Drag'n you along - Part 4/4 [Fantasy AU]

[Last Part] 

As Izuku crawled over the ledge, breathing hard, Katsuki took a moment to look him over. Despite what felt like a lifetime of scaling rocks, navigating narrow ledges, avoiding landslides, and being attacked by shitty magical monsters that Katsuki was beyond pissed off to find in their way, Izuku looked completely unscathed.

Dirty? Yes.

Exhausted? Hell yes.

But injured? Not even slightly.

Honestly, Katsuki was a little proud of himself.

“Kacchan!” Izuku squawked, hurrying toward him. “What happened?! How did you get that black eye?!”

Katsuki’s hand lifted slowly to touch it, to feel the swelling and the dull ache that filled one side of his face. It had been a stupid golem that jumped out at them halfway up the mountain, that for a moment had almost made Katsuki fall, before he’d shifted his hand into thick claws and punched straight through the bastard. It had almost caused another landslide as it shattered and rolled down the mountain, but Izuku had been too focused on removing metal pegs to notice it fall past him.

“I got hit by a rock,” he answered finally. It wasn’t entirely untrue, after all.

“Oh no! You poor thing! Maybe someone in the village will have- Uhhh... Kacchan, where’s the village?”

“How should I know, you shitty nerd? You’re the one with the map.”

“It’s meant to be right here, Kacchan! Right on top of these stone... platforms...”

Katsuki looked over expectantly, watching Izuku stare down at a series of stone circles all nested together, some of them carved with odd symbols that looked vaguely familiar in places, completely foreign in others.

“It was a witch, Kacchan!” Izuku squawked, making Katsuki jump. “She must have magicked the town away! Oh no! We’re too late!”

“You probably just read the map wrong, stupid. Gimme that.”

Izuku tried to resist, but Katsuki snatched it from his hands, glaring down at it as he began to read. Sure enough, they were in the right spot, but there was one stupid thing that stupid Izuku had managed to overlook.

“Where the fuck did you get ‘village in trouble’ from, haah?”

“What are you talking about?! That X is clearly marking where a village should be, and they wouldn’t have sent such a vague map if they weren’t in trouble! They were in a hurry to send for help! They didn’t have time to write a note!”

“I swear to god, nerd.” Katsuki took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Izuku, this is a treasure map. Have you never heard of X marks the spot and all that shit?”

“What? No! But what about the village people?!”

“There is no village. There are no people to save.”

“Because the witch-”

“There is no witch.”

He held the stupid map up, right in Izuku’s face, green eyes crossing as they tried to focus on it. It took a minute, but finally a dawning look passed over his face, and Katsuki nodded firmly.

“Exactly,” he said simply.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Kacchan!”

“Whatever,” Katsuki shrugged, tossing the map back and marching toward the middle of the stones. “No wonder it was so damn hard to get here. Well, we may as well claim this stupid treasure while we’re here. Maybe it’ll have a few spare thoughts for you to borrow.”

“Rude!”

Izuku buried his nose in the map again, trying to suss it all out – he needed to know exactly what he’d done wrong, so he’d be able to identify a proper call for help the next time!

With a loud grind, the circles began to move at Katsuki’s feet, the symbols lighting up in bright colours and casting their glow up into the grey clouds. While the rain had finally eased off, everything was still all damp and gross, and the sun wasn’t far from beginning its fiery descent into the earth.

The ground began to tremble around them, Izuku stumbling just to keep upright, and then Katsuki’s voice was ringing out, calling his name.

“Izuku!” he screamed. “Get down!”

Izuku hit the ground without a moment of hesitation, covering his head with his hands, and a rush of wind straight over his back told him he’d narrowly avoided some kind of awful fate. He stayed low to the ground, the rocks grazing his shirt as he crawled, scrambling away from whatever awful monster was currently fighting with Katsuki.

