Work Text:
Katsuki is surprised when the chief calls out to him after supper. It's rather unusual, since the man hates him. But that won’t matter soon because he’s leaving this place tomorrow and never coming back. He had already talked with his mother and now he can let the chief know as well.
“You must wonder why I called you,” the chief starts, leading the way. He’s old already but his magic is still as potent as ever. Not that Katsuki wouldn’t be able to win against him. And that’s the source of all their conflicts, really. The chief is afraid of him.
Katsuki holds back a snort and replies, calmly, “It doesn’t matter. I have something to tell you as well.”
“So, it seems,” the chief replies and turns to look at Katsuki’s attire. He is wearing the cape he was gifted by the adventurer, a deep red one that matches his eyes. Katsuki loves it, as much as he had admired the adventurer that had given it to him. But he hadn’t worn it since the man left. “You have plans, then?”
“Yes.” Now Katsuki walks ahead and turns to look at the chief. “I’m leaving. My mother insisted I notify you of my intentions. I really don’t see why I should though.”
“I don’t like you much.”
Now Katsuki snorts openly. “Please. We both know that you hate me. But rest assured, I’m not after your position nor have I got any interest in besting an old man. I will become an adventurer, the best there is.”
“Your ambitions are great.” The chief takes a step back and opens his arms. “But even gone you are still a danger to me. An adventurer will retread in old age. I built this clan up with all I had, and I plan to leave it to my son. He is my heir.”
“Have you gone senile, old man? I won’t come back. I have no intentions to.”
“Your mother is here.”
“And she gave me her blessings. My father waits in the capital.”
The chief shakes his head and Katsuki’s patience comes to an end, anger rearing its head up slowly. “The clan will insist that you take over as chief, especially after you make yourself a name. Because you will come back, young warrior. The allure of a home is too strong.”
“You are really testing my patience, now,” Katsuki grunts. “What are you trying to say?”
“You need to die.”
Katsuki grins. He had seen this coming but had hoped that by leaving, he could avoid it. The chief, even if Katsuki hates him, is still a well-respected man in the clan. But his time is obviously over now. Gone senile he has, the crazy Bastard. “Plan to kill me?” Katsuki opens his hand, summoning his magic. But there is no responding explosion.
“Missing your magic, Katsuki? Surely you didn’t expect me to go head on head with you.”
“You dirty coward.” Katsuki clenches his hand, if not by magic than by force. But then he notices the runes carved into the ground. A force field.
“This is goodbye. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll end you. When I get my hands on you, I will twist your neck, my mother’s wishes be damned.”
But his words fall short as the force field activates and drags him down until his body hits the ground and the pain takes his vision.
~
When Katsuki comes to, he’s lying on the ground, his head pounding to the beat of his heart. “Damn coward,” he grunts, sitting up and clutching his head. The rough texture of dried blood tells him that he hit his head while he was out cold.
Now that he looks around, he’s in a big hole in the ground, the moonlight hitting through an opening above. Katsuki has no idea where he is but once he’s out of here, he will kill the chief. He tries summoning his magic and it answers his command in a burst of small explosions. So, the runes in the ground had suppressed his magic, then. At least one less worry.
Taking in his environment, he’s probably in cave. The opening is far up and climbing up is impossible. Katsuki can see that he’s standing on a grass field thanks to the moonlight. He could try to use his magic to blast himself out, but he would have to wait for the ache in his head to settle or risk flying into a wall.
So Katsuki sits down and draws his cape close around himself. If the old man thought that this would stop Katsuki, he’s got something else coming.
He lies back and stares at the moon, breathing slowly through the pain in his body. The one drawback of only knowing offensive spells is that he must grit his teeth and let his body heal on its own.
He’s just about to fall asleep when he hears voices. Did the chief come back? Katsuki will kill him. “Came to seek your death?” Katsuki calls up as the voices draw closer. But it’s not the chief that’s looking down at him. First there are two men, and then suddenly, they throw something down. Katsuki has only one instance to realize that it’s a body before he reacts, summoning his magic and blasting himself forward, catching the person.
They fall onto the grass field, Katsuki breaking the fall of the boy he caught, groaning as the breath is knocked out of him.
“The hell,” he curses, trying to push the boy down and sit up to examine his injured shoulder. Twice in a day, great. There is a sharp pain when he moves his arm, he needs to be more careful or he won’t be able to leave this damn hole.
Next to him, the boy comes to, whimpering in pain as he grabs his stomach. Katsuki wonders absently if this cave is a place to get rid of people. The lack of bodies refutes that thought.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” the boy whimpers, standing slowly. “Hurts so bad.”
“Fucking right,” Katsuki agrees, thinking of his own aches.
The boy jolts, scrambling back from him. “Who are you?”
“That’s what I want to know. Who did you offend to end up down here?”
“Who didn’t I offend,” the boy says, eyes downcast. But then he shakes his head and turns to Katsuki. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know,” Katsuki replies honestly. “Looks like a cave. I only woke up a few minutes ago so I didn’t explore much.”
“Woke up?”
Katsuki points up and lies back down on the grass. “Fell from the sky, much like you.”
The boy stands up and Katsuki uses the opportunity to look at him. He doesn’t look like much, scrawny and small as he is. There is blood on his shirt where it’s torn to show an ugly scratch on his side. Doesn’t look deep but will probably get infected, if not tended to soon.
Katsuki watches him walk around and take in their environment, before the boy stops and stares up at the moon. “The Cursed Ruins,” the boy says and falls on his butt. “Of course, the Cursed Ruins.”
“The what?” Katsuki asks. He’s got a bad feeling about this.
“We’re going to die.”
“What?”
~
“Can you stop?”
“Shut up!”
“Just stop moving.”
“Then hurry up.”
“Just,” Izuku throws the bandages he had in his backpack at Katsuki. “Stop moving!”
He stills. It’s the first time Izuku has raised his voice at him. “You picking a fight?”
“No!” Izuku sits back down in front of Katsuki and takes the bandage to wrap it around his shoulder. He already applied the ointment. “No, but I really want to punch you in the face.”
“So, you do want to fight,” Katsuki says but he himself has absolutely no desire to fight Izuku. He’s just tired, aching and now that Izuku told him what the Cursed Ruins are, he can feel his magic being drawn away.
“I want to survive,” Izuku replies. “And right now, you look like my best bet at survival. So, I’m not going to let you be stupid and run around hurt.”
“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your own injuries?”
“I will. As soon as you rest.” When Izuku finishes up, he takes off his shirt to look at his injured side. “The injury on your head isn’t too serious. I put some ointment there as well, but I don’t have much left, so I prioritized your shoulder.”
“You a healer then?”
“No,” Izuku replies, laughing a little. “No magic whatsoever. I told you, didn’t I? You are my best bet at survival.”
Katsuki hums and lies down. He had heard of people without magic, but they were rare in a world ruled by magic. “What are you then?”
