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Chapter Text

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Chapter Text

Bakugou Katsuki (POV)

In my village we believe the 'kill or be killed' rule the reason behind that is because it's true, you either have to be ready to fight for your life or you'll end up dead or missing a couple limbs. But if you're younger than eighteen then you are not allowed to engage in combat with the beasts that roam the world.

That is unless you are being trained by a professional or you're next in line to be the chief and in that case then you have to hunt down and kill one of these beasts at the age of sixteen, all on your own.

So that's why I'm sitting here, next to my mother's throne in front of a large arena with a chain dome covering the opening. I'll be turning sixteen tomorrow so my mother and the vikings in the village caught a dragon and put them in one of the cages inside this arena. I'll be able to see what the dragon looks like before they release it tonight as soon as the moon reaches its apex.

They will give me 4 months to hunt down this specific dragon. No help at all. Only me, a knife, and a small boat. I'll have to hunt my own food since none will be provided. If I fail to complete it in time or never return then a new person chosen by my mother will have to complete the same challenge with a different dragon of course.

Everyone in the village settled down around the arena, awaiting my mother's speech. After a couple minutes of chattering my mother raised her hand, everyone went silent. She stood up, her outfit was a leather one sleeve tube top, the one sleeve was on her right and it went down to her wrist, the leather was dyed a sangria red. The tube top was paired with an asymmetric leather skirt that hung to her left side, the leather was dyed a flint grey.

My mother gave everyone a large smile before speaking. "We will now release the dragon into the arena. My son will have 5 minutes to get a good look at this dragon before we will put it back into its cage.-

-Before we release the dragon I'd like to mention that this dragon put up a big fight and was very strong, but I know that my son is strong enough and will be able to take down this beast. As soon as the moon reaches its apex we will release the dragon into the wild and my son will leave as soon as the sun rises."

My mother smiled once again before looking over to two men next to a large crank and nodded. They nodded back and grabbed onto the handle, they pushed their body weight onto the large piece of wood, the sound of chains and metal clanking was heard throughout the area as the handle slowly moved in a circular motion. The crowd's cheers never stopped, that was until the dragon bursted through the doors that once held it captive.

Everyone stared, a mixture of awe and fear in their face. A relatively large dragon stood before them, it ran around the arena taking flight and grabbing onto the chain material every now and then as it tried to find a way out. Its body was littered with scars, especially near it's forearms. It's eyes were a mixture of shamrock, fern, and mint green. Its body was almost identical to a night fury except for the large patch of fur that surrounded its neck. Its body was a forest green while the fur was an emerald green. Instead of having the usual tail fin of a night fury it had emerald fur covering its tail.

The dragon took flight again, it grabbed onto the chain right in front of me making me jump back a little. It looked around before looking straight up, it got ready to jump back down and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It froze and slowly looked down at me, it's breathing slowed, it's muscles seemed to relax, and it's pupils dilated slightly as if the sight of me made it relax. It made a soft noise that almost reminded me of when someone cooed or awed, it's eyes also softened as it did so. I gulped before glaring at the dragon taking in every last detail I could before raising my gaze to its-... his eyes. He looked up and down my body for a few seconds as well before making eye contact, it huffed a breath through its nose before jumping down onto the floor of the arena.

I sat down as my mom looked over to four men who stood at the gate of the arena, making sure to get their attention before nodding. They nodded back before raising the gate but only enough for them to slip through. They had metal shields attached to their off hands and swords in their other. They made a half circle around the beast before slowly but surely closing in and forcing him to move backwards.

The men at the crank opened up the dragons cage as they all got closer to the doors. The dragon frantically looked around trying to find an opening to escape but it was a little too late since half of his body was already in the cage. After a few more minutes of struggling to get the dragon to back himself into the cage the men shut the doors and the other men left the arena, shutting the main gate behind them.

My mother grabbed her axe and motioned me to stand. I let out a small breath to calm my nerves before standing, she raised her axe straight up into the air grabbing my hand raising it up as well before shouting, "May the dawn of a new warrior comense!" The crowd erupted with cheers as well as many wolf whistles from men and women who thought they might have a chance with me or my mom.

We all headed down to the main hall where a large feast was set up. Everyone in the village including the little kids all stayed up until midnight to watch the dragon be released. When it finally came time to set the dragon free we all gathered a ways away from the arena while two men walked over and opened the main gates. Once it was open they grabbed a shield just in case the dragon tried to fire at them. They walked around the arena to the large crank, they turned it till the dragon ran out and flew out of the arena in a blink of an eye.

