Crossing Fates : Special Story 5 - The Unicorn Attends A Sleepover (BakuDeku)

23 - The Unidentified

After he destroyed the amulet, Katsuki turned his concentration to the fire that still blazed in places.

Pulling hard, he drew the flames back into him. For a brief time, he was immersed in fire. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he let his consciousness be immersed in the brilliant heat.

When it subsided, he contacted Kyoka telepathically. "The herd of infected here are all incinerated. I killed a couple of Hounds, but I didn't manage to kill Aizawa. He's gone."

"Too bad," the harpy said. Vindictiveness tinged her voice, like the sharp edge of her claws. "You okay?"

"Yes. Aizawa gave me the source of the contagion. It was magical in nature. I've destroyed it." As he talked, he launched into the air. "I'm going back to Kaina's. Work with Hora until you're sure the rest of the infected are burned. I might have destroyed the source, but they can still spread the contagion through their bites. Report back when you are all confident the job is done."

"Understood."

There was no way Katsuki was going to show up at Kaina's without making sure he had gotten rid of any lingering traces of the amulet.

Flying due west for a half a mile or so, he dove into the ocean until he reached the sandy floor. Scooping up clawfuls of sand, he surfaced again and scrubbed at himself until he felt certain that he was entirely clean.

Only then did he head back to Kaina's, winging through the distance at a tired, leisurely pace.

This time, he landed a couple of blocks down the street and shapeshifted back into a man so that he could walk the rest of the way toward the large, sprawling mansion.

The sun had not yet set, but it was low enough in the sky that it had gone down below the silhouette of the surrounding houses, throwing deep shadows across the lawns and the street.

As he walked, he admired the ultra-landscaped lawns in front of the other properties.

He said in Izuku's head, "I'm so glad we don't have a lot of flowers and other plant froufrou around our house. I'd never feel comfortable about shapeshifting, in case I accidentally knocked shit over with my tail, or trampled a rose garden."

"Which is exactly why we don't have all that." There was a smile in Izuku's voice as he replied. "Between you, Iori, all of the sentinels and various other Nyr, if we had any kind of fancy garden, it would get trampled to dirt inside of a month. If you can chitchat lawn care, should I take it to mean that whatever situation was out there is taken care of?"

"Yes, you should. I'm walking up to Kaina's house right now. I'll tell you about it later." He paused.

He hadn't had anything to do with either the interior design or landscaping of their house. Izuku had done all of that, and the greenette had thought everything through very thoroughly.

He told him, "You are a wise man."

Pleasure warmed Izuku's voice. "I do have my moments, don't I? But then... I have other moments too. Kacchan, I have to confess something. Kaina nailed me down about your memory loss, and I couldn't find a way to wiggle out of admitting the truth."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he sighed. He felt a brief impulse to strangle the Light Fae Queen. "How much does she know?"

"Well... pretty much an abbreviated version of everything. I never would have volunteered to tell her anything, but she had already guessed that the contagion hadn't really messed with your thinking. She told me quite a story, both how she and Leira became estranged, and also something of your time at the Xeelie Court."

Briefly, he wrestled with his pride, and pragmatism won. "Did she give you any indication about what I was doing at Leira's Court?"

"Not really. She indulged in some speculation, but she didn't know anything for sure. She said you and Leira sort of had a thing, but sort of acted edgy around each other. She didn't know if you were ever lovers, or even if you had parted on friendly terms."

As Izuku talked, he grew close enough that Kaina's mansion came into view.

He told him, "I don't remember any other lover aside from you."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't. I may not remember everything but I know the facts of other lovers if I ever had one before. I am a solitary dragon and hate the company of others, this fact is true. I am sure I had never been interested in anyone as much as I am with you."

Something teased at the back of his mind, and he paused, waiting to see what came of the sensation. It felt like memory... or almost a memory. Then, in the next instance, a flash of past events suddenly surged in his mind.

Now he was certain. "I remember it now, the only reason why I frequent Leira's Court and asked her questions was because I was looking for the said buried treasure where her domain was newly built."

"Kaina did kind of assure me that it actually only seems like you were looking for something. But it's great that you actually did remember that memory. I'm happy for you, Kacchan."

"But I still can't remember if we parted ways on friendly terms or not." He reminded.

He can hear the smile in his mate's voice. "Let's look on the bright side. You gained another fraction of memory, Kacchan. This situation we found ourselves in had de-escalated. You're okay now, and as of the moment, that's really all that matters."

"You're right."

Izuku had stepped out onto the lawn. Ochaco and a couple of vigilant Light Fae guards stood with him, but as the Light Fae guards were actually guarding him, Katsuki didn't mind them so much.

When they saw him, they didn't draw their weapons. Another win for the day.

Izuku saw him at the same time.

Katsuki started walking faster, and Izuku broke into a run, and the eager light on his beautiful freckled face was simply everything.

Izuku hit him in the chest with his full weight, flinging his arms around his neck.