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Published:
2024-08-26
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2024-08-26
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1/?
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Celestial Bound (Fantasy! Katsuki Bakugou / Eijirou Kirishima / Reader)

Summary:

dragons, barbarians, mages, oh my!

Chapter 1: 01

Chapter Text

“I think it would be smarter if you and I talked about this, Bakugou,” Kirishima huffed as the two of them began to pack up their bedrolls.

 

The sun had peaked over the horizon only a few minutes ago. Songbirds flew through the skies and slowly woke up the remainder of the creatures in the forest with their loud tunes. The blonde prince had been the one to awaken first, pulling the redhead from his slumber quickly afterwards. They had been up before the sun, already having their breakfast rations and discussing the journey ahead of them.

 

“We’ve been talking about it, Shitty-Hair,” Bakugou barked while tucking his roll into his pack. “And I said no. We have no reason to stop in that town. Thing is so small, there’s nothing even worth stopping for.”

 

The dragon’s eyebrows dropped in frustration. The young men had stopped for the night in a small clearing on a hillside. After having climbed a tree for a few apples yesterday, Kirishima had pointed out a small village at the bottom of the hill. It looked to be a humble town, seemingly with a population less than one-hundred. He had mentioned it to his companion, who in turn thought nothing of it. Kirishima thought the town would be perfect to stop and stock up on rations, as the two were running low on food that would stay fresh for days on end.

 

With a sigh, the redhead ran a hand through his hair, avoiding the two horns that jut out from either side of his head. They were a deep maroon, with a slight twist in them, and extended roughly ten inches from his scalp. They were positioned a few inches above his ears, which ended in a curved point. Freckled along his shoulders and along his spine were hard scales, as red as his hair. Crimson eyes darted from the pile of ash in front of him to his traveling partner. As he spoke up once again, razor sharp teeth flashed, yellowed from neglect.

 

“We’re out of field snacks, Bakugou. We’re not going to make it to the kingdom without something we can keep in our packs for more than a few days. Fruit won’t cut it and foraging won’t fill us up.”

 

It was not entirely a fabrication. Without adequate sustenance, the two of them would most likely enter the kingdom hungry. Of course, Bakugou would most likely be able to get by on what he has left for himself, but his dragon was a completely different story. Even while having control over his companion’s rations, Kirishima still manages to chew through more than can be spared. A sigh escapes Bakugou aggressively as he straightens his posture. With a brief grunt, he slings his bottom-heavy pack over one of his shoulders while taking a casual stride towards what was left of the smoldering embers of the fire. While kicking them out, his eyes left to meet Kirishima’s.

 

“I don’t want to be there very long,” he scoffs. “You and your hollow leg will have to deal with whatever shitty food that town has to offer.” A cheer almost escapes the redhead as he jumps out of his crouched position, completely unwinding his bedroll from his pack in the process.

 

By the time the two of them were following the path down to the small village, it seemed that the rest of the woods around them had finally woken up. Bugs occasionally flew by their faces as the deer trail they followed slowly began to clear up. The sun had been shining to their right, though the trees in the distance only allowed for an orange glow to shine over the tops of them. It caused the world around them to rest in a warm, comforting hue. The light seemed to be inviting them northbound. Not just towards the town, but what could be seen beyond it.

 

Rolling hills of trees and fields lay in their journey. Though, right before the horizon seemed to end, the trees in the distance ended. Just behind them, barely visible from Kirishima’s inhuman vision, was the top of a castle. Atop the highest peak fly an orange and red flag, barely waving from the lack of wind.

 

Being able to see their destination in the distance allowed a surge of energy to flow through the two boys. Bakugou’s gait seemed to change, his feet no longer dragging on the dirt beneath him as he now took long and energized strides.

 

As the two of them found themselves coming closer to the humble town, the smell of fresh bread and pastries could be found lingering in the air. A few people walked about on the gravel roads that connected each of the buildings. In the center ran a main cobble path, meant for wagons and carriages to pass through. Being so early in the morning, it was almost surprising to see so many shops with their doors propped open and small overhead lanterns already lit to signify that they were ready for paying customers. The feeling that waved over them as their feet crunched along the gravel beneath them was different from what they were expecting, however. Despite the welcoming scent of baked goods and freshly cooked morning dishes, the air trailing behind each of the residents was heavy with tension.

