It was dark.
It was damp.
And it was cold.
Very. Cold.
You shivered and breathed onto your hands, rubbing them together to try and create more warmth. Kirishimas teeth chattered as he pulled up his scarf to cover his jaw, trying to ignore the cold. The hall was quiet, with only the sounds of your footsteps, shaking breath, and chilling wind that blew past you. All three of your footsteps echoed along the thin hall, drumming in your ears that began to sting with pain from the cold. You turned around to check on Bakugou, who was walking behind you, and opened your mouth slightly to speak.
"H-Hey Bakugou, are you-"
Before you could finish asking, the blonde sneezed right in your face, making you turn back around with a disgusted face, wiping the gross remnant off your face.
"Nevermind."
Kirishimas walking began to slow, and eventually came to a halt, making you stop right behind him.
"Is everything alright Kirishima?"
Bakugou bumped into you, causing you to stumble forward and bump into the red head, who chuckled slightly. His laugh was clearly to hide any distress, but it was easily noticeable how strained and fake it was.
"Oh! Yeah, everything is fine! It's just, we don't take very kindly to the cold, and I'm not sure how much longer this path is..."
You bit your cheek and hummed irritably, trying to think of something you could do. Kirishima began to walk forward again, his arms forming goosebumps before you stopped him.
"Wait, Kirishima!"
Your mind screamed for you to stop, but you didn't hesitate in taking off your cloak, tossing it over to the dragon boy. His eyes widened and he shook his head, extending his arm to hand the thick material back.
"No way (F/N). I'm not taking this from you-"
"You don't have a choice, Kirishima, I don't want it."
You put one hand on your hip and tapped your foot, backing up as Kirishima tried to push the cloak onto you once more. You dodged to the right, and then to the left, giggling as Kirishima sighed and hung his head, slowly putting on the gift you had offered him.
"This is ridiculous, (F/N)(L/N)."
"No, this is hilarious."
The red head threw up the large hood and glared over at you, angry that you had used his own words against him. You hummed and brushed up against him before continuing down the hall, descending another small set of stone stairs.
"I'm from Egaby anyways, we get a terrible winter every few years, I've seen about three in my life now."
Kirishima jogged to catch up to you, keeping the cloak wrapped tightly around him as Bakugou sneezed again, groaning to himself.
"Every few years?"
"Yeah! And I've gone hunting in those times, sometimes wearing clothes even less warm than this."
You brushed off your pant leg and held out the bottom hem of your shirt, feeling the warm fur lining underneath. Deep down, you were in fact freezing, and you wanted that cloak back badly, but Kirishima has done so much for you in the time that you've known him, this was only one small step in repaying him. The red head chuckled again, this time much more genuine sounding.
"That sounds awful if you ask me."
"I didn't say it wasn't!"
You laughed back with him and the two of you continued to try and converse, hoping to ignore the cold with conversation. Eventually Bakugou shouted out and hit the wall, yelling over to Kirishima.
"өЇ, ЅӉЇttҰ ӉДЇЯ! ӉөѠ ӍҴҪӉ ҒҴЯtӉЄЯ? Ї'Ӎ ҒҴҪҜЇҋԌ ҒЯЄЄѯЇҋԌ tө ԀЄДtӉ!"
Kirishima tilted his head back, looking over at the blonde as he slowed his pace.
"Ї'Ӎ ҋөt ЅҴЯЄ БДҜҴԌөҴ, Ї Ԁөҋ't ЄѴЄҋ ЯЄДℓℓҰ ҜҋөѠ ѠӉДt tЇӍЄ Їt ЇЅ-"
"ѠЄℓℓ ԌЯЄДt! ѠЄ ЅӉөҴℓԀ'ѴЄ ЈҴЅt ℓЄҒt tӉЯөҴԌӉ tӉЄ ҪЇtҰ ℓЇҜЄ Ї ѠДҋtЄԀ tө. Ї'Ӎ ԌөЇҋԌ БДҪҜ tӉЄ ѠДҰ ѠЄ ҪДӍЄ."
