12/10/2021

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The Emperor's Dragon
Fledgling 10

The air was fresh and clear. It was cold but Izuku didn't mind that as he swooped through it. Flying was the best! He was just sorry that he didn't get much opportunity to do it but he'd managed to convince Kurogiri that he needed to practice and the warp gate had transported him here. Here was Lake Saroma, in northern Hokkaido, which meant that it was rather isolated. It meant he could practice without fear of being seen.

He created a platform and just let himself glide through the air, closing his eyes to feel the breeze on his face. It was nice.

It would be nicer if his Dad could have come but he'd had to decline. Izuku formed a fist. Dad had explained that he had other things to do but Izuku knew why. His injuries! They were healed. They had been healed for a year or so, but they were confining. The Heroes had hurt him so much and Izuku missed the opportunities they had to be together, practicing his quirks. It wasn't fair!

He screamed. It felt good and Izuku flipped in the air, his eyes narrowing as he activated Night Cat and he screamed again, diving towards the water. As he neared it, he levelled out and shot a jet of flame towards the water, strafing it. Steam hissed and billowed in his wake, swallowing the noise from his scream but it quickly dissipated as it mixed with the cold air.

Izuku pulled up, shooting into the air again.

"That's amazing!"

The voice was so unexpected that Izuku almost lost control of his quirk! He spun in the air, and found himself face to face with a young man, who was similarly floating in the air.

"Opp!" He said and Izuku felt a burst of air boost him as he stablised himself.

"Hi!" The young man said with a friendly grin. He held out one hand. "I'm Inasa Yoarashi," he introduced himself. He had dark brown hair and black eyes.

Izuku blinked. This was not what he expected. There wasn't meant to be anyone around. But there was. He smiled because it didn't appear as if Inasa was here to enforce quirk usage laws. If anything, he got the impression that Inasa was out practicing as well. "I'm Izuku Chui," he gave his name, taking Inasa's hand.

They shook and Izuku could tell from the movement that Inasa was strong. "What's your quirk? It's fantastic!" Inasa gushed.

For a moment Izuku panicked. He couldn't say that he had multiple quirks but what could he say that explained flight and fire breathing? And Kurogiri always told him he couldn't go out in public with green hair and eyes. What colour were they now? From the corner of his eye Izuku could see that his hair at least was white but if he'd used Night Cat, he knew his eyes were green. It would have to be good enough.

"Is it some sort of transformation quirk?" Inasa asked.

He nodded. That was probably the safest explanation.

"It's amazing! You can breathe fire and fly! That's so great."

"Only if I can get the timing right," Izuku countered. "Your quirk is-" he paused, remembering the burst of air that he'd felt earlier. Inasa's quirk wasn't just flight. "Some sort of air control?" he asked.

"Good pick up!" Inasa praised. "My quirk is named Whirlwind. I can control the air around me!"

"That's awesome!" Izuku gushed. It really was. Initially it seemed as if it was the same as Caeli Imperium but it was completely different. There were so many great quirks in the world. "How far can you extend the effect?" He asked.

"A bit," Inasa said with a grin. "That's why I'm here, to practice," he added with a laugh.

Izuku shared the laugh. "Me too!"

"I'm training to get into UA!" Inasa said.

Izuku felt the mirth drain from him almost instantly. UA meant Hero course but then he frowned. "How old are you?" he asked. Inasa looked like he should already be in UA.

"I'm ten."

"What? You're the same age as me?" Izuku was flabbergasted. Inasa was tall! Way taller than him and he seemed much older.

The other boy laughed. "Apparently," he replied. "Though you don't like UA?" he asked.

Izuku sighed. He looked off to the side, admiring the scenery for a few moments as he thought how best to explain. "I'm not that fond of heroes," he said carefully. "My dad was caught in a battle a year or so ago and he still hasn't recovered."

"Ah," Inasa murmured, nodding. "I'm sorry about that," he said. It actually sounded like he was genuine.

"It's not your fault," Izuku said immediately. "I wish you luck," he said, turning slightly.

"No, don't go!" Inasa said. "We can practice together."

Izuku cocked his head.

"You are trying to practice your timing and aim?" Inasa asked.

He nodded. He hadn't said he was practicing aim, but that would be later.

"Then we can help each other! I'm working on strengthening my quirk and creating smaller, more detailed projections. So I'll mark the water with a target for you with my quirk, and you try to hit it with yours!"

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked. How was Inasa going to mark the water?

