They finally met! Please look forward to what I have planned for the Little Bean and the Dragon King!

Chapter 12

There was a spring in his step when he returned to the village, humming to himself. His heart was still pounding. The Dragon King wasn't quite what he expected from the brief glimpses in his dreams. He was a lot rougher than he anticipated, with an incredibly foul mouth. Still, he was relieved that the worst scenarios had not played out as he had seen. Perhaps there was a chance for the two to come to an understanding while still helping one another. He wasn't sure why they had been fated to meet—the gods had not blessed him with those visions just yet. But now that it had happened, surely he would find out. The sounds of the village soon greeted his ears. And as he emerged from the forest, he spotted a familiar figure standing beside his hut.

Shinso was waiting for him, arms folded. Chief Deku smiled innocently as he approached.

"Have you been waiting for me this whole time?" he asked.

"You know I can't just let you do whatever you please, not when my senses keep telling me that there is something wrong."

"I told you, there's nothing wrong." He propped his spear against the side of his hut. "I came back didn't I? There's nothing to worry about."

"You met someone."

Deku froze, but he quickly regained his composure. "What would give you that idea?" He pulled back the flap covering the entrance to his hut and ducked inside.

Shinso followed close behind. "I knew it!"

The Chief said nothing.

"Chief Deku, it is dangerous for you to willingly meet with outsiders. Remember what happened to your father, Chief All Might? It was invaders who—"

"I was there, Shinso," Deku said tersely. "I remember it clearly."

"Then you should realize how dangerous it is!"

"It's not like that." Chief Deku removed his feathered headdress and placed it gently beside the small altar that held both his parents' pictures. "He was not like those men who invaded our land. This was something more. I was meant to meet with him."

"Who?" Shinso knelt before the Chief. "Please, Chief Deku, you must confide in me. I cannot help counsel you if you do not let me."

He gently ran his fingers across the soft feathers. "The Dragon King."

"The Dragon King was here?" Shinso shouted, utterly shocked.

"Ssh!" Deku begged him to lower his voice. "Not so loud!"

Shinso lowered his voice. "You mean to tell me that you met with the Dragon King, here in our forest?"

He nodded.

"That man is a ruthless king—full of pride and anger. He is dangerous," Shinso warned. "He was able to seize power at such a young age because of his sheer strength and cunning. It would be unwise to meddle in the affairs of Diragonia."

"I think I am meant to help him. For what other reason would the gods give me these visions?"

Shinso shrugged. "To warn you against him?"

Deku averted his gaze. "In my visions, he was not a ruthless tyrant the way he is made out to be."

"Chief—"

"I plan to meet with him again," Deku said, his eyes gleaming with determination. "In three days' time."

"Three days? But why?"

"His kingdom is suffering from this drought. There might be a way that I can help and allow us both to benefit." He sat up straighter, commanding the respect befitting his title. "Speak nothing of this conversation to anyone. Especially the Council."

Shinso sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. "I still think it is unwise, but if you are this determined then I guess I can't stop you."

"Thank you."

"But if I sense that anything is amiss, I will not hesitate to report what has happened to the Council."

"And I will accept the consequences."

V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V

Bakugou slammed the doors open, storming inside his palace. Kirishima had seen him coming and rushed down to greet him. Thankfully the King had returned before dusk so he didn't have to resort to sending out a brigade of dragons to search for him. What Kirishima wasn't expecting was to see the Dragon King covered in dirt, bits of leaves and twig sticking out of his spiky hair, looking furious.

"Is everything okay, Bakugou?" he asked.

"Fucking perfect," Bakugou grumbled. "Make yourself useful and call someone to cut down that tree Seccal is carrying."

"Tree?"

As Kirishima hurried out into the courtyard to see what kind of tree the king was talking about, Bakugou stormed up the stairs. He made his way down to the west wing, toward the guest rooms. Prince Todoroki and his attendant were not expected to leave until the following day, having concluded their trade business. Bakugou pounded on the heavy oak doors. Without waiting for a response, he slammed them open. Prince Todoroki sat in a wing-backed armchair close to the glass doors that opened onto the veranda, reading a book. Iida, though no longer wearing his shiny armor stood at the ready, his sword drawn.

"How dare you barge into His Highness' quarters unannounced!"

Prince Todoroki glanced up from his book. "Put your sword away, Iida. You're wasting your breath."

Iida did as he was told, sheathing his longsword reluctantly.

"What brings you here?" Todoroki asked, returning his attention to the pages. "I thought since you found me so irritating, you wouldn't want to see me again before we left."

"I brought back one of the trees."

Todorki snapped the book shut, sitting up a little straighter. "From the forest?"

"Where the hell else would it come from?"

