Part 2
The following morning was not a pleasant experience. Upon waking up, Bakugou could only describe the feeling that had taken him over as unmotivating. His body and even a small part of his mind telling him it was not worth it to move or get up.
Things would be best if he admitted defeat to this island and the sickness it was giving him and instead sleep the day away. Too bad for Soul Enclave and God's magic that they were dealing with a contender for the most stubborn mortal to ever exist.
And thus, Bakugou wasted no time to drag himself out of the small tree area. You were still sleeping peacefully. And seeing as he really wasn't in any sort of mood to talk or even deal with anything aside from his own needs at this moment, he decided to let you sleep for a while longer.
At least until he could catch some more fish, prepare and then cook it. Maybe if he woke himself up and filled up his growling stomach he'd be in a more decent mood. But then again... with you slowly reverting back to whatever people in this shit world thought of you... it was only a matter of time until you annoyed him to death again.
The morning went by quickly, and soon enough he had finished what he sought out to do and was placing the two fish onto a plate for them each. The male sighed, turning a gaze to where you were still sleeping.
"Hey, shitty Goddess! I made you something to eat, so get your ass out here before I eat your helping!" He hollered, biting harshly into his own fish.
He ate eagerly for a few moments, not hearing any signs of movement coming from the hollow tree. Raising a brow, he finished off his breakfast and wiped the remaining fishy residue on his pants before picking himself up and coming closer to where you were.
Bakugou pushed aside the flap, peering down at you. Your form having been unmoving since he left. He rolled his eyes, nudging you harshly with his foot against your side as his voice returned at full volume.
"Hey! Wake the fuck up! I made your food, so be damn grateful and get up to fucking eat it!"
Once more... you made no move to wake up. In fact... you didn't even react to the harsh volume of his voice. You were still... not even having your chest rising or falling with steady breaths. The realization of this making Bakugou suck in a harsh breath.
He knelt down next to you, shaking you harshly. "Hey! Come on and wake up! This isn't fucking funny!"
Still no response. In fact, it seemed more as if you were...
He shook his head, knowing that the equivalent to you being dead or acting like a corpse would mean it was nearly time for you to be erased completely. But, even so, the Tineenian prince had given you his word to make sure nothing bad happened to you.
And now it appeared he'd have to make good on his word. And by making good on it... he'd need to find some way to wake you up. A task that he wasn't prepared for, but then again, it's not like he was going to give up.
Despite how much his body ached and his mind told him to forget about it and accept the fate that seemed to be growing closer... he was too stubborn to lose. Not when the effects of him giving up would be the possible annihilation of every living thing in his world.
There was too much at stake... and currently, he was the world's only link between life and death. How ironic, given that it was you he was dealing with.
"Shit..." He growled, trying to not let the panic set in.
He had to think about this rationally, find something that would make sense. If this island was supposed to be where you came and went between the worlds... then there had to be something here that would get you to wake up again.
He breathed in heavily, thinking of at least one place that might be able to help. His hands moving to grab his and your things and quickly putting them over his shoulders on either side. Then he motioned you up against the inner wall of the tree.
It was a struggle, be eventually he managed to get you on his back. Your head resting against his shoulder, but with no light puffs of air hitting his exposed skin, he knew that things were as he assumed.
The ash blonde male moved once more, tugging his crimson red cloak off of the small hideout. The fabric extending as he swung it around and covered both of your backsides with it. The warmth of the fur brushed against his neck, and with a side glance, he could see the Kamui fur was covering nearly all of you. Only the top of your head not buried in the white fluff.
He started trudging back through the forest at a quick pace after, his heart beating quickly. He didn't know where he was... but this wasn't the first time he had been lost in the woods. In fact, in all his years he had picked up enough skills to know how to always find his way out of these situations.
Tineen might have been changing during his life... but the principles of hunting and getting to know the land was something he had drilled into his head at an early age. His mother teaching him how to properly use his cutlass, his father taking him on that journey to see the world outside of his closed-off homeland... Bakugou knew how to survive, and he would make sure you lived to see your own home again soon.
His feet were quick and agile, no branch or drop in the nonexistent path ever able to trip him or mess him up. His thoughts were focused on you, but strangely enough... so was his heart. He wasn't sure why, but it suddenly your safety and well being was his brightest concern.
Not that he might die here. Not that every living being might perish if you faded. Not that he was once more having to go out of his way for you. But because he was slowly starting to see the relationship that had formed between the both of you. And while he still could not place what exactly your relationship was... he knew that it wasn't as enemies. It was something more profound, and something that still needed his consideration.
