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Humans were cruel. All magical creatures knew this fact. It was why most of them stayed away from humans. Their greed consumed them, pride blinded them, their gain so shallow and meaningless. They had no sense of nature, no care for the earth that birthed them. Humans cared only about themselves and their personal gain.
Humans were cruel, but Katsuki never imagined they'd be so vile.
It started with a hunch. An inkling of a feeling nagging at his chest. He itched at it, wondering at first if he had forgotten something. He had gone out with his mate, both a little tired of being cooped up in their cave. It was hard not to be with their clutch waiting to hatch. The soon-to-be parents were eager and excited to meet their offsprings, all seven of them. They were tired, though, of waiting around for the inevitable day that drew closer and closer. So they left, for a short walk together.
That nagging sensation grew stronger the farther they got from the clutch and Katsuki assumed it was just a sense of aggression being away from his clutch. He brushed it away, not wanting to alarm his mate with his over-anxious behavior.
Next, however, came a smell. The smell of humans. Katsuki froze immediately. His eyes darted around as he took in a deep inhale. Human, no mistaking it. The two of them lived on the edge of both of their homes. Their cave was only a short walk away from a nearby river that led straight into the ocean while the cave itself was made out of hardened lava from the volcano Katsuki called home. The two were an unlikely pair, water dragon and volcanic dragon, but they worked well together and being next to both environments made them both happy. But the terrain was not for the faint of heart. So what were humans doing out in this deadly terrain? Nothing good Katsuki decided.
“Katsuki what is it?” Eijirou, his beloved mate asked. Katsuki frowned, turning back in the direction of their home.
“I smell human,” Katsuki told him and Eijirou frowned.
“So far from society? What are they doing out here?”
“I don't know,” he answered, the nagging feeling only grew more intense. “Let's go back,” he said, starting to walk back in the direction of their home.
The clutch, he told himself. Check on the clutch. There was no way the humans knew about their eggs. There was no way they'd touch them. No one was stupid enough to mess with a dragon's nest. Humans were stupid, yes, but surely not suicidal.
“I smell it now,” Eijirou muttered, nose crinkled. “It's stronger...”
Katsuki found his own footing speeding up. It was stronger. Stronger as they got closer. His heart had started to race slightly, his mind repeating the same thoughts. They wouldn't touch the nest. They wouldn't touch the nest. They would not touch his nest.
“Katsuki,” Eijirou muttered, no longer trailing behind him but lightly jogging now to get ahead of Katsuki's own rapidly growing pace.
The cave felt miles away when in reality the walk was no more than ten minutes. With each passing one, the smell of human grew stronger and stronger until they stood frozen outside their cave. The stench was almost too much to bear. It flooded the air, burring Katsuki's and Eijirou's own scent. It didn't just linger outside the walls, no, it trailed inside as well.
They went in. They went into their nest.
Eijirou stepped forward first, his pupils were narrow slits darting around for the intruders. Katsuki followed close behind, his stomach twisting in anxious knots. They followed the smell all the way to the end of the cave where they left their clutch. Katsuki swallowed thickly.
Eijirou saw it first. He gasped, a faint squeak of a sound escaping his mouth that he covered with webbed hands. Katsuki pushed himself in front of his mate, nerves already on edge.
He felt bile rise up his throat.
Upon the stone bed laid with heated stones rest three smashed eggs. On the ground in front of the bed laid another, shattered and broken.
A feeling of total disbelief washed over Katsuki. No. This wasn't happening. This was a mistake. They entered the wrong cave. They stumbled upon someone else's clutch. Or this was all a bad dream. No one was so cruel. No creature is so vile as to destroy something so precious.
It wasn't until his mate fell to his knees, releasing a heart-wrenching scream that Katsuki's own grief buried him. Eijirou reached out for the egg on the floor, a shaking hand hovering over it as if afraid to touch it. Slowly, his hand came over to brush over the egg before he released an anguished sob and collapsed in on himself. Katsuki came behind his mate, curling himself around him, his own tears flowing freely.
He was distraught. Gods, was he broken at the sight of his crushed clutch, but a part of him told him to be strong, to be brave. His mate was grieving as was he but he adored his mate and the sight of him so utterly devastated was almost as unbearable as the sight of their crushed eggs.
