Chapter 12

Closer Still

That night, the forest seemingly turned to ice, the wind howling amongst the trees and burning Izuku's skin like freezing fire and the darkness of the night creating a suffocating feeling in that valley, as the trees were too clumped together to allow much moonlight to filter through their branches. Izuku had brought nothing but the clothes on his back for this trip, not expecting to have to stay outside for hours, which at the moment seemed like nothing more than two pieces of paper taped to his body. The wind ripped through his clothes as if they were not even there and clawed at his body like a savage animal. Izuku could not believe that a place could be this cold in the middle of August but the burn of the icy wind was very real, forcing him to clutch his own body for warmth. He glanced over to where Dakota was laying, her thick scales protecting her from the cold of the wind so that she was able to comfortably lay down on the ground at the far end of the valley where she had burned a small circular spot on the ground for herself. He had been trying the make contact with her all day but something about when she is in her dragon form made her turn aggressive and fearful, always running from him or snapping her jaws at him menacingly.

Izuku let out a shivery breath and pulled himself slowly to his knees so that he could drag himself to the base of a small lone tree in the center of the valley floor. He pressed his back up against it and huddled on the spot, pulling his knees as close as possible to his body for warmth. Suddenly, as he sat there, hoping but not believing that sleep would overtake him so that he could find some form of warmth in the morning, a fat raindrop landed on his nose. His eyes widened in shock but soon changed as his face contorted painfully. Rain was not going to warm things up and he didn't know how much colder his body would allow him to get. Despite his frustrations, the rain began to come splattering down anyway until it was pouring in the small, cold valley. Izuku could barely think in the cold, his body almost frozen in place and his eyes closed in pain. His whole body was wet and his clothes stuck to his body, clinging to him so that even if the rain were to stop he would remain drenched.

Dakota seemingly ignored the rain. She did not move from her spot curled up under a larger thicket of trees and her eyes remained tightly closed but really, she was having a terrible argument with herself. She whined slightly as she considered whether or not she should move to help Izuku or not, wanting to help him after everything he had done for her, but also feeling too afraid, he was a human after all. She knew it was absurd to treat him this way, especially after everything they had been through together, but in her dog form, she could forget that she was the most wanted dragon on the planet. She could forget that she was supposedly the last of her kind. She could forget about having to hide all the damn time. But now that she was in her dragon form, she was reminded clearly of what she was, what kind of a danger she brought to those around her. She growled to herself and squeezed her eyes even tighter as she tried to ignore all thoughts about the boy behind her. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Izuku glanced over at Dakota once but knew there was no point in trying to reconcile with her in these conditions. The icy rain bit into his flesh and sank its fangs even deeper into him with every passing moment. He hugged himself tighter and considered the possibility of frostbite or hypothermia in this weather. His mind wandered as he suffered through the cold, running through questions about why Haruka had left them stranded here, if she was even to be trusted in the first place, and how to get closer to Dakota, but his brain was just left exhausted and confused after he had mulled over possible solutions for a while. Izuku could not stop shaking. His whole body was numb and on fire at the same time. He could not remember being this cold and miserable in his life. He thought back to his warm, comfy bed with a warm meal from his mother. His stomach growled at the thought and Izuku had to bite his tongue to keep from groaning in longing. Uncurling his legs to try to get rid of the strange tingling feeling that was now running up and down the backs of his calves, Izuku rolled over and tried to make himself comfortable on the rain-soaked forest floor. He felt his hair mat to the side of his head as he rested it on the soggy ground but he was starting to lose his grip on common sense, his mind only focused on the terrible freezing rainwater that dragged its claws down his back and tore at his ears and hands. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried to sleep, hoping that then, the pain would go away.

Izuku yelped aloud when he felt something actually nip the base of his neck. The thing that had bitten him continued to hold on very gently to the flesh on the back on his neck but paused at his alarmed cry. After a moment passed, Izuku felt his body start to be dragged backward a little. He thought about fighting it, but his muscles felt stiff and paralyzed to the point that he just let himself be dragged through the mud. The thing dragged him for a short distance before dropping him. Normally, he would've used this as a chance to escape his captor, but he could've sworn that the rain had frozen his bones. He groaned and tried to move anyway, pain shooting throughout his body as his muscles ached at the action. Suddenly, a warm caress ran itself down his mind. Izuku jolted on the spot but relaxed immediately afterward, recognizing the tendril of warmth that wove its way through his consciousness, comforting him. She had come back. Izuku managed to turn himself around to see her large silhouette looming above him. Dakota watched him for a moment longer before completely making up her mind.

