"Once again, I deeply apologize for my behavior, Kacchan! I-I didn't think....I w-was just—I-I didn't think this would happen—" Izuku panicked and apologized profusely to the blond male once they were alone after returning to the Kingdom. He was now just realizing the weight of his challenge with King Endeavor, and he was now regretting the whole thing, that is, until Katsuki grabs his hands into his tight grip and made the panicking greenette meet his gaze.

"Stop apologizing, Deku. It doesn't matter what you did because that fucker would've done this even if you weren't there. He was only giving me false hope of having three weeks to find a mate, he's too impatient to wait any longer, I'm sure," Katsuki reassured his mate with his signature scowl, letting it soften a moment later when he smirks. "And besides, you challenging him was kinda hot."

That immediately flusters Izuku and his face flushes a bright red in response, he even pulls his hands out of Katsuki's and playfully shoves them into the Alpha's face, pushing him away. "D-don't say that!"

"Why not? It's the truth. Why would I need to lie?" Katsuki raised a brow, moving around Izuku's hands to press a peck to his hand, his eyes widening after when he realized what he just did. It was instinct and he was ready to pull away when this time, Izuku was the one who grabbed his hands. A small blush creeping its way across Katsuki's face.

"That.....t-that felt n-nice....Can you do that again?..." Izuku's shy and quiet voice was just barely audible for Katsuki, but he definitely heard it and definitely couldn't deny his fated Omega when he looked this damn cute, batting his eyelashes up at him and blushing like a ripe strawberry. So, with both boys becoming blushing messes, Katsuki complies and presses multiple pecks to the back of the greenette's hand.

The light pecks soon turned into sweet and confident kisses to Izuku's hands, Katsuki showing his distressed Omega that he truly loved him and even after what happened at the gathering, his feelings for the freckled male haven't changed. The reassurance through actions warmed Izuku's heart and he couldn't help but melt into the Alpha's comfort, wishing to sink further into his love and affection as his smile turned wobbly from how joyful he felt with Katsuki reassuring him more and more with every kiss to placed onto his hands.

"I'm so glad that you beat the shit out of those Alphas and me that day, otherwise, I would've never encountered or met you," Katsuki started to let out his own low rumble of an Alpha purr, something he hasn't done since he was a little kid with his parents. He even seemed to surprise himself with it but he didn't fight it and simply let it continue while he stared into the emerald pools of his fated mate.

Izuku melted even more if it was possible, his heart skipping a beat not only from Katsuki's declaration that he was glad he beat him up just a handful of days ago, but also from his purr. Like with Omega's, purring from an Alpha only occurred when the other felt completely safe or when they were extremely happy. Whichever one was the case, Izuku felt so honored to hear such a soft and endearing sound come from the larger male. He began to reciprocate the purring but with his own as he gently caressed Katsuki's face with his hands, gently holding his face like the absolute deity Katsuki was to Izuku.

Nothing felt better than this, to know that his mate loved him this much, regardless of fated or not, it was almost overwhelming with how happy he was. Izuku had to hold himself back from shedding tears of joy, however, he's suddenly reminded of something crucial to him and it would also be important to tell Katsuki, or at least hint to him about it, before he fell more in love with him.

A small frown suddenly appeared across the green haired male's face, it concerned Katsuki but he lets Izuku speak first. "A-are you sure you want to love me? For all you know, I could just be a witch who put you under a spell or did something to trick you."

"Then I don't ever want to be free of your spell, Izuku. Trust me when I say that I love you like no other. Even though we are fated mates who are destined to be with each other regardless if we like each other or not, regardless of your subgender, you mean everything to me. I would gladly give my life for you just as I would my Kingdom. But now after meeting you, there is no Bakugo Kingdom without you as my Queen, and you are more than qualified to stand by my side. Not only are you strong and can take care of yourself, you're clever and kind, no other Queen in history can match you, not even my old man."

Every word from Katsuki was completely sincere and that allowed Izuku's tears to fall freely from his face, he just couldn't stop himself from crying, not after what he's just been told. Tears of joy spilled down his face and he let out happy sobs and hiccups, unable to hold back his emotions as his mate's words settled in his heart. Nothing felt better than being told by your fated mate that they would love you regardless of what happened and regardless of what he truly was. It only helped soothe him about what he had to eventually tell Katsuki sooner or later, but right now was not the right time.

After all, Izuku didn't really understand it himself, his unique powers that his father-figure had told him about before he died, but all he could do was trust that Katsuki still loved him even after it would be revealed.

—

"I believe the Queen should be punished for ensuing war sooner than planned," one of Katsuki's knights said to the other knights, some agreed while others stayed silent and said nothing. Unlucky for them, Kirishima overheard them and approached them.