He wrapped his arms around his mate's shoulders, his tail curling around his legs and head nuzzling Eijirou's neck as he released a gentle purr with closed eyes. He had to support his mate, Eijirou was his stability, his rock. Broken, Katsuki felt shattered himself. He peeled back to open his eyes to look over the foul scene before him, taking in each egg. He counted them, each one a stab at his heart. Four. Four eggs, he counted, fresh tears springing up to his eyes but they did not fall. Something in Katsuki spoke. That nagging feeling returned and Katsuki didn't understand why.
He had everything. He'd lost almost everything. His mate still stood beside him. But his eggs lay shattered, all seven—.
Katsuki inhaled sharply, his head snapping up to attention. His eyes scanned the eggs, pupils blown out wide as he counted and recounted. Four. It was only four. But they had seven eggs. Where were the other three?
Katsuki got to his feet and stepped closer to the mess before him. He looked around the scene, peering over the rock bed and all around it looking for another precious egg but found none. They hadn't passed one coming in which meant they were stolen. Three of their eggs were missing and humans knew where they were.
“Eijirou,” Katsuki called, kneeling down in front of his mate and taking his head into his hands. His husband's normally bright red color faded into a dark red. His frilly gills pressed flat against his head and bright eyes wide and wet with tears. “My love,” Katsuki called, brushing underneath his eyes. “There are only four,” he spoke and Eijirou's brows furrowed slightly, his face contorting into a look of anger.
“What do you mean there are only four?” He asked, sounding outraged.
“Eijirou, we had seven,” Katsuki reminds him. “We had seven eggs. There are only four here.”
Eijirou searched his gaze as if not connecting the dots before they finally did. He shot up, searching around just as Katsuki had before stilling.
“They have them,” Eijirou whispered and Katsuki went over to him, taking his hand and Eijirou clung to it. “Katsuki, they have our eggs!” Eijirou cried and Katsuki nodded.
“But we can get them back,” he vowed, pressing his forehead against his mate’s for a long moment before he inhaled deeply smelling the still fresh trail. “We need to hurry. Before the trail goes cold.”
The two spared the broken eggs one last look before taking off. Katsuki took the lead, his nose better than his partner's but they followed after the trail pausing a few feet away from their cave.
“Horses,” Katsuki noted, sniffing the air. He crouched down onto all fours. “We need to be fast,” he told his mate before charging forward with Eijirou on his tail. The humans had a head start, and true the dragons were fast, but they were unsure of the situation the humans were in. How many were there? What if they dropped an egg? What if they shattered them? Why did they even take them to begin with? To sell? To trade?
Katsuki shook the thoughts from his head as he skidded to a stop off just a riverbank. He could see the fresh tracks in the earth and with a snarl lunged ahead.
They kept at it until the smell grew strong and the sun was starting to set. They paused their hunt, knowing the element of surprise would be key in all of this. A mile or so away they crept, spotting the horses on the opposite side of them. Around a clearing lay several humans, all chatting and drinking merrily. Eijirou snarled quietly.
Katsuki and Eijirou crouched in a nearby bush, watching the humans for a long moment before they shared a look. Eijirou’s head nodded to the fire and Katsuki nodded. Placing a hand against the earth, Katsuki crouched down low, back arching as he got ready to pounce. He inhaled deeply, the warmth of his flame burning his chest before he lunged out, exhaling fire. The humans scrambled but before they could reach their weapons Eijirou burst through Katsuki’s flames, clawing at the nearest human who was still recoiled away from the heat. Katsuki basked in his destruction only momentarily, eyes landing on a single ax-wielding man. He charged at him, his blistering palms burning the fabric as he tore it aside and ripped the flesh off the man. Kicking the body aside he inhaled the smoke of the flame before turning and blasting fire at two more humans who let out shrieks as they fell back, clutching burned faces.
A loud scream sounded behind Katsuki, Eijirou’s teeth sinking into the leg of the human who managed to knock him down. His teeth sliced through the flesh like butter as he clamped down and yanked, ripping off the flesh and spitting it aside. The human fell before him and Eijirou dug his claws into their face as he pushed himself back up. The fire burned around him, the floor littered with bodies and Eijirou knew some were still alive. He saw them, two of them. One on the ground, crawling over to another human who stood paralyzed as he watched Eijirou.
