Bakugou Katsuki oneshots

A Prize Above Gold

This story was made by - Acinonyx1 on A03

Summary -

With his own coin purse empty and a village in need, Bakugou accepts a job to steal from a dragon. Little does he know that the man whose job he took on is the very beast waiting for him inside the mountain.

A dragon who's been waiting for the perfect incubator for his clutch of eggs.

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The notice board must be decades old. It creaks in the wind and sometimes sways so hard Bakugou thinks it'll be pulled right out of the ground. But it holds; old wood supported by sporadic new planks—the villagers unwilling to replace something that still functions.

Some of the notices on the board are as old as the original wood. Parchment that has melted into the board until the text is unreadable.

Bakugou scours the newer listings. His coin purse is too light and he needs work to replace the copper he'll give up tonight for a bed. Perhaps even fill it enough to where the bag will jingle if shaken.

But the offerings in the village are pitiful. And as an elderly woman ambles up beside him to hammer in a call for a farmhand, Bakugou realizes the lack of weight to his purse may become a more permanent fixture.

Farm work doesn't pay enough silvers, barely enough coppers either. He'll be mucking about with the pigs and milking the cattle for longer than he wants.

But it's the best job on the board.

He's been hoping to make his way north soon. If Bakugou catches the timing right he'll be able to cross the Great River while it's frozen over rather than shell out money he doesn't have for a boat.

Now that all seems unlikely. He'll be stuck here for weeks getting his hands dirty.

But then the wind blows and the papers dance on the wood. In their performance they swing up, exposing their undersides.

Bakugou is quick to pin one down, his hand keeping the new notice away so his eyes can skim the older one it had been hiding.

"Who is Kirishima Eijirou?" He asks the woman.

She's so short she has to peer up at him, and despite the bluntness of his question, she answers him anyway.

"Kirishima... That's the hunter boy that is," she says. "Trades meat for our eggs and milk with my son, and keeps the village's tanner up and running. Lovely boy. Handsome too."

A lot of unnecessary information, but Bakugou rips the paper off the board regardless. He turns the text towards her.

"He says there's a dragon nearby. That true?"

"Hm... don't know about any dragons. Ain't lost any livestock at least. Best ask 'im, Kirishima will know best," she reassures Bakugou and points up between the buildings where the village ends and the wild starts. "Boy lives up near the woodline."

"Thanks," Bakugou grunts, short but to the point. The woman doesn't seem to mind.

He leaves her behind, eyes fixed on the chimney he can see in the distance. It looks barely a speck to him from the village but his legs can quickly carry him closer. Bakugou's slightly apprehensive of the dragon claims, but he'll hear the hunter out if it'll give him work that pays better.

The village he leaves is tucked into the side of the mountain range. It seems easily forgettable by passing travelers; an unnecessary stop for anyone on horseback, and small and plain for those like Bakugou who need a night safe in a hay-stuffed bed rather than under the stars.