Gym Bunny? Gym Dragon!

"Thirty...two...th-thirty three...thirty f-four..."

The dragon boy struggled to count as he did the most excruciating part of his work-out: pull-ups. He felt his muscles burn as he continuously pulled himself up and down, over and over again. He couldn't sweat, either, due to the more reptilian genes that made up his body. Thus, he could feel all of the heat that his body generated, and it frankly felt both stimulating and torturous at the same time. However, he needed to get as strong and as fast as he could. Regular martial arts and mental training only did so much for his body: he needed to be stronger, needed to be faster so that he can face the battles that were slowly but surely coming.

He just wished that he stayed at U.A. rather than go to a public gym.

You need to be more social, Jack! It'll be fine, Jack! What could go wrong? he thought ruefully, regretting his decision to come all the way out here. For all he really knew, he would run into his sister's 'teammates', which would likely be another dragon Quirker, and, if they were even near as strong as his sister was...he didn't know if he could even come close to winning that fight. At the same time, he knew he had to risk it. Not only for the fact that he needed to become mentally stronger for the people he fought to protect but physically as well, to be able to fight like the title he was given.

Though...after a bit, he noticed a severe lack of people actually looking at him.

Now, he was more than used to people looking at him oddly. He had stark white hair, purple eyes, sharp, draconic teeth, a long, thick tail, and recently developed dragon's wings. He was pretty much prone to being a source of unwanted attention. After all, it's pretty much what stained his childhood. But now...people were looking anywhere but him. He cocked his head in confusion and hung on the pull-up ramp, looking around, trying to see what had caught the crowd's attention.

What, or rather who he saw made his jaw drop.

Across from him on the treadmill wall of the gym was a rather strikingly beautiful woman. Her skin was a striking shade of violet, and she bore the figure of a very toned woman. She was definitely dressed to show off her body, as if she knew it would grab people's attention. He couldn't help but admire her confidence...or at least her vanity. However, he also found her wings, tail, and even the serpentine heads that petruded from her back.

Wait, no...not really serpentine...more...

Draconic.

"...OH FUCK."

Jack dropped down from the bar and right onto his back as he realized what she was. A dragon Quirker, though whether she was like him or not was up for debate. However, his mind immediately shifted to what his sister had told him. Was this woman one of them?? Why was she here of all places? He needed to get out of here, but how? There were too many people in the crowd that would get in his way. He scrambled to his feet, praying that she wouldn't be paying attention to him, and would attempt to find a way out.

"Dammitdammitdammit..." he swore under breath, trying to get past the people, but they seemed too distracted to notice the small child trying to get past them. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, not knowing what to do. He only prayed that whoever this person was would be merciful, at least for today...

Well, this situation just went from bad to worse.

Jack frantically tried to find a way past the crowd, getting rather annoyed by the obliviousness of some people. Dammit, if this took much longer, that woman would probably notice him! What would happen then? Would she attack? Would she just brush him off? Would she try to take him? He started to feel his breath become frantic, not even considering the fact that it might not be a 'bad' dragon. He only felt the need to escape and get back to the safety of U.A. He didn't want to get kidnapped now!

It was then he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, a female voice asking him just where he was going.

His skin paled as he didn't even need to look behind him to know who it was: the dragon woman. His struggling became frantic, not even thinking about the fact that he could transform and increase his strength. If she was anywhere near as strong as his sister, then it probably wouldn't have mattered. He felt his heart race as the woman started to drag him. However, her questions confused Jack greatly. Why would she care if he had a membership? Why would she even care if he watched her? What?

Jack stopped struggling for a moment, trying to put two and two together. It wasn't until the woman lifted Jack up to look at him face to face that Jack realized his mistake. It wasn't an evil dragon gang member...it was literally the only other dragon hero out there: Dragon Queen.

The dragon boy blinked in confusion as she questioned him more. He looked her up and down a little as she questioned if he had left U.A. just to look at her butt or something. Granted, his face did flush a little as her...assets were much closer and frankly bigger up close. He then cocked his head in confusion as she asked if he had a curfew. "I...it's noon." he said, clearly a little confused about everything. He started to calm down though, despite the fact that she was threatening to call his homeroom teacher.

"I just came here to try getting used to more social environments, ma'am..." he said, not really knowing what else to say as he dangled in her grip. He put a bit of effort into shaking himself out of her grip, hopefully managing to drop down to the floor on his feet. He looked up at her, embarrassment plastered on his face.

