His Other Half (KiriBaku)

Chapter 26

October 17, XX84
-The Cour's hall-

It took only three seconds for Neito to notice Eijiro's bad mood, exceedingly worse than his usual morning mood. In fact, most of the Cour seemed to notice, and for the first time, it was exceptionally quiet in the dining room.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eijiro wasn't eating anything, instead sitting at the table with his allies in brooding silence.

But Eijiro couldn't care less about the whispers floating around the hall. He was thinking about Katsuki, of course, and the promise he had made to the prince last night, but also about his parents, and another even more recent development.

After he'd woken the prince that morning and kissed the darkened bruises across his face, sending him safely into Inko's concerned arms with whispered instructions, a package had arrived for him. Unexpected, but not unwelcome. There was a letter with the heavy package. Apparently Eijiro had garnered the favor of the people, enough so that they would send him a birthday present.

Without realizing it, Eijiro growled at the table, silencing any tentative conversation that had started. (They'd been talking of the gifts they had also recieved, for supporting him in the games.) The memory of Katsuki's body that morning, littered in painful bruises of blacks and purples, filled Eijiro with an ungodly amount of rage. Katsuki had woken several times in the night, clinging to him, begging for his protection from the man that had hurt him. The sight was foreign to Ei. Katsuki almost never begged, not for anything, but in spite of his injuries, the prince almost seemed to be begging for forgiveness. As if any of this were Katsuki's fault.

Inko had luckily saved her questions, though the worry burned bright in her eyes. She'd come to Eijiro's room only after she'd found Katsuki's in shambles and the prince nowhere to be found. She was a smart woman; she likely put the pieces together herself.

Neito set his fork down onto the table. "That's it," he growled lowly, his voice laced with concern. "What happened? Is His Highness alright?"

Eijiro's eyes snapped up to meet the blonde's, and for once, any trace of sarcasm was gone from the grey hues. "What do you know?"

Neito eased back in his chair next to Tetsutetsu. The metal mage had stopped eating, glancing uncertainly between the two, waiting for another fight to break out. "Nothing, that's why I asked. Only His Highness could possibly have you all riled up this morning. Whatever happened must have been bad. You're avoiding breakfast."

Eijiro growled again, and Itsuka set her hand on his over the table. The contact grounded him a bit. Kept him from spiralling, at least. "Eijiro, you can speak to us," she promised. "We stuck by your side for this long--you can trust us with this."

A tray slammed down on his left and was shoved in front of him; Izuku. "Something's wrong," he snapped, the little steward shaking with fury. Electricity popped across his knuckles, static charging the air. "Something happened and you're going to tell me, right now, because Kacchan won't and it's driving me insane."

"Who was yesterday's victor?" Eijiro asked instead, avoiding the demand. He pushed the tray away from himself.

Izuku pushed it back, his eyes dark. "Someone you're acquainted with. Eat."

"Tama," Eijiro snarled back. The voice had sounded familiar, but he hasn't been sure. He pushed back from the table, heading for the door.

He heard his friends scramble to follow, but Izuku was faster. "What are you going to do?" He asked.

"What I'm meant to do," the redhead replied lowly. "Protect his name and pride, and avenge his pain."