Chapter Text
The first time Eijirou climbed Mount Bakugou was a nightmare.
Living on a small volcanic island, he was no stranger to mountain climbing. Everything was steep, directions were mostly “uphill” or “downhill” and Eijirou had always been fine with it, never having known anything else. Only the beach was truly flat, but you had to climb down to go there, and the fields were only artificially flat and involved a lot of stairs anyway.
Really, Eijirou should have been used to it, and when he'd decided to climb to the top of the volcano, something no one had attempted in years, he expected it to be no different. He'd overlooked something very important, however: volcanoes were a bitch to climb.
The first part through the fields and then the forest had been easy enough, but the last stretch was going to kill him.
There were no more trees, and more importantly, no more path. All that was left were sharp rocks that were ruining his shoes faster than that time he'd tried to climb a cliff to impress his friends, and thick dust that made him trip and slip down every few steps. Sometimes, he felt like he wasn't moving at all, two steps up and one step down, one step up and two steps down, five steps up and four steps down, over and over again.
It was starting to be insanely hot, Eijirou tripped so often that he was almost walking on all four at this point, his hands were all scratched from the rocks, his clothes dusty and in disarray, and to make things worse, the volcano was mocking him with an uneven slope that made him think the summit was close only to reveal another one further up. Eijirou had given up on hope after the fifth one, his feet moving mechanically. He was half tempted to give up, to climb back down and tell the chief that he'd found nothing, but it would have been unmanly to lie, and it wouldn't solve anything.
Eijirou stopped to drink some water from his skin, grimacing when it went down his parched throat, cleaning his dust-covered mouth. There was almost nothing left, he realized with a sigh. If this summit wasn't the last, he'd probably have to climb back down until he reached the source at the edge of the forest. Eijirou would rather not think about it. Knocking his fists together, he started climbing again. Mount Bakugou wouldn't resist him forever!
He changed his mind when he felt a dangerous rumble under his feet.
Eijirou cursed under his breath. He wasn't expecting another eruption so soon! A particularly violent shake made him lose balance, but he quickly got back up and ran toward the nearest hiding spot he found, tripping every few steps and using his hands as much as his feet. It was yet another fake peak formed by a huge boulder, but at least it would keep him safe. Probably.
Everything kept shaking, and Eijirou heard the sounds he'd learned to fear over the past few weeks, the rumbling and explosions that announced the flaming rocks that would soon start falling from the sky.
As he curled up against the sturdy rock behind him, covering his ears, Eijirou wondered if he was going to die like this, alone on the volcano slope. He didn't dare look up to see where the rocks were falling, too scared to imagine what would happen if one fell on him or worse, if they fell on the village and there was nothing left to save once he climbed down.
Was it his fault? Eijirou wondered as the nightmare continued and there was nothing but shakes and thunder around him. Did he anger the volcano by trying to climb it? Did he manage to do the opposite of what he'd been trying to achieve? Were Mina and Tetsu and all his friends going to die when he'd been doing this in a desperate attempt to save them?
The earthquake stopped just like it started, calming down abruptly. Eijirou slowly raised his head after the last few rumbles.
He was alive.
He was safe.
There was a giant boulder a few feet away from him that wasn't there before.
Eijirou yelped in surprise and crawled back to attach himself to his hiding spot. The rock was still smoking from earlier, and when Eijirou looked down to see if he was injured in any way, he realized that he was covered in dust. Too shaken to remove it, he simply stood back up on wobbling legs and walked closer to the boulder, blowing back a strand of black hair that had turned grey under the volcanic dust.
The rock was still so hot that Eijirou had to stay a couple of steps away from it, and as he raised his hand to touch it, it split in the middle, revealing its bright red molten core.
Eijirou jumped back with another yelp, his heart hammering in his chest as if it was trying to run away from the scene, leaving the rest of his body behind.
Eijirou could have died. If he'd been a bit too slow, if the rock had fallen a bit closer…
Shaking his head, he knocked his fists together once more. The attempt was weak, but the posture was grounding. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, trying to calm down his pounding heart and shaky breaths.
He was fine, he reminded himself. He was safe.
The cooling lava in front of him was so hot Eijirou felt like his face was going to melt, so he forced himself to move and resume his way back up, dusting himself a little as he went.
