Heart and Mind - A kiribaku fantasy AU

Part Three - The Meeting

One by one, the carrages passed through the grey stone walls of the palace. Bakugo watched from his space in the parlor as they flew by, one after the other. The first one seemed simple enough, a nice mahogany brown with red curtians. The second was much more flamboyant, with red and white markings, with hints of gold flame.

The Todoroki Crest, Bakugou realized with a start. He knew it well, they had been a long-standing ally of his kingdom even before the plauge. They were always at every council meeting, no matter how insignifigant. A few other carrages poured in, but none had any remarkable traits, so Bakugo didn't care enough to take note of them.

He heard his parents talking in the next room, ordering the servants to fetch tea or fixing eachothers crowns. Bakugou gritted his teeth and stopped listening. He knew what what was about to happen anyways.

Mitsuki and Masaru entered the room, a servent carrying tea behind them. Mitsuki took one last desperate look at Bakugou, seeming to say "Please, for the love of god don't mess this up."

She took her place on the sofa next to Bakugou, and Masaru followed as if he was commanded. Bakugo took a deep breath as the first people entered the room.

A large, bulky male with bright blue eyes walked in first, with a boy who had to be about Bakugou's age behind him. This boy had two-toned hair and one grey eye while the other was bright blue like his father's. Directly behind the heterochromatic boy, a younger kid followed. He was too short to be the same age as Bakugou, but he had to be close. The smaller boy had messy green hair and bright green eyes. Something about the second boy didn't sit right with Bakugou. It never had.

A few footsteps behind, a girl with chocolate brown eyes walked in, two older people walked behind her who had to be her parents. The girl's mouth was slightly agape, taking in the lavish parlor room.

A few other nobles walked in as well as a few servants. They bowed their heads and walked away. Once everyone was seated, Mitsuki spoke. "As you all know, the plauge layed waste to many kingdoms around the world. While most managed to survive, many were weakened and some kingdoms even fell." She finshed her statment ominously.

The plague. Bakugou didn't have the clearest recollection of it, but the memories he did have haunted him. The black skin blooming from the center of the chest, and the deep hollow eyes. You could have a cold one day and be dead the next. The plauge ate you from the inside out.

He shut those memories away in the little cubby hole in his mind where he kept all the memories he didn't want to revisit and brought his mind back to the conversation.

"Our kingdom was one of the ones where the plague was most present. However, we perservered and our kingdom continues to grow to this day. Even still, an alliance is necessary even in the best of times." Mitsuki gestured to the brown-eyed girl. "Which is why we've invited you here, Ochako Uraraka." Her eyes widened and her parents nodded to her slowly. "We belive an alliace between our kingdoms is fitting, given the times." She sighed, and Bakugou knew what was coming. "Due to the nature of this alliance, to set it in stone Ochako Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugou are to be wed. With her parents permission of course." They both nodded. Not a word was spoken after that.

Bakugou felt a weight settle in his stomach. This was it. The last bit of control he had over his life was suddenly gone. For a half second, his composure slipped and he was left with pure rage. He quickly regained himself, but his anger and disgust had already settled on his features. Mitsuki noticed and quickly changed the subject and dismissed Bakugou.

He charged up the stone staircase and slammed the door behind him, and just like every other day he jumped into bed. But instead of staring at the ceiling like usual, he cried. He actually cried. He was crying so much today, damn. He was taught at a young age that a prince should never show weakness, but now he felt nothing but weak. Weak and small and powerless. God, he fucking hated feeling like this. So he sat there and let the salty tears roll down his face, shivers and hiccups rocking his body. This went on and on for hours, it seemed like it would never end. Eventually he drifted into a tired, dreamless sleep.