The Dragon of the Forest (Hye-Rin and Jack)

Maybe I should start practicing transforming individual body parts more...no one would see a sudden dragon head on a teenager coming…

Jack mused inside of his head as he sat towards the edge of the clearing, waiting for the cuts on his body to slowly but surely heal up. Honestly, he had never gotten much practice with transforming, say, an arm or a leg individually, though he knew he was more than capable of doing so. He knew that he needed to practice much more with his Quirk, especially in combat situations, though he was scared of what might happen if he suddenly lost control of himself. Of course, this was just a fear made up from anxiety, as he still had complete control over himself as a dragon, but it’s not his fault the first time it happened he went nuts!

He looked back at the area just outside of the clearing, where he had chosen to be a good place to transform without leaving noticeable evidence. No one usually went past the clearing, after all. If they did, however...well, they would likely find quite the mess. Large, reptilian footprints would be all over the area, with skid lines from his tail dragging being between them. A couple of smaller trees have also been knocked over, though they were likely old and were bound to die whenever the next storm came around.

Jack scratched the back of his head as he viewed his handiwork, feeling a bit bad for some of the smaller animals that had made the forest their home. Though it was clear that the majority of them had long since cleared away from the area, there had been rumors of a rather large bear living in the area, though that was before the ‘Dragon of the Forest’ rumor started. People probably thought that the dragon had run the beast off, and, honestly, Jack partially hoped that was the case. Otherwise he was bound for a fight soon enough.

He shook his head, trying to dismiss the thought. The last thing the boy wanted was to have to suddenly fight a large bear, especially when fights between animals are usually to the death. He yawned, feeling a bit fatigued after his little training session and making the mistake of letting his body relax for too long. ”Maybe a catnap wouldn’t hurt too much…” he murmured to himself, shutting his eyes and dozing off. He snored lightly, not really loudly enough for the entire forest to hear, but definitely loud enough for someone to notice if they came nearby.

However, after about an hour or so, Jack could faintly hear the voice of someone. At first, he thought it was simply his subconscious or a dream, and promptly tried to tune it out. He held his tail close to him, like it was a stuffed toy, and took a deep breath before dozing off again. This time was very brief, as the voice began to get closer and closer to where Jack was dozing.

As he realized that someone had ACTUALLY had the courage to come into the forest despite the rumors, Jack gasped and immediately began to hop into one of the trees to hide. He made a lot of noise, though, so it was highly likely that whoever was in the forest could hear him as clear as day. Despite that, though, Jack would try his best to watch the person, who appeared to be a girl about the same age as him. ”...What did that lizard do?” he asked quietly, just barely loud enough for the girl to hear him, but not enough for her to pinpoint where he was, as he was moving about through the trees, mostly just trying to be unseen.

However, these actions might cause an unwanted presence for both of the kids...

Jack immediately yelped rather loudly in response to the girl’s rather defensive response. He quickly hopped over to another tree, unknowingly making a lot of rustling in the trees, making his attempts at trying to remain unseen rather useless. Of course, this was all just a instinctive reaction for the small boy, mostly due to his usual distrust of people. He felt his breathing increase in speed as the anxiety of the unknown built up inside of him. He bit the inside of his lip, and tried to steady his breathing, keeping an eye of the girl as she continued to go onto the defensive, despite her supposed foe being unseen.

His eyebrows raised a little as he began to take notice of the flowers blooming on the girl’s skin; no doubt, part of her Quirk’s ability. Interesting...I wonder, do they bloom because of the sunlight and photosynthesis, or do they take the energy from their host? Such a interesting Quirk… he mused to himself. Jack had always been a bit of a nerd when it came to how different Quirks worked, and how far these Quirks could go in terms of raw ability. Heck, if he could turn into a dragon of Arthurian legend and a girl could have flowers blooming all over her, who knows how far they could go!

However, he snorted just a bit when she claimed that her Quirk was dangerous. Considering the most that he could think of in terms of ‘dangerous’ was pollen to those with allergies, he didn’t really think that there was much they could actually do. Of course, that was his initial thought, but he then reminded himself that Quirks as a whole were unusual, and she could very easily be serious about it. He pursed his lips and was silent for a moment, before replying ”Dangerous even against the Dragon of the Forest?” He would gauge her reply to that little confession, seeing how she would react to the legend that she most likely came her for was close to revealing itself to be true.

Jack then flinched as the girl then actually hurt herself by kicking the tree right next to one he was in. She was rather dramatic as she fell onto her back, clearly exhausted. He frowned a bit, uncertain as to what to do. His instincts told him to check and see if she was ok. His fears, on the other hand, questioned whether this was a trick or not. He thought for a moment, deciding to risk getting just a bit closer.

