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The night air was cool, a nice relief from the normal heat and humidity that came with the new season. The only light was coming from a dull half moon in the sky, bathing the earth in a pale glow that made dark shadows stretch and grow, the slender shapes reaching out like fearsome claws to drag travelers into the deep maw of the forest. It didn’t deter Kaminari in the slightest.
He was a rouge, and was used to dark and dangerous situations. He made his living mostly by swindling and stealing from others, sneaking about and using slight of hand tricks. He traveled from town to town, picking up new skills and learning an abundance of random but useful knowledge along the way to help his raids. That’s why when he saw a thin line of smoke rising from above the treetops that a predatory grin slowly stretched across his face, eyes practically glowing with excitement. Tonight was going to be a fun night.
He kicked the side of his steed, guiding it into a trot. He kept his eyes on the trail of smoke twisting and turning into the sky, fading against the starry backdrop as it climbed higher and higher. It was a little ways away into the forest, and if his navigation skills were any good, he would say it was about 200 meters into the woods.
He tugged on the reigns of his horse as they got closer before slowing to a stop near the edge of the path. He slid off, guiding his horse the rest of the way to the forest, tying the reigns around the trunk of a small tree. He grabbed his backpack, and, after a pat on the nose and a quick good-bye, he turned and made his way into the trees.
He was careful to be quiet as he picked his way around small shrubs and ducked under low-hanging branches. One of the perks of being a nomad is you get experience in an array of different crafts, his including being able to sneak about undetected. As he got closer to the the campsite he could make out the fire that was causing the smoke, small flames licking into the air as if begging for more fuel before hissing and dying out. The area it illuminated was small, but it provided enough light for him to make out three figures, blankets rising and falling slowly in the dim light. There was a beautiful cream white stallion to his right, tied to a tree just a few meters away. The thing that caught his eye, though, was an enormous red dragon on the other side of the clearing.
Deep crimson scales stretched from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. They were darker around its snout and near its talons, while the webbing between its wings was a lighter shade, almost pinkish in hue. It was curled up, one of its wings stretched out, making a small cave, with whatever was inside hidden from view. It was as if it were wrapped around something, protecting it. And whatever treasure that dragon was keeping to itself, Kaminari wanted it. Badly.
Hardly able to contain his excitement, he decided to save the main course for last and instead turned his attention to the closest thing to him, the horse. It was standing up, but its flank was rising and falling in such a way that he could tell it was asleep. He was being extra careful now, avoiding twigs and leaves that could give away his presence as he made his was over to the steed. As he neared he was able to make out another figure, and his heart leapt as his yellow eyes met with heterochromatic ones.
He froze, and time seemed to stop. The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat, trying to burst out of his chest. But the other person made no acknowledgement of his presence, eyelids dipped down, expression blank. Fighting off his surge of panic, he carefully knelt down to get a better look.
He could feel an almost unnatural heat radiating from the other boy, goosebumps erupting against his skin as he drew closer. He carefully observed the other and, after waving a hand in front of his face and noting the deep and even way the boy breathed, he determined he was sleeping with his eyes open. Denki breathed a silent sigh of relief.
He turned his attention to his face, eyes scanning the teen over. The boys hair was split down the middle, the left side a deep, almost unnatural shade of red, while the right side was a pale white. His eyes were also dual colored, the left a dull grey with the right being an icy blue. Perhaps the most distinguishing thing about the other was a scar surrounding his left eye. It looked kind of rough, texture resembling old leather. It surrounded the area around his eye, going up and disappearing into his bangs. He was curious on how the other boy had gotten it. It looked like a burn. Denki had to fight the smile that worked its way onto his face.
He himself was able to separate and guide electrically charged atoms from the air into his body, causing electrical currents to run and skate over his skin. He mostly used his power to charge up a sword or dagger, making it incredibly dangerous. He could even fire electrified arrows, which came in handy when he had to hunt for food. His dad had been the one to teach him, and he was an absolute master at it. He could send the charge into his veins and through his muscles, giving him unnatural bursts of strength. He was able to alter the electrical currents in his brain as well as in others, able to cause headaches, anxiety, and even alter other people’s emotions. He could also fire lightning from his fingers. When Denki had tried that he released so much electricity that now a scar ran from his fingertips up to his elbow, tendrils snaking up and giving the impression that streaks of lightning had branched up his arm.
