Hi! Exceptionally, I post a (long) new chapter today, since I have big oral exams and I won't have time to update on Friday.
Thank you for your kind reviews and enjoy! :D
CHAPTER 5 – First (not so successful) steps
Uraraka Ochako was an eager ball of excited positivity. She was a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, whom one could only love or hate. Philae immediately liked her. Back home, the very few female friends she had were either adults working in Crawford's company, all busy with tight schedules, or newly graduated students who were off abroad to prestigious universities to achieve their dreams. In other words, Philae had lacked female company for quite some time, and was used to living among men – which could be quite tiresome –. Having the occasion to bond with the girls in her class was therefore refreshing and welcome.
With Tsuyu, a strange, but cute girl with a frog Quirk, the three of them headed towards the nearest mall, in the city centre. Izuku, Iida, and Kirishima were accompanying them, claiming they needed supplies and a few other things, but they planned on going their separate ways once there. The boys were not interested in "girly stuff", such as trying outfits and strolling through endless sections of clothes, and they largely preferred going among themselves. They would all meet again at lunch, then maybe go to some place to have fun together – maybe the arcade, or a café, or something else, they would decide when they were there –.
Truthfully, Philae was not interested in clothes that much. She liked the activity as a means to spend quality time with friends, but other than that, and the practical aspect of getting a new wardrobe, she did not indulge in it for pleasure. Still, she could not help get excited when she saw Ochako bounce and beam at the idea of advising her on outfits. Tsuyu was much calmer, although an aura of happiness surrounded her and shone in her eyes.
The group had asked the others to join them, but got negative answers for various reasons. Most of them declined in favour of training, and some... well, some might have expressed their worry at witnessing another "wyvern-banshee episode", as Mineta smartly referred it by. There were three of them in particular, that avoided her more or less obviously: Mineta, who had seemingly put her on the same level of danger as Bakugou and outright ignored her, a guy with a tail named Ojiro, who did not really fear her but remained cautious whenever she was in a ten meter distance from him, and a silent, discreet boy named Koda, who had been traumatised by Infuriae's screech and did not want to get any close to her, or even look at her.
Deep down, it hurt Philae to think that her powers chased people away from her. But she could not blame them. She was dangerous, and even though she would not go boom at any moment, she did not really know what could happen under pressure. It was not as if they wanted to be mean to her on purpose. They just... wanted to be safe. And they surely would not get along if they were too cautious. Philae could understand their carefulness, but she did not want to be wrapped up in bubble paper either, nor would she appreciate being watched as if she were some wild animal.
Then, there were people that did not avoid her, nor approached her, but just... stayed in the perimeter. There was Bakugou, of course, since he had been the first to measure how out of control her Quirk could get. She had tried to apologise to him, but he had told her to get the fudge out of his sight before he blasted her sorry bottom – with much ruder, more imaginative words only Infuriae could compete with –. She would have felt miserable, had Izuku not explained that it was the way the blonde reacted, when he met an obstacle he could not overcome. The obstacle being currently her and her wyvern. Her green-haired friend had concluded the other would calm down eventually, when he would have vented out his frustration, namely punched someone or burnt something down. The usual when "Kacchan" was angry at something, and no one paid it any mind anymore.
In any case, if the explosive teen did not talk to her, and looked ready to blast her whenever he got the chance, he still hung by like a gruff stalker. He kept himself at a distance, and yet he never let her out of his sight – despite the fact that he had purposefully told her to never appear before him again –. His gaze was angry, and at the same time, she would catch him analysing her every moves. Maybe he was searching for her weaknesses, so that he could get back at her for his humiliation? He would not tell, and Philae tried her best to ignore his disturbing study of her.
Unfortunately for her, he was not alone doing so. Another boy did, though not as openly, and surely not as tactlessly as his hotheaded classmate. Todoroki Shouto, apparently one of the prodigies of his generation, had his fair share of staring at her. She could not pinpoint the reason why he did, though, for he did not know her at all, nor did he get roared at and insulted by the wyvern. Still, he adopted the same pattern of quick glances and intense scrutiny. Did he want to pick a fight, too? It was hard to tell, given that his face was often devoid of readable emotions, and he too made a point in not talking to her. Never. Not even a "hello". Just a glance and a nod, if she was lucky enough.
Philae became immediately embarrassed and fidgety when the two of them were around for more than a few second, which was a stunning exploit as it was only her third day at U.A High. However, the others did not seem to mind the strange behaviour of their friends, so she considered this as normal, at least to their standards of normalcy, and suppressed the uneasy shivers that ran down her spine when she felt their gazes on her.
