Best Of You [BNHA Fantasy AU]

6. The Wounds

Shouto held the door of his room open for Katsuki almost ironically as the Chief-to-be marched fuming in without so much as a thank you.

The Prince closed the door and followed him into the room - however it was so big, it could hardly be classified as a single room; the main door led into a circular study, with a large desk against the wall, curved bookshelves, and a plush carpet. An open-plan doorway showed the bedroom, which had a large but plain double-bed in one corner, a couple of comfy chairs and a settee, plus a medium sized table.

The ceiling was surprisingly low, and the walls were decorated with patterned wallpaper, the colour being a pale turquoise.

All in all, it was elegant, yet simple.

The blonde male practically shook with rage, before he clenched his fists and yelled at the ceiling in frustration.

'I agree.' Shoto said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Katsuki snarled at him.

'IT'S YOUR DAMN FAMILY WHO GOT US INTO THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!' He cried out, before swinging his fist round and punching a bookcase out of anger - the shelves rattled.

The dual-haired male rolled his eyes.
'Trust me, it was all my father's idea,' he said bitterly, spitting out the word 'father' with venom as he took off his blue waistcoat and hung it on a peg next to the door.

Katsuki tsk-ed, before turning to walk to the end of the room, unhooking his crimson fur-rimmed cloak from around his neck and throwing onto the back of one of the chairs. Then he quietly snarled: 'Ever heard of the phrase "like father like son"...'

The Prince was speechless for a second, so shocked and offended by this one small remark, and his fingers came to rest on the bruise on the side of his neck.

Then rage consumed him.

Shoto matched forward furiously and grabbed Katsuki roughly by his bare shoulder, forcing him to turn around.

'For the record, I am NOTHING like my damned father!' He spat in the blonde's face. 'You don't think I tried everything to stop this from happening? Everything?'

Katsuki looked as if he was about to punch him, but before he could, Shouto tugged up the sleeve of his shirt and revealed his forearm, which was heavily bandaged with strips of cloth.

'And the reason,' The Prince said as he began to tear off the bandages. 'That I tried so damn hard to stop this "arranged Bonding"...'

The pieces of stained cloth fell to the floor, revealing the horror underneath:

The entirety of the male's forearm was disfigured - it had been burnt so badly that the skin was twisted and ragged, scabbed over in some places and pink and raw in others. And at the centre of all this damage...

'...is because: I ALREADY HAVE SOMEONE!' shouted the misty-eyed teen, as he shook his damaged wrist in front of Katsuki's horrified eyes, showing the only part of his arm that wasn't damaged - the silver ring of metal fused to his skin, somehow unscathed.

This was a wake-up call for the chief-to-be.

He gawped at the injured arm, and, more importantly, the permanent bracelet that signified a Bonding attached to Shoto's wrist.

It was too much to process.

'Who...who did this to you..?' Katsuki carefully questioned. However, both he and Shoto knew that the answer was obvious.