The blonde turned around and went to walk up the small set of stairs you had just walked down, and Kirishima rolled his eyes, rubbing his forehead while trying to explain, again, why they couldn't go back. Bakugou ignored him and reached the top of the stairs, stopping as his foot staggered. Kirishimas eyes widened and he raced over to Bakugou, catching the boy before he could fall forward. Your heart stopped and you ran over as well, looming over Kirishima and trying to look at Bakugou.
"K-Kirishima is he okay?!"
"Yeah, I think so-"
Kirishima brushed the blonde bangs out from Bakugous face and pulled him closer, breathing onto his hand before holding it up against his forehead.
"The cold is just getting to him, we need to rest, or find something along here, maybe start a fire?"
You quickly stood up and looked around; the hall was thin and cobble, there has been no doors; no alcoves. Only the small torches placed along the walls would be useful at this point. You pulled your bag off of your back and fumbled around, looking for anything that could help, then your eyes lit up. There was an alcoholic solution in the medical supplies you had bought from Recovery Girl beforehand, and you reeled it out of your bag, tossing it in your pocket. Looking around, you leaned up against the stone wall, reaching for a nearby torch. They were placed higher than you had expected, but luckily parts of the wall were crumbling, and you used the small divots to boost yourself up.
One torch, two torches, three. You kept going further and further until you had collected a large bouquet of wood and flame. Sighing, you stared at the fire, taking in its slight warmth and feeling the cold leave your face. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you spotted something, and you raised an eyebrow.
A door?
"Hey, Kirishima, bring Bakugou down here!"
You called out to the red head and moved forward, reaching for the metal handle. The door was aged, but the hinges and metal plating still kept up; they looked like they were the only parts that had been refurbished. A small window with cell bars adorning it near the top of the door let the cold air blow past you, but again, you didn't hesitate. You couldn't hesitate. If it was a small room, it would make the fire not only last longer, but retain the heat as well, and anything to help at this point was welcomed.
Kirishima came down along the hall, carrying Bakugou on his back. He craned his neck to see what you had found, and shouted before you could move any further.
"Oi, (F/N)! Maybe, I should go first. You don't know what's on the other side."
"You've got Bakugou, Kirishima. And you're right there, I'll be fine."
You turned the door handle and let the door swing open, the cold wind from the hall blowing past you and almost pushing you into the room. Your (H/C) hair flew into your face and you clawed to get it out of your field of vision. The room was dark; you couldn't see the other walls, but it still seemed small. Taking another couple steps inside, you exhaled slowly, your nerves almost disappearing. Kirishima followed quickly behind, the exhausted Bakugou breathing weakly on his back.
"Їt'ℓℓ БЄ өҜДҰ, БДҜҴԌөҴ, ѠЄ'ЯЄ ԌөЇҋԌ tө ЯЄЅt ӉЄЯЄ ҒөЯ Д БЇt, өҜДҰ?"
You nodded at Kirishima and threw the torches onto the stone floor. Some of the flames had already began to go out, but you stepped closer and pulled out the bottle of alcoholic solution.
"Please...don't blow up in my face."
You popped open the bottle and threw the liquid into the pile of torches, backing up and covering your face as the flames erupted into a bonfire. The heat his your body like a brick and you instantly felt the warmth rising inside you, the numbness of the cold leaving your ears and fingertips. Kirishima quickly kneeled down and adjusted Bakugou to lean against one wall of the room, the light dancing on the blondes face.
You moved closer and kneeled down next to him, mimicking Kirishima and brushing his bangs out from his face, palming his cheek with a worried expression.
"Does he always get like this in the cold?"
Kirishima stood up and took off the cloak you gave him, carefully laying it over Bakugou like a blanket, shaking his head.
"Sometimes, yes, but it's never this fast. It's probably all the stress of this journey as well, plus he's never been this far south for this long."
Really? Like you had said earlier, you had seen some terrible winters in your lifetime, but your people were used to it; you were never unprepared or oblivious to how cold it could really get. Bakugou panted slightly, a chill running up his arms and across his skin as you brushed his cheek with your thumb. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the flames beginning to simmer, the light dimming as the cold took over the room. You quickly stood up and pointed over to the door with your thumb, pulling out the alcoholic solution with your other hand and lightly dumping some more onto the bonfire.