Whether he kept going up or went back down, nowhere was safe, he reasoned. And there had never been more than one eruption a day, so he should be fine for now. He wouldn't give up. He had to reach the top.
As he fell back into his frustrating rhythm, taking two steps up, sliding one step down, three steps up, two down, one up, one up, one down, three up, one down, his thoughts drifted back to the village. Was everyone safe? Did the rocks reach the fields this time?
Eijirou shook his head. Not one eruption in decades, and now there was one every day. They weren't getting more violent—nothing could beat the first one, when the top of the mountain exploded with a deafening bang that had everyone's ears ringing for days, bright red shining in the night sky as flaming rocks fell into the sea and rivers of glowing lava ran down its sides—but the rocks and lava were getting closer to the fields and the village every time, as if the volcano was making up for its lack of strength with increased accuracy. If he wasn't so mad at the elders, Eijirou would agree that there was an angry god involved whose wrath needed to be appeased. He wanted to agree, even. If offerings were all it took to stop this nightmare, he'd give everything he had.
But the elders didn't think the volcano god wanted food, for what use would he have of it? No, according to them, the only thing that could stop his rampage was a human sacrifice, preferably a young maiden, and Eijirou couldn't accept it. Why would this god want a human life when the priest of Midoriya, the god of nature and harvest, only accepted plant-based offerings?
Mina had joked about the elders trying to fulfil their own weird fantasies. It had made everyone laugh, but Eijirou couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't right, and he hated the idea.
He couldn't let his friends die. Or anyone, for that matter. So when the elders asked for a volunteer, looking very pointedly at Mina, who had always been too loud and unruly for their liking, Eijirou decided that he had to do something, and loudly announced that he was going to climb up and investigate.
He'd grabbed a bag with water and some food, ignored his friends’ attempts to talk him out of it, and now here he was, reaching what he expected to be yet another fake peak and regretting every decision he'd ever made in his life.
He didn't know what he was hoping to find up there; not really. Too caught up in his bravado, Eijirou hadn't stopped to think about what could be causing the eruptions, or what a solution could be. Mina had given him that look, too. The soft, pained one that said: “You still feel guilty about that , right?”
And yes, maybe Eijirou was thinking about how he'd remained frozen in fear, when he and his friends were out of the village during an eruption, and he'd watched helplessly as Mina ran under the falling rocks to drag everyone to relative safety. For someone who'd always wanted to be a hero, he'd been pretty pathetic...
This time would be different, however. He wouldn't fail. If he had to give his life, then so be it, he'd told himself. But the closer he got to the top, the more afraid he was that he wouldn't find any way to help, or that he'd be too weak to do what he had to. Would he even dare come back to the village, if he failed?
Eijirou shook his head to get rid of the thought, imagining how Tetsu would punch him for being so negative, and how Mina would try to cheer him up. Smiling at the idea, Eijirou looked up and was met with an endless blue sky.
No more volcano was standing in front of him.
He'd reached the top.
Exhausted beyond measure, all Eijirou could do was slowly raise his fist with the weakest victory cry in History, before crumpling in the dust, his heart beating furiously in his ears and making his overheated cheeks pulse. The ground was surprisingly hot under his palms, and as he drank the last of his water, Eijirou was disappointed to find it lukewarm.
Once he felt better, he got back on his feet and looked around him, finding nothing but dust and rocks wherever his eyes landed. He sighed. He should have known that the origin of the eruptions wouldn't be so easy to find. He’d hoped to at least find a shrine to pray on, but there was nothing in sight, and a quick glance inside the crater didn't give him more answers. He couldn't see any lava, but the heat coming out was so unbearable that he had to step back.
He walked around it nervously, hoping to find a clue with no idea what to look for, silently praying to the volcano in case it could hear him. Panic swelled gradually in his chest with each passing minute, like a ball of fresh dough, until it filled his lungs, his heart, his guts. His movements, at first calm and sluggish, were slowly growing more erratic, and he found himself muttering curses and prayers under his breath, begging to find something, anything that could help.