He didn't even look back; instead he flew in a straight line away from our village. It eventually completely disappeared in the night sky. Everyone stayed up longer partying while I grabbed the knife I was allowed to bring with me tomorrow; I walked into the woods until I reached my favorite clearing that I usually came into to relax or train.

I went up to an already beaten up tree that had slash marks from me striking it with various weapons such as axes, swords, knifes, daggers, as well as a few blunt force marks when I had used a mace and a flail because my mom wanted me to try out some blunt weapons. Dried blood was near some of the blunt force marks from when I had gotten really frustrated and ended up punching the tree instead of using a weapon.

I got into a fighting stance before striking the tree, I continued to strike the tree changing my stance every now and then. A large gash quickly formed on the area I was striking. I continued to practice until I heard a crunch of leaves behind me. I whipped my body around, already in a fighting stance until I saw who it was.

Camie Utsushimi, a good friend of mine who lived in the forest alone. Her family had passed away when she was around ten years old and she was a year older than me. Since our families were good friends far before we were born, I had seriously known her for as long as I could remember.

I set my knife down on a nearby rock while she skipped over to me, "You excited?" She asked while slinging an arm around my shoulder, her dark brown eyes met my ruby red ones. I turned toward her and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around me as well, laying her head on top of mine causing her fawn brown hair to cover my vision, the height difference between us wasn't that big but she was a good 5-6 inches taller than me. She slowly swayed us back and forth switching between patting and rubbing my back.

I let out a shaky breath before pulling back. She let go of me, her hands still held against my shoulder and smiled softly, "You're scared, aren't you? I know this is a big deal for you and you don't wanna mess up. Am I right?" I stayed silent for a few minutes before lowering my head and nodding yes. "Awe sweety, it's okay. Here,-" She walked over to the rock where I set my knife down and picked up the sharp object, "-If you have any questions about hunting or dragons or anything… now's the time to ask."

She handed the knife to me before getting in a fighting stance, "Go ahead and try to strike me. You can ask any questions as you practice." I nodded gulping slightly, getting into a fighting stance before charging at her. I aimed for her stomach, not intending on actually cutting her but instead just getting the blade close enough to her to prove to her and myself that I can hit a moving target. She jumped out of the way before I could get close enough, I turned around, continuing the new type of training. I thought about questions as I continued to attack and dodge as Camie started to strike back.

"Do you have any tips for if I run into a dragon." She hummed before dodging one of my kicks that I had aimed for her side. She thought for a few more seconds before responding.

~~~

Camie helped me train for a couple more hours before we decided we should head to bed. We said goodbye, she hugged me and wished me good luck before I headed back to my cabin. When I got inside I took a quick shower and changed into my nightly wear. As I laid down, slowly drifting in and out of sleep, I never would have been able to imagine what the next few months had in store for me.

Chapter Text

I'm going to be posting this on all my works.

I do not have a schedule for any of my books because I can not trust myself to write a chapter within a certain time limit and I'd like to ask you not to rush me, I'm a living human being with 2 dogs, 2 gecko's, a snake, and a family to help and spend time with. I also have school which is very important to me, thank you for understanding!

Chapter Text

Bakugou Katsuki (POV)

I couldn’t really sleep that night, I was too anxious. Questions were running through my mind, what if I can’t find any food? What if I lose track of time? What if… What if I can’t do this? I’ll be a failure. I wouldn’t be able to show my face to my mother, the village… I wouldn’t be able to do it…

Negative and positive thoughts filled my mind, sadly whenever a positive thought came through it was quickly blocked by a negative one. My thoughts continued to race up until my mother walked into my room and told me it was time. I gulped, slowly getting up, I quickly got ready before following her. Everyone else in the village was waiting at the docs, quite a few people saying goodbye to me as I passed them.

My mother led me to a small outrigger sailing canoe, a Ulua canoe to be exact. She motioned for me to get in, I silently stepped into the canoe and sat down, grabbing the oar with my right hand to help me stear while my left grabbed the mainsheet.

“My son will have nothing but a knife, this canoe, his own knowledge, the clothes and utility belt he has on now, and a notebook to record his travels. I was the first chief to ever be provided with a notebook and even though it may seem like it has no use, it helped me get to where I am now. I recorded each day so I wouldn’t lose track of time, and I wrote what happened that day.-”

“When I came back and my parents read the journal they were proud of me. I have the feeling I’m going to be very proud of what Katsuki is going to write in this journal.” My mother said as she handed me the things I can take with me, “I wish you luck, Katsuki. I love you.” I gently set my stuff down before looking at my mom, then to the people of my village. “I love you too, mom. I hope I’ll see you all soon.” Was all I could get out before I knew my voice would start to crack.

My mom untied the water craft, handing me the rope before giving the manu a push. I trimmed the mainsheet and placed the oar in the water, all it took was a gust of wind. I looked back but all I could see was the sun rising above the mountains and fading lights of my village. I looked back forward, not exactly knowing what to do.

I took in a shaky breath before using the oar to point directly west; ‘The dragon flew in the direction the great hall faces. That means he went west. When I need to come home I just need to go east towards where the sun and moon rise.’ I tied the mainsheet down before focusing on keeping the water craft steady.

