Dagger shaky in my grasp, I lunge forward at Yagi. No matter how hard I try, everytime I now look at a knife all I see are scared yet determined red eyes. Unfocused, I trip as my master dodges the oncoming assault and fall to the ground, barely catching myself in time.

He frowns my way. "Are you okay, my boy?"

I grunt and push up off the ground. "Just a little distracted."

He nods knowingly and suggests we take a break. Dusting my dirty palms off, I walk toward a cliff and melt as the refreshing breeze slaps across my freckled skin. A minute later Toshi joins me and we look up at the lightening blue sky of the west. Somewhere behind, past a mountain or two, is surely a rather awe-inspiring sunrise.

"One morning we'll take a hike to the other side of the island to enjoy the view," Toshi says quietly, knowing how my brain works after spending so much time together.

All I do in response is smile gently. Thinking about it now, I am rather tired of always seeing the sun set.

Before I can stop myself, my mind is already wandering to the idea that dragons get to see every position of the sun. Dragons have all the freedom in the world. Well, most do anyway.

"Hey Toshi, have you ever seen a dragon missing half its tail?"

Tapping his chin in thought, the man frowns. "Yes, dead ones." The way he says it is blunt yet sharp and I suddenly find myself feeling very uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?"

My master sighs and starts meandering back to the field we train on. "Dragons need their tail to maneuver. If it can't maneuver, it effectively can't fly. And a downed dragon… is a dead dragon."

Heart aching, I squeeze the knife a little tighter at my side. "Toshi, I think I have to go." And just like that I bolt away and back toward the village, unwanted worry and guilt pooling in my gut. Warriors aren't supposed to care, but I do. So if I'm not a warrior… what am I?

If you said that going to visit a really angry, really dangerous, fire-breathing Alpha dragon who almost killed me once already was a bad idea, I would agree. This is a really bad idea. But that fact of the matter is that the Kagutsuchi didn't kill me last time. I'm one for one and while most aspects of my being aren't warrior worthy, I've never been anything if not as equally stubborn as the greatest hunter around.

Armed with a shield, a knife, and a fish, I edge my way through the rocky tunnels as I move toward the cove. Of course half way there my shield decides to get stuck in between two rocks, and with my impressive lack of upper body strength I am forced to continue on without it.

Hesitantly, I step out into the grassy bowl and immediately feel like a caged animal. The walls loom above me and the air is ominously stagnant. Shifting my gaze around, I see a few birds flitting in and out, but nothing more.

I want to be hopeful that the dragon has escaped, but in the end I trust Toshi's words more than my own eyes.

After abandoning the notion of sneaking about because I'm in a tank with a freaking dragon, I slowly stroll around the pond, watching tiny fish dart back and forth.

The Kagutsuchi probably hasn't eaten in quite a while.

I continue to make my rounds, stuck between feeling relief because I haven't died yet and fear because I may just be a fun piece of prey — the creature wanting me to get comfortable before roasting me alive.

With that thought in mind, I jump at the sound of a snapping tree branch. Then flailing about, I sloppily whirl around to come face to face with a pair of cold, predatory eyes.

My breath hitches and I watch its tail slowly swing back and forth. "U-uh, hey."

Those red eyes narrow as it's black and gold form prowls toward me. Fear buzzing through my marrow, I take two steps back for every one it takes forward.

"Um, I-I, um." Realizing my mouth has decided to stop working — not that the animal can even understand me — I reach for my satchel. The dragon instantly growls, causing me to freeze in place and follow its line of sight to the dagger at my side.

"O-oh. S-sorry." I grab the knife, earning a deep, throaty, crackling sound from the creature in response, and drop the weapon to the ground like it has just burned me.

Looking back up, I see the Kagutsuchi still on full alert and instinctively kick my knife into the pond just to be safe. However, right after completing this action, my senses return full force.

Welp, there goes my only means of defense. "Though it's not like I can even use a knife in battle. Still, I can't imagine why such a powerful creature would be afraid of a little—"

I snap my mouth shut when the dragon starts growling again. Shifting on the balls of my feet, I purse my lips together. "I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

We stand there awkwardly for a few more minutes, me burning holes into the ground and begging whatever gods my mom believed in that I don't actually get burned alive.