Reaching down, Dakota grasped the back of his shirt in her teeth and lifted Izuku completely off the ground. In the back of his mind, Izuku was a little afraid that the shirt would rip but it remained intact as she lifted him. When she set him back on the ground, although he had expected to feel the soggy forest floor once more, he felt a firm, warm surface underneath him instead. Izuku looked down to see a large, black leathery surface, and felt his heart leap into his throat with the realization that he was sitting on her wing. He looked up to see Dakota watching him with her teeth slightly bared, daring him to do anything stupid. Dakota then resituated herself down on the soaked, muddy ground and used her second wing to wrap around Izuku's frozen body, the surprisingly smooth scales protecting him from the blasting wind outside. Izuku sat there, stunned, unsure of what to do when a large black paw reached out and dragged him to her belly so that his back was pressed up against her. Izuku was unsure if he was dreaming or not, that is, until he felt a sudden warmth erupt along his back. His whole body rolled around to look behind him to find a little bit of steam coming off of her belly. Izuku gingerly held up a hand to her stomach and felt the waves of heat rolling off the surface of her scales. She was creating heat with her fire breath in her stomach, for him. Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes and he wiped them away quickly before settling himself between her paws to lean against her back. Izuku heard a small movement outside and knew it was her tail curling around her body in a neat little ball, as if to protect him further. Izuku felt more tears prick at his eyes despite his efforts to hold them back. Suddenly deciding to be bold, Izuku reached out and grasped one of her paws in his hands, holding it close to his chest. He felt her breath hitch and he was tempted to throw her paw away from him and apologize but he held onto her, gently but firmly.

"Thank you. I understand why you are so skittish in your dragon form. I know how much this means to you, helping me out despite your instincts screaming at you to just kill me and get as far away as possible. Thank you, for everything," Izuku tightened his grip just barely as he spoke, trying to show his appreciation through both his words and his actions. Dakota froze for a second but eventually relaxed, slowly, and he felt another gentle caress in his mind.

"Dakota?" Izuku asked aloud after a short while of silence. He did not expect a response but he thought he might as well try to get to know her a little, at least since she was willing to let him be this close to her at the moment.

"...Yes…?" Dakota answered after almost a full minute of tense silence. The voice echoed in his mind. Izuku knew that she had not actually said anything aloud, but to him, it sounded as she was speaking right into his ear. He shivered at the sound of her sweet voice.

"Are you cold?"

"...Yes…"

"Then why shield me with your body?"

"Because there is no point in both of us being cold, that's illogical," Dakota said.

"But why use your body? Why not dig me a hole in the ground, or cover me with tree branches?"

Dakota was silent.

"Because you are not evil. Not like him," She said in a voice that was barely even a whisper.

"Who? Who do you know that is evil?" Izuku asked.

"Do… d-do you trust me?" Dakota asked.

"Yes," Izuku answered back without hesitation.

Dakota sighed, the sound vibrating Izuku's entire body.

"Alright then, let me show you," She growled. Izuku did not know what to do so he just remained still as he felt her warm caress once more. The warm tendril that connected them through their bond suddenly wrapped around his mind, spreading its warmth until Izuku had the urge to reach back. Izuku closed his eyes and used his own connection to the bond to reach out and intertwine with her connection. As soon as he reached out to her, her connection beckoned his over the bridge that formed their bond, tugging him along. Izuku felt warm and cold, tired and energetic, hungry and full. He was confused but kept following Dakota's lead until they reached a looming black wall in her consciousness.

"What is this?" Izuku asked.

"Memories," Dakota answered.

Without being asked, Izuku reached out with the bond and stroked the outside of the wall, searching for a way in. Suddenly, the wall cracked and broke down the center almost like a large pair of doors opening for him. Izuku sent the bond inside almost without thinking. Instantly, a barrage of images flooded his brain, flashing and dashing across his mind in a whirl of colors. The flash of images stopped after a second and paused on one. Izuku realized very quickly that what he was being shown was a specific memory.