Perhaps the other boy had lost control of whatever power he had and burned his eye. He stood, legs starting to cramp from being crouched down for so long. Besides a small satchel bag on the horses saddle, it didn’t look like there was anything he could root or search through. Deciding to skip the saddle bag in fear of rousing the horse and waking everyone up, he began moving toward the middle of the campsite, towards the fire and the three sleeping figures.
The person closest to him had dark brown hair framing her face, the light from the fire accenting her features. She was quite pretty, eyes closed contently, breathing soft huffs of air into the sky. Surrounding her was an assortment of books, with a large wooden staff and a cauldron nestled in between them. His eyes caught on one of the open pages, the fire providing enough light for him to make out what was printed on the yellowing pages. It was in a language he didn’t understand, but the pictures of different ingredients on one page and what looked like liquid in a bottle on the other page led him to guess it was a potion recipe. Not caring for books he couldn’t make sense of, he turned his attention to the other two.
One had bluish hair and a serious expression seemingly carved into his face, and the other had wild green hair that looked curly to the root, his face buried in what looked like a doll. Denki had to hold back the snort of laughter that bubbled in his chest at the sight of a mighty adventurer cuddled up to a doll. He let his eyes scan the campsite and, not noting anything of interest, finally turned his attention to the dragon.
He though it was big from across the campsite, but not that he was closer it seemed absolutely gigantic. Granted, this was his first time seeing a dragon that wasn’t a carving or drawing in a book, but being so close to a beast of such power was awe inspiring. The heat that had radiated from the other boy was nothing compared to the dragon, it was like it had a fire burning inside of it that wanted desperately to get out, flames heating the dragon like a furnace, heat seeping out from under every scale. He made an educated guess that the dragon could breathe fire.
He licked his lips in anticipation, nerves buzzing with a mix between nervousness and excitement. He finally reached the small pocket the dragon had created with its wing, sheltering whatever was inside. He rubbed his gloved hands together, then, after a moment of hesitation, carefully leaned over to peer inside just as a hand shot out from the shadows, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
He let out a yelp and, on instinct, released a large shockwave that bathed himself and his attacker in electricity. Whoever had grabbed him let go, arm retreating back under the dragon. Kaminari stumbled back, nearly falling over before he was able to catch himself.
His mind was screaming at him to run, get out of there, but his feet felt like blocks of ice. He stood, eyes fixated on the empty space where his attacker had been. Half of him wondered if his shock had knocked the other person out, heart sinking when he saw someone slowly emerging from under the wing.
The soft light from the moon illuminated his figure just enough to make out his features. He also had blonde hair, although it was a duller shade than Kaminari’s. It was spiky and puffed up, although Kaminari couldn’t tell if that what his hair naturally looked like or if it was sticking up from the shock he’d given him. A wolfish snarl stretched across his face, baring his teeth and even exposing his gums. The thing that caught his attention, though, were his eyes. They were like two glowing hot coals, holding a predatory gleam in them as he slowly walked over. His eyes were narrowed, glaring at him, holding his gaze like he was a wolf about catch his prey.
He stopped his advance a few meters away, eyes still locked on to his. When he spoke his voice was deep and gravelly, almost like a growl. “I’ll give you a three second head start.” He began drawing closer.
“One.”
Time was frozen. Kaminari’s muscles were tense, ready to spring into action, but he just couldn’t move, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the certain death in front of him.
“Two.”
His mind was churning, thinking of a way of escape. The people behind him that had most definitely been roused by now from all of the ruckus, his demise was a few steps away, and there was a dragon just past him. Kaminari felt like a cornered animal. He had to move, to run, do something, anything-
“Three!”
He all but barked the last word, launching himself at Denki with hands outstretched, a malicious grin on his face. Kaminari finally got his bearings and practically threw himself out of the way. He crashed into the ground, narrowly missing getting tackled. He didn’t feel the pain he should have felt at the rocks digging into his palms and knees, the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat, the adrenaline running through his body shielding him, overpowering his senses.
If the others hadn’t been awake, he was sure they were awake now. Even the dragon was starting to rouse, uncurling itself from its position, unfurling its wings and sleepily blinking open its amber eyes. Deciding against testing his theory that the beast could breathe fire, he leapt to his feet. He didn’t bother to look behind his shoulder, all he could think was run away. As fast as possible.