The other teen grinned and gestured towards the lake. He pushed one hand towards the water and Izuku saw a series of ripples appear on it.

"Oh," he said, rather stupidly. Inasa was using his air control to create gusts of air that then hit the water, making a marking on the surface. That was his target. "Okay," he said. It would be more fun to practice with someone else! "Can you make a line?" he asked. He'd start with strafing runs and then move on to pinpoint blasts of fire if Inasa could stay long enough.

The target shifted. Izuku laughed happily. "Thanks!" He said, lifting himself up and then diving towards the target. He took a deep breath to shoot out fire.

He strafed the water, running down the target Inasa had provided and then onwards. Steam billowed up again and Izuku felt the warmth of it before the cold air again dissipated it. "Gonna need a longer target!" He said.

Inasa laughed and gestured. On the water surface the target extended. It was far longer than Izuku could use. He shook his head, and smiled at the other boy. "I'm not sure I can breath out that long!" Izuku admitted before licking his lips. "But let's try!"

This was going to be fun!

-ted-

Izuku panted. He was sitting on a platform of air he'd made next to Inasa who was currently laughing at his predicament. "I can't…" he managed to gasp the words.

"A pretty good effort though!" The other boy said. The lake was still steaming, though it was quickly being consumed in the cold air.

"Too long," Izuku choked out the words. He forced himself to take deep breaths and in a relatively short time his breathing came back under control. "Well, I just can't make that length," he said with a smile. "Thanks for the target."

His new friend shrugged. "No worries."

"Want me to help you practice now?" Izuku offered.

"You have been!" Inasa objected.

"You've been making targets for me to hit but I hardly think that's what you wanted to do for practice," he replied.

Inasa looked slightly sheepish and Izuku knew he'd been correct. "I wanted to work on my maneuverability," he admitted. "Don't get me wrong. I wanted to work on controlling multiple air vectors as well!"

Izuku nodded and ran one hand through his currently white hair. He was defaulting to white hair with gold eyes now. It made him feel closer to his dad. "I can help with that," he said, standing up in the air, much like Inasa was.

"You can?" the larger boy asked.

"I can," Izuku confirmed as he pushed himself closer to Inasa. He looked into black eyes, letting a grin split his features. Inasa's expression changed slightly when he knew Izuku was up to something but he didn't react fast enough. "Tag, you're it!" Izuku yelled and then shot away from the other boy.

For a moment, Inasa didn't react. And then a smile crossed his features as he understood. He shot after Izuku.

As he followed Izuku, Inasa realised he was faster. Not by a lot, but by enough to make a difference. He grinned as he closed in on the white haired boy, reaching out to tag him, except as he made the swipe, Izuku wasn't there.

The black eyed boy blinked. He'd been just there.

"You'll have to do better than that!" The taunt came from his left. Inasa spun to see Izuku hovering about twenty meters away with a grin on his features.

"How did you-" He didn't finish the question before Izuku shook his head.

"You'll have to work that one out for yourself. By the way, you're still it!" Izuku added in a clear challenge.

Inasa charged again. He was faster. He'd close the gap easily and then, it would be Izuku who was it. Izuku watched him for about ten meters and then moved with Inasa following. Again he closed. This time he was going to tag the white haired boy. He made sure he got closer this time and swiped at Izuku's back.

It was surprising when he swiped nothing but air.

Inasa spun, searching for Izuku and spotted him about 3 meters below him. "How did you do that?" He asked. It almost looked as if Izuku had fallen the distance but there wasn't the slightest evidence of discomfort.

"Do what?" Izuku asked cheekily.

"Did you fall?"

That got him a laugh. "Nope. Come on, you're still it."

This time the brown haired boy let himself drop, his arm was extended to tag Izuku as he went by, but for a third time, Izuku wasn't there. Except this time, Inasa saw what he did. "How?" The smaller boy had dodged him mid air, showing an ability to change directions much, much more sharply than Inasa could.

"Keep coming at me, and we'll see if you can't work it out for yourself," Izuku encouraged. "It wouldn't do you any good for me to explain it, as our quirks work differently."

That made sense. He could already tell that Izuku didn't use wind gusts to keep himself aloft. However he stayed aloft, it was effective because he could literally turn on a yen! It was the type of maneuverability Inasa wanted.

He charged. Izuku stayed close but every time he went past, Inasa had to correct his trajectory, which meant he usually had to swing wide. There was a limit to how fast he could turn.

"You are getting better," Izuku told him as he continued to dodge the swipes Inasa was making.