He hopped out of the tree, landing lightly on the grassy ground. He stayed inside of the shadows of the trees, mostly just because he still didn’t trust the flower girl. He hid behind the tree he was just in, his tail swishing back and forth uncertainly. However, then something weird began to happen. The pollen that was coming off of the girl, and of course enveloping Jack, began to fully seal up all of his cuts, and honestly filled him with a sense of calm. ”Interesting…” he murmured, mostly to himself, though considering how close he was to the girl, she could likely hear him.

The girl then promptly asked, presumably Jack though seemingly to no one in particular, if she was convincing at all. Jack tilted his head from side to side, edging just a bit closer, though only enough to where his bright, purple eyes could properly be seen.
”It seemed pretty convincing to me,” he replied simply, the only sound coming afterwards being the swishing of his tail in the grass. ”...Just, erm...who are you? Did you come looking for m- the Dragon?” he asked shyly, just trying to strike up a small conversation with the strange girl before him. He would then go silent, watching her carefully. If she was suddenly hostile, Jack would be ready to flee in and instant. However...his curiousity got the best of him this time.

He just wondered if the saying about cats could be applied to dragons, too.

Jack’s eyebrows raised quite a bit in response to the girl’s assumption that the ‘Dragon’ was likely friendly. That’s not exactly something that came to mind when most people thought of dragons, the usual assumption of them being that they were easily angered, greedy, and anything BUT nice. Of course, Jack had never really gotten angry, but aside from that the description didn’t exactly fit him. He pursed his lips as he thought that, though his shoulders untensed as he began to feel that the girl was anything but a threat.

The girl then opened her eyes, and began to sit up. The sudden movement made Jack flinch and move back just a smidge, though at the very least his eyes were still visible. The girl didn’t really seem dissuaded by that, however, staring at him with bright, golden eyes. He raised an eyebrow at that, finding the fact that she had the inverse color of his eyes a bit ironic. He didn’t really know if he should make anything about that or not, but decided to keep quiet about it.

She then introduced herself to him, her name being Hye-Rin. He raised an eyebrow at the name, knowing that it wasn’t Japanese. ”So...you’re not from around here, either…?” he asked, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t one-hundred percent certain about the girl yet. Though...that smile of hers made Jack’s face heat up and his spine tingle. Thinking back on it now, it had been a long while since he really interacted with anyone his own age, much less a girl. Granted, with how shy he was, it was kind of no figure that would be the case.

He still hesitated as Hye-Rin then proceeded to ask about him, asking if he was a U.A. student and such. She also tried to reassure him at she was no threat to him, once again giving him that smile that made him feel even more anxious. He was silent for a moment, his tail swishing around a bit faster. He then slightly nodded his head, saying quietly ”Y-yeah...I just got accepted there. Class 1-A, if I recall correctly…” He then went quiet for another good minute.

Then, after a rather awkward silence, Jack would finally begin to step out of the shadows, though it was rather slowly, starting with only his shoes and finally leading up to his white-fluffy hair. He would honestly look like a normal kid, up until his tail exited the shadows as well. He said nothing at first, but once he had fully revealed himself he quickly shuffled back over to the tree, sitting down across from the curious girl. His mouth was covered with his jacket, hiding the rather sharp teeth that he had, at least for the moment.

He looked up and down at Hye-Rin, not really knowing what to say. Should he be playful? Make a joke about him being the Dragon of the Forest? Or maybe play it all tsundere? After a moment, Jack would apparently make up his mind, saying simply ”....M-my name i-is Jack...J-J-Jack Orion…” He then simply nodded his head to her, only very briefly showing off his teeth in the process, which was in a rather nervous smile. ”I-It’s nice to meet you, Hye-Rin…”

He would wait for whatever response the girl would have, whether it would be questions or a simple greeting back at him. He fiddled with the arm bracers he had on, his hands seemingly moving rather nonstop. ”S-so, erm...I’m assuming you applied to U.A. as well?” he would ask, mostly just trying to start a conversation. He would go quiet after that, waiting to see how she would respond. However, he began to feel a rather tingly sensation at the back of his head, like something was watching them. Why did he have a bad feeling about all of this…?

Jack nodded a little as he listened to Hye-Rin explain cheerfully that she herself was actually from South Korea, but had moved to Jeju when she was quite young. It didn’t surprise him too much to see another foreigner, considering that they were both likely in Japan for the same exact reason: to join U.A. and become heroes. He thought about the fact that Hye-Rin’s Quirk allowed her to heal people, he thought it would make her a shoe-in for the prestigious academy. After all, healers could be seen as the backbone to any hero, especially those who are more combat-oriented like Jack. He nodded to himself at the thought, filing the information away for later.

