Chapter 11
Surprise Trip
Dakota was still rather apprehensive around Izuku but she was definitely less aggressive and more willing to be around him. Izuku tried his best to be supportive of her no matter what, slowly learning more about her based on what she chose to reveal to him. Granted, that wasn't much but he would take anything he could get. He did not pester her on why she had originally left him or what she did while she was out on her own or even how she knew about the villain attack in the first place, but allowed her to get used to being in a cramped apartment once more. She remained in her dog form most of the time and she was learning more and more how to be friendly, but in the few times that she came out of the house to tag along to Haruka's cabin and allowed Emiko to turn her back into a dragon, she became skittish and downright aggressive, often flying off with a snarl and coming back a few hours later, panting heavily and sweating from exertion. Izuku again did not question this but was starting to worry about her and was still trying to grasp the rules of a dragon bond.
Ever since Izuku had found Dakota sitting on his doorstep with his notebook in her mouth, the two had not spoken again. Izuku's mind felt oddly alone without her warm presence there, even when she was in the same room. He did not try to push this either, he hated the strange feeling on walking on thin ice with her but he didn't want to scare her away.
Now, Izuku was sitting at his desk attempting to finish his homework while Dakota slept peacefully at his feet. He felt an inkling of pride at the thought that she was comfortable enough to sleep beside him so willingly and so he remained completely still as he worked, only moving to scratch his pencil across the notebook paper in front of him. He got some of his work done, but his mind just kept wandering back to the mysterious creature, her sudden aggression in her dragon form as well as her strange displays of affection towards him. Izuku scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, his eyes closing in consideration. He knew what he wanted to say to her, but he just didn't know when and how to bring it up. Finally, he opened his eyes and slowly leaned forward, pulling out his phone after checking that Dakota was still asleep. He pulled up his messages and found Haruka's number, which had been given to him just before Dakota left him.
Deku: Haruka? Hello, sorry it is late, I just can't stop thinking about Dakota. I am worried about her, and I don't know what to do. I don't think I will be able to handle it very well if she flies off again… but she is still so aggressive in her dragon form, it makes me uneasy, but I feel like I can't get to her.
He waited for his phone to buzz but didn't expect an answer since it was close to midnight. To his surprise, she texted him back immediately.
Haruka: Meet me two weeks from now. Start at my house, then we will go somewhere special. Bring Dakota, I know exactly how to help you both.
Deku: Thank you, sounds great! Where are we going?
Izuku waited for a response but she left him on read. He shrugged and placed his phone down. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to go back to his remaining homework, his pencil hanging suspended above his paper.
The warm caress in the mind shocked him so much that he physically jolted in his seat. Immediately, the touch retracted a little, coiling away from his mind as if it had been burned, and it took a moment for Izuku to calm down before that little tendril of warmth began to envelop his consciousness again. Izuku glanced down to see Dakota staring right at him, her eyes opened wide and bright. He had been so sure that she was in a deep sleep that seeing her sharp eyes staring up at him made him feel a little exposed, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
Dakota did not speak to him, but the question in her gaze was clear. Izuku sighed and reached down to stroke her ears.
"Good girl Dakota, I promise, we will get this unusual situation figured out," He said. Dakota leaned into his touch for just a moment but pulled away soon after, standing up to shake herself and pad away to lay down on the pile of blankets she called her bed. Izuku yawned and gave up on the rest of his homework, concluding that he would finish it in the morning. Izuku fell asleep but was restless throughout the night, his mind clouded with questions.
The school day had gone by both tantalizingly slowly and as quick as a flash, giving Izuku an almost dizzy feeling as he made his way up the drive to the little cabin, his boots crunching on the twigs that lined the path. The two weeks had flown by, the intense workloads from school keeping Izuku busy so that he barely had time to ponder where Haruka was taking them. Now though, as he walked up the trail with Dakota padding at his side, his mind was running wild with ideas. He mounted the steps leading up to the door and raised his fist to knock when the door flew open, revealing an overexcited Haruka, standing over him with Cassian resting gently on her shoulder in his eagle form.