Other than these minor details, her first two days had been quite smooth, to her utter relief. Aizawa had taught and talked to her like nothing had happened the first night, and Philae had been integrated quickly. Momo had offered to tutor her, so that she could catch up with the first semester she had missed. Ochako accompanied her everywhere, so that she would not get lost. Izuku always chatted about everything and anything, trying to find a moment when he could finally ask her about her Quirk. Kirishima had taken a liking to Anubis, and the dog followed him everywhere he went, coming back to her only when everyone gathered at the dorms for the evening. The little furball had even been assigned a selected spot in the common living room, with his bowls, a blanket, and a pink cushion, courtesy of Tsuyu. He was probably sleeping on it at this very moment, waiting for her to return.
Philae had been introduced to the other teachers, all of them welcoming and kind enough. She also had caught glimpses of All Might, but the scrawny blonde man did not have classes with them at the moment. He seemed to gravitate around the infirmary wing, and Izuku had simply told her the former hero needed some more time to heal completely from the wounds he had received. She had not prodded, though she promised herself to ask her friend what exactly had happened during the last fight of All Might. Or maybe she would ask the man directly, when she would start training with him.
All in all, she had made herself some friends quite rapidly, and she certainly would not complain. She had unintentionally got rivals, too, if Bakugou and Todoroki's behaviour was anything to go by – or creepy stalkers of doom, both seemed to mean the same thing here –. As for the students outside of her class... well, it was as if they did not really know of her yet. That, or they did not give a damn. Either was fine by her, she thought she already got too much attention as it was.
She had got her new sim card on her second evening, waiting on her night-stand, along with a brand new credit card and bank account information, credited with the first transfer of the small monthly pension the Principal had granted her for her basic needs. Hence their presence at the mall right now. She could not go on with only two changes of clothes and her uniform, and she wanted to see more of the new world she lived in.
Philae had been worried that her being a possible target for villains might have forbidden her to go out. However, when she had asked Aizawa about it, the dark-haired teacher had just scoffed and given her a tracking device. A simple click on the button, and she would send a SOS directly to the nearest heroes' pagers. She was to hold to it wherever she went outside of the school gates, alone or not.
She put the precious gadget safely in her bra, away from prying eyes and where she was sure she would not lose it. Its presence was reassuring. Besides, she thought, she was among other aspiring heroes, who had much more experience than she. Surely, no villain with brain cells would dare attack them in the open, at rush hour, with civilians swarming around and pro heroes not so far away. And even if they wanted to, they might be careful of Philae's Quirk, since she had half-toasted the Noumu that had attacked her the first time.
This was the last free day her class could enjoy, before they went to ask for internships. They had to solicit hero agencies themselves, using the network they had begun creating during their first internship, and it would take a day or two. After that, they would train a little more and be off. Philae, for her part, would stay on school grounds and meet All Might on the training field, and she surprisingly could not wait to begin the programme her teacher promised to make for her.
"Soooo," Ochako chirped happily, "what do you want to do first, Phi?"
The boys took it as their cue to go on their own. Philae looked at her hyperactive friend and hummed pensively.
"Huh, wel-l, I think I'll begin with regular, day-to-day clothes. Comfortable and all. And maybe one or two nicer outfits?" she proposed.
"Hm, sounds like a plan! Follow me, we'll doll you up in no time! What's your style?"
"Er..."
That was a good question. Tricky, in fact. Back home, she had suits for business meetings and fancy dresses for galas, business dinners and charities she had to attend as the heiress of Crawford. Needless to say she was not found of those. They made her feel trapped and suffocating.
When she did not have to drag herself to blasted events where she had to look nice and pretty, she shared a closet of jeans and nerdy t-shirts with her brother. Both siblings had approximately the same simple tastes, resulting in her looking almost tomboyish, if not for her curves hugged by the fitting cut of her classic outfits. Crawford slipped in one or two skirts and dresses from time to time, to try and get her to act more like the rose he thought her to be. She indulged him very rarely, though when she did, he mostly left her alone with her style for a good couple of months after.
"To be honest," she answered nervously, "I'm not that girly, you know. I'm more into nerdy stuff... But!" she added quickly so as not to disappoint Ochako and Tsuyu, "I'd appreciate it if you could help me pick a couple of classier clothes, you know, to go out and..."
"Don't feel bad about what you like to wear," Tsuyu replied, "we're not here to project our tastes on you, ribbit. If you prefer film references or black metal groups on your shirts, then we'll help you find stores that sell them."
