They had ventured through the forest for hours, stopping every-so-often to rest and drink before moving on. Ciana got to experience more of this magical world. Unlike with the world of heroes and villains, Crescent Shores was teeming with life that would make any sane person's head spin. Animals with distinct colourations or alterations. She had watched a two-headed snake slither by the path, its colours unlike any snake she had seen. Another was passing that same stream as it bent, and Izuku had her stop to see a serpent the size of a cow with deep blue scales swim down the stream, popping its head out to spit a stream of water before diving again.
This venture brought the sun toward the horizon, their feet now walking along the edge of a larger road through the thick trees, hopefully, in the direction of the village.
"This… sure has been an interesting journey so far…" the girl commented, having her arms around her back as they walked. "This is definitely unlike any fantasy story I ever heard of from all I have seen so far… and yet the superhero world had some quirky superpowers rather than something like flight, speed and strength…" She thought, giggling after thinking that. Though Ciana could also see some gray clouds coming along, looking like it's going to rain.
"Uh oh Izuku… I think it's about to pour down… maybe there's a cave nearby we can camp out?" Ciana didn't like the idea of camping in the rain, she had no umbrella or tent… knowing a cave would be their best bet, there's a mountain so maybe there's one near the cliffs.
Izuku glanced up for a moment, frowning. "I'd rather we get to the village... but that's still clearly a long walk ahead..." Squinting, Ciana was right, since they entered the forest from the north-west, they were travelling across a mountain's incline constantly, hence the lop-sided trail at times. Where they were situated had them overlooking a valley of trees that stretched several meters above, none of them looked hollow though...
Turning his head left, he eyed the steady incline toward the highlands that would eventually break through the Silver Grove and scanned the edge. "Hrm... follow me, if we can find a place to rest and wait, hopefully, if there is rainfall, it'll pass before sundown."
"Lead the way." Ciana nodded, now following him as they rushed back into the woods. By the time they got moving the rain begin to pour down, even a little thunder could be heard. "Great… I just had my clothes dried too, this is going to be uncomfortable… should of brought extra pair of clothes with me." Already she felt wet, doesn't help when being wet makes you chilly too.
Jogging down the dirt road, the roofed forest was further down from where they were, making it impossible to seek cover from the rain. That's when Izuku nearly tripped, stumbling a bit as he noticed one of those black roots again, it didn't appear to grow from anything, however, following its trail just up the sharp rise of earth to their left, the rain started to trickle off a small edge. Jumping, Izuku hoisted himself onto the lip, smiling a bit as he spotted a seam in the rocks where the black root originated from.
"Here," Holding out his hand, he hoisted Ciana up onto the edge just a few feet up from where they would've passed by. "This'll do until the rain stops, hopefully sooner rather than later,"
Ciana smiled at him with her arms rubbing her shoulders to keep warm as they now stood in the entrance of the cave to stay out of the rain. Glancing outside as she listened to the thunder. "Might be a while is my guess… until then we might as well make the most of it." She shrugged, now looking back into the cave which was pretty dark, might have to get a fire going again.
"Looks pretty deep up ahead to be this dark… once again I regret not being more prepared and not having a flashlight…" she commented, annoyed with herself. Though her curiosity gets the best of her as she tried to walk a bit deep in the dark to spot anything.
"Hey, before we go in-" Izuku held her shoulder to pull her back slightly. "-think you can use that light spell on something so we can see where we're going?"
Surprised by the request, she thought about it for a moment… using her powers might mean being in dragon mode again… which she didn't take pleasure in risking. "Um… I-I don't know if I can do that… I-I could shift into a dragon again if I use it." Already the girl was frightened by the idea.
Shaking his head with a smile, he held up his hand. "That's the best part about it, you don't need to shift into your dragon form to do so, just concentrate on illuminating something and say the incantation; but like I said, I don't have magical affinity," Izuku sighed a bit.
Noticing this, Izuku seemed bothered by the idea having no magic. Like how her Izuku was upset he didn't have a quirk at the time… they really are alike. "Well… I guess I could try emitting a enhance glow to my hand." Her eyes closed for a moment as she raised it, soon enough a glow does appear. Great… Ciana felt like a lantern now.
"Might as well see what's ahead." The girl smiled, keeping her hand raised as she begun to walk through, so far seeing nothing but rocks and a sound of water dropping through an echo. So far no signs of bears or bats which is a relief. "Huh… doesn't seem like there's much to explore here, maybe we could-" Ciana suddenly paused when she felt her foot slip over a edge… her eyes widened.
"Whoa!" The girl panicked as she ended up losing her balance, next thing she knows it she is sliding down the edge like a slide. "Ahhhh!" Ciana screamed in the panic while she slid down to who knows where.
"Ciana!" Acting fast, Izuku followed after the light as he slid on his feet, wobbling a bit to keep a steady balance on the dirt slope to catch up to her. "This cave's damp, that could mean it's-" But his thoughts cut off as he closed in on the panicked and frazzled brunette.
Soon enough the reached the end, now deep down in the cave and once she reached the ground Ciana fell on her back and felt Izuku fell on her when he followed, groaning from the impact. "Well that sure was fun…" she comments sarcastically, always this happens to her… Ciana hated her clumsy moments.
"I guess it makes sense... the caves around a valley tend to form in wide chambers..." Izuku murmured, pushing off Ciana to glance back at the way they fell in. "On the plus side, we can still climb out again, and... well, we're not going to get rained on from here,"
Rubbing her bum while glancing up where they slid down. "That's something at least…" now looking again through the tunnel, Ciana could see there was some colorful glowing up on ahead. "Hey… does this tunnel seem less dark to you?"
"Aside from your hand..." He trailed off, squinting a little as he tried to see. "Hey, try dispelling your light so our eyes adjust,"
Doing so with a flick, the glyph vanishing, their eyes soon caught onto the glow properly just ahead of them. They could stand as the cavern widened a few feet forward, shades of blues, greens, and purples shimmering off what could only be water against the ceilings and walls. "Let's take a look."
The girl nodded as they now walked towards the light at the edge, taking a turn… Ciana noticed the ground has got and looked more sandy… like a beach, turning another corner… Cianas eyes suddenly went wide with amazement what she saw next… colorful crystals decorated the walls and ceilings, but not only that… there was a beautiful glowing stream of water, the girl was speechless. "Wow… w-what is this place?" The girl asked as she kept glancing around her surroundings, very starstruck.
Even Izuku was taken back by the discovery, so well kept from view deep in this cavern... "A mana stream... t-they're hard to find, b-but it's said the water is drinkable but has an additional property to restore mana fatigue, though taking it from the stream, it'll lose it's effect so there are some underground towns and villages that use it as a hotspot for magic casters, t-to find one here is... amazing!"