"Hello, Haruka! Where are we-"
Haruka cut him off by walking past him but beamed at him as she passed, beckoning to him with a thin, pale hand. Haruka trotted over to her truck and opened the back of it, motioning for Izuku and Dakota to hop in. Dakota hesitated, ducking behind Izuku's legs and growling at the truck. Izuku knew that since she had had limited flying time, she enjoyed riding in the car deep down as it replicated that feeling a little bit but also understood her skepticism. He reached down and placed a soothing hand on her head. Dakota still seemed tense so Izuku decided to try something. He did not know exactly how this was supposed to work but he decided to try it anyway to soothe her.
Izuku closed his eyes and pictured how it felt when it happened to him. He reached out with his mind, almost like a long tendril and snaked that tendril down to the bridge that he knew represented his bond with Dakota. Izuku then pushed that tendril over the bridge until he felt a large wall blocking his path. He thought for a moment before deciding to use the tendril to stroke the outside of the wall. The wall shuddered and almost distantly, he felt Dakota relax behind him. He opened his eyes again to see Haruka standing directly in front of him, her face lit up with excitement.
"Did you just reach out to her through the bond?"
"Yeah," Izuku said, rubbing a nervous hand on the back of his neck. "I thought it would soothe her if I comforted her both physically and mentally."
Haruka's smile widened and she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You are a good kid, young Midoriya," She said, directing him, and therefore Dakota as well, to the truck. Izuku climbed in and patted the seat beside him for Dakota who was still nervous but complied. Haruka shut the door and got into the driver's seat to start the vehicle.
"Emiko will be joining us once we get there," Haruka said.
"Alright," Izuku replied. "Haruka? Where are we going?"
Haruka only smiled at him as she pulled out of the drive.
"It's a surprise."
Emiko was waiting for them when they pulled up to the edge of a forest, one that was completely different from the one sitting on the edge of Haruka's backyard. This forest was dark and cold but not unwelcoming. The trees were huge but they were so close together that the sun had trouble peeking through which gave the area its darker aura.
Izuku hopped out of the truck with Dakota in tow, stretching his arms high above his head with a groan. He was thankful that it was a Saturday, the drive had been six hours long, there was no way he would've been able to get home in time to finish his homework and get a good night sleep had he had school the next day. Dakota shook herself once her paws hit the ground and she lifted her head up to sniff the air curiously.
"Hello, Emiko!" Haruka called as her friend trotted up to them. When Emiko got closer, Izuku and Dakota noticed that she had a small bearded dragon sitting on her shoulder, its tail wrapped loosely around Emiko's throat.
"Hey, Haruka! Hello Izuku, Dakota, what's going on?"
"We are here for bond training!" Haruka beamed happily, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet as she approached her friend. Haruka gave Emiko a hug and patted the bearded dragon once she had pulled back.
"Bond training?" Izuku asked, excitement and anxiety coursing through his veins.
"Yep!" Haruka glanced at Izuku but then turned back to Emiko and nodded once. "Follow me."
Izuku considered arguing, the lack of a jacket starting to worry the young teen as the chill sank into his skin and made his hair rise. He rubbed his arms and let out a shaky breath but followed anyway, forsaking the idea of staying behind. Dakota followed Izuku without question but he could practically feel the tension radiating off of her, her ears constantly rotating and her teeth bared just slightly.
The group walked through the forest in silence, moving through the foliage and crossing the occasional rivers that barred their paths. They walked for almost an hour, their breathing coming out in pants and their faces covered in sweat. Despite the exercise, the chill sank its fangs into Izuku's skin and refused to let go, drying his sweat with a frosty breeze that caused the droplets to freeze on his skin. He began to shake, his movements slowing.
"Alright!" Haruka called from ahead of him. "We are here!"
Izuku sighed and used the last of his energy to jog up the hill to meet Haruka and Emiko. Dakota and Izuku crested the hill and peered down into the valley below, expecting some kind of unique detail that would have justified Haruka dragging them all the way out there. Dakota tilted her head and Izuku felt his lips part ever so slightly in confusion. It was just a normal valley, maybe even less interesting than other valleys Izuku had seen. The land was barren and barely covered in grass. There were almost zero trees in the area and the wind was howling so loudly that it resembled the dull roar of a pained dragon.