The Prince rose and opened the glass doors. Stepping out onto the balcony, he gazed down at the courtyard below. He watched as several men dragged the enormous redwood off to the side. It took nearly two dozen men to carry it. Because the forest remained untouched, its valuable resources were vast, and its trees were all equally large.

"A tree that size could build five houses alone," Prince Todoroki said, awed at the sight.

"So, it's just what you want, huh?"

"If you could fell more trees like that one, you would be a very rich man, King Bakugou. You would have a wealth of resources to trade with."

Bakugou smirked. "Then let's make a deal, shall we?"

Todoroki remained silent. The menace in the Dragon King's voice did not bode well.

"I'll get you more trees. So many big ass trees you won't know what the hell to do with them all, but at a price. Your shitty old man has been raising his taxes on all our traded goods and I'm sick of it. I know he's doing it because of the drought—try and kick a man when he's down, take advantage of us. But I want you to tell Endeavor that if he wants any lumber from us, he's going to have to pay a pretty price for it."

The land of Kasai was a mountainous region. Timber was a scarce resource and Bakugou knew they would pay handsomely for it. Even though Diragonia was facing starvation, he would not relinquish his control that easily. Bakugou was too proud for that.

"What do you propose?" Todoroki finally asked.

"I don't want the same shitty steel your old man has been pawning off on us. I know he's been sending us second rate materials. Nah, I want the good stuff. And grains. We've been trading our food, even when we're starving, so I think it's time you start paying your dues." His lust for more—his greed—was taking hold. "The volcanic soil in Kasai is some of the most fertile, so why the hell should we be giving you our food? You send King Endeavor our demands. And as a token, I'll give you the damn tree."

He was striking a hard bargain. King Bakugou was trying to push his boundaries. After being treated unfairly, Bakugou was thirsty for retribution. The drought might have destroyed their crops, but it had done nothing to subdue his desire for power. He was challenging Prince Todoroki, dancing on a thin line that could border on war.

"Your Highness," Iida said. "Do not accept. It is a one-sided offer—"

"Very well."

Iida could not believe his ears, and Bakugou could not believe his luck.

"I will relay your message to my father. But you walk a dangerous line."

Bakugou sneered. "That's my intention." He turned on his heel, chest swelling with pride at his triumph. "I look forward to the shitty old man's reply."

V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V

Deku tossed and turned. The visions came in torrents, an unstoppable wave of interwoven futures. The Dragon King, Prince Todoroki, even All For One—key players in a dark and turbulent future. Somehow negotiations among Kasai and Diragonia had failed, the former accused Bakugou of unfair terms. Simple misunderstandings led to distrust which led to anger. Minor infighting escalated. Murder. Death. An endless war between the Land of Dragons and the Country of Fire. And in the shadows, All For One and his puppets played both sides for advantage, driving both countries to their knees. He saw the ancient forest ablaze. Screaming. Wailing. Blood. Deku fought against the flood of bleak visions.

Finally he yanked himself free of the darkness and found himself standing at the threshold of an otherworldly realm. It was void of everything save for two paths. Both identical. Hesitantly he stepped out toward the first. It swallowed him up, thrusting him into yet another vision. He saw himself, in the forest where the king had felled the ancient redwood, King Bakugou standing beside him. They talked for a long while, but the conversation soon turned bitter. He watched himself demand the Dragon King leave the forest. Something Bakugou had said had set him on edge, though he could not hear what was spoken. The world dissolved, bringing with it a future filled with fire and death. Driven by greed and anger, Bakugou waged war on the neighboring kingdom of Kasai. He invaded the forest cutting down the trees. He saw his own people, displaced by the king's greed and vulnerable. The last thing he remembered was All For One's dark laugh before he was thrust from the vision, back to the crossroads.

The vision left him feeling weak. Such darkness…a hopeless future full of death. Body shaking, he started down the second path. This one threw him back into the forest, where the first vision had begun. He was there, and so was Bakugou. But this time, the conversation progressed smoothly. Though he could sense the tension, he could see himself clearly smiling. Instead of banishing the king, he watched as his dream-self came to an agreement with the Dragon King. A gesture of goodwill and trust. Instead of returning in a rage as in the first vision, he watched as the king returned to the wood…seeking him! Though the future was uncertain, it was far better than the first.

Chief Deku's eyes snapped open.

He sat up on his mat, his breathing labored. Sweat rolled down his neck. It had been a long time since he had experienced a vision so intense. He had seen two futures branching from a single point, much like it had when he prophesied his father's death. But this time it was clearer. What he had been unable to discern back then was that the future he had seen might change, dependent upon his actions. There was a chance he could change the bleak fate he had foreseen. All would be revealed in three days' time.

Remember to leave a review to let me know what you think. And check back on Monday for Chapter 13!