The Great Warlock War - Bakugo x OC Femreader

Chapter 88: How the mighty has fallen

Hawks landed next to Shoto and pulled his sword out of its sheath as Dabi turned in his direction.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the kings pet canary. Still a loyal little pigeon I see." He said wiping the blood from his scarred face as a renewed smirk pulled at his stapled lips.

"It's been a while... prickly prince. Rude of you not to let your brother and sister know you were still alive. Natsuo was inconsolable, you know?"

Dabi scowled at him, "Why should I care? Only one thing matters to me now. And that's putting this tyrants head on a pike!"

He raised his hand to point at Endeavour and a torrent of cerulean flames shot out of his hand. Shoto instinctively blocked the fire with a wall of ice; he'd been doing this for years against his father whenever his training got too intense, but for the first time in his life he was using it to protect the king rather than defend against him.

"That's not very nice, I seem to remember you two were pretty close. Don't you remember how the three of us used to play in the courtyard together? Just a few friends having fun."

Endeavour was still on the floor behind him, but Hawks had risen into the air and was charging at Dabi with his sword raised. Shoto could hear them talking as the avian flew around, dodging his brother's flames.

"That's ancient history. We're not kids anymore. And you were never my friend to begin with!"

"Don't say that" Hawks said back in his light joking voice, "of course, we were! At least we could have been if you'd let me in. But you always did keep everyone at arm's length."

Shoto could hear the sneer in his brother's voice as he replied. "Don't be dense, look what happens when you trust those who are closest to you."

Shoto could imagine Dabi on the other side of the ice indicating his scars. He didn't know how he got them, but he was sure he could imagine. He looked at his father, still bowing his head in defeat. The prince had always resented his father's fire magic and told himself he didn't need it to surpass him, choosing instead to rely only on his mother's ice magic. But now he could see just how naïve he'd been. His brother had honed the elemental power passed on by their father and had learned to control the flames far better than he ever could, even if it had cost him his body to do so.

Whereas Shoto's fire was still weak by comparison. His ice wall was already melting from the intensity of his brothers rage fueled flames and he could hear Hawks yell in pain before the king's guard flew back over the ice to fall out of the air next to him; Hawks' sleeve was smoking, and his sword skidded away from his hand as he clasped it to his chest. The skin of his knuckles had melted away, and the flesh around them was blackened and charred.

"Give it up Shoto! Fire beats ice every time! Or did dear old dad not teach you that?" He heard Dabi calling from behind the barricade.

"I don't care if your fire can melt my ice, I'll just make more!" He yelled, reinforcing the cracking wall with another layer, as Dabi concentrated his magic on the other side. He tried to make it as thick as possible even as it cracked and melted from the heat on the other side.

"I don't have to kill you too, you know. Just give me our father and I'll let you live. We can even share the kingdom if you really want. I'll allow you keep the south while I rebuild the north in our mother's name, I might even let you in on the secret of the ice dragons too... What do you say, brother?"

Shoto faltered for a moment, he felt conflicted. He hated his father for all he had done, and fundamentally, he was no different than his older brother. They had both suffered at the hands of their father, but Touya had taken a much darker path than him. One that had led to a war such as this without any regard for the safety and wellbeing of their kingdom's people. He had seen the remains of Deika with his own eyes, blackened with Dabi's signature blue flames. His older brother held no compassion for other people and would be un-fit to rule them. He would never be a kind or just ruler.