He ran his hands through the water, seeing the light shimmer from the crystal blue waters, chuckling a little. Searched for copper and found gold, as his mentor would say.
"No kidding!" She responds with a big smile on her face, bending down to also put her hand in the water, felt really nice. "I think we found a perfect place to camp out too, this is definitely a place I love to hang out in." She giggled, setting her stuff down near the sandy shore.
"Maybe we can even pawn some of the crystals here, could give us enough cash to get by while traveling." She now eyed Izuku, noticing he's still taken back by the sight and giggled by the cute display of his amazement.
"T-the crystals formed when near mana streams or other natural sources of magic, so these could actually give us some money; t-though I'd suggest only taking the ones that are opaque, transparent ones haven't absorbed enough mana to be pure, b-but also only take a few, some ecosystems thrive off these crystals, see?" He nudged her, pointing across the river to a blue crystal as a matching lizard with tiny, glowing stones on its back stuck to the surface. "Glimmer Lizards use the warmth from these crystals to regulate their body temperatures - I-I've really spent too long reading t-this stuff, hehe..."
"It's amazing you know so much about this stuff." She praised him while eyeing the creepy lizards, hard to believe she's part reptile herself now… then suddenly her eyes perk up. "Oh! I have a fun idea!" The girl sits down for a moment, taking off her boots…
Busy sketching the lizard in a journal Izuku kept since he left home, the left-hand page sketched with one of Echo, Izuku's head flicked over to her. "Hm, what?"
"No harm having a little fun while we're here, why don't we take a dip in the water? Probably good to get cleaned anyways since being in the rain." She replied with a smile on her face, once her boots were off, Ciana took the helm of her blouse, lifting it up… luckily she had a tunic underneath.
Izuku's gaze drew to her for a moment, then back to his sketch with a small smile. "I mean... I suppose so, b-but isn't it the same as if we got wet from the rain anyways?" He asked her, watching the Glimmer Lizard carefully.
"Well yea… but with my quir- I-I mean magic! I can warm up the temperature to make it like a bath, rather not catch a cold and my clothes need to dry." Now with her skirt off, Ciana placed her clothes on some big crystals that are sticking out from the floor. Now approaching the water, already she steps in enough to be up to her knees, turning her gaze back to Izuku with another smile.
"Are you just going to spend all night staring at that lizard? Come on! Live a little." She ushered him over playfully while giggling.
"Considering I've been trained for a whole year until I was able to use a fraction of a sacred sword's power, met several people from other worlds, found out the one I'm travelling with knows my own counterpart, and the fact I'm going to defeat the Sorcerer King, I think I'm living a mile a minute," Izuku chuckled nervously before setting his journal down. "...fine, fine, you win,"
It didn't take him much longer to be down to only his boxers, moving into the cool cavern water as that refreshing sensation from the mana travelled up his legs. With a slight shiver, he turned to Ciana who stood at the same depth as him. "So, you're going to use the heat you generate to warm the stream, or at least, a part of it?"
"Huh?" Ciana became dazed the moment she saw this Izuku with his shirt off, she could never resist how attractive his body looked along with that cute face of his… though realizing she was staring her face turned red. "Oh! R-right…" she quickly turned around to avoid him seeing how red she became because of him.
Stepping in a bit deeper now to be up to her shoulder. "I-I'm gonna be in dragon mode so I'm gonna need to avert my eyes just in case…" Ciana didn't want to lock him into another alluring trap from her form… closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Ciana once again began to glow.
Her scales, horns, nails growing and her hair turned back to being light blond again as her glowing body slowly makes the water warmer around her, feeling a lot like a bath now. The glow from the water and the crystals made Cianas form look more radiant and lovely in the process.
"Woah..." Izuku found it breath taking how her golden scales and aura refracted like the crystals, smiling proudly at how much faster her shift became, clearly, the ability to move between drake and human was far more seamless now. But as she said, Izuku sat down in the shallow side, feeling the warm water spread around him from her body, soothing his tired muscles more than he realized. "Guess it was worth stopping for now... this is really convenient for you,"
"S-seems like it!" Ciana already got the jitters knowing her dragon form came out, she kept her eyes closed to avoid seeing the sight of herself. Though suddenly… while she was in that form, some of the crystals in the water began to glow themselves, the glowing trail slithered it's way to Cianas to surround her in the body of water… without her knowing, her dragons form began to glow a bit brighter for some reason…
Noticing the change, Izuku moved through the water to inspect the closest crystal. "Huh... it's like your magic's resonating with the mana in these ones... it must be replenishing your reserves!" Then his heart sank, turning to her quickly. "A-are... you okay? I-I know this sorta thing frightens you..."
"I-I admit I feel kinda weird… m-my body feels more tingly for some reason…" As she still glowed, suddenly her form began to change a bit… her horns morphed into a sparkly looking fins at the side of her head, gills appeared on her scaly neck… a long tail grew from her backside with a long wavy fins attached to it and on her hips grew long scale like skirt, her elbows also grew long wavy fins… now looking almost like a siren.
"M-my body is feeling so hot… I-I don't know what's going on!" Cianas eyes stayed closed, hugging herself in a panic, afraid to see what's going on with herself…
Keeping calm, Izuku moved to her side. "...it appears there's more to your curse than we originally thought, you have a form akin to a sea dragon now... so you adapt to your environment... strange," Catching himself, he smiled anxiously. "Y-you still look the same! Just... a tail now, and your scales around your forearms have lessened to become these fin-like membranes, probably to help with swimming..."
Just hearing this, her beastly eyes snapped open. "Wait, what!?" Ciana glanced down at herself… gasping when she noticed her change, the tail didn't help but seeing she's grew fins now… raising her arms in shock to see how much she changed further, she didn't take this very well. "I… I-I'm mutating further! N-no no!" Her hands clutched to her head in a panic as she begun to hyperventilate, her body beginning to look on fire as she glowed brighter. Not good…
"Hey, hey, you're okay, believe me, I know you don't like seeing this, but you're okay!" He held her shoulders tightly, trying to keep her from losing herself in a panic. "You can fight this power, it doesn't govern who you are, I know that, the Izuku you care about knows that, so many believe in you and respect you; if you can't find strength in yourself, then do it for them, and prove the people that want to hurt you wrong!"
Ciana shook up with tears in her eyes while gritting her teeth and keeping her eyes closed, she knew she was panicking and immediately went to hug Izuku again, but kept her gaze down just in case. "I-I'm not becoming human anymore though…" the girl teared up more as she hiccuped. "I… I-Im losing my humanity!" Ciana held him tighter, really needing his comfort as she sobbed into his chest.
"No, you're not; just listen to me, listen to everything around you but your power, everything around us is peaceful and quiet, you just have to match its tempo," Izuku murmured to her, holding her gingerly. "You've proven you can supress it again, so relax your muscles, take deep breaths, and follow me," Then, he started moving through the gentle current, holding her tightly so she wouldn't slip away, their bodies traversing the current.