“A scribe,” Izuku says and then lies down as well. “And I guess an assistant. My Mentor is an adventurer. I was on an errand for him when those people caught me.”
“Then he will come looking for you.”
“In two months, if I’m lucky.” Katsuki hears a sigh as Izuku rolls over to face him. “I was supposed to get word back from his old friend. He doesn’t expect to hear from me until then. If we stay here, we die.”
“Even more reason for us to leave and kill some flies,” Katsuki tries to sit up but Izuku reaches out and pushes his injured shoulder down. Katsuki falls back, holding back a curse.
“Rest. Don’t waste your magic.”
“Fine,” he says and drags his cape tightly around himself.
~
A fucking force field. Again. Katsuki curses, his magic exploding in angry little sparks in his palms. He takes a deep breath, brings his magic back under control and releases it all at once. But as soon as he reaches the opening of the cave, the force field activates, and he collides with it.
“There is no use,” Izuku calls up. He’s plucking grass leaves and throwing them onto the ground instead of fidgeting like he kept doing at the beginning of Katsuki’s fight with the force field. Katsuki is really getting sick of force fields. “Don’t waste your remaining magic.”
“That’s all you keep saying.” Katsuki falls back onto the ground, hands held up. “If I can’t get through, I will shoot flames at it until it cracks.”
“Now you are just being stupid.”
“Say that to my face.” He turns to face Izuku as the scribe stands up and pats his pants down.
“I’m going to explore the Ruins. There is supposed to be a dead village here. Maybe I will find something that can help us. You stay here. The further away you are from the source, the less magic you lose.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Mind lighting this up for me?”
“A lantern?” Katsuki asks, surprised. “What do you not have in that bag of yours.”
“Magic,” Izuku answers easily, holding the lantern out to him. “That’s why I like to hoard things in my bag.”
“Like a dragon hoarding its gold,” Katsuki mutters.
And suddenly Izuku is pushing into his space, face inches away from Katsuki’s. “A dragon? Have you ever seen one?”
Katsuki backs away slowly. “No,” he says. “But I’m going to bind one to myself.”
“Legends say that a dragon chooses its owner."
“Legends also say that they are attracted to the fire element.”
“Your element is fire?”
He holds up his hands, little flames dancing on his palms. “What did you think this was?”
“Light magic.” Izuku replies without hesitation. “I have never seen flames behave like little sparks. My friend has the fire element as well.”
“My mother says it’s because I’m an angry person,” he admits, turning back to the force field and shooting explosions at it.
“You are?”
“What?”
“Angry?”
Katsuki turns back to Izuku and stares at him. “Are you stupid?”
“No?”
“Didn’t you want to explore? Go on, explore. If you have some food in that huge bag of yours, leave me some. If you aren’t back by dawn, I’ll assume you are dead.”
“Charming.”
“Get lost.”
~
Katsuki is lying on his back, staring at the sun that’s glaring down at him. Izuku hasn’t come back yet and Katsuki has exhausted himself fighting against the force field. The food Izuku left him is long gone and the water he had on himself is running low. He has two mouthfuls left, nothing more.
He wonders what will kill him first, the magical exhaustion or the thirst. Then he clenches his hands and rolls onto his side. He was careful not to waste all of his magic, he can do it. He’s not going to die here, damn it. He will get out of this hole, stuff a sword up the chief's ass and become an adventurer.
He’s just about to doze off when he hears Izuku’s voice calling for him.
“Katsuki! Hey, don’t sleep. Come with me! I found something!”
Katsuki ignores him and pretends to sleep. But that only results in Izuku falling to his knees next to him and shaking him. “Don’t sleep. I need you to come with me.”
He slaps Izuku’s hands away and rolls onto his back. “What do you want? I’m exhausted.”
“There is a whole village.”
“And?”
Izuku leans forward, hands on Katsuki’s chest for balance as he whispers. “I found the library.”
“You really are stupid,” Katsuki says and pushes him away. “What’s a library gon-”
“It’s filled with Grimoires.”
Katsuki is on his feet in an instant, dragging Izuku back the way he came. “Fucking say so! Lead the way, damn Deku.”
“Deku?” Izuku asks, tripping after Katsuki. “Hey, let me go.”
“Then walk.” Katsuki pushes him ahead, letting him go as he does. “It’s your name.”
“It’s Midoriya Izuku. I told you so before.”
“Yeah, but how it’s written on your bag, it can be read as Deku and right now I’m inclined to call you that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Izuku mumbles but leads the way without another word.
When Izuku said library, Katsuki thought it was a house full of books. The Ruins of the village are small enough to assume there wouldn’t be many books. But Katsuki was wrong. The library is huge. In the biggest building of the village stands a library bigger than any house his clan owns. And upon entrance, the walls are lined with books- Grimoires.
Izuku must have lightened up the torches around the room when he came in, the smell of dust and fire heavy in the air. “This is-”
“Amazing, right. I could stay here my whole life and never finish all of them.”
Katsuki would agree but he’s not about to die here. “Did you find any matching my element?”
“I can’t open them,” Izuku says. “No magic, remember.”
Right. He almost forgot with how excited Izuku was. So Katsuki closes his eyes and concentrates his magic. If there are any Grimoires containing fire spells, they will respond to him.
But Izuku’s hand is on his shoulder before he can do so and Katsuki loses his concentration. “Don’t.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Don’t use your magic here.” Izuku grips his hand and drags him out of the library. He points towards the end of the road, his lantern held up in his hand. “We are too close to the tree.”
“Tree?”
“It’s what drains you off your magic,” Izuku clarifies. “It’s brimming with energy. Even I could feel it. If you use magic around it, it will suck you dry. You won’t be able to stop the flow and you are already exhausted.”
Katsuki grits his teeth. So close to finding a spell that can help him take down the damn force field and then this. “So, what am I supposed to do?”
“Go through them by hand.” Izuku smiles.
Katsuki wants to punch him but turns instead and enters the library again. He must channel his energy into finding a useful spell and not killing stupid scribes.
~
“What are you doing?” Katsuki asks. He has gone through about one fourth of the Grimoires and hasn’t found a single useful spell yet.
“Reading.”
“What?” Katsuki grits out. Talking to Izuku, Katsuki is coming to realize, feels much like talking against a wall. They just don’t match.
“There are books about this place here. Not just magic books. I might not be able to open Grimoires, but I can find out more about this village.” Izuku rolls his shoulder, stretching as he does so. “Any luck yet?”
“No,” Katsuki admits, going back to his search. “I could just use magic and be done here.”
“And risk death by magical exhaustion?”
“Shut up.”
“Your favorite words, I know.”
Katsuki drags a hand through his hair and wills himself not to turn around and throw a book at Deku. They are way too valuable.
“Anyway, what’s with that cape?”
Katsuki turns around, grin wide on his face as his cape settles around him. “It’s proof that I will become the greatest adventurer.”