His face then flushed as the girl then went on to remark that she was now in Musutafu talking to a boy with a cool tail. His tail perked up a bit, mostly as a reflex, though it made it seem like it had a mind of its own. He rubbed his arm a bit in anxiety at the mention of his tail, but he still managed to give a small giggle. ”Ah, it’s just a side effect of me being a dragon,” he replied with false simplicity. He would gauge the girl’s reaction as he officially confirmed that he was likely the dragon the myth was referring to. Hey, at least it wasn’t something like an evil dragon or something. Then...well, this conversation definitely wouldn’t be happening.

The dragon boy would then confirm that he had been accepted into U.A.’s class 1-A, which the energetic girl looked rather impressed by. He scratched the back of his head, chuckling a bit nervously in reply, not really knowing how to respond to the praise. It wasn’t too big of a deal; U.A.’s classes weren’t really separated by rank, contrary to popular belief. It was just the first class alongside classes B and C, which both teach the same exact things, just from different teachers.

Jack would then go on to ask if Hye-Rin had been accepted into U.A. as well, which she enthusiastically confirmed, saying that she was in the Support Studies. Jack flinched just a bit at the immediate response, but he was slowly becoming more comfortable with the girl. She gave of a presence which the timid boy felt like he could actually trust.

This feeling would increase further as she then went on to explain how her Quirk worked. She said it so casually, laughing care-freely at the fact. Jack would begin to smile back at her, showing off the rather large and sharp teeth that he had, another side-effect of his Quirk. ”The look suits you,” he replied simply, not really knowing whether he should say that she looked cute. He didn’t want to come off as flirting, but he didn’t really know what else to think.

Before he could say more, however, a rather loud growl came from across the clearing, which made Jack squeak in surprise. Literally. It sounded like a rubber ducky that little kids played with in the bath. He didn’t know why he did it, but it was anything but intimidating, to say the least.

However, he reacted quickly, springing to his feet and getting in front of Hye-Rin. The creature who had made the noise began to emerge from the trees, revealing a rather large black bear, about the size of a van. Jack gulped in surprise, but still stood his ground. ”Hye-Rin, you’re gonna want to stay back,” he said, his tone suddenly more leader-like, determination suddenly filling the small dragon boy.

He held his hands out in front of him, the usual signal to stay back. The bear surprisingly complied, though it still looked very hostile, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. ”Nice bear...we don’t mean any trouble...just please go away and we won’t bother you…” he cooed to the animal, though it didn’t seem to do much. He didn’t break eye-contact, however; such an action would likely cause the bear to take advantage and attack. He at the very least wanted to get the girl behind him away from the action before it started, because it was likely that he was going to have to transform in order to drive it off.

He just hoped she was smart enough to get the implied message of the situation.

Jack’s eyebrows raised a bit when Hye-Rin excitedly exclaimed her surprise as he explained that he was a dragon. That was honestly the last reaction that Jack had been expecting from the playful girl. The usual response from people without Quirks was to call him a freak, throw stuff at him, or just straight up run away. Quirkless people from the United States were admittedly really toxic towards people with them, even though they took up half the earth’s population. So, the thought that anyone would think his Quirk was cool, much less amazing, was, well...amazing.

Hye-Rin would then go on to ask if he was related to the Dragon of the Forest, which, admittedly, caught Jack by surprise. He had a bit of a poker face on at that point, and he cocked his head a bit. ”I mean...yeah, you could say that,” he replied, not really knowing what else to say. He didn’t really want to outright say that he was the dragon, but even if someone were listening in, it was pretty obvious at this point that he was the dragon the myth spoke of. Some people were just slow to make the connection sometimes, he supposed.

Jack would then go on to reply to her complaints of her Quirk by saying that it seemed to suit her. Hye-Rin suddenly turned a bright pink, and pink flowers grew on them to emphasize that point. He wasn’t really surprised by the reaction; he acted the same way towards his own Quirk, getting flustered when people decided to compliment it. For many years he’d been seen as a freak by the Quirkless people back home, and he grew to start to hate it. However, after a while, he decided to try and practice with it more, to make it more a part of him. He understood how hard it could be sometimes, so he simply gave her a bright smile in response to her thanks.

Before their conversation could go any further, however, the bear decided to make its appearance. Hye-Rin commented on how big it was, to which Jack simply nodded, not breaking eye contact with the bear. He attempted to calm it down, with Hye-Rin also pitching in, saying that they’ll leave. She was clearly afraid of the situation, but at the same time she seemed calm. Jack thought she just had a lot more nerves than he did, not realizing that he was the cause of her calmness. He felt a bit impressed, before shifting his mind back to the situation at hand.

