Water swells in the air around the grasses, draping itself like a second coat of skin onto anyone brave enough to venture outside. Waves and waves of heat shimmer and curl in the air, dancing to the tune of the sun. The forest is tingling and murmuring with the activity of the animals that inhabit it, many taking refuge in the shade of the tallest trees to escape the heat. A river is teeming with fish, rushing past rocks and refreshingly cool if one dips their toe into it. The mountain in the distance stands tall, frozen at the peak but boiling at the base.

That particular summer morning is simply unbearable for those ill-equipped to deal with it, with record setting high temperatures that cook the Japanese populace. The news outlet speaking softly in the living room gives tips and tricks for surviving the heat and helping others do the same.

Bakugou Katsuki, five years old, could not care less.

He is an arrogant boy for his age, able to speak with diction and poise that other children do not possess. He can read and write perfectly-something the other children struggle with. He is intelligent, hailed as a genius by the adults and praised endlessly by his peers for his leadership skills. Katsuki soaks up the attention like a sponge soaks up water, until it fills his head and his heart with a single sentiment.

("I am better than everyone else.")

However, there is one boy that Katsuki cannot stand.

Midoriya Izuku is four years old and he has the heart of a champion. He's gentle, kind, and as smart as Katsuki. The other children tug him into their groups, parting like the Red Sea for the boy with a heart of gold. He is the epitome of 'good child,' and is loved rather than scorned for this very nature.

Katsuki, who is at the top, does not need the help that Izuku offers freely. He is alright by himself, can take care of himself just fine. Izuku just doesn't understand that, doesn't understand that Katsuki doesn't want his help.. Katsuki absolutely hates the boy's kindness, for it may as well be pity. He does not want pity. He wants control, wants to truly be at the top of the pecking order. Izuku is a hinderance, and even at his young age, Katsuki understands this, and he hates it.

(Izuku, on the other hand, simply adores Katsuki's outgoing nature, his intelligence, no matter how poorly he's treated by the boy in question.)

But that is neither here nor there, for today is a special day. Today is the day that Izuku turns five, and Katsuki is required to, at the very least, give him undeserving congratulations. He doesn't necessarily want to do it, but his mother is insistent that he should be nice to his friend, for once, and give him something for his birthday.

So he puts on a nice shirt and his favorite pair of shorts, and keeps the present he chose-a superhero toy imported from America-under his sternum with chubby, child fingers. He's quiet as his mother takes him by the hand and walks him down the street to Izuku's home. He gives Izuku the toy roughly and growls something out at him, shoving his way into Izuku's house and out into the backyard. The party is lively, filled with children and their parents from his school, and Katsuki swaggers into the massive crowd, intent on proving that he's the star. He plays, and plays, and laughs, until his mother is carrying his tired body home and putting him in his bed. He dreams grand things, of being the king of the world.

(The next day he wakes up and his mother is asking him about some toy he supposedly bought and a horrible, horrible chill runs down Katsuki's spine.)

(He grows up angry, angry at the nameless face of a boy he doesn't know, who tore him into pieces and left him for dead, who threw his whole world off kilter.)

(Eventually, he forgets.)

(But his anger does not, and it simply festers and grows in size, directed at anyone who will bear its' force.)

The clouds roll through the unwavering sky in silence, caring little for what lies beneath them. They steal colors when they can, and they drag themselves forward forever more. They obscure the sun when it rains, and the stars when it's stormy, and the moon when the night is unforgiving but still, they do not care. They are regarded as heralds, bringing forth messages of both life and death.

Yoko watches the sky from her quaint hut, watches dark, ominous storm clouds roll in from the opposite direction, and her stomach clenches fearfully. The weather in the Spirit World is strange, and does not conform to anything but its' own laws. It latches onto those with strong emotions, and wills, and bends to fit beneath their trembling.

The kitsune of a thousand stories and a thousand lies puts her tea down gingerly, blood thrumming through her veins and anxiety through her head. She has lived long enough to recognize signs of ill will.

