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“ Slay the red beast
You’ll know nothing but peace.
Mountains of gold will be laid at your feet.
Holy power will flow through your veins
Kill the beast to feel no pain.
Paint the crimson sunset black,
Destroy the beast in one final attack.“
Bakugou side-eyed the group of adventurers discussing the ridiculously long rhyme. He scowled as he reached into his pocket and fished out a glittering golden coin. Without looking at the woman who sold him the burlap sack of fruit, he flipped the coin towards her. She gasped as she slapped her hands around it, peeking down at the smooth circle of pure gold and looked up to thank him. But he was already walking away, taking a sizable bite out of a peach as he held the bag at his side.
Five days. Bakugou had been camping in a cave half a mile outside of the town and he’s already been found. What’s more is the townspeople have came up with a rhyme to get him into trouble. Of course it wasn’t Bakugou’s fault. He wasn’t the beast. He beast was his companion. Companion was a very nice word, in reality he owned the beast.
“Kirishima!” He yelled, his voice rough and echoing through the forest. Birds screeched as they flew out of the trees and the ground shook as the beast made his way over. Bakugou put down the bag of fruit and stared at the gigantic dragon currently hunched over a small bush. He was eating something. Bakugou rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms.
“What the hell are you eating?” He watched as the dragon’s eyes widened and he started chewing faster. “Spit it out! How fucking stupid can you be?” Bakugou ran towards the dragon with no fear, and the dragon spun around to try and get him away from his mouth. Bakugou grabbed onto his snout and forced his hand into his mouth. “Spit it out Kirishima.” He growled, pulling out a very soggy lump of metal.
Bakugou’s face fell, and then it morphed into disgust. He tossed the spit covered metal into the puddle the townspeople called a lake and wiped his arm on his pants.
“That’s fucking disgusting, that used to be on a knight’s foot you know.” Bakugou went back to collect his sack of food, and when he turned around he was met with a boy sitting cross legged with spiky red hair, equally as spiky teeth and wide crimson eyes that were very attentive. He tossed the bag onto his lap and grinned when he groaned in pain.
“You took so long I was getting hungry!” Kirishima explained, pulling the bag open and pulling out an apple. He took bite before looking at the blonde boy and raising an eyebrow. “Why are you so pissed? And more than usual.” Kirishima ducked his head out of the way when Bakugou threw a peach pit at him.
“I’m not pissed. I’m just really fucking angry that we can’t ever take a break from running.” Bakugou leaned against the trunk of a nearby oak tree and looked down at the ground as if he hated it. “We just got here, and your huge red ass has us in trouble again.”
“Well excuse me and my huge ass!” Kirishima yelped, having nothing to throw because he ate the whole apple and he wasn’t going to throw a perfectly good pear at Bakugou. “I didn’t ask to live with you, you commanded me to never leave your side.” Kirishima huffed indignantly, sinking his teeth into the pear and humming at the pleasantly sweet taste. Pears didn’t grow where he was originally from, it was nice to try new things even after being alive for eighteen years.
“I really wish I commanded you to play dead until I had a use for you.” Bakugou adjusted the fur of his cape around his shoulders and glanced over at the boy spilling juice all over the bandana around his neck. “Look, the townspeople have already made a fake prophecy about you.” He turned his head when he heard a rustle in the leaves, and he inched his sword from its sheath at his hip.
Kirishima took another apple from the bag and was wondering if he should eat it now or later when Bakugou completely took his sword out. The dragon sat up straight, sniffing the air and narrowing his eyes.
“Bakugou it’s not a human.” Kirishima mumbled, running his teeth along the fruit and lapping at the juice trailing down his fingers. Bakugou’s frame softened, but not that much. A rabbit hopped out of the bush and Bakugou clicked his tongue before letting his blade slip back into its holder.
“You’re too on edge.” Kirishima spoke, flopping down onto his back and sighing happily. A stream of sunlight glimmered between the crowns of trees and warmed his bare skin. He went to take another bite out of his apple when it was ripped from his hand by a speeding arrow. Bakugou drew his sword faster than Kirishima could get up, and they carefully walked backwards until their backs touched.
“Listen, don’t shift okay? Whatever you fucking do, don’t shift.” Bakugou annunciated every word very carefully. Kirishima was a very bad listener. By contract, Kirishima should obey everything Bakugou tells him to do, but they must have messed up on that whole soul bonding thing. Kirishima was clearly Bakugou’s but for some reason his impulse control was almost non-existent and not a word Bakugou could say would help him.