"I highly recommend you keep your comments to yourselves about the King or Queen. War is not something that everyone can plan for, we are lucky that King Endeavor even told us that he planned to bring his forces today. Instead, he could've just attacked without warning and then, you wouldn't have a moment to prepare. And be grateful that King Katsuki hadn't heard you say that himself, he would've done way worse than just warn you," disappointment in the knights crossed over Kirishima's face as he spoke to them, honestly ashamed that people like this were among the knights who were tasked with protecting everyone within the Kingdom they served, no matter who it was.

Kirishima turned away after the group went silent and made his way over to Tokoyami and Katsuki, the two other Alpha preparing for war and having been preparing since the first rays of dawn shown down on the Kingdom. Though Tokoyami didn't come from the Bakugo Kingdom and was a Prince, he was willing to fight and die for his new Kingdom he called home now. Kirishima further respected him for that. He was much more reliable than some of their knights like the group he scolded.

However, before he could ask if there was any other preparations to be made, Izuku's running towards them was heard as he came to them. Katsuki immediately lifted his head and met his fated mate halfway through.

"I can't let you fight without me, Kacchan!" Izuku sniffled as he buried himself into Katsuki's arms, soon lifting his head to look up at the blond while he held himself back from shedding tears.

"I must complete my duty to protect my Kingdom, and to protect my mate, even if it costs me my life. You need to stay in the castle, Deku," the blond Alpha tried to comfort Izuku but he wasn't having it.

The greenette shook his head and clung tighter to him. "If you die, then how do you expect me to keep going?! If you die, I die! If you fight, I fight! If you get hurt, I get hurt!" he said determinedly, holding his ground and keeping himself steady as he continued. "We will protect each other."

Izuku pleaded and begged for Katsuki to allow him to fight alongside him, even if he may not be as skilled as his Alpha mate, he wanted to be useful in fighting to protect their Kingdom. And after a moment of thought and with Katsuki glancing to Kirishima and Tokoyami, he turned back to the green haired male and gave him a nod.

"Fine, but if anyone touches you, I'll skin them alive," Katsuki finally relented at last, Izuku letting out a relieved sigh that he could fight with his mate rather than sit back and watch and wait for the results. If there was a chance at Katsuki losing and being killed in battle, he'd rather be there to die beside him than continue living without his fated mate.

Some time passes and by the time dawn is almost passing over into midday, is when one of the knights lets out a call. "They're here, my King and Queen!"

Katsuki and Izuku looked at one another and held each other's hands tightly, to both reassure one another and to empower the other. They then smirked at each other and prepared themselves for war.

The two lead their Kingdom's knights to the front of the Kingdom's walls, standing between their home and King Endeavor's forces that were quickly approaching. But the closer they got, the more they realized how King Endeavor was leading them and how he brought his entire force.

They could do nothing but watch and wait, fear slowly settling within each of their hearts at the sheer number of enemies before them. And eventually, the enemy halted in front of them and King Endeavor raised his voice.

"I will give you one final chance! Do you surrender?" his voice could be heard from each of the knights and guards of the Bakugo Kingdom, but that didn't matter because Katsuki and Izuku held their ground and the blond King raised his head.

"Like hell we would! If you want to take my Kingdom from me, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fucking hands!" Katsuki's voice boomed louder than King Endeavor's, in clear challenge and defiance as he drew his sword and the unoccupied hand let off explosions. He was more than ready to shed some blood of an enemy Kingdom.

However, as Katsuki was distracted with King Endeavor, he didn't see that a few archers had positioned themselves closer than the Todoroki Kingdom and took aim at them. No one could react in time when suddenly, multiple arrows were drawn and fired, all aimed at Katsuki and Izuku. But Katsuki was able to see them only a few seconds before they hit their target. He knew that he couldn't avoid getting hit, so he at least shoved Izuku to the ground as fast as he could and took the blow for himself.

Luckily, due to Katsuki's fast reactions, most of the arrows missed, but unfortunately, two hit one of the targets.

Izuku's eyes widened in horror as he looks up after being pushed down, to see that Katsuki had been impaled by the jagged arrowheads in his left shoulder and his lower right abdomen. The blond Alpha coughed up blood and collapsed, trying his best to remain standing but he's unable to with the painful arrows digging into his flesh.

"KATSUKI!!!" Izuku cried out in terror, tears spilling down his face at the sight of Katsuki beginning to bleed out while he tried to stop or at least lessen the bleeding, Kirishima and Tokoyami come to his aid and try to help just as King Endeavor let out laughter.

"I was hoping you'd say that. I'll be sure to enjoy taking that whore as a prisoner and torturing him until he's broken for humiliating me," and with that, the first wave of King Endeavor's forces rushed towards the other with their weapons drawn and raised.

The knights and guards of the Bakugo Kingdom wavered and trembled, seeing their King already taken down weakened their resolve and they were frozen on the spot, unable to move as the enemies charged at them.

