Holy crap! What's this?! I'm alive?!?? Yep! And I've been bouncing between fandoms like a room full of ping-pong balls during an earthquake! But I promised the bnha fandom an update for the winter holidays, and though Christmas was yesterday, I now have this 7k word chapter for you!

So, uh... Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm still working on my other bnha stories, so no worries!

(Oh geez, just realizing it's been 3 years since the last update, I'm so sorry!! New readers, you'll find that this is pretty par for the course for me. Sometimes an update will take a year or more. Please be patient.)

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Year: 2364, Location: Isla Sorna

Takami Keigo, better known as Pro Hero Hawks, was not having a good week. It'd started with his manager calling him mid-flight, which made him drop his chicken nuggets. And because the call had been for a sudden high-profile case, he couldn't even go back and get more.

Said high profile case was a missing child with a camouflage Quirk who got lost during a villain attack earlier that afternoon. The kid was only seven, so it was considered high profile, and since they had a Quirk that made it difficult for most people to find them, Hawks was called in.

After three days and two all nighters filled with exhaustingly slow patrols, searching the city with a fine-toothed comb alongside Eraserhead—who wouldn't understand good humor if it whacked him upside the head—and no coffee, because apparently neither Eraserhead nor Detective Tsukauchi were willing to share, Hawks managed to find the child hiding dangerously close to the South Side of Musutafu. And what thanks did he get when he found the kid? A kick to the groin. Understandable, considering it was dark and his wings made him look big and intimidating, so he could forgive the kid. He couldn't forgive the snort Eraserhead gave him.

Mission completed, he'd embarked on his most graceless exhausted flight home—which involved flying into three billboards and nearly two power lines—before nearly crashing through his own window and all but collapsing into his nest of blankets. He was too tired to even think about food and was content to enjoy his promised three days off after such a lengthy mission.

Only... he didn't get three days off. He was awoken four hours into his hibernation by his manager calling again, telling him that there was another high-profile mission and the briefing was in a mere two hours. He replied to her heartfelt apology with a screech-like growl that definitely sounded more bird than human. And no, he didn't feel bad about it.

He'd consoled himself with the promise of swinging by his favorite chicken shop on the way, which was also right next to a coffee shop (not that he was technically allowed to have coffee, but at this point he was ready to give his managers the literal and figurative bird if they denied him this). His hopes were shattered when both the coffee shop and the chicken place were closed for renovations and their temporary location was halfway across town. Even with his speed in the air, he couldn't make it there and back to the meeting on time.

As such, it was a very angry bird who made his way to the briefing, which was for another missing kid—why did these people keep misplacing their kids?!—named Hatsumei Mei, the youngest daughter of one of the richest families in Japan. Her airplane from I-Island had gone down somewhere over the open ocean over a month ago, and apparently the heroes local to that area had refused to search. Grimly, he realized he'd probably be finishing his week by fishing out the body of a child from the sea to return her to her parents.

No hero really wanted to deal with that, so they'd filled the extra gaps of their mission party with mercenaries who were happy to do whatever was asked of them for enough pay. Hawks wasn't overly pleased with that—he'd had several bad experiences with mercenaries in the past—and he also didn't know the Japanese hero who had joined them, but the British hero had at least given him some caffeinated tea. Hawks decided at that moment that he liked this Archive guy, and would stick with him for the duration of this mission.

When they first touched down in Costa Rica, they'd attempted to get some local heroes to join them. At first, the news of a missing child had spurred several into action, but the moment they heard where they were searching, they all turned away. Hawks was both furious and bewildered. One of the heroes, some aquatic guy who had lionfish traits, had tried to warn them away too. He'd spoken of a cursed chain of islands in a low, haunted tone. Warned them that if they went, they would disappear too. That they'd be lucky if all they found was the open ocean.

Hawks, like the rest of their group, had shrugged off the warning as the influence of local superstition. Perhaps the locals had nicknamed the strip of ocean where the plane went down as 'the Sea of Death' because too many sailors lost their way. The Japanese heroes and mercenaries had foolishly ignored the warnings of the locals as nothing more than a cautionary tale.