Izuku looks at him thoughtfully. He doesn’t laugh at Katsuki’s declaration so Katsuki will forgive him for being stupid. Then Izuku smiles at him and says, “let me be your assistant when the time comes.”
Katsuki turns back to the books. “Sure,” he says. “If you get us out of here alive.”
Behind him Izuku groans. It’s a few minutes later that Izuku asks, “so what’s an adventurer like you doing here?”
“I’m not one yet,” Katsuki clarifies, going through yet another Grimoire for wind magic. “I was about to go to the capital and get registered. But the chief of my clan was too afraid of me, so he decided to kill me.”
“Tough luck. And I thought having powerful magic makes one invincible.”
“A force field. And anti-magic runes,” Katsuki grits out.
“What?”
“That’s how he got me. The coward was too afraid to face me, so he trapped me to incapacitate me.”
“Not much of a chief, then.”
Katsuki drags his hand through his hair again, scowling at the Grimoire in his hand. “Who did you offend?” Katsuki asks, trying to calm his anger at the old man.
“Who didn’t I offend?” Izuku replies, much like he did before. Then he sighs, putting the book in his hands down. “I told you, I’m assistant of an adventurer, right. Well, some people didn’t like that I was allowed to stand by All Might’s side, what with me having no magic.”
“Wait.” Katsuki turns around, walking over to Izuku. “All Might?”
“Yeah. He’s an adventurer. The best right now.” Izuku grins. “The one you have to overcome, if you hope to get the title.”
“He gave me this cape,” Katsuki admits, hand clenched in the red material of his favorite garment.
“So, you are the angry brat?”
“What?”
“Whenever I ask him why he doesn’t have a cape, he says he’s waiting for the angry brat to return his.”
“I’m not giving it back,” he says, frowning.
Izuku laughs, clutching his stomach as he does. “You really are a brat.”
“Shut up,” Katsuki says. Izuku is still laughing and Katsuki is reminded of the many times his mother told him he’s behaving like a child. He flicks Izuku on the forehead, immediately stopping the laughter.
“Hey!”
“Now who is behaving like a brat,” Katsuki asks. “He said it’s a present,” he adds.
Izuku rubs his forehead but doesn’t comment. Instead he looks at the cape. “It looks good on you.”
“Great.”
“Sure. Anyway, now you know why I’m here.”
“Because those people wanted what you have.”
“What?” Izuku asks.
“What what?”
Izuku shakes his head. “You misunderstand. They don’t think I should stand next to All Might, having no magic.”
“Yeah, meaning they were jealous that you got the spot and they didn’t. Even with magic, they weren’t up to par.”
Izuku is staring at him open mouthed. Katsuki glares at him. “Are you really that stupid,” he asks.
“Apparently,” Izuku agrees. Then he shakes his head and takes the book back into his hands. “We are leaving in a bit. You shouldn’t stay too close to the tree for long. And we need to rest.”
~
It’s dawn when Katsuki wakes up. They had found a few flimsy blankets in the abandoned village and dragged them out onto the grass field where they lied down to sleep. They do nothing to soften the hard ground though. Katsuki rubs the sleep out of his eyes and sits up.
Izuku is still sleeping a few paces away from him. He’s shaking though, so Katsuki drops his cape on him and steps beneath the opening of the cave. No use sitting around and waiting to die. He closes his hands and concentrates his magic before he lets the flames explode in his palms, propelling himself up.
He collides with the force field and manages to hold against it for a few moments, before his arms start to shake, and he lets himself fall back down. He hates force fields with the intensity of a thousand suns.
When he lands, he sits down, panting heavily as he stares up. He won’t die here, no matter what.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Katsuki looks over at Izuku, who is sitting up, cape carefully arranged around him to keep out the cold. “The worst,” Katsuki replies. Izuku doesn’t reply. Instead he stares at the sky as it changes colors.
They take their time getting up. Even though Katsuki slept the whole night, he still feels tired. His magic is recovering rather slowly. This is going to be a problem. Izuku has food supplies for another four days, if they are careful. But they might run out of water by day three.
“We should look around. For food and water,” Katsuki tells him.
“Yeah,” Izuku agrees. But he moves sluggishly, and his voice is small. He sounds even more exhausted than Katsuki.
“Didn’t sleep?”
“No, sorry. I couldn’t get comfortable,” Izuku admits. “And it was cold. Not all of us have a nice cape to hold us warm.”
Katsuki can hear the mischief in his voice and turns around to take his cape back from Izuku. “Shut up.”
“There we go again.”
“Deku!”
“Charming.”
“Maybe they threw you down here to shut you up.”
“Possibly.”
~
They find some water in one of the abandoned houses. It’s only a bottle but it’s something. There is no food though, no matter where they look. Izuku doesn’t allow Katsuki near the houses close to the tree and Katsuki huffs angrily, stomping into the library and getting back to task.
He just needs a spell to take down the force field. Then they can get out of here. He’s made quite some progress when Izuku comes in, shaking his head and sitting heavily in the chair he had claimed the day before.
Katsuki drags a hand down the back of his head. “Nothing,” he says.
“That’s why your hair is such a mess.”
He turns to Izuku and lifts an eyebrow.
“You keep messing with it.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you. Your hair looks like a bush.”
“I have heard that way too many times to be offended,” Izuku says, looking around for a book to read. “Keep it coming.”
“Is that a challenge.”
“Call it what you want.”
“I have been thinking this since we met but you really are tired of life, aren’t you?”
Izuku stops looking for a book and turns to him, looking surprised. “What makes you think that?”
“You keep picking fights you are sure to lose.”
“No,” Izuku denies, looking shocked. “I’m just going with the punches.” He turns back around to the book he found, blowing on the dust and then coughing. “What makes you think I’ll lose?”
Katsuki just looks at him. That doesn’t even deserve an answer.
“Hey, I’m pretty strong. A boy must know how to defend himself in this world of magic, even without magic. All Might taught me how to fight.” Izuku holds his arm up, trying to show off.
Katsuki must admit that for his scrawny and small figure, Izuku has a good amount of muscles. The shirt and pants hide most of it, but when he had taken it off to dress his injury, Katsuki did see the lean lines that belie how he looks now.
But even in build, Katsuki is ahead. He doesn’t even need to show off. He pointedly pulls his cape around himself and looks at Izuku.
“Fine.” Izuku deflates. “But if I were walking around half naked all the time, I would put effort into my appearance, too.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” Izuku says hurriedly, opening his book and sitting in his chair.
“So, you do learn after all.”
This time it’s Izuku who says, “shut up.”
~
The first Grimoire Katsuki finds that holds spells for the fire element is filled with defensive ones. He could build a force field with it, but not take one down. At least there are some healing spells as well. When they return to the grass field that night to eat and drink, Katsuki uses the spell to heal his injured shoulder and his head injury. Then he turns to Izuku, but the boy is already fast asleep.
Katsuki carefully rolls him onto his side and casts the spell before draping his cape over him.