This girl was an angel. Her calm composure and her thoughtfulness made her a person to be loved immediately. Ochako joined in.
"Of course, Phi! Don't feel obligated to ask for fancy things if you don't feel like it! Though I'd love to buy myself some cute items I found at one of those stores, if you don't mind?"
"'Course not," Philae snorted, "and thank you."
Eventually, they all ended up having fun in the fitting rooms, trying both nice and ridiculous outfits, and advising one another on sizes and colours. Philae stocked up a reasonable pile of jeans, plain t-shirts, underwear, sleepwear and toiletries. She even found a small shop where she fell for a collection of colourful tops with video games references, which she promised herself to play one day since the characters looked cool. Finally, the three of them sat down at a trendy café, a dozen bags stacked around them, and ordered drinks while they waited for the boys. God knew what they were doing to take that long. And it was the girls that were known to take ages when shopping?
"So, Phi," Izuku piped up from his glass of lemonade, "can I ask you about your Quirk?"
The others around the table rolled their eyes at him. Of course, one could only expect nerdy fanboy Midoriya to wait that long before he started getting curious again. It was only fair, though. They had gathered for lunch at a fast-food restaurant, and used their eating time together to know more about Philae, asking and giving information about themselves in return. The subject of her Quirk was bound to come, since they did not have enough time to consider it seriously with all the lessons they had had to deal with, and they all knew Izuku would be the first to bring it up. She chuckled and nodded.
"Ask away."
The green-haired teen produced a notebook and pen from his backpack, and flipped the pages until he found a blank one. His fingers were working fast and his eyes shone with childish excitement. Their friends sighed good-naturedly, and settled themselves comfortably on the table of the fast-food restaurant they had chosen for lunch, ready to listen to the exchange as well.
"O-kay," Izuku began, "so, I gather your Quirk is partly about summoning dragons. Is there something else to it?"
Philae answered as exhaustively as she could about the way her abilities worked, like the time when Naomasa had interrogated her at the hospital. She explained the summoning process and what she knew about the link she had created with the creatures, as well as the theoretical possibilities of it.
Izuku fired question after question without fail, his curiosity consuming him to the point where he merely took the time to breathe between his sentences. He was in a trance, and scribbled her answers down on every inch of paper available, muttering unintelligible things under his breath when he did not ask something.
Though she felt a little overwhelmed by his eagerness and near-obsessive attitude, Philae found it nice to talk about her Quirk with someone else than her brother. There were very few people who knew about it, and none were of her age. Revealing all she could about this secret she had kept for so long, felt liberating.
When she did not have any more answer to give, her friend was almost out of breath, his eyes sparkling with wonder.
"As I thought," he exclaimed, "your Quirk is awesome! You can do so many things with it, there is huge room for progress. I can't wait to see what you'll try next!"
"Well," Philae replied pensively, "I guess I'll begin with urgent problems, such as not summoning a wyvern during the night, especially if I'm angry at someone."
She tried to joke about her slip up, even if deep down, she still felt shameful. The reactions of her friends reassured her.
"Yeah," Kirishima laughed, "I think Professor Aizawa will skin you alive if you pull out something like that again. I thought he was going to gouge your eyes out and eat them for breakfast, the way he looked at you."
"Don't be daft," Iida scoffed, "he'd never do that. Though I must say I was quite worried you'd be sanctioned more severely. It could have gotten very out of hand."
"Hm," she nodded slowly, "he didn't talk to me, in fact. I talked with All Might, while he caught up on sleep. I got lucky."
"I betcha," the red-head confirmed, "All Might is the best. He couldn't punish you even if his life depended on it. Look at Midoriya here," he pointed to the green-haired, "always ending up to the infirmary because he's careless and breaks all his bones before thinking, and All Might's never done more than patting him on the back or frowning at him."
"That's not true," Izuku tried to counter meekly, "I got sanctioned, last time..."
"Because you broke the rules and fought with Bakugou at night, where you shouldn't have," Tsuyu interjected, "so of course you had to be sanctioned. It would have been too lenient of him not to, ribbit."
Philae's eyes widened at that. Izuku had fought with Kacchan intentionally? She understood they were childhood friends and shared some strong like-hate relationship, but still, was it not too overboard?
The poor teen was red with embarrassment. He spluttered half excuses, while the others bickered on the level of leniency All Might could muster towards him. It seemed that he was the chosen protegee of the blonde teacher, and this was apparently a common subject to tease him lightly about.