"O-oh, right." Pushing through another round of snarls, I produce a fish from my bag. "I thought you might be hungry because…"

… you can't fly, I decide not to add. You can't fly because of me. With an exhausted sigh, I collapse against a boulder and let the cool surface press against my palms. "I'm sorry."

The birds continue to dance around, soaring through the blue patches of the cloudy sky. "I'm sorry for shooting you down… I thought I could kill you; you and your pack and the other packs have been destroying the village and I thought… But I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill you and now your stuck suffering because of it." Stifling a sob, I bury my face between cold hands.

Then I hear another growl and peek up to see cautious red eyes still staring my way. "R-right. You want the fish, don't you?" With a pitiful chuckle, I toss the fish over to the dragon's clawed foot.

For some weird reason though, those eyes don't stop boring into me. I shift uncomfortably under the powerful stare, thinking how easily the Kagutsuchi could end my life here and now. But I don't plan on leaving, instead digging around for my sketchbook just to find it isn't in my satchel. I huff.

It keeps looking with those eyes that appear to know more than they should. Then suddenly all of the dragon's scales ripple until the bi-colored body is completely golden, shimmering in the hazy light.

I gasp in amazement, then cringe in disgust when a half-eaten fish is regurgitated onto my undeserving lap.

With a curled lip, I shoot a raised eyebrow toward the smirking dragon. Wait… smirking?

Seeing something mischievous dancing in those glowing eyes, the Kagutsuchi nods its head toward the fish and I involuntarily gag.

"You're joking, right? Um, I can appreciate some good sushi but…"

The growling starts again and with a loud gulp I lift the soggy fish to my lips. Holding my breath, I sink my teeth into the animal and cringe.

With a pained sound of approval, I hold the fish in my mouth. Those red eyes twinkle and it growls again.

Well flip.

Attempting to not puke up my guts, I swallow the fish and start feeling queasy. My body goes limp against the rock after tossing the fish back toward the dragon. "You're playing… a dangerous game, you… Kagutsuchi." I cough out between gags.

In response the dragon huffs and puffs out fire to cook the fish through. It's crisp smell starts permeating through the air and my stomach growls in response. The creature then smirks over at me before swallowing the cooked food whole.

"Well I'm offended," I comment bluntly, sporting a small glare.

It's eyes smile back as I push up to sit atop the boulder. It? Dragon? Kagutsuchi?

"O-oh, my names Izuku by the way. Not that you care." While scratching the side of my cheek, I tilt my head curiously at the creature. "This is probably stupid, but I feel kinda bad calling you dragon. Not that I'm saying we're on a first name bases or anything. I mean, most people call me Deku and not Izuku, so maybe I should have led with that. People think I'm useless and small and stuff — you probably do too actually. Of course I'm small by comparison. Ha ha, anyway, I wonder if—"

And the growling is back. I quickly apologize for the mumbling and start twiddling my thumbs.

Then almost to the air, I add: "I just wanted to prove myself, you know? But here I am, the only warrior in Yuuei who can't kill a dragon. Though I'll get over it… it will just take some time." While whispering this, I reach over to grab a stick, distractedly drawing the dragon's body in the sandy dirt.

Absentmindedly, I begin muttering about the Kagutsuchi's possible stats: strength, speed, number of blasts. By the time I finally look up — dirt picture now complete with a full tail — the dragon is nowhere to be seen. Turning around I find it hanging upside down from a tree.

Curious, I edge closer. Red eyes half-open to glare my way before it huffs and hops down to the ground, tail flickering from agitation.

It seems like my invitation has worn out for the day. Funnily enough, while I stayed on edge the whole time, I also feel a little giddy about coming back.

"W-well, I'll see you, uh, dragon?"

It stays silent for a second and then growls at my satchel.

"Oh, yeah. I'll bring more fish tomorrow. A-and I know you have no reason to trust me, but I promise I won't be bringing any of my nonexistent friends by soooo… sleep well?"

With an awkward wave stemming for my own pathetic cringiness, I stiffly turn away and speed back to the village.

I have so many notes to add to my book.