He only used the spell three times, but his magic is running dry. That damn tree is sucking more the longer they stay here. If this continues, he might risk magical exhaustion and just call all fire element Grimoires to himself. But then he wouldn’t be able to use the spell and they would be doomed anyway.
Katsuki falls asleep while contemplating those thoughts.
~
He wakes up to a tingling on his head. When he opens his eyes, Izuku is lying in front of him, looking guilty with his hand outstretched. Katsuki sleepily reaches up and drags Izuku’s hand out of his hair. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing?” Izuku smiles, but his cheeks are red under the light of the sun. So, it’s morning already.
Katsuki sits up and looks around. Still the damn cave. “Try again,” he says.
“I just,” Izuku starts but interrupts himself with a sneeze. “You keep touching your hair, so I got curious?”
“Don’t fall sick,” Katsuki says and reaches out for Izuku’s bag. What he learned about Izuku those past days is that the scribe is obsessed with books. His bag is half filled with books and the other half consists of random objects like the lantern and a collection of trinkets. Katsuki isn’t even going to ask.
Next to him, Izuku sits up, too, stretching his muscles out as much as he can. Katsuki would join him but his body feels like lead. “Eat something. We need to go.”
“Are you alright?” Izuku asks. Katsuki would like to say yes but he still hasn’t recovered from casting the healing spells yesterday. “Slept well?” he asks instead.
“This cape is magic,” Izuku says and proceeds to snuggle into it. “It really helped me sleep last night. Thanks.”
Katsuki reaches out and saves his cape before it can get dirty. Izuku tries to protest, but it’s in vain as Katsuki drapes it over his shoulders. Izuku leans against his back and sighs. “No, but are you alright? I noticed my side isn’t aching anymore.”
“I told you to eat,” Katsuki replies and shoves some food at him. Izuku takes it with a laugh and leans his back against Katsuki’s.
It’s a rather windy day, the cave coming alive with sound while the grass leaves dance in the sunlight that comes from above. Katsuki would enjoy the moment, if there weren’t a magic draining tree down here.
“Think we will ever get out of here?”
“I’m not dying here.”
“At least it makes for a beautiful grave.”
Katsuki leans back, pressing hard against Izuku’s back, until the scribe bends forward and protests against the strain. “There is no way we are going to die here,” he repeats.
Under him, Izuku stills. “Yeah,” he replies after a moment. Satisfied, Katsuki stands up, patting his pants down. “Yeah, we are getting out of here,” Izuku says but he’s not looking at Katsuki, gaze firmly on the ground.
Katsuki leaves him to his musings and looks up at the sky. He bends down to take a stone and throws it into the sky, adding a little blast of magic to it. It collides with the force field and falls back onto the ground. So not even objects can leave this hell.
Katsuki turns and heads for the village feeling frustrated in his exhaustion.
~
He is slowly making progress. He’s about halfway done with the Grimoires when Izuku speaks up again. Izuku, Katsuki has learned, can stay immersed in his books without any problems. But once he finishes a book, he starts being annoying.
“You said you were going to register in the capital, right?”
“Hmm.”
“We would have met there, probably.”
That gets Katsuki’s attention. “How?”
“I work there as a scribe. I could have been in charge of you.” Izuku stands up to look for more books he can read. He’s been fidgety the whole day and it’s not helping with Katsuki’s tolerance of him or his headache.
“If you keep being noisy, get out.”
“I just… I feel useless.” Izuku sighs and turns to him. “All I do is read those books filled with useless information. I’m not getting anywhere.”
“You would be useful, if you just sat down.”
“And your magic is slowly draining away. We aren’t getting anywhere.”
“Shut up.”
“How can you keep reading them for hours and hours?”
“If this is the one shot we have at getting out, I’m taking it.”
“There might be no way out! What will you do then?”
“Shut up or get out, Deku.”
“But-“
Katsuki turns to him and glares. “Go! Just get lost!”
Izuku huffs annoyed. Katsuki doesn’t care. He had it coming. He’s been acting weird the whole day. So Katsuki watches him leave the library and continues his task. He’s not giving up.
It’s a few hours later that Izuku returns and stretches himself out on the ground. “I’m sorry,” he says.
“Grew a brain?”
“All Might always says I’m too rash.”
“You don’t say?”
“I just need something to do,” Izuku whines, rolling around on the ground. At least that’s something Katsuki can understand.
“Brat.”
“Says you.”
“Did you discover anything?”
“Yes and no,” Izuku says. He sits up and scratches his head. “There is no other way out than the cave opening. I walked from wall to wall but there is nothing.”
“There must be a way,” Katsuki says. There must have been others here before them. People who fell or were thrown in here to die. They must have gotten out one way or another. They are getting out of here.
He looks over to Izuku and sighs. “Get over here, Deku.”
“Stop calling me that,” Izuku protests but gets up anyway. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you only call me that when you are annoyed with me.”
“Can you read Grimoires?”
“Of course. I’m a scribe.”
Now Katsuki feels like an idiot. He sighs. He blames it on his headache. “So why haven’t you been helping me?”
“Because I can’t open them.”
So Katsuki opens a Grimoire and holds it out for him. “Here.”
Izuku stares at the Grimoire for a moment. Then he stares at Katsuki. “This is your fault,” he says.
Katsuki is lost again. Conversations with Izuku do not get easier even if he’s getting used to Izuku’s company. “Shut up and get to work.”
“It’s because you keep calling me stupid that I didn’t even consider this,” Izuku mutters but takes the Grimoire anyway and gets to work. “And I was never allowed anywhere near those.”
“If you see any fire spells, write them out for me. I don’t have the time to learn them now but once we are out of here, they might be useful.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Katsuki rubs his eyes and tries to concentrate on the Grimoire in his hands. He’s exhausted.
~
He wakes up to the sound of rain. It’s a light drizzle but in the otherwise silent cave, it’s enough to wake him up. Izuku is awake already, hiding beneath his cape to escape the chill. They have taken to sharing it since it’s the only thing that keeps the cold night out.
Katsuki sighs as he pulls his hands away from Izuku and turns around.
“I was playing with those,” Izuku says but Katsuki ignores him in favor of closing his eyes and willing his headache away. It’s still as insistent as yesterday.
Izuku moves closer behind him, reaching out for Katsuki’s arm and pulling until he has Katsuki’s hand in his own again. Katsuki is too tired to fight him. He closes his eyes and hopes Izuku will shut up now.
But of course, the damn scribe is never silent.
“Did you ever want to take over? The clan, I mean.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I refuse to be a pawn to anyone. If I took over, they would follow me out of necessity, not loyalty. The chief, as much as I hate him, earned his place in the clan.” Katsuki pulls his hand out of Izuku’s grip, suddenly feeling annoyed. “But it’s time for him to step down. His son will be a good chief at least.”
“You never even considered it?”
“No. I told you, didn’t I? I will become the greatest adventurer and win it all.”