He swiveled on his heel, then dashed into the forest. He didn’t need to turn around to know that he was being pursued, the heavier footsteps and the crashing through the underbrush behind him gave it away.
He himself wasn’t doing much better, bushes catching and snagging on his clothes, low-hanging branches he tried swatting away came back to scratch his face, nearly knocking off his hat a few times. Still, being used to navigating forests, he was making pretty good time. From the moonlight filtering through the leaves he was able to leap over large rocks and felled trees with ease, his agility most certainly putting distance between himself and his pursuer. Elation flooded through his chest. He just might get away from-
“Die!!”
Before he could process the word something heavy barreled into him from behind, knocking the wind out of him and slamming him face-first into the ground. Before he could catch his breath he felt a hand grab the scruff of his neck, unceremoniously flipping him onto his back. A heavy weight settled on his chest, restricting his breathing as he desperately tried to get it back. Two hands were grabbing onto his wrists with a ridiculously strong grip, effectively pinning him down.
Kaminari realized he had squeezed his eyes shut in the fall, and he slowly opened them again. They met with the same smoldering red ones, glowering at him from above. A vicious smile now adorned his face, and it was somehow more terrifying than the angry growl he’d previously been wearing. He was obviously enjoying seeing Kaminari secure underneath him, his breaths still coming and going in shallow gasps, face flushed from the chase.
“You must be a pretty shitty thief if you thought you could steal from a dragon.”
Kaminari swallowed to stifle the whimper that tried to leave his throat. He struggled feebly against the other boy, efforts getting him nowhere. It felt like the other male could snap his one of his bones with a flick of the wrist. Kaminari locked his gaze with the other boy, eyes pleading. He searched for any sign of pity or remorse, but all that he saw was cold, hard rage. He was completely at the boys mercy. Just as Kaminari was about to all but beg for forgiveness he heard another set of footsteps crashing through the woods.
“Wait! Bakugo!” A voice rang out through the trees, breaking Kaminari from his train of thought. The words were given a body a few moments later as another person came running out from the thicket, stopping next to the two of them. He paused, breathing heavily with his hands on his knees as his breath caught up with him. As he got his bearings back he straightened up, flashing the guy (Bakugo?) a smile that seemed impossibly cheery for the situation at hand. “It’s okay, Bakugo, I know him.”
Wait a second. The new person’s teeth were reflecting the moon in a way that made them look... sharp. Red hair was falling over his face, nearly covering his eyes that were an equal shade of red. It hit Kaminari in an instant. “Kirishima!”
Denki couldn’t stop a smile from stretching across his face. He almost didn’t recognize his friend with his hair down, the night obscuring most of his features, but his tell-tale grin and the warm look he was given as the two locked eyes was proof enough. “Hey, Kaminari. What’s up?”
Before he could answer they were interrupted yet again by more sets of footsteps, and Kaminari had to crane his neck to see who it was. The first person to step into the small clearing was the serious-looking boy from before, followed by the round-faced girl, the boy with the scar, and finally the boy with the curly hair. Now that he didn’t have his head buried in the doll Denki could make out a light dusting of freckles on boys face.
While the group doubled over to regain their breath, Kirishima took the time to introduce them. “This is Iida Tenya, Ochako Uraraka, Shoto Todoroki, and Izuku Midoriya.” Kirishima pointed at them in the order they had appeared, and the person Kirishima had dubbed as Todoroki was the first to speak up. “Mind telling us what’s going on here?”
“I caught this fucker stealing from our camp,” Bakugo explained, jerking his head down at Kaminari. Something about how the other male had scarcely acknowledged him or the venom dripping from his voice sent a burst of anger surging through Kaminari’s veins, and his mouth moved before he had a chance to think. “Hey! I didn’t even-“
His moment of courage was short-lived as Bakugo swung his head around, fiery eyes meeting his. They dissolved his flare of confidence in an instant, and Kaminari clamped his mouth shut. He hoped his eyes didn’t betray how uncomfortable he was under the gaze of the other boy, and he pointedly looked away, words dying on his tongue.
After a few tense moments of silence, Bakugo spoke up. “Well? Don’t leave me hanging.” His tone had a mocking lilt to it, and it was hard to tell if he actually wanted him to respond or if he would claw Denki’s face off if he tried. Kaminari carefully guided his eyes back to the boy above him. His eyes has changed from glaring and angry to lazily watching him, as if he didn’t consider Kaminari escaping his grasp to be a possibility.