Yoko moves far too slowly and comes to a painful stand just as a haunting chill fills the air. The wind knocks her hut to and fro, quiet creaking filling the too loud silence. Biting her lips, she conjures a ball of fire to life and rushes out the door. She's craning her neck as far as it can go as the clouds darken even further, the fur on the end of her tail standing up in alarm. Her senses are screaming at her that something is amiss, that something is very, very wrong.

Snowflakes begin to fall softly, drifting with the wind and landing on the rapidly cooling ground. Yoko shivers as the temperature drops down low, her skin turning deathly pale where it was tanned before. She sneezes and snot drips down her nose and onto the ground. The snow hurries along, flakes growing in size until Yoko is standing in a foot of it before she can even blink.

An image of the black haired, blue eyed Yukiko flashes in her mind's eye and she nearly staggers beneath her fear for the girl. Yukiko is the only one in the village, aside from Shouto, who has such an intimate connection with the cold, with the ice. She's the only one who can conjure violent snowstorms from nothing.

Fearing for the girl's life, Yoko runs through the snow without thought, shifting into her true fox form to find the yuki-onna faster. She catches the scent of ice and forest on the wind and gallops towards her Leader's home, the unease settling in her very bones and stringing her tight like a bow.

A scream fills the air and Yoko sprints even faster, recognizing the pitch and voice of her sweet, endearing Yukiko. Her fireball blazes brightly beside her, melting the snow in her path. Yoko is more fox than demon now, her instincts blaring awful warning signs at her. Adrenaline flows through her veins roughly, fueling her desire to protect her own and tear anyone else to shreds for touching a single hair on Yukiko's head.

Yoko nearly sets the Leader's house on fire as she charges in, eyes wide and fur standing on end. She howls in unison with the now-frequent screaming and sobbing, unable to understand them. Her kitsune magic hums dangerously, altering her appearance even further until the illusion of a giant manifestation of pure and utter darkness follows her tails lovingly.

Yoko bursts into the back room, the source of her dear Yukiko's screaming, and her rage triples at the sight of Yukiko lying in a pool of her own icy blood, her detached arms discarded across the room. Yukiko is screaming and crying, begging for death, for the pain to stop and Yoko flies over to her, snarling at the group of perceived threats. Her fire hovers over the yuki-onna protectively, wrapping her in a deadly blanket.

Outside, the storm continues to rage.

One moment Yukiko is standing beside the warm, friendly boy Leader that she deeply adores, and in the next moment, Katsuki is flying towards him in a berserker rage. Eijirou and Fuu gasp out loud, too far away to do anything to stop the wild boy. Yukiko, however, is much, much faster than him and neatly steps in between the two of them, bracing herself to catch and restrain him before he can harm Izuku. Behind her, Shouto hisses and growls and his sharp talons catch the back of her yukata, itching to tear into the boy's flesh for daring to attack Izuku. Yukiko grimaces at him, though he can't see it. She's never been fond of his callous and cold nature but she does not complain because he is efficient in his own ways, just as she is in her ways.

Katsuki's hands are sparking with little explosions that scar his palms, though, and her whole body freezes at the realization. She can't ever bring herself to freeze a human, even for her own protection, and tenses in anticipation of the pain awaiting her. Yukiko is well aware that her pain threshold is extremely low, and fear creeps into her beating heart as he finally lands on her shoulders.

The pain is blinding and a horrified screeching echoes around the room. Yukiko can't feel her arms from the shoulder and she falls to the floor in a heap, a cool liquid covering her from head to toe, the ground freezing as it spreads out. She thrashes erratically, unable to see beyond her pain and oh god is the pain unbearable. She wants to die, she wants to die so very, very badly.

Someone says something to her, arms clamp down on her shoulder blades and Yukiko howls louder and thrashes violently against them. She might have frozen whoever it was but she doesn't care because the pain is too much, too much, and why won't she just die already? Why won't they let her die?

Before long, there is warmth covering her, and Yukiko's throat is too raw to scream any longer. Her energy is fading to a small hum, her eyes closing as exhaustion grips her tightly. She can't feel anything other than scorching fire licking her from head to toe, begging silently to be released from the fiery inferno smothering her.

Somehow, she hears Shouto's roaring and the fire leaves so abruptly that it gives her whiplash. There's a deliciously cold hand on her head after an eternity and she manages to relax against the frozen floor in a boneless heap soon after. She hums weakly at whomever is touching her, the familiar low chuckle of Shouto's human form greeting her ears like bells.