Izuku doesn’t reply so Katsuki shuts his eyes and hopes he will feel better when they go back to the library.
~
He comes to when he feels his body being jostled. He takes a moment to gather his wits before he opens his eyes. The last thing he remembers is staring down at a Grimoire. “Why are you carrying me?”
“Oh, good. You are awake.”
“Let me down.”
“Can’t. You collapsed in the library. You have been out of it since yesterday. You need to rest before your magic is completely drained.”
Katsuki tries to push Izuku away but his limbs are numb. So, he reluctantly allows Izuku to carry him. He rests his chin on Izuku’s shoulder and closes his eyes. “Just put me down and let me sleep.”
“As soon we reach the grass field. We need to put as much distance between you and that tree as possible.”
“Death by tree. Would make a good joke.”
“We are not dying here,” Izuku says, surprising Katsuki. He’s been the one going on and on about death but when Katsuki says it, he gets offended?
“I don’t get you.”
Izuku laughs but when his grip on Katsuki’s thighs slips, he stops to readjust.
“Not so strong after all.”
“You are just fat with muscles,” Izuku retorts.
“Didn’t you want to become my assistant? You should at least be able to do this much.”
“I’m not yours, yet.”
“Same difference.”
“No,” Izuku says. They reach the far end of the grass field and Izuku carefully puts him on the ground, pulling the cape tightly around him. “Now sleep,” Izuku says, dropping down to sit next to him. Katsuki turns to lie on his side, placing his head in Izuku’s lap.
He feels Izuku’s hands in his hair just before he falls asleep.
~
Katsuki comes to with Izuku’s face inches above his own. At this point, he’s not even surprised anymore. He reaches out to pull Izuku’s hand away from his ear, happy to note that he feels better. “Don’t touch it.”
“What’s that?”
“A talisman,” Katsuki answers and rubs the skin around his earring.
“It looks familiar.”
“My father sent it from the capital.”
Izuku hums and then places his hand on Katsuki’s face, above his eyes. “You should rest some more. It’s not dawn yet.”
Katsuki feels irrationally angry suddenly. “Don’t treat me like a child.” He reaches out and takes Izuku’s hand, squeezing it tight in his own. “I don’t plan to stay here any longer than necessary. We are getting out.”
“Don’t be impatient,” Izuku says. Katsuki wrenches his hand away from his face and sits up. He’s getting frustrated and he feels ashamed for being reduced to a helpless mess in front of Izuku.
“Impatient? We have been here for five days and made no progress! We are just wasting time and doing nothing!”
“We are tryin-”
“It’s not enough! We are stuck doing nothing. How did others leave? Why are we still stuck in the same place?” Katsuki shouts. His voice reverberates in the cave, sounding ugly even to his own ears. His bout of anger dissipates as fast as it came on. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I’m tired. I’m going back to sleep.” He lies back down, covering his body with his cape as he turns away. He shouldn’t have let his anger out on Izuku. He’s getting ridiculous.
Katsuki feels Izuku’s hand on his neck before the scribe sighs. “They didn’t leave.”
“Of course, they did. They must have.”
“A graveyard.”
Katsuki feels the cold seep into his body from where Izuku is holding on to his neck. He slaps the hand away to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“There is a graveyard. I discovered it while exploring the village. The bodies… they are there.”
“You don’t know that. They could be from the villagers,” Katsuki tries. He had been holding on to the notion that they would get out because others did, too. Did Izuku know from the beginning? Is that why he kept saying weird shit?
“There was a note. They didn’t want others to give up before even trying so they all just gathered in the graveyard when they gave up.” Izuku looks down, not meeting his eyes.
Katsuki wonders if he’s as pale as Izuku. “We are going to die,” he hears himself whisper. He was just deluding himself all this time and Izuku let him.
“No,” Izuku says but Katsuki shakes his head. Of course, they will die. By the time he finds a spell to disable the force field, he will be out of magic and won’t be able to reach the surface. If there even is a spell to disable the damn force field.
“No, listen to me!” Izuku grabs his face in his hands, forcing Katsuki to still and look at him. “We are getting out of here, one way or another. We kept fighting until now and we are not about to give up now. You want to become the greatest adventurer? Then prove it! Get us out of here. I will help where I can. We can do this!”
They can’t, Katsuki wants to say but he grits his teeth. Instead of replying he lies back down and lets Izuku play with his hair. He grips his cape and takes courage from it, wondering if All Might would have gotten out of here.
But of course he would. Katsuki closes his eyes and reaches for Izuku’s hand. “I’m going to fucking kill the chief.”
“Right. So, get us out of here.”
“Shut up, Deku.”
Izuku pulls his hair, hard.
~
“I think it was All Might, who mentioned the Cursed Ruins first,” Izuku says, they are lying next to each other’s, staring at the ever-changing sky. “Then I looked for more information but there were only rumors of a magic draining village and a beautiful grass field. Apparently, several mages raised the ground to engulf the village and prevent people from stumbling across it. But someone made this hole to seduce curious souls down here.”
“That’s stupid.”
“All Might said more about the village, but I can’t recall. I never thought it would be important,” Izuku admits.
Katsuki sits up and drags a hand through his hair in hopes of stopping the throbbing of his head. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“The library. We are wasting time. The faster we are out of here, the better.”
Izuku just smiles at him and stands up. He might be grateful that Izuku doesn’t comment on his earlier breakdown, so Katsuki lets him lead the way.
“How would you become a scribe anyway? You seem more of an adventurer yourself, with that curiosity of yours.”
“I do?” Izuku asks. He slows down to match Katsuki’s pace. “I wanted to be an adventurer, actually. Grew up with All Might’s stories and wanted nothing more than be like him.”
Katsuki knows exactly what Izuku is talking about. After all, he too couldn’t stay away from the allure that is All Might.
“But I had no magic. I didn’t want to give up though. I was desperate even as a child, so my mother bought me books and took me everywhere. She said that I might not be able to become one, but as long as I lived in a world with them, there would be a place for me. She took me to the capital every other day and I heard all kinds of stories. She kept doing it and managed to get me some work as a helper and later scribe. And then I met All Might.”
“You ever hated not having magic?”
“Of course,” Izuku says, frowning. “The reason I’m here in the first place is because people looked down on me for not having magic. But I can’t keep hating it or I won’t ever be able to live my life. Besides I’m still helping out so that’s enough for me.”
Katsuki watches as Izuku walks ahead again, a lightness to his steps that belies their earlier talk. Maybe it’s because he lived his whole life fighting that he can cope better with this situation than Katsuki. After all, from the very beginning, everything was on Katsuki’s side. He had strong magic. He was admired in his clan, so much so that the chief felt threatened. There was never a conflict he couldn’t overcome but this proves to be a real headache.
Katsuki looks at his palm and wonders what he would do, if he didn’t have magic. He can’t even imagine it.
So, as he follows Izuku back into the library, he concludes that he can’t give up or he would lose to Izuku. Because no matter the title, Izuku is an adventurer in heart and Katsuki can recognize that. There is just no way Katsuki is going to lose to another adventurer.
