***Warnings: Language, drama, angst, relationship issues, scheming and plotting,
Chapter 10: A Difficult Dinner Conversation
Part Two
Kai continued to mediate to keep his mind and body together, forgoing any offerings of food, water, or comfort. He would not allow himself to partake in the prison food that those who are, by lawful right, his servants. Yet all of that was over now because of that bastard, Bakugo, ending up on this island and rallying the people just to get back at him. Now, he's heard that not just Bakugo, but Izuku as well, has left on a royal ship heading back to the kingdom. Well, he will have his revenge on Bakugo and take Izuku for his own. While being an alpha has its perks, he was still bound by nature and wished he were born a beta, so he wouldn't have to feel the pull of an alpha's need to claim an omega. Izuku was too proud and intelligent of an omega, unlike the thousands of others, which is the main reason he's attracted to him. But Izuku would need a week's worth of constant bathing and scrubbing before the omega could come anywhere near him.
A bit later, he noticed that the jail had become eerily quiet as well as upstairs. No sounds. No footsteps. No voices. Had something happened? Then he hears a sound like that of a boiling tea kettle and dark smoke fill the area by his cell. He's on his feet instantly and asks who's there as an apparition appears before him in the form of a man. Magic, Kai realizes. The man is tall like him, with dark hair and bright blue eyes, with disgusting scars that looked like rotting skin. Kai's lip went up in a sneer of disgust at the sight of the man, who he sensed was an alpha.
"Are you Kai Chisaki?" Asks the alpha.
"That depends," Kai replies. "Who are you?"
"Just call me Dabi," says Dabi with a lazy smile. "I've been looking for you. I'm here on behalf of Tomura Shigaraki."
Kai let out a scoff. "What does that walking corpse want from me?" he asks.
"He wants you out of the way, of course," Dabi replies, "And I'm here to see to that,"
"Even if you kill me, it won't change anything. I have others in line to follow after me, so if Tomura is looking to get me out of the way for good, then he's mistaken."
Dabi leans against the bars of the cell, crossing his arms. "Have you seen his army of monsters?"
"I have not,"
"Your little armies will not match up to those beasts. You'll be crushed if you try to overthrow Tomura."
Kai clicked his tongue, then replied, "The humans will want Tomura's reign to fall and for things to return to normal. They will not want to live under monsters and corpses. So, with my growing army, I will have all humans racing to my side to bring back the old ways of living. Once that is complete, then I will rule. Tomura wants to make slaves out of the people; I want to cleanse the world of the humans I deem unfit to inhabit it."
Dabi glances over his shoulder at Kai. "So, you want selective genocide." He stated coldly.
"Tomura is mess. He wants to rule a world full of monsters and slaves? He's insane. I plan to have perfect world, not a hell on earth. So, are you still going to kill me?" He smirked.
Dabi unfolds his arms, turning to face Kai again. At the moment, he was torn between Kai and Tomura, and which he should go undercover for; both were insane and need to be stopped. Currently, Tomura is the largest threat with monsters they have never seen and don't know how to fight. Kai's armies are, at least, human beings, and they know how to fight them. He had an idea, though, that would kill two birds with one stone, but it would take careful planning on his end. He would have to play all his cards just right, or it could all fall apart.
"I like your ideas, Kai," Dabi says. "I prefer them over Tomura's. But wouldn't it be easier to destroy Tomura from the inside rather than declare war?"
Kai narrows his eyes. "How do you mean?"
"Seems to me it would be easier to first join forces with Tomura, and then strike when the moment is right. I'm telling you right now, your armies will not stand a chance against those monsters, or, as he calls them, 'nomus'. And he's making more as we speak."
"How can I trust you? I don't even know who you are other than the name you gave me."
"Well, for one, I have a lot of magic and I can get you out here. Two, I can sense that you are taking my words into consideration. Besides, us tag teaming in secret against Tomura sounds good, don't you think? We both want to see the royalty and nobility fall, which will make the world our own. We just have different ways to go about doing it."
Kai crossed his arms over his chest and replied, "And just what are you ambitions, Dabi? I have a reason, Tomura has a reason, and you want to juggle between the both of us. What's your true reasoning behind doing what you're doing? And what's to say you won't stab me in the back once Tomura is taken down?"
