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Kirishima and I were on our normal patrol route when we spotted them. The pack of wolves were attacking a prey they had taken down.
"Hey buddy, looks like we found a free lunch for you." I patted his scaly neck. He growled in response and angled for a nose dive towards the pack of wolves.
As we drew close he released a massive roar. The wolves whimpered and ran in all directions, panic and fear drowning out their instinct to defend their spoils.
As soon as they cleared away from their prey I yelled, "Fuck! It's a human! Kirishima land!"
He obeyed without protest. As soon as I jumped off him and ran to the human lying in a pool of blood, he leapt after some of the wolves, consuming a few, each with one bite.
As I dropped beside the human I hissed, "You dumb piece of shit, you better still fucking be alive."
I rolled him over to face me, it was a young man around 17, near the same age as me. His unruly green hair was caked in blood and his freckled face was full of scratches and blood. His entire body was covered in scratches and bite wounds. I pressed my fingers to his neck, checking for a heart beat. It was faint but still there. I took off my red cloak and wrapped it around him.
"Kirishima, now's not the time to be a glutton! We need to get him to the village quickly or he'll die!"
The Ruby Dragon stomped over with a huff and gently picked up the human in his left fore claw. I gathered up the man's scattered belongings into his bag, jumped unto the Dragon's back and we took off towards home.
When we arrived at the village, I rushed him to the village healer. With the use of her magic, all his wounds closed, but because of blood loss, he'd probably be out for a few days.
Four days had passed and when I returned from a routine patrol, I received news that the stranger woke up. He begged the healer to meet the brave warrior who saved him. I laughed a such a shitty notion.
When I stepped into the room, I was met with large emerald eyes. They were filled with such naive innocence. He smiled, closing his eyes, "Hello. Who might you be?"
"The 'brave warrior' who saved your fucking ass." I replied, glowering down at him.
His face turned red, "Y-you're a girl! How did you fight off those wolves?"
I stomped over and grabbed the collar of his shirt, "Of course I'm a girl you dumb shit! Do you have a problem with me?!" I tightened my grip, "I'll make you eat those words!"
"N-no!" he looked down at my fist, "It was just unexpected."
I shoved him back onto the bed and started to stomp out, "Hurry up and heal so you can haul your useless ass out of this village."
"My name is Izuku, thank you for saving me. May I ask what your name is?"
"I don't give a shit about your name and since you shouldn't stick around, there's no fucking reason to give you mine." I slammed the door shut behind me.
At five am the next morning I stormed into the room he was staying, "Get you're damn ass up, Deku!"
He jumped awake and looked at me through blurry eyes, "What's happening?"
"You're healed so I'm dropping your useless ass off at the outskirts of our land."
"Where exactly am I?" He rose from his bed.
I started to leave so he could get dressed into the clothes that was left for him. "It doesn't matter because you're leaving."
After a few minutes, Deku came out with his bag of shit. He stopped short when he saw me standing beside Kirishima and his eyes became saucers.
"Any day now, Deku!" I yelled.
He ignored me and looked over the large Ruby Dragon. He dropped his bag and pulled out a notebook and a writing tool.
"What the fuck?! We're leaving!" I grabbed his bag and shoved it into his arms.
"But this was my destination!" He looked at me and gasped, "Are you one of those great Dragon Tamers?!"
"Of course I am, you dolt! Why else would this Dragon and I be waiting to fly you out of here." I dragged him towards Kirishima. "You're not staying!"
He was too busy muttering and writing stuff in his stupid notebook. I forced him unto the Dragon's back and we shot up into the sky. He yelled like a fucking wuss and wrapped his arms around me with a death grip. Once we leveled out, I shoved them off, "Let go of me, Deku!"
"What does Deku mean?" He asked with a contemplative tone behind me.
"It means useless person in the ancient language." I sneered.
"Oh." He then began to mutter about the flight pattern the Dragon was doing, the size of the Dragon, the wings, me as the Dragon Tamer. Literally everything.
