Chapter Text
Izuku shivered in the dark. And then let himself sink down back to the rocky floor. He didn’t like this place. But of course it hadn’t mattered to Hisashi. The sea dragon had dragged him across the ocean and Izuku wasn’t sure he could ever find his way back to his home reef ever again. Even a year after being taken, Izuku still missed his true home.
He missed the warmth and color of the tropical reefs. Izuku had heard of the arctic from travellers but it was different to experience it. It was so dark. Great moving pieces of ice covered the surface far above him. They filtered the light and made everything blue and gray to the eyes. The only dashes of color came from the volcanic vents that could be found here or there, fiery red and yellows from spewing magma.
Hisashi’s homeland wasn’t where Izuku wanted to stay. He hoped they would move on soon. Why had the sea dragon even come here? Food was scarce. The water was cold. And Izuku has never felt so alone.
Hisashi himself was off hunting. Probing the surface for animals to snatch. He had brought seals down for Izuku to feast on. Hisashi claimed the fattiness of the animals would do well to help Izuku’s growth and the cold would help Izuku to grow in tolerance. Izuku swam closer to a small heat vent nearby. The few crabs that littered the ground scurried away at his approach.
When they had first moved to colder waters Izuku had insisted on swimming along beside the larger dragon, as he had for the past two months. But the deeper into the freezing temperatures they went the slower Izuku became. Cold water made him tired much quicker. It wasn’t until he was shivering and sluggishly moving that Hisashi ignored his protest and Izuku found himself trapped in one of Hisashi’s fists. He would never admit that it had actually been an extreme relief, even comfortable, to be surrounded by the dragon’s warmth.
Izuku looked up at the murky darkness around him as he hovered close to the heat of the earth. It was so desolate here. Empty of the bustling life he had grown up with.
Which was why when Izuku felt the water move he assumed it was Hisashi approaching. Izuku focused on trying to heat up the tips of his fins that he didn’t notice that the feeling of the disturbance was much smaller than what Hisashi would have been. Perhaps after a year of being protected constantly from sharks, Izuku had become complacent in his own safety.
So he was completely blindsided when a much larger body slammed into his back. Nearly pushing him into the searing heat of the vent he had been huddling close to. Izuku let out a yelp of surprise and then pain as teeth sank into his shoulder.
His frenzied mind thought for a second that it was actually a shark that had latched onto him. But when he thrashed he realized his arms were being held in a tight grip, large clawed fingers digging into Izuku’s biceps. He bashed his tail against the other larger body behind him, attempting to thwart the other away from him.
And then as quickly as it attacked, the teeth suddenly lifted from his skin. Blood clouded the water after the departure of teeth from flesh. Izuku continued to struggle wildly in the grip of whatever had him but couldn’t break free. He almost missed the words spoken to him in his panic.
“You’re like me.” came a raspy voice behind Izuku. Izuku’s blood ran almost as cold as the water around him. One of his arms was released and Izuku spun to face his attacker. His other arm was still trapped in the person’s grip. When his eyes fell on the predator he nearly choked on water.
White longer hair, red eyes that weren’t as bright as his father’s, and lots of white scales. Izuku froze. This was a sea dragon. Another sea dragon. There were more??! The one before him was at least three times his size and looked a bit older than himself. And then Izuku noticed the other had scars marring his skin. And a few open wounds of his own. The water tastes like iron, Izuku’s and the stranger’s blood mingling.
“You’re just a kid…” the other murmured in equal surprise that Izuku felt.
“L-Let go of me.” Izuku stuttered out tugging on his arm. His free hand covered his wounded shoulder trying to stem the bleeding. To his even greater surprise the other dragon listened to him. Releasing his grip and letting Izuku retreat backwards a bit.
A tense silence fell between them. Izuku kept his eyes on the stranger, worried that pulling his gaze away would be an opportunity for the predator to attack again. But he also couldn’t help himself in not swimming away immediately. After all, this was the first time in months he has been able to speak to another person who wasn’t Hisashi.