After what felt like hours of desperate search, Eijirou took another glance inside the crater. Hot air was still rising from it, like the peaceful breath of a slumbering beast, and Eijirou wondered if the elders were planning to throw someone in there, or to simply kill the sacrifice outside the village and dedicate it to the volcano.
Maybe Eijirou could volunteer. Or maybe he could just pray to the volcano and jump now, to save them the trouble.
He shook off the thought, reminding himself that a proper god wouldn’t want a human sacrifice, but the idea of coming back to the village with no answer and letting the elders do as they pleased wasn't more appealing than jumping. It would mean admitting that he was just as weak and useless as everyone thought, with no chance of ever redeeming himself. Eijirou didn't want to live like this anymore; not when he was so close...
“So, you're gonna jump or what?” a rough voice asked somewhere behind him.
It was so unexpected that it made Eijirou jump with surprise and lose his footing. He tried to take a step back to regain balance, but the rocks and dust gave in under his feet, falling into the crater and dragging him with them. Eijirou could already see himself fall to his death, but instead, he was grabbed by the shoulder and violently thrown back on solid ground. He fell on his ass with another surprised yelp, his heart pounding in his chest.
“For fuck’s sake, if you’re going to make an offering, do it properly!” he vaguely heard as he tried to recover from his fright.
When Eijirou turned around, he wasn’t sure if he was going to protest, to thank the newcomer, or to ask him what he meant. Whatever it was, the words died on his tongue as soon as his eyes fell on the man in front of him.
It wasn’t the crossed arms that caught his attention, nor the ashen blonde hair, or the piercing red eyes right under. Eijirou could have been surprised by the scowl, the old and dull jewelry around the man’s neck and upper arms, or even his thin lips pursed in an almost childish pout. But as Eijirou’s eyes travelled along the man’s body, catching new details every time, like his pierced ears, his fine features, his unblemished skin, the dark hakama he was wearing, so black that it looked like it could absorb light, nothing really stuck. It was the whole picture that had Eijirou’s mouth gaping.
Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t remember seeing this person anywhere. And after spending his whole life on a small island, the idea was terrifying. The only times he saw new faces were when the merchants came in their boats, but here, on top of the island, wasn’t a place where Eijirou was supposed to meet someone new.
What was this man even doing here?
Too stunned to even think about getting up, Eijirou blurted, “Who are you?” just as the man, the stranger , barked, “The fuck you gawking at, dumbass? Never seen a god before?”
His voice was gravelly and rich, and more importantly, completely new to Eijirou’s ears.
“A what?”
The blonde groaned and muttered, “A whole eighty years of waiting, and all I get is a fucking dimwit?”
“So you live here?” Eijirou asked, deciding to ignore the comment as he finally got up and dusted himself. “How come I’ve never met you?”
“Because you ungrateful bastards don’t come up here anymore,” the man spat.
“Maybe you should come down instead.”
“That’s not how it fucking works, dumbass! Humans are supposed to come up, not the other way around!” he yelled, uncrossing his arms to throw them in the air in annoyance.
As he did that, Eijirou realized how apparent his ribs were, and wondered how the man could find food in this gray, barren land where both colors and life seemed prohibited.
“So, if you live here, do you know anything about the eruptions? Like what could be causing them?” Eijirou asked, full of hope.
“What the… Are you fucking stupid?!” the blonde yelled, indignant, as he lowered his stance, showing his palms in the strangest display of intimidation Eijirou had ever seen. “ I cause the eruptions! I just told you I’m a fucking god!”
Eijirou blinked at the words, wondering if he’d heard properly as his eyes raked him up and down again, searching for anything that could support the man’s claim. No matter where he looked, however, all he could see was human. Maybe his skin was a bit too pale for the island’s sun, especially for someone going around bare-chested, and his hair was an unusual shade, but from his reddish eyes to his bare feet—a surprising sight given the sharp rocks scattered on the too hot ground—Eijirou could only see a human being. The only unusual thing was that his clothes were still pristine despite the overwhelming amount of dust around them, and maybe his hands were smoking a little, but it could have been a strange light effect.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right,” Eijirou finally said.
“Are you fucking deaf on top of everything?! I’m the god of this volcano, you shitty mortal! So you better show some fucking respect!”
“Sorry man, but I’m not convinced right now.”
