The Emperor's Dragon

Poison For Beginners

Yakuni slid down the back of the door as soon as it was closed. He gasped for air, desperately drawing air into his lungs. It felt as if someone had put bands around his chest. His eyes were wide, and he didn't bother to wipe the tears from them as they ran down his face. Breathing was more critical and it was taking everything he had to drag the air into his lungs.

When he'd come to see Ujiko that day, he knew it was his time off, and he knew that the Doctor had told him not to come then. He'd realised why when he saw Dragon, but he'd been friendly. He'd been polite, and he wasn't going to tell anyone. Though, he didn't know who would be interested in Dragon... Wait, he did know.

The Police. The Heroes. Probably the Department of Industry since it seemed like human experimentation was the industry here, which was against the law. They would be interested.

And Dragon's Father was interested. Yakuni was pretty sure he'd met the man once, back when he started working with Ujiko, but...

He swallowed, fighting against nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. He knew there would be some consequences for meeting Dragon, but... Meeting the man seemed like too much punishment. There were a few things Yakuni assumed before he met the man. He was rich. He was powerful. He had an interest in biology. Those all seemed reasonable.

All of them were true but, all of them paled into insignificance when he met the man. There was something about Dragon's Father that was utterly indescribable. The man was powerful but that word didn't do him justice. The man didn't radiate power in the way movies and books tried to say, but it was there. It had pressed down upon him, and Yakuni had known that he would do whatever it took to ensure that Dragon's Father never looked at him again. He couldn't even remember what he'd said.

He knew he'd apologised. He'd fallen to his knees and apologised. He'd apologised for a lot of things in his life. Being quirkless meant that he had to. He hadn't meant most of those apologies. He'd had to apologise for being in the way when he was the one tripped, so yeah, he had said sorry a lot in his life.

Yakuni had meant every word he'd said to Dragon's Father. Every whisper, every tone, everything. If he'd been insincere with anything, the man would have known.

And he knew he'd agreed to something, but...

Yakuni shook his head, finally drawing enough air into his lungs. He held up his hand, watching as it trembled before he took another deep breath. The trembling slowly stopped. Whatever he'd agreed to was fine.

He forced himself to stand, ignoring the way his legs felt like jelly. He had to check on the specimens because that was one thing he did remember. Dragon's Father had told him he was pleased about suggestions. Durama had said to him that as well, but hearing it from the man himself... It didn't lessen his fear, but it did make him feel proud.

Yakuni took a deep breath, telling his legs to stabilise. He was still alive. That was important. Sure he'd met a mighty man... He was working for a powerful man, which meant, so long as he didn't stuff up, that power wouldn't be used against him. In fact, Yakuni knew how these things worked, that power would never be used for him, but the very fact he worked for Dragon's Father would be its own protection in the right circles. So long as he didn't stuff up.

He wasn't going to stuff up again.

Ever.

-ted-

"All right, Izuku," Doctor Garaki said to the boy, "one more scratch on the flank. This time, really think about wanting to poison them," he instructed.

There was a pig carcass hanging in his lab. There were multiple scratches on it from where Izuku had attacked it. He had noted down the position of each scratch and would analyse them for how much toxin Izuku transferred with each swipe.