"Anyway," she interrupted to save him from his misery, "I guess I'll have to find out what I can do when I train with him. He promised me a training programme and..."
"You'll be trained by All Might?" Izuku asked excitedly. "Cool! You'll catch up with us in no time, then."
"I hope so," she beamed, "I really want to show you what I'm capable of."
"You'll have plenty of occasions," Ochako assured. "D'you have a costume, yet?"
"A costume?" Philae blinked.
"Yes, a hero costume," Kirishima explained with wide gestures to make his point, "when you enter U.A, you fill in your info for the assistance team to design your costume, adapted to your Quirk and super cool to wear. It's how you'll appear to the world, so it's super important you choose your style wisely!"
"Ah... Yes, I think I remember Principal Nedzu asking for this. I didn't know what to tell him, and I still have no idea what to expect," she answered deflated. "In a sense, I still have to accept the whole idea of becoming a hero. In my world, you'd only exist in comic books, you know. So it's like living a dream, I don't know what to wish for next," she giggled.
"I guess it'd be good to stick to a simple, recognisable design for now," Izuku mumbled, doodling on a corner of his page, "with basic properties. Infuriae's a fire wyvern, so the costume should be fumigated. Resistant to scales, too, if they must be resorted to. Elasticity would be a nice bonus in some cases. Oh, and why not see for stress reducing acupuncture pressure, like Uraraka's costume, but for stress. And..."
"Midoriya," Kirishima called him, snapping him out of his reflections, "relax, man. You're overthinking again. It's no good for you, y'know?"
"S-sorry," he muttered softly, "I guess I'm easily excited?"
"It's alright, Midoriya," Philae soothed him, "actually, I think I'd like your advice. I already thought about a fumigated costume, and stress reducing acupuncture could prove useful in the heat of battle, when I need to focus more. I had a sort of woman-knight design in mind, light version, with leather shoulder-pads and a helmet shaped like a dragon-head..."
"A warrior?" Now the teen's eyes were sparkling again. "Wow, that'd be great! What colour?"
"Er, red, maybe? Yeah, I like red."
"It would enhance your eyes and brighten your face, ribbit," Tsuyu agreed.
"That's a start," Ochako supported cheerfully, "you're shaping your character and that's the most difficult part. I had to think about mine for months, before I could find a concept that satisfied me."
"Me too," Kirishima added, "so don't fret if you're only at the beginning. What counts is that you've begun thinking about it."
"True," Tsuyu concluded with a nod, "plus, you already have a hero name, haven't you?"
"Yes," Philae replied, "Lady Dragon. It was an idea of the press, so I just went along with it, but I like it. If I can reach the expectations it raises, it'll suit me."
"Lady Dragon," Izuku added to his notes, "I saw it in the newsfeed of heroic missions. You took down a Noumu all by yourself, right?"
Everyone gasped at that, startling her. She flustered slightly.
"I wouldn't say that," she corrected humbly, "it was more by chance. I managed to wound it, or at least burn it enough to hinder its movements, and I think the heroes could approach after that. But I wouldn't really know, I kind of passed out as soon as I finished attacking," she finished lamely.
"That's... impressive," Iida commented, stunned, "we encountered a Noumu before, and if All Might hadn't been there to take it down, who knows where we would be now..."
"Six feet under, most certainly," Tsuyu dead-panned, and Ochako yelped.
"Don't say it like that!"
"It's true, though," Izuku muttered, "if not for All Might, we would have been helpless... But anyway, it's the past now, and as for your name, Phi, it's a great name, for a future great hero."
"Yeah," she confirmed with a radiant grin, glad he changed the subject, "I must have one, to equal yours. You all have pretty cool names!"
The meal resumed and ended quickly after that, and the group decided to go to the arcade, where Philae could finally show some nice skills she had perfected over the years. She stood her ground at fighting games and dancing games, and she outmatched everyone at card games. But who won and lost did not matter in the end. What mattered was that they spent a peaceful, funny day among friends, which they expected would get rarer and rarer as time would go by.
In a dingy bar in one of the poorest parts of the city, someone was having a not so funny time. The room was mostly devoid of people, apart from a misty figure behind the bar, and a slouched, nervous man with greyish hair and multiple severed hands covering his face who was sitting on a bar stool, scratching furiously at his neck.
"I see," the bartender said in a sigh, "so the heroes have her, now. I assume it's not a good thing, then, Shigaraki."