The sword on his belt itched to be used, practically burning a hole in his shirt, but Izuku couldn’t seem to make his trembling fingers reach toward it. He couldn’t even seem to lift his head, no matter how hard he tried to defeat the shaking that wracked his body, listening to the thumping of what had to be massive feet behind him, and the deep, guttural roars that thundered through the sky.

“Stay down!” Katsuki yelled, when Izuku began to move again. “I’ve got this!”

Izuku wanted to offer him some kind of encouragement, wanted to tell him he was amazing, or that he believed in him, or that he was super cool and strong, and he lov-

His voice wouldn’t come – he suspected he might be a little thankful for that, when he looked back on it later. Assuming he even survived.

No! Of course he’d survive! Katsuki was the coolest, the bravest, the strongest warrior Izuku had ever met – who had ever existed –he was sure of it!

A final screech echoed around them, making Izuku clap his hands over his ears, and then the shaking began to calm, seemed to... move away. Was it over? Had Katsuki won? Why wasn’t he saying anything?

He slowly brought his feet beneath him, half-expecting Katsuki to yell at him again, but this time nothing came. He had to look, had to get up, had to turn and make sure Katsuki was okay – had to help him, if he wasn’t. He just needed to take a deep breath, and-

The crash behind him made him whirl around much quicker than he’d planned, a loud eep! coming out of him when he saw the huge, scaly creature standing there. Massive red eyes widened as they looked down at him, and Izuku’s jaw dropped, his hands trembling with emotions he couldn’t yet name. Slowly, he raked his eyes over every inch of the scales that shimmered like rubies in the sunlight; the huge claws that spread among shattered rocks and fallen branches, from the few trees that had once topped the mountain; and the massive horns that curled up into the sky, like they could pierce through the clouds and make the sky leak out from above.

One hind leg shifted a little, looking almost sheepish as it kicked something behind his back, and then those huge eyes turned away in a hurry.

Part of him knew he should be scared, should be running away by now, but most of him...

“Amazing!” he gushed, watching the dragon step back quickly when he rushed forward. “I’ve never seen a dragon before! I’ve only ever heard stories! My friends are gonna be so jealous, they might not even believe m- Wait. Kacchan?!”

He froze in his tracks, staring up at the dragon who suddenly looked like the cat who ate the canary, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Kacchan, where did you go?! Oh no. Oh no! Mister Dragon, did you eat my friend?!” Izuku finally drew his sword, pointing it up at the creature, despite his hand shaking so hard he could barely keep his grip on it. “Spit him up right now, Mister Dragon! I won’t forgive you! Give him back!”

The dragon just stared at him for a minute, silent and still, then finally opened its mouth slightly under Izuku’s indignant gaze.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Izuku continued, standing a little taller. “Open up, let him out! How dare you!”

A small puff of smoke came out between its lips, and Izuku put his hands on his hips, glaring.

“Nuh-uh, don’t you dare! No fire, you give him back!”

The cloud of smoke grew slowly bigger, swirling around the dragon’s form, and Izuku watched in disbelief as it began to shrink, to change. It got smaller and smaller, the huge claws shrinking in closer to the body, the massive hind legs retracting and morphing, the tail getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely. And in the smoke, in the remains of the giant, kick-ass dragon, stood...

“Kacchan?”

Katsuki’s cheeks were tinged slightly pink, his ruby eyes refusing to meet Izuku’s gaze, and for a long moment, the only sound was the rush of wind whistling around them, chilling Izuku to the bone. Katsuki shifted a little, blocking some of the wind from hitting him, and Izuku felt his heart thump extra hard at the gesture.

“Amazing!” he blurted out, feeling his cheeks flood red, even as the words continued to pour out. “I can’t believe it! Why didn’t you tell me?! How long have you been doing this?!”

“W-What?”

“I’ve always wanted to see a dragon! I have so many questions! Why did you never tell me?!”

“I...” Katsuki began, stumbling over his words. “I thought I’d... scare you away?”