He spoke in tongues Eijirou didn’t understand, a prayer he thought given the repetitive hum it had. The friend on the ground spoke out to their comrade, a curse he could tell by the hate in his tone. It only grew more desperate and frantic as Eijirou approached.
With a scream, the human swung a hidden sword out at Eijirou who caught his hand easily. He lifted his foot and pressed down against the human’s chest and looming over him. He tightened his grip over the human’s and they let out a shriek releasing the sword but Kirishima’s grip refused to let it fall. He felt the bones in the hand snap, and like a twig, he twisted the human’s arm until it too let out a crack but he had the sword pointed directly over the human’s heart, right above his foot. Placing his other hand on the awkward elbow, Eijirou pushed down watching the sword pierce the human’s skin before he let go and the arm fell to the earth, twisted and mangled.
Eijirou stepped forward, digging the human’s head into the muddy earth as he trampled over their corpse. The still-frozen human’s muttering grew more frantic.
Eijirou’s arm was raised, claw glistening against the flames and ready to murder.
“Eijirou stop!” Katsuki shouted and Eijirou’s frills twitched backward, his attention remaining on the human before him. “Eijirou look at me.”
Forcing away the thought of his eggs, Eijirou lowered his arm and turned to see Katsuki behind him carrying a chest. Katsuki pulls back the lid to reveal a single egg. Eijirou’s throat tightens and vision blurs as he rushes forward and snatches the egg away. He sobs, cradling it close and Katsuki leans against him, still enraged, still distraught, but letting himself have a single moment.
One egg. They had seven, they lost four, and now they had one. There was at least one, living.
“We still need two more,” Katsuki mutters, nuzzling Eijirou’s head. “He knows where they are.”
“He knows nothing,” Eijirou suddenly hissed, glaring at the human. “He stole them! He killed them! He—“
“Eijirou,” Katsuki calls gently, cupping his mate’s face. “We will find our eggs. We will get our eggs. We have one,” He settles his hand over Eijirou’s, and it tightens over the egg. “We will get the rest.”
Katsuki pressed a kiss to Eijirou’s forehead, running the back of his finger over the egg before he pulled away from his little family and made his way to the human.
They were easy to pin, borderline agreeable. Katsuki forced them onto their knees with a hot palm and they fell.
“Where are the other eggs?” Katsuki demands pointing to his mate and the egg. The human shakes his head and Katsuki tightens his grip. “Where.” He repeats.
“He doesn’t speak our language,” Eijirou says.
“Then I will speak his,” Katsuki says. Eijirou is surprised by the foreign words slipping from his mate’s tongue. They are harsh sounding, a western language by the sounds of it, nothing that Eijirou was used to hearing. The humans recognize it by his face alone and he immediately speaks to Katsuki who seems unhappy with his answer and pushes further. The human shakes his head rapidly, gesturing in a direction and doing all he can to explain with his hands and words. Katsuki suddenly shoves him down with a snarl pulling away from the scene.
“What is it? What did he say?” Eijirou asks.
“Someone else has the other two,” Katsuki translated. “He doesn’t know the name and gave a useless description. But he said he went south, planned to sell the eggs to someone down there.”
“How long ago was this?” Eijirou asked and Katsuki turned the question to the human.
“He says a while. He left when the sun was still high.” They both look up at the setting sun.
“If he is headed south then he is headed towards the canyon,” Eijirou said down. “There are only three ways out and all of them take more than a day to get too. If they went south they’d have to go across and the bridge takes a week to get to for humans. We could be there in one if we rush.”
“Two,” Katsuki says his eyes falling to the egg. “We need to be careful.” Eijirou adjusts the egg and gives a small nod.
“Two days.”
“He knows we’re after him,” Katsuki says. “He won’t be easy to track.”
“I will find him,” Eijirou vowed.
Katsuki nods, turning back to the human still on the ground and glaring daggers at the same. His life is cut short by a swift twist of his neck and stealing a scarf off a corpse, Eijirou fastens a satchel for their egg and the two set off.
One egg, they think. No matter what, they have one egg.
They don’t bother with sleep, knowing they had to make up for the lost time. They work into the night to catch up to the human, the two slower now on two feet, careful of their precious cargo.