Even still, superstitions were there for a reason. It was likely that the area was prone to heavy storms or unusually swift currents, so he and the others prepared a few things just in case. They brought along extra supplies and emergency blankets in preparation for rough weather, and prepared themselves to face villains or pirates that might've been using the superstition as a cover for illegal operations. If they were lucky, he'd thought at the time, there might've actually been a small island or outcropping of rocks there, and perhaps some of the crash victims were still alive somehow.

But no. No, he wished that it had only been a local superstition, or villains, or literally anything else. Instead they'd found an uncharted island where the plane was suspected to have gone down. At first, he thought it was a lucky break—that all his bad luck this week was finally turning around. He felt hope curling in his being that maybe they could bring the child back alive.

That hope didn't last long.

The moment the airplane had landed on the island, he'd felt something off. His avian instincts were going haywire, and it only worsened when they stepped off the plane to investigate the crash site. The other plane had been opened like a tin can, and something deep inside him told him to hide, run, hurry, fly away before they find you—

And then they were attacked. Everything after the initial ambush was a blur. Scales and feathers and crimson lifeblood painted the world around him, screams cut short in a way he'd never heard as a hero before as the iron tang of blood filled his nostrils. It was a fear that blacked out everything, allowing something primal within him to take over without his say. He was running off of long-repressed instincts that told him to move quickly and quietly, take to the skies in times of danger and get very far away from that mouthful of teeth.

He was ashamed to say that he didn't even remember running away. By the time his mind had cleared enough to think like a human again, he'd been alone and surrounded by a wilderness that had him hyper aware of everything around him. It'd taken what felt like hours to calm himself enough to send out feathers to search for the other survivors. (To search for any predators in the area that might want to eat him.)

When he'd rejoined the group after his frankly humiliating and shameful escape, they were only seven strong. Archive had been among the survivors. Though several of the mercenaries had given Hawks a dirty look for running, the British hero sent him an understanding look, quietly explaining that they all had scattered in mindless fear. It'd made him feel a little less guilty about the five missing and presumably dead people—one of which was a Japanese hero like him.

They didn't know where they were going, but so long as it wasn't where that thing was nobody really cared. He'd resolutely refused to give the creature a name, to call it what it was, because it was impossible. (Because it felt like naming it would make it real.) Instead, he'd done his best to concentrate on the now, and how to survive.

Their plane had been destroyed—their only reliable way off the island, gone. It was obvious now that the other plane had been attacked by that monster, and at this point Hawks was kicking himself for not listening to the warnings of the locals. The Costa Rican Hero's words echoed tauntingly in his ears, and he finally understood why he had looked at them all like they were already marked for death.

Because by coming to this island, they were. And Hawks—Keigo, because the Hero Hawks would never have succumbed to fear like Keigo had earlier—had decided that he'd try his best to ensure at least someone made it out alive. His first instinct was to fly for help. To try to fly them off the island one by one, or... or something. Surely, despite the fact that his wings weren't made for flying over the open ocean, he could at least try. But when he attempted to take to the skies, he was attacked by a swarm of angry beasts with claws and scales and beaks and—

And he realized then and there that they were doomed. Even the others realized it, once they saw Keigo get thrown from the skies by the aerial terrors. His wings screamed at the harsh landing as the telltale throb of a sprain told him to relinquish his hope. With an injured wing, he couldn't even make it to the mainland alone, let alone with someone else. It would've been a difficult flight even without an injury, because the air currents over the ocean would be difficult to catch for wings shaped like his. He was a land-based flier, his wings weren't built for flying over the open ocean like seagulls. It was that moment that the hopes of the group flickered to near nothingness. They could only watch as their group dwindled from seven to six, and then five.

He'd only barely managed to save Archive from the horrors hiding in the tall grass at the cost of a wing. He'd never felt so vulnerable or exposed as the moment he realized he could no longer fly. He felt trapped. Cornered. Like prey.

And then... then the boy appeared like a heaven sent light in a world of fear and darkness. There was something about the kid that made Keigo's instincts flare up and his feathers puff out. A predatory aura that reminded him too much of those pack-hunting fanged terrors to be a coincidence. But at the same time, those same instincts were telling him that this kid was his best chance at survival. At this point, Keigo was willing to do whatever the hell his instincts pointed him towards, because they were the only reason he'd survived this long to begin with.

