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"Kiri, are you really drawing that mysterious guy again?" Mina asks with an amused expression as she sits next to him.
Kirishima just hums in response, not tearing his eyes apart from his notebook.
He can't stop drawing this guy, he doesn't know who he is and yet he knows everything about his features. He knows exactly how he should look like. Blond hair, piercing red eyes, muscled arms, a beautiful and captivating grin.
Mina sighs, sinking in her chair as they wait for professor Aizawa to arrive.
"Maybe you should've pick up art classes instead of history," she speaks again, leaning on the desk.
"Art? He's the only one I ever draw of," He finally replies, tapping his pencil on his doodles.
He can't understand why his face is so printed in his mind, who is he?
Is it possible to yearn for a character your mind created?
He doesn't know why, he gets sad anytime he draws his face. And yet, he can't let go his pencil.
Mina just sighs, taking her book from her bag.
"I'm sleepy, let's make this quick," Aizawa says as he walks in, like it was normal for a professor to want to storm out of class to go sleeping.
Kirishima scoffs as he puts his head between his hands. He really wants to go to his room, too.
"Open your book at page 256," Aizawa says as he's writing something on the blackboard.
Kirishima just keeps staring at his sketches, he doesn't even open his book, Mina will do it for him anyway.
He suddenly feels a hand squeezing his arm, curious eyes land on Mina's shocked expression.
"K-Kirishima... I think it's him," she whispers as she points at her book.
Kirishima has no idea what she's talking about until his gaze falls on the page.
His heart skips a beat.
It's actually fucking him. The guy he draws about, he's actually in his History book and Kirishima has no idea why he is there.
He snaps the book from her hands and quickly reads all the informations he's desperately craving for.
'Barbarian King' is written under his picture. It's actually a portrait.
"Barbarian king?" he says out loud, his head starts to spin as sudden and unclear imagines rush through his mind.
"I haven't started yet," Aizawa says as he closes his own book, looking tired and annoyed as always.
"Sorry," Kirishima mutters, dying of mortification.
Aizawa lets out a sigh. "But yes, we're talking about a Barbarian King today."
"Can't we talk about more interesting topics? Something more... reliable," one of the students protest.
"One more word and I'll have you expelled," Aizawa spits out before returning to his collected self. "Like I was saying before someone decided to interrupt me, let's talk about a Barbarian King."
Kirishima has never payed more attention to someone in his whole life.
Aizawa starts to talk about the cities he has conquered, the adventures he lived, all his efforts.
Eijirou has never read about him before, and yet he knows everything he's saying and even more.
"The Historians say he's the first and only person to have won the respect and admiration of a Dragon," Aizawa says, making Kirishima wince.
"He..." He whispers, but his mind is too numb to add more.
Why does he feel on the verge of crying?
"And how did he do that? Did he challenge a dragon?" one of the students asks, everyone except Kirishima turns to him.
"The fuck happened to you? Can't you get out?" a human asks, a frown on his face, as he approaches Eijirou.
Eijirou hisses in response, getting defensive, ready to attack him in case he needs to. He doesn't trust humans, it's their fault he has a leg pierced now.
"Don't fucking shoot fire at me or else you can fucking forget about my damn help," He hisses back, unafraid to actually get near the hurt creature. "I t will hurt, just stay still, okay?" he says, his voice shifts to a sooth sound.
The human crouches down, slowly getting his hands on the trap that is hurting Eijirou.
Suddenly, it throws open, making Eijirou cry out in pain as saw teeth get out of this skin.
He's expecting the human to try to capture him, maybe kill him, but instead he lets out a relieved sigh before giving him his back.
"You're free to fly away now," he says before he starts to walk away.
Eijirou quickly shifts to his human form, not wanting to fly away from him.
"WAIT!" he yells, his heart beating loudly in his chest.
The human's eyes go wide. "You can transform?!"
Eijirou just bows, "You saved my life, therefore my life will now belong to you."
The human scoffs. "Forget about this stuff. You can be by my side, but as my equal," he says, arms crossed against his chest.
Eijirou smiles so much in response his cheeks hurt.
"The... the Dragon chose him after he saved him," Kirishima says as tears well up in his eyes.
Why is he crying? Why does he know this?
Everyone is staring at him, but he doesn't care. He's too caught up in his mind now, a thousand-yard stare as his heart sinks.
"That might be correct," Aizawa shrugs, taking back all the eyes on him.
"Are... you okay, Kiri?" Mina asks in concern, but Kirishima doesn't know how to feel right now.
Why does he know how that Dragon felt? Did Dragons really exist?
He nods. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Mina doesn't look convinced, but she doesn't push it.
