Dragon Slayer

Seventeen

At first, Katsuki wasn't sure he was going the right way. It had been a while since he had travelled here, after all.
But familiarity came with scorched rocks and the scent of sulphur. This was where everything changed, where Katsuki's life changed...
For the better...
For the worse...
The outcome really just relied on what happened when he found Eijirou.
Would the dragon accept him? Let him back into his life?
Or would he chase Katsuki away, not wanting a connection to the pain that had been caused in his life due to Katsuki's deeds.
The blond couldn't really figure out which one was more likely. On one hand, Katsuki had taken the life of somebody who Eijirou loved. On the other, that somebody would have been killed by his parents anyway had he not been there.
Katsuki thought back to his parents and their career. They had come from a village where dragon hunting was a tradition and had been married through their families. From what he remembered of the fifteen years he had spent with them, dragon slaying would only cause more fights. Whenever a dragon got away, Mitsuki would blame her husband for being too soft. It was only out of fear of being yelled at that he never missed a kill.
But he had to wonder if his father really WAS a bad dragon slayer or if he maybe let those ones go on purpose. Maybe Katsuki had gotten a few traits from his dad that he hadn't expected.
Or maybe his dad really was weak...
Who knew...
He personally promised himself that he would ask his father if they ever met up again.
Katsuki had travelled for two days before he finally reached the cave where he made his first kill. He silently hoped he wasn't wrong about where Eijirou was hiding, because he had no ideas apart from this one.
"Ei...you in here?" Katsuki slipped into the cave, looking around. There was no response. He swallowed, stepping deeper into the cavern. It smelled wet and cold, like the early days of spring. Katsuki glanced around the area, still seeing nothing.
He walked deeper and deeper, calling out Eijirou's name. Where was he?
Maybe he had been smart enough to hide where he wouldn't be found. Maybe Katsuki would have to travel somewhere else.
"Eijirou, for gods sake."
Maybe he was here, but avoiding Katsuki's calls. It was understandable at least. But it definitely made things harder.
"Eijirou, if you're in here...your friends want you to come home."
Suddenly, his foot hit something soft. He knelt down, squinting through the dark until he could make out what it was.
"Ei?"
Eijirou looked like he was sleeping, except he was too still, his skin too cold.
"Fuck."
Was this that "dragon thing" Mina had mentioned?
He thought to the potion she had given him. Was that a cure for whatever Eijirou was doing?
He took the bottle out of his bag, lighting a match to read the label.
"Floating potion?" He read. How was this supposed to help?
He guessed he was supposed to bring Eijirou back home, then?
Hopefully that would wake the redhead up.