Chapter Text
Red. So much Red.
It’s all that Bakugou could see in that moment. A minute ago he’d been walking in the woods, straying from the path to town as he’d rather be on his own than encounter other travelers, but of course his luck had to be that he noticed someone following him. They tried to be subtle, to trail him unnoticed, but not much got by Bakugou without him feeling something was wrong. He abruptly stopped, and behind him he heard the tell-tale crunch of feet sinking in snow as his tracker noticed he’d stopped moving.
Without warning, Bakugou turned and jumped his stalker, ripping a yelp out of them as he pinned them to the ground. But before he could even take a good look at who’d been following him, he felt himself lurch and saw a flash of blue sky before he was suddenly the one pinned on the ground.
And that brought him back to the current moment. He grunted a bit and when he opened his eyes, all he saw was bright red hair, and when his eyes trailed down, he met equally bright red eyes staring back at him. He stopped in awe for about half a second before he snapped back to reality.
“What the fuck?!? Get off of me!” He started as he fought back. He could now see the one pinning him down was another man, about his age, and his wrists were held down as he sat on his waist. How he’d even gotten away with that move was beyond him, no one pinned him to the ground and lived to tell the tale. Yet, the other guy barely seemed to strain to keep him in place, instead opening his mouth to speak.
“I-Calm down! Calm down okay? I’m sorry I scared you I didn’t mean to!” He seemed genuinely apologetic and flashed him a sorry smile at that. His teeth were oddly sharp, but Bakugou couldn’t focus on that at the moment. What really stuck with him was-
“Scared?! You little- You didn’t scare me you pissed me off- Why the fuck have you been following me in the goddam woods do you wanna die?!?” At that, Bakugou managed to gather enough strength to push the other off, and he quickly rolled away and stood as he pulled out his sword.
The redhead sat up and instantly raised his hands in defense, a smile still plastered on his face. “Hold it alright! Sorry for following you I was just curious, we don’t get many travellers around here it’s rare to see a new face!” And god did Bakugou want to punch that smile off. He should be terrified right now, not laughing things off. He wasn’t a big fan of killing innocent people-but the redhead didn’t know that so the sword stayed up.
“And who the fuck are you huh? One of the town idiots?”
“I should be asking you that! You’re the new guy after all...” And with that Bakugou thrusted his sword a bit closer. The other scooted back a bit. “Alright alright! I’m Kirishima Eijirou alright? I live in the village nearby! I was walking around the woods and I spotted you looking all sneaky and hunter-like, so I followed you! T-that's a very sharp sword you got there, mind setting it down a bit..?”
Bakugou tsked and lowered his blade. He figured the guy was for real and probably wasn’t a threat, not that anyone was good enough to hurt him. He put his sword back in its scabbard and reluctantly offered his hand to help Kirishima up. Normally he would’ve left him to his own device to stand up, but he’d been told to “try to be nicer” to people recently. And that Kirishima didn’t seem TOO annoying. However Bakugou immediately took that back when Kirishima grinned widely as he took his hand.
Now standing, Bakugou could finally get a good look at him. He seemed to be about the same height, but it was hard to tell with the god-awful way his hair was styled, all spikes with two prominent ones in the front, looking a bit like horns. He still bore that wide grin like tackling a stranger in the snow made this the happiest day of his fucking life, and Bakugou had to take his hand back when Kirishima didn’t seem to make a move to let go. He also seemed lightly dressed for the weather, with a sleeveless jacket and a loose scarf even with the snow around them, yet he didn’t seem to mind the cold. Bakugou scoffed as he tightened his fur cape.
“You’d be right I look like I’m hunting, I’ve heard a dragon lives in these parts and I’m here to kill it.” Might as well get straight to the point. He’d learn long ago that people were easier to deal with when there was no pretences, if anything it got him information easier.
Kirishima looked a bit taken aback by that, “A-a dragon? Why would you come all this way to kill a dragon?” Bakugou rolled his eyes at that.
“Well that’s usually what the job “dragon hunter” entails, but in my case I’m more of a “dragon slayer”, I don’t work for these dirty bounty hunters, I’m only in it to get rid of the beasts.” He said with pride-it's true, he wasn’t in it for the money or the parts like the hunters, he liked to think he had more noble motivations than that.
Kirishima gave an understanding nod, “A dragon slayer huh?”
“Yup, Bakugou Katsuki, dragon slayer, folk hero, danger to society, people call me lots of stuff these days...” He heard Kirishima snort at that last part, but decided to ignore him. The redhead quickly regained his composure and started walking. He turned to see if Bakugou followed and gave a head nod in the direction he was going in.
“The town’s that way, sun’s about to go down, and if there truly is a terrifying dragon out there, the cold will probably get you before the beast finds you. I know a good place to eat, my treat for stalking you,” and he turned back towards the village. Bakugou figured he hadn’t actually eaten anything warm in a while, and slept anywhere that wasn't a cold log either, and the fucker did tackle him to the ground, so he should treat him for food, and so he followed after. As they walked, Bakugou kept glaring at Kirishima, trying to figure out how he’d managed to keep him on the ground. His eyes trailed to the redhead’s bare arms, and at a glance he could tell he was obviously strong, but not many people were able to tackle him AND keep him pinned to the ground. Bakugou could feel the anger flare up in his chest at the memory.