 

Kirishima looked past Bakugou to see that some of the citizens were looking over their shoulders towards them. For a moment, it almost made the dragon want to hide himself, or make his way out of the village sooner rather than later. He worried about causing fear towards the people of this small town.

 

The prince seemed to take notice of the stares, though chose to ignore them as the two began to approach a small food stand. Behind the dark wood of the counter stood an old woman with her back to them. Her long gray hair was done into a braid that fell to her lower back, swaying side to side as she seemed to be cutting some sort of vegetable on a table just out of view from the boys.

 

“Excuse us, ma’am,” Kirishima said suddenly before Bakugou could announce their presence in a far more rude manner. The woman seemed to take a second to respond before slowly turning around, looking up and taking a close look at the two before her stand. An excited smile grew on her face as she approached the front of the counter. Her brown eyes beamed with a youthful happiness while addressing the young men.

 

“Good morning!” Her loud greeting takes Kirishima by surprise. “Young travelers, how wonderful it is that you have finally arrived. By the grace of the King, we appreciate you giving our little town your time.”

 

Bakugou blinked, as did Kirishima. Neither of them knew that this town existed before the dragon had pointed it out. Not only that, this land was not Bakugou’s kingdom. This country was not one he had rule over, so there was no way he would have been sent here. After taking a few moments to find his words, the blonde huffed.

 

“Huh? What are you on about, hag ?” The princling basically spat the words. 

 

“Bakugou!” Kirishima gasped at his sudden harshness, putting a hand in front of him as if to prevent him from saying anything else that may offend the woman before them. “My sincerest apologies for his language, ma’am. I’m afraid you might have us mixed up with someone else. Are you expecting someone sent from the King to arrive soon?”

 

Seemingly unphased by the insult, the woman seemed more disappointed that she was incorrect in her judgment of the men. With a heavy sigh, she wipes her hands on the apron covering her slim form.

 

“Ah, I should not have assumed. Not often do we get travelers, let alone the breed of yous.” The excitement in her eyes had dimmed as a similar tension seemed to linger on her shoulders as she spoke. “Our town has been calling on the King for a few days now. Just yesterday, we got word that he’d be able to send a mage to help.”

 

Bakugou seemed almost uninterested in the vague issue that the old woman spoke of. His eyes were more interested in the hunks of dried meat and bundles of vegetables on the counters behind her. From his hip, he reached into a small leather satchel and pulled out a bag of coins.

 

“A mage, hm,” he slowly spoke, dropping a few copper coins onto the stand before him. “What could possibly warrant the help of a mage all the way out here? Y’people cursed or something?”

 

The woman almost laughed, though there was an obvious hint of nervousness and worry to the smile she presented. “Think that the lot of us would prefer that to what’s been going on. ‘Bout a week ago we had a few of our horses go missing. Devastating loss to our folk. A couple of kids found ‘em freshly dead later in the day, gutted and torn to bits. Some of the men went hunting for whatever it was that killed them, turned out to be a Damned. Got a hold of a bear. Thing is massive, so I heard. We called upon King Todoroki to send someone who could kill it before it was able to take more than a couple of horses.”

 

In the complicated world of magic and mythology that was home to Prince Katsuki Bakugou and his Crimson Back companion, Eijirou Kirishima, there were many things that even the two of them had yet to fully understand. Of course, the two of them had seen their fair share of creatures, but, even then, there were things that were supposed to be merely legends. A Damned was one of the things that Bakugou had yet to come across in his nineteen years of life, though Kirishima had been alive long enough to come across a rare few.

 

A Damned was a spirit locked in some sort of limbo in the afterlife that has managed to find their way back to the realm of the living. These sort of spirits are spat back into the world with such a random aggression that they will possess the first thing it touches. In most cases, it latches onto a leaf, flower, sapling, or even something as small as a blade of grass. It has until this new body dies to complete what it wants before having to start the process of death over again. In most cases, these souls are angry, unhappy, and deeply disturbed. These radical emotions may even cause the living things' life span to shorten.

 

In even rarer cases, these Damned can latch onto something such as an apple. When this sweet fruit detaches from the tree and falls to the ground, it would only be natural for it to lay and rot away in the dirt before the soul is pulled back into limbo. However, if an animal were to eat said apple, there would be an opportunity for new life, or for the Damned to inhabit a new host.

