Serendipity [Bakukami]

Chapter 10

By the time Katsuki drops Denki at his chambers, most of the maids are awake. So Katsuki finds his way towards the kitchen, knowing he has about 3 more hours before he needs to wake Denki up again.

He sees the maids in a hurry, almost spilling hot liquid over themselves when they run along for their deadlines. "Why are you guys so busy, the sun is barely up."

"The queen needs her tea before the sun is up. And she requires it as if it was taken out of the stove just a second earlier." Midoriya mumbles mindlessly, then he also adds, "wonder how it hasn't burnt her throat yet."

Midoriya seemed to be the only one who was calm. He doesn't freak out over simple issues like the other maids. Katsuki admires that, knowing that if it were him, he would've lost his mind the very first day.

With a small huff, Katsuki hops over the unnecessarily huge but clean kitchen counter. Peaking into the pot that Midoriya was cooking in.

An apple is thrown right at his face, which Katsuki catches instinctively. Midoriya smirks watching Katsuki's expression then sour.

However, Katsuki starts munching on the apple. He adjusts his pants to sit more comfortably and starts swinging his legs, knocking on to the cabinets with his boots repeatedly.

"I was with the prince today, at the castle gardens for some early morning training." Katsuki starts, just like how he usually does with Midoriya. He tells him what happened the entire day without missing a single detail.

"We went to watch the sunrise the other day and he really liked it. So naturally, i invited him today as well. But he wanted to catch up on some sleep, so I let him be." Katsuki finishes, gaping when Midoriya glares at him.

"Katsuki Bakugo. Do you have a brain or a walnut inside your head? Don't even bother to answer, I'm going to smack you with my spatula regardless." At the rise of the spatula, Katsuki realises he's no longer safe sitting on the counter.

So he bolts.

Midoriya follows him around trying to hit him, but Katsuki then catches the spatula, slowly taking them out of his palm.

"Deku just tell me. Why are you so worked up about this?" Katsuki asks exhasperatedly but frowns when Midoriya sighs, slowly twisting his hand out of Katsuki's grasp.

"I just can't believe how much you don't know about the royal family. I understand that this job wasn't a choice, but you could've at least known the minimum, Kacchan."

"Uh... Does knowing the reason behind the prince's watching the sunrise obsession count as a minimum?"

"Oh my god, yes Kacchan. How could you not have known that? The prince has this thing for watching the sunrise. When he was young, he used to do that with the King. It's like- you know, a good memory. He likes it because it reminds him of his father."

By the time Midoriya finishes, Katsuki is still confused. "And the entire palace knows about this? Like you're a, I don't know, chief chef or something-"

To which Midoriya cuts, "I'm not the chief chef." But Katsuki continues regardless.

"How do you know about it, anyway?"

"Kacchan. More than a prince, he's a good friend. Not just to me. He's an amazing person to everyone, honestly. We all know about it because he was comfortable enough to share it with us. You don't know it because you probably didn't make him feel safe or comfortable." Midoriya reasons, already getting back to cooking.

"But... I'm his bodyguard, that's my job." Katsuki sighs, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"If you think of this as just a job, then such simple subjects shouldn't matter to you. But if you wish to make the prince more comfortable, I suggest getting more friendly with him. I mean, I get that it's hard for you-" Midoriya continues, but Katsuki simply walks away, effectively cutting him off.

Just as Katsuki leaves the kitchen, the army general, Shoto Todoroki walks in, giving him a cold glare.

"Pleasant surprise to meet you, sir." Katsuki says with a creepily forced smile.

"Likewise, Bakugo." And the conversation ends there, but not before Todoroki gives him his infamous smirk. Katsuki responds with a snarl, his eyes lingering for a minute when Todoroki walks over to Midoriya.

On his way to the gardens again, Katsuki could only think about Denki's excuse today. Why did he want to miss the sun rise? It means so much to him.

And then he realises, even the sudden panic when Katsuki swung a wooden sword at him that morning, it felt so unnatural.

Denki wasn't like that. Denki was never like that. He wasn't someone who gets angry or frustrated. Hell, after working for him for a week, Katsuki thought Denki didn't have it in him to get angry.

But this simply worries him more.

Katsuki knew he has good reflexes, especially when he had watched him catch flowers that fell from his hands before it even reached the ground.

But his reaction? It made Katsuki uneasy. As if he was overlooking something.

The only person he could ask all this? Denki. But he should first make him feel comfortable reaching out.

Katsuki bends down to pick the wooden swords that they left by the fountain. His eyes turn dark when he feels something sharp against his nape.

"Who is it?" He asks out loud, knowing nobody could've entered the castle grounds without the guards noticing it and blowing the emergence horn.

"Well, well, well. If isn't the Katsuki Bakugo, with his guard down." The man spots the last part of the sentence out loud, as if he was disgusted.

"Oh. Mr Todoroki, is it? It's rare to see you these days, ain't it, sir?" Katsuki immediately ducks his head and turns around, catching Todoroki off guard. "Turns out I'm not the one with my guard down, sir."

Todoroki scowls, holding his sword up. "What about a duel with me, Bakugo? What do you say? But not with those cheap widen swords that barely leaves a mark. Let's use real ones."

Katsuki's unpleasant smile turns crooked at the invitation. "It would be a honour, sir."

Author's note:
I have so many things on my mind that I can hopefully incorporate into this story. But i just can't wait for you guys' reaction when these small twists drop. I'm so damn excited for them!!

Thank you so much for your support and do give this chapter a vote if you liked it!!