Ciana still trembled while keeping her face hidden in the boys chest, the comfort of his arms helped as well as his voice… taking Izukus advice, Ciana took a few deep breaths as she listened to the sounds around her and the warmth of Izukus arms… slowly she begun to settled down but stayed where she is. "Izuku… b-be honest… y-you don't hate me… do you?" She suddenly asked, her voice sounding concerned of that possibility knowing she's becoming a nuisance to this Izuku.
Continuing their slow swim back and forth, he raised a brow slightly. "No, why would I?"
He figured that much... taking a small breath, he stared past her head to the blue waters. "At first, I felt so guilty for what I did... and I'm not saying the other time was any better, but I know that it was due to your emotional distress mixing with your curse, amplifying it, it isn't something you have total control over. The transformation? Yes. But the feelings that come with it? Not yet. I was only scared how it would ever impact your life with your Partner when you do return to him. I want to help you, I do, I just don't want it to cause you anymore strife,"
Ciana frowned more at this, Ciana is very grateful he wanted to help her. But it's clear this is something too much for him to be able to handle that would probably get in the way of his goals… she pulled away now, looking up to give him a sad smile. "I'm sorry… for everything, you really don't deserve to put up with me… I wish we could of met at better circumstances to not cause you to feel so uncomfortable…" she turned around now, hugging herself as a few tears came back.
That made him smile a little, looking at this girl pulled in so many directions in her own head. "It's just what a Paladin like All Might would do in my shoes. Even if the situation is dire or unfavorable, that won't ever mean I should give up on trying. I have no doubt I'll have many other problems later down the road, even after we part ways someday, but I can be proud I could face them head on and learn from them. So don't ever think you're not worth helping, everyone is worth fighting for,"
She glanced behind her, still standing by him as gives him a little smile towards his direction. But still looked sad and conflicted. "Your a true hero then to not let anything like this stop you…" she faced him again, keeping her arms wrapped around herself. "That's what made me fall for you in the first place… how you were always by my sides through everything, but for you… I-I'm just afraid I'll cause you to hate me…" her sad smile stayed, her beastly gaze looking up at him now. Tilting her head, her appearance is still dazzling even in a sea dragon form. Though Ciana thought she might look more ugly.
"I doubt I could hate you... you've done nothing to actively hurt me - yes, that includes what we've done - m-my own inexperience and l-lack of socialization are to blame for those, but my point stands, I don't hate you, Ciana," He motioned his arm wide to her. "I've seen you work hard already to overcome this curse, you are kind, and honest, and buried under your fear I know you'll become a person who you can be proud of,"
Her eyes widen a little at this, touched and happy by his words and praise… which made her heart flutter as well as her smile becoming a bit more wider. "…I-I sure hope so… but even if I'm not perfect and even if you did end up disliking me… your a beautiful person I always looked up to, even if your shy at times your still kind, brave and strong at heart… I know we known each other for just a few days, but even the short amount of time I can already see your an admirable knight. I know others will see that too." Now her smile became more pleasant, some pink appearing on her cheeks.
"Even if it's possible some will judge, I'll always believe you'll achieve everything you hope to be." She meant that with all her heart, not just because of how he compares to the other Izuku but this one isn't weak ether and has the kindness and true strength of a warrior.
He genuinely looked happy to hear that, rubbing his neck with a bashful smile, closing his eyes for a moment. "I-I sure hope so, I'll do my best. But s-same to you, I know that when you overcome this, you'll be the person you want to be, with or without a curse," Tapping his neck a bit, he gave her a funny look. "N-now, I know you don't like it, but if I can just say... i-it's really cool how your power adapts to environmental changes, w-wonder what other changes can appear depending on location? S-sorry, just need that out of my system,"
Glancing down herself, specifically her tail… she quickly averted her eyes, not just because the sight frightened her but also Izuku had to see her like this which was embarrassing… smiling sheepishly, at least managing to keep a bit calm with him around. "Uh… well… sure was surprising." She rubs her neck, but then perked up when realizing something.
"Wait a sec… when I was bathing in the pond the other night, nothing happened then… I-I mean I was in my dragon form but I didn't even morph into an aquatic version, what makes now so different compared to then?" Now confused, poking at the fins at the side of her head… this is just so humiliating for her.
"Hm... it may be due to the replenishing properties of the crystals and water? Other than that, I can't say what caused this change..." It was a strange outcome but one that may prove useful in the event Ciana had to contend with bodies of water. "I-I mean, it's just a variant of your power, so it probably operates the same aside from better swimming capabilities,"
"I see…" she looked down in thought of this, maybe the other Izuku could analyze her quirk more when he sees this change. "Though… d-do I look weird? I-I mean… is this something you think people will find scary and hideous to look at…?" She now asked him with her gaze back to his own, afraid she's very freakish looking to others.
"Not really," He shrugged rather plainly, then his eyes lit up. "Oh, off the coast of the shores, the same place Zorah and Echo were going to, there's an entire underwater city of people with tails and fins like you... what was the name...? Merfolk? Yeah, something like that - they often can be seen near the shores too, some help fishing villages too, so really, seeing one isn't too strange, just uncommon far away from the sea - p-plus, I think it's a good look for you if you ever did need to swim long distances,"
Her eyes perked up at this news, looking very surprised as she stood a bit closer to Izuku as she became intrigued. "What? Real mermaids? Their real here?! T-that's so awesome!" Her eyes sparkled in amazement, not realizing how close she went to Izuku. "Though… I'm not a mermaid, do they even take kindly to sea dragons?" Her head tilted in a cute manner as she asked this of him.
"Of course!" He was equally as excited to talk about this, pointing up for emphasis. "There's all sorts of Merfolk that have variations, and your appearance would probably be mistaken for another sea creature, even then, your human appearance would put any that were wary at ease, so that's nothing to worry about - just thinking about it is kinda exciting, I've never been to the coast before... maybe one day on my journey I'll go there,"
"If we're close by then we should definitely visit! It's really fun to go to a beach anyways, wow this is incredible to hear! I-I wonder if they are just as beautiful like in the stories!" Ciana became cutely cheerful at this, seeing how even Izuku became excited at the idea had her giggle how cute he looks again. He's so smart and irresistible as always when he's like this…
Though with her heart fluttering more at the display, as well as how attractive this boy looked from the glowing water, crystals and his shirt off… Ciana begun to stare in a daze, her beastly eyes admitting her glow once again…
"If we're not caught up in the kingdom, I would be nice to see what the shores are like..." Izuku pondered. He really didn't want to prolong the request but it never said it was urgent, he just wanted to be there as soon as possible, so far, they were making great time too. Again, sitting down into the shallow water so only the upper half of his body was visible, he sighed at the still warm water around them. "For now, we should definitely relax..."
