream-Eijirou could do. There was no banter, and no matter how hard he tried, Katsuki couldn’t say a word. Possibly the worst element was the distance between them. Katsuki couldn’t move closer to the dragon at all.

Slowly, the form began to fall, like he’d seen earlier. His skin dripped off, like candle wax and fell to the earth. Underneath the layer of skin was unnervingly slimy scales. Even with the sounds of his bones cracking, and eyes rolling back and forth, the dragon was still laughing. The sound became distorted, low and then high frequencies replacing the once beautiful laughter.

Eijirou fully turned to Katsuki, revealing the blood on the side of his face, hemorrhaging from a chunk taken off his head. Bits of bone were visible, and the blood slowly turned to scales on his face, locking the dragon’s despairing expression in place.

He woke up in a sweat. Katsuki took a moment to regulate his breathing, hoping his heart would slow down with it.

“Bakugou.”

The boy screamed, nearly jumping out of his bed. He turned to see Eijirou in his human form, with the same expression on his face that Katsuki had seen in the dream, minus the blood.

Eijirou looked ready to cry.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better guest here. A better man. I’m so sorry,” he whispered it, speaking quickly.

Katsuki stood up. “What do you mean? The hell’s going on? Were you attacked?”

Eijirou pursed his lips, which were trembling. “Not yet. I was too careless in town, I know they’re coming I can feel it, I can hear it. They’ll come here eventually.”

“No—”

“I have to leave. I can’t put my family in danger anymore.” His eyes were a bland maroon. “I’m sorry,” he said it again. Katsuki could see light out his window. The sun hadn’t lifted into the sky. No, it was torches, and with torches came humans.

“I know it’s selfish to leave you here in danger. I’m so sorry, I’ll try to throw them off somehow but—”

“You’re damn right it’s selfish,” Katsuki growled. His hands were getting sweaty again, but this time with anger. “You’re just gonna go? As if nothing ever happened? I can’t believe that you’re just abandoning me! If you were so worried about this why didn’t you tell me earlier!?” He felt his heart beat faster with every demand.

“I didn’t want to worry you! You’re too headstrong, you’d try to fight that entire town if I told you. I’m leaving,” the dragon declared.

“So, what!? I told you, I said it myself I would fight every damn person on this continent if it meant that you could fly freely.” Katsuki grasped Eijirou’s arm, feeling the unnatural heat emanating from it.

Eijirou smiled sadly. “I know you would. And I know you can definitely do it, but not now. Now isn’t the time.”

Katsuki almost screamed. “Then when is the time!? Huh?”

Eijirou began backing out of the hut. “I’m sorry,” he said again. The boy followed him, grabbing his sword in case he did need to fight.

The dragon broke out into a run, letting his wings form, but they were stuffed into his vest. Katsuki ran after him, putting every ounce of energy he could into chasing down the Eijirou. “Wait!” he cried. “You’re definitely coming back, right?”

Eijirou stopped and turned. He seemed to wipe a tear from his eye. “I will. I promise I’ll come back.”

“When?” Katsuki begged.

“Soon.”

“How soon is that!?” his voice broke. He cracked on the last word, some foreign feeling filling his throat. Katsuki wanted to blow something up, he wanted to destroy whatever awful thing was tearing at his heart right now.

The dragon’s eyes reflected light that wasn’t his. The people were drawing closer to the glade. Even though they couldn’t hear him from across the field, Eijirou still lowered his voice. “I don’t really know. It could be months, it could be years.”

Katsuki seemed to whimper at the response. “So...you’re really going? Just like that? If you could stay, we could lie, or fight them off. Don’t just leave you asshole,” he matched Eijirou’s volume.

Eijirou nodded. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a smoothed claw. “This is... actually really weird and mildly disgusting if you think about it but...I didn’t want to leave everything behind, and I selfishly wanted you to remember me, even just a bit.” Eijirou held the orange claw in his hand, which gleamed under the moonlight.

“I made this quickly. It’s one of my claws but it’s smaller for obvious reasons.” He placed it in Katsuki’s hand.

“Magic?” the boy guessed. Eijirou nodded. “Yeah it’s sort of disgusting,” Katsuki agreed. “Like, really disgusting. I could’ve gone without the fucking details.”

Eijirou laughed. He pulled out another claw that was similar to the one Katsuki was given. Holding his empty hand above both of the claws, he casted a small light upon them. “It’s a weak sort of tracking. This is the best I can do to keep you and I safe,” he explained. “It’ll grow warmer the closer we are to each other. I’ll definitely find you again.”

Katsuki bit his lip, trying to compose himself. “Okay.” He nodded. “Okay, you better find me again, you lazy asshole.”

Eijirou leaned in, touching his forehead to Katsuki’s. Neither of them could say a word. Katsuki couldn’t bring himself to give a proper farewell. The boy wanted to grab Eijirou and force him to stay. Maybe he could tie him down, or barter with the nymphs to protect him. Though, Katsuki knew that none of those were the best option for the dragon. Eijirou would have to leave.

He felt the heat leave his forehead. Katsuki watched the dragon give him one last, toothy smile before flying off into the night. Katsuki could only follow his figure until he reached the clouds, where only a wisp of Eijirou was left.

The claw in his hand was cold.

Turning to face the torches, Katsuki could make out a horde of people. They carried pitchforks, weapons, and hatred. They were angry. They were envious. The boy couldn’t help but scream, let the sound know exactly what he intended to do.

He made his promise, and he was going to keep it. Katsuki was going to build his throne of gold, sit upon it, and create a kingdom. Once he did, his dragon would surely return to him.

ahhHH the plot continues to move~ in case you haven't noticed it, these two are about 4 years in the past from the others in their timeline. after this chapter, everyone will be in the same time. hope that isn't too confusing!! thanks for reading ;;; if u have any comments or wanna let me know u liked it!! the like button!!!! i sound like a bad youtuber okay thank u!!!

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