Dabi grins darkly. "You don't," he replied. "But that's the thrill, isn't it? My reasons are my own. I'm just a lonely mage trying to find his place in the world, and I won't find it in the current world."
"Screw off, witch." Kai turns away from him. "Your kind will be one of the groups I plan to eradicate."
"Mages aren't witches,"
"You all use magic. Magic may be something special that only certain people can wield, but when it comes to science, magic is useless."
"I guess you'll just have to get to know us," Dabi says. "Don't be jealous because you don't wield magic."
"Who says I can't wield magic?" Kai countered.
"You would have escaped by now."
"You know so little about science," Kai smirked.
Dabi realized then what he was talking about. He always thought it was just hopeless, pitiful humans trying to play at magic, but Kai must be developing man-made magic. Very little is known about it; that was also something he would need to keep an eye on. The problems on his plate keep piling up.
"Perhaps magic can aid in your science," Dabi says. "Tomura is making those monsters, but I don't know how- he may very well be using science as well."
"…before I make a decision, go and find out how Tomura makes those monsters," Kai says. "Tell him that I'm…debating on whether or not to join him if indeed they are made with science. Then, perhaps, we can do what you suggested, and I can bring him down from the inside."
Dabi kept a straight face and replied. "Sure, I think that can be managed." 'And whoever wins, both you and Tomura will stab me in the back. I have to destroy them both before war breaks out, so, it's better to have them in one spot together. "Until then, you can remain here."
With that, Dabi was gone in a plume of smoke.
Although the room was small, it was bigger than his house with fine furnishings and a bed big enough to fit two people. The first thing Izuku did was take off his boots and jump face-first onto the bed, taking in the clean, fresh scent and its softness. He figured this must be what it's like to sleep on a cloud. He had his own wardrobe, bookshelf, bed trunk, carpets, a large hearth, and an indoor water closet! No more chamber pot or going outside in the cold.
'It would be nice if everyone, not just the nobility, could have access to such things like clean bed linens.'
"I assume you like it?" Tokoyami asks him from the center of the room. He had sent Shoji to bring some food and tea for Izuku. He managed to shoo Shinso away, claiming that they had omega issues to talk about that do not require the presence of an alpha. However, he knows Shinso is standing right outside the door.
"It's gorgeous!" Izuku jumped off the bed. "I can't believe some people live like this! And this is really my room?"
"Well, it's a guest room," Tokoyami pointed out. "This is the Todoroki's home, and they are known to be very accommodating to their guests by making them comfortable."
'Guest?' Izuku thought. 'But…I'm not really a guest. I'm Kacchan's mate.' "Are your rooms nearby?"
Tokoyami nods. "They are, but they are my own personal chambers, not a guest room. Well, it was converted from a guest room to my chambers. It's where I preform my magic and alchemy as well."
"On my island, we didn't have anyone who could use magic," he smiles. "It must be really useful to have something like that! If it's not too much trouble, I would love to see your chamber and how you preform magic."
Tokoyami was bit surprised by Izuku's request, but he agreed to show him later.
Izuku walked over to the window and opened it, wondering what his view was like from up so high. The wind was chilled, and the cold nipped at his nose, but the view was breathtaking! He could see all of the city, its various rooftops, domes, spires, and steeples. But there was something else that caught his interest, and that was the three streams of black smoke coming from different spots in the city. He turns to Tokoyami and asks what they are from, assuming something like bonfires. When Tokoyami appeared next to him, he saw the saddened, forlorn look on the other omega's face.
"Accused rebels and witches," Tokoyami replies, his voice heavy with distress, then added. "Put to death by fire."
"By fire? You mean, on a pyre? But, why?"
Tokoyami folds his arms into his black cloak. "This is where you should have stayed on your peaceful, innocent island, Izuku. The Rebellion has grown rapidly in the city with its members becoming increasingly violent. At this time, rebels are being punished with the same death sentence as accused witches; both are considered evil and dangers to society as a whole."
"That's terrible, and so primitive!" Izuku narrows his eyes out at the city, his fists clenched on the stone sill. "This kind of violence needs to stop,"
"It's been this way for generations," Tokoyami tells him. "I'm safe here with Shoto and Lord Todoroki, as their personal mage and private physician. But...there are so many others out there like me who are not so lucky. Shoto says he will work to do away with the death sentence for witches and magic users."
