Katsuki didn't want to be here.
Fifteen-years-old and still recovering from a bad flu, he still couldn't breathe through his nostrils and decided Nyquil was the greatest loss of being reborn in fantasyland, not TV or internet.
Yet here he was, standing on the edges of a clearing made around a giant bonfire where other teenagers and young adults mingled.
Izuku hung at his side like the awkward dork he was, looking back and forth between Katsuki and where Birdie waited with bated breath and claws. Eijiro hung back with the horses, dozing, because apparently when Katsuki got sick, he got sick too. Bad evolutionary trait if you asked him. At least the lucky bastard got to sleep.
"I can't believe your mom made you come," said Izuku for the upteenth time.
Katsuki gave a useless sniff. "Hag wants grandbabies."
"Still, fifteen seems a bit young. At least we've almost caught up to where we left off when we died, right? I mean, age-wise."
Katsuki just sucked back on the pallet in the back of his throat in an attempt to get snot out the back way instead. When he got the barest drop, he spat it out.
Izuku winced. "That's attractive."
"Shut up, nerd. You're the one who got me sick."
"You're the one who kept coming over even when I was sick."
"You're welcome for flying Eijiro's ass over to the thicker parts of the forest for citrus fruit and honey to help you get better, dumb ass."
"I guess that was sweet of you."
"Ha! It's because you're crybaby whining was keeping everyone up at night! It was for the greater good!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Kacchan."
Birdie had gone through as many 'sexy' poses as naturally as possible and must have decided it was time for a more direct approach. She sashayed over, just managing to dodge a caterwauling couple on the way. Katsuki snorted thickly, wishing they'd bowled her over.
"She's coming," said Izuku.
"I've got eyes."
"You going to run?"
"To where?"
Where indeed. The Bonfire was set up in the middle of the fields where the grass gave way to a short, but wide, plateau of sandstone. There, youth from all the surrounding tribes, the remnants of their people when they were once a nation, gathered. Katsuki's tribe was but one of seven and he could see familiar light-colored, thin facial hair, and propensity to building muscle in the others that connected him to the two hundred and fifty or so people he'd grown up with. Izuku's green hair stood out like sore thumb, but in the darkening evening it could easily be mistaken as a particularly dark brown, which, while uncommon, still existed in splatterings around the group.
Beyond the plateau, the prairie went on and on until it hit the distant gray cliffsides and the stubby, dry bush forests.
Birdie had dressed to the nines for this occasion. She wore her fullest skirt that swayed when she walked and hugged her hips and waist. She left her arms and shoulders bare, tying her hair to one side so as to leave the view of the swoop of her neck unhindered. Her breasts threatened to spill over the top of her leather top.
"Katsuki," she purred the moment she was in hearing distance. "You should dance with me."
Katsuki spat out more snot.
The 'music' was a single flute and some drums off to the side. There was some sort of lyre or guitarist, but he looked much like Katsuki felt. He was one of the older boys who used to chase him and Izuku around and got his Karma in being nineteen and still unable to find a girlfriend. Loser. Think his name was Oni-something. Losers don't deserve to have their names remembered, even if they've been around you since you were in diapers.
Actually…Katsuki jerked his chin towards said guitarist.
"Go flirt with someone who'd care."
Birdie glanced around and her whole face wrinkled like a prune when she realized who Katsuki was gesturing to.
"That's rude," she said.
Izuku's face was carefully neutral and not looking at either of them.
"What?" grunted Katsuki. "You shallow as well as annoying?"
"Yuroni's a bully on top of being ugly," she said.
"Well, so am I."
"You're not a bully, and you're gorgeous. "
Katsuki shuddered, then sighed very, very long. Oh, the irony.
"Zuku," he grunted.
"He's a bully," said the nerd loyally. "Meanest of the bunch. He pushed me into the mud, burned me, my notes, and told me to kill myself. Oh, and he gave me a nickname that means 'useless.'"
Katsuki nodded, trying to sniff again. Damn, DAMN snot.
Birdie rolled her eyes. "Please, I've lived with you two your whole lives, stop being mean. Come on, Kats, I've been waiting for you." She fluttered her kohl-darkened eyelashes. "I've been waiting for you ever since you were a little boy. Just come dance with me, yeah?"
"No."
"I won't leave until you do."
Katsuki just looked at her. He could feel Izuku listening closely, even though he could see, out of the corner of his eye, that the nerd was doing a good job pretending he was very involved in watching the other girls mingling about the bonfire.
Katsuki sniffed. It failed, as it always did. Then reached for Birdie.
Her whole figure lit up, her hope unimpeded by her faint confusion as he reached for her skirt.
In one quick move, he bowed his head low enough for the skirt to reach his face and blew his nose as hard as he could.
Birdie shrieked and jerked away, only to shriek again at the snot left behind.
"See," said Katsuki. "I'm an asshole."
Izuku was choking, a hand at his mouth to stop the laugh while waving his other hand towards Birdie. He'd pulled out a handkerchief from his shirt, something his mother made him keep on hand even before he'd gotten the flu.
Birdie snatched the offered cloth from Izuku's hand, even as her eyes filled with tears.
"Am I really that repulsive to you?" she squeaked.
"Yes." Katsuki didn't miss a beat.
She gave one, heavy sob before pivoting on the spot and fleeing, carefully pulled-aside hair flying out behind her.
" Did he…?" came Eijiro's distant, sleepy voice to their minds.
"Use her skirt to blow his nose, yes," said Izuku, his voice warbling.
"Just laugh, nerd."
"No! That was awful!"
"She had it coming."
"No one has that coming."
