My Ride or Die- Kiribaku Fantasy AU

Twelve

Kirishima

I opened my eyes surrounded by gray and blue and nothing else. My breath went in and out slowly. I was relaxed and floating above the ground that was so far below me, I couldn't see it.

I gained awareness of my surroundings and noticed that my wings flapped slowly but with great force, pushing water up and down, or down and up. I couldn't tell which way I was facing. There was no distinguishable light source or ground, which should have scared me, but a constant pressure on my neck and upper back kept me grounded.

Keeping my wings flapping, I turned my head to look at what was making that pressure. A man in a thick fur cape was strapped to my back. His eyes were closed and his breath was shallow. The man's cape rose in the water and billowed around him. His arms and head were fastened around my neck by thick black ropes, and the rest of his body against my back by the same ropes.

He had white-blonde hair that may have been spiky when it was dry, but now it just floated in a shock around his head.

Who is this? Why is he on my back? Where am I?

My thoughts were sluggish. The man on my back slowly blinked open his eyes. He stared at me in shock. Then he suddenly started thrashing and trying to escape the ropes tying him down. His eyes were widened in fear. Clearly he had no idea who I was, either. I looked around for a way out of the watery nothingness. I watched my scales shift from bright red to dark grey. I panicked.

And it all came back.

-/rewind a week or so/-

"Okay, so I'll be taking you to the Sleepy Waters, the really big deep lake that feeds this river." Nejire began telling her plan. "The water contains bacteria that makes you incredibly exhausted right when you enter it, and once you fall asleep you'll have a hard time recalling memories. It probably seems like a terrible idea, but it's actually the best place to go to do something like this. When you panic, your body takes over and it'll keep you alive. Your natural instincts will tell you to flap your wings, to take deep breaths, that stuff. The only reason you couldn't fly before is because you aren't strong enough to keep yourself up in the air, but the water will help you out. To give you extra motivation to find your way to the surface along the channel, I'll be tying Bakugou to your neck so he can't move or assist you in any way."

"What?!" Bakugou slammed his hands down on the ground. "How the hell is that a good idea???"

"Kirishima is a dragon. He exists to protect. Female dragons are rooted to protect eggs and small, helpless things. Males protect those who have helped them in the past. You've done a great favor to Kirishima, I can tell. Whether either of you like it or not, he's subconsciously indebted to you. He'll protect you." Nejire's face was totally serious. She knew what she was talking about.

"I mean, I guess that works." I shuffled my feet nervously.

"No. I'm not being strapped to your back for hours underwater." Bakugou sneered.

"Bakugou, you'll be fine." Nejire snapped. "Do you not trust Kirishima?"

"Of course I do!" Bakugou glared, very offended at the nymph, his face turning slightly pink once he realized what he had said. "I mean, he's indebted to me or whatever."

"Alright then!" Nejire pulled four thick black twisted ropes from the water. "Climb on! And get used to it, this will be going on until Kirishima can fly."

-/back underwater/-

Come on... I thought frantically. The surface came into view. I didn't slow down.

3

2

1

I erupted from the water like lava from a volcano, flying straight up in the air with Bakugou on my back.

"Level out!" Bakugou yelled.

"Got it!" I yelled back. I angled my wings forward, which pushed my body so I was now flying flat over the lake, my stomach parallel to the water's surface.

I was flying. I was flying!

"I'm flying!!!" I spread my wings to their full length and flapped them just a little bit. My tail was like the fin under a boat, moving to keep me on track. The week of water and stress and pain had been worth it.

"Yes!" Mirio floated above my right wing and gave me a big thumbs up. Tamaki smiled from my left wing. Nejire clapped and cheered from the water below.

Bakugou hugged my neck tightly and laughed triumphantly. "Way to go, Shitty Scales!" He yelled into the wind.

I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the cold wind rushing over my back and wings. Now to land. Opening my eyes again, I turned right towards the bank and extended my hind legs towards the ground. I held my breath. I knew this would be the hardest part.

Just a few inches above the ground. I lifted my wings as high as they could go, the tips nearly touching each other above my back. My hind claws dug into the dirt, my forelegs thudding down close in front. I stumbled a little, but for the most part the landing was flawless. I roared in excitement and pushed my wings into a deep downstroke as I trotted in a little circle. Bakugou laughed and petted my head.

Engulfed in euphoria, I did nothing but grin bigger. I was truly a dragon now.

word count: 909