The grey-haired scratched even more angrily, his reddened skin peeling off under the assault. He grumbled and stared at the ceiling, pissed.
"I know, Kurogiri," he mumbled, "Noumu got distracted by those stupid heroes, and she could react in time to get away. Boring. What a pain..."
"Shigaraki," the other interrupted, his tone getting slightly irritated, "she's got huge power in her. You're responsible for the failure of your Noumu. What did you want her for, anyway?"
"I wanted her to free Sensei and kick that show-off villain's ass to hell, that's what," he replied impatiently. "But it's too late for that, now. All Might has set his eyes on her, and I bet he'll stop at nothing to shape her into one of them. A boring, tasteless, good-for-nothing hero. Tch, I'd rather have her dead, now. So annoying..."
"Maybe that can be arranged," Kurogiri suggested evenly, "tell the Precepts that she's dangerous, and barter her death. Let him do the dirty job, and who knows, if he doesn't get out of this alive, maybe it'll kill two birds with one stone."
Tomura Shigaraki stopped scratching at that, and seemed to ponder the idea. Then, with a long-suffering sigh, he declared, "I don't want to talk to that shit-face. No way I'm asking him something, let alone strike a deal with him. Now I want to kill them both. What a pain."
He continued his banter, his murderous gaze promising endless sufferings to those he considered stupid dirt under his sole. Kurogiri sighed and resumed his cleaning his glasses, knowing that no one could reason with the toddler-adult when he was in one of his moods.
Eventually, the child-man regained some calm. Kurogiri took that as his cue to slip in another idea.
"We could send someone to gather information about her," he suggested evenly, "to see if she's already taking to heroic ideals, or if she could be persuaded to join. Either way, it's still a good way to have a clearer idea of who she is and how to defeat her should the need arise."
Tomura hummed, then grumbled, "Guess it's okay. I'll send the two idiots."
The school field felt empty, when Philae's classmates were not there training. They had all gone off to hero agencies to ask for internships, and she was left alone with Anubis. She had left the dog inside for now, not knowing what her training could be in terms of danger, and as she waited for All Might and Aizawa to show up, she sat down on the soft grass and hummed under her breath, enjoying the cool breeze that stroke her cheeks.
Her teachers came ten minutes later, one motivated, the other as bored as he could be. Philae felt bad for the latter, who had to babysit her until she was able to control her Quirk properly. The smile on All Might's face dissipated her shame, though.
"Morning, Miss Crawford," he greeted amiably, "I hope you're ready to begin our sessions?"
"Morning, All Might. Call me Phi, please," she replied joyfully, "and yes, I'm most definitely am!"
"Great, you must if you want to make progress," he approved giving her a thumbs up, while Aizawa dragged himself under the shade of a tree to get comfortable. "Now, you'll begin with basic stuff, but I expect you to build up strength and stamina quickly. So, for today, we'll just stick to easy exercises, both physical and on your Quirk. Normally, I'd put you in action straight away, to see what you're made of, but the last episode regarding your abilities was... enough reference, let's say."
She refrained from blushing. At least, he was taking it lightly enough to confirm it was indeed old memories. Aizawa scowled, unamused, but said nothing. Let the idiot have it his way, for today. The dark-haired hero would not get involved in this session. His job was to stop his student from causing mayhem around campus, and he would do no more than this until further notice. So he leaned his back against the trunk of the tree and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for time to pass. Maybe he would take a nap, if she showed she could do without him. She better do.
All Might continued with his instructions.
"I think you began with too difficult things. We'll start over again and make it right, okay?"
That sounded reasonable. Philae had never been able to develop her Quirk like her classmates had. Starting anew and taking things progressively would be nice. She nodded.
"Sounds great to me. What would you have me do, then?"
"Well," the blonde reflected, "you can't do anything without your dragons, right? From what I gathered, you make a contract with them, a partnership, and then you can use their powers as your own. You can also summon them and have them fight for you, correct?"
"Yes," she confirmed, "but it demands a lot of energy."
"Precisely!" he exclaimed. "I think this is because you're not used to summon them that often, only in case of emergency, and because your emotions take over. But what if you made an intended summon?"
"It would be less exhausting," she agreed, "and I guess the more I use the link to summon them, the less amount of energy it'd demand to do it. I know that when I summon a big dragon, like Infuriae, for example, I tire very quickly, though I don't know if it's because the dragon is here, or because the warps to summon and send them back consume a lot of energy at once."
She thought she knew where he was getting at. His grin confirmed it.