Izuku flushed a little and asked, "Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but what is the difference between witches and magic users?"
"Self-assignment," Tokoyami replied. "Some chose to be called witches who tend to use magic for both light and dark powers. Witches tend to focus their powers on one particular element, whereas mages use all elements and more. It's easier to become a witch and to learn magic than it is to be born with the abilities, such as I was," he took a step closer to Izuku and added, "You need to have tough skin here in this world, Izuku. Kindness will only get you so far, and you're more likely to end up hurt if you don't harden your heart."
Izuku flashed him a determined smile and says, "Don't worry, I plan to prove to you and everyone else about that! Kindness is wanting to help people, to try to sympathize with and understand them, so you can better help them. I want to see people smiling all the time, and I know that if we all work together to build a balance between high and low status, the world will be a much better place!"
"...if you can truly achieve that, Izuku Midoriya, then you must be a deity and not a person."
Izuku just laughed and said, "I'm just a regular omega with high hopes for the future and everyone in it."
Bakugo stuffed his face with the amount of food he had ordered at Shoto's private dining table. He was starving for real food and not the low-quality stuff Deku had been feeding him. The wine was like ambrosia and the food as fresh as if it just came from the animal or the dirt. He was aware of Shoto watching him, sitting still as a statue, and waiting for him to be done. With a 'somewhat' polite belch into his napkin, he slumped back in the chair with a loud, delightful sigh.
"Finally! Some good fucking food! I was so damned tired of fish and watery soup and tea!" He pours himself more wine.
"Is Izuku not a good cook?" Shoto asks, calmly.
"Pfft. That has nothing to do with it," Bakugo replied. "That shit island had little food to cook with, he did what he could."
"...would you like me to cook you a meal?"
Bakugo smirked. "You've never set foot inside a kitchen, Shoto. You've lived a rich man's life; you can't cook."
Shoto calmly cuts a piece of chicken on his place. "Anyone can learn," he chews the piece of meat and places the utensils beside the plate. "Let's not ignore the wolf in the room," he says. "What are you plans with Izuku? You've mated with him and you bonded with him. What does that mean for us?"
Bakugo has been dreading this moment, and though it seemed so far away, now it was here. "It just...happened," Bakugo tells him. "I couldn't control my alpha instincts. Deku went into heat, and I couldn't control myself. What was I supposed to do, Shoto? I was bound to a bed, in a small hut, with broken bones, and an omega in a heat cycle. You know damn well I avoid omegas in heat just for this scenario, but I couldn't avoid it this time."
"...if you hadn't had left, this never would have happened," Shoto lifts his eyes to Bakugo's. "Why didn't you just say that you weren't ready to marry me?"
"Your fucking father was RIGHT there," Bakugo pointed out. "He wants you to marry as soon as possible, and right now, he's still the lord of this castle, not you. We agreed to wait to mate and marry, but you broke that promise, Shoto, as it was YOUR idea to marry early."
"Is it so wrong that I wanted to be with you?" Shoto asks. "I didn't want to wait, and I thought you would say yes right away because it would mean greater power for you in a shorter time."
The next thing Bakugo was going to say is going to be the hardest. "We never agreed on love, Shoto," he couldn't bring himself to meet Shoto's eyes. "Our marriage was a business arrangement that would benefit the both of us. I can't help that you fell in love with me,"
Shoto felt as if an arrow made of ice had pierced his heart and chilled his whole body to the core. Deep down, he knew that Bakugo was right but hearing it made it real. Yes, he is in love with Bakugo, but Bakugo just admitted that he does not feel any love between them. Shoto thought that, after they were married and mated, that love would follow. He wanted a loving relationship with a mate because he saw what horrors a loveless political marriage can do to two people, like his mother and father. Now, he faced the dilemma of marrying a different alpha, this one being of his father's choosing. What if he were given a life of pure unhappiness like his mother? Would he make himself so ill with sorrow as she did? To just lay down and die as a broken omega?
"Shoto? Hey, are you still in there?"
"I feel like such a fool," Shoto whispers, more to himself than to Bakugo. He shouldn't have discussed the quicker marriage with his father first and not Bakugo. If he had done that, then all of this could have been avoided. But now, the alpha he wants, and loves is mated and bonded with another omega. "I thought you could love me…as time went on…as a married couple."