I nudged my elbow back into him, "Shut up! What are you, a fucking nerd?"
"Yeah, kind of." The embarrassment was evident in his voice. "I grew up hearing stories about the great beasts of the skies and those who tamed them. Almost everyone believed it was all a myth but I knew it wasn't. So I started searching. It's been almost a year and now I've finally found you guys!"
"What do you mean you knew we weren't a myth?"
"When I was about four I was on a hunting trip with my father. He told me not to wander off but my curiosity got the better of me and I got lost. I don't know how long I was lost but a woman with long blonde hair saved me. She walked me to my fathers camp and when she left, I heard loud gusts of wind. It was a ways off but I saw blue dragon and that same woman sitting on it's back."
I was taken back. The woman he described had to have been my mother. She was the only one who tamed a Sapphire. However, both perished a few months ago during a fight with some Dragon Slayers.
"Do you happen to know her?" His words dragged me from my thoughts.
"No." I replied. The pain was still fresh and he didn't need to know. Saving this nerd as my mom had done years ago wasn't by chance. Fate played a hand in this and I wasn't just about to ignore it. I patted Kirishima's neck, "Let's go home for now."
There was excitement in his voice, "Wait! I can stay!"
"Only for a few days, Deku." I glanced back at him, "The name's Katsuki and this Ruby is Kirishima."
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. The nerd always followed me around and learned about our culture through me. Before I knew it, we had become close friends. After a while, he started calling me Kacchan for some reason. My attitude, as well as my stance as the future heir to our throne, tended to scare people away. He was the only person who took the time to get to know me.
The nerd always took notes and muttered about everything that fascinated him. He would participate in our festivals and rituals and then proceed to write it all in his notebook. He observed our fighting styles and eventually joined in and wasn't half bad at it. When I saw his decent attempts at trying, I decided to help train him. It took some time but myself and my people came to accept him as part of the village. During that time, he always mentioned that he hoped to meet the woman who saved him.
Whenever Kirishima and I would go out to train, patrol, or just for fun, Deku would beg to come. Most of the time I refused but a few times I let him join us. During flight training he'd sometimes watch from a nearby field and occasionally give suggestions on how to improve. It'd piss me off, of course, but his knowledge never let me down.
On the anniversary of my mother's death, Deku learned that I lied to him and that the woman who saved him was, in fact, my mother. Although he was initially upset that I lied to him, he stayed by my side as a quiet support the entire day. He joined Kirishima and I on a flight to my favorite waterfall. Somehow, while there, he got me to laugh at some dumb ass joke.
After about a year and a half of living in our village, Deku decided that he collected enough data and should return to his homeland. We got into a huge fight over it.
"You have everything you need here! Why the fuck would you leave!"
He collected his books off the shelves, "Because I have parents back home who probably think I'm dead. I also have university studies to complete."
"Why would you do this?! We need you here! You're knowledge just from observation has helped countless Tamers!"
He was packing away little trinkets now, tears in the corners of his eyes, "Please, Kacchan, don't make this harder."
I stomped towards the door, "If you leave, I'll make sure you'll never be welcomed back." I slammed the door and trudged towards the field Kirishima loved to dwell. He followed and we continued to bicker back and forth.
When we got to the field he was sobbing and said, "As my closest friend, I thought that you'd understand and accept my decision."
I snapped. I turned around and punched that damn nerd in his stupid freckled face. He fell hard on his ass and looked up to me, "We are not friends, you fucking useless piece of shit!" I climbed unto Kirishima, "I wish we never met!"
I glanced at Deku as Kirishima took off, he looked shattered. However, I was too angry and upset to give a shit. I had let my emotions loose while we flew. Nobody but Kirishima will ever see this side of me. Flying always gave me peace, so we flew until evening and when I was more calm I returned to the palace.
I entered my quarters and sat on my balcony looking at the stars. I had pushed Deku away and was going to lose him, the only friend in my life since my mother passed, other than Kirishima.