It takes a day to reach the canyon, and on the night of the first day to catch wind of the human’s scent. Without shrubbery to camouflage them, the two move through the night, walking the edge of the canyon.
The human seems to be expecting them when they finally catch up. They stand tall, with one foot on their egg, and the other egg held over the cliff.
“Drop, beasts,” they command and Eijirou and Katsuki share a look. The human turns his hand down as if to drop the egg, and the two tense, arms extended out. “Drop!” The human commands and to Katsuki’s surprise Eijirou starts to sink.
“Katsuki,” Kirishima called quietly as he delicately placed the egg down below him, ensuring it was stable and balanced. Katsuki tensed seeing the fragile egg left vulnerable, even if Kirishima was hovering over it on all fours. Kirishima’s body lowered down to the ground, his head bowed but body slowly stepping back as if ready to give in to the humans commands. Kirishima’s eyes however were wide open, watching the ground and Katsuki’s own trailed down to the earth where he noted Kirishima’s webbed claws were digging into the earth gaining leverage to strike.
“Grab the egg,” Kirishima told him and without another word or warning, he launched himself toward the human who immediately stumbled backward. The egg under his foot slipped free, rolling towards Kirishima whose arms shot out to snatch it away from harm. The human fell backward over the canyon, their final egg clutched tightly in his arms and Katsuki flung himself over the cliff and after them. His wings pressed against his back giving his body speed to catch the falling humans who even falling to his death held onto the egg.
Katsuki’s weight made him sink like a stone and soon enough he caught up to the humans and grabbed the egg but the stubborn human held on tighter and snarled up at the dragon.
“I will kill you and this fucking egg!” They roared and Katsuki dug his claws into the human’s arms, an angry shriek ripping itself from his chest as he forced the human's hands away from his egg.
“I will not let you take another one!” Katsuki screamed as he ripped the human’s arm off and freed his egg. He kicked the human away and gripped the egg, and shot out his wings to stop his fall.
Katsuki watched the ground, far closer to it than he felt comfortable being given how fast he was still falling. The wind whipped against his back and he struggled to keep his wings out against the force. He heard the human splatter against the ground, barely audible over the near-deafening wind and Katsuki calculated he’d follow soon if he didn’t brace.
His arms and legs immediately curled around his egg, bowing his head and shutting his eyes, and curling one wing around himself and using the other to tilt his body so the impact of the ground was directly on him and not the egg. Feeling the ground skim his free wings, he curled it around his form and fell to the ground in a heavy load.
He grunted at the force, landing painfully on his wing that ached as he skidded several meters away from his landing spot until finally coming to a stop.
Katsuki paused and waited, panting against the earth and waiting for complete stillness and silence before uncurling himself from his treasure. His arms moved carefully, and slowly, checking to make sure the egg was in one piece and feeling no damage he exhaled heavily and slouched against the ground. Katsuki struggled to inhale, feeling a sharp pain in his ribs from the land. Nothing was broken, but he’d certainly be sore.
He turned to his egg, a grin growing as pride spiked having saved his child. The grin froze on his face and the pride curdled into fear the moment his eyes rested on the egg and he noted a crack. It seemed huge even if it barely ran half the length of the egg. It hardly branched out of the main crack but it was a crack nonetheless and those were fatal. Eggs were so fragile, any damage could destroy what lay inside and Katsuki had damaged the egg.
He failed to save it. Now the lesser half of his clutch was destroyed by his ignorance, his failures, his weakness.
“Katsuki!” Eijirou called out as he slid down the canyon side, rushing over with the two eggs in his arms and a grin on his face. Katsuki’s tears spilled over, waves of grief and shame radiating off of his body.
“I—“ His voice was faint, cracking, and immediately blocked by a sob that threatened to escape. Eijirou approached, looking over his mate. His eyes fell to the crack in the egg and his perked frills flattened against his skin. Eijirou set down the two eggs he help and delicately took away the egg from Katsuki’s shaking hands. “I tried—I—“
Eijirou gently turned the egg in his hands until the bulk of the weight rested over the crack. He ran his thumb over it and his eyes widened feeling the still smooth and dry shell.
“Katsuki,” he called turning the egg around and holding it out for his mate. “Katsuki look!” He cried, his joy returned but Katsuki did not understand what for. He looked at the crack with confusion.
