Heart and Mind - A kiribaku fantasy AU

Part Two - The Boy

Bakugo awoke to three quick knocks on his door. Who he guessed was his mother was standing on the other side. "Katsuki! The other royals will be here in a few hours. Get ready." She said harshly. Still, it seemed her voice held a kinder undertone.

Bakugo knew his mother had been through the same thing he had. She was used the same way he knew he was going to be. The though of it sent him into his second (but not nearly last) rage for the day. He grabbed a pillow and flung it across the room as hard as he could without using his power. It hit the bronze door with a CLUNK and slid down to the floor.

He sighed and slipped out of his bed. Luckily for him, his clothes didn't have and wrinkles. However, his eyes were red and his face was streaked from crying. He stepped into the bathroom, as it was already built in to his bedroom. Bakugo did a once-over of himself and immediatly began to wash his face until you could no longer see any evidence that he was crying. He got to work applying eyeliner, a few more items of jewelry, and of course his crown. It was a relatively large crown, but fitting for a prince of his stature. It was pure gold, studded with rubies and red spinel. The same shade as his eyes.

He slipped out of his room to begin the slightly longer walk to the parlor, where the guests would be arriving. Bakugo decided that since they were not going to be here for another hour, he would go through the garden.

He stepped out of the west wing of the palace and into the midday light. At first it was blinding, given he'd been in his room with the curtians closed for most of the day. However, he liked the feel of the sun on his face. The garden was a relatively small place. A simple courtyard that mostly served as a pathway between the west wing and the main wing of the palace. Even so, Bakugo liked the place. The willow trees that covered most of the garden provided shade, and the flowers grew wherever they pleased. There was a small stream cutting through the middle of the garden, with a simple wooden bridge over it. He allowed himself a small smile, thinking he was alone. Alas, he was not.

He looked over to the benches to where one of the palace staff was sitting. A boy, probably about his age. He had crimson eyes and hair, with two dragonlike wings protruding from his back, complete with a tail. Oh.

Bakugo realized with a start. It was this boy. The one he sometimes couldn't stop thinking about. The one he would sometimes glance at from afar. Sometimes, he wished he could-

Bakugo stopped that thought before he let it go any farther. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Even still, there was something about the way he moved. So graceful, so swift. He took a glance at the boy sitting on the bench. Bakugo couldn't resest. The boy didn't seemed to have realized he was there, so he left the garden without saying a word to him.

A few minutes later, Bakugo found himself sitting in the parlor alone. It was fine, he needed to re-arrange and gather his thoughts anyway. He thought back to his first time seeing the boy. It couldn't have been more than 2 years ago when the first stood at the palace gate. Bakugo still rememebered the determined look on his face, clear as day. At first, he just admired the boy's determination. And that's all it'll ever be. He reminded himself.

Knowing that, he still couldn't help but to take a few sidelong glances of him, just to see his face. The boy didn't leave him any choice. It was his fault. Yeah! If he had never come, Bakugo would never have these feelings being a thorn in his side. He did his very best to resent the boy, but to no avail. He could never find himself hating the boy the same way he hated everything else in his life. He just hated himself for feeling this way. He pictured the boy smiling in his mind's eye, and it brought him a tiny bit of joy. Then, he remebered his situation. He was a prince that was sooner or later going to be forced into a marriage he didn't want to be in. He sighed and leaned his head back on the plush, white sofa and closed his crimson eyes. Not to sleep, just to process what the rest of the day would look like.

His parents had said that the arranged marriage probably wouldn't be happening today, but he knew they were lying. He knew it in every fiber of his being, leaving no room for doubt. They probably already had someone picked out.

In the distance, Bakugo heard the trotting of carrages and the low chatter of his parents from the hallway next to the room he was in. He steeled his gaze and prepared himself for the hell to come.