"I'm going to go grab some more torches, we want that fire to last as long as possible."
Kirishima stayed kneeled beside Bakugou for a moment, before sighing and rising to his feet. He moved forward, quickly to catch up to you and pulled you back by the collar of your jacket, tugging you away from the door.
"No, you stay behind and watch Bakugou. I'll go get more."
"Kirishima I can handle the cold better than you right now-"
"You can also handle Bakugou a lot better than me sometimes. Besides, I saw you struggling to reach some of them earlier, let a man handle this."
The red head bent over slightly to reach your eye level, and even though it was a very small height difference, you still frowned and punched his shoulder weakly. He rubbed his arm, pretending to be incredibly hurt as you stuck your tongue out and waved him off.
"Fine, but you better bring back double what I brought. No, triple!"
"You got it (F/N). I'll be back shortly."
Kirishima bowed with an elegance to that of royalty, making your lips purse and your eyes roll. Once he stepped out of the room, closing the wooden door behind him, you turned back around, looking at the boy sitting by the wall. Bakugou was leaning slightly, his cheeks pink and his nose dripping slightly from the cold. The tips of his ears were reddening and his eyes, while shut, looked pained; vulnerable.
Your heart hurt for a moment, and you felt useless once again. What else could you do? You had already done what you could, thinking outside the box, using what you had and what was available in your surroundings. Any hunter would know how to survive in an unpredictable situation, but now your mind was coming up blank. You didn't know how much longer the hall went on, how much colder it would get; you don't even know how much longer you could keep the fire going. With all these self doubting thoughts running through your head, you made your way back over to the blonde, taking off your jacket and setting it overtop of the cloak. Your shirt was thick and, luckily, longsleeved. Thank goodness you weren't wearing that dress anymore.
Thinking about it, you opened the biggest pocket of your bag and pulled out the dress, feeling the material with a concentrated look. It was soft, but anything helped at this point. You laid it under the jacket, creating another layer of warmth on top of Bakugou, and you sighed. Okay, now what? You glanced over and bit your cheek, staring at the fire. In the heat of the moment, you just threw the pile of sticks into the center of the room, but now looking at how far away it really was, you regretted not placing it more strategically.
Inhaling sharply, you moved to the other side of the weakening bonfire and used your feet to nudge the pile closer and closer to Bakugou. Every once in a while, a flame would rise up to lick the skin on your hands, making you flinch and back away for a moment. After a few muffled whimpers and a slight burn forming, you successfully pushed the fire closer to the boy, the heat hitting him Kore intensely.
Now the flames were really dancing on his face, and you stared at it as you made your way back over to him. You kneeled down with a worried expression, checking your own hands temperature before pressing it against his forehead. He was definitely warming up, and you sighed with relief. You drowned out the crackling of the fire to listen for Kirishima, but nothing crossed your ears, and you sighed more deeply, leaning up against the same wall. Would you three ever catch a break?
You shivered and shook off the cold, pouting in thought as you looked down slightly at the blanketing material. Shaking your head, you curled your knees up to your chest and hugged them, not giving your teeth the chance to chatter. No way. Another gust of wind as the fire fanned to the side and you let your pride fly away with it, scooting closer and letting yourself slide in under the cloak next to Bakugou.
Under the protection of the cloak and other items, you felt Bakugous skin and you tensed up. His face felt warm but his body was still freezing. Were the blankets not helping? You instantly and unconsciously hugged his arm, hoping your own body heat could help in any way. You saw his eye twitch for a moment, his breath finally slowing down. Finally. A soft pink hue began to grow in your face as your hand slid down his arm, gently taking his hand and interlocking your fingers. You sighed a breath of relief when your felt his hand weakly squeeze yours back, an action he usually did during stressful situations.
"You're going to be okay, Bakugou. I know you will."
You rested your head on his shoulder and rubbed your thumb on his bicep with your other hand comfortingly. Only the Gods knew how, but Recovery Girls medicine was working; you were able to move your fingers a tiny bit now without pain.
"I...I'm sorry, about all this."