“For fuck’s sake, when did humans become so fucking cocky?! I have nothing to prove, asshole, you hear me?!”
The tantrum wasn’t much, really. The man’s voice was surprisingly loud, somehow reminding Eijirou of the explosive eruptions that had been plaguing the village for the past few weeks, but otherwise, it was nothing more than someone yelling at him. Eijirou still fell back on his ass in the middle of the blonde’s rant, however, because for a split second, he could see it: the stranger’s skin getting grayer, like the ashes around them, with black marks on his face; his palms faintly glowing red; the smoke that was undeniably coming out of them; his red eyes shining with anger, like molten lava.
“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding,” Eijirou whispered in awe.
“Fucking finally. Takes you a while to get things, dimwit,” the man—no, the god —huffed.
“So you’re… you’re Bakugou.”
“Damn right,” he grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth. “And it’s Lord Bakugou for you, mortal. Don’t they teach you respect in your shitty village?”
Eijirou opened and closed his mouth several times, probably inhaling dust in the process but too stunned to care.
Bakugou ignored him and asked, “So, if you’re not here to pay respects and give me offerings, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“I… I was… I was looking for a way to stop the eruptions,” Eijirou stammered.
“Well, good job then, you found it,” Bakugou smirked. “Please me, and I’ll stop.”
“Please you?” Eijirou asked with a confused frown that had the god pinching the bridge of his nose with a growling sigh.
“Are humans all that fucking stupid these days, or is it just you?” Eijirou was ready to protest, but Bakugou continued, “What do you think I mean, dumbass?”
“Uh… offerings?”
“Finally! Yes, fucking offerings! You ungrateful bastards owe me almost a century of offerings, and you better do something about my shitty shrine too!”
“What shrine?” Eijirou asked, trying to remember anything that could have looked like a building in the desolate landscape.
“Exactly! Do you see a fucking shrine anywhere, dimwit? No! It probably got buried during an eruption, I don’t give a fuck. It was nothing but a half burnt shack at this point.”
“You could have taken better care of it,” Eijirou blurted. “It’s your shrine, after all.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Eijirou had always been known for speaking before he thought, and his words seemed to infuriate Bakugou even more. He felt the ground shake under his feet and for a second, he got worried that another eruption was starting. In front of him, Bakugou was fuming, thick smoke coming out of his hands, his human form fading once more to reveal his more godly appearance. His eyes were glowing, the bright red color bleeding around his now dark face like cracks on barely cooling lava, and the same was happening around his glowing palms. When he spoke, his voice was barely human, deep and rumbling like an eruption, making Eijirou’s entire body shake.
“That’s not how it fucking works! I’ve kept your kind safe for centuries, preventing eruptions or making sure they avoided your shitty village! You’re supposed to feed me in exchange! You’re supposed to take care of my fucking shrine and kneel before me, begging to stay in my good graces! How dare you forget about me?! I’ll show you the wrath of a fucking god! If you can’t give me the respect I deserve, you can all go to hell!”
As he listened to the god’s fury, shrinking on the ground and desperately trying to protect his ears, Eijirou realized one thing: he’d been an idiot, and he and the rest of the village had made a grave mistake, forgetting about their local god. Fear kept growing inside him with each word until it overcame him completely—a bitter reminder of his other encounters with Bakugou’s wrath.
But he could do something, this time, he realized. He was right in front of the cause of the eruptions, and he could make things right. As he thought that, he suddenly felt a lot calmer.
“I’m sorry!” he yelled, trying to be heard above the earthquake. “I didn’t know, and I’m sorry! In the name of my people, I apologize for neglecting you this whole time. We’ll do better, I promise! I’ll talk to them and come back with proper offerings, so please, forgive us.”
He didn’t know at what point Bakugou calmed down. It must have happened while Eijirou tried to bow down properly without inhaling dust. Whatever happened, Bakugou looked human again when he looked up. There was nothing left of the dark, angry god made of fury and molten rocks from a few seconds ago. Bakugou was breathing heavily, as if the demonstration of power had exhausted him, and between this and the bones Eijirou could see under his too pale skin, he looked almost vulnerable.
“You better make up for lost time, dimwit,” Bakugou grumbled, crossing his arms again.
