Coiled Dragon

part 10

WARNING: LOTS OF BLOOD AND GORE. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF BRUTAL DEATHS AND INJURIES. DISCUSSION OF BULLYING AND SUICIDE
1

The forecast said it was supposed to rain today but right now, the sun was shining its brightest glory upon the surface of the earth. Warm and humid, there was an occasional breeze that made the summer heat bearable.

Katsuki skipped down the stairs while humming to himself quietly. He was outside of Suribachi City without Zeku and it felt a bit strange because he hadn’t done that ever since he got expelled from UA. Of course, he wasn’t alone. There was a car with Huang Corp’s logo and two security personnels waiting by it not too far away. They stood like statues since he told them to wait.

A few people passing by stared after him, whispering about all sorts of different things. They talk about his looks and his relationship with Zeku or the wedding but not a lot of them chatted about his previous role as a hero in training. He turned all the noises out as he opened two cans of tuna that he got from the convenience store a block back and set it out on the ground, near the entrance of an alley. It was quieter here, less people walking about.

Half a dozen cats gathered, mewing and hissing at him and Katsuki took a step back. The furry animals came in all shades of colours. Black, white, brown...they approached the food carefully then dug in, tiny pink tongues wrapping around the meat and sharp little teeth chewing it to small pieces.

There was one calico cat perched on the fence in front of Katsuki. It wasn’t a very large cat and its fur was composed of patches of orange, dark brown, and black. This cat purred at him but didn’t join in for the fight for the canned food. It licked its paw while its tail wiggled gently behind it.

Katsuki stared into its large brown eyes. It was a very rich and warm shade of chocolate and the animal lazily yawned. It was an older cat for sure, Katsuki had seen it roaming around the city even before he met Zeku.

His lover was the best thing that ever happened to him.

It was hard to love someone like him. Katsuki knew he had a temper and he was exactly what everybody else said he was. He was rough around the edges, brash, aggressive, and everything from cruel to mean and all the inbetweens. He was skeptical of everyone and everything, twitchy from the paranoia inside his head, and a generally hard to please whiny little bitch.

It was hard to love someone like him.

It was even harder for him to love anyone back.

His words could alter reality and he was one with Yokohama but he couldn’t read minds. He couldn’t tell who loved him for real or who just wanted him for his power. He didn’t know who was going to stab him in the back or demand more from him. Not to mention, it would be hard to trust him. Couples fight and bicker. They had moments of tension and doubts. So what was Katsuki to do if his partner started doubting their love?

What if the romantic feelings they felt for Katsuki was only because of The Book’s powers? What if the bond they shared was nothing but the blond manipulating them into staying by his side?

He would never do anything like that but once the seeds of doubt were planted, it wouldn’t take much for it to sprout. It would be a wedge into their relationship and mistrust was fatal for people in their positions. Their stories wouldn’t work if his partner couldn’t trust him completely.

They could back out. Katsuki couldn’t. The moment he decided to build a legend, there was no turning back. It was either he kept marching forward or he lost and embraced death.

It was so hard to love him.

But Zeku stayed with him, cherished him like he was the center of his world and stood in front of him when danger struck. The one who would scowl but gently wipe his tears away at night and make everything quiet down whenever the sounds inside his head got too much. They all said that the Dragon of Suribachi cared for nothing but Zeku wasn’t some simpleton or saint with no worldly desires.