If Kaminari was being honest, The way Bakugo had his wrists pressed hard enough into the ground to the point his circulation was being cut off was a pretty tell-tale sign he wasn’t going anywhere.
He turned to Kirishima, eyes begging for help. His friend must’ve caught on to Kaminari’s internal panic because, after flashing him a bright grin, he clapped Bakugo on the shoulder. “Get your hand off me.”
Kirishima did no such thing, instead offering a light chuckle. “C’mon Bakugo, I think you’ve scared Kaminari enough for today. Let’s head back to camp and decide what to do in the morning.” Sleepy mumbles of approval came from the other members of the party, and one of them even turned around to start heading back.
After glaring at him a moment longer Bakugo finally let go of Kaminari’s wrists. Kaminari flexed his fingers to get the blood flowing back into them, hands responding with small pinpricks dancing over the skin. With an aura of ‘try anything else and I’ll break your neck,’ Bakugo slowly lifted himself off the ground and turned to follow the others.
Kaminari took in a deep breath of air once the pressure on his chest was lifted, the large amount of oxygen stinging his lungs. He blew it out and breathed in again, greedily drinking in the oxygen around him.
He let his eyes flutter open to see a hand outstretched towards him. He took it gratefully, allowing Kirishima’s strong arm to pull him up off the ground. His breathing had evened out considerably, although his heart was still erratic. “You okay, man? Bakugo can be pretty intense sometimes.”
Kaminari offered a small nod. “He’s definitely something.”
The rest of the walk back was set In tired silence. The adrenaline from before was steadily wearing off, exhaustion taking its place. The rest of the group also seemed tired, their slow pace and drooping eyelids making it apparent.
On the way back Kaminari took notice of the trampled greenery and snapped branches from the chase earlier, providing a trail back like a morbid Hansel and Gretel. His face and palms were stinging from where the branches had slapped and snagged on his skin, and he was sure he’d be littered in small scratches in the morning. At the moment though, he felt too tired to care.
The group eventually made it back to the clearing, everyone heading off to their designated sleeping spaces. Kaminari was about to ask where he should sleep when he realized something. The dragon was gone. The only indication a dragon had ever been there was a large patch of flattened grass to his right. He was about to ask Kirishima where on earth it could’ve gotten off to when his question was suddenly answered right in front of him.
Kirishima’s body turned a very alarming shade of red very fast and, before Denki could ask if he was okay, his body started elongating. His face rounded out into a snout, dagger-sharp teeth gleaming wickedly in the moonlight. His arms and legs twisted and grew, a long spindly tail winding and coiling out from his spine. Clothing melded into flesh and scales replaced skin. Claws where there had been nails, horns where there had been hair, and to top it all off two large, bat-like wings erupted from his back and flapped one, two, three times before stretching out and folding together comfortably.
He circled the ground a few times, then promptly settled himself down back onto the grass. Bakugo shot one last heated look his way before making his way over to Kirishima, settling himself underneath his outstretched wing.
Kaminari felt like slapping himself. Back when he and Kirishima lived close to one another he had asked why his teeth were so sharp. His answer was that he was half dragon. Kaminari has scoffed at the idea until the other let a shimmering layer of scales replace the skin on his arms, making Kaminari stare, mouth agape. He had known his friend was part dragon, but he didn’t know he could change into one.
Kaminari was snapped back to reality when a low, rumbling growl broke through his thoughts. Returning his attention back to Kirishima revealed he was looking at him expectantly, wing still open. It took a couple moments before the gears in his head finally clicked.
For the second time that night an uncontrollable smile split the sides of his face as he all but ran over to his friend, faltering only when he realized that, wait, doesn’t that mean Bakugo and him would have to sleep right next to each other?
“The fuck are you waiting for?” Bakugo growled, exhaustion taking the bite out of his words. “Unlike some people I wanna fuckin sleep.”
Relieved, although still a little wary, Kaminari settled down against Kirishima. His scales provided a unique texture against his back, and although hard, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Warmth seeped into his skin at the contact, sending a shiver up his spine at the sudden temperature change.
Kirishima curled his tail into his body and lowered his wing, blocking him off from the night. Had he been more awake he would’ve been bothered by the stuffy air and almost overwhelming heat, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. For the first time in a while he felt completely safe as he allowed himself to cave into his fatigue and steadily drift off into sleep.