"Sleep," he commands, and Yukiko does.

The house is shrieking as the wind whips into a soft frenzy, the night air clear of clouds and snowfall. It is warm inside, if only for the kitsune and dragon allowing their fire magic to spread throughout it. On the far side of the house, the injured yuki-onna sleeps guarded by the powerful kitsune, her injuries faint scars against her pale skin. She is still, as if dead, and only the rise and fall of her chest says otherwise. The kitsune makes paths in the wooden floor, unable to sleep so long as Yukiko does not wake.

Outside, the snow fills the hill and kills the unprepared crops in the fields. It is a white, deadly blanket, unmarred by footsteps of foolhardy villagers. They keep put in their cold, cold houses and shake from the chill, worried by the abrupt storm. Everyone is aware of its' meaning and they tremble for the unconscious Yukiko though the know nothing of her plight.

Shouto and Izuku, re-located to a guest room in light of recent events, sleep on their old futon restlessly. Both are wide awake, though neither acknowledges it. Thoughts plague him, circling through Izuku's mind, and in the dead of the night Izuku begins shaking like a leaf, his back against Shouto's warm human form. A growl rumbles through Shouto's chest, then, his eyes sharp as they scan the room. Izuku sighs heavily and turns to face him properly, a frown on his face and tears at the corner of his lashes. Shouto wipes them away with a gentle thumb, careful of his elongated claws.

(He never, ever, wants to harm Izuku's soft human body with his sharp features, and would rather die than allow even an accident to happen.)

"It's all my fault Shou-chan," he bemoans, guilt coloring his voice and sadness blinding his eyes. Shouto tightens his grip on the teen, long legs twining with Izuku's in an attempt to comfort him with his whole body. "Yukiko-chan got hurt protecting me. I should have done something before Kacchan attacked, not stand around and let her take the hit for me." Shouto is silent for a moment, his forehead creasing with wrinkles he doesn't have yet.

"She wanted to protect you," he murmurs, lips on Izuku's hair. "She knew what was going to happen, and yet she jumped to your defense." Izuku's throat catches on a sob and Shouto helplessly traces circles in the teen's back, wishing that the incident had never even happened. His tail curls around Izuku's midsection and the scaly tip scratches against his skin soothingly. Izuku sniffles and hides his face in Shouto's neck, just below his scar, staining Shouto's skin with snot and tears.

"I just hope she-she-she recovers," he stutters against Shouto, squeezing his eyes painfully shut. Izuku is a sensitive boy, a fact Shouto knows all too well, and his heart is absolutely breaking in half. Shouto hums and nuzzles the side of Izuku's head lovingly.

"She will. She's a strong yokai. Yuki-onna aren't feared for nothing," Shouto points out with certainty, stalling for a moment, before he says, "What will you do with the boy?" Izuku stiffens, teeth scraping against his lips and Shouto's skin, then relaxes further against the dragon.

"I don't know," he admits with a tremble. "Kacchan….I've always admired him, you know? His personality hasn't really gotten better, in fact he's probably worse, but….he was my friend. I wanted to surpass him when I was younger," he says, nostalgia coloring his voice gently. Shouto nods, eyes drooping as he remembers the stories Izuku told him about the fiery boy with liquid courage for eyes. "I thought I'd never see him again. He must've hated me for leaving him behind like that." Izuku turns against the skin of Shouto's neck, lips against the hollow of his throat and his hands reaching up to tangle in his hair.

"That was then and this is now. He attacked you Izu. He ripped off Yukiko's arms. He's a serious threat to us," Shouto warns lowly. Izuku trembles, teeth knocking against his lips in a painful way.

"We'll wait," he murmurs desperately, eyes flicking about, "we'll wait until Yukiko-chan wa-wakes up. Th-then we can decide what to do. I can't-I can't think about it anymore, what might happen to Kacchan. He's still-still my friend." Shouto sighs and presses his lips to Izuku's head.

"I understand. Go to sleep now, Izu. It's late." Izuku takes a deep breath and nods, curling even closer into Shouto. The dragon boy curls around him, a low rumbling spreading in his chest to calm Izuku into sleep.