"I...I didn't mean to stare, either! I just...I mean for one thing you're, uh...definitely dressed for the occasion and that would catch any guy's eye. Especially your adorable dragon heads you have going there," he explained, reaching out to scratch one of them under its chin, smiling warmly at it. He found most animals to be adorable, no matter how frightening they could be. Compared to most people, even sharks weren't that scary, especially since he could handle his own against any dangerous animals to begin with.

"For another thing...I just thought you were someone else for a second. Someone who I thought was going to hurt me. I'm very sorry for the confusion..." He bowed in apology, trying very hard not to stare at her admittedly thick legs and tail. Seriously, of all the heroes he had to run into...it had to be the one that he'd find most attractive. He groaned silently in embarrassment, praying that she would go easy on him now that he had explained himself.

Jack promptly squeaked in surprise as the dragoness shook him in annoyance for his comment about it being noon. He knew it wasn't exactly dragon-like of him to literally squeak, but it was more or less a defection with his lungs. It wasn't really something he could help, especially when he was startled. Nonetheless, he still shook his head in response to her specifying her question. "N-no ma'am, we're allowed to leave campus on our days off so long as we're back before curfew," he explained, his tail swishing a little bit as he still hung from her grip. He swore, the more he was put in situations like this the more he wished that he was taller than a 12-year-old.

After that, she would walk with him over to the water fountains before dropping him, the boy landing on his feet with relative ease. He then explained as to why he was actually there. The woman actually seemed a little considerate of that, asking the boy if he had agoraphobia. Jack pursed his lips at that, hesitating for a moment. "...Y-yes ma'am. My life hasn't really been the greatest in terms of socialbility," he confirmed shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down in shame. It was probably one of the things he hated most about himself, though that was more due to his pride than anything. Then again...that was why he was working on it.

His face then went a little redder as the dragoness took kindly to his comment on her being dressed for the occasion. She stated that the comment was blunt, but perceptive, so she didn't take offense to it. He started to pant a little bit, mostly due to the fact that he couldn't sweat when he was nervous like most people. It would probably be taken the wrong way, but there was literally no way around the matter. Especially as she continued to state that when people were beautiful that they should make people's heads turn wherever they went. She laughed, making her bust bounce. The dragon boy panted a bit faster, his face becoming a bright tomato red. "I...uh...I can't say I would really know anything about that, ma'am." He didn't really consider himself 'beautiful' by any means, though he did have his fair share of good looks. He just...didn't really have confidence in that regard.

Leaving that subject behind, however, the woman seemed rather flattered that Jack found her serpents rather adorable, the head he scratched under the chin taking great pleasure in being noticed. "I just love animals in general, miss. Compared to people...they're a lot easier to be around. All they want often is the same thing I do: love. Affection. And occasionally meat, but I can only really provide two of those things since people food isn't the best for them." He chuckled a little bit at his small joke, but he was honest in what he said. The only thing he wanted in life was just to give and be loved. As of late...he highly questioned if he could have either privledge without being crucified for it.

The woman then seemed rather confused herself when Jack explained that he had confused her for someone else. She seemed to think that he didn't know who she was, and was rather polite in introducing herself as, of course, Dragon Queen. Though, she did give him the more casual name of Izanami, holding out her hand with one of her serpent heads warped around it. She would then ask for his own name, calling him 'Handsome' as a placeholder, then asking about his Quirk, as it was obviously in the same draconic image as her own. 

Jack hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head with a firm grip, using his other hand to stroke the dragon's head gently. "...My name is Jack. Jack Orion. It's an honor to meet you, Izanami." he said kindly, smiling warmly at the dragoness. He then took a moment to gather his thoughts about his Quirk. He didn't really know if she'd appreciate the name of it, but...

"Erm...my parents named the Quirk 'Roar of the Dragon King', ma'am. I didn't have much input when they named it, but they said that's what I would eventually become, so it was a fitting name, I guess. I...don't really get it, but that's what I aim to live up to. It's a similar Quirk to yours, actually. I can turn into a European-like dragon, and can control plasma energy as a result. I can also partially transform in mulitple ways, but I usually use it to transform my limbs," he explain, transforming his arm briefly into it's draconic counterpart, also forming a black ball of plasma energy, outlined with whiter energy and seemingly covered in stars. He would go quiet after all of that, letting the Dragon Queen take in all of what he said. He felt rather anxious in what she would think of him, his panting starting up again.

Jack gulped a little when Izanami noted the information he had given her about the curfew at U.A. At least that meant that he wasn't in any trouble, though he did wonder how often he would see her after this encounter. Hell...he could probably even intern under her when the time came for internships next year. The idea of training under an actually good dragon appealed to Jack greatly. The things he could learn about himself and his own draconic pride...the knowledge would be invaluable. Of course, it wouldn't be for a long while, but he was already interested in the dragon hero.