~
“We are running out of food and water,” Izuku says, rummaging through his bag. He’s sitting on the ground in the library after having finished the Grimoires Katsuki had laid out for him. The speed with which he goes through them is a testament to his occupation as a scribe. Katsuki won’t say it out loud but he is impressed.
“And time,” he adds.
“What do you mean?” Izuku turns to him, some weird trinkets in his hands.
Katsuki frowns at him but answers anyway. “I’m running out of magic. At best I can cast two spells right now. What are those?”
“Magic storage items. They store some of your magic if you wear them. The longer you wear them, the more they store. But they are useless to us since we don’t have any magic to spare. Which begs the question-” Suddenly Izuku stands up and walks over to him, taking his earring into his hand. Katsuki pushes him away and glares.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you sure it’s just a talisman?”
Katsuki rubs his earlobe and carefully pulls the red stone out. It’s been with him for as long as he can remember. “My mother said it’s a good luck charm.”
“And possibly a magic item. If so, then you might have more magic than you think.” Izuku reaches out and Katsuki reluctantly drops his earring into his hands. Anyone else and he wouldn’t have handed it over. “It does look similar, but we should test it when we get back.”
Izuku hands it back to him so Katsuki slips it in. Then he goes back to his bag and continues to make a mess. “What are you looking for anyway?”
“I’m trying to find something useful.”
Katsuki drags a hand through his hair and decides to leave Izuku alone for now. At least he’s keeping himself busy instead of getting on his nerves. Looking at the remaining shelf of Grimoires, he hopes they find something useful in them.
~
There is nothing. They went through all the Grimoires in the library and not one spell on how to remove or break a force field. It’s ridiculous. Katsuki can’t help but pace on the grass. Of course, there wouldn’t be a useful spell. Whoever put the force field up probably removed everything useful.
And they are running out of time. There is a tremor in his hand, reminding him that he’s running dry. If his magic drains, he will die and Izuku will follow shortly after, starving to death.
Katsuki looks over to Izuku who has been staring at a letter ever since they left the library.
“You said my talisman stores magic? How do I find out?”
“Concentrate your magic on it. If it’s a storage item, it will resonate with your magic and heat up.”
Katsuki stares at Izuku. The scribe is behaving weird again. He didn’t even look up as he said that. His silence alone is worrisome on its own. “What’s bothering you?”
“I was supposed to deliver this letter to All Might.”
“So, do it,” Katsuki says as he pulls his earring off and palms it. He will deal with Izuku later. Something better start going their way, or he will blow this place up with the remaining magic he has left. He concentrates his magic into his palm and waits.
Katsuki curses and lets go of his earring as it grows hot. “Fuck.”
Izuku finally looks up from the letter and crawls over to the earring to stares at it, carefully poking it while Katsuki rubs his palm. “How long were you wearing it?”
“I don’t know. It’s been with me since childhood.”
“This is an incredible amount of magic.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to use this” Katsuki squats down and carefully picks his earring back up. “Do I just eat it or something? Can I get the magic back?”
“No. You cast a spell on it and then break it when you want the spell to activate. The strength of the spell depends on the amount of stored magic,” Izuku explains and sits back. He looks at Katsuki, tilting his head to the side. “If you cast a spell on it that makes it explode and throw it against the force field, can it be broken?”
Katsuki shakes his head. “We can’t risk that. I have been blasting it with explosions since day one. It’s just a waste of magic if it doesn’t work. We need to get around the force field first and then we can use this to gain momentum and get out of here.”
“So, we are still stuck,” Izuku mumbles and turns back to his letter. Now that he looks closer, Izuku has something in his hand.
For now, he needs to cast the spell at his talisman before he’s too weak to do so.
~
That night Izuku passes the last mouthful of water to him. It’s raining again and the wind has picked up, so they are huddling against the wall and hiding under Katsuki’s cape. The tremor in his hands has turned into a shuddering that’s going through his whole body.
Beside him, Izuku is tracing the scars on Katsuki’s palm, remnants of his magic usage.
“You keep touching me,” Katsuki mumbles. He needs to sleep to preserve as much magic as he can. Recovering it will be nearly impossible without food. Izuku has already put some of his stuff out to catch rainwater. “Why do you do that?”
“Because you fascinate me. Everything about you is amazing.”
Katsuki snorts. “How so? I couldn’t even get us out of this damn cave.”
“But you kept fighting and comforting me when I gave up,” Izuku says and meets his eyes in the dark. Katsuki wonders when he grew so used to Izuku’s face that he can see his freckles even without daylight.
“I lost it when you told me about the graveyard.”
“But you are still fighting now.”
“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“I found the graveyard when I wandered off on the first day. I felt like the world crumbled down around me but when I came back to tell you, you were still fighting the force field even though hours had passed. I felt like an idiot for giving up.”
“But you bounced right back up,” Katsuki says.
Izuku shuffles closer and presses his side into Katsuki’s as a strong wind passes through the cave. He lets Katsuki’s arm go to hold his hand in both of his and leans his head on Katsuki’s shoulder before he closes his eyes. “Because you never even doubted that we would get out of here. I felt like I owned it to you to try at least, so I went off again and found all those Grimoires.”
Katsuki rests his head on Izuku’s and stares up at the sky. They can’t afford to wait anymore. “We will throw the talisman at the force field tomorrow. I fucking hate it.”
Izuku laughs and Katsuki can’t help the small smile tugging at his own lips. Warmth spreads from where Izuku is pressed against him and he falls asleep to the sound of rain.
~
He wakes up with his cape carefully tucked around him. It does nothing against the magical exhaustion but Katsuki pulls it tighter anyway and looks for Izuku.
The scribe is standing in the middle of the grass field and looking up at the sky. He looks more serious than Katsuki has seen him up until now, which is worrisome, so he calls out to Izuku.
“What are you thinking about?”
Izuku turns to him, the serious look passing into a small smile. “I really love this place. It’s beautiful.”
“Spare me your talk about beautiful graveyards,” Katsuki grunts annoyed. “Where is my talisman?”
“Before that, there is something I want to try,” Izuku says.
Katsuki turns to him, surprised. “You have an idea.”
“I’m not sure if it will work but-“
“Why the hell haven’t you tried it yet?” Katsuki demands. They are on the brink of death while Izuku had a possible way out of here? Is that why he was so out of it?
“I found it yesterday,” Izuku admits. He turns to Katsuki and pulls something out of his pocket. “It was in All Might’s letter. I hadn’t opened it until yesterday.”
“What is it?”
Standing up, Katsuki can see the single feather in Izuku’s hand. He stares at it and then looks up at Izuku. “What’s that.”
“The feather of a phoenix,” Izuku replies.
He frowns. Phoenixes are creatures out of legends. There are tales about them and their magic, but he never heard of anyone actually seeing them. Now Izuku is telling him he’s holding a feather from one. “Are you for real?”