“What?!” Izuku squawked, making Katsuki jump. “How could you think that?! Nothing could scare me away from you! I like you too much!”

“You do?” Katsuki asked, eyes widening.

“Of course! You’re my best friend!”

Silence fell again, the words heavy in both their heads, and Katsuki felt himself deflate a little as time stretched out between them with nothing to break it.

“S-So, uh,” Izuku stuttered. “Your... Your clothes!”

Katsuki looked down, pulling a face when he saw all the torn fabric hanging off his body, barely holding itself together.

“Is this why you’re always shirtless?” he continued. “It must be much easier to shed a cloak than a shirt if you need to shift in a hurry, right? The pants must be a mission though, but I guess there’s no real way around that! In a pinch your cloak can probably handle that, too. You need like a cool little pants cloak, like a skirt but manly and detachable! And have you considered drawstrings? You could wear a shirt, and when you shift, it’ll just stretch open instead of tearing! Not that it’s not nice to look at you shirtless, of course, but you must get cold! Not that I can talk, I didn’t even bring a cloak with me! Do dragons get cold? What about in your human form? Is that why you always seem warm? Or do you get even colder because you’re used to being warm as a dragon? Oh my god what’s it like to have scales?”

“Deku.” Katsuki finally cut him off, a little amused when Izuku immediately snapped his mouth closed. “If you want answers, you can’t just keep asking questions without stopping.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Since we came all this way, can we at least claim the stupid treasure?”

“Oh!”

Katsuki marched forward once more, uninterrupted this time, and stood in the middle of the stone platform. All the carved symbols began to glow around them again, shooting their coloured lights up into the clouds, and Izuku hurried over to stand a little closer, just in case.

With a long, dull grinding sound, the stones began to turn, the smallest circle rising up out of the ground. Katsuki watched as it moved, agonisingly slow, but when he finally caught a glimpse of the object within, his eyes filled with fire.

“Is that...?” Izuku asked, breathless.

“One For All,” Katsuki confirmed, hands itching to reach out. “All Might’s legendary sword that everyone thought had been lost to the ages. And now we have it. Fuck yes.”

“So you can really just shift your whole body into a giant dragon at will?”

“Focus, nerd! Look at this thing! I am gonna kick so much ass with this sword.”

“Hey! I want a turn too!”

The stone panel finally clicked into place, and both of them reached for it immediately, hands wrapping around the hilt in near-perfect unison. Katsuki expected something to happen, expected it to glow or catch fire or something, but instead it just stood there, the two of them frowning at each other as they both began to pull.

“The map was given to me,” Izuku huffed. “I get to go first!”

“You would have died on your way here without me. Multiple times! Do you have any idea how many times I saved your ass in the past two days?!”

“I’ll let you have a turn after! If you take it first, I might never get it back!”

“Don’t make me shift, nerdass.”

“Oh yeah, sure, you’re gonna shift into the flying creature that didn’t offer to fly me up here instead of going through all those shitty trials. As far as I’m concerned, you owe me.”

“Haaah?!”

“You heard me!”

Katsuki growled, smoke swirling out of his nose in two narrow plumes, but Izuku just scowled deeper, refusing to back down.

“Fine,” Katsuki said, so low that Izuku almost leaned in closer to hear him. “You asked for it.”

He opened his mouth, and Izuku waited a moment, ready to call his bluff, until a breath of white-hot flame erupted from his throat, and Izuku was forced to let go in a hurry, backing away to keep from getting scorched. For a moment he was ready to protest, ready to complain a thousand times and thump Katsuki for trying to hurt him, but then he saw the sharp grin on Katsuki’s face, the outstretched hands, and in each...

“One for each of us,” he clarified, when Izuku began to tear up. “Not my neatest handiwork, I admit. I’m sure once we wrap the handles properly it’ll all be fine.”

“Kacchan...”

“I know, I’m amazing and thoughtful and-”

“You tried to toast me!”