“Are you alright?” Izuku settled on asking. The other tilted his head in confusion. The wounds he sported didn’t seem to faze him.
“You’re the one bleeding so much.” the other pointed out while reaching up to wipe the left over blood from his mouth. “I’ll be fine.” the other said, his maroon eyes wondering to Izuku’s own wounds. “Sorry.” the other offered quietly, a bit unsure.
“You should leave.” Izuku said tightly. The other dragon only seemed more confused at that.
“Are you alone?” the other asked.
“No. That's why you need to leave.” Izuku insisted. “If he finds you here he’ll eat you.” Izuku said shakily. Izuku then wondered if that's what would happen. This other dragon had hurt him. What would Hisashi do if he found out?!
“You shouldn’t be left alone…” the other mumbled looking out at the darkness around them. Izuku’s face paled. This was Hisashi’s homeland. How many other dragons lived here? He felt stupid for thinking Hisashi was the only other dragon in the ocean. They had just been a myth at his reef so comprehending Hisashi’s existence had been a chore all on its own.
“How many others are there?” Izuku murmured to himself.
“Just me.” the other said quietly, picking up on Izuku’s question. “But there are other things out here that could hurt a baby like you.”
“I’m not a baby!” Izuku exclaimed and winced at his shoulder again. What was it with dragons and calling him a baby?!
“How old are you?” the other asked knowingly, as if Izuku’s answer was irrelevant to the facts.
“I’m fifteen.” Izuku said defensively. The other blinked at him.
“No wonder you still have your baby coloring.” the other said ignoring the glare Izuku leveled at him.
“Baby coloring?” Izuku asked in irritation as well as confusion. The older dragon pointed to Izuku’s hair.
“You still have baby colored hair, it hasn’t faded out yet.” the stranger clarified eyebrows furrowing.
“Then how old are you?” Izuku asked, noting the other’s longer pale hair. He didn’t look much older than Izuku himself. Even if he was much larger.
“Three hundred and six.” the other answered him, making Izuku’s jaw drop. That...couldn’t be right. Right? Even if the dragon in front of him was large, Hisashi could easily engulf him. How old did that make his father? More importantly, how long was Izuku meant to stay at that monster’s side? Another three hundred years? More? “Do you have siblings with you?” the other asked curiously.
“No.” Izuku shook his head. “It's just...my father.” Izuku said reluctantly.
“You’re with an adult?” the other asked and Izuku blanched at the hopeful tone in his voice.
“Yes. And he’s extremely protective of me. So you need to swim away before he finds out you hurt me.” Izuku warned. He glanced again at the dark water around them. Could Hisashi smell his blood from wherever he was right now? Probably.
“Good.” the other said seemingly relieved to hear such a thing. “Then he could help get rid of-” the other trailed off quietly. Going silent and still as he tilted his head. His predatory eyes narrowed into slits suddenly and Izuku tensed. Without warning the other came at him again crashing into him and pushing him to the ground.
Izuku cried out as the move agitated his fresh wound and tried to push the other off, fearful that the other dragon had decided he was hungry enough to eat Izuku. His struggling didn’t do much and he found himself pinned to the rocky floor under the other’s massive tail. Izuku hissed and tried to push it off but paused when he saw movement in the shadows.
The dim lighting of this miserable biome made the figures hard to make out. But as Izuku looked around he saw there were about ten figures surrounding them, closing in. Izuku froze in his attempts to escape as they neared the heating vent, close enough to make out. They were mers. The colorful tails were muted in the ice covered lighting but the prettier frills of their tails were a far cry from a dragon’s spiny fins.
There were mers! Maybe they could help him! Would they know of his home-
An animalistic rumble above him stopped such thoughts. He glanced up at the bigger dragon that currently sat on him. Lips were peeled back showcasing all of his sharp teeth and bared in a snarl. His sharp claws were curled in a manner prepared to lash out.