"Yeah, but I'm never going to be able to turn as fast as you!" Inasa declared as he sailed passed Izuku again.

"That's not true!" the white haired boy objected. "You just need to practice!"

The brown haired boy lunged but again Izuku stayed out of reach by spinning around him. "How do you do that?"

"Dad taught me," Izuku said, remembering times when he and his father had gone flying together.

"Ah… sorry for bringing up the bad memory."

"The memory is good. The reality isn't," Izuku sighed, waving one hand to dismiss the issue. "Time out though, because I've got a question," he stopped his new friend from coming at him again.

"Hmm, what is it?" Inasa asked.

"How are you doing that?" Izuku asked, gesturing towards the empty air under Inasa.

"I'm using my quirk," the black eyed boy replied, a bit confused as to what Izuku was asking.

Still, Izuku nodded, before his eyes narrowed and it was obvious he was thinking about something. "Let me guess, you are using a single whirlwind to hold yourself in the air?"

Inasa felt his eyes widen. How did Izuku know that? He nodded.

"I think that's why you can't turn that fast," he mused.

"What?"

"Wind doesn't change direction that fast," Izuku explained. "With your single whirlwind, once you get some momentum going, you have to curve your directional change. It takes time, yes?" He paused waiting for an answer.

Inasa had to nod, still not quite sure where his friend was going with this.

"What if you held yourself aloft with two whirlwinds?" Izuku asked. "Or four? Or six! Six would be best!" he decided, speaking rapidly. "Then to turn you'd just shift the focus so that the direction changed. And if you wanted to change directions suddenly, you simply cut out the whirlwinds that you don't need!"

"Is that how you do it?"

Izuku laughed. "Nope! I create a platform to stand on and push it around. Or I can walk on it," he added stamping down to show that there was something beneath him. "That's how I visualise it anyway."

"So how would making six whirlwinds help?" Inasa asked.

"Instead of using one, if you have six, then you can adjust their strength, and that will allow you to shift directions faster."

"I still don't get it," he said.

"Okay, let's go down and I'll show you," Izuku said, heading towards the shore of the lake.

They landed together and Izuku looked for a small rock. It was easy to find one. He held it up. "Can you hold this?" he asked.

Inasa reached out and picked up the rock.

"With your quirk!" Izuku specified, shaking his head.

Inasa grinned, and pulled his hand back. The rock remained suspended in the air.

"Now, I want you to create two more whirlwinds," Izuku said and he held his hands up, fingers pointing towards the rock but from opposite sides.

"That's done," Inasa said. The rock wobbled a bit but remained steady.

"Now another two," Izuku said, moving his hands around through 90 degrees.

"Done," Inasa said.

"And one more, from the top," Izuku requested.

Again the rock wobbled but it held steady.

Izuku grinned at him. "Now, move it to the left," he instructed, pointing.

Inasa frowned as he concentrated but then a smile bloomed over his features when the rock moved.

"You're keeping the other whirlwinds?" Izuku asked.

The black eyed boy nodded, and Izuku looked over at him. He could tell it was taking all of Inasa's concentration to hold the rock.

"Back to the right," he instructed.

The rock shot off into the water, not to the right.

"Gah!" Inasa gasped, and breathed heavily.

"That wasn't the right," Izuku commented.

"I know," he agreed. "I get what you mean now though. I just lost one of the whirlwinds," he said.

Izuku nodded. "It will take practice," he said the words as encouragement.

"How did you work it out?" Inasa asked, flopping back onto the ground.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you work it out? That, if I used multiple whirlwinds, I could turn sharper?"

Izuku shrugged. "I like quirks," he replied.

Inasa nodded, before he jumped to his feet and bowed. "Thank you!"

"It's nothing," Izuku dismissed. "Thank you for practicing with me," he continued.

They both burst out laughing at the same time.

"Do you want to practice again some time?" Inasa asked.

Izuku grinned at him. "I'd love to, but I'm not sure I'll be able to," he had to conclude sadly.

"Then give me your phone number. You can at least help that way! I'll do my best to help you too!"

That Izuku could do and they exchanged numbers. He grinned again at Inasa.

This was a good day.

-ted-

I completely forgot Inasa existed, and then a reader - Yamajiji suggested him for something, when I was writing chapters around this point in time. And so Inasa has now become a character, and actually solved a problem for me later in the fic. I was aware of the problem, I just hadn't dealt with it :D And Izuku gets a new friend.

My discord is on this code: ZX2R5h2cEm FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!