While Bakugou had reluctantly accepted Midoriya's invitation to join his little ragtag group of friends, the young man found it excruciatingly annoying to integrate himself with their overly sugar-coated ideals of friendship and unity. It was sickening. Within the dragon clan, unit hierarchy was based on strength and supremacy alone. Only the strong could corral the weak. He alone had won the right to lead the tribe at the forefront of the flock. The tribal necklaces which hung loosely around his neck were proof of his trials, and his subsequent victory upon every test. Now here he was, cozying up with imbeciles who flocked to some feeble potions seller for guidance. And while there was something about the green-haired youth which Bakugou could not yet pinpoint, it grated him in every way that he had chosen to put even a quarter of his trust in such a inept individual.
He tried to distance himself from his new companions as much as possible. For the first couple of nights, Bakugou refused to sleep in the tents and chose to sleep outdoors. He had developed a resistance to the chilly air due to his nomadic upbringing a long time ago, but Bakugou still chose to curl up with his dragon at night to chase the cold away. He would never admit this to anybody- not even to himself, but the unruly warrior was grateful to have a remnant of home so close to him. He needed to remember why he'd chosen to embark on this ridiculous journey: to save his tribe, and to kick some ass while he was at it.
It was around the fourth or fifth day when he first took notice.
The moon was full that particular night, emitting frosty white light onto the ground below. Dinner was a quiet affair, with everyone save for Bakugou retiring to their tents. He was staring boredly at the campfire, only to jerk upright when he heard the faint rustle of cloth. That was when the mousy-haired healer left her tent, only to steal into every other tent like a thief in the night. Each visit would only last ten minutes at most, but she wore a face lined with fatigue with every departure. After observing for a few more nights and ruminating on the matter, Bakugou brought up his suspicions after everyone began to eat. He jabbed an accusing finger at his offender's overly large hat.
"You. Round-Face."
"Eep! Yes, Bakugou?"
"You mating with everyone here?"
Midoriya and Uraraka promptly spat their portion of mushroom stew into the blazing campfire. The flustered mage was all but choking on her food, unable to regain her composure after such a crass statement. Todoroki glanced at his female companion, and got up to retrieve his canteen from his saddle. He wordlessly proffered the water to Uraraka as he pat her back. She accepted gratefully, taking a few careful sips as her throat cleared.
"I'd advise you to speak carefully," Iida warned ominously. He held his fork threateningly as if it was a sword. As a knight, he could not let go of such vulgar speech- especially if some barbarian was assuming that his dear friend was romping around like a wild woman in heat.
"Piss off with your chivalry," Bakugou growled back. "She's the one crawling into your tents at night." Asui ribbited in response, understanding the reasoning behind their new ally's assumption. Since he had just joined their group and barely knew much about them, it made sense that the he couldn't understand. And likewise, there were aspects of the warrior's history and character which they had yet to discover.
"Ochako is special, you see."
Bakugou's eyebrows knit tightly, crimson eyes fixed sharply on Uraraka's figure. Special? Where? If she was a lady of great status from a faraway land or a mage with extraordinary power, he could understand. But from what he'd seen, this plain, brown-haired village girl was only capable of handling recovery spells and basic elemental attacks. He was unimpressed.
"I-I wouldn't say special," Uraraka stammered, shrinking under Bakugou's unmoving gaze. "It's really not much at all. If anything, Midoriya is the special one. Plus, the way Iida and Todoroki fight-!" Her feeble attempt to direct the conversation elsewhere ended miserably when Bakugou rose from his place and strode right up to the overwhelmed healer, ignoring the startled eep which escaped from her lips. This woman was wasting her breath and his time.
"Hah? Spit it out already."
"Um, you're very close-! Could you maybe scootch a few inches back?"
"Knave! Did you not hear Uraraka speak? You're making her uncomfortable!"
"Iida, please calm down! Bakugou, you too."
"Butt out, Deku."
"It's Midoriya! Where did you even come up with such a ridiculous name?"
The bickering continued. Asui flashed her scarred friend a meaningful look. Todoroki sighed, placing his spoon down at last. There truly never was an ordinary, quiet night on this journey, though he supposed it beat the stifling banquets back at the castle. He regarded the feral-like warrior in silence before gesturing towards Uraraka.