The girl nodded in response as she kept her gaze on the beautiful boy in front of her, his calm like expression and how the glowing water made his muscles look more radiant… Ciana realizing she was staring again, face heating up and had to quickly shake her head before she did something she would regret… turning around to keep her eyes off him. "Keep it together… keep it together!"
Ciana scolds herself, not wanting to repeat the incidents before…
Deep inside her own head, Ciana felt those awful temptations trying to coax her, making her stomach twist as a result. She couldn't do that, she had to stay in control! Staring at her reflection, seeing the new variant her body had taken, how... inhuman she was, just how much of her humanity was left? How many slip ups did she have left before she fell off the deep end entirely?
Izuku could see her visible tension, even with her back to him. "...it's not your fault... these instincts aren't anything you were born with, I guess me being here isn't helping in that regard," He smiled sadly to her. His aid was a double-edged sword.
"T-that's not it!" She at least responded, keeping her gaze away… Ciana didn't want for him to feel he's not helping her despite how much her heart longed for him. "I-I mean… y-you may be the exact Izuku I love, but if you weren't with me… I wouldn't be here trying to deal with it all."
"You're right," Sitting down within the refreshing stream, Izuku gave it some thought. "Hm, now... I have an idea... though this theory only applies to magic casters, or so I've heard," She gave no response so he continued. "It's the practice some elemental casters perform, a way to 'tune' to their element. Pyromancers sit by fires or in volcanic regions. Cryomancers to ice and tundras. So... what if you were to fully extend your senses in this mana-rich environment-with me at a much safer distance for your sake, and let you extend your power for a moment, maybe that'll give you a better insight into your own curse and control over it,"
"Hm?" Blinking in confusion of what he told her, her beastly gaze glancing behind her to eye him again curiously and confusingly. "How… would you know how to do something like that? Have you met other hybrids before?" She tilted her head, he seems to have a lot of knowledge when it comes to magic… could that be the same to quirks?
He shook his head. "No, you're the first. Though I've read about them. This theory is meant for magic users, but maybe the same method can be applicable to shifters too in an attempt to attune to their animal instincts. Like meditation," Izuku explained with his hands out, "Feel your senses and power expand to the world around you, try to understand your power from a new angle... I-I'm not good at explaining this, I'm not a caster,"
Stepping out from the water to dry off, Izuku already shifted on the sand towards their clothes and his backpack, moving around items to pull out a blanket and various dry sticks for a fire. "Give it some thought, I'll get a camp started seeing as we might be down here for longer than we'd like-good airflow, warm and fresh water too."
"I..." Ciana considered this, again, looking at her form, feeling that strange tail swish in the water behind her. Glancing over to Izuku, he was already working on a camp, he never really stopped, even in this world. It only made Ciana's heart ache knowing she left hers behind out of paranoia that she'd really lose her mind. Maybe she already has...
Grabbing clumps of her hair, she dunked her head to clean her hair and to drown out her instincts. She was terrified she'd go too far and do something worse than simply being intimate with her partner's lookalike. Pulling her head back, she wiped the water out from her eyes, staring solemnly at her rippling reflection. Taking a deep breath with her training, she forced down her mutations, squeezing her knuckles tight until everything but a glow remained.
Taking a big gulp from his water skin, Izuku looked over, seeing the despaired look in her eyes. "...I can see why you call it a curse... it's powerful, that one aspect you can't reel in as easily as your transformation..." Lowering his arm, he stared at the bottle in his hands. "I think it is an amazing magic to have, but to you, it makes it harder to just be you,"
"You got that right…" Ciana frowned sadly when knowing this, hugging herself with her arms. Feeling like she could revert into a full beast anytime now. "I'm not sure if this is something I can ever deal with when it comes to how I behave… honestly at this point, I wish I could find a way to remove it…" the girl sighed, hating how she doesn't feel like her complete self anymore.
"I honestly wish I had an answer for you, but magic-anything like that, doesn't exist, at least to my knowledge," It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but Izuku did have something that might help. Now wearing his tunic too, Izuku looked to the side of his bag where his sword resided. He picked up the scabbard, drawing it as he paced towards one of the dull crystal veins. He stared at its silver reflection, seeing his own, angered face. This wasn't fair on Ciana, so he'll just have to do what he can for now. "Graah!" Slashed diagonally, his blade split through the crystal with ease, sighing as that bitterness left his body, if only a fraction of how he felt. Picking up a chunk as large as his forearm, he then approached the water bank. "Here, come try this,"
Ciana flinched and was startled seeing how he broke the crystal, thinking how angry he was because of her that made her feel worse… though when he approached her with the crystal in hand, Ciana was now confused. "Huh?" She blinked a few times when staring at the item in hand. "F-for what? What is it?"
Sheathing his blade, he sat in front of her. "A way to test if a person has magical affinity, be it in arcane or elemental, they have them focus on a 'hollow' crystal like these mined from around mana streams. Since they absorb mana, it would do the same for people - of course, I have none, so that's a given. But with you, it will work - but there's a catch, they use crystals roughly the size of your palm, one this big would take a good chunk of mana to 'fill' so to speak," He let her hold the grey crystal. "If you pour your mana into this, you could, in theory, help draw your mana down to reasonable levels, so much so you won't lose yourself to your instincts... at least, that's what I'm thinking, the problem is, your power and instincts could be separate so this really only would serve to drop your mana supply for a time,"
Her eyes widen at this, looking down at the crystal in hand, it could have her hold her instincts off temporarily? That sounded almost too good to be true. "Izuku… t-thank you for this… you always manage to surprise me from what you know…" Ciana smiled a little, keeping her gaze down at the crystal. "I promise I'll make sure you forget we ever met… so you never have to look back on being scarred by me…"
He smiled a little again, "...forgetting you won't make me feel any better, I'll live with what I've done, I won't take the easy route out of this. We've both made mistakes, so it's only fair we remember them," Gazing at the crystal, he added. "To use it, simply do what you've done with your spell Imbue and channel your magic into the crystal, I'll tell you when to stop cause too much can cause them to explode, not fun"
"You done nothing wrong though!" Ciana shook her head, she didn't want this Izuku think he did anything wrong. "My dumb dragon instincts made you do what you did… none of it was on you, it was all me…"
"You didn't get to choose how your magic would form, how this curse would manifest, all these new experiences and feelings all stem from a power you never had or wanted. You're not entirely out of the blame, I won't downplay the mistakes made, but you're trying, you're trying to take back your life, so keep fighting, keep trying to overcome this, even when we part ways, don't ever give up on the person you want to be," He encourage to the best of his ability. "I... don't ever like seeing people I care about suffer... not if I can help it,"
Ciana was very stunned to hear what he said as she eyed up in surprise, how can he still care about her after all she did to traumatize him? His words made her feel warm as she teared up a bit more. "I-I done nothing to earn your respect… I know you don't think I'm a freak but I can understand why you would never have feelings for me when meeting me like this… I mean weird to be attracted to a girl whose a intimate beast right…?" She smiled a little in a sad playful way, still wishing she was still normal and not so pathetic.