"Yes. That's what we'll need to determine first. So, today I'd like you to summon a dragon, and hold them in this world for as long as you can. If you succeed and you're not too tired, you'll do this every day from now on. Once we arrive and begin our sessions, you summon. Once you're at your limit, you make them go away. You try to lengthen the period of stay, little by little. And in the meantime, you train your body and build some more muscle around your bones. If it doesn't work that way, we'll try something else. We'll see how it gets along the way. You're okay with this?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered vigorously, "assuredly."
"Good. As for the rest," he continued, taking out a stack of papers from his back pocket, "I made a diet programme for you to follow, along with a detailed schedule for when we're not together. I foresaw your expected progress, both mental and physical, and of course I'll adapt it as time goes by. I'll be here to accompany you for as long as I can, so you just have to follow and focus on working hard!"
His over-excitement was contagious, but he was punished with coughing some blood because of it. Philae patted her pockets for tissues, as she had expected this to happen, and offered one to him. She would not wet it this time though, she did not want to make a fool of herself in front of grumpy Aizawa, who could be a sadist when he wanted to be. No one needed to know how silly she could get, thank you very much. Toshinori accepted the tissue with a thankful smile, and she smiled in return.
"Let's summon, then, shall I?" she murmured.
She sat back down on the grass, and he followed her, his longs limbs carefully folded and comfortably settled. He watched her intently, while she took a long, calming breath, and reached down for her draconic link.
The connection purred and responded immediately to her cue. She took some time to feel it under her invisible touch, thinking about whom she could call forth. If she was to begin slowly, than Infuriae was out of the picture. There was only one option, really, and she scanned the other end of the link to find the creature she wanted. It took a few seconds for the chosen dragon to answer her call, and some more for the familiar surge of warmth to go up her body, as the air around her rippled.
While the portal opened slowly, Philae tried her best not to let her blooming anxiety to spoil everything. She focused on staying calm and composed, which was more difficult than what she could have thought. She was under no direct threat, nothing was urgent, so it was a question of controlling the amount of energy she had to use, and this was difficult to evaluate.
Finally, the connection was steady enough for the warp to get big enough for the dragon to come through, and a lime-green ball of pure adorableness sprung from the portal and landed on her lap, chirping happily and cuddling her belly with excited noises of greeting.
Toshinori witnessed the whole process with barely contained awe. He observed the way her eyes moved quickly under her closed eyelids, and the way the air bent around her frame, slowly forming a swirling warp. Her body tensed briefly, as if she was struggling to keep her Quirk in check, which made him stiffen. But then she relaxed again and let out a long breath, and he calmed down himself. The portal grew to the size of a large frisbee, and suddenly, a small scaly ball bolted through it. The former hero gasped and stared at the little creature, not expecting something so cute after the whole wyvern debacle.
Philae laughed merrily as her new companion tackled her affectionately, purring like a jet engine.
"Hey, you," she said giggling, "nice to see you, too. Missed me much?"
"Kriiiiii," it answered in a lovely rumble.
She took the creature in her arms and placed it comfortably in front of her, marvelling at its cute tiny scales shining like little mirrors under the morning sun. Small curled horns were pointing on its head, and its open maw showed pearly white, razor sharp fangs. She stroked its soft belly, earning a low appreciative purr as it let itself fall on its back to give her better access, its little wings batting lazily against the grass.
She checked herself mentally, and discovered that she did not consume as much energy as she expected. A pleasant buzz filled her head, and she felt slightly weary from the summon, but not as much as last time. The link stayed open and magic ran along it a little faster than usually, though it was the only difference there was with before. She assumed it was temporary and that it would come back to normal soon enough, with the portal now closed, and she could easily forget the tiny draining sensation.
She looked up proudly, relieved that she had succeeded in something without it turning terribly wrong. She caught sight of her teacher gaping at her dragon, a hand raised as if to pet it, but stopped mid-air and hanging over the creature, hesitating.
Toshinori, much to his embarrassment, found himself mesmerised by the sheer cuteness of the little guy, and wondered if its scales were as smooth as the looked. He was curious and he wanted to touch it. His fingers itched.
"You want to touch it?" Philae offered, his gaze snapping up to her. "This one's friendly, I promise."
It was useless to tell him that. The purrs and chirps the creature made were enough to indicate that he resembled more a pet than a scaring beast. The blonde blinked, more and more attracted to it by the second, and eventually nodded. She grinned and nudged the dragon, demanding its attention.
"Hey, Dryas, say hello," she told it, pointing to Toshinori.