The walk wasn’t as long as Bakugou expected, but by the time they arrived at the town the sun was low on the horizon. Town was a bit too big to describe this place though, Bakugou thought, maybe a small village at most, but it seemed lively enough. Even with the sun setting, people were still strolling around, finishing final errands before going home. Kirishima was describing the different buildings and the people that lived in them, but Bakugou wasn’t paying much attention, thinking it was rather odd for a town to be so active with a dragon in its woods. Nonetheless he would find it quickly, get rid of it, and move on to his next quest. He’d done this plenty of times before and it was basically routine at this point, and this time would be no different. Sure, the reports on this town had been a bit weird- some claims saying the beast was terrifyingly fierce and hard to track, while others saying they hadn’t even seen it at all. But Bakugou was different. He’d decided he was to become the best hero in the land, and to do that he had to slay all the beasts in said land, so he’d definitely be successful here.
His train of thought is abruptly stopped when he nearly walks into Kirishima, who had stopped in front of a homely looking inn. He could hear people being rowdy inside, and while he really didn’t want to deal with people at the moment, the warm light seeping through under the door frame seemed awfully inviting as the cold winter night settled in.
“Alright- you’re gonna LOVE this place, the food there’s the best, and the owner’s super friendly!” Kirishima announces with another toothy grin. Bakugou thinks that from Kirishima’s point of view everyone must seem “super friendly”, especially if he was okay spending time with him. Bakugou still sets his face in a scowl as he follows Kirishima inside, welcoming the warmth of the nearby fireplace. He would’ve managed sleeping outside, but the nights were getting increasingly colder these days and there was only so much his fur coat could do.
Kirishima swiftly makes his way across the room, greeting other patrons as he walked by. Bakugou was right, he really seemed to be friends with everyone in town. They sat an empty table and Kirishima waved the owner over for foods and drink. She was a plump woman, middle age, and full of smiles. Bakugou was beginning maybe he’d gotten the wrong town and this was actually the happiest place on earth, and not a town terrorized by a dragon- but he knew his intel was right and something was in the surrounding woods.
“Kirishima! It had been a while! What can I get for you and our friend today?” The owner said as she walked over with a tray and dropped two mugs on their tables. They seemed to be filled to the brim with warm cider. Kirishima immediately took his with a thanks and smile, but Bakugo had other priorities.
“I want to know everything you know about the dragon living in the forest.” He said without missing a beat and looking dead in the woman’s eyes.
Kirishima chokes on his drink as the woman stare at him with wide eyes.
“A...dragon you say..?” Her eyes dart over to Kirishima, then back to Bakugou.
“Yeah! My friend Bakugou here is a dragon hunter! He says he’s here to slay the beast in the woods! Isn’t it great!” Kirishima perks in, voice hitched. Bakugou doesn’t know why he suddenly sounds like that, but he’s more outraged by the fact that Kirishima called him his friend after only a few hours. He turned back to the woman, who’s back to starring at Kirishima. It takes her a moment to snap out of it and turn back to Bakugou.
“I-I’m afraid I haven’t seen it before, if there’s anything out there it doesn’t come anywhere near the town, so I’m afraid I can’t help you...”
Bakugou tsked. Useless bunch, all that for collecting leads and “getting to know the people he’s helping”. If only he could just find and slay the dragon without having to talk to anyone...
“Whatever, this is useless, I’ll just have whatever meat you’re serving.” The lady gave him a look, Bakugou frowned. “...Please.” He heard Kirishima order the same thing, and after a meal he had to admit was delicious, he was ready to head out.
“You’ll see, the rooms here aren’t big but the beds are very comfortable!” Kirishima claimed as he dragged Bakugou up the stairs. The second floor was basically just a long hallway with rooms on each sides for the guests, with the owner’s room further down the hall. Since Kirishima was friends with the owner, she had claimed they could stay for free and have their pick, and so Kirishima was dragging them to the furthest ones on the right. When Bakugou walked in his room, he was greeted by a small room with a low bd in one corner, and a big window facing the door. There’s a small fireplace for heating, and a bedside table. It’s not luxurious, but better than what Bakugou was used to these days. Too bad he had to go hunting instead of crashing. He swiped a last look across the room and started to head out again. He was nearly done locking his door when the door adjacent to his was thrown open, Kirishima staring at him with wide eyes.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“What do you think? Hunting. The sooner the better.” Bakugou replied with a scowl.
Kirishima stared at him for a minute, “You gotta be kidding, night’ already fallen!”
“Yeah well, it’s the best time to hunt dragons.”
“I-I got you a room you are resting! You don’t know these woods like I do, they’re pretty big and you can get lost easily if you don’t know the way!” Kirishima said in a hurry. “Here’s a deal- you rest for the night, and first thing in the morning tomorrow we go do reconnaissance work together, how does that sound?”
Bakugou really wanted to say no, but he had been travelling for a few days and...“What do you mean together?”
“Well you need a guide right? No one knows the woods as well as I do, and I’ve never hunted for a dragon it sounds exciting! Anyway, it’s never hurt the village, I’m sure one night of rest won’t change that!” And with that, Bakugou really couldn’t find a good reason to deny. It’s true the town didn’t seem to be in immediate danger, and that he’d fight better if he was well rested. If this idiot could jump him, he was definitely not in his best shape to fight a dragon tonight. He glared at Kirishima a bit longer, who was still starring at him with hopeful eyes, and finally gave in.
“...Fine, but we leave at dawn. I hope you’re the morning type because I won’t wait for you.” And he tried to ignore the way Kirishima’s eyes lit up at the words as he went back in his room and dropped his sword and bag on the ground, finally making his way to the bed and crashing on it. He fell asleep not long after, thinking about how maybe this job wouldn’t be too bad after all.