“Haaah?! What the fuck, nerd?! Where’s my credit for the awesome idea?! And the execution?! How many people can melt a legendary sword in half with their breath, huh?!”

“I wouldn’t know! You never told me about any of this! I’m meant to be your best friend!”

“Well now you know! Because I was protecting you! Suck it up, asshole!”

The sun was setting over the mountain as they bickered, casting them with an orange glow that usually reminded Izuku of Katsuki anyway, with its warmth and fiery colours – he’d never known how on point he really was with that assessment.

“Whatever,” Izuku huffed finally, pouting his he turned his gaze away. “It’s getting late, we should go.”

“This is probably as safe a place as any, now.” Katsuki sighed. “We could just make camp here.”

“Camp?” Izuku snorted, rounding Katsuki to pick up their bags, slinging both over his shoulder. “Time to shift, Kacchan, I’m riding you home.”

He jumped onto Katsuki’s back, unable to resist a grin when Katsuki squawked at him for it, but still he didn’t let go, and after a few indignant slaps and shakes, Katsuki caved. He passed his new sword back to Izuku for safekeeping, and in a swirl of smoke, his body began to change. Izuku quickly grabbed hold of the warm cloak that popped off as his shoulders grew broader, wrapping it around himself instead, both to keep it safe and because he just liked how soft it was. And finally, as Katsuki’s shape began to settle, he got himself comfortable atop the long, scaly spine.

“Giddyup, Kacchan!”

“I can still talk, nerd,” Katsuki growled, his voice lower and much breathier than usual. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Okay, okay! In your own time, then!”

“Whatever, dumbass.”

With a few sharp beats of the massive wings either side of him, Katsuki began to rise off the ground, and it was all Izuku could do to keep from slipping off. When he got home, he was gonna have to start crafting himself a dragon saddle, or at least a long set of reins. He had no intention of giving up his newfound mode of transport any time soon, and he needed to be prepared!

As they swooped down over the edge of the mountain, Izuku’s entire body began trembling – not in fear, this time, but in awe of Katsuki’s amazing power. It was the greatest thing he’d ever seen in his life, better than anything he could ever have possibly dreamed of, and he was so, so glad that Katsuki had adopted him as a friend, way back before they could even walk properly.

“Want to see me burn down a village?”

“No!” Izuku squawked, thumping him on the back – he was pretty sure Katsuki didn’t even notice.

“Spoilsport.”

As their flight path levelled out, and Izuku got a little more accustomed to it all, he began to sit up a little taller, looking out over the vast lands that surrounded their little village homes. There was so much out there, so much to see and do, so many people to meet, and things to study. He’d always thought it was impossible – it was difficult enough to even get to the other villages around them – but now there was a whole new world of possibility opening up before his eyes.

He stood up carefully, making sure the swords and bags were tucked securely between some scales to stay put, then took a deep breath as he flung his arms out, letting the wind whip through his hair and his borrowed cloak.

“I’m riding a dragon!” he yelled, as loud as his lungs would muster. “Woooooo!”

Beneath him, Katsuki chuckled to himself, a tiny burst of flame sparking between his lips that Izuku thankfully didn’t notice. He curled his neck slightly, getting a glimpse of the excited nerd riding him like one of the weird circus horses that came through town every few years. If it had been anyone else, he’d have thrown them off immediately, but he supposed Izuku deserved a few privileges as his best friend.

And maybe, one day, something more than that.

“Where are we gonna go next, Kacchan?” Izuku asked, when he calmed himself and sat back down, letting Katsuki finally fly a little faster without the risk of blowing him away by accident. “I’ve always wanted to see what’s across the big lake, or maybe the castle where the King lives! There are so many cool trips I want to take!”

“And let me guess,” Katsuki smirked. “You’re gonna be dragging me along?”

“Of course, Kacchan!” Izuku grinned back. “I wouldn’t have it any other way!”