Their frankly terrifying encounter with what he realized with growing horror was a Tyrannosaurus Rex only cemented that notion—and that was also the moment Keigo allowed himself to admit what this place was, what these creatures were, because there was no denying that mouthful of teeth the size of his hand when it stood not ten feet away from him. It was only the bruising grip the kid had on his arm that kept him utterly still as the colossal predator sniffed them, close enough that he could smell the blood and rot from its nightmarish maw. Keigo was ashamed to admit that he was grateful the mercenary had been stupid enough to ignore the boy's advice. That the other two had run off into the jungle with the Rex on their heels with a teeth-rattling roar that made Keigo feel like he'd never feel safe again.

The following hike to the nest—could've been minutes or hours, Keigo really didn't think he was in any state to attempt to tell time at that point—had been one bombshell after another. The kid was Midoriya Izuku—a child who had gone missing after getting hit with a Villain's Quirk years ago. It was assumed that he'd been vaporized or something, killed instantly.

Keigo personally knew that Edgeshot had never fully recovered from the incident. He'd be beside himself with relief if he knew the kid had survived. He still visited the boy's empty grave every month or so. Of course, they'd have to get off this hell forsaken island alive first.

The young hero groaned lightly as he cracked open an eye, sick of mulling over what'd happened over the last day or two. He was cold, even with his wings curled around him. His muscles were sore and stiff and his whole body hurt from sleeping on the stone ground of a cavern, but he was alive. Somehow, he'd managed to survive whatever hellish nightmare yesterday had been.

"Are you awake?" Hatsume asked softly as Keigo carefully pushed himself to a sitting position, biting back a groan as his body protested the movement. He flexed his wings for balance on reflex, gasping softly when the action pulled at the wounds Midoriya had wrapped the night before. His still healing sprain didn't appreciate the action either.

"You'll tear it open if you move carelessly." The boy spoke from the mouth of the cavern, and Keigo tilted his head as the child entered. The sharp tang of blood accosted his nostrils, making him both scrunch his nose in distaste and visually comb the kid for injuries.

The velociraptor from yesterday padded in behind him, making a strange growling purr that had Hatsume chuckling and Midoriya shaking his head. Archive, it seemed, was already awake as well, because he was on the other side of the cavern, going through a backpack.

"Are these all the provisions you have?" The European glanced at the greenette.

"I mean, it's what I managed to salvage from" here, he made a strange raptor-like sound, "I really don't need much, all things considered." A few more raptor sounds came from his mouth, and Keigo couldn't help the small shiver that ran down his spine. Somehow, he instinctively understood the meaning behind the noises, but it wasn't enough to necessarily translate anything. All he could really get out of it was that the kid had made due without human provisions for long enough.

"Japanese, Izu." Hatsume reminded him fondly. "Do you even realize when you slip into Raptor?"

"I slipped into—" and there was another somewhat questioning sound Keigo couldn't decipher.

Hatsume gave an exasperated sigh, making some kind of whining clicking sound in the back of her throat that had Midoriya ducking his head sheepishly, and the velociraptor—Ace, was it?—made a noise that was suspiciously close to a snicker.

"Sorry about him." Hatsume idly fiddled with a pair of broken goggles that she'd pulled out of her pocket. "Izu's been here for... well, too long, in my opinion."

"Are you saying I'm feral?" Green eyes narrowed as a growl rumbled in his chest, though Keigo could tell that it was more on the teasing and playful side.

"Are you saying you're not?" Hatsume raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "Because I'm pretty sure eating raw meat off the carcass is one of the criteria to be called feral, Jungle-boy."

Keigo was glad that Archive seemed just as disturbed by this information as him as the two heroes turned to stare at the boy incredulously. "I'm sorry, raw meat?"

"What, you thought I had the means to cook it?" Midoriya spoke slower this time, more deliberately. Likely, he was trying not to slip into Raptor. "Fire is dangerous here." His expression darkened.