Katsuki wakes up with an awful headache and the vaguest pain in the back of his neck. He sits up and vomits onto the floor next to him, his body feeling strange and off-balance. Someone rubs his back soothingly and he snarls, shoving his elbow into their rock hard stomach.

"Careful there Katsuki," Eijirou's voice murmurs above the ding of pain and retching. Katsuki sneers as he finishes emptying his stomach, blinking weakly at the boy made of stone.

"Fuck off, Shit for Brain. I still remember what you fucking did," he snarls. To be fair, he probably deserved the rough treatment. He did attack Deku unprovoked, and even tore off the ice woman's arms. Katsuki is nasty and an asshole, but god damn it, he knows his behavior isn't the best. Snorting, Katsuki crosses his arms under his chest and stares Eijirou down, his vision clearing up.

"Hey, you flew off the handle. I just took you out before anything else could happen," Eijirou defends, hands thrown up in surrender. "That was way out of line though. You're lucky you're Izuku's friend, otherwise Yoko-san would have eaten you for breakfast days ago." Katsuki frowns at him, frustration plain on his face.

"What the fuck are you talking about," he says lowly, eyes narrowing into slits on his face. Eijirou straightens his posture, the furrow between his eyebrows deep enough that Katsuki feels a sliver of something in his gut.

"Oh right. Well, Yoko-san didn't want you waking up before Yukiko-chan so we've been keeping you asleep for the past four days," Eijirou admits nonchalantly. Katsuki blinks before he's throwing himself at Eijirou, explosions mapping out along the teen's body in a furious tenacity. Eijirou grunts before overpowering the still weak Katsuki, pinning him to the ground underneath him almost effortlessly.

"What the fuck do you mean you've been keeping me asleep fucker?! Did you fucking drug me?!" he roars, flailing beneath Eijirou's chest. Eijirou scrunches his nose at that.

"No! Whenever you seemed like you'd wake up, Chiyo-obaasan used her magic to keep you asleep!" Katsuki stops jerking wildly to stare incredulously at Eijirou, who blinks in confusion.

"That's what being drugged means you assmunch!" Katsuki screams at him, rage causing his body to quiver slightly. Eijirou exhales shakily, his mouth forming an 'o' at the clarification.

"Oh. Then I guess we did drug you, huh? Sorry about that," he says sheepishly, one hand raising to scratch behind his head. Katsuki sneers at him, trying to ignore their current positions, and knees him sharply in the stomach. Eijirou sucks in a sharp breath and rolls off of the angry teen with a groan.

"Eijirou-kun? Is Katsuki-kun awake?" Fuu's voice floats through the shoji, distant and clipped. Eijirou doesn't seem to notice, or maybe he willfully ignores the tone, and call out an affirmative. Katsuki sits up, slammed with a sudden vertigo that threatens to topple him over, and Eijirou grabs his arm to haul him up. Katsuki doesn't let it show on his face but he thinks Eijirou understands, for his grip is both crushing and stabilizing. His stomach churns in nausea as Eijirou pulls him out of the room to face the yokai with barbed hair but he has nothing else to purge from it.

Fuu regards him icily, as expected, saying nothing and only handing out a curt nod to him in greeting. Katsuki curls his lip but doesn't acknowledge the frosty reception. She begins leading the two through the house quietly, the tension in the air choking.

(Katsuki fucked up, knows he fucked up, but continues to hold onto his pride and dignity because that's the sort of person he is.)

Fuu stops in front of the same shoji that Eijirou dragged Katsuki's unconscious body out of, voices drifting out of the closed door. She bows, opens it, then gestures for them to enter. Eijirou clamps another hand around Katsuki's arm, restraining him though he's weak. They aren't taking another chance, it seems.

Inside the familiar room sits a large, red fox with eight angry tails swaying violently behind it. It growls at Katsuki the moment he steps through the threshold, fur bristling and hackles raised to defend. A small, pale hand shoots up from between the fox's forelegs and grabs a handful of fur in restraint. Katsuki's gaze travels to the small woman sitting nestled in the fox, a bright smile directed straight at him. He freezes, his brain buffering in bafflement at the action.