"It's not that, sure, not what I'd call a normal interaction, but... there's... someone I hope to reach, I guess..." Before Ciana went through with using the crystal, she watched as Izuku pulled out from his bag a rolled up parchment. "I said I had a request from someone I've met? Well... this is them,"
Unrolling the letter, Ciana leaned over to read it with him, thankfully, she could understand it. 'Dear Izuku Midoriya; It's been a while since I've written back, sorry, I've had issues comes up where I'm currently staying, my hometown outside of the kingdom. Something's been off about it since I came back, people have been feeling fatigued and some are even sick, no one knows why or how. I've looked into it, I think I have a lead but I'm not the type to just wander into danger without back up. I mean, what can a bard do to protect themselves, right?'
'I know this is a big ask, especially since you've only just become an adventurer, but I don't know who else I can turn to, or who would believe me. If possible, write back to me instantly using the ink I've provided in this letter. Don't worry about the cost, if you accept, please come find me at a town just west of the kingdom. I know that's at most a week journey, but you're the only one I can trust to help me'
'Your friend, KJ'
"And that's it, she's never given me her name... but despite that... I dunno, something about her is different to me," Izuku still couldn't put his finger on it, but regardless, he would help.
Ciana was surprised to hear this Izuku had his heart set on someone else, this… had her heart crack, not just that he liked someone else but how awkward she just made this for him. Now she knows for sure she has to find a way for him to forget all about her. "Oh… I-I see…" she looked away, this isn't her Izuku but it still hurt.
"She's… really lucky to have someone like you…" she forced a smile, at least he will be happier with someone who makes him happy…
"Eh? P-please don't act like Echo and..." He sighed in defeat, rubbing his neck. "So... I guess I... might find her... cute - please don't tell her I said that," Slapping his reddened cheeks, he added. "My point is, you have someone you're committed to, KJ is... I don't know what might happen between us someday, but while it would be easy to forget things I may not be proud of, I won't, because that's not how life works. Not everyone can have that opportunity to forget, I don't want to be the exception, and I don't want to lie to her or to anyone, especially not myself,"
Holding her shoulder, he brought up a smile. "Step by step, let's find ways to move forward, together,"
Ciana doesn't even look up, shaking her head with a sad smile. "It's okay… I always knew I wasn't meant to be with ether of you no matter who I met first…" The other Izuku had Urakura… plus, Ciana didn't want this Izuku to think he made a mistake when really her power messing with him… so she will still be determined to find a way for him to forget about her. Ciana won't ruin Izukus happiness any further…
That last part made him cock his head. "I mean... isn't that how love works? Being around a person you admire and cherish, you feel there are so many others that are perfect for them, especially when you feel you've made mistakes or irritate them. And yet, despite those flaws, or the circumstances that led to your connection, they still want to be with you? I feel that's what love means, it's not an attraction, but rather, it's a statement of a bond form between each others accepted flaws... o-or that's how I look at it, it's just one example anyway, there's many ways it can form," He murmured, scratching his head anxiously.
"Your right… and all I do is mess that up…" Ciana teared up more, tears leaking from her eyes. "The other Izuku was supposed to fall for someone else too… I just appeared as an accident to him as well… I wasn't meant to be with ether of you… I-I'm just a mistake and a pawn in people sick games…" she covered her face, trembling and feeling disgusted with herself.
"I was never meant to meet you, and yet I did, I was never meant to meet Zorah or Echo, and I did. You were never supposed to be with my counterpart? Who said that? Why is that the only path for him? Did the Gods tell you that? Has someone stood before you and told you that your existence was a mistake, and that you had no right to feel any form of love or compassion?" He pressed further, giving Ciana a serious look. He wanted a straight answer. He wanted the truth straight from her.
Ciana was surprised by his gaze, she wasn't sure how to answered that. "N-no, a-at least I don't think so…" she shook her head, sniffling more. "But I been having premonitions seeing the other Izuku had a life without me, it was like a sign showing that my existence wasn't supposed to go my way…" her gaze went down again, fiddling with the crystal in hand. "Izuku never cared how the future went, but the girl he liked was someone whose so supportive and brought a lot of joy in his life towards his dream. Everything started out fine for us but when my curse evolved… things got complicated…"
Her fists clenched. "I realized I'm now causing problems for him and if he fell for the other girl instead… he would of been more happy and not have any more problems to deal with…"
"So these premonitions are just to be considered fact then? You can't judge the lives of others based on that alone, how is that fair to them? How can you be certain they won't find happiness elsewhere? Or are you saying that they have absolutely no say in how their own lives should work? Are they just supposed to follow a script?" Izuku didn't raise his voice, he didn't snap at Ciana or get frustrated. He was adamant, pressuring her with questions for the absolute truth. "How are these premonitions any different than if an evil sorcerer was controlling their lives?"
"I-I'm really not sure Izuku… I mean you witnessed how I messed with your mind, not to mention how I panic when I see my new appearance… it just seemed like both of you were better off with someone normal who lives in the same world as you… doesn't that make more sense?" She asked this of him as she lifted her gaze up back at this Izuku. "I mean… it might not be happening here but there I'm being targeted by three evil sorcerers… they keep threatening to hurt the people I love, I'm just so confused and I don't know what to do anymore…"
"But don't you deserve to be happy? Despite what I've read and heard, 'if you love something set it free'... it's complete rubbish," Izuku scoffed slightly. "Why should you have to sacrifice absolutely everything to appease otherworldly messages? And more to your point, don't they deserve the choice to want to be with whoever they choose, despite how they may look?"
"My mind is fine; what we've done has given me mixed feelings, but you haven't hurt me, I don't feel resentment toward you, because I made that choice, I believe in the person you are," He pressed his hand to his own heart. "These sorcerers... or whatever they are in your realm, you can't let what they say and do force you into a choke point, if you let them govern your heart into believing you're better off isolated for the rest of your life, then they've already beaten you, what else do they need to do then? It's psychological warfare to them,"
He held the crystal with her tightly, "If they threaten you, don't ever waver. If they want to harm you, protect yourself. And if they want to hurt the people you love, you fight. Use what they crave against them, become what they can't," Taking a breath, their matching eyes met. This was it, the final question. "Ciana, think about this, and answer without an ounce of hesitation... What do you really want with your Partner?"
