𝒦𝑒𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒 | Katsuki Bakugo x OC

Chapter 16 - Scarlet Complexions

Ayane

He told me to call him "Kousuke" whenever we were engaged with one another in private. He told me so, as I pinned him on the floor, in the middle of the courtyard. His breath was reaching the dip of my collarbone, and his voice was rumbling in a whisper. And his warmth, burning like a furnace, was what made me falter.

In that momentary hesitation, he flipped me on my back, ending the training drill, and walking away as though he hadn't made such advances.

And I was left with burning cheeks and ears. I am not sure if it was from embarrassment of losing, my flattery from his subtle acknowledgement, or simply from the heat emanating from his skin.

I should've noticed that his strength and power have increased as the frosted blanket no longer coats grass blades every morning. I should've also noticed that, with the scales of dragon shifters glowing lighter with every passing sun, his eyes were also starting to gleam brighter.

Just as they gleam brighter, at this moment, with him standing two strides away from me with his chin up in pride. And his question echoes in my mind.

I wish to show you something, if you will let me?

That vagueness of his query has me flabbergasted.

Like a fish, I open and close my mouth until my curiosity gets the better of me.

"Of course, your-" I swallow when his eyes narrow, "Kou- Kousuke."

He shudders, his teeth shining when he smiles widely. His hand encircles my wrist, his fingers a large bracelet resting around my pulse, as he drags me through the corridors of the first floor.

The colors of spring flutter outside each window we pass, and a rainbow shines in the sun resulting from the showers earlier that morn.

I do not make a sound as I am taken through the castle grounds. I do not notice any eyes on us either. Perhaps, my heart and mind is too loud for me to notice anything more than the man guiding me through his home.

Soon, we pass through the open doors of his throne room. Inside the room, on the wall beside them, is a ceiling-to-floor length portrait of a woman, in his likeness, wearing the crown that he keeps on display. From a glance of his softened features, I realize she must have been his mother, the previous monarch of these lands.

He lets go of my hand gently, pressing a brick within the small expanse of wall between the portrait and the doorframe until a click resounds. To my surprise, as the brick lifts back into place, the portrait swings open to reveal a dark alleyway with a curved archway throughout.

The air is colder, and the dust on the floors suggest no one has traveled through them in years.

"Follow me," He says, my footsteps echoing after him.

The walls are bare save for the torches lit every few strides. They flicker with the draft trickling in, sweeping past his cape.

"What are these corridors?" I question after two more bends in the path. There hasn't been a fork, yet.

"They are the hidden paths that connect the entire castle grounds." His steps are faster and it forces me into a quicker pace just to keep up. The torches grow in number now, and the path widens.

"Who else knows of them?"

"These paths are only known to the royal family." He pauses, peering over his shoulder to meet my gaze. "And now you."

"Why-"

"I can share with whomever I deem worthy." he interrupts, turning back around, grabbing a torch from it's post and lighting a lantern above his head.