"Haruka wha-"
Izuku cried out in surprise as Cassian, in under ten seconds, leaped off of Haruka's shoulder and landed on the ground in his dragon form, only to push Izuku off the edge and into the valley below. Dakota galloped to the edge and roared down into the bowl of land, worry lacing her cry. She turned to snarl at Cassian when the huge bone dragon leaned down and grabbed her by the back of her neck gently. Dakota yelped in surprise just as Emiko leaned forward and placed her fingers on Dakota's flank. Cassian then leaned back and tossed Dakota unceremoniously over the edge, her body changing back into her dragon form as she flew through the air. She landed heavily on the forest floor and immediately leaped up to her feet, turning to roar with pure fury at the bone dragon and the two women standing beside him. Izuku pushed himself to his feet as well, and both tried to make their way to climb back up the hillside, sore, tired, hungry, and frustrated.
Izuku placed one foot on the base of the hill and immediately felt the land lurch beneath him, throwing him back. He cried out but suddenly felt a firm weight beneath him. He felt his body lift back up and he was able to plant his feet down on the ground. Izuku turned around and saw that Dakota had caught him when he had fallen, but she growled at him as soon as he was balanced and prowled away, along the base of the hill. Izuku looked back up at Haruka and Emiko to see that while he had been looking down, the bearded dragon had transformed into her real dragon form, a small Hobblegrunt dragon with yellow scales. The dragon had both of her paws on the top of the hill and small ripples were flowing from them, changing the landscape around them. The hill had lengthened and arched so that long spikes of rock curved over them like dome, the sharp spikes as well as the deep arch of the landscape creating a cage that was impossible to escape from.
Izuku felt his heart leap into his throat, fear slipping through his bloodstream. Had Haruka been lying? Was she actually out to get Dakota all along? Izuku moved quickly over to Dakota and placed a protective arm in front of her, his breathing getting faster and harsher as he stared through the sharp rocks up at Haruka and Emiko.
"Haruka! What is going on?" Izuku called, hoping with every fiber of his being that this was all just some big misunderstanding.
"This is an exercise that every person in this area who is bonded to a dragon has undergone. It is a test of your connection and it will help you figure each other out. I did this with Cassian when I was young, and although it was tough, it was worth it. When I did it, we were forced to go deeper into the forest so that we would get lost but Kame here, Emiko's dragon, has an environmental manipulation quirk which has allowed me to trap you in one place instead."
"What are we supposed to do?" Izuku called.
"You are going to stay here until you two can work together as a team. You will be responsible for taking care of one another such as getting food for one another, keeping each other warm at night, etc. I will check up on you both every day but you will stay here until I deem that you two have crossed the line that you have inadvertently drawn between you two."
"But what about my mother? What about school?"
"Well, it is the weekend," Haruka said with a smirk. "But if you can't get past this before the weekend ends then I am going to send in a note that you are sick and bring your assignments for you. As for your mother, she thinks that you are on an extended weekend school trip."
"You did what!?"
"Yep! I promise this is necessary, everything will be fine, just follow your instincts!" Haruka smiled at him and waved just as she turned to leave.
"Haruka! Emiko! Cassian! Wait!" Izuku shouted, trying to run up the side of the valley wall only to slide back down pitifully. The group at the top merely waved him off before leaving, Cassian's tail being the last thing Izuku saw of them as they disappeared. Izuku called out again but they ignored him, walking off to do who knows what. Izuku eventually came to the frustrating conclusion that they were not coming back and gave up trying to call them back. He turned back to the center of the valley to where Dakota was pacing anxiously, her wings folded in tightly at her sides and her floppy ears constantly rotating. Her eyes were sharp and roved over every surface in the forest, looking for a way out of the cage that had been built by the Hobblegrunt dragon.
Izuku sighed and tried to approach Dakota, reaching a tentative hand out to soothe her. Although he had been hoping that, considering their current situation, she would abandon her strange tendency to become aggressive when in her dragon form, he was not surprised when Dakota flinched and snapped at him, bolting across to the other side of the valley and drifting down to a lone grass patch far away from him. This was going to be a long day…