She did something that surprised him greatly, however. As he explained that he did, in fact, have agoraphobia, the dragoness apparently sympathized with him. She suddenly embraced Jack, smothering him with her bosom as she cooed over him like a mother. His face somehow got even redder as his face got pressed in her chest. He got rather light-headed for a moment, and, though only for a split second, everything went black. When he came to a moment later, he was back on his feet in front of the woman. She told him that she hoped that he had a better life now and that if he ever wanted to talk, she was a good listener. The offer was so kind and unexpected...Jack pursed his lips as he tried to control his emotions. He didn't want to start crying in front of her, now...

Quickly changing the subject, Jack mentioned how he actually adored animals because of them only wanting affection like him. Izanami cooed over him once more, stating that he was both breaking and melting her heart. This was probably the first person who reacted like this at the mere mention of his past...When she picked him back up for more hugging, Jack couldn't help but start crying a little, whimpering like a small puppy. She acted motherly towards him...it had been ages, maybe even a few years since he properly hugged his own mother like this. His parents were hardly ever around, and now...for someone so much like him to suddenly act like this towards him, he couldn't help but mutter a small "M...Mama...", though it was a bit muffled in her embrace, so she hopefully didn't hear him utter something as embarrassing as that.

After a good few minutes of hugging, mostly just due to how long Jack could control his breathing, the woman would set the boy down by the kind woman. The two introduced themselves to one another, and Izanami made the assumption that Jack was American. He nodded in response, saying, in a heavy Southern accent, "Yes ma'am! Born in Dallas, Texas in the US of A! I do love me my hamburgers and sports games, yessiree!" He laughed at his exaggerated tone, knowing that that was often what people in other countries think Americans all sounded like. The boy clearly had a bit of a sense of humor, which only showed that he was growing more comfortable rather quickly around the dragoness.

After that, he would go on to explain his own Quirk's nature. Izanami seemed impressed with the explanation alone, giving him encouragement in his goal to live up to the title he was given. He smiled warmly in response, grateful for the confidence boost she was giving him. Seriously, not even the others at U.A. acted like this towards him. He felt right at home talking with Izanami, and it was a much-needed experience already.

He then went on to partially demonstrate his Quirk, transforming his arm into it's shining black-and-white scaled counterpart and summoning a plasma orb for her to inspect. She appeared to only be a bit jealous as she examined him, noting how Quirks were getting stronger. She then noted that it would likely take him far in life, though the comment about them fighting the same adversity as her. What did THAT mean? Did she know about his sister's team? Or was she implying something else entirely? She was probably just implying evildoers in general, but now he couldn't get the idea out of his head.

Nonetheless, she then went on to ask Jack what he knew of her own Quirk, correcting him about the nature of her draconic heads. "Ah...sorry about them, ma'am. I still think they're adorable nonetheless, though," he replied warmly, before taking a moment to think about her Quirk. "Well...I know you can take the form of a legendary Orochi, from Japanese mythology. This form not only gives you strength like my own Quirk does, but also gives you the ability to breathe fire like most other dragons. A deadly ability, especially since you can fire from any of you 9 heads in that form." He didn't really know if that was all of what she could do, but it was the most he's seen of her on the news, so he only stated what she knew.

After she would go on to confirm or add on to what he had say, Jack decided that he may as well ask the question that's currently on his mind. "...Ms. Izanami, do you know anything about a team of villainous dragons? I...I've been recently having trouble with them, and if you know anything about them I'd very much appreciate any information I can get." He started to pant again, in place of sweating, the idea of even learning more about these other dragons making him very anxious.

Jack giggled a bit as Izanami commented on how hugs seemingly made everything better. While that wasn't true, sadly, it did help his mood quite a bit. His tail wagged a little like a dog's as he enjoyed the motherly embrace he was receiving. He partially wondered if they were related, or if enjoying hugs and snugs like this was just a dragon thing. Even his sister seemed to enjoy them to an extent, even if she did follow up by trying to kidnap the boy after the fact. Nonetheless, there was a universal fact that he could take away from this: Dragon snugs were the best snugs. There were no exceptions.

The boy then grinned devilishly as Izanami caught onto his joke rather quickly. The dragoness circled around him, eyeing the nonexistent hat and boots he had. "Would you believe me if I said they were back home?" he asked, giggling at the banter that was going on. Izanami then went on to bring up how hamburgers weren't invented in America, but rather Hamburg in Germany. He didn't know the specifics, but he thought that was sort of true? Nonetheless, the dragon boy snorted in amusement. "I mean, yeah, but most Americans love the things. Especially with a large french fries and a nice, cool soda pop..." Jack's mouth watered a bit at the thought of his favorite meal, and his stomach growled a bit. "Now I'm just hungry."

