DRAGON'S BROOD II (Kirishima x Bakugou)

Chapter 1: The Council of the Order

Kirishima's PoV

I opened the heavy door to the assembly hall. The iron hinges groaned under the strain and the noise gave me goose bumps. In front of us a large brightly lit room opened up. The stone walls were artfully hewn, so that it seemed as if they would adorn overgrown columns. In the middle of the room stood a large table made of dark wood, around which the Council of the Order had sat. There were 12 people, mixed in age and gender. Each of them had a special task, but I haven't had personal contact with each of them yet.

My gaze wandered across Mr Fennricks, the keeper of the library, over to Telana and Taran. It was a coincidence that the only two at my age were those whose knowledge proved most valuable to me.

It all started when Miss Farney sent me to Telana, a tall, slim girl with copper-red hair, after her lessons. Her job was to teach me the history and characteristics of the different dragon clans. Telana was of a particularly friendly and patient nature, but at the same time had a razor-sharp mind. Especially in the early days we had spent a lot of time in the library, always under the strict dark eyes of Mister Fennricks.

Taran had attracted my attention only after some time. He was officially only the key keeper of the secret writings. Unofficially, however, everyone knew that he had knowledge that went much deeper. Taran was a young man of 25 years, with black hair and equally dark eyes. I had met him, however, not as a member of the Order, but as none other than Telana's boyfriend. I had seen him again and again, during one of Telana's and my sessions, and had noticed his jealous looks until Telana had told me who he was with an eye roll. Taran had been very distant the whole time, but that had suddenly changed when I decided to take Katsuki to one of the meetings. Not only were he and Telana intellectually on a par with each other and engaged in verbal battles that I couldn't even follow. No, Katsuki was as jealous and possessive a partner as Taran was, and the moment he showed up the fronts were cleared and the distanced keykeeper gradually relaxed.

From there Taran became more and more responsive to me and explained a lot about the half dragons, their characteristics and their special abilities. His knowledge of my kind was amazing and sometimes I wondered if he had gained his knowledge from the secret writings.

He told me a lot: What qualities the half dragons had of the dragons and what they had of the humans. He also showed me how to use them very skillfully and practiced partial transformation with me. This kind of practical exercise and training suited me much more than all the history and bare theory and so I enjoyed the units with Taran the most.

The key keeper nodded at us smiling as we entered the room and Telana to his right raised her hand inconspicuously and waved. At the head of the table sat Mr. Dracoon, president of the Council. He was the oldest in the group, with shoulder-length silver hair and emerald green eyes sparkling under bushy brows. He had leaned forward a little, his elbows resting on the table and his fingertips laid thoughtfully against each other.

He watched patiently as the three of us sat down on the remaining chairs before he began to speak in a deep, gentle voice.

"So I guess we all know why we're here. In a small village not far from here there was the first dragon attack in years. We don't know yet what has re-ignited the permanent war, but we know that there have been many victims. For years the Order has been unable to act, but for three years we have had our new hope, Kirishima, with us".

I felt everyone's gaze turn on me and shifted restlessly on my chair as I smiled nervously at the council members.

Mr. Dracoon gave me a wink of encouragement before he continued. "I think we all agree that we need the powers of a half dragon on the field, but since this situation has not yet existed in the history of the Order, I want to make sure that I act with such a command in the sense of all. So now I ask you: Should Kirishima move out? If so, raise a hand." All 12 council members raised their hands and Mr. Dracoon smiled approvingly at the expected result. "Well well, then only the question arises who goes with him."

"I'll come with him," Taran said calmly. "He'll be able to use my knowledge if there's a dispute."

The chairman nodded at him with a smile: "That seems sensible to me, but the group should not be too big. Maybe two more people. I suggest that Telana and Mister Harlek accompany him. Telana's knowledge will help in the negotiations and Mr. Harlek can give him protection."

My gaze wandered to the bull-necked Mr. Harlek, who was an excellent swordsman. I didn't really know him, but I had a kind of antipathy. But before I could politely object, Katsuki spoke to my left.

"Why does he need protection when I'm with him?" he asked almost growling.

The silence that descended upon those present after this question made one thing clear: No one had ever assumed that Katsuki would accompany me.

Mr. Dracoon tilted his head a little and smiled questioningly at my mate. "Well then ... Mr. Bakugou, this is a mission of the Order and you are by no means a member. You can consider it an honour that you are allowed to attend a meeting here at all. To make that clear: You are not part of this mission," he said calmly.

Katsuki jumped up, furious. "You don't get to tell me where to go or what to do! I stay with Red, whether you like it or not! His red eyes flash dangerously as he looked around.

But I also felt that same anger boiling inside me. I had willingly submitted myself to the mission of the Order, because I found that peace was worth it. Nevertheless, I was beginning to find the way they treated Katsuki unacceptable. I gritted my teeth angrily.

"Sit down, Mr. Bakugou, and don't interfere in our business!" The otherwise quiet Mr. Dracoon had raised his voice warningly.

Katsuki was about to return something passionate as a deep growl filled the room. My growling. I whitened my teeth and I felt myself subconsciously turning halfway. Horns sprouted over my ears, my pupils narrowed into slits and two wings sprouted out between my shoulder blades. I stared angrily at the council members before my gaze finally stopped at the president.

Everyone in the room was frozen when I slowly got up. "Don't you dare talk to him like that. He's coming with me, otherwise you can do your mission alone."