What were you saying? Earlier Bakugou had vented his feelings out to you, and even though you had no idea what he had said, it seemed to make him feel better. Maybe you were just trying to do the same.
"You know, it's hard, to continue traveling with you. I don't even really know why I decided to keep going with you. Maybe it was in the heat of the moment, with Deku and everyone telling me what I should do. Maybe, maybe it was because you had saved me from those people before too.."
Your eyes stared at the fire, the flames crackling as they continued to shrink as your meetings with the other group paraded through your head.
"Talking to you helps no one, and Kirishima gave me no useful information, but you two seem to be the only ones who know what you're plan is. That's hard. That's so hard to deal with."
Normally, you would've gotten emotional, trying to go over everything while talking about how you were feeling at the same time. However, the quiet and cool atmosphere kept you calm. Maybe it was because you were freezing and your body didn't want to waste energy, or maybe it was because Bakugou was too weak and too tired to interrupt you.
"Why can't I know what your plan is? What are you, or, were you, planning? Kirishima said you had changed the plan, but what did you plan at first?"
Did you need to ask? Your heart feels like it already knew what the plan was. Confirmation was more what you were looking for, and all you really wanted was for your idea to be proven wrong.
"Did you think I would be 'the one' for the prophecy? Why? We had just met, and Mina said you'd need someone that loved you. I know I'm not the smartest, but Gods, even I know that that is a ridiculous idea."
You smiled slightly when Bakugou squeezed your hand again, looking up and seeing his eyebrows furrowing. He was trying so hard to respond, but he couldn't, and that probably only made him furious. You hugged his arm tighter and sighed, beating lightly against his skin.
"Why did you think that I'd just, fall in love with you after first meeting you?"
"Because you're an Egabian, of course."
You yelped and clung to Bakugou for a moment, looking over towards the darkness of the room. Someone...
Someone was in there with you?!
You squinted as your breathing grew heavier, swallowing your fear and calling out to the other side of the room.
"Wh-Who's there? Show yourself!"
A quiet laughter came from the shadows as a man stepped out, holding his hands up defensively. He was tall and thin, with light blue hair covered by a cloaks hood. His skin looked pale and cracked, as if he hadn't seen the sun in eons. He kept his eyes closed as he smiled childishly at you, waving his hands slightly.
"Please girl, don't be afraid of me, I didn't mean to startle you."
You stood up and hovered in front of Bakugou; only the small bonfire separating you from the stranger moving across the room. He stepped closer and put his hands to the fire, as of he were cold and wanted the heat from the flames. You watched him carefully, your eyes narrowing as he chuckled again.
"I'm so sorry, where are my manners. My name's Tomura, it's nice to meet you..."
He trailed off as he wove his hand, motioning for you to speak your name and finish his sentence.
"(F/N)."
"(F/N)! What a lovely name."
Tomura smiled and let his hands go back under his cloak and away from the fire. Then his hand snaked it's way up to his neck, scratching at it roughly. You felt a chill run up your spine as you saw his fingernails digging into his skin, leaving dark red marks on the already scarred and cracked area. He continued to stare over at you, not blinking or moving his gaze to anything else.
"Earlier, you asked why that boy thought you'd be so easy to seduce."
Color rose in your face, both from anger and embarrassment. You couldn't believe someone had been listening in to all that. Your hands balled into fists and you lowered your head, also not taking your eyes off of the man in front of you.
"You said 'it's because I'm Egabian', didn't you."
"I did, and I'm right."
Tomura began to circle the fire, trying to step closer to your side. You backed off, mimicking his movements and circling the fire as well, until you were on the opposite side of the room.
"What does that mean? How could you tell I was-"
"Your clothes. Your accent. Even the way you move; it's all resemblance to Egabian culture."
Culture? Sure, you were a small village, but you weren't different than any of the other southern villages. You couldn't have been. Right? The man continued to follow you, and got closer as you slowed down, growing distracted by the thoughts running in your head, and he smiled.
"This young boy knows how naive Egabians can be. I think the moment he met you, he thought 'she'd be perfect!' huh?"