“No! Wait! Calm down!” Izuku wheezed from beneath the other’s tail, trying to claw his way out from under him.
“Stay down!” the older one snapped at him, slamming his tail down and making the bones of Izuku’s ribs creak and water rush past his gills making him gasp.
“There’s another one!” One of the mers said in outrage.
“Its just a baby.” another mer pointed out.
“We can kill it before it becomes a killer like the others.” the mer closest to him said and suddenly Izuku had a sharp spear pointed at his face. Izuku’s face drained of color. Right. They didn’t know he was raised as a mer. All they saw was a little dragon right now.
The dragon above him smacked the spear away with a throat rattling hiss. The dragon’s pelvic fins rising in a threatening display. His spiny tail lashed out at the mers behind them, keeping them at bay. For a while it was a game of push and pull. Mer’s threatening from one side and then striking from the other. The dragon above him couldn’t keep an eye everywhere at once and Izuku winced as he watched the other suffer a few stabs here and there. But, surprisingly, everytime a mer made a move towards where Izuku was helplessly pinned the other dragon defended him before himself.
Of course, time and numbers were against the dragon. Izuku realized he must have been running from this hunting party when he ran into Izuku. How long had they been fighting for? The dragon had been injured before coming upon him. Izuku watched unsure of what to do and flinched at every fast movement happening above his head.
The dragon above him was becoming worn down. He still hissed furiously at the mers but his movements were slowing, the water was cloudy with blood and gave the water a foggy quality. Whatever stamina the older dragon had was dwindling and the mers knew it. The ring of hunters was closing in.
The dragon must have sensed his losing fight. Because a clawed hand reached down and grabbed Izuku, pulling him from his crushing prison. Izuku didn’t even have time to register it before the dragon’s tail gave a powerful pump and they were rising. A bloody cloud trailed after them along with the mers. It was only going to delay the inevitable.
A spear pieced through the webbing of the other dragon’s tail causing the other to gasp out loud in pain. They slowed and Izuku found himself being hugged to the chest of the other dragon as the mers once again surrounded them. Spears pointed at them from every direction the dragon turned, his gills fluttering from overexertion.
“Give it up monster.” a mer growled at them. “This is the end of your reign of terror. Be thankful you won’t be dying alone like the ones you’ve eaten.”
There was tense silence for a few seconds between them. The mers waited to see if the dragon had any more energy and the dragon constantly glanced trying to see which way the killing blow would come from. Everyone was so focused on each other as prey, none of them noticed the shadow that slithered beneath them.
One of the mers drew their arm back, finally deciding to take the chance to make the kill. The dragon holding Izuku hissed at him, turning his body to shield Izuku from it. And then the water moved.
Izuku’s mouth opened in horror as the mer in front of them was sliced into pieces. From one strike of a massive clawed hand Izuku knew from anywhere. The mers around them screamed in outrage, a few turning tail and fleeing immediately. A few others stuck to their goal and attempted to strike at the dragon and Izuku. The dragon dodged while clutching Izuku suffocatingly close.
The furious dragon lashed out with a clawed hand and managed to snag the side of one of the mer’s throats. The blood pumped out right into Izuku’s face, blinding him to a lot of what else happened. He heard screams, felt as the dragon holding him tumbled and jostled him. Dodging and fighting back when needed. It felt like the fight took hours. In reality the whole encounter was probably less than five minutes.
There was so much blood Izuku thought he was going to drown in it. As if the sea itself had become bathed in it. But things grew quiet. And still. The blood slowly diluting into the surrounding water and it revealed the dreaded monster Izuku knew was here.
Hisashi floated before them. His eyes still slit as the predator he was. Completely focused in on his child and the one who was holding him. The dragon that was holding him was staring in awe at the full grown sea dragon.
“And who might you be?” Hisashi asked with a curious lilt.
“Tenko.” the other dragon said slowly, releasing Izuku from his death grip.