The door opened behind me and assuming it was a maid bringing me some food, I ignored it and kept looking at the sky. A book suddenly dropped into my lap and I was surprised to see that it was the notebook that the nerd entered all his notes on our culture.
"Since I won't be allowed to return, keep it." Deku's voice was shaky, "To remember me by."
"You just want to forget everything, don't you." I growled without looking at him.
"Kacchan." I ignored him so he tried again, "Kacchan, please." I still ignored him. "Kacchan!"
I stood, dropped the book, and turned to him "What?! Fucki-" I was cut off. He planted a soft, feathery light kiss on my lips. Before I even had time to process he pulled away. The look in those emerald eyes was heavy, "Goodbye, Kacchan."
As he walked to the door, everything in me screamed to reach out, to call to him and beg him not to go. But I didn't, I watched him leave. I stood for a while staring at the door and a lump formed in my throat. When I shifted, I kicked the fallen notebook. I picked it up and glanced over it. There was countless amounts of information, he left nothing out. He also had a lot of drawings of Dragons and their Tamers.
The last drawing was of me. It was on the anniversary of my mother's death when he had gotten me to laugh. I was sitting on a rock with the waterfall behind me. My spiky hair blowing in my face.
I looked below the drawing and what was written hit me to my core, 'It was this moment that I realized how much I love you, Kacchan.'
The handwriting was sloppy, as if it had been written in a rush. I dropped the book and ran. I ran out of the palace and through the streets without giving a shit who I bumped into or angered.
When I reached the simple cottage he called home, I pounded my fist on the door, "You better still be in there, fucking nerd!" Nothing happened. "I'll use my magic to explode this shitty door to splinters!"
The door opened and his freckled face held a tired smile, "I wouldn't doubt it. Sorry, it took me a minute reach the door."
I shoved my way inside, "Is it true? What you fucking wrote."
Deku's expression dropped and he closed the door. The look in his emerald eyes was filled with such vulnerability, "What if it is?" He had laid everything out on the table.
"Then kiss me again." It wasn't a request.
"What?" A look of shock replaced any other emotion.
"You heard me. Kiss me again, you damn nerd."
All shock was taken over with understanding. He took the few steps to reach me and gently grabbed my face with both his hands. His kiss was full of unspoken emotion and desperation and I returned in kind.
I woke to the sun shining in my eyes though the window. As I looked over at Deku sleeping next to me, the events from last night flooded my mind. He still insisted that he had to leave to visit his parents and finish his studies but he promised to return as soon as he could.
With heavy heart, I reluctantly shoved him, "Wake up Deku, you're the dumb ass that wanted to leave early."
He opened his eyes and when they adjusted those green emeralds landed on me. They radiated with happiness and he reached over to caress my face. "I love you."
I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my lips, furrowing my brow, "Same." I couldn't bring myself to say the words because he was leaving.
He slowly got up, got ready, and packed last minute things. Once he finished, he pulled out a wooden box and handed it to me. At my confused expression, he explained, his face turning red, "I know the customs of your people. It's not the best but I tried."
When I opened it, I found a silver bracelet embedded with a couple of rubies and sapphires. In our culture, making a bracelet embedded with precious stones and giving it to another was a clear sign that you intend to court them for the sake of marriage.
I took it out and placed it on my left wrist, an indication that I accepted, "You fucking idiot, giving this to me now of all times." He smiled sheepishly, something I found adorable, but would never let him know.
When we were both ready, we left the small home and headed towards Kirishima's favorite field. We climbed on and took off. The silence between us was heavy with the unspoken words. Neither of us were ready for this separation that was more than likely going to last a few years.
I dropped him off on the outskirts of our land and after a tearful goodbye from him and a few exchanged kisses, we went our separate ways. As Kirishima took off I glanced down to see Deku's messy green hair enter the treeline and disappear. I flew home filled with anger and sadness but played with my bracelet holding on to the hope of seeing that useless nerd again.