The strange man waved his hands, gesticulating a pretended excitement. He looks older, but he acts so childishly. You sighed and looked down at your clothes for a moment, confused and questioning.
"I'm...naive?"
Your voice sounded pained, and you felt pained too. Once again, some stranger was giving you a harsh, but seriously needed, reality check. You never thought you'd hear the things you've heard in the last few days, and it racked your brain, making you question your life and your hometown.
"You are. Ahh, but there's nothing wrong with naivety, clearly this boy likes it."
When he spoke again, he was behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders and motioning to the still sitting Bakugou. You were snapped back to reality, and you flinched, wanting to step away from the man, but couldn't. Tomura squeezed your shoulders, digging his fingernails into the material of your shirt, and you held back a quiet whimper of pain.
"He thinks he owns you, you know? He's from Mirag, and they're not a peaceful people."
Your eyes widened and your arms began to tremble, fists shaking at this point. The man leaned his head on his hand as it rested on your shoulder, looking over at you from the side.
"Have you heard about the country of Mirag? They're all barbarians, nothing but monsters. Slave traders, pillagers, they've taken down entire cities just for fun. The tapestries in this castle don't show a war between the people of Okomoto and the League of Villains; they show a war between peaceful people and the Mirag."
"You're wrong."
The man blinked and cracked an even wider smile, but his eye twitched setting off the friendly and passive aggressive aura he already had. You thought back to the conversation you had with Mina and the others, her broken accent and her pained expression as she spoke about her people.
"The Mirag are...a different group of people. They're strict, and, traditional."
"Traditional?"
"SӉe ӍeanЅ tӉeҰ Ԁөn't ℓЇҜe ҏeөҏℓe tӉat Ԁөn't ℓөөҜ ℓЇҜe tӉeӍ."
You grit your teeth and turned your head to avoid the mans gaze, but kept your eyes on the blonde leaning against the wall.
"They may be different, and they may be barbaric, but he is different."
The thoughts of Bakugous people being the enemy were swept away by the time you had spent with him. The way he you hold onto you in stressful situations, constantly checking on you to see if you were ever hurt. How he had saved you from those criminals days before, and that time, that felt like forever ago, the way he looked at you when he used the word sunset. Even if it was ridiculous, you knew what he had meant back then.
"Bakugou isn't a bad person, I know he isn't, and I know that you're wrong."
You were about to rip yourself from Tomuras grasp, but before you could, he laughed and tightened his grip on you once more, his arm snaking around your neck. You panicked and instinctively grabbed onto his arm to pull it away, but he had already wrapped his fingers around your neck, playfully tapping at your skin.
"That's a very kind way to look at him, (F/N). I feel bad, almost worried for you!"
His fingers tightened and squeezed at your throat, menacingly but not enough to restrict your breathing. He sighed and bumped his head against yours playfully removing his other hand from your shoulder and bringing it up to your jaw, gripping it and turning your head to look over at him.
"I wish you were smarter than that, to believe so highly in him, but I guess I shouldn't expect much from an Egabian."
"Fuck...You.."
He let go and you stumbled forward, quickly backing up and turning to face him. You positioned yourself into a defensive stance and narrowed your eyes, glaring the blue haired man down as he began scratching his neck again. You saw a thin trail of blood leaving the raw skin he was wrecking, but you didn't let it distract you.
"You're right, I am an Egabian. I'm a hunter. I'm strong, and...and persistent, and skilled. I may not be seen as smart, but I sure as hell know I can kick your ass."
You should have felt afraid; this was the first time that you knew your threats weren't empty. You could kill animals, easily, but you never enjoyed fighting humans, let alone possibly fighting to the death. Although, standing in the dimly lit room, ready to reach for the knife in your boot, while staring down the blue haired man in front of you, you felt confident. The stranger shrugged and sighed, clicking his tongue.
"You say that, (F/N), but sadly, I don't think you know who your dealing with."
He leaned his body back, almost about to shrug off his cloak, before he froze. The distant sound of footsteps began to echo closer, and he chuckled slightly, hunching back over.
"But now's not the time for this. We can settle this later-"
The fire grew smaller and he slowly stepped backwards into the shadows again, giving you a sinister smile, his red eyes shining in the dark.