“What?” He asked and Eijirou let out a wet laugh giving the egg back over to Katsuki who handled it with such care and grace.
“It did not leak,” Kirishima told him. “The lining did not break. It’s just a surface crack. The egg is fine.”
“But you said cracks are deadly. It—They aren’t safe. A disease or—sickness—“
“They are delicate, my love,” Eijirou told him cupping his face in his webbed hands. “They are delicate but they are alive and that is all I care about.”
“They’re okay?” He dared question and Eijirou nodded.
“They’re okay.”
“I didn’t—“ Katsuki’s voice cracked, relief flooding him. “I didn’t—“
“You saved them Katsuki. You saved them and we got our eggs back.”
Katsuki let out a sob, setting the egg down between his legs so he could reach out for his mate and cling onto them as he cried in relief.
By the time they pulled away, the sun was setting and the two still sat and marveled at their three eggs. They had seven, by now they carried three back home.
“Don’t pick favorites.” Eijirou teaser walking alongside Katsuki with his arms full of eggs. Katsuki held onto the one still refusing to set it down with the other’s or even let it out of his sight but he wasn’t alone in that. Eijirou carries two and neither was willing to risk letting them out of their line of sight.
“How can I pick favorites when none are born?” Katsuki muttered, shifting the egg protectively. “I’ll carry all the eggs then give them to me.”
“Do not get defensive, I only tease,” Eijirou told him with a smile. “That egg is delicate but is still strong Katsuki. They will be okay. I know it.”
“I will ensure that,” Katsuki said, taking a more heavy tone. “I will never let this happen again.”
“This was beyond our control,” Eijirou replied. “It is beyond you or me and neither of us is to blame. We are only victims.”
“I know,” Katsuki muttered. “I know but this one...this one could have been my fault.” Katsuki ran a thumb along the crack. “I was terrified I had failed. That I killed this.”
“We are all safe.”
“And I want to keep it that way,” Katsuki explained. “You, these eggs, future clutches. I never want to lose another. I never wish to see you so grief-stricken. I never want to feel as I had felt that day. Never again. I would not wish that upon anyone. I will never—...I will never forget this. And this one, this egg, I will make sure they are safe. Those eggs too, and you, but this one I will keep alive. Whatever fault of any they get from my failure I will keep them safe.”
“We will, Katsuki,” Eijirou promised.
When they returned home, they set their broken eggs to rest nearby, cleaning off the heated stone they used and placing the three eggs snuggly together. They sat and watched them for a while, hand in hand as they soaked up their little family moment.
“When will they be ready?” Katsuki asked.
“Soon, not yet, but soon.”
Katsuki would ask this daily. Was today the day? No, Katsuki. What about tomorrow? No, Katsuki. Until Eijirou smiled at him, face in hands. Anyday, he said and Katsuki could barely sleep he was so excited.
The two were both home when the eggs were finally ready to hatch. Katsuki and Eijirou were assessing their rations knowing any day now the eggs would hatch and that would leave one parent unable to leave and with the two widely different appetites neither were sure what their children would crave either.
There was a faint noise, like a rock against rock and the two parents fell silent. They both faced the entrance of the cave, a primal rage bubbling within them both at whoever dared come near their home so close to their eggs hatch. The low growl and snarl they released were silenced by a shift just below their vision. A foot or two away lay their eggs, always close by, and they watched closely as one moved.
Eijirou gasped and reached out for Katsuki who held his breath and waited. They both leaned in slightly, wide pupils locked onto the three eggs waiting to ensure what they saw wasn’t a flook.
Sure enough, the egg twitched again and both of them were on their knees, hovering around the eggs. Their hands found each other’s, gripping on for support as they watched the eggs.
“Is it only that one that’s ready?” Katsuki asked in a quiet voice as if afraid raising it would do harm.
“They should all be coming. It takes time…I think.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know, Katsuki,” Eijirou admitted.
Neither was pleased by the slowly passing minutes of just twitching and moving. It felt like hours before an odd tapping sound rang out from one of the eggs. They both held their breath, eyes glued to the right egg as a small crack appeared.
“They’re strong,” Eijirou exhaled, excitement noticeable even in his tone. “They broke through in one hit!”