 

For example, a bear.

 

Bakugou’s eye twitched as he thought about it. He had heard stories of such beings, though had always thought they were tales told to him by his parents to keep him from wandering the woods as a young boy. How the stories sounded coming from his mother, the older woman was right when she said a curse upon the town might have been more favorable.

 

“The mage was supposed to show up some time this morning,” she says while glancing at the coin Bakugou had placed on the counter. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

 

“Dried meat,” he points, the jewelry on his wrist lightly clanking as he did so. “Two of the venison.”

 

Kirishima watched excitedly as she gave a small smile to the both of them before turning to finalize the purchase. It was not very often that his prince would indulge in his wants, especially when it came to spending his coin. In most cases, the two of them would hunt to find themselves something fresh to eat, but the journey ahead of them had already been stretched thin. They did not have the time to hunt, nor did they have time to completely process a carcass every night.

 

“I hope,” the dragon starts, pausing for just a moment to meet Bakugou’s eyes for a brief exchange before watching the elderly woman, “that they can help you. It takes pretty powerful magic to take down one of those things, let alone once it’s possessed an animal.”

 

She nodded while placing the packs of meat into a small cloth pouch. She seemed unbothered, as if she had little doubt that the problem would soon be solved. Her carefree attitude seemed to reassure Kirishima. With a creature such as that roaming around, the path ahead of them seemed almost too dangerous, though he knew better than to voice his concerns to the prince.

 

Bakugou grabbed the pouch from off of the counter and pushed the copper closer to the woman. As she picked the coins up, Kirishima bid her a farewell before the two of them started to depart from the stand. In the time that they had been talking to her, the sun had just begun to peak over the trees. The orange glow fell down onto the valley and coated the scenery in a warm, comfortable hue. A sweet aroma still hung on the air as they walked. It came from baked goods within the village, along with an apple orchard upwind.

 

It only took a few more moments for the two of them to finish walking through the town. Cobblestone turned to gravel, and gravel turned to dirt. The path ahead of them was wide enough for horse and wagon to pass through, so the two kept off to the side so as to not potentially get in the way of any. The two were quiet for a few minutes as they focused primarily on the ground and forest ahead of them.

 

“A Damned,” Bakugou scoffs, breaking the silence, “yeah right. Some rabid bear killing a couple horses is all it takes for these people to write to the castle?” Kirishima looked as his companion with drooped eyebrows, unamused.

 

“They’re just being safe, Bakugou. If it is a Damned, I wouldn’t want them taking their chances.”

 

Trying to speak logically to his prince would never work, though the dragon knew that trying was not futile. Instead of worrying about the village, however, Bakugou crossed his arms and let out a soft huff before once again beginning to break the silence.

 

This time, he mentioned when they were meant to arrive in the kingdom. They would most likely arrive at sundown. It would be too late to meet with the king then, so the two looked forward to sleeping in comfortable beds and under a roof tonight. If the two were to be able to secure a bedroom in an inn, they both agreed that they could spare some coin to lend to the kingdom’s taverns, as well.

 

The trip to the Todoroki Kingdom had been a long one. Normally, when the pair wanted to travel somewhere and make good time of it, Bakugou would allow Kirishima to take them most of the way by flying in his dragon form. Most of the bordering countries around the one the Bakugou family ruled were lands where dragons were a protected species. So protected, in fact, that hunting or poaching them could result in punishments as severe as death.

 

Unfortunately for them, the country of Strivak, where the Todorokis lived, was not dragon-friendly. It was one of the few on the continent to be as such, but they were stern with their laws. Dragon shifters were meant to remain in their human forms for the entirety of their stay in the country and were not permitted to travel alone. Katsuki’s teeth grit every time he thinks too much about the policies and has to use every bit of restraint in his body from breaking the rules.

 

However, dragons are not protected in this country. If rules such as those are broken, for any reason, no matter the severity, there could be deadly consequences if word got back to the King or his royal guards.

 

Inhaling deeply through his nose and exhaling heavily through his mouth, Bakugou racked his brain for the things the two of them were meant to accomplish Strivak. The primary reason for the journey was to meet with King Todoroki himself to reach a covenant between the two kingdoms. Bakugou’s country, Givek, bordered on the south, and the King had been pushing boundaries. This was not unheard of, especially from this particular royal family.