Jack then scratched the back of his head a little as Izanami then corrected him on some of the details he got wrong about her Quirk. It was specifically a Yamata no Orochi, and she went more in detail about what she could do. Fly, regenerate, even breath fire in her regular form, empathizing that fact by blowing a smoke circle at his chest. It made Jack blush a little bit, viewing it like she was blowing him a dragon kiss of sorts, but he dismissed the thought before he got too flustered.

Overall, her Quirk was very similar to his own, save for the type of dragon they could turn into and the energy that they could use. He tilted his head from side to side in thought, wondering once again if they were perhaps distantly related, or something. He pursed his lips, deciding to put a pin in that, but would probably brush it aside later as the two were very different ethnicities to begin with. It was probably just a coincidence, considering it was a bunch fo random mutations.

Moving on, Jack then asked the dragoness if she knew about any villainous dragon team. Sadly, she didn't, only stating that there was a dragon-like vigilante, her own family, and then Jack himself being the only dragons she knew about. The lack of information deflated the boy a little, causing him to sigh a little bit. He did perk up a little bit at the idea of her siblings joining U.A. though. If it was anytime soon, he'd be more than happy to have a bit of group that he'd feel comfortable in. The more dragons the merrier, at least to the dragon boy.

Izanami then tried to reassure him that she'll try to look into the matter for more information about this supposed group. While it did relieve Jack a little, he knew well already that she was probably going to inform whatever guardian he had at the time...which he didn't really have any in Japan, unless teachers counted. However, no one has really 'claimed' Jack in terms of guardianship, and his parents were probably too busy to be able to do anything anyway.

It was that thought that started to break Jack a little. He sniffled a little as tears started to fall from his eyes. He felt scared for what was to come in the future for him...or rather the lack of clarity as to such. "I...I'm sorry. It's all just been a bit much lately..." he said, hoping that the dragoness will excuse him for crying. "I just...it feels like somedays I don't have anyone to really help me. It feels like the teachers don't care, it feels like my own friends don't care sometimes...I barely even see my parents anymore. And now here I am trying to figure out why villains are suddenly trying to seek me out, one of them even...being my own sister. That's why I got freaked out earlier...I thought you were one of them. I don't know what to do other than train and train and train and just pray that when the time comes I'll be strong enough..."

He shook his head, taking a bit of a shaky breath. "S-sorry..." he said simply, starting to go quiet again. He knew that he probably shouldn't be spilling all of this to someone he just met, but he felt like she may be one of the few people who could truly help with his situation. Anything to at least try and move on from this in peace...

Jack couldn't help but thump his tail even faster as Izanami made the offer of taking him out to lunch after she was done working out. The thought of having a big fast-food lunch excited him greatly. Despite the fact that it would defeat the purpose of working out, his surprisingly good metabolism would keep his figure intact. He didn't really know if that was part of his Quirk or just good genetics, but it did allow him to eat as much as he wanted to without much if any reprocussions. Izanami would probably find that out soon enough. "Deal!" he said happily, smiling warmly at the dragoness before continuing with their conversation.

He must have taken a minute to try and decide whether the two were related at all because Izanami decided to chime in with a suggestion. The two may be dragons, but they were about as different between Chinese and American alligators. The boy took a second to think about that, before nodding a little in understanding. He supposed that made sense. There were billions of people in the world...so even if there was a one-in-a-billion chance of there being another dragon, there would at least be 7 or more dragons out there. "I...I guess that makes sense..." he murmured before the topic of the villainous dragons came about.

It was here that Jack began to break down a little bit, telling Izanami about all that had happened thus far. The dragoness quickly embraced Jack once more, so much so that the dragon boy could even hear her heartbeat as she comforted him. It made Jack both feel a little better, yet made him long for his own mother at the same time. He whimpered quietly in her embrace, hugging back and very clearly not wanting to let go for a bit.

Izanami then went on to promise to him that she would never turn towards the life of villainy, swearing on her family name as such. She promised him that she would protect him, as she would with any other person in danger as a Pro Hero. She withdrew her hug as she gave him a look filled with determination. She encouraged him to continue training, to get as strong as possible for the people he will be sworn to protect. She then added the cherry on top of all of this encouragement by inviting him to come along to the Police Station sometime and help with her investigation on the matter.