"Fortuna."
"The fuck?"
"The special thing about Uraraka-san which you are so curious about. You are looking at the current vessel for the goddess of fortune. Asui-san, where is the ladle for the pot? I want to help myself to seconds if that's alright."
Todoroki's nonchalance amazed Uraraka ever time. Her eyes rested on the runaway prince's back, only to flick back to the newest member of the party. Bakugou whipped his head back to Uraraka, taking in her drab attire again even more incredulously than before. "Her?" The disbelief in his voice was so obvious that the young woman in question scowled at him, puffing up her lips exasperatedly.
"You don't need to say it like that..." She twisted the ends of her hair self-consciously. "But…yes. I am the current avatar of the goddess Fortuna. I know I really don't look the part."
"You sure as hell don't."
"Y-Yeah..."
Bakugou stepped back at last, much to Uraraka's relief. While he would not stop looking at her, the intensity to his gaze was gone. "You look like any Village Girl Extra." While she could not deny this statement, Uraraka could not help but think about all the times she'd thought similarly about her appearance. But that didn't necessarily take out the sting from Bakugou's words.
"Uraraka has a heart of gold!" Tenya burst in, annoyed that Bakugou still had the impertinence to insult his friend. "I swear that on my knighthood." Uraraka beamed at the knight and mouthed thank you. She could tell that Bakugou was having difficulty ingesting this information. But how could Uraraka blame him, when she wondered how and why the goddess had picked her everyday?
"Vessels are… rare. Scrolls say that they were originally chosen as sacrifices for the gods to atone for humanity's sins," Todoroki explained, remembering his early studies with the palace tutors. "But the goddesses took pity on a few of those young women, and chose to make pacts with them. There's a handful of families with vessel lineages to this day, but I've only heard rumors. Uraraka-san is the first one I've encountered."
"In my case, Fortuna was kind of the residential goddess of our village. There are some deities like that. But I wasn't made into a vessel till I was sixteen. It was a huge honor. Until I was chosen, the goddess hadn't chosen anyone in fifty years."
"And your village just let their greatest treasure go? Just like that?"
"I chose to leave," Uraraka explained. "I was thinking one day about how hard my parents were working and how nice it would be if I could help them somehow. Iida somehow stumbled upon the village one day, and I decided to leave with him, well… partly because I wanted to see the outside world, but because I knew that I would have a chance to visit the key port towns and trading centers. I can't control Fortuna since she's sleeping most of the time, but I've managed to harness a few of her powers. And I'm hoping that after this journey, I'll be able to use this power freely with my new knowledge, and let my Mom and Dad take it easy for the rest of their lives."
There was such a resolute, pure look of conviction in the young maiden's eyes that Bakugou had to look away. She didn't look so mousy anymore. With the exclusion of the dragon hunter, those gathered around the campfire had already heard the story a few times before, but they were transfixed by Uraraka's countenance and her staunch heart all the same.
"Bravo, Uraraka! Bravo!"
Uraraka startled at the sound of Iida's fierce applause, suddenly self-conscious of herself. She rapidly took a few spoonfuls of her food, enjoying the savory flavor. If it had been Midoriya or perhaps even Todoroki, dinner would have ended that night with gentle smiles all around and a newfound appreciation for their vessel. But Bakugou was unmoved by the heart warming scene.
"That doesn't explain why you suck ass in battle."
Asui, who had been generally silent as she cleared away the dishes, observed Bakugou with a mischievous smile, slyly pointing out: "Bakugou is pretty handsome, but he's always mad, so it doesn't seem like he'll be popular in the towns we visit."
"What the hell! You wanna fight?"
"See?"
"Fuck you."
"I say whatever's on my mind." Asui grinned as Bakugou spat in annoyance. Uraraka giggled at the scene, feeling a bit braver due to Asui's gentle tease. She set her bowl down, approaching the dragon hunter with relaxed ease and held out her hand.
"The hell you want?"
He was staring at her hand as if she had proffered a cockroach instead. Uraraka wondered if she should feel insulted. Well... Bakugou was a bit strange and quick-tempered, but Uraraka thought that he would make a good addition to their little merry band. After all, they each had their own little unique quirk. He was already an exceptional fighter and added immensely to Todoroki's swordsmanship and Midoriya's latent abilities, but perhaps time would quiet his fiery behavior.