 

Another reason for their travels was to retrieve an item that belonged to one of Kirishima’s mothers. It had been lost in his flight when he was young, and it would mean a lot to the dragon to get it back for his family. The obsidian pendant had taken far longer to track down than he would have liked. Once they learned it was in this kingdom, Kirishima was almost tempted to brave the journey alone. When Katsuki learned that his dragon companion was planning to make his way to Strivak on his own, the prince looked for any excuse to make his way to the kingdom. His mother had mentioned there being a dispute among rights to land, so he had the Queen write to the King immediately. He barely waited for a reply before setting out from his own kingdom as a representative for his country.

 

“So,” Kirishima starts while adjusting the straps of his pack, “the King knows we’re coming?”

 

“Mhm,” Bakugou responds while looking down at one of his palms casually. They were calloused and dirty. A stay at an inn would be almost needed, as the two of them were fairly filthy. “Sometime tomorrow or overmorrow. We’re ahead of schedule, like I expected.”

 

They both smiled before looking at each other. With light attitudes, the two engaged in casual conversation about the time they intended on spending in the kingdom as they walked. Although they disagreed on the things they wanted to do with what little spare time they would have allotted, an agreement always came through. As they debated, time seemed to pass relatively quickly.






 

 

At high noon, the sun found itself at its highest peak in the sky. Hours had ticked by since the two had left the village. Over that time, the conversation dwindled down to nothing but occasional questions coming from Kirishima about the country and his prince’s history with it, if any.

 

Though, as the dragon spoke in a slightly louder voice than normal, he paused to take a breath in through his nose. The air that filled his lungs caused the scales on his skin to quiver and goosebumps to raise. Swallowing hard, he looked in front of him and to Bakugou. The princling had turned around upon the redhead's halt and silence, the two of them making eye contact.

 

“What?” The blonde was harsh with the question as he turned to face his companion before placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

 

“There’s something ahead of us,” Kirishima’s voice had quieted down significantly. “It reeks.”

 

Bakugou’s nose scrunches as his head turns to face the path they have not quite reached. He took in a deep breath through his nose as well, not quite smelling what his dragon had. It had been a rotten scent, smelling of decay and blood. Usually, this particular mix would not warrant a panic response from either of them. It would most likely be a carcass of an animal, long dead and killed by a predator.

 

Though, as he took a look back to his dragon, he could tell that it was not roadkill that had him frozen in place and his eyes wide and slit. His pointed ears were twitching, as was his nose. His mouth was hung open only slightly, an array of razor sharp teeth visible through pale lips. Mild concern burned in Bakugou’s chest as he opened his mouth to speak.

 

However, as he did so, Kirishima’s body went deathly still as his eyes locked onto something in the distance, farther down the trail. Bakugou whipped his head around to see what he had, eyes widening at the sight before them.

 

Down the trail and running towards them at an alarming speed was what looked to be a bear.

 

It was much larger than an average bear, causing the two of them to stare for a few seconds longer than they should have spared. In a flurry of sudden movement, Kirishima grabbed hold of Bakugou’s cape before pulling him out of the creature's path. It missed them by only a few meters, the size of the creature making it hard to slow down in time to have turned and attacked them. Bakugou looked at his dragon and shouted.

 

“Don’t transform. Don’t even bluff,” as he spoke, he unsheathed his sword. Even though the two of them were far enough from the kingdom, he did not want to risk someone catching sight of his dragon breaking the laws. Beside that, he had enough confidence in himself that he would be able to dodge the thing long enough for it to wear itself out.

 

When the bear finally was able to turn itself around, Kirishima let out an audible gasp, making a loud announcement that this was a Damned, most likely the one that the village had encountered. Not only was it much larger than the average brown bear, but its skin and fur could not handle the sudden size difference. It looked as though its skin had burst in places, torn and hanging loosely. The creature’s mouth was hung open and drool dripped down from its bottom lip and onto the tuft of fur protruding from its chest. The two watched as the creature’s head bobbed as it steadied itself. Its eyes were bulging and black and Bakugou could not tell where it was looking.

 

His hand adjusted on the grip of his sword as a smirk came to his face. He knew that, in a fight like this, his weapon would be almost useless. While he slid it back into its sheath, the bear reared before its massive paws slammed back into the ground hard enough for the two to feel the Earth shake below them.