It took a second for Jack to process all of what she said. After a moment, he would nod, wiping his eyes and taking a shaky breath. "Y-yes ma'am..." he said, starting to calm down a little. He purred a little bit as she ruffled his hair, admittedly helping him feel better. She then invited him to join her on the rest of her work out, gesturing for him to follow her. He'd probably feel a lot safer around her anyway, so he promptly took up her offer and followed her into the gym.

Once they were inside, Jack would follow her to whatever workout station she decided to go to and start working on the same thing she would. His back still hurt a little bit from his fall from earlier, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. He would work out vigorously, hopefully impressing the dragoness with the amount of effort and strength he would put in.

After a few minutes, Jack would start to get a wondering look on his face. "Ms. Izanami...how long have you been doing heroic work? Is there anything you would suggest to me going forward in my studies?" he asked, looking a bit embarrassed for asking, but nonetheless knowing that the answer might be a beneficial one.

Jack's tail thumped happily as Izanami looked upon the boy's workout with approval. While he did lack some form, he did have potential, which was better than the opposite. He thought about what she said for a second, before putting less of his forearm into lifting his weights and more of his biceps, already starting to improve how he performed. "Is this better?" he asked, making sure that he was actually doing it right. Of course, Jack unconsiously wanted the positive feedback that Izanami had already been providing, as hardly anyone ever even acknowledged that he had made any sort of progress. It was an annoying feeling, one that constantly played upon Jack's insecurites. While it did push him to do better, just to get some positive reinforcement every now and again felt refreshing, filling the boy with renewed vigor.

The boy would then present his question to the dragoness, and she had much to share. Izanami took a moment to consider his question, before stating that she had started around Jack's age, though she said 15. He decided not to comment that he was actually 17, knowing that his looks were very deceiving in that regard. She then continued to say that this was during the time that people looked up to Vigilantes greatly. It made sense, considering that many comic book heroes were vigilantes and such made the fantasy world a reality. Especially when back then they were just doing the work for the sake of justice, citing various examples. He nodded a little bit in understanding, also looking up to people like her before the Pro Hero idea became a thing. 

She then goes on to state how she got her start. She apparently stole one of her father's prototypes for the Dragoon Mark-III, something that did sound familiar to the small boy. He vaguely remembered his father mentioning the tech when he was talking to him about work. He only really remembered it since it was one of the few conversations they really had, but he didn't know much about the matter. She painted the suit up, and she officially started her vigilante career. He started to remember watching the news all the time when he was younger. While it did primarily cover the American heroes, they did often shed light on various other countries, including Japan. It was a big part of the reason he wanted to become a hero himself...so he supposed he had that to thank her for.

She would then go on to explain how her father and her went on to argue about the matter, apparently going as far as burning things in their argument. He blinked a little bit at that, only being able to imagine how chaotic that must have gone.  However, they eventually made up, as her father simply didn't want to lose her. He looked a bit solemn at that. His own father didn't seem to ever care about him like that...he was indifferent that Jack even wanted to become a hero. He admittedly started to wonder what it was like to have a family that cared for you like that. The boy pursed his lips a little, and stopped working out for a moment to listen to the rest of her tale.

Once the hero licensing program became a thing, she was one of the first to become a Professional. That was over a year ago now, and she had nine years of experience before that. Jack could hardly even fathom doing work like that for so long. But...he admired it. He strived to be more like her, to uphold justice as much as he could and help those in need. That was the point she drove home, and it promptly stuck. He did, however, cock his head a bit to the side as she brought up a saying that she thought U.A. had. "Plus...Ultra? Isn't that Latin? I don't remember U.A. having a slogan like that, but...I like it! It sounds fitting for heroes as a whole," he commented, smiling brightly at the dragoness.

After that, she would then go on to give him advice. To not lose sight of his goals, as she had seen plenty of people fall into villainy because of such. Besides that, it was no different than any other job. There was a lot of paperwork, to which Jack was already familiar with, as his studies often required many of essays ahead of time so that he can get back to training. As such, he was more than used to the more boring side of things, but he knew how to get it done efficiently. Past that, it was all a matter of planning. Villains don't play by the book, so he would have to prepare for any situation. Think on his feet, look for exits, etcetera. She would then squeeze his shoulder, giving him a motherly smile, and ask him if he had any other questions. 

He had to think for a moment, the boy pursing his lips in thought. Frankly, there was one question he wanted to ask, as they seemed to come from similar backgrounds, except for that one thing..."...Um...this might seem awkward to ask, but what was it like for you growing up? Having a family, all that stuff? I-I'm just wondering, sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He knew it was probably a personal question, and he would probably shut up if she didn't want to answer, but...he just wanted to know where he went wrong...