"If they don't take no for an answer…"
Izuku just rolled his eyes and pointed to a nearby group of girls, who didn't even try to hide their looks of horror.
"Good luck getting a wife now," he said.
"Yes, because my life ambition was to get a wife and pop out bratty mini-me's." Katsuki did his own eye roll, but it was limited as it made him dizzy. Stupid head cold. He covered his mouth to cough. "The moment Eijiro's big enough to take the both of us we're out of here."
"Yes yes," said Izuku, who'd heard it a hundred times by now.
"Don't patronize me."
"Are you going to bully me if I don't?"
"Damn right I am, prepare yourself for the wedgie of a lifetime."
But neither of them moved and went back to a friendly quiet that only really existed between the two of them, watching the bodies move around the orange fire and picking out the few stars strong enough to shine through its light.
Their tired quiet was once more interrupted by a girl. This one had long, honey tresses and the smallest waist above a thick rear and thighs. Her eyes glittered with thoughts as she gave Izuku a small, berry-ripe smile.
"Hi, um, I saw you come in with the Fire Dragon chief's boy?" her gaze only flickered to Katsuki before returning to Izuku, who was already pinkening. No amount of reincarnations would beat that out of the nerd. "I'm Lilly. Would you, um, like to dance."
Izuku stiffened, as though she'd asked him to do much more than that.
"Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure! I, um, I'm not the best dancer."
"That's okay!" she chirped, like a freaking bird. "It's just an excuse to get to know you. And your name is…?"
"Izuku! I mean," Izuku cleared his throat, desperately trying to cover up his prepubescent squeak. "It's Izuku," he said, much lower.
She laughed.
Katsuki scowled. Her embroidered cotton dress did nothing to hide the perfect perkiness of her little breasts.
God damn it, she better not be smart or the nerd really would be getting a wedgie.
Izuku must have known exactly what Katsuki was thinking, for as he trailed off after the girl towards the fire, her perfect bubble butt wagging along with walk as all girls' butts should, Izuku turned around to give him the widest, shit-eating grin Katsuki had ever seen.
Sparks popped circles in his palms.
"Fucking Deku…" but he didn't scream it like he dearly wished to. He didn't need any more reason to kick himself in the butt.
" Was that your type that you keep going on about? "
"Shut up, lizard."
" Hey, I feel you, man. Ain't no pretty girls looking my way, and it's not like they brought any dragons either. "
"I said shut UP!"
" Yeesh, fine, calm your tits. You're making people stare again. "
Sure enough, not only had the group of girls started scuttling away while glaring at him, but anyone else nearby was giving him the look too, the kind they should have been giving to a creepy stalker like Birdie.
Katsuki folded his arms across his chest defensively, huffed, and decided he was too sick for this. Despite wanting to punch the dragon, he swiveled about and went to Eijiro's side, grateful for once for his stuffed sinuses so he couldn't smell all the horse manure hanging around the makeshift stables. The horses kept a good distance from Eijiro, who lifted up his wing for Katsuki as he came close.
" You can always ask Zuku to introduce you."
"What part of 'shut up' do you not understand?" snapped Katsuki, flopping against the dragon's hot, scaly side. He shivered as the warmth sunk in, much more thorough than the bonfire's ever would be. Perhaps he was sicker than he gave himself credit for.
Even from this distance, where everyone looked like half-orange, half-black figures, he could make out Izuku's wild hair and smile as he spun about with the honey girl. He thought he could see her laughing too.
Katsuki tried to sniff, only to choke as a thick clog of snot finally busted loose to try and suffocate him. After several disgusting throatal maneuvers, he managed to hack it out to the side.
" Dude, that's gross. "
"You're gross."
" Neh, at least my snot catches fire so I can burn it as soon as it leaves. "
Katsuki raised his palm towards the little pile of phlegm, using his other hand to make a small circle on his palm.
He focused through the remaining throb of his stuffed-up skull and AP Shot the slimy bastard.
It did not catch fire. If anything, it just smeared out in a long, slimy streak lined with black lines where sparks had escaped.
" ...that was gross too. "
"Shut up! Nobody asked you!"
"Um…hello?"
Standing half-hidden by the body of a horse, gangly, and with thinning blond hair, was a teenage boy who could have been only a few years older than Katsuki.
Katsuki just looked at him.
The guy shifted in place, flashing slightly crooked teeth. "That's your dragon…right?"
"How many dragons do you know like strangers snuggle up to them?" he asked.
"Well, the green-haired kid came with you, so-but then I saw you shoot fire from your hands! Which was really, really cool, by the way-"
Oh shit. He was one of them. Katsuki thought he had dispersed the majority of the dragon-awed hoard at the beginning of all this.
"Go away."
The guy blinked. "What?"
"My dragon's not your entertainment, your test subject, or a llama at a petting zoo. If you're here to gawk, piss off or I'll blow up your face."
When the guy just continued to stare at him, as though unable to compute that a great legendary dragon tamer would be so coarse, Katsuki took aim at his feet and shot another AP shot.
The horse next to him screeched and reared up. The kid flew back, shouting as well. Luckily, he cleared off before the horse could trample him and eventually, after tugging at its leash for ten minutes straight, it calmed down.
Eijiro just gave a draconic sigh.
Katsuki, however, was too busy scrubbing his face down with his hands till it was raw at the unfairness of it all. While Izuku attracted the one girl Katsuki would have actually gone out of his way to get to know, Katsuki got all the dragon dorks.
"I wanna go home," he moaned.
"Me too, " said Eijiro.
If Izuku hit it off with that Lilly girl, he was going to kill him.