"Katsuki-chan! Oh my gosh are you alright?" she says, floating away from the threat of the kitsune and towards him. Her icy hands are warm on his face and he numbly nods. Yukiko lets out a relieved sigh and pats his cheek.

"I'm so glad. I heard you were being kept unconscious and I was worried because your body isn't strong like mine," she chirps, a hand over her glass heart. It flutters underneath her touch.

"Yukiko! Get back here!" The fox hisses, a tail inching forward and wrapping around Yukiko's waist. She frowns at the beast as it gently drags her backwards.

"It's ok Yoko. He won't hurt me again. He was going after Izuku," she points out. Yoko stiffens but continues dragging her until she is safe within her fur. Shouto growls lowly at the reminder, wrapped around Izuku's neck as he is. Katsuki turns towards the two with a scowl on his lips, finally noticing their presence in the room.

"A-Ah, Yukiko-chan, you shouldn't be moving too much after you lost all that b-blood," Izuku stammers, worried for the yokai. Yukiko shrugs then winces in phantom pain. Katsuki lets out a slow, deep breath to calm himself.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Deku?!" he yells harshly, practically foaming at the mouth.

(He finally, finally remembers the small boy with the heart of gold that he loathes. He remembers short school days spent pushing Izuku around, remembers summer vacations spent avoiding Izuku like the plague, remembers the night that Izuku vanished and took all of his memories with crystal clarity.)

Izuku sweats, twiddling his thumbs over and over again. Shouto huffs icy steam in Katsuki's direction, staring at him with large, slitted heterochromic eyes. Katsuki doesn't shift, doesn't waver as Izuku's twitching increases.

"I….was-was kidnapped when I-I turned fi-five," Izuku admits, unable to look Katsuki in the eye. Though he claimed Katsuki was a friend to Shouto, the truth of the matter is that Katsuki is someone who holds bittersweet memories for Izuku. It's strange and complex, the feelings that dredge up when he sees Katsuki. He fears Katsuki as much as he admires him.

Shouto tightens his grip on Izuku in solidarity, his gaze never leaving Katsuki. Eijirou fidgets as much as Izuku, his fingers clenching and unclenching around Katsuki's upper arms at the dragon's stare.

"Izuku, aren't you forgetting something?" Shouto prompts forcefully in the resulting silence. Katsuki snorts, unaware that the dragon could talk. Izuku stiffens before slowly relaxing his tense shoulders under the dragon's twisting and turning body.

"Right. Kacchan's punishment." Katsuki's scowl deepens at the word, his blood rising in temperature at the mere thought of receiving punishment from Izuku. Izuku flinches at the look in his eye, as if knowing his thoughts on the matter.

(He probably does, and that makes Katsuki even angrier.)

"Kacchan will have to work in the destroyed fields. And the festival is coming up soon, so he will have to help build a shrine to house the mountain kami, All Might. Eijirou-kun, since you found him, I'm putting him in your care. Is that acceptable, Yukiko-chan?" Izuku says after breathing deeply and forcing the fear from his body. Shouto's weight on his shoulders is more than welcome, though his attitude could improve some. Yukiko perks up at being addressed, head tilting to the side. She hums in thought before nodding.

"Sure. That sounds good to me," she responds with a thumbs up. Izuku breathes a sigh of relief and turns back toward Katsuki, though he ignores the teen for his jailer.

"Make sure he gets fed and seen by Chiyo-obaasan. That is all," Izuku says, obviously dismissing them. Eijirou nods, bowing slightly, before pulling Katsuki out of the room with him. Yoko huffs and grumbles about Izuku's too-kind nature and Yukiko's easy forgiveness. Her angry eyes watch him closely, fangs gritting together as their eyes meet. Katsuki wonders what the yuki-onna means to the giant fox before dismissing it as unimportant.

Eijirou leads him out of the room and the last thing Katsuki sees is the thin, gaunt form of a grim reaper hanging in the shadows behind Izuku, and his blood curls in his veins.

Holy shit I am suuuper sorry for the delay ! I can only really concentrate on one thing at a time apparently, lol, and I chose a few oneshots to focus on to tide ya over till this was finished !