"Shit! How are we supposed to fight that many enemies?!" Kirishima hissed as he broke the arrows so they were shorter and wouldn't move much, but they couldn't just rip out the arrowheads from Katsuki, that would ensure that he'd bleed out before they even had another chance to help him. But this situation only got worse as King Endeavor's forces rushed them and prepared to strike them after playing foul and ambushing their King before they could get in a fair fight.

Distress and terror filled Izuku as he glanced between Katsuki and the enemies coming at them, unsure of what to do now that the Alpha was gravely injured. There would be no rushing Katsuki to get treated while they fought, against these unfair numbers, they were sure to be overpowered in no time. But at the same time, if they fought now, then there was a huge chance that none of them would survive.

But just as he was desperately trying to come up with a plan or anything at all, time seems to slow and Izuku's mind is flooded with memories that weren't his own.

Scenes of disaster with a pair on the brink of losing and death, only for one of them to seemingly take in the blood of what he presumed was their mate, then light engulfed them and they transformed into a huge creature that was able to overpower the enemies and allow them to come out victorious. Izuku didn't know these people nor whose memories these were, but a familiar voice came to him and he already knew he could always trust that voice.

".....The blood of your fated can aid you...in your time of dire need......use this gift wisely......."

And just like that, time returned to normal speed and Izuku had an idea of what he needed to do. So, the green haired Omega turned to Kirishima and Tokoyami.

"Please, watch over Katsuki and help him as much as you can, I will do my best to fend them off," he tells the other two Alphas before he looks to Katsuki who turned his crimson eyes to him.

"What...are you doing, Deku?..." he asked weakly but still strong enough to try and sit up, despite the pain he was in, he was still determined to fight regardless of his condition.

"I'm protecting everyone."

Izuku could only pray that this actually worked like how he saw and thought it could, so he took a swipe of Katsuki's blood with his thumb and stood up.

"Deku? I-Izuku?! W-what the hell are you doing??!" Katsuki screamed after him but Izuku focused on his mission and walked towards the charging enemy forces.

Once he was far enough from Katsuki and the rest of them, Izuku pressed the blood of Katsuki into his mouth and swallowed, and immediately, he felt immense strength flow through his body as if something ancient was awakening within his bones and blood. Just like what he saw from the strange memories, light begin to engulf Izuku and it was enough to halt King Endeavor's forces as they looked at what was happening.

Everyone shielded their eyes from the blinding light as Izuku was lifted off the ground and began to change within the light. His entire body grew in size and Katsuki wished he could see what was happening but the light was too blinding.

The light soon faded and where Izuku was originally standing, there was now a huge, green and black dragon towering over all of them.

Great horns sprouted from his head that had a pulsating glow to the creases of the horns. A large and long tail uncurled from behind the mighty dragon, it even lifted off the floor and whipped the ground, it was strong enough to shake the very earth they stood on. And huge, powerful wings unfolded from his back, they spread wide to their full length and his wingspan easily matched or surpassed the length of his body from nose to tail tip.

The dragon's thick scales were mostly the same green of Izuku's hair color, with black highlighting specific parts of him like his back and the spines that ran down the center of the back of his body, a thick black stripe on the beast's face along his eyes, and the inner flaps of his large wings just to name a few.

The enemy forces that charged trembled in disbelief and fear, collapsing at the sight of a deadly dragon who people believed had been nothing but myths and story tales for children. Even King Endeavor looked absolutely stunned at the sight of a mighty dragon standing in the way of him taking over the Bakugo Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Katsuki stared up with widened eyes at the dragon whom had taken Izuku's place, for a moment, he thought back on what Izuku worried about last night when he brought up being under a spell. For just a second, Katsuki thought that maybe he had been under a spell this entire time and he had been fooled all this time, but taking a longer look at the dragon, Katsuki shook that idea away. Because he knew that the dragon was Izuku. Not only can he still feel his fated bond to the Omega, but he could just tell that this was his mate. He trusted Izuku and knew that this was new to the greenette too, but he was willing to go along with this to protect everyone.

Izuku slowly opened his eyes, revealing bright and glowing pools of emerald-green that burned with rage and the urge to protect his family. And with that, the green-and-black dragon raised his huge head and spread his wings wider in intimidation before letting out a deafening roar that was sure to echo across all the lands, close and far.

———

(3084 words)

A/N: Ah, we're finally here at the good stuff! Er, I hope it's the good stuff for you guys as it was for me when I was planning everything out! I hope that I don't disappoint anyone. I apologize if there are a few errors, I didn't really want to read through everything I wrote before this and the last chapter, so some things might be off since I mostly guessed whenever I brought up the past. Anyways, nothing makes sense, I'm tired.

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it! Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!

-Crim