~~~

Half the day went by before I came across another piece of land. I found an area on the shore line where a small clearing was. I hopped off the canoe and pulled it half way on land before tying it onto a nearby tree. I grabbed my knife, leaving the notebook in the canoe before walking around and exploring the mini beach.

The forest around was heavy with a couple of different tree types, I could identify most but a few were new to me. It appeared to be mostly Oak, Maple, Elm, Cedar, and Chestnut; the ground was littered with undergrowth. ‘It’s gonna be hard to find any animal tracks with how dense everything is...’

I sighed before walking over to the edge of the thicket and looking at the nearby undergrowth. The ground that wasn't covered with bushes, shrubs, or small trees was covered in moss, a few fungi and ferns growing through the dense mat of nature. I looked around at the tiny trees, shrubs, and vines that surrounded the area.

The sight of Poison oak, Poison ivy, and Poison sumac made me feel a bit uneasy about walking into the forest. There wasn’t that much but that could just be because I’m near a clearing, what if when I get a ways into the forest those plants start showing up more? I really don’t want to deal with the rashes those give out.

I looked around a bit more before finding a pretty narrow trail, most likely caused by animals judging by the amount of animal tracks there were. I looked around to try and figure out why they would come here. The water was salt water so it wouldn’t make sense for them to come here for that. “Oh… That’s why.” I thought aloud while walking over to a blackberry bush.

‘Good thing it’s summer, this’ll be a good source of food but I still need to find something with protein.'' I thought while grabbing one of the purplish black berries and popping it into my mouth. Once I broke the skin a sweet flavor exploded over my tongue, a bit too sweet for my taste but I’ll have to deal with it. I grabbed a few more berries before eating the ones I had in my hand while walking around a bit more.

When I got back to where the trail was, a lean figure was standing in the middle of the trail. I froze and the creature did for a few seconds before continuing to walk towards me. I grabbed my knife with my free hand and got into a fighting stance although that quickly changed one I saw what it was. A mule deer, a doe to be exact, along with a tiny fawn following behind it. I put my knife away as they walked past me to the blackberry bush.

What did you think I was gonna kill the mom? Fuck no, I’m not a monster. It’s quite obvious no humans have been here since they just walked past me. Usually, animals who have come into contact with humans never want to encounter them again. The two deer munched on the blackberries, carefully picking the berries off of the thorny bush. After a few minutes the fawn walked away and started bounding around the small clearing, I leaned against a tree while watching it play with a stunted tree.

The fawn would run up to the tree, push it with its nose and then run away before the tree could hit it. It played and trotted around for a bit while the doe continued eating. The fawn jumped up and twisted in the air before landing right on it’s ass. I attempted to stifle my laughter as it shook itself off. The fawn looked over at me before happily bounding over and pressing it head against my knee. I hummed before reaching down and rubbing in between its ears. “Oh, so you’re a little boy huh?” I said quietly as I felt two tiny nubs where the horns would normally grow on a mule deer.

The fawn leaned against me and I continued to gently rub his ears until his mother came over and pounded her foot against the ground. The fawn pressed against my leg a bit harder before turning around and trotting over to his mom. They both walked over to the trail and disappeared behind the dense forest and undergrowth. That was unusual behavior, even a deer who’s encountered a kind human before usually wouldn’t do that. I sighed, shaking my head before eating the last berry in my hand and whipping my hand off on my shirt.

Maybe all the creatures on this island are brazen… let's hope not...

I walked back over to the canoe and grabbed my notebook, silently wondering how the fuck I was going to write. Like sure I could find a stick, start a fire, charr the end, and use that but I wasn’t planning on making a fire until it started to get dark… Well I guess I could just wait until then. I could make journaling something I do every night before I fall asleep. Let’s go with that.

I walked back over to the deer trail and started my way into the forest. I followed the trail for about half an hour before I came across a side trail that seemed to be a little less used. I looked down the trail that was more used and it led further off into the forest while the one that was less used led to what looked to be a pretty big glade.

Finally deciding it was about time to try and find a place to camp instead of wandering around I head down the trail that's been slightly covered by vegetation.

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