"-if you're still alive, that is."
As soon as he finished his sentence, the door swung open and Kirishima staggered in, trying to hold a large stack of over fifteen lit torches. He laughed to himself and called out to you for help, not realizing you were still staring at the other end of the room.
"He-Hey (F/N), I know taking care of Bakugou can be hard work, but do you think you could help-"
"Kirishima. A torch."
The red head shut the door behind him with foot, raising an eyebrow at you.
"What?"
"A torch. Now."
His face fell at the tone in your voice, and he quickly fumbled to grab one torch, calling out to you again as he tossed it through the air. You caught it, unmoving as you squinted into the darkness. Kirishima was about to ask you what was wrong, but he stopped when you recoiled back and threw the torch across the room, glaring forward as it cracked against the opposite wall.
No one was there.
The rest of the room lit up when the torch fell, and you were able to see every inch. It was a lot smaller than it felt, but even so, there was no way anyone could stay hidden. Your (E/C) eye twitched in confusion as Kirishima slowly set the bouquet of torches he had onto the shrinking pile.
"Was there...a reason, for wasting that torch?"
You tapped your foot a few times, thinking about any possible way the stranger could have left, and ignored Kirishima. You made your way over to the torch you had thrown, picking it up and wrapping your fingers around the wood tightly. Where did he go? Was there a secret door? You put the torch up to the wall, running your knuckles gently along the smooth stone wall. It all felt the same, and your hypothesis fell apart. How then? With a sigh, you turned back to Kirishima and Bakugou, hearing his breath lightly under the sound of the crackling fire.
"(F/N), is everything alright?"
"Yeah...just paranoid, I guess."
You made your way back over to the blonde, kneeling down and falling back onto your butt, sitting cross legged adjacent to him. Kirishima stoked the fire a bit before sitting across from you, the light dancing on his skin.
"When do you think he'll be back to normal?"
The Red head hummed and leaned down, holding his head up with his hand. His eyes scanned over Bakugou before closing them, inhaling deeply. Was he doing that thing again? You watched closely, slowly leaning in before Kirishima sneezed in your direction, making you quickly lean back.
"I think it's just a simple cold. Bakugou should be fine; he just needs to rest."
You hummed back and looked over at the fire, smiling at how big it had gotten, but the smile faded when the light danced on the opposite wall, remembering how strange it was that the man, Tomura, had just disappeared. Speaking of Tomura...
"Hey, Kirishima."
"Yeah, (F/N)?"
You hesitated for a moment, before looking back at Bakugou, not wanting to make eye contact with Kirishima.
"Do you...think I'm naive?"
"Eh? Well sure, kind of-"
You whipped your head up and glared at him as he rubbed the back of his neck, pulling his scarf over his mouth in embarrassment.
"Well, what I mean to say is, of course there's a sort of innocence with you, you're from a small village, and you said you've never left it. People like that are usually naive to a lot of things, but that's not necessarily bad, aye?"
You knew that that was what you were going to hear, but your heart had wanted him to say otherwise regardless. Pouting, you leaned over lazily and cupped Bakugous cheek in your hand, checking his temperature and brushing his skin with your thumb soothingly.
"Is it because I have never left my hometown, or is it because I'm from Egaby."
Kirishima raised his eyebrow at you again, leaning over to try and meet your gaze.
"Hey, come on (F/N). I don't fully know what the King told you, but you shouldn't feel bad for where you come from. Me and Bakugou don't, and I bet you Midoriya and Kaminari and all the others you had met would agree with me."
Listen to him. You should. You wanted to; you wanted to thank Kirishima and accept his advice, but the nagging feeling still tug at the back of your head. Tomuras unsettling words and stories began to form a headache on your temples. Bakugou was still out cold, his quiet breaths and mumbling, inaudible words showed you that he would be fine, but you wanted to know how he felt. You should trust these boys, you shouldn't even begin to think that Tomura has a chance of being right...
"Hey Kirishima?"
"Yes?"
You inhaled deeply, blurting out the request you should've asked for weeks ago.
"Teach me how to talk to Bakugou."