“We will,” Eijirou nodded. “It will probably take a while to gather everything, though. Can you stop the eruptions until then?”
Eijirou worried for a second that his demand would make the god even angrier, but instead of yelling that he had no orders to take from a shitty human, Bakugou said, “Fine, you have a week. If I have no offering after that, I’ll destroy the village.”
His readiness to agree made Eijirou wonder if the eruptions weren’t the reason why he looked so weak at the moment, or if it was the neglect from humans. He didn’t know how gods worked—he’d never met one before, after all, and had no idea that you could interact directly with them until a few minutes ago—but he was sure of one thing: he was going to fix this.
“You’ll have them,” he nodded. “And we’ll see what we can do about your shrine then.”
“You better not be fucking lying.”
“I’m not! But, um… What kind of… offerings do you want?” Eijirou asked hesitantly, thinking back on what the elders had said.
“What kind of… Are you fucking stupid?!”
“No! I mean, we have a disagreement, in the village. I thought our crops and sake would be good, because that’s what we usually give as offerings-”
“Of course it’s fucking good! And you better add some cattle too.”
Eijirou grimaced at the idea of throwing away perfectly good meat, but said, “Understood, I’ll tell them. But the elders were saying that you don’t want food-”
“They’re idiots, then,” Bakugou huffed.
“I know, right?” Eijirou agreed, so glad that Bakugou shared his views that he didn’t complain about being interrupted twice. “That’s what I’ve been saying, but our elders insisted that you want one of us as a sacrifice, and I can’t agree with that!”
“And who’s supposed to take care of the fucking shrine, then?” Bakugou asked.
Eijirou blinked. “What does it have to do with killing someone?”
“What does killing someone have to do with the sacrifice?”
“That’s what a sacrifice means, right? That’s what the elders think it means, at least,” Eijirou explained, confused.
“What the fuck? And I thought you were an idiot! When did humans become this fucking stupid?! What am I supposed to do with a dead human?”
“I don’t know, dude!” Eijirou exclaimed, ignoring the way Bakugou bristled at the name. “The same thing you do with normal offerings?”
“That’s food ! I don’t eat shitty humans! They’re disgusting! And don’t you dare call me dude, mortal!”
“Sorry, um… Lord Bakugou,” Eijirou said with a sheepish look. “But what do you mean by ‘taking care of the shrine’?”
“That’s what the sacrifice does. Stay up here, clean and repair the shrine, do all the talking with humans so I can be left the fuck alone, organize the offerings, shit like that! Dead bodies don’t do any of that!”
“Oh, so you mean a priest?”
“Something like that, but your kind calls them ‘Sacrifices’ because they can’t come back down. Not often, at least.”
“I see. It’s true that climbing the volcano isn’t easy. So you really need someone to stay up here with you?”
Bakugou tensed at the question. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times, obviously in deep thoughts, and finally said, “You know what? No. If everyone is as fucking stupid as you or worse , I’d rather be on my own.”
“Thanks, man! Uh, Lord Bakugou!” he corrected when he saw the god’s death glare. Eijirou briefly wondered if he’d ever get used to it, when Bakugou looked like a normal human around his age most of the time. “We’ll find a solution for the shrine. Maybe we can take turns!”
“Whatever, just… You better fix this shit fast.”
“We’ll do our best!” Eijirou said with a grin. “Will you need anything else?”
“Offerings and a new shrine is good for now. And don’t even think about forgetting me again. My patience has run out, and I won’t miss your puny village next time.”
“We won’t. I’m really sorry it happened. We won’t forget you again,” Eijirou said, surprised by how much he meant it.
He was no god and surely, he couldn’t understand what it meant for Bakugou, but seeing him like this, starved and alone for decades, so desperate to be remembered that he’d throw eruption after eruption, waiting for weeks for someone to come to him… he could at least get why Bakugou was so angry.
“Whatever,” Bakugou mumbled, arms still crossed and shoulders hunched. “I don’t fucking care.”
Eijirou had known him for less than an hour, but he could tell how dishonest Bakugou was being. For a god, he was acting entirely too human.
“So I guess I’ll… go, then?” Eijirou said, hesitant.
“Yeah, get the fuck out. And don’t forget, you only have a week.”
