Savage (Fantasy! Bakugou x Reader)

Chapter 38

Epilogue

Bakugou's red eyes stared out across the ocean emotionlessly as he leaned against the sea salt-covered railing of Ashido's ship. The circles under his eyes were dark from lack of sleep and he hadn't eaten properly in days, evident in his sunken face.

Kirishima stood behind him, a deep frown on his face as he stared sadly at his friend. His chest was no longer bound by bandages and the wound on his chest finally seemed to be closing up.

Just like Bakugou, however, he was also losing sleep.

All of them were.

The red-headed boy stepped closer and placed his hand on Bakugou's shoulder, "Hey, buddy. You've got to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Bakugou responded quietly, curling into himself as he looked down at the ocean spray to avoid Kirishima's gaze.

His friend swallowed the lump in his throat, "What about some water? You've got to take care of yourself, man."

Bakugou just shook his head silently and rested his chin on his crossed arms, feeling the fur of his cape softly blow in the wind and tickle the back of his neck.

Giving up, Kirishima turned around to see the rest of his friends staring at them hopefully. Their shoulders drooped in disappointment when Kirishima just frowned at them and made his way back to the group.

Ashido's bottom lip quivered and she had to bite it to stop herself from letting out a quiet sob. Despite this, she didn't try to hide the tears that fell freely down her face. Uraraka stood beside her, gently rubbing Ashido's arms are she too tried to hold back tears.

Losing their friend was hard on them all, but seeing Bakugou so vulnerable broke their hearts even more.

He looked so lost.

So... empty.

Bakugou could hear the others whispering behind him, but he chose to ignore them and instead focused on the single ruby-encrusted dagger that he fiddled with between his fingers while (Y/n)'s dragon pin hung loosely around his neck. Some of her blood still lingered near the base of the blade and in a sick way he didn't want to clean it off, feeling like he would be wiping away what little he had left of her.

He hadn't even got to tell her that he loved her.

And now she was gone. How could (Y/n) be gone?

Bakugou choked back a sob, tears filling his eyes. He closed them and drooped his head mournfully, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks and cascade into the ocean below.

Was it his fault? He wondered. If he had been more understanding, more trusting, less... jealous; would she still be alive right now?

"Kacchan?" Midoriya's voice whimpered behind him, bringing him back to reality.

Bakugou didn't move, he continued to hang his head low and sob, not even flinching when Midoriya placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and dragged him into his chest.

A moment passed before Bakugou's arms slowly wrapped around Midoriya and the boy's tears began to stain his green waistcoat.

"There's nothing we could have done. It's not your fault." Midoriya told him, gently petting the back of Bakugou's spiky hair, "You need to look to the future now, your people are going to need you more than ever. You're strong Kacchan. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known. So it's time to fight for our people, to fight for what's right. It's what (Y/n) would have wanted."

Bakugou swallowed, clenching his fists against the green-haired boy's back.

Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Sero, Todoroki and Ochako watched as Bakugou turned around to face them, his eyes red and puffy. He wiped away whatever sadness lingered and replaced it with a look of anger.

Todoroki stepped forwards first, "We will stand beside you Bakugou, whatever you decide. Elmont is with you, and so are we."

"Forever and always." Ashido chipped in, lifting her head as she too wiped her pink cheeks.

The others nodded in agreement, each taking a step towards him and holding their heads high.

Shinsou was the last to speak, holding back from the others with narrowed eyes until his gaze softened with a sigh, "What do you plan to do now, Prince Bakugou?"

Sliding (Y/n)'s ruby-encrusted dagger into his belt he turned back to see his home in the distance,

"I'm going home to take my place as King. And then-" His red eyes brightened with fury, "And then, I'm going to kill every single one of the damn bastards."

~

Rippling waves lapped calmly at the sandy shore of a secluded riverbank.

The rapids could be heard slightly further upstream, aggressive, angry and wild. But here, the river was peaceful and serene.

Frogs and other creatures chirped happily in the reeds, while others sang in the forest's trees just beyond the river. Small fish swarmed playfully in the shallow water as the ripples sloshed gently against the body of a young girl laying half on the shore.

Her (h/c) hair was matted and dirty, the water surrounding her stained red with her blood. Her body was still and unmoving, and one of her arms stuck out at an odd angle. Her skin seemed dull, grey and lifeless. The waves crawled up the small bank again, pushing and dragging her clothes back and forth every time they rolled back towards the river.

A ruby-decorated dagger remained in her shoulder, wedged deeply into her flesh.

The caw of a bird echoed around her, scaring off the small fish as the shadow of a crow swooped overhead and the black-feathered creature landed just before the girl. It hopped around her torso that stuck out of the river, flapping away in annoyance when the waves threatened to touch its tiny feet.

Its yellow eyes peered curiously at her, pecking at the strands of hair that mingled with the sand. With one more cry, it ascended into the air again, swerving back towards the forest.

Black boots crunched in the sand beside the girl and a hand reached out to touch her paled cheek. The person trailed their fingers across her bloodied, scratched face tenderly.

"Athae." A soft yellow glow illuminated the person's palm, and the minor cuts and bruises on her cheek slowly began to disappear. A healthier shade began to return to her skin as they pulled their hand away, "Still alive..." They murmured calmly, their voice deep and calculated.

The person stood up again and pulled their hood further over their head to hide their features. The crow cawed, landing upon their left shoulder and tilted its head at the girl. It flew off once more when the stranger stepped towards the girl again.

They crouched down beside her and carefully lifted her into their arms,

"Come, Dark Shadow, there is much to do." The figure murmured before making their way back into the softly swaying trees - leaving behind the other lifeless body that, as they left, got swept away by the stream.

***

Did you think it was over? :)

BlueHawk