Her gaze stayed on his as Ciana took in everything Izuku said, she was silent for a few moments before her tears started to spill out. "I… I-I want to continue being with Izuku and my friends… I-I want to make my mom proud, and…" her gaze went back down to her crystal and Izuku's hand. "I want… to be normal again… so I can be with Izuku loving him with my own feelings, not from my intimate dragon side…"
Slowly, his firm look fell away, using his hand to wipe her tears. "Then I think I know how to do that - but in order for me to be correct, I need you to pump this crystal full of your energy, just like any other time, if I am right, then all your wishes can come true, I'm certain,"
The gesture caused her to feel very warm, that's exactly what her Izuku did to comfort her. Bringing a little smile back, nodding. "Okay… l-let's give it a try." Her gaze back to her crystal, her brows narrowed. "Hey Izuku… if we met at better circumstances, would you have possibly liked me? I-I mean if you didn't have the other girl you like…" Ciana couldn't help but want to ask, she never get in the way of the one he loves. But was curious to know if he would of had feelings for her if he didn't meet dragon her.
He gave it some thought, a little pink in the face. "...I mean, logically I might've, but that would imply you weren't in a committed relationship, if that was also out of the equation... p-probably?" This was a confusing question to mull over. "I-it's honestly hard to say, guess that just solidifies my argument that fate's unpredictable,"
"Your not just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Her brow raised playfully, though still wondered if this Izuku meant it and not just telling her what she wanted to hear.
"You're severely underestimating how isolated I was from others aside from a very select few - i-it probably explains alot..." He slumped a little, but still smiled jokingly at his own remark. "I mean, I-I can see how your Partner f-fell for you, if only a little from my lack of exposure,"
She giggled now, smiling a bit more with a pink blush on her cheeks. "I can promise you I'm not forceful with my feelings unlike my dragon side… the other Izuku got to know me when I wasn't like this, though strangely he finds my dragon side attractive for some reason…" she rubs the back of her head bashfully and sheepishly.
"I mean… having a animal like personality and a scaly body? Most people would cower and run from a sight like this, I mean it scares me obviously." She shrugged, but since this Izuku didn't find her dragon side attractive it would be the reason he wouldn't like her that way.
"I guess maybe he just likes all of you? Or wanted to help you feel natural in that form whenever it happens, I mean, I don't find it repulsing or anything, I just understand that you aren't comfortable in it yet," Izuku explained, somewhat vouching for his other self.
"That's exactly what he said…" she responds playfully, now standing up with her hands on her hips. "Are you saying you find my dragon side attractive too by any chance?" Now having her hands behind her back and tilting her head in a curious teasing manner.
"W-well, I, uh, h-how do I answer that...?" He winced slightly, putting his hands up. "I-I mean, there's some appeal, s-sure, but i-if we're going to go off looks alone, i-it's more your b-body than the d-dragon additions that is m-more attractive, I-I feel that's how y-your Partner f-feels too," Gods, if he stuttered this much about Ciana, how'd he ever handle his 'pen pal he totally doesn't have a crush on'? "I-I really think I'm done f-for concerning KJ..."
Her eyes widen at this, blushing so red. So he found her attractive that way too? That… actually made her feel a little better, smiling more now. "Don't worry Izuku I won't tell KJ about anything between us, I mean again. There's nothing real going on since my dragon side made you do those things…" Now blushing more with her hand on her neck. "I'll even keep my distance when you meet up to not cause any suspicion."
He bowed his head quickly. "I greatly appreciate that - o-otherwise Echo's teasings a-about a 'harem' could b-become accurate, n-no offense, but n-no thank you,"
"It's the least I can do for all the trouble I caused…" she smiled. Still looking guilty behind her eyes. "I will admit though… I-it's going to be painful hearing and seeing you take interest in someone else… I rather I keep my distance anyways when you meet up, but as long as your happy then that's all what matters to me."
"It's only fair I'd help you achieve the same with your Partner," Izuku offered a reassuring look. "A-anyways, at least if m-me and her... do b-become something, I-I have some h-helpful experience, hehe..." Shaking his head quickly, he tried to focus on the crystal. "S-so, want to try charging the c-crystal?"
"Y-yeah sure! Probably best to put the awkwardness aside by now…" still having the crystal in hand, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She… had no idea what to do, but tried to focus her powers in the crystal like this Izuku instructed.
Like many times before, her hands glowed, but no scales formed, this time, all that energy flowed into the transparent crystal. Gradually, Izuku watched as it gained colour, the clarity fading into a solid white core with a yellowish pigment beginning to form like a topaz. The longer Ciana siphoned her 'magic' into the crystal, the more the glow became dull and the colour saturated into a healthy marigold pigment.
"Okay, you can stop, that's perfect," Izuku praised, taking the crystal away in the event she added a little too much to the mineral. "Wow... you formed a pure mana crystal in seconds... and one this size will fetch a high price too,"
"Really?" Ciana was surprised she could even do what she did, staring at the crystal he took back while blinking at the sight. "Would it be enough to buy you a castle?" Her gaze raised toward him with another playful grin. "I mean then otherwise you really would be a prince." Now giggling.
"Well, if I had like... over a million more of these," Izuku smirked back, patting its surface. "It'll give us around 10 Gold, mana crystals are pretty common, but ones this size and purity are very hard to come by, so it's a good way to bump up your pocket."
"Cool! Sounds pretty lucky for us." She clapped her hands together and expressed excitement in a cute cheerful way. "But you should keep it, maybe it'll be more useful to you rather than me."
Izuku took a moment to put it away inside his bag, with some difficulty, but managed. "Well, when we get to the kingdom, I'll have it sold, then we can see about getting ourselves a little more protection. No offense, but your sword is... really a wrong swing away from snapping in two. Whoever sold you it really doesn't know swordsmithing that well..." He pointed out with some mild concern. "That aside, how do you feel?"
"Um… normal so far." She put her hand on her chin to process how she felt and his question. "When I'm human, I act like a intimate dragon when I do something romantic with my Izuku… but when I'm a dragon and I see you… I act like a beast and have a strong urge to be… well… closer to you." She sweat-dropped, fiddling with her hair flusteredly.
Processing this, Izuku's eyes lit up. "That's it then! Seems my theory was right, your magical abilities manifested first. But! Your dragon instincts manifested later, not at the same time, so it's not a curse like the mythical dragon shifters, to you, I can see why you'd think so. But not the point - they're separate parts to your body, meaning, there may be a way to suppress outright or remove one or the other from your body!"
"Huh?" She blinked at this, not understanding his mythical knowledge talk. "Well I know I have like two personalities now… though you make that sounds easy." She giggled a bit. "Though in dragon mode I act weird whenever you look attractive in my eyes, doesn't help that your still in your boxers…" she smirked teasingly, pointing down gesturing to him still being half naked.