“Of course they’re strong. They are our children,” Katsuki gloated a grin forming on his face. The middle egg gave a faint attempt at the egg but no crack came. The right tried and a small triangle broke and fell into the egg.
“Water,” Kirishima said, tearing himself away from the eggs. “Katsuki where is the water?”
“Watch them! I’ll grab it.” Katsuki instructed before getting up and all but springing a few short feet to a large bucket filled with fresh water. He brought it over with a metal cauldron and poured the bucket into the cauldron.
“Not all!” Eijirou exclaimed, taking the bucket away before Katsuki poured it all. “They might not all be able to handle the heat. We need one colder. Heat that one up!” He ordered and Katsuki placed blazing palms against the cauldron to warm it up. They watched eagerly as the right egg broke yet another piece off before slowly a head poked out. The eyes were shut and they released a small chirp-like sound before a clawed hand appeared and broke away more of the egg. The left eggs cracked as this happened, slowly their own triangle falling inside of the egg.
Eijirou swooped in and plucked the right dragon from the cracked egg, holding them close to Katsuki as they took in their colors and features.
Small, so small, but dark green with long spiked frills down their spine.
“Warm,” Eijirou instructed, handing the baby to Katsuki who gently placed the child in the warm water and began washing them. They chirped happily, attempting to blink open their eyes but failing.
Eijirou scooped up the left egg next, holding them up to look at them. Bright red and frills around their face. Eijirou grinned.
“Cold,” he said, bathing this one himself.
They each held onto a baby, watching the third, and middle egg, that had yet to move.
“Come on,” Katsuki begged, watching the crack.
Eventually, it twitched and they both inhaled. Another came and a peck at the egg was attempted. The crack moved slightly at the force and Katsuki swallowed. The two dragons curled up together exhausted from their hatching but the final egg remained only moving. Katsuki waited on bated breath, shifting closer so he could all but huddle around the egg.
“Come on,” he encouraged. “You can do it, come on.”
There was a weak thud against the egg and Katsuki’s hands twitched by his side.
“They need help,” Katsuki said and Eijirou reached for his hand.
“They have to do it on their own, Katsuki.”
“It’s already cracked. What if they are too weak to escape?”
“It is still early, Katsuki. We need to give it a few more hours—“
The egg cracked and Katsuki was inches away from it in seconds. A low sound came from within the egg, a hiss or maybe a chirp. He pressed closer, looking up at Eijirou who inched closer following Katsuki’s motion.
“What?” Eijirou asked but Katsuki quickly shushed him. The air was silent. Katsuki strained his ears waiting and the sound came again. a low rumble almost before another crack spread out over the egg.
“They’re doing something,” Katsuki said, pulling away from the egg. “It’s like a—hiss or growl. I don’t know.” Katsuki reached out, running a pad over the egg, feeling movement and he suddenly paused feeling a thump against his finger. It felt warm suddenly and he lifted his finger only for a crack to appear under where his finger just was. There was a pause before another hiss that jostled the entire egg and the crack widened. Another hiss and the egg shattered, falling into pieces in Katsuki’s hands. The two stared in shock as the dark green dragon with a bright red belly let out a loud hiss, claw swinging and smoking.
“She’s just like you,” Eijirou cried and Katsuki let out a wet laugh scooping the dragon from the egg shells. They immediately curled in his warm hands and Katsuki gently set them into the warm water, shifting them over to one hand so he could delicately rinse the egg residue from them.
Eijirou and Katsuki surveyed their offspring when done. Two boys and one girl. The fattest was the red boy, the smallest being the female.
Hatsu, the red one, was dubbed Eijirou’s and ate like a horse. Eizu, the spiked one wouldn’t stop squirming. And Mitski, the female, hissed at everything. Though she was smaller than her siblings and more fragile too, she had twice the durability of her siblings. While Katsuki went out to soak in lava pools, Mitski was right behind him. Haru hung back with Eijirou and Eizu danced around the edges of them but not nearly as brave as his sister. And when Eijirou would go swimming, Mitski would hiss at the water while Eizu would splash in it and Haru chased after Eijirou.
What started at seven, turned into three by a devastating event, but Eijirou and Katsuki would not count their losses. They were blessed still, by three. And would stay together despite their losses, growing larger and larger, as their young grew stronger and stronger until they too would leave their home to form their own and Eijirou and Katsuki would start anew.