The creature turned its head and looked at him upside down, intrigued, before it jumped back on its paws and hopped to him, sniffing and weaselling around him to examine every inch of his person. Satisfied with its thorough inspection, it bounced on his lap and used its claws to climb up on his shoulder like a squirrel.
Wincing slightly as the tiny pointy claws pierced mini holes in his shirt and pricked the tender skin of his torso underneath the fabric, the former hero watched the cute ball haul itself at eye level. Dryas looked briefly into his eyes, then emitted a low, happy rumble and nuzzled the crook of his neck clumsily.
He chuckled softly, petting the dragon and picking it to put it back down on his lap, fearing it might fall from his bony shoulder and chunk off a piece of skin with its claws. The lime-green scales were smooth like the surface of a mirror, but not as hard as he thought. He scratched its belly, surprised to find it so velvety. The creature chirped contentedly and nibbled on his finger, careful not to wound him.
"Is it a he, or a she?" he asked at last, while Dryas went back to Philae and nestled on her thigh.
"It doesn't have a gender yet," she told him, "I can't explain it, really, but I have the feeling it's too young, it will not present any gender until it reaches a certain age. It doesn't talk for the same reason, although it understands our language."
"How did you meet it?"
"That's... kind of a complicated story," she answered hesitantly, offering an apologetic smile, "I found myself alone in a difficult situation, one day, and in my sadness and despair, I felt the link vibrate. I pulled, and it came from the other end. It had felt my sorrow and offered me its help, and called a pack of wolves to help me get out of wherever I had managed to get lost in. Now, it gives me the possibility to communicate with animals, mostly mammals and birds."
"Oh, like Koda," Toshinori recollected.
Philae shook her head.
"Not quite. If I remember correctly, Koda can make any animal do his bidding, without question or resistance. I can't. I can ask animals for help, but it's up to them whether they actually agree or not. It's the same with the dragons, and with every being I have contacts with. My ability is about cooperation, not obligation. At least, I want it to stay that way."
"Mh," her teacher replied non-committally, "I understand. Well, it'll be perfect for you to begin your Quirk training. As I said, try to keep it as long as possible, and when you feel you tire too much, send it back. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she assured nodding enthusiastically, "don't worry, it went better than I anticipated."
She wanted to see for how long her summon could last, as she had never kept her dragons for more than a handful of minutes. She took Dryas in her arms, looking around for a place to put it so that it could occupy itself without interfering in her physical training. She spotted Aizawa under his tree, unmoving and staring dully into space, and she got an idea. She only hoped the dark-haired teacher would not chew her head off for her cheek.
She approached him carefully, checking if he was sleeping upright, and repressed a relieved sigh when he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. All Might followed silently behind, intrigued.
"Professor," Philae called clearing her throat, "may I ask you something?"
He thought he saw where she wanted to get at and did not want her to ask, but did not find the energy to refuse. He hummed and waited, certain he would regret it. She smiled nervously and put Dryas down, the dragon chirping quizzically at her. She crouched down and raised her index at it.
"Dryas," she told, "I need you to help me. I need you to stay here as long as possible, until I send you back. You're okay with that?"
Happy to be of use to its summoner, it bounced and cried out an excited "Kriiiiiii!". She grinned and nodded to Aizawa.
"Then I want you to stay with Professor Aizawa and behave. You protect him from harm, and you take care of him as if he were your most precious treasure. When I return, I want him to tell me you were the perfect guardian. You think I can trust you with this important mission?"
Aizawa's brows shot up and he stared incredulously at her. She did dare hand him the creature to babysit. She bit the inside of her cheek so as not to burst out laughing seeing his stunned face. She would have preferred doing this with All Might, who would not have minded the company, but she did not know if the blonde needed his freedom of movement during the training. The grumpy teacher was the safest option for today.
For a dragon, protecting treasures was the most important and honourable mission there was. Especially for a youngster, who needed to prove its capacity as a respectable dragon. She was sure that this way, Dryas would not go anywhere and feel valued at the same time. She just prayed that Aizawa would not feel offended.
Dryas let out a concert of chirps and sat down determinedly in front of the teacher, taking his task seriously. The dark-haired man looked down at his new security hound, then up at Philae, his eyes a mix of amusement and irritation. Her hands shot up in a peaceful gesture.
"It's the only way I know it won't go do God knows what," she explained hastily, "it will even help you, if you're thirsty, hungry, or anything. It's really affectionate, too, if you want to pet it..."