"I'd like to do with you what I do for everyone else."
"I'm not fucking you."
"Oh my god, no! I want to bless you! The last thing I want to do is sleep with anybody!"
Bakugou frowned. Blessing? That was something he'd heard a member of the clergy intone a long time ago. He needed no blessing!
"When I went inside everyone's tents, I invoked Fortuna's favor upon them. What we're doing is dangerous, and we don't have much manpower at the moment," Uraraka murmured. "I haven't known Tsu or Midoriya, or Todoroki and Iida for a very long time, but I care for them very much. I don't want to lose my friends. That's why I decided to heal instead of fighting. I'm sure a day will come when I don't want to lose you either, Bakugou."
There it was again! Bakugou turned away. His chest felt constricted, as if Uraraka had reached into his body and squeezed his heart. He looked at her hand warily, wondering if this sensation was induced by her- no, the goddess' power.
"...How does it work?"
"It won't always work," Uraraka admitted. "My control is still very unstable. Fortune is tricky since it can bring good or bad luck. And frankly speaking, the goddess is a bit capricious. So I have to focus especially on the intention and how the goddess' power is being channeled. It's a bit tiring."
Bakugou's instincts were screaming at him to flee or fight. She was so damn close to him. All his life, he had prepared for battle. Not… not whatever this was! He could see little flecks of hazel in her irises. Uraraka looked at him with concern.
"If you don't want to, that's okay."
Was she looking down on him?!
"Get it over with," he sneered. Uraraka reached down cautiously as if she was trying to tame a wild animal. Her hand hesitantly grazed his, and Bakugou almost flinched away.
"May I?"
Her calm demeanor infuriated him. He grunted something that sounded like consent, and she proceeded to grasp his hand. Bakugou was very nervous, Uraraka realized as she noted the light, sweaty texture coating his palm. Perhaps this was more nerve wracking for the warrior than she expected.
Uraraka hummed lightly, singing within herself and opening the great well of energy which resided within her. Unbeknownst to her, the campfire sputtered for a moment as the trees around them creaked back and forth. The fine hairs on Bakugou's well muscled arm stood on end. His intuition was telling him that there was something terribly unnatural occuring as the vessel gently smiled at him. His crimson red eyes bore into hers as the brown in her eyes faded to a pearly white.
"Don't be afraid," she said reassuringly. Bakugou's hands clenched automatically in response as Uraraka leaned forward, channeling her song into an incantation. While Bakugou was wrestling with the idea of such close physical contact, she bore no such thoughts. She was only thinking of words to protect, words to make her new companion strong; words to structure these warm feelings into a tangible form-
"Fortuna Redux," Uraraka whispered at last into his ear . "A magic to bring you safely home."
The power in her words sent a jolt in the warrior's spine and he shuddered. That shy, gentle smile tugging on her lips and the faint blush on her cheeks was the final straw. It was too much for Bakugou to handle. The warm energy flowing from her hand, the pleasant sensation cocooning the organ beating fervently in his chest; he had never experienced such a fierce of tumult of emotions. All Bakugou knew was the thrill of battle and the satisfaction of the indisputable first place he'd carved for himself.
He tore himself from the magic and Uraraka cried out as if wounded as she felt the energy flow abruptly cut off. She could feel the goddess' power drifting away from her. Bakugou ignored her faint gasp and bolted past Midoriya and Iida. They were both gaping at him. He roused his dragon and jumped on its back, yanking his scimitar from his side and pointing it at his company. "Don't follow me," he threatened ominously before taking off into the night skies as the cold air brushed against his hot cheeks. He fled as if a pack of dragons were chasing after him, trying to ignore the feeling of Uraraka's soft hands and her sweet voice resounding in his ears.
a/n: first time entering the bnha community! it's very exciting. I've never jumped on a ship so quickly. the setting for this particular fic takes place in mha's fantasy/rpg universe. I'm still debating whether to leave this as a stand-alone one shot or continuing to build this little universe, so please do show as much love as you can and leave any comments if interested ^^ looking forward to joining this wonderful fandom!