“It says so in the letter All Might’s friend sent with me. Gran Torino wrote that it can fulfill one wish. But it can’t make something out of nothing. It might be able to show us a way out of here.”
Staring at the feather again, Katsuki drags a hand through his hair. Something like this would be of immense value. “But he must have important use for it.”
Izuku stares at the feather for a while before replying. “I know what he wanted to use it for. So, I know that getting out of here alive is more important and he will understand my decision.”
Katsuki shakes his head. There is no way All Might would be fine with that. “We can’t do that.”
“I can,” Izuku says and holds the feather up. Katsuki watches him and wonders if they will truly be able to leave this place alive. They just need to get rid of the force field. Izuku closes his eyes and says, “Get us out of here.”
The feather glows before it disappears in Izuku’s hand, but nothing happens. Katsuki stares up and wonders if the force field is gone.
But then suddenly a black mist appears at Izuku’s feet and slowly draws towards the village. Katsuki looks up to meet Izuku’s eyes and they both follow it.
“If it gets too close to the tree, I go alone,” Izuku says, eyes set on him.
Katsuki is tempted to disobey but he’s barely able to follow Izuku’s steps, so he holds his tongue. Satisfied, Izuku turns away and they follow the traces left behind.
The mist doesn’t lead toward the tree but rather a graveyard. The stench of rotting corpses is so strong that Katsuki stops and covers his nose. Izuku must have expected it because he has lifted his shirt to ward of the smell.
The mist envelopes a gravestone before it disappears and Izuku bends down to observe it. “I came here before, but I didn’t stay long after discovering the note,” he admits.
Katsuki can understand that. He wouldn’t have wanted to stay here either, not with that many bodies. Clenching his fist, he closes his eyes and vows he’s not going to die here, no matter what.
“What is it?” he asks Izuku after calming down.
“I don’t know,” the scribe replies and kneels.
Katsuki can’t feel any magic coming from the gravestone but then again, his senses are dulled, and his body is growing a little more numb with every passing hour. “Isn’t the feather supposed to show us a way? Why this gravestone?”
But Izuku doesn’t reply and still examines the gravestone. It’s rather small and thin compared to the other ones. Katsuki looks at it, wondering why.
And then, walking closer he notices the familiarity of it and immediately reaches out to grab the thin top. “It’s a sword,” he says, grabbing the hilt. “It’s not a gravestone but a sword. A huge one. Oi Deku, help me get it out.”
Katsuki pulls but no matter how hard he tries, there is no give. Has he really lost all his strength, so much so that he can’t even pull out a damn sword? Izuku is still kneeling in front of it as Katsuki sits down to catch his breath. “Didn’t you listen, damn scribe?”
“You can’t pull it out, not with power.”
“What?”
Izuku calls him over and shows him the text engraved in the ground.
A sword to fight with all your might
In the hands of a worthy knight
Will cut through magic with one swing
And sure victory it will bring
But first you must pay the price
Offer a heroic sacrifice
“A sacrifice,” Katsuki mutters. He is leaning on Izuku, trying to hold himself up but they are too close to the tree and Katsuki can physically feel himself getting weaker. “Get me out of here,” he whispers as his body fails him.
~
He wakes up to aches in his whole body and a pressure that’s almost crushing. He feels feverish yet cold and just opening his eyes and bringing a hand up to his head feels almost impossible. He’s back in the cave, staring up at the moon as it shines down on them. He is truly running out of time now.
He can feel Izuku’s body next to his own and slowly turns to his side. Once he moves though, Izuku stretches his hands out and grabs his arms. “Don’t die,” he whispers.
Katsuki huffs, bringing his hand up to rest it on Izuku’s head. “Who’s dying now? We are one step away from getting out of here.”
Izuku laughs but it’s rather small and fades almost immediately. “I lied,” he says after a moment. It’s a whisper into Katsuki’s chest so he almost misses it.
“When?”
“It’s not enough. It’s never going to be enough. I hate sitting around and waiting for someone else to save people when I could be out there. I hate that I have no magic. I hate that I can’t be of any use to you.”
Burying his hand deeper in Izuku’s hair, Katsuki silently listens to Izuku pant. He’s working himself up to something, so Katsuki holds back the immediate retort on his tongue.
“And I could have become an adventurer, too. The feather. The letter said All Might requested it to transfer his magic to me. He is going to retire now that he’s suffering from a curse, but he was going to give me his magic. And I just… I gave it up to save you, but I couldn’t even do that. Because a damn sacrifice-” he cuts himself off with a sob and then he can’t stop.
So Katsuki pulls him as close as he can, ignoring the pain as Izuku presses his fingers into his side and cries into his chest.
He should have known something was up with the letter, should have prevented damn Deku from giving up his chance at a dream. His weakness lead to this, so he holds on tight and waits, hiding his face in Izuku’s hair. There is nothing he can say to make it better.
~
By morning Katsuki feels good enough to walk again. When Izuku calmed down, he had gone and collected the water from the rain and shared it with him. But now he’s out exploring again. They didn’t talk about last night, mostly because Izuku seemed like he wanted to avoid bringing it up and Katsuki didn’t, since Izuku forgave him his own outburst.
They are still stuck in the same place and their chances at survival are growing slimmer with every second. And among this mess, Katsuki has somehow managed to lose his heart to the damn scribe.
Because Izuku is a disaster. His curiosity is annoying, his fidgeting robs Katsuki’s last nerve and his damn touching is unnecessary. His need to be useful outdoes his actual usefulness but he will keep at it because he’s stupid like that. He is even more reckless than Katsuki and his mouth never stays shut.
Katsuki hates it all, and yet Izuku somehow used all that to capture him.
Staring at the grass field bathed in sunlight, Katsuki now even thinks that this cursed place is beautiful. It’s all Izuku’s fault.
~
Izuku is not back by midday. The earring in his hand glows red in the bright light of the sun, giving Katsuki a bad premonition about this. He waits a few more hours but when the scribe still hasn’t come back, Katsuki stands up and makes his way over to the graveyard.
His pace is slow but when he reaches the sword embed in stone, he breathes a sigh of relief. Izuku is sitting by the sword, knees pulled up and face buried in his arms.
“What are you doing, Deku?”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Izuku says, instead of replying to his question. He doesn’t look up so Katsuki walks over and sits next to him.
“Then don’t make me look for you.”
“It won’t accept a death, don’t worry. That’s not a heroic sacrifice.”
Katsuki knows but the worry churning in his guts just won’t fade. He kept telling Izuku that they are getting out of here and they are still stuck. He’s breaking his word. And worse, it's Izuku who sacrificed his dream to give them a future.
So, he closes his eyes, wills the tremor in his body to stop enough for him to stand up and prepares to do what he’s been thinking about the whole night.
“Let’s get out of here, Izuku.”