Bakugo stayed silent for a moment, then says, "The emotion, 'love,' is not my personality. It's true, I mated and bonded with Deku, but bonding is not 'love'. It's a made-up word for poems and ballads,"
"That's the name given to a specific emotion felt by all," Shoto countered, his voice still low.
"To some," Bakugo says. "It's different for me."
"So, you don't love Izuku?"
"I never said I didn't, nor did I ever say I love you. And you've never said to me, either."
"At this point, would it have mattered?" Shoto asks. "The answer you just gave, would you have given it to me then?"
Bakugo took another swig of wine. "I assumed you knew this about me already," he says. "What part of anything about me shouts 'love' and 'romance'?"
Shoto lowered his eyes to his plate.
Bakugo sighs heavily, rubbing at his left temple. "Shoto, look," he started. "Deku is my mate, we bonded. I only saw myself with you and not with anyone else. I was surprised, too. I know what this means for you; and we should try to think of a way to fix it. If we don't marry, you will have to marry some other alpha who will not give you the freedom you deserve, like I would. I can't marry Deku because he is a commoner, and I gain no political influence through marriage with him. But you and I can still marry for convenience, as we originally planned."
"And let me be ridiculed for being a married omega with an alpha who is bonded with another? You expect me to still marry you to gain my influence while you live under the same roof with your bonded omega, and I have no one?" Now his voice was starting to get louder.
"You never cared what others had said before!" Bakugo countered. "So, why do you suddenly care now?"
Shoto banged his hand on the table. "How am I supposed to make changes and update laws when I'm looked upon with no respect? And do you honestly think my father will let me marry you, with another omega on the side, so the whole family can be ridiculed?"
Bakugo was taken aback by what Shoto had just thrown at him. He didn't think about Shoto's role in their marriage now that Deku was in the picture. The Todoroki's are a very traditional family and it's that traditionalism that helps to keep them in power. Their union was to keep up the tradition of alpha and omega marriage and slowly make changes. If traditional people can prove that change can happen while keeping with traditional morals, then it will be easier to bend those traditions and weave more leniency into laws. However, that tradition card will be ripped and tossed to the wind with Deku involved. The only option he has, to keep Deku, is to make Deku part of his pack and live with him that way while being married to Shoto. But again, Shoto is more than pissed and won't accept that; he's not even sure Deku would accept it, either. And the people will be expecting heirs, too. Shoto would be humiliated if he didn't have children, and he didn't want another omega sexually like he wanted Deku. Shoto would have to get pregnant by someone else, and they'd have to pass the child off as theirs. He's fine with that, but Shoto wouldn't be, and he can already see Deku's tears. Shoto wouldn't want to be a step-parent to his and Deku's kid, either. This really was a big fucking mess he's gotten himself into.
"You need to be rid of Izuku," Shoto says. "Bonds can be broken over time,"
"I don't want to be rid of Deku,"
"He is a commoner, and he has no title or rank. He can be dismissed easily. I'll even pay him from my own treasury and let him live a comfortable life. No one can say 'no' to that,"
"Deku can, and he will," Bakugo tells him. "We have…a tough situation on our hands."
"You can't marry two omegas," Shoto reminds him. "I can't…I will not, live in the same house as your bonded omega!" He stands up from his chair, his once calm, stony face replaced with anger. "This is YOUR decision because you brought this on yourself! Either give up Izuku and make him leave, or you will be without the influence and power that you desire! You'll never leave the rank of an officer! Leave my chambers! Now!"
Bakugo wouldn't back down, and he stands as well, putting all his weight on his good leg and arm. "I thought you were different from other omegas! You're an idiot if you're throwing away security, freedom, and influence for something stupid like 'love'!"
"It's not stupid, nor is it a little matter to me, Bakugo!" Shoto matched Bakugo's loud tone but stood his ground. "And you know that everything I said is right! You've ruined everything for us!"
"No, you did!" Bakugo countered, enraged enough to want to flip the table over. Instead, he made his way to the door. "We'll speak again when you are not in hysterics like a spoiled, jealous omega!" He leaves and slams the door.
"Wait- Bakugo!" Shoto called out to him but the alpha was already gone.