"Trying not to bring that up, thank you..." He smiled pensively, ignoring the flare up in his cheeks as he crossed his legs and snatch up his undershirt from the side to throw on. "Ahem, as for your query, yes, it's true it would be difficult to suppress or remove one part of you, primarily the instincts, but it's not impossible, there may be a method out there... somewhere, but that's all I've got as a solution aside from growing used to them until they're second nature and can be easily reeled in, sorry,"
"I can only dream…" she shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "But I just have to work on some strategies, like for one…" her gaze goes to the pretty crystal water stream. "If we play in the water in my dragon form again… I'll have to blindfold my eyes to make sure I don't lose it, same for when I have to bring the side out on other occasions…"
"I'm sorry that has to be the way for now... strangely, you seem pretty normal after the fact..." Izuku murmured out loud. "W-well, you're always normal, m-more so your animal traits don't flare up unless you then use your power,"
"Y-yeah…" her blush comes back, looking down at her lap. "S-seeing you glow along with the water just made you look beautiful in my eyes, a-and I guess that side couldn't resist the urge to have my arms around you at the point… that kind of urge is hard to fight…" now laughing sheepishly, both Izukus are so so incredibly handsome…
"I-I'm flattered... b-but really, same to you," Izuku smiled back, now turning to even out the sand for the sheet they would use to sleep atop the warm surface and avoid getting sand everywhere. "Feel free to relax, I'll be working on making this more comfortable to sleep on... sorta?"
She perked up at the comment, blushing as she wondered what he meant. "Oh, s-sure… um, w-what do you mean same to me? Did my new appearance made me look pretty to you?" The girl tilts her head with her curious eyes on him, she still couldn't believe her form morphed and gained a tail in the process… really hoping her friends wouldn't make fun of her at that.
"I just th-though it looked cool, and very helpful in aquatic situations... a-and well, you a-are beautiful, I-I won't deny that," Izuku didn't have much of a judgmental side towards beauty, he had seen many girls who were nice looking, Ciana's one of them, he just didn't have any real issues.
Her heart raced at this comment, causing her to be flustered and red. But a smile appeared as it made her happy to know. "I-I am? I… I-I appreciate you thinking so… especially even when I look beastly… I-I find you very attractive myself, what always captured my heart is your smile, if the girl you like sees the same way I do. I'm sure she feel the same way…" Ciana smiled more at this, now getting up to sit closer to the stream. Putting her feet in the water, she figured Izuku wanted a little space from her for now.
"She really is lucky if she managed to capture your heart, I hope she can make you just as happy…" she glanced at him to give him another warm smile before looking back at the glowing water she had her feet in.
While the tranquillity lasted, Izuku mindlessly worked on their 'living conditions' as his heart ticked a bit faster at the mention of said girl. "You've told me alot about your Partner... but this girl? KJ? She's... unlike anyone I've met - the first time I did meet her... it was her singing, just like you, that drew me in - g-guess that's my weakness, heh,"
"Hm? Really?" Ciana glanced back at him hearing this, the girl like is also a singer? "Does she? She… sounds really special then." She smiled sadly, happy for him but still felt the sting in her heart. "I always been shy singing around people… I usually sing for myself as I'm shy at the idea of anyone hearing me…" now looking up to the ceiling.
"My Izuku caught me singing and he said I sounded beautiful, I-I never really thought I sounded anything good other than my mom…" she rose her hand to scratch her cheek flusteredly. "But one day i let my stage jitters go to do something for everyone when they were struggling… I brought out one of my moms songs and sang in front of the biggest audience for everyone to hear." Now laying on her back, her feet still in the water while keeping her gaze up.
"Singing is something I liked doing when I think of my moms songs and how comforting and encouraging she makes them, some of them I haven't fully figured out… but when I had to stop due to my power… I guess it's one of the reasons why I became more of a wreck…" she frowned at this, stopping her hobby is hard for her than she realized.
"Then I think meeting KJ will do you some good, maybe she can help you sing without that fear coming back to haunt you," Izuku suggested. "She's a traveling bard, and best of all, bards are known to enchant their words with magic, so she'd be the perfect tutor for you!"
"Wait… really?" She glanced over her shoulder in surprise of this, the girl he liked is a magic user? While that sounded like an interesting idea, Ciana frowned, recalling her other issues. "Um… I don't know Izuku… remember I turn into a dragon when I sing as well, who knows how she would react to my appearance. And well… uh…" she sat up, fiddling with her fingers.
"If I turn into my dragon form and see you around KJ… I don't know how my other side would react towards her, dragons are also known to be possessive after all…" Ciana is well aware how aggressive she acts when she's in dragon mode, afraid of the idea she could hurt KJ for taking interest in Izuku…
"She's been to all sorts of places in the country, so seeing abnormal things and people is quite normal for her - as for your reaction to her being around me, I know it might not sound like much, but she's pretty good at defending herself, her magic isn't something to take lightly, even as a bard," Izuku noted, confident in KJ's abilities.
"She sounds quite amazing…" already she felt a bit jealous, sighing as she laid flat back on the ground. "I wish I could do what she does… better than being a dragon, though what about her friends? Will they view me as a monster…?"
"Ciana, it'll be fine, I promise," Izuku smiled a small sigh, she was still at her low point, so optimism wasn't on the menu. "When we do meet with her, you'll see,"
"I hope your right…" she gets up now, walking over to sit across from Izuku as she takes out a apple to munch on. "Sorry… it's kinda a habit of me being so judgmental of myself, I mean the dragon side doesn't help but I was never popular in my home town…" her free hand rubbing the back of her head.
"Join the club... I think is the expression?" Izuku shook his head, staring at the water. "Before All Might, KJ... was all I had aside my mom, and even then, she's a travelling bard so that already made it harder to be sociable... I was weak, I could do farm work but that's it. Anyone could pass me and forget I existed..."
Sounds a lot like her Izuku… except this one had a childhood friend, at least he had someone. "My mom and my dad was all I had before I met the other you, when I was little I was always a coward that cried and run away a lot… but my moms influence helped me give me the courage to stand up to others, though not many people understood me since they viewed me of being reckless and someone who likes getting into trouble…"
She shrugged with a bit of a sad smile. "The friends I did have moved to better safer places to be educated, my hometown is kinda a rough place… so it was mostly just me and I figured I was better off on my own at the time…" Though now she realized something as she crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling, frowning more. "Oh… that's exactly what I'm doing again… running and hiding away… god I'm pathetic…" now face palming herself, the trait Ciana always wanted to avoid is now coming back to haunt her…
"Overcoming our weaknesses and the easy route through problems will always occur, what matters is recognizing them and working past them - that's why I want to help you, so you don't ever have to feel running is all you have left to do," He offered softly. "I could've given up so many times, even the only friend I had wasn't around often enough to completely dispel my feelings of... being in everyone's shadow, it's why I'll take every challenge head on, even ones with a dragon shifter from another world," He smirked at the last part to her.