Katsuki reaches out and rests his hand against the hilt of the sword. Izuku finally lifts his head to look at him, so Katsuki can see his freckles stand out against his pale skin. The light of the lantern is reflected there and Katsuki knows he won’t ever give up, not if Izuku hasn’t.
“What are you doing?” Izuku asks.
“I’m taking you back to my mother.”
“What?”
“She gave me her blessings to leave. But under the condition that I let her know, the moment I chose a bride.”
Izuku takes a moment to understand him, but once he does, he sputters and flails, gaining some color in his haste to turn to Katsuki.
“What?”
Katsuki gives him a genuine smile, the fondness in his chest expanding enough to overtake the exhaustion for a moment. Then he turns to the sword and says, “I sacrifice my magic to you, so obey my wish.”
There is a moment of silence before Katsuki feels as if something hit him head on. He collapses to the ground, his whole body erupting in pain and his vision going white. Izuku is by his side in seconds, holding on to him and muttering something that Katsuki can’t hear.
And as soon as the pain came, it’s gone again. Katsuki shakes his head and grabs Izuku’s arm to anchor himself.
He’s feeling lighter than he has in days, the constant exhaustion that had been pulling on him gone. When he pulls away to look at the sword, it’s lying on the ground and ready to be picked up.
Katsuki turns to Izuku, smile on his face but it fades as soon as he sees Izuku’s expression.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Izuku demands, anger evident in his eyes. “You can’t just give up your magic! Your dream!”
“You did, too,” Katsuki says and the smile finds its way back to his face. He can’t help it. Deku is so damn stupid.
“I didn’t have any magic. I gave up the possibility, not the reality!”
“Don’t be stupid. It was a reality you gave up for us. For me.” Katsuki sits down on the ground and looks at Izuku who is working himself up again.
“How do you think living without magic is? It’s horrible in this world. I’m used to it, but you aren’t. It will be a nightmare for you!”
“You underestimate me greatly!”
“I don't! I know best how amazing you are!”
Katsuki reaches out and pulls Izuku closer. He finds that when Izuku isn’t touching him, he has the need to reach out himself. So, he hugs Izuku as the scribe continues to complain.
Katsuki interrupts him with a, “Deku.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
Izuku falls silent, says, “charming,” and chokes on a sob.
Katsuki holds him tight, the constant brimming in his body, under his fingertips gone now that he gave up his magic. He's only got the scars left and as he catches sight of them in the small fire of the lantern, his shoulders start to tremble.
And Katsuki, even though he had made the decision and came to terms with it, finds that he has some tears to shed, too.
~
They are standing under the opening of the cave, sword carefully placed between them as they stare up at the sky. Katsuki can’t help the grin. “Let’s fucking destroy that force field.”
“Yeah, I’m getting sick of it, too,” Izuku agrees.
The red talisman is lying on the ground, a stone plate carefully placed on it, ready to be destroyed. Katsuki reaches out for Izuku and pulls him in so that they are standing together, sword held up high between them.
“Don’t lose your grip.”
“I know.”
“At three.”
“Ok.”
“And three.”
They jump onto the stone plate with as much force as possible, destroying the talisman and setting off an explosion. The force of it sends them flying into the sky. The sword doesn’t disappoint as it slides right through the force field and they shoot up and up into the dusk of the day.
Katsuki is laughing like crazy, holding onto Izuku and looking down at the damn grass field. He changes his mind. It’s still ugly as hell.
“So,” Izuku screams, wind roaring around them. “How do we land?”
They are still gaining air and Katsuki stares down, extremely aware of the fact that he has no magic anymore. “I have no fucking idea.”
And because nothing made sense since Katsuki met Izuku down in the cave, a dragon roars through the sky and softly cuts their flight short with its tail before disposing them on his back.
Katsuki stares at the red scales of the dragon and then at the width of it’s back before he lifts his head and looks at the back of its head.
Behind him Izuku places the sword between them and holds on tight to Katsuki. “Legends say they appear in front of the mage they choose.”
“But I'm no mage anymore.”
“And yet this dragon chose you.”
So Katsuki takes hold of its scales and tries to shout. “Are you mine?”
The dragon roars in reply and further ascends into the sky, letting loose a mighty puff of flames.
Behind him Izuku says, “You truly are amazing.”
Katsuki turns around, brushes his hand into Izuku’s hair and kisses him. When he pulls back Izuku is smiling, flush high on his cheeks. “I love you, too. But the next time you make such declarations before doing something stupid, I'll sacrifice you myself.”
Katsuki says, “shut up, Deku,” before he turns back to his dragon.
With this dragon and that sword by his side, becoming the greatest adventurer without magic is no dream anymore.
“Oi, Deku.”
“Hmm?”
“You keep that sword. There is no way I can wield it while riding this beast.”
“But-“
Katsuki reaches down to pull Izuku’s arms closer around his waist. “You are stuck with me, now. So just give in and become my partner before I make you. Let’s become the best.”
Izuku tightens his grip on Katsuki and presses his face into his neck. “Yeah,” he says. “Let’s do that.”
And then, Katsuki’s stomach growls and Izuku loses it, breaking out into unstoppable laughter. Katsuki lets him and stares at the view below. He will miss his magic for sure, but he doesn’t regret it. Not when he gained so much in return.
~
The chief owes his life to Izuku, who spent the flight telling Katsuki that as the greatest adventurer, he can't kill people.
Therefore Katsuki brings him to council and demands he be banished from the clan. Because if he would do such a thing to Katsuki, there is a high chance that he would do it again to someone else.
When he returns to Izuku, whom he had left with the dragon on a wide flower field, he finds his mother by his side, carefully tucking the red cape around him. He had met her first and told her to bring some food and water to Izuku.
“He's a curious one, isn't he?”
Katsuki huffs. That's not half of it. “He never shuts up.”
“He kept asking about you.”
“And you supplied, I'm sure.”
She smiles and brushes Izuku bangs out of his face. “You better take care of this one. And I expect you to come back and wed him properly.”
Sitting down to grab some food of his own, Katsuki nods. There is no use arguing with his mother over this, he knows from experience.
He falls silent though, when she holds out a red earring to him. “I lost my magic,” he says after a moment.
“It's my talisman. You might find that our magic is very similar and who knows, maybe it will be the one thing that gets you out of the next cave.”
Katsuki takes it and glares at her. “So he tattled about it.”
She smiles, fond but doesn't say a word.
They leave when Izuku wakes up. The capital is a few weeks away but by air they should reach it much faster. Before they go there though, Katsuki plans to do one last thing.
When his dragon lands in the cave of the Cursed Ruins, Katsuki’s grin turns sharp. “You better remember this place, Deku, because it's the last time you will see it.”
Izuku just shakes his head and holds on tight when the dragon raises its head and shoots fireballs at the walls of the cave, before taking off.
That place will be no graveyard for anyone anymore as it collapses in on itself.
“You know,” Izuku says from behind him. “Maybe it wasn't that beautiful after all.”
The End.