Chapter II: Meeting a Dragon

As the next few days passed, he began to become quite appreciative of the young wizard. Though no one would be able to get him to admit it out loud. Each night Izuku would promise to be back in the morning, and each morning he would arrive to examine and clean his wounds. He could feel the genuine concern for him behind Izuku's actions.

"D-do you have another name besides The Dragon King?" Izuku had asked one afternoon as he prepared a soup for the two of them.

"Katsuki Bakugo" Bakugo stated, his eyes meeting Izuku's.

Izuku's eyes widened slightly before furrowing in confusion.

"Do you have something to say, Deku?" Bakugo barked at him, growling slightly.

Izuku raised his hands slightly, laughing nervously, "T-that name sounds slightly familiar is all. Though I'm not sure why" Izuku grabbed their bowls and poured out the soup into them, handing one to Bakugo. Bakugo nodded in thanks, glaring slightly at Izuku.

On the third day The Dragon King was feeling anxious. He wasn't fully aware of the extent of the damage that the demons had caused to his village, and though the wise woman would be working hard to heal those who were injured, having an extra set of hands with strong healing magic may be exactly what his people needed. He laid back on the cave floor.

'First, we find Scatha. Then I take him to the village. The elders won't care for an outsider coming into the village but they always fuss over these things." He thought as he closed his eyes. As he began to fall asleep, the memory popped up once more

Soft, short green hair fluttered in the wind as they ran through the large grassy field.

"Kacchan! Wait up Kacchan!' yelled the young, green-haired boy.

"Bet you can't catch me!" he called back to the other boy, nearly running into a large, golden dragon paw.

"Katsuki, it's time to go" a deep male voice answered.

X

Bakugo tossed and turned on the cave floor, his mind deep within his nightmare.

He stood in front of the large golden dragon hearing it snarl and roar behind him. Arrows bounced off its hardened scales. It's lips rolled back into a snarl. He being only ten held tightly to his spear. The assassins surrounding him wore blue and white clothes with veils covering their faces. Many of them were already injured, though some still attempted to approach him.

"Come on and try it!" he screamed at them. Between him and the dragon's front paws lay the lifeless body of his father. The assassins had attacked as they were flying home from the land of the wizards. They had managed to catch them when their guard was down.

"Our duty here is done" their leader stated, turning towards the men who hadn't been injured, "Retreat!"

"Get back here" Katsuki yelled, tears welling up in his eyes, "You will pay for this! Do you hear me?!"

As soon as they were gone, he quickly turned to his father, "Dad come on! Dad we have to go home!" he cried, but the body did not move, "Dad! DAD!"

Bakugo awoke in a cold sweat, not certain where he was for a moment. The memory of that night hadn't plagued his nightmares in a very long time. He quickly turned to the cave's entrance as he heard Izuku scream. He bolted to a standing position, his wounds aching slightly in protest. Though it was nothing he couldn't handle. He quickly ran outside the cave. Outside a large red dragon had landed in front of the cave, growling and snarling at Izuku. The dragon towered over the wizard, it's ruby red scales reflecting the bright sunlight. It's eyes black with specks of red like embers. Its wings extended out at least 100 feet and were currently out in a defensive position. The scales of her nose sharp and standing up, the bases of the scales of its face black like smoke. Smoke escaped it's large nostrils. The wizard was currently sweating bullets as he attempted to calm the creature.

Bakugo ran in front of the dragon, "Scatha! Calm girl!" he called out to her. She calmed her growls and looked towards him, leaning down and sniffing his chest before nuzzling him lightly.

"It's alright" he whispered, running his hands along the scales on the top of her head, "I'm just about healed, no need to worry"

The sound of a stick breaking caused both of them to turn and face Izuku, who was attempting to step closer. Scatha let out a soft growl and Bakugo patted her lightly.

"I know he is a wizard, but he is a friend" Bakugo said, grabbing Izuku's arm and pulling him closer. A small scream escaped his throat and his legs shook being so close to the large creature. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled his scent, before leaning her head towards his hand. He took a deep breath to calm himself, lightly petting her scales on her nose.

"Y-your dragon, I'm assuming?" Izuku said, his eyes studying the large creature.

"Scatha is her name. Since the attack on our village it makes sense she wouldn't be too fond of wizards."

"W-wizards attacked your village?" He asked, turning to face Bakugo.

"A few days ago our village was attacked by an army of demons. Grotesque creatures with their brains exposed. They had a group of wizards with them whose magic had a horrible odor. One of them was trained in portal magic. We were beginning to get the upper hand in the battle and he transported me just a little ways outside of this forest. The storm got Scatha and I turned around and eventually separated. That's how I ended up here" He said as he walked back into the cave, settling on the ground and beginning to remove his bandages so Izuku could examine him.