Eijirou nodded, but as he turned around to start his descent, he felt that something wasn’t right. He couldn’t just leave.
Taking a deep breath, he asked, “How do I make an offering?”
“The fuck do you mean?”
“Do I just… give it to you? Is there a prayer or something?”
Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance. “They really teach you nothing in your shitty village. You say the offering is for me and you throw it in the crater. It’s that simple. A proper ritual would be nice, but I don't trust your dumb ass with that.”
Eijirou nodded again and took out his last rice balls. He was starting to be hungry, but Bakugou seemed to need them more than he did. The god still had a whole week to wait, but Eijirou could eat as soon as he was back in the village. Earlier, if he managed to find something edible on his way back.
He slowly walked back to the crater, careful to stay far enough not to fall. He could feel Bakugou’s piercing gaze on his back when he said solemnly, “It’s not much, but I dedicate these rice balls to you, Lord Bakugou.” He then threw the food in the volcano, ignoring his stomach’s desperate pleas.
He expected something to happen, but the crater remained the same, still hot and dark and silent. Disappointing.
When Eijirou turned around, Bakugou hadn’t moved one bit, but a tiny smile had appeared on his lips. He didn’t look any less starved, but his pleased expression was a clear improvement—enough to make the sacrifice of a few rice balls worth it.
“I’m leaving for real, now. See you soon,” Eijirou said, walking away.
He was proud of his exit, but of course, his body ruined it right after. He took a few steps down, started feeling dizzy, and tripped in the dust.
Bakugou was by his side in an instant.
“Hey, what the fuck?”
“Ah, sorry. I guess I’m hungrier than I thought,” Eijirou said with a weak laugh. He felt so stupid.
“What the… Do you have anything else to eat?”
“No, it was all the food I had on me.”
“How much more stupid can you be? Why did you give me all of it when you’re too hungry to fucking walk?”
“I didn’t know I was so tired!” Eijirou protested. “And you looked like you needed it more than me.”
“I don’t need your fucking pity, dimwit! And you’re no use to me if you can’t go back to your shitty village and tell your people what I want!”
“I guess you’re right… Sorry, Bakugou. I’ll be fine, I promise. And I don’t pity you! I was just trying to apologize for… you know, forgetting about you. And being rude, probably.”
Bakugou sighed. “You really are the most stupid human being I’ve ever met,” he said, his harsh words contradicted by the shadow of a smile on his face.
He shook his head as he kneeled in front of Eijirou. In his tired state, he couldn’t help but notice that the god was quite handsome, under the famished, angry first impression. His eyes were especially beautiful, with their intense shade of red. Were they always that red, or was it an unexpected effect of the offering?
Eijirou didn’t have much time to ponder, as Bakugou put a hand on his head and said with a gruff voice, “Here, it won’t be said that I’m an ungrateful god.”
Eijirou felt a strange tingling coming from the top of his head and slowly travelling through his whole body, like a reverse shiver. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, kind of like burning but in a nice way, and when Bakugou’s hand left his head, Eijirou felt more energetic than before.
He got back up along with the god, who took a step back with an appreciative look.
“Not bad,” he said. “Red hair suits you better.”
“What?” Eijirou yelped, grabbing a strand of hair to see it for himself, half suspecting that Bakugou was kidding.
He wasn’t.
Gasping, Eijirou pulled all the hair he could grab in front of his eyes, and from what he could see, everything was now a bright shade of red.
“What the fuck?” he whispered, Bakugou’s potty mouth clearly rubbing off on him.
“You’ve received my blessing, and the red hair is my mark. It means you can draw some strength from the volcano. It’ll fade the further you go from the top, but it should give you enough strength to at least reach the fucking forest.”
“Wow… Thank you!” Eijirou said, still not believing his eyes.
“Whatever. Like I said, you’re useless if you can’t go back to your shitty, ungrateful people. And they probably won’t believe you without it anyway.”
“With that, they definitely will!” Eijirou grinned.
He didn't know what to think about the hair yet, but thanks to his meeting with Bakugou, he could come back to his village with his head high. He couldn't wait to see everyone's faces when they saw him!
The first time Eijirou climbed down the volcano, he was grinning the whole time.