The bear didn’t seem to want to back down, and was growing more restless by the second. Jack knew at that moment that the bear was going to attack no matter what, to try and get the interlopers out of its territory or make them its lunch. Jack growled a bit in annoyance, not really wanting to have to resort to using his Quirk, but he didn’t seem to have much of a choice.

He took a deep breath, before saying surprisingly casually ”Hey, Hye-Rin. Remember when I said that I was related to the dragon ‘living’ here?” His body began to tense up, but he still bore a wide grin on his face, staring right into the eyes of the massive beast before them.

”Get ready to meet him.”



It was at that moment the bear started to charge. It was rather slow, given its size, which gave Jack plenty of time to activate his Quirk. He threw his jacket off and tossed it to the side, his body already beginning to grow. Scales began to protrude from his body, ripping into the bandages that were previously there. His clothes grew along with him, thankfully, and seemingly melted into his skin as he transformed. It was almost like a scene straight out of a Fantasy Finale game, and personally, this was the part that Jack loved.

When he was finished transforming, he was easily the size of a bus, much bigger than the beast that wanted to attack him. His scales were a beautiful mix of a shining white hue and the darkest black, with his horns and spikes on his massive wings being a bright, shining sky blue. His eyes were still purple, and still had that kind look to them, but he overall went through probably the most striking transformation known to man.

This whole transformation took about the span of 10 seconds, and the bear had already stopped in its tracks at the 5 second mark. For a moment, the two massive beasts glared at each other, the silence between them almost unbearable (pun intended). During the standoff, Jack gently pushed Hye-Rin back a bit with his tail, not enough to push her back much or knock her down, but the message was very clear: get back.

And then he roared.

It was surprisingly deep and loud, spreading throughout the forest and the nearby districts, people craning their heads around in response to the loud noise. However, he didn’t seem angry at all, more confident than anything. It wasn’t a bellow of rage, but a roar of triumph, like he’s already won. The bear backed up, not sure as to what to do. It looked at Hye-Rin for a moment, thinking that it might throw this strange lizard creature off if it attacked her, but also knew that it was just as likely to claw its face off if it did so.

All in all, this was definitely the craziest day in all three of their lives so far.

Jack couldn’t help but mentally grin at Hye-Rin’s rather excited reaction to his rather dramatic transformation. It was probably the most positive reaction he’s ever gotten out of someone before, and the feeling admittedly made him feel warm. He was starting to feel glad that he met a person who was actually nice to him, compared to all of the other people who discriminated against him for his Quirk and its effects on his body. It made him all the more determined to get this bear away from them.

As the two behemoths stared each other down, Jack would gently push Hye-Rin away, a brief message to get back away. However, the girl was apparently more stubborn than he thought. After he nudged her, she suddenly, and nervously, exclaimed

”J-Jack-kun! Use Dragon Breath!”

Jack couldn’t help but look surprised at the command, craning his head around with his long neck to look at her. ”Wait what?” he asked, trying to process the command. After a second, he remembered that it was a move from the ‘Pocket Monsters’ game series. His face lit up after a second, and he nodded in understanding.

It was at this moment the bear once again tried to charge at the large creature in front of it. Jack would calmly look at it, a large, draconic grin on his face, and took a rather big deep breath. He then simply blew in the bear’s face, trying his hardest not to laugh at the small troll move he just pulled. The bear stopped once again, sniffing around, and started to snort profusely. It continued to do this for a good few minutes, backing away as it did so.

Suddenly Jack was glad that he decided to eat something with garlic for lunch that day. The bear, suddenly deciding that this encounter was NOT worth it by any means, turned tail and bolted back into the forest. Jack snorted in amusement, yelling back at the bear ”And that’s why ya don’t mess with a dragon!” He knew that the bear probably wouldn’t understand him, but it still felt good to get out.

He then suddenly changed back into his normal, short boyish self within the matter of a split second. There were more cuts on his arms and his face, and he looked a bit dizzy and exhausted. He fell a bit on his behind onto the ground, taking a few deep breaths. However, he had the biggest grin on his face despite that. He glanced back over at Hye-Rin. ”Dragon Breath? You play Pocket Monsters too?” he asked, acting like that whole ordeal didn’t even happen.

After she would reply, his face would go from happy to worried, and he then asked ”You ok, though? I didn’t mean to scare you if I did.” He was a bit nervous that he may have freaked her out a bit, despite her previous excited reaction, though that was more of a natural reaction for him. He was just hoping that he didn’t just lose out on the chance to actually make a friend for a change.