"No, thank you," he grunted huffing, a tiny smirk gracing his features nonetheless – of all the things he had had to put up with, this was a novelty –, "go train with All Might. You lost enough time as it is."
"Huh... you... you're alright with this?"
Toshinori advanced and grinned deviously.
"Of course he is," he piped in, "he can't resist adorable things, can he? I think he just won't admit he fell for the little guy or girl. Right, Aizawa?"
His colleague's gaze promised hell and pain for making fun of him, but he did not reply. The blonde patted his student on the shoulder.
"They'll be fine. Now, you should have some real training. Let's begin with some laps!"
After that, she spent her time running, making push-ups, and stretching. She completed exercise after exercise, losing track of time, and not thinking anymore. She focused on executing every movements perfectly, and controlling her breathing. It had been a while since she had last done so much sport in one single day. It was difficult, her limbs began protesting after the first hour passed – or so she thought –, but it felt good at the same time. She had the impression to begin something meaningful.
All Might was there with her, at all times. He ran with her, even though he looked flushed and discreetly coughed a little blood in the crook of his arm. He encouraged her with energetic movements of his arms and yells, like a merry drill sergeant. He did not spare his efforts ans did not stop a second to rest. He barely felt tired, anyway. He was so happy to be active again, it was all that mattered to him at the moment.
Philae still felt the link, somewhat faintly, but more and more present as time passed. She did not really know why, but she guessed it was only natural. She was pushing her body, and the connection tended to reflect how she felt. If it throbbed, it was only the mirror-effect of her arms and legs aching from the exertion. She paid it no more mind and missed the way the magical thread began twitching.
After some time, though, she got the strange feeling something was wrong. Her body should ache, that was only natural, but numb? How come she could not feel her toes, when she should have felt her muscles scream at her instead? Perplexed, she stopped her exercise, and reached down.
She turned very pale in an instant, and Toshinori immediately saw the change and got alarmed.
"Philae?" he called out. "Philae!"
At Aizawa's feet, Dryas was playing with blades of grass, looking occasionally for potential threats to its human charge, when suddenly, it stopped short and jumped with a yelp, putting the dark-haired hero on his guard. Aizawa looked down at the troubled creature, and followed the way it was looking. Then he caught All Might's worry voice, and his eyes widened.
Philae was swaying on her feet, nausea rocking her more and more violently. The draconic link, which she had overlooked for a long time now, flared and pulled at her insides painfully. She felt as if she were sucked into a dark hole, whose origin was located somewhere in the middle of her torso, just above her solar plexus. Black dots soon danced at the corners of her vision, while her brain frantically searched for an answer as to what was happening.
It came with a crashing wave of bile coming up her throat and nearly choking her. I have burnt too much energy, she thought, who could I let it happen?
Dryas wailed in panic and fear, and Aizawa launched himself towards her. Stupid! he scolded himself. She doesn't know her Quirk properly yet, you should have seen this coming. Except that he could not, really. But he did not want to admit he could not have foreseen it.
His red gaze was about to block Philae's Quirk, when the dragon in front of him turned sharply to him and went crazy. Dryas, as if sensing what he was about to do, lashed viciously at his leg and sank its fangs into the flesh. He shouted in pain and lost focus, stumbling back and trying to snatch the devil away from his bleeding limb. It let go as soon as his eyes turned back to black, and the air shuddered around them.
Toshinori, panicked and fearing the worst, scrambled to get to his student. Philae threw up and clasped her chest, wheezing in pain, and a portal tore open above her head with a forceful gust of wind, sending the blonde flying a few feet back. Dryas wailed once again, standing conflicted and looking alternatively between her and the warp, and finally leapt through the latter. It disappeared with a pop, and she collapsed, her breathing ragged and her body writhing. Her consciousness evaporated.
Toshinori, appalled and frenzied, shot up to his feet, disregarding the blood he sputtered as he forced his muscles to get to Philae as quickly as he could. When he did, he got to his knees and collected her carefully into his arms, his mind a storm of emotions. What had he done?
Aizawa limped rapidly to them and checked his student's pulse, then her breathing. Both were there, but only barely. He could see the blood drain from her face, her unconscious form sagging in Toshinori's trembling arms, and he urged his colleague to move his ass.
"We have to get her to Recovery Girl, now!" he yelled.
That snapped the other from his stupor. With a strength he forgot he could muster in his weak form, All Might carried Philae all the way to the infirmary.
I hope it's okay XD
Sorry for the little problem with separations, it seems the website doesn't want to be cooperative and I had to make do. I'll try again as soon as I come back.