feeding the fire | kiribaku

5 - meet the crew

bakugo headed back to their home, bringing shinso and ibara over to watch the two beasts while he was away. he said his final goodbyes to camie and to kirishima, who wouldn't let go of his leg for the longest while. shinso promised he'd teach kirishima how to properly shift back and forth while bakugo was away. bakugo then rented a horse and rode it out of the village and towards the king's castle.

*

he had made it to the castle before dark, being let in by the gatekeeper who immediately recognized him. he made his way past the guards and into the castle. the walls of marble kept the entire castle cold, they made sure you felt as alienated as possible. they made sure there was no way of finding comfort within them and it made him wonder how the princess could ever spend all of her days trapped in here.

"you're late," the kings main knight and guard called out from the other side of the room. "the king has already reviewed the assignment and has now went off into a meeting, your new crew members can fill you in," he said lazily gesturing towards the group of young people in the middle of the room. they were sat around a long table, near a window which took up most of the dining rooms wall. bakugo made his way over to the group, taking the first open seat he saw, next to a smaller boy who seemed to be suited up in beast slaying attire. it was odd though, his appearance could've fooled anyone into thinking he was simply wearing a costume, he had big shiny green eyes, freckles and a curly mop of green atop his head.

this guy can't be a beast slayer, there's no way.

"there's really nothing to fill you in on, the scroll covers it all and the king just basically reread-"

"you're bakugo katsuki right?!" the green haired boy spoke.

"err... yes," he was hesitant to answer.

"i've heard so much!" he exclaimed, "i'm midoriya!"

wow, this kids voice is annoying.

"cool, i've heard nothing about you," he replied bluntly.

"really? i'm the biggest beast slayer right after you," he replied.

"not the biggest," bakugo snickered referring to the boys stature.

"hey!" midoriya subtly scrunched his nose. princess momo stood up from her seat.

"well, now that we're all here, proper introductions are due," she said proudly, as if she were about to lead a group of soldiers into their first battle. "as you all know, i am princess yaoyorozu," she said smiling sweetly. her eyes sparkled in sync with the diamonds around her neck. "you're all here because of me and i hope we can all get along-"

"get along? how about we all just do our jobs and stay out of each others way, this isn't summer camp, it's an assignment given by the king himself," the knight sitting next to the princess said in an almost passive aggressive tone, less passive, more aggressive. his ankle was resting on top of his opposite knee, his dark hair covering his eyes as he spoke, he didn't even bother looking up. from what was visible most of his body was covered in pretty bad burn scars, he clearly wasn't a fan of the princesses bright spirit.

"don't talk to the princess like that," another knight across the table said to him, this knight held his chin low as well, less intimidating but just as stern. his furrowed brows peaked from under his red and white hair. this was clearly a reoccurring situation.

"dabi, you're only half right," the princess replied, "even though that may cause less problems, the journey is going to be a long one, we should try to make the best of it. unlike you, i refuse to waste away my months," she raised her chin slightly accompanied by a subtle nod. "i want to make the best of it," she finished, pausing then clearing her throat. "well, that's dabi," she gestured towards the ill mannered knight. "he probably won't introduce himself..." she placed a hand jokingly over one side of her mouth as if to keep dabi from seeing, she jokingly fake whispers, "he's a grump," then she gestured to the red and white haired knight as she sat down.

"oh, i'm todoroki," he introduced himself, "i look forward to this experience," his voice was smooth and easy on bakugos ears.

"iiiii am monoma," the next knight said, much too proudly. "i am momo's newest knight and all i can say is i can assure you that watching todoroki and hawks over here-" he gestures to the fourth knight across the table, "trapped in the same vicinity as dabi for a few months is going to be more than enough entertainment," he smirks and raises a brow.

"guess he already introduced me," hawks said, "i'm hawks,"

"is that your real name?" dabi teased.

"up yours," the blonde replied, flipping him off.

finally, someone with a brain. bakugo thought of the blonde with a subtle huff. he averted his gaze from the group, lost in vague thoughts.

"and you?" hawks gestured to bakugo who was clearly not paying attention.

"he's bakugo! this kingdoms top beast slayer!" midoriya introduced him to the rest of the group as bakugo snapped back down to earth upon hearing his name.

"huh?" he tilted his head a bit, brows stuck in their permanent furrow. "i can speak for myself, nerd!" he hissed.

"i was just-"

"BLAH BLAH BLAH," bakugo interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest and placing his heel onto the table, pushing his chair back. "when are we supposed to be leaving?"

"fantastic, another annoyingly angry pest," monoma spoke with a huff.

"HAH?!"

princess momo rose once again, "enough," she said sternly yet timidly, she seemed to be trying her best at intimidation. hard to intimidate the group which sat before her. "you haven't even let the next boy speak,"

"i-i'm midoriya-"

"we got that," bakugo interrupted the poor green haired boy once again.

"bakugo, shut up," todoroki interjected.

"WHAT?!" bakugo stood abruptly, slamming a hand onto the table, "YOU WANNA GO?!"

"i'd love for you to go," the young knight replied swiftly.

"THAT'S IT!" bakugo roared, placing his foot forcefully onto the table, ready to jump over it. midoriya jumped up grabbing the back of bakugos arms.

"STOP!-"

"BAKUGO!" a harsh voice called from across the room. it was the voice of the kings main guard who once again was fed up with katsuki. he made his way over to the table of young people.

"sorry we bothered you, aizawa sensei," monoma said.

"shut it, you're just as much apart of the problem as he is," aizawa said, grabbing ahold of bakugo by his bicep and pulling him off of the table, bakugo raised his chin in protest. though he wasn't about to actually fight in front of the princess and especially not with the kings head knight. he'd beat todoroki's ass another day. "go to your chambers already," he shoved bakugo towards the door that led to the rest of the castle. "whichever door is open, that's an available room."

"i didn't even get to introduce kaminari, who can't be here right now but will be joining us as my personal chef!" momo said excitedly, ignoring what was happening before her.

"kami's coming with? what the fuck," bakugo muttered before being tapped on the shoulder by aizawa who pointed towards the door. "i'm going, i'm going," he grumbled. he walked over to the door, aizawa following behind as if bakugo would run any second. what a warm welcome. he thought, unironically, as if he were warm himself.

"goodnight kacchan!" midoriya called out.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"