"That's all for today," Aizawa finally says, "Now let me sleep."
As they walk out, Mina reaches his arm
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He's not. He's too confused, he's trying to hold back tears, he just wants to know why he feels like he knows that Barbarian King.
"Yeah, I just want to go back to my room," he lies to not make her worry over something he can't explain.
"Alright, take care," she says with a smile before going towards her own room.
He doesn't know why, he finds himself running, letting his tears fall as he feels the wind on his skin. He rushes to pick his notebook and his pencil as soon as he gets in his room, almost tripping over himself as he reaches his desk.
He draws of scenarios he shouldn't know about, of emotions he theoretically has never experienced. He just lets his pencil run, while his mind tells him stories he didn't know where into his heart until now.
"Silly Dragon, why are you sulking here all alone?" the Barbarian King asks, voice soft, as he sits down next to him.
Eijirou is pouting, he raises up his knees to his chest. "What will happen when you'll have your own empire?"
His King shifts on the ground, getting closer to him before putting a hand on Eijirou’s cheek. "Nothing will change, it will still be just you and me in the end."
Eijirou's heart shakes with hope, "Yeah?"
"Of fucking course, come here," he says softly, kissing his head before cuddling him on his lap.
Kirishima stares at his sketch, wondering why he has just drawn about a Barbarian King and him cuddling. Sure, it's a hybrid dragon version, but it still looks exactly like him.
Why is he sad and happy at the same time? What is happening to him?
"Who are you? Who am I?" he whispers as he traces with a finger his drawing, "Why am I feeling like this?"
He doesn't understand. Maybe it was for the best if he just never learned about this Barbarian King, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't feel so lonely now.
Well, that's not true, he's always felt like something was missing, like an incomplete puzzle.
He closes his eyes as he lays on his bed, letting his mind wander, letting his memories rising to the surface.
As he's dozing off, his dreams are filled with hot hands, endless travels and an heartwarming love
"Kiri, wake up"
"GO AWAY!" the Barbarian shouts. "GO!! FLY!! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE, FLY THE FUCK AWAY," his body is almost smoking, his face red with desperation.
"I WON'T, I CAN'T!" Eijirou shouts back, feeling his body heavy.
"I TOLD YOU TO FUCK OFF!" he yells again, widening his eyes as he sees Eijirou rushing towards him.
Eijirou just hugs him with all his force, pressing their bodies together as his King starts to sob.
"I love you, but I hate that you won't fly away," he cries out, pressing his face against Eijirou’s shoulder.
"I can't, my place is with you," he whispers, holding him tight, letting him cry. "I'm not leaving you."
"Kirishima!" Mina yells, waking him up.
"W-What happened?" his head is aching, and her yelling isn't helping at all.
"You looked...pained. Were you having a nightmare?" she asks, concern painted in her eyes.
He ignores her question, he's too confused to talk about his dreams.
"What are you doing here?" he asks confused. He needs to learn how to lock his door.
She shrugs. "You didn't come to class."
"Fuck, I didn't hear the alarm," he curses, back sinking on the bed.
She giggles a little. "Since you're fine, I can go meet my friends," she says, sticking out her tongue playfully.
He waves her off, finally getting out of his bed. He needs to talk to Aizawa, he wants to ask him what else he knows.
Once he's ready, he heads towards Aizawa's classroom, hoping he hasn't started yet with his lesson.
Maybe he doesn't know anything else, but he wants to give it a try anyway.
"I'm sorry, professor Aizawa, could I talk to you for a moment?" he asks before Aizawa can walk in.
Aizawa scoffs. "Make it quick."
"I was wondering... What else do you know about that Barbarian King and his Dragon?"
Aizawa looks at him with a questioning look. "Not much. He was strong, had to be with a Dragon by his side."
Eijirou hums. "But most people don't think he existed, right?"
He's just a myth, maybe he's never been real. Yet, Kirishima feels like he knows him better than every person that entered his life until now.
"We lost his tracks after one war, the Historians say that was the war—"
"Nononono Eijirou please, fuck, fuck please, don't die please," he shivers as he holds Eijirou, pressing his hurt body against his chest. "Please, Ei, hold on, I'll fucking save you, I promise," he sobs, tears flowing nonstop through his cheeks.
"Don't... cry..." Eijirou says weakly. "I.. would do that..again."
He doesn't feel his body anymore, but he doesn't regret saving him. He would die over and over again for his King.
He just keeps crying harder. "STOP, YOU ARE GONNA LIVE, YOU FUCKING HEAR ME?" he yells, raw and in pain, almost choking on his words, "Y-you—"
"I-I love you," Eijirou breathes, a soft smile on his lips.