"It sounds like they may have been using dark magic" Izuku said as he cleaned Bakugo's wounds. The bruises were nearly gone and the swelling had reduced greatly. One more day and he would be completely healed.

"I'm not sure what they wanted with us. Since I turned down King Endevor's offer, he's been trying to erase my tribe from existence, though why he would go that far I'm not sure." Bakugo said, staring at the wall across the cave. His face transfixed like he was in a daze, reliving a memory.

Izuku rang out his rag, "W-what offer did King Endevor make?" he asked

"He wanted me to promise to allow him to use our dragons and our soldiers if needed. Spoke of wars looming that could be avoided with the promise. I refused. I wasn't going to put my people in danger so that maniac could have more needless power."

Izuku began redressing the wounds, "T-that sounds like a very honorable decision" he said, their eyes meeting for a moment. Each of their hearts skipped a beat for half a second, just barely enough to notice. They both looked away.

Izuku finished tying off his bandages and he stood abruptly, "We need to get going. My village needs me. I have no idea how badly the damage is." Bakugo said as he walked outside to his dragon.

"W-wait!" Izuku shouted, "do you really think it's a good idea for you to travel so soon after recovering?!"

"I need to take care of my people." He said, continuing toward his companion.

"Hold on, let me get you some supplies for the road at least!"

"How about just come with me?"

Izuku stared at him in surprise, 'Go with him? He thought

Bakugo stepped towards him, "Normally our village would be hidden and no outsiders would be allowed in. Though, with the damages we experienced recently, we could use a competent healer. You have proved yourself as much." he said, patting Scatha on the nose, "Ever ridden a dragon before?"

Izuku's eyes darted between Bakugo and Scatha, "I-I can't say that I have."

Bakugo chuckled, "I expected as much. Here let me show you a couple things"

The dragon laid down on the ground. Bakugo pointed behind one of her horns, "She was struck there when she was young, be careful not to put too much pressure on it ever"

He walked around towards her tail, the long tail extending out at least thirty feet, with a pair of smaller wings towards the base. "Always watch her tail when you walk."

As they walked around the other side, Izuku reached out and lightly patted her back leg, earning a deep growl from the large dragon, "Don't do that, she hates it. Pat here instead" Izuku backed up slightly and walked over near Bakugo, patting near her shoulder. She let out a large sigh, looking towards Bakugo with a look of slight irritation. He nodded slightly.

"That should be all you need to know" he said, "Now get on"

He helped Izuku onto the large dragon and reached up and settled in front of him as they sat at the base of her head. He grabbed hold of her massive horns and leaned forward.

"Hold on tightly wizard." "He said before Scatha stood and quickly reared up and took off. Her wings flapped hard as she quickly gained altitude, Izuku using all his strength to hold on to her slick scales. Bakugo reached back and grabbed onto to the front of his shirt. Izuku pulled himself back into place, fighting the intense winds. Without thinking he wrapped his hands around Bakugos middle and held on for dear life. Bakugo rolled his eyes slightly but didn't push him off. He didn't want to lose his passenger.

Once she had reach the necessary altitude she settled out her flight as she soared above the clouds. As she found a large air current heading towards the mountains, her wings settled into a calm glide.

Once Izuku confirmed in his mind that he wasn't going to vomit, he blinked and looked around. The morning sun hadn't reached above the mountain tops yet and the thin morning clouds shined pink from the reflecting rays. He breathed in the brisk air. It only slightly stung his lungs but it tasted so sweet. Scatha's large shadow danced upon the clouds beneath them and the wind whistled as it went by. His eyes fell onto his companion in front of him. His blond hair lightly moving within the breeze and the sunlight would occasionally dance across his skin. His skin was tan like caramel, though now that he was closer; he noticed many scars scattered about his skin. Some of them were from the injuries he healed, but others were jagged, worn smooth with time. The black tattoos stood out against his skin, but complimented the lines of his muscles like as if they had simply formed on his skin as he got older. Bakugo had abandoned his tattered cape and tied it to Scatha's horn to save the fur. Though he did not seem to react to the cold air of the sky. Izuku held him tighter, burying his face in his back.

'I shouldn't be gawking at him.' He thought, his cheeks warm against Bakugo's back.

A light blush coated Bakugo's cheeks. There was something about this young wizard that got to him. He wasn't sure what it was. His heart fluttered slightly. He glared ahead.

'What is this wizard doing to me?' he thought as they flew.

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