Travel The Distance

Chapter 29

"Endeavour had fallen and Shigaraki and his men are going to march on Crepitus."

My heart stuttered and my mouth went dry as I slowly turned to look at Shoto. So many thoughts were running through my mind. Shigaraki, the trespasser, had already defeated Endeavour. They were marching soon. They would invade Crepitus soon. We expected it to be a few months. We didn't have any war plans or strategies. Shoto's family was in danger if they weren't already dead. It seemed as if we were well and truly fucked.

When my gaze finally met Shoto's, I was surprised to see the beginning of tears beginning to well up in the vibrant colours. It was to be expected, of course, he had no idea about whether the family members he actually cared for were still alive. Seeing as Shoto seemed to be unresponsive, I elected to rip my eye away from him and towards the newly transformed Aizawa.

"What the fuck happened?" I hissed at the elder man, I had to consciously fight the urge to drape my body over Shoto's as a sign of comfort. I didn't like the fact that he was upset, and neither did Ground Zero if the deep rumble which purred in my chest and soul was anything to go off of.

"Endeavour was winning, we were about to storm the base Shigararki had constructed when we got word that the walls had been breached. Someone betrayed the Kingdom to Shigaraki and his forces, they were lead through a secret tunnel under the castle. We weren't even aware of its existence." Aizawa scowled with a shake of his head, only the comforting hand of his husband on his shoulder silenced his growls of anger and betrayal.

"Do we know how long it will take Shigaraki's army to start marching, surely if you were winning before, they must be weakened, right?" I asked, clinging to a vestige of hope which had fluttered past me, yet I knew deep within me that my hope was ill-placed.

"Endeavour may have been winning, but it was scarcely. They had terrible monsters on their side. Hideous creatures who were better off left in the Dark Forest than seeing the light of day. These abominations... they're damn near impossible to take down. They must have been the work of some seriously powerful dark magic, I think forbidden magic may have been used." Aizawa sighed with a shake of his head.

"Fuck!" I cursed loudly, throwing my hands up in the air and scowling at the ground in front of me. "We've barely warned the kingdom about what's happening! Now we've got to move everything forwards without any solid plans. Not to mention the fact that Hatsume has had barely enough time to actually do shit!" I continued to fume.

My angry tirade only came to a halt when the cold hand of Shoto fell onto my shoulder, the temperature of the appendage making me shiver ever so slightly.

"Calm down, Katsuki. I have complete faith in your ability to think in times of crisis. We'll go back to the castle and warn everyone, ok. Then you can come up with a plan. Everything will work out for you. There's no need to worry too much." Shoto placated in a soothing voice. I could practically feel my muscles relaxing and my mind clearing of the foggy rage which had consumed me.

"OK. Yeah, you're right. Let's just get back." I huffed. I patted Shoto's hand twice before I moved away from him, causing his hand to drop back down to his side.

Throughout our entire interaction, Aizawa and Yamada had been watching us closely, exchanging a knowing look as they observed Shoto and mine's behaviour. I dismissed the old men with a scoff, they didn't need to concern themselves with my personal affairs, they could keep their noses out of my business.

I transformed and offered my wing to Shoto so that he could climb onto my back. My boyfriend (for that was what he was, yet it was peculiar referring to him like that) had barely secured himself before I was taking off into the sky, flying at speeds fast enough to give Shoto whiplash. It was nothing like our leisurely flight beforehand. I was on a mission to get back to my castle as fast as I could and discuss battle plans with my advisors. Everything was going to shit around me and I was frankly pissed off about it.