DRAGON'S BROOD (Kirishima x Bakugou)

Prologue: How It All Began

Kirishima's PoV

Everybody experiences a terrible day at some point in their lives. A day to remember for the rest of their life. For me it was not one of those days when I had to wait behind closed doors while the other children of the orphanage played outside. It wasn't the day when the strict Miss Crownway forbade me to laugh so I wouldn't show my pointed teeth. It wasn't the day when I accidentally set one of the curtains on fire and the otherwise quiet home director shouted at me. The worst day of my life was when I lost everything I knew. My home, my friends, my identity. And all because of one stupid mistake.

Maybe I first have to explain how it happened. My name is Eijirou Kirishima, dragon's brood of an ancient dragon tribe. Yes, that's right, dragon's brood. At least that's what they say here. According to an old legend, once a year, at the summer solstice, the tribal elders of the dragon clans turned into humans, seduced women in the enemy territory, and procreated those who were popularly called dragon's brood. These half-human, half-dragon crossbreeds could turn into dragons or humans at will. They were feared for their power, persecuted and killed. In their human condition they were hardly distinguishable from other people. They were stronger, their skin more resistant, and they had pointed teeth, ideal for tearing raw flesh. As already mentioned, I was one of those children. A dragon's brood. A half dragon.

As an unwanted child fathered in an act of violence, my mother rejected me shortly after my birth and I never met her. Actually, I was lucky to be alive at all. Children like me were often drowned immediately after birth or abandoned in the forest. But my mother took me to the orphanage in the small village of Nirakawa and found someone there who actually took me in. Miss Crownway. The narrow-minded, elderly woman with the strong, foreign accent who supervised the home. She cared for me as well as for all the other children in the home. Well, not exactly, because I wasn't like all the other children.

She taught me how to behave so I wouldn't stand out and I wouldn't be exposed. No one was allowed to know that I was a half dragon. The day Miss Crownway took me in, she also took the risk of being punished for it. If someone had reported me, the King's Country Guard would have come with one of the dreaded dragonslayers. As a child, I didn't understand this and my behavior put everyone in danger.

When I spit fire for the first time at the age of four, I scared everyone terribly. But I liked the feeling of the warm tingling fire on my tongue and did it over and over again. Until it finally came to the incident where I set the curtains on fire. I was terribly frightened, and Miss Crownway had scolded me so much that I still pulled up my shoulders intimidated when I thought of it. I haven't produced a spark of fire since. When I finally got my second dentition and my blunt milk teeth were gradually replaced by sharp fangs, she told me that I had to hide them and that I was no longer allowed to laugh. I had cried all night because I thought I would never be happy again. But I quickly learned never to open my mouth any further than necessary, to talk little and to smile toothlessly.

Otherwise, however, my childhood was quite normal. At least normal for a home child. I saw many children coming and going, because they were all adopted bit by bit. But I stayed. Miss Crownway did not give me up for adoption for obvious reasons. I got older, calmer and more thoughtful because I didn't want to put anyone in danger. Eventually I started helping the home director in the household and relieved the old woman of more and more of her work. That was the only thing I could give her back. Because as strict and hard as she seemed, she really had a soft heart. No one else would have taken me in, given me food and raised me. I was grateful to her, although I did not have a normal childhood because of my ancestry and so had to experience some of these unpleasant, frustrating moments.

I didn't know much outside the orphanage. Miss Crownway didn't let me leave until I was old enough not to put myself in danger. And even then, I hadn't often gone out for fear, just did little shopping for the home and refused the invitations of the kids on the street who wanted to play with me.

The orphanage became my home, Miss Crownway my family and the small changing children became my playmates and friends.