 

Bakugou shouted at the undead animal, its body wobbling as it tried to focus on the blonde. He lifted a hand up, his calloused palm facing the beast at it let out a mighty growl. Suddenly, it was moving. The mass of melting flesh and slothing fur bounded towards the prince. As it ran, Kirishima watched as it seemed to move like a stringed puppet. None of the motion looked correct, and it seemed as if the soul was too much for the body to handle.

 

Still smirking, Katsuki tensed his arm harshly. In an instant, an orange light emanated from his palm, starting off as a soft yellow glow before growing to be a blinding beam. An explosion erupted before him, the size of it large enough to strike the bear in its muzzle. The smell of singed hair and rotten blood made Kirishima take a step back as the creature fell onto its side, huffing and grunting as it did so.

 

Smoke cleared from in front of him as the prince took a cautious step back, unaware of the state of the Damned. Magic such as his could kill, but a rushed spell such as that would not be nearly as effective as one he had been planning.

 

However, as the cloud of gray began to slowly vanish from between them, it was clear that the creature was not felled. Its body convulsed as if it were seizing, though its legs worked against it, fighting to get it to stand up.

 

“I don’t think you can kill it, Bakugou,” Kirishima says, his eyes fixed on the nauseating sight before him. “I’ve never seen one like this. It’s not… right.”

 

He barely had time to finish his sentence before the Damned had found its footing. When it had looked at the two men, Bakugou winced. The explosion burned the hair from around its face, blackening its skin with blood and soot. The impact seemed to have broken its jaw and created an open wound in its neck. Wine colored blood dripped from its exposed flesh, oozing down onto the dirt and grass beneath it as it struggled to stay upright.

 

How is this thing still alive? The thought barely had time to pass through Bakugou’s head before a voice called from in the distance.

 

“Duck!”

 

The boys barely had time to look at each other and squat when a sharp whistle could be heard. Bakugou had been facing the Damned when he watched a large arrow pierce directly into the bear's forehead. It stopped moving, body almost frozen in time as the arrow had begun to shine ivory in color. The glowing only lasted a few moments before it went back to normal. However, whatever it was meant to do to the bear seemed to work almost instantaneously. The creature let out a final huff as its legs gave out beneath it. The heavy body fell to the ground with a sickening thump . In an uneven circle around the corpse, the grass seemed to die, withering and curling as it yellowed.

 

While Kirishima found himself staring at the dead animal, Bakugou pulled himself from the sight and turned to face where the arrow had come from. Down the path that they had just come stood a person, he noticed. From what it looked like, they had been putting an arrow back into their quiver when the prince caught sight of them. Once their bow had been slung over their shoulder, they rushed over to the two.

 

“I hope you boys are alright,” they said, eyebrows furrowed as they finally caught up to where the two had been standing.

 

Kirishima turned his head with his mouth agape in awe. In his hundreds of years of living, he had never seen a Damned fall to just a single arrow. Bakugou took notice of the expression his dragon was making, though refused to hint at how impressive of a shot that had been.

 

“We’re alright,” the dragon spoke, lips slowly curling upwards. “I don’t know how long it would have taken to kill that thing until you showed up.”

 

“I’m glad,” the two boys watch as they adjust their posture to be standing up straight. Bakugou had been the first to notice their outfit, and the red and blue symbol on the left side of the vest they had been wearing.

 

“You’re the mage the King sent,” he pointed out.

 

A smile came to their face as they nodded. “Sure am. I must have just missed the two of you in that village by a few minutes. An old woman spoke of two travelers that had passed through. One of them blonde and the other a dragon,” they pointed to each of them accordingly. “Barbarian Prince Bakugou Katsuki of the country of Givek, and his Crimson Back dragon. King Todoroki has been expecting the two of you.”

 

Katsuki shifted, casually placing a hand on his sword as his eyes flicked to Eijirou. The dragon stood still, unknowing of what to do or say next. Though, he seemed to find his voice before the prince could.

 

“I’m Kirishima Eijirou,” the calm demeanor of the redhead seemed to make Bakugou relax, his hand falling off his sword and onto his hip. “And you are?”

 

The stranger gave a smile before pressing their hands to their side and bowing. “[F/N] [L/N], the Todorokis’ mage.”