“I won’t.” Kirishima said crisply, taking his two long daggers out of their sheaths.
Adventurers from the town sprang out of the bushes and charged at the two boys. There were six of them, and they were all armed. Even though one of the men had nothing but a rake, he was still armed. Kirishima was fast, sometimes a little too fast. He went for a man but slipped a little and ended up having to brace himself on a tree before pushing off of it and running his blades across the man’s stomach. He hadn’t meant to do that, but it looked pretty damn cool.
Bakugou gritted his teeth as a man with a broadsword ran at him and a woman aimed her bow at him. It was hard enough blocking a large man who had no skill with a sword only the strength to use one, but he also had to move fast so the woman didn’t drive an arrow through his head. Out of all the adventurers, she proved to be the most skilled and competent.
Bakugou caught a glimpse of Kirishima running around, dodging a large axe which get caught in the tree trunk Bakugou had been resting on only minutes before. Kirishima - always the show off and unpredictable - used the axe as a step and hopped onto the shoulders of his attacker. This way he got a free ride and could force his comrades to stand down or he’d kill him.
Bakugou managed to disarm the swordsman, but when he went to maim him, an arrow slid across his arm and he dropped his blade. He winced, he could only feel the blood when it reached his hand, his arm was a little numb. He heard Kirishima growl from not too far away, but he couldn’t afford to look because the archer was aiming two arrows at him. Bakugou didn’t manage much, but he managed to flip the broadsword up enough for him to grab the handle and haphazardly throw it at the swordsman. Good news, he had maimed him. Bad news, the archer had maimed Bakugou.
Bakugou wobbled onto the ground, the arrows lodged above his knee and in his side respectively. He immediately tried to grab at them and pull them out, but the archer was fast and she had already taken Bakugou’s sword. She was holding it above him when the earth began to tremble underneath them.
Why couldn’t he just listen? Bakugou sighed loudly, relaxing on the ground and turning his head so he could watch Kirishima completely blow up. The boy erupted in flame as he shifted, the tremors could be felt all throughout the forest. In his place stood the mighty dragon the adventurers were here to slay. Good luck. Kirishima was stubborn, tough, and loyal.
Needless to say, he burnt the surviving adventurers to a crisp, and ate the archers bow because he felt like it. He let the archer survive, so she could run back to the town and spread more rumours about him. Kirishima quite liked the attention. Bakugou hated that Kirishima liked it, but it was probably the part of Kirishima that made the most sense.
Bakugou frowned when the dragon curled up around him and began to nuzzle against his wounds. It was weird because one miscalculation and Bakugou could’ve died because Kirishima accidentally sat on him. He’s had a dream about it before. He avoided Kirishima for days because he didn’t want his cause of death to be butt suffocation.
“Fix me already.” Bakugou was grumpy. Kirishima went against direct orders again, and was snuggling into him as if he wasn’t bleeding out. The dragon inhaled, and blew a chillingly cold blast of fire over his wounds. It took Bakugou a while to understand how or why that worked, but it was all about Kirishima’s will, and of course their soul bond. It didn’t help that Kirishima didn’t know the answers to a lot of things and he believed anything Bakugou would say. Kirishima was born and raised in the middle of nowhere, and Bakugou was a little mean to him because he found it fun.
Bakugou sat up after his wounds closed up and the arrows crumbled into fine dust. He brushed the mess off of him and patted at Kirishima’s side. His skin was rough and warm, just like always. Kirishima shifted back into a human, and Bakugou nearly fell over because now they were the same size. Kirishima grabbed him by the wrist and grinned toothily at Bakugou.
“Okay I know you said not to-” He cried out in pain when Bakugou pinched his nose. The blonde boy mumbled something not so nice under his breath that Kirishima pretended not to hear and then he released him.
“You are going to get us both killed.” Bakugou shook his hand off of his wrist and went to collect his sword from the grass.
“But I didn’t” Kirishima batted his eyelashes, sparkling crimson irises somehow making his reasoning a bit more reasonable.
“Well then I’m going to kill you.” Bakugou picked up his blade and slid it back into its sheath.
“Then I’m going to sit on you.” Kirishima retorted. Bakugou clenched his teeth together and marched back over to Kirishima. He flicked him in the forehead and Kirishima weakly cried out before rubbing at the sore skin.
“Let’s find a new place to stay.”