Shoto fell back into his chair, dropping his head into his hands. He wanted to cry, but he didn't know how to cry- all his tears dried up when he was a boy. Izuku is the reason for all of this trouble. If only the omega was gone, everything can get back to normal. No one would ask about Izuku; he will offer him a large sum of money and offer to be a patron for him if he leaves quietly. But to get rid of Izuku will only anger Bakugo and building a relationship with him after something like that would take years to accomplish.
'What am I going to do?'
Bakugo asks a servant which room Deku was in and they brought him to it in the guest apartments. It was late and he was sure Deku was already asleep. After his spat with Shoto, he went to the castle tavern for some wine to calm his nerves. He was feeling warmer now and little more relaxed. Despite the fight with Shoto, he really, really felt the need to be Deku, and he wasn't sure why.
He stumbles into the room, holding in a hiccup that turned into a belch and stung his throat. As he thought, Deku was already asleep in the bed with the fire slightly dying. He added two more logs, waiting for the fire to flare back to life, then went over to the bed. It was a relief to sit down after such a long walk on his leg; he cursed his body for not healing fast enough. Behind him, Deku makes a little sound as if acknowledging his presence. Looking at his bonded mate, Bakugo studied the childlike soft face with those damned freckles and stupid little smile. This time, though, there was something different about Deku; he smelled different, and not just from soap and perfumed water. He doesn't know what it is, but he lays down with him, pulling the covers higher. Deku instantly spooned into him, pushing his green haired head under his chin and nuzzling his neck. With just Deku's omega aura, he was calm. All his thoughts of Shoto and their fight disappeared, replaced with his omega's scent and that other strange yet alluring smell. Then, he fell asleep.
Shoto didn't sleep the entire night. He had wandered the castle, lost in thought, and ended up in the garden. He sat perched on the cold stone railing with his cloak wrapped tightly around him, watching the sun slowly rise and cast shadows. The fight with Bakugo left a terrible taste in his mouth and an ache in his chest. He had spent a lot of time thinking in his nighttime wandering and came to a few conclusions, but none were, in his mind, acceptable, save for one. He would talk to his father about finding another alpha to marry, but that he wants at least half a say in the decision making. And perhaps this will push Bakugo to leave Izuku and return to him. He figured he wouldn't let Bakugo know he was pining for him but rather that he was moving on.
'If only I was a beta…how much easier my life would be,' Shoto sighs to himself. 'Being an omega really is a curse,'
"Well, you're up early," it was Keigo, dressed in a heavy fur cloak with the baby wrapped up tight in his arms. "This little guy had me up VERY early and won't go back to sleep, so we're going for a walk. Care for some company?"
Shoto shrugged his shoulders.
Keigo took a seat anyway. "The mornings are really getting cold. Snow will be coming soon, I'm sure of it." He smiles softly at Shoto. "I'm guessing dinner with Bakugo didn't go over well?"
"He won't leave Izuku," Shoto stated flatly.
"So, leave him," Keigo says. "I told you he was a mongrel from the beginning. I don't consider myself old, but seriously, listen to your elders?"
"It's more than that," Shoto says. "I don't want another alpha. I want Bakugo, and Izuku is in my way. Bakugo wants to marry anyway, for convenience, and have Izuku as his true mate and me as his political mate. People will find out, and how embarrassing that will be for me and my family. Traditions can't change if we're not traditional to begin with,"
Keigo thought silently for a minute, gently rocking a squirming baby in his hands. "I think I have a solution," Keigo finally said and smiled brightly at Shoto. "But first, talk this over with your father,"
Shoto stared at him. "He'll flip his lid," he says. "That's a huge mistake, not a solution."
"That's where I'll step in," he stands up with the baby. "And when you do speak to your father, bring Izuku with you."
"I'm…utterly confused."
"Just do as your elders say," Keigo chuckled. "I'm very, very good at talking to your father. I'm sure I have a way to soothe things over. At least for now." He winked.
"Keigo…what are you planning?"
"Baby's getting cranky. I need to go," he waves at Shoto. "Let me know when you plan to talk to daddy!"
Shoto watched him leave as the sun came up further, bright enough to have him cover his eyes.
'Talk to my father about this? How the hell am I even going to bring this up?'
TBC