“What is a young one like you doing alone?” Hisashi asked, reaching for Izuku. Izuku felt sick from the taste of iron clinging to his throat and tried to slip through Hisashi’s fingers. Hoping the other dragon would retain his attention. He was not so fortunate and growled as he was quickly captured. “And you shouldn’t move around so much, my pearl.” Hisashi reprimanded him glancing at Izuku’s injured shoulder.
“I’m not alone by choice.” Tenko murmured watching Izuku with an unreadable look.
“Oh? What happened to your father?” Hisashi asked with a quirked eyebrow. He didn’t seem fazed at having met another dragon. If anything he seemed almost pleasant to the other. It was strange to watch because Izuku had fully expected Hisashi to eat the other. He had never bothered talking to any of the mers he hunted. Was this some kind of cultural sea dragon agreement? Did dragons not eat other dragons?
“Dead.” Tenko said.
“Siblings?” Hisashi inquired.
“I had a sister.” Tenko said looking down. “But she’s dead too. Those mers hunted us down.”
“Orphaned then?” Hisashi said. Izuku didn’t like the look in his eyes or the slowly growing smile. Tenko nodded while nursing one of his many injuries.
“She died protecting me…” Tenko murmured.
“And you almost died protecting my precious Izuku.” Hisashi said. Izuku didn’t know where this was going as Hisashi’s face morphed into an incredibly pleased grin. Was he about to eat Tenko? “How would you like to join us then?”
Out of everything to leave Hisashi’s mouth this was the last thing Izuku expected. The dragon had been utterly unconcerned about any other life than his own and Izuku’s. What had swayed him to offer such a thing? Hisashi chuckled at Izuku’s baffled look.
“I’d like that.” Tenko said quite eagerly. Izuku stared at him incredulously.
“You don’t want to come with him.” Izuku spoke up quickly, “He eats mers! He will probably eat you!” Izuku exclaimed from his spot trapped in Hisashi’s fist.
Tenko just stared at him with a baffled look while Hisashi openly laughed at his son’s words.
“And this is why we need you Tenko.” Hisashi said, gazing down at Izuku with amusement. “My son is terribly confused. He needs someone to teach him to be a dragon. I think giving him a brother could help with that greatly.”
“Brother?” Tenko asked, Izuku could see the dragon’s ear fins perking at just the word.
“Yes. A good older brother who can protect him and show him how to survive.” Hisashi practically purred, growing fonder of the idea the longer he thought about it. The leviathan reached out and grasped Tenko gently bringing him closer similar to how he held Izuku’s squirming form. Tenko seemed to accept Hisashi’s touch happily. “A new brother for you, Izuku. What do you think we should name him? Tomura?”
Izuku just stared between them. Slowly realizing he now had two monsters to deal with instead of one.
“I like Tomura.” Tenko conceded. Izuku had a feeling he would have agreed with whatever Hisashi had suggested. He seemed desperate to be accepted. And Hisashi seemed more than happy to take advantage of that.
“Very well Tomura. Why don’t you help your little brother with dinner? He’s a terribly fussy eater.” Hisashi said releasing the bigger of the two dragons. “Then we can find a place to rest and take care of those wounds.”
Tomura nodded eagerly and despite his many wounds he swam away. And Izuku renewed his efforts to escape his father’s hand once he saw the dragon grabbing pieces of the slaughtered mers. Hisashi tutted with disapproval at his struggles, using his other hand to steady Izuku’s writhing form and to look at his wounded shoulder.
It wasn’t too deep. But it didn’t go over Hisashi’s head as to what must have bitten him. Hisashi glanced at the form of the young dragon he had just adopted. Perhaps having someone closer to Izuku’s age would help his hatchling see what natural behaviors were for a dragon. The bite mark would scar, but he deemed it safe to heal on its own. His poor pearl was so tiny and fragile. Having a second set of eyes to look after him would do them good.
Besides, it would be good for Izuku to have a sibling to grow up with. Hisashi knew he appreciated it when he grew up.