"I love you too, so much, please don't die now," he sobs, his voice wavering and it is breaking Eijirou’s heart.
"I-I'm... sorry... I won't be there... when you'll reign over... the world..." he whispers, forcing his voice out.
"There won't be any world to guide without you by my side, do you fucking hear me?" he's holding him tighter now, his voice croaking with every word he lets out.
"K-Katsuki..."
"No, listen to me now, I fucking swear, I'll meet you again."
Eijirou finds the strength to smile at his words. "Y-yeah?"
Katsuki presses their foreheads together. "I fucking promise. My soul will find its way to yours," he whispers through his tears, thumbing Eijirou's cheek and finally kissing his lips.
"I'll... wait... for it..." he whispers exhausted before finally closing his eyes.
All the air is stolen from Kirishima's lungs. "The war his Dragon died," he says, trying to keep his voice even.
Aizawa nods. "They say that when his Dragon died, the Barbarian tied up his bandana around his sword and—"
"Never touched it again. Wandering around the world alone, waiting for their souls to meet again," Kirishima completes, his voice croaking as tears quickly make their way into his eyes.
He hates it. He fucking hates it. His heart is heavy in his chest, it's becoming fucking hard to breath.
He wants to run away, he doesn't know to where, he just wants to let out the weight he feels on his chest by screaming.
"Are you okay?" Aizawa asks, making Eijirou come back to reality.
"Yeah," he lies as he wipes away his tears. "I gotta go now, thanks."
He starts to run, crying as memories come back to him.
He remembers, he remembers everything now.
He remembers his love for Katsuki, he remembers their journey, he remembers how Katsuki held him at night.
He remembers their fights, their arguments, he remembers how they made up by making love.
He remembers the feeling of his hands on him, he remembers how he smiled at him. He remembers how Katsuki didn't want to involve him in his shit.
He remembers he was his dragon, he remembers they were real, they existed.
He remembers Katsuki's promise.
He lets himself fall on his bed, clutching his pillow as he cries.
"I miss you so much," He whispers to the void
Three days pass by and Kirishima is still yearning. The ache in his heart is unbearable, he doesn't know how he's supposed to go back to when he didn’t remember anything and honestly, despite his measureless pain, he doesn't even want to.
He'll never feel at peace until he and Katsuki meet again, but still, he prefers knowing.
Maybe this hasn't a purpose at all, maybe he's hurting for nothing, maybe Katsuki doesn't remember him.
Maybe nothing of this makes sense, and yet, he prefers to hang on to his memories than not knowing how it feels to love someone so much you would give up everything, even your own life, for them.
Classes feel more exhausting than usual, but he's still attending after all.
He hears his ringtone, smiling softly as Mina's picture appears on his phone. She's worrying so much about him lately, he's glad he has her.
"Mina, what's up?" he asks, keeping his sketches with just one hand to be able to hold his phone.
"Just wanted to tell you I'm already in our classroom. Rumors say there's a new student."
He can hear loud and clear her excitement.
He doesn't care that much about it, though. He doesn't feel like meeting new people. He just wants Katsuki by his side again.
"Cool," he lies. "I'm on my way."
"Alright, see yaa," she says, voice cheerful, before hanging up.
Kirishima sighs, stuffing his phone in his pocket.
As he walks, he keeps thinking about Katsuki.
He wonders if he'll ever stop missing him. He wonders if Katsuki is still looking for him. Somehow, his heart knows Katsuki will find him. Maybe he's just a hopeless romantic. Maybe he isn't thinking rationally, but he can't let his mind tell him otherwise.
Spacing out, he doesn't look where he's going, and he ends up crashing against a wall.
"Fuck," he whispers as he puts a hand over his sore and now red nose.
His sketches are all over the ground now. He sees with the corner of his eyes someone picking them up.
"Look where you are fucking going—" the boy's words die in his throat as soon as their eyes meet.
Eijirou's heart freezes, his eyes widening as he looks at Katsuki. His Katsuki, right in front of him.
They're both holding their breath, their eyes filling up with tears as they stare at each other speechless.
"K-Katsuki?" He finally croaks, his throat burning as he feels his vital energy leaving his body.
Katsuki lets his tears stream down his cheeks, finally crashing their bodies together in a breathtaking hug.
"I fucking told you," je rasps out as he holds him impossibly tighter, their breath in sync as they pant. "My soul will always find its way to yours," he whispers, sinking his face on his shoulder.
Eijirou lets himself finally breath his scent, he lets his body melt in his arms. He lets himself sob as Katsuki holds him, he lets his tears fall.
"I've never doubted it, I love you so," he whispers, his lips wobbling as he clutches to him more.