The beautiful scene of a forest on the side of the mountain spread out before Izuku, revealing a warm sun that shined its rays down on the still dewy morning grass. The trees were almost entirely pines, but there were a few others that towered above him to reach for a crystal blue sky. A shift of movement in the corner of Izuku's eye caused him to turn around to see what was obviously Dakota as a baby. She was so small back then and her body was almost entirely free of scars or injuries. Her wings looked silky to the touch and her blue eyes were sparkling with mischief. The baby Night Fury bounded through the undergrowth, her tail wagging as she pounced on various things with her oversized paws. She raised her head and barked out a little roar. Another Night Fury, one who was slightly smaller than Dakota with bright green eyes and a slightly lighter shade of black scales bounded out of the brush with a dead mouse in his teeth.

Izuku tilted his head as he observed the pair, the baby Dakota trotting over to her friend and wagging her tail in approval at his catch. The two baby dragons then moved to stand beside each other and started to walk away from the spot together, their bodies so close that their wings were almost touching. The scene dissolved and rebuilt itself in front of Izuku's eyes so quickly that he had to shake his head to allow himself to readjust to the pacing. He stopped shaking his head and looked around once the scene had rebuilt itself. He felt the blood rush from his face as he was able to see the horror in front of him. Izuku saw a slightly older baby Dakota being held by the back of the neck by a large, heavily built man. The man was laughing as Dakota tried to bite and scratch at him, her roars of fear and anger getting weaker and weaker as the man jostled her around as if she were nothing more than a doll. The man finally stopped playing with her and threw Dakota into a cage that was about the size of a small cat kennel with three other baby Night Furies, including the one he had seen hanging out with her in the previous memory. Despite knowing that it was a memory, Izuku took a step forward, ready to take a stand against the man when he felt his boot slide in something. Izuku managed to catch himself but had to stop from vomiting once he saw what he had stepped in.

Lying on the ground was a Light Fury, and Izuku had just slipped in the blood that was pooling from its wounds. The dragon was obviously dead but Izuku still felt as if he needed to save it. He kneeled down and placed his hand on the dragon's head. The dragon did nothing. Izuku looked up and around to find something, anything to use to help the long gone dragon when he felt his eyes widen in shock. Night Furies and Light Furies, all dead, were lying all over the once gorgeous mountainside forest. All of them were adults and upon further inspection, Izuku realized that all of the babies had been shoved into kennels and cages to be taken away while their parents had been slain where they stood.

Izuku clenched his fists and wanted so badly to get revenge on the men but stayed calm. This was a memory, he was only here to observe and store information.

"All done here boss! I think we got them all, that is every single Night Fury pup in this pack! We have scoured this forest over and over again and this looks to be the last of them," the man who had been messing with Dakota earlier said, patting one of the kennels he had just loaded onto a huge cart.

"Very good…" a chilling, slightly familiar voice said coldly from the shadows.

Izuku could not suppress his cry of shock as a slightly younger Shigaraki stepped out from where he had been obscured from view.

"This is my destiny," the memory Shigaraki said as he ran a bony finger down the bars of Dakota's cage with a vicious smile plastered on his face. "You will bring me my victory against the heroes. My victory against all of them," He cackled.

The memory dissipated completely just as Izuku was about to leap into action, and he found himself curled up on Dakota's wing with his back pressed up against her belly. He woke with a start and found himself to be panting heavily. He looked around wildly as if expecting Shigaraki to come out of the shadows at any minute. Finally, he got himself pulled together a little.

"That wasn't a dream was it?"

The rain had stopped and Dakota had raised her wing slightly so that she could look at him. She blinked once and shook her head twice.

"I thought not… is that why you hate humans so much?"

Dakota dipped her head once.

"I'm so, so sorry…" Izuku said, unsure of what to say after the emotional rollercoaster he had just experienced. He knew there was more to the story but for now, he was grateful for her trust in him to show him this far while also a little thankful that that was all she had decided to show him. He wasn't sure if he was ready to handle the full truth of her past if that had just been the beginning of it.

Dakota watched him, her blue eyes gleaming at him with something he couldn't read.

"Goodnight Dakota," Izuku said after a moment of silence, his mind turning up blank with more things to say. Dakota half purred, half growled at him and closed her wing once more, turning her head so that she could rest for the night. It took Izuku a long time to fall asleep that night, and when he finally did, he dreamt of laughing dragon hunters and dead dragons.