"It attracts predators." Hatsume explained. "It's something unnatural, so while the smaller dinosaurs on the island might stay away from the fire, it won't be long before it attracts the attention of the larger ones, like Alex."

"Alex?" Archive shot them a raised eyebrow.

"You met him yesterday." Midoriya smirked, and Keigo suddenly realized that the seemingly normal name was what he'd decided to bequeath upon the literal king of terrors that had nearly turned Keigo into his meal.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Keigo breathed weakly. "You named...?"

"You'll get used to it." Hatsume chirped with a grin that was most certainly not sympathetic. "But don't worry too much about the food. I can't eat it raw, either." She pulled something out of a fanny pack she had secured around her waist. It looked like some kind of plate or disc. "I'm actually an inventor! I was on my way home from visiting I-Island when my plane crashed and I ended up here." She shrugged. "I'm actually aiming for UA's Support Course! But anyways, I salvaged a few things from my crash site and made a few babies, like this! Now I can cook food without worrying about fires or any of that. So don't twist your feathers into a bundle just yet, we'll have your saltless tasteless dino-steak cooked to perfection!"

"Hawks." Keigo's head whipped around towards the boy. He found it uncomfortably hard to maintain eye contact with him. Some part of his mind equated it to holding eye contact with a tiger. "How's your wing feeling?"

"Sore." He winced when he stretched it so the boy could get a closer look at the injury. "I sprained it when these... uh... things knocked me out of the sky."

Midoriya winced. "Let me guess. You were by the river between–" he made a hissing-growl like sound, "and Pearl's territory, didn't you?"

"Uh..." He glanced at Hatsume, who gave him a 'what can you do' shrug. "There was a river? I don't know who Pearl is though." He vaguely remembered Midoriya mentioning the name the other day, but Keigo was just too damn tired to really put any thought towards it.

"Pearl, Void and Red are the three most troublesome raptors on the island." The greenette spoke, halting his speech here and there to ensure he was speaking Japanese. "Pearl has the largest pack and territory, and takes up most of the central part of the island. Void is just east of Spiny's territory, along the river. But that doesn't mean much when Void and their pack will chase you across the whole damn island. Red's territory is the south-eastern tip of the island. They're the most reasonable pack, but no less dangerous. Ace was originally part of Red's pack."

Midoriya stepped back out of the cavern and snagged a stick, gesturing for the others to follow along. He roughly sketched out a crude map of the island—though it was pretty good considering the kid had probably never actually seen a map of this place—and made several x's and circles. He pointed towards each territory.

"This is where the planes went down. Right in Spiny's territory. Any further east and you might've landed in Void's."

"I guess I was somewhat lucky." Hatsume shuddered hard. "I've never encountered Void, but I've heard plenty of stories."

"At any rate, now that you're both up we should—" The kid made another sound Keigo wasn't sure what to make of.

"Make a game-plan." Hatsume translated, shooting a somewhat sheepish greenette an amused smirk.

"Yeah, that." Midoriya glanced at Keigo and Archive. "Do you two have your Hero Phones on you?"

"Yes, but we haven't been able to catch a signal." Archive pulled out his red phone with a low sigh. Keigo mirrored the action, holding out the phone towards the two kids.

"It was one of the first things we tried after regrouping." The winged hero admitted.

"I expected as much." Midoriya nodded with a low clicking sound. He took Keigo's phone, rolling it in his hand with an intrigued expression. He likely hadn't seen a phone in years. "Mei? Do you think you could...?"

The pink-haired inventor grinned widely and took the offered phone. Without even glancing at Keigo for permission, she pulled out a screwdriver from somewhere and started prying open the back of the device. After a few minutes of fiddling with it, she pursed her lips. "I think I can make a signal booster, but I don't have the needed supplies."

Midoriya tapped his chin in thought. "We've got two options." He made another raptor sound before continuing. "There's a couple compounds on the island where the scientists did their research." He made an x on two parts of the map, one on the northern part of the island in Pearl's territory, and another on the south-eastern part in Red's territory. "We might be able to salvage some—" he made another unfamiliar sound that Keigo assumed meant supplies, "there, but both locations are dangerous."

"And dangerously close to the nests." Hatsume frowned heavily.

"Pearl's