Shoto Todoroki Oneshots

Fairytale Ending

TRIGGER WARNING: blood

THEMES: angst, fluff, BakuTodo, fantasy AU, continuation to Fairytale Soulmate

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Shoto was slowly getting used to living with Barbarians. A week later from him waking up he was back to normal, with no chilblains or heatwaves attacking his body every other moment. Bakugou personally showed him around the tribe, from the dining hall to the elder's tent, the village and marketplace, and the farms and fighting arena. It wasn't anything like where Shoto came from: there were no sky-high brick buildings, lampposts or cobbled streets, and no castle for their leader. Everything looked disorganised and rampant, but the people lived and breathed with each other so fluidly it felt like a breath of fresh air for Shoto who had been walking on eggshells around everybody for his whole life. 

Once recovered, he decided to start working in the tribe. It wasn't fair for him to start living with them and give nothing in return, so he started with small errands before moving on to working with Kirishima in the armoury and Sero with the hunters. Shoto had a sharp eye, so he could detect an un-sharpened arrow a mile off and use one to pierce a fleeing stag. The ways of the Barbarians weren't refined and their customs weren't rigid, and to Shoto it was perfect. 

His skills in combat were quickly recognised by the Barbarians, and one evening after dinner he was dragged into the fighting ring to prove his strength. Apparently it was a right of passage for all Barbarians once they turned 16, and in the previous generations it would help determine their rank in the tribe, but now it was more just for show. He tried his best and beat every opponent who asked to fight him, winning things like clothes and weapons for his success. 

His last opponent was Bakugou, and after sneakily using his ice to make the King slip, he pressed a knife to his neck and was declared the winner. Well, if anyone viewed Shoto as an outsider then they didn't no longer, for the dragon-tooth necklace he now wore daily was a symbol of his place amongst them. For once, Shoto felt like he belonged somewhere, and he could make something of himself without the shadow of his father looming over him. 

Of course, everything wasn't perfect. His new home was everything his old one was not, but that often stirred up uncomfortable thoughts in his head that led to bone-shaking nightmares. Waking up frozen, feeling the ghostly ache of bruises across his skin, screaming into his pillow as flames burned him relentlessly. At first, once he had gotten better, he was given his own tent to live in, but once the nightmares led to him passing out in a fight with TetsuTetsu, he moved into Bakugou's home.

The nightmares didn't stop, not even when he was surrounded by the luxurious furs the Dragon King offered him for his bed. Not when a small lamp was left lit throughout the night so he wouldn't fear what would attack him in the dark, yet the smell of burning wax would manifest itself into cremating blue flames all around him. He would wake up to worried red eyes, calloused hands holding him close until he could breathe again. 

He felt like a burden during those long and painful nights; some of it lifted slightly when he told Bakugou about the curse.

"Curse?" Bakugou asked, handing Shoto a glass of water and sitting on the side of the bed. 

"Yes. My father was born with fire, it has been passed down in our bloodline for generations. And yet so has vanity and pride. There are not many fire-wielders left in the world, and so my father wanted power stronger than them all, should they try and attack and steal his throne." He sighed, shutting his eyes as he drank his water, letting the cool liquid trickle down and soothe his throat, hoarse from screaming. 

"The castle has a vast library, and he found a book on demons and spirits. There were rumours of a remaining fire demon living in the Dark Woods, the ones rumoured to be on the edge of the earth. Apparently, as long as that fire demon existed so would fire-wielders. My father tracked it down, it took many years, and at last he found it and killed it. As a result, he earned the demon's power, making the Todoroki flame the strongest in existence.