She giggled a little at that, looking back up at him as she smiled a bit. "I can tell your brave enough to face anything in your path but didn't think it also applies to a girl that's so attached to you…" she teases, though hopes that wasn't too awkward to bring back up. "I admit though, I'm afraid even if I did go back now my friends would be furious with me for leaving… I mean they could of lost their respect towards me by now…" Now frowning again, her gaze going down to her lap.
"I think anyone would be angry... but out of fear they lost you forever, I know I would be if that ever happened to someone I was close to; when you do go home, I'm sure they'd want to hear what you've been up to, and why you felt the need to take this step alone," Izuku said his piece. He couldn't imagine how her friends felt at the news she had vanished if she left nothing behind.
"Well… maybe some would be glad to be rid of me…" that was more playful as she smiled a little again with a shrug. "I have a friend, well I'm not sure if we officially are… who is so hot tempered and picks fights with people easily, though he has a good heart deep down…" hand now on her chin, referring to Bakugo. "We didn't start out great but eventually we started to be on better terms with each other, he always found me annoying so I'm not sure how he truly felt. Especially since I kinda made him a little mad when asking him about his relationship with someone he despises…"
Recalling she brought up Izuku again to him at the beach and how he crushed his soda can… he was pretty mad. "There's also someone who distance himself due to some traumatizing things he went through with his family… we didn't start out great ether but we eventually finally got to be friends, though when I started to be freaked about my new dragon appearance he might find me annoying and stupid by now…" Now fiddling with her apple in worry of this, there's also Yuuki but probably best not to go on with the list.
"I left my hairpin behind as a sign of goodbye… it used to belong to my mom too, I guess I kinda also left it behind due to not believing I could live up to her anymore…" Now looking more sad, she is a disgrace to the nickname Chrysalis…
"Living up to our idols is... not easy," He agreed, his head low too. "How... how do you become someone that great, that fearless, that... selfless?" Izuku had no other words to truly depict All Might, closing his hand around his sword again. "I guess... you can only try - a Paladin protects everyone, I don't know if you can live up to your mom's legacy, or I can live up to All Might's, but it's worth trying, every day,"
"I know you can Izuku… you have so much potential and heart as a knight to live up to him." She offered him a kind smile. "I'm really sorry if I'm getting in the way of your goals… but the way you don't even give up on me is proof you can succeed, my mom always used to tell me to stand strong and show no fear no matter how strong and scary they can be." She wasn't sure if her mothers words are enough but she wanted to encourage this Izuku too.
"If you keep doing that then eventually they will see your so much more to how they viewed you at first, and have a positive influence on others around you." Ciana still believed in Izuku, she never lose any faith in him.
He sighed a laugh, "Well, here's hoping that'll help you too," Now he had the look fuelled with confidence. "I swear, we'll find a way to supress, remove, or control your instincts, then even the people out to get you can't stop you,"
She now smiled warmly and thankfully towards him and his words. "Coming from you, that makes me feel a lot better…" He always managed to put a smile on her face since the beginning, it's the same for ether Izuku. "Those kind of encouraging words you have Izuku, I know that's going to be enough to have many people admire you… maybe even as much as All Might."
"W-well, who knows what might happen, hehe..." Shrugging a bit, he rubbed one of his eyes. "Still though, we should probably get some rest, if the storm won't let up, we'll have to move in the morning,"
"Your right… at least we managed to get cleaned up from the rain, would be bad if ether of us caught a cold." Now laying down with her head on her bag, though glanced up at Izuku across from here. "Hey Izuku, you say that nothing is wrong with your mind when my dragon side takes over… why would you say that when dragon me is making you feel so intimate towards me?" That had her wonder what he meant, Ciana knew she was the cause of what they did… right?
"Ah that... uh, promise me you... won't find this... creepy or s-sad, I guess?" He asked her first cautiously.
She nodded, raising her brow in curiosity. "I promise… though I thought I was the one being creepy." She giggled a bit after saying that, knowing she can be scary when a dragon…
"The reason is... stems from my lack of... any social outlet, my family doesn't count - I-I've never had anyone who likes me for... me. I-I don't know how KJ feels, she's very... aloof, and it's hard to get a read on her at t-times, and n-not much you can get via letters," He chuckled slightly, but it died in his throat as his face heated up. "S-so when we first kissed I-I felt... happy, t-that someone did see me as more than a blank slate - s-sad as it is... it's the truth, I liked it c-cause I felt... better, so much so I didn't even try to fight it," Another main reason he felt so ashamed of himself. It wasn't right nor fair on Ciana.
Her eyes widen at this, taking a moment to take in all his words. Blushing pink and her heart racing at this… this caused her to smile, surprisingly she moved a bit closer to wrap her arms around his back. But will moved if he didn't want her to hug him. "Your much more approachable than you think… if people only prefer those with a alluring face and big strong muscles then those kinds of people don't deserve you…" Ciana held him a bit tighter as she still smiled.
"Izuku, what makes you alluring is not because how strong you are but how you smile and always be there for those in need no matter what… your kindness and strong heart makes you better than any of those kinds of people who compare, I know if we met first I would of still fallen for you too… and if this KJ girl sees you this way too, I'm sure you can capture her heart…"
He relaxed, knowing that shameful answer didn't creep her out, resting his head on her shoulder. "Thank you... I dunno what KJ is to me, but she's certainly someone..."
"I can tell… well whatever happens, I hope she can make you happy…" her kind smile stayed, hugging him a but more for comfort. "That's what always mattered the most to me…"
"I can definitely see more of why my counterpart loves you... still really weird to say that out loud," He blinked, pulling back again. "Well, ready to get some sleep?"
She giggled, rubbing her neck with more pink dusting her cheeks. "I-I'm not sure how he feels now after I left… but yeah better get through this night." Now going back to her makeshift bed, relived that her and this Izuku are still friends and not someone he fears being around. "Thank you again Izuku for always being there for me…"
"What are friends for, right?" He replied, laying down on his side as he held up another shard of the shattered crystal he slashed. Even as his fingers tensed, not even a spark fed into the mineral so he tossed it into the waters and laid down. "Have a good night, Ciana,"
"You too Izuku…" she tells him before closing her eyes. "Oh, and before we sleep… I want to let you know I was never born with any magic ether… but even if I didn't have any still that never stopped me for wanting to stand up for others, even if you don't have any magic that just means your meant for something much more than that… your heroic heart is what makes you the strongest better than any magical spell people could cast…"
That came as a surprise, though now the 'curse' made more sense. "I see... thanks for telling me that," With a small smile, he turned to his side and finally shut his eyes. "...and same to you..." Eventually, sleep overtook him.