The male paused, spotting that familiar trail that led up to that mystical cavern you had taken him to the day before. There. That was his best guess of getting you to wake up, or at least stop the increasing fading that had occurred over the night.
Before he could even jump onto the slightly worn trail though, his ears picked up on the sounds of something coming closer to him. The unmistakable sounds of the unnatural moving of the brush near him. His grip on you tightening as his other hand moved to lightly ghost over his blade.
With a cry of anger, the male extended his blade and turned with a force towards whatever was approaching him. His blade striking and creating sparks as whatever he had hit seemed to have its defensives up as well. His own mark glowing showing its readiness to strike with some firepower if its master decided upon it.
But as Bakugou's eyes looked onto whatever he had heard, he saw that this mysterious being had a mark of its own. A faint red glow coming from his shoulder and his arms crossed to protect himself from the strike. The skin hardened like rocks, a few scattered scales also appearing on his skin. As his arms uncrossed, the sight of red reptile like eyes and hair of the same hue met the prince's own.
"Bakugou! What the heck?!" Kirishima wailed, his dragon features starting to disappear as his own mark dulled.
"Kiri...shima?" Bakugou blinked, having not expected the dragon to show up. But a moment though, it appeared the shock crossed. "What the fuck, shitty hair? Next time don't fucking come out of nowhere!"
Kirishima sighed, opening his mouth to speak again when he noticed his rider and the Goddess on his back. His eyes widening more, the half-dragon seeming to realize that something was wrong.
"Bakugou... you don't look good. And (Name)... what's wrong with her?"
Bakugou rose a brow, quickly remembering what he had been doing before his nosy dragon had shown back up. With a clicking of his tongue, he turned back to the path in front of him and sprinted upwards.
"Keep up and maybe I'll tell ya!" He hollered, hearing the sounds of the other male following after him.
Bakugou huffed though, his body starting to feel exhausted as he tried to continue to move. His eyes heavy and his mind finding it hard to focus on his task. Kirishima had noticed right away how bad this place was... and it was from looking at him. How bad did he look?
Bakugou paused outside the small opening, realizing now that he would not be able go in with you on his back. It was way too small, seeing as he already was struggling to get in himself. Kirishima appeared next to him a moment later, pushing his rider aside and squeezing in himself.
Kirishima's rough hand poking out as he waved for his rider to softly pass the ailing Goddess to him. Bakugou cooperated, and by some miracle, the pair had managed to get you inside the cave. Bakugou led the way, feeling Kirishima's worried to be careful as they walked.
"How'd you even get here, scales for brains?" Bakugou growled out, his sick feeling making him more irritated than usual.
"Todoroki found Kaminari and I... said something about (Name) starting to fade and you on some island that could kill you if we didn't hurry. They went after the missing four people... but I wasn't going to wait. I came here as soon as Todoroki told me how to find this place.
I knew something was wrong... I can't explain it, but our bond as rider and dragon felt weaker... like you were fading too."
Bakugou's ears perked up slightly, his red eyes glancing behind him to see Kirishima. The redhead seemed to hold a lot of emotions at this moment, the leading of them all being worry. Bakugou scoffed, turning his head back as he saw the small pool of water and the marks stones come into view.
"So you decided to subject yourself to this place then huh?" He scolded the other male, and stopped, having arrived at his destination.
"Well... I wanted to make sure you were okay." Kirishima sighed. "We've never done anything separated from each other after I agreed to be your dragon. And well... even you helping a Goddess get home isn't going to deter me from helping my best bud!"
Bakugou sighed, shaking his head and moving you now. Kirishima watched, having wondered why the male had taken you back from him after entering the cave. The answer came rather quickly though and Bakugou wasted no time in dropping you into the pool of crystal clear water.
"DUDE!" Kirishima screamed, seeing as his prince might have resorted to drowning you.
The half-dragon came forward, fearing this place was messing with Bakugou's mental sanity as well and not just his physical abilities. He had seen how tired his usually strong and well-trained rider was when he tried to dash up that small hill.
Kirishima paused though when he observed how your eyelids twitched as if you were having an unpleasant dream. He relaxed, knowing he should have trusted his rider more... he had clearly figured out that the water was good for you after all.
Hesitantly, Kirishima reached down himself towards the pool. Bakugou too busy pulling you out and laying you against a wall to notice as his dragon did so. And he only managed to lift up and react as Kirishima plunged one of his fingers into the dazzling liquid.
"Don't-" Bakugou called too late.
Kirishima let out a hollowed and painful gasp as he drew his finger back. His skin looking to have been practically burned. The water the dripped from his finger created a similar reaction as it trailed down his finger. The half-dragon wiped the water away on his pants, eyes scrunched together from the pain.
"The hell...?" Kirishima groaned, seeing how despite the burning feeling, his skin didn't look injured at all.
"This entire place is a damn death trap for mortals!" Bakugou shouted. "So why the hell would you dip your finger into what might be the God's equivalent to water!"
Kirishima laughed through the pain, ready to apologize back when his word got stuck in his throat. He wasn't sure what had occurred in the last few days... but as his own cherry hues fell on the way another pair of crimson hues looked towards the sleeping Goddess... he could see how something had changed.
Bakugou tore his cloak off from his shoulders once more, draping the fabric over your now wet frame like a blanket. Kirishima's eyes widening as he did so, realizing that in all the time he had known Bakugou, sharing was never exactly his thing. But here he was, being considerate of someone else... and even being gentle.
Kirishima attempted to tell himself that it was his eyes playing tricks on him... but that look of emotion that had not been present before the war that had almost occurred, made him worried for his rider.
"The fuck are you staring at?" Bakugou's harsh tongue drew Kirishima away from his thoughts.
Kirishima shook his head, opening his mouth but closed it a moment later. How was he supposed to ask this... especially when the male he would be asking had the temper of well... a fire dragon. But, Kirishima couldn't help but feel nervous about what he was suspecting and had to ask his rider.
"Bakugou..." Kirishima started, looking away from the ash blonde and rubbing his arms slowly. "Todoroki though that they all would be back by late tonight or early tomorrow."
Bakugou nodded. "So we just need to keep her alive until then..."
"She'll be gone tomorrow. And we'll be going home by tomorrow." Kirishima's voice was stern suddenly, causing his rider to raise a brow.
"Why the fuck did you say it like that, shitty hair?" Bakugou clicked his tongue.
Kirishima didn't say anything for a moment, instead deciding it would be easier to simply turn his head back towards his injured finger. The burning sensation was gone, and his finger seeming to be back to normal for the most part.
Like he had just been messing around with something that was untouchable to him... something in him told him Bakugou was starting to mess around with something just as, if not more dangerous.
"Spit it out, Kirishima!" Bakugou called to him.
Like always, the ash blonde could read the people around him well. So well that it was hard to believe that someone like Bakugou was good at reading people especially because of his personality.
But Kirishima knew now... he had to say it. Because even someone as smart as Bakugou... could get lost in fantasies at times, and miss what the reality was.
"I'm worried about you man... it's kinda obvious that the both of you have gotten a lot closer in the time that I last saw you and now..." Kirishima muttered, rubbing his locks awkwardly.
"No shit... I finally got the answers I've been wanting out of her!" Bakugou growled, jutting his lip out in disgust. "I don't need you to fucking worry about me for stupid shit..."
Kirishima's lips dropped. He wasn't getting it... that much as clear. So it appeared the male would have to be blunt.
"Bakugou... I know you can take care of yourself. That's always been something I admired about you since we first met... but, I can't help but feel like I need to tell you to not go any deeper."
Bakugou raised a brow. "The fuck are you even talking about?"
Kirishima pointed towards you, your face calm, and luckily moving now. Bakugou followed the dragon's finger and then back at him with a strange gaze.
"Her? What about that shitty Goddess?"
"She has to go back home. We have to go back home." Kirishima stated, noticing how Bakugou's eyes seemed to widen.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you need to focus on what has to be done and not get caught up in her or her world! You are next in line to take over Tineen! And while I know you don't want to do it, falling in love with a Goddess is not going to make things better! If anything, you'll complain more about how boring things are!"
Bakugou's eyes narrowed, making Kirishima know that he had not just crossed the line, but jumped over it completely. And with a crackling coming from his hands, Bakugou let the anger in his heart out in the open.
"You think I'm blind? I fucking know I've started to catch feelings for this complicated and annoying and slightly untrustworthy Goddess! I hate myself for being like this and I know that this won't fucking work out. I know I'm screwed... but Goddamn it Kirishima!"
Bakugou's lips quivered, his explosions dying down as he instead held his shaking fists. His red eyes casting a glance over at you, and then back at himself before letting a long sigh escape his lips.
"Let me at least come to terms with it myself. I know she can't stay here and that I can't go with her. I hate these feelings that for whatever reason started to show up these last three days... but I have to deal with them myself."
He sighed once more, shaking his head and gritting his teeth. "And I need to end them myself too... because one way or another, this is all gonna end. And she'll be gone no matter what."