Chapter Text
The first time the Goddess talked to Katsuki, he cried. He was four, fiery, and mostly brave, but the foreign voice in his head, overbearing his own thoughts and the sounds of the world? That was disturbing.
Mitsuki was not creeped-out, though. She smiled widely and delivered the news to an overjoyed Draconic Tribe that the Goddess, after long years of silence, had chosen to speak to their very young heir. The praise he got reinvigorated Katsuki even if he didn't exactly understand the reason why he had been talked to. His mother told him he had to meet the Ancient and led him to the foot of the Cliff. A long time ago, it had been just that, a high cliff cutted in the grey stone of the palier. At its bottom, a small stream peered from a large cave and ran its course for a while before blending its clear waters with the green ones of the Fyr River. The dragons had adopted the cliff at their home, as it commanded a large view over the lands and the backwoods. They had expanded the natural caverns, carved stairs, balconies, and many chambers, in a vast labyrinth protected by their ever watchful eyes. None could sail the river without them knowing. They were the main protection of the human village.
The Ancient was the oldest dragon, she had lived many centuries, and Shimura Nana was her name. She seldom went out and never in her human form anymore, but for the young boy, she Changed. When Katsuki reached the higher cavern, out of breath after a long climb for his tiny legs, she greeted him kindly, as an old woman, wearing only a tunic of white wool and a necklace glowing blue in the dim light of her cave. The boy did a good job at hiding how intimidated he was, but a 4 years old could not fool the Ancient Dragon of the tribe. She told him that the words of the Goddess were only for him to know, but that he should listen to them intently. She told him to train, body and soul, to be the best warrior ever, and that he should never settle for anything less. She watched the fire in his eyes shining brighter as she set the goals for him and purred inside. That boy would one day make a great king, she was sure of it.
- What does the Goddess want me to do? he asked.
- She'll tell you, eventually. But be aware that the Goddess only wants the best for the tribe. Not necessarily for you. Maybe she just needs you to survive until you father a child.
- What? said an offended young Katsuki. I won't be used only for my... I'm not a competition ram!
Nana chuckled and comforted the child.
- What would you want, then?
- To be the one who ends the war with the Sorcerer's tribe!
- How would you do that?
- I'd crush them.
Nana nodded silently.
- Maybe it will be your fate. But be prepared for anything. Fate is often surprising. I hope you won't be alone doing your task.
- I don't need anyone.
To that, Nana did not answer.
After this first contact, many years were spent without Katsuki hearing again from the Goddess, and the silence had him doubting. Did he really hear a voice in his head when he was four? Or was it some sort of fever dream he mistook for reality? Or, worse, a clever lie his child mind crafted to make his life more interesting? There were times when he thought the Goddess had lost any interest in him. Maybe Fate had been changed, and he wasn't required anymore. Or had she judged him unworthy of her attention? Every time doubts came biting his ankles, he pushed them afar and trained twice as hard, bent on being the very best. Even if the Goddess didn't want him anymore, he would fulfill the promises he made to the Ancient and to himself.
When his mind was not nagging him with duties and deeds, Katsuki was quite the happy boy. His mother was the powerful and frightening queen of the Draconic Tribe, helped in her tasks by her discreet husband, his father. He had friends among humans and dragons. At the age of ten, he was paired with a dragon who quickly became his best friend. His name was Kirishima, and he had not reached his full height yet, being around fifty years old. His scales were of the deep red that ran in his family, and his heart was the kindest. For all his life, Katsuki would be his only rider, as Dragons were people, not drudges, and only paired ones flew together.
When he was twelve, something happened in the Sorcerer's tribe that he would not hear about until many years had passed, but still had a huge effect on his life. Inko Midoriya, wife and former captive of Hisashi Midoriya alias All for One and mother of his younger son Izuku, passed away. While the young magicless boy cried at his mother's death bed, Katsuki was visited by the Goddess a second time.
In the morning, he made the half hour walk it usually took to go to the Cliff in a fraction of this time. Out of breath, he stood a moment at the entrance of the cavern, looking upon the realm that would be his, one day.
- So, the Goddess talked to you again? Asked Shimura Nana, this time in her draconic form.
- In my dreams, this time! But I recognized her. How could I not? Her voice is unique! She told me...
- You don't have to share it with me, you know.
- But I want to. She told me she would send me a companion.
- A soulmate?
- I don't know. She was not that specific. Do you think it could be Kirishima?
- You want it to be Kirishima?
- He's my best friend.
- Well, she did not necessarily talk about a best friend. It could be a lover (Katsuki's twelve years old nose wrinkled at this prospect), or a mentor.
- She wants me to be prepared, but how, as she doesn't tell me what she expects? I don't know what she means! I'm trying, but...
- Katsuki, don't overthink everything. If she wanted you to do something specific, she'd tell you.
- I'm not a puppet! blasted the young boy, and Nana nodded knowingly.
- I know.
- I want to know what I have to do, not to wait until things happen.
- That's what being a puppet would look like, don't you think?
- Aah?
- If she told you what to do with your life, she would kind of enslave you.
- Isn't it... what she is doing right now?
- She's offering you a choice. She doesn't guarantee that some kind of destiny will befall on you. Maybe she hopes as much as you do that you'll accomplish this deed she tries to prepare you for.
- You think?
- Finally, it's upon you. There are other Gods, other powers in this world. It's up to you to choose the path you want to take. If you want to dedicate your life to the Draconic Tribe or not. Our tribe is the only alliance in this world between humans and dragons. And the Goddess... you're her ally as much as she's yours.
- I want to do it. It's just... it hurts not being able to do more.
Nana smiled.
- From what I hear from my den, you're an overachiever. Work on your likability, now. Maybe you'll need to win your... soulmate. And they definitely need you to be a top grade companion.
Katsuki made a face.
- I... can do that I guess, he answered, uncertain.
He could let himself be uncertain with Nana. She was so powerful, brave, and knowledgeable he couldn't find in himself to get embarrassed by his flaws and weaknesses.
In the following years, Katsuki worked hard to reign in his temper. He opened to others, learned to listen to opinions and adopted a slightly better brain-to-mouth filter. When he reached 18, he was given his coming of age necklace, made with beads and dragon teeth. And, as he stood in front of the fire, proud and erect, the flames casting shadows on his strong build, on the smirk of his handsome face, the tribe knew that, one day, he would be a formidable king.
They just did not expect it to happen this early.
The two previous years had been hectic in the tribes, with the Sorcerer's one slowly swallowing all its neighbours, enslaving them, or making them pay enormous tributes. Only the Todoroki kingdom, in the West, was safe from the Sorcerer's constant attacks, and it was only because between the Sorcerer's and the kingdom, stood proud the Draconic Tribe. Dragons were immune, to a certain extent, to black magic.
Mitsuki, the queen of the draconic tribe, had always known that the Sorcerer would launch an attack against the tribe sooner or later. She just didn't expect that her family would be the first to pay the price of All for One's hatred.
That night, the Goddess spoke to Katsuki again. That's how the tribe was able to rescue Masaru and the two other wards patrolling along the borders. All three of them were brought in alive. But Masaru was paralyzed from the waist down and even the best efforts of Chiyo, the tribe's healer, couldn't restore his health. Mitsuki took the harsh decision of withdrawing from the queenship and retiring with her crippled husband in one of their remote villages. Katsuki was crowned, in a solemn and severe ceremony. He got his hair braided and his shoulder tattooed. During all this time, the whole tribe sang, played flutes and drums, danced, ate and drank. On the first light of the morning, Katsuki shivered, and was clad with the red cloak with white fur, symbol of his charge.
The first two years of his kingship were spent relentlessly fighting the Sorcerer's tribe. He won a lot. His people, both dragons and humans stuck to him, confident in his choices and his abilities to lead them. But they all knew that, one day or the other, shit would hit the fan. One can't thrive in the fear of constant attacks and, already, the births had become scarce, with young couples separated by the patrols or not willing to bring another human or dragon to life in a troubled period. To the surprise of most, Mitsuki Bakugo gave life to a little girl, Katsumi, who was a smaller version of Katsuki, body and mind. All the tribe welcomed her birth as a good omen for the future, and Katsuki fell in love with the unexpected little sister.
Twenty years old Katsuki was a sight to behold. Tall, passionate, with broad shoulders and a powerful body, his ash blond hair glittered in the sun as he walked confidently among his people. His face displayed a permanent frown, sign of his care. He sported with pride a single scar splitting his eyebrow in two. He got it on his first battle and never let the enemy touch him again. Behind this bold front, he was often anxious and overworked, as he could see no end in sight to the war with the Sorcerer's tribe. The dragons were mighty and indomitable. But their weakness was in their slow upbringing, slow reproductive cycle. They were not built for a war of attrition. The human part, the weakest one of the tribe, would have to bear it on its own.
One day, at the end of spring, as he was planning the defense of their eastern borders, he received a message from All for One himself. Hisashi Midoriya, the Sorcerer, invited him to a parley. The same night, the Goddess talked to Katsuki for the fourth time. She told him to accept the enemy's bargain. He woke up disconcerted, and feeling betrayed. Why would he accept an offer that could only be a trap? He sent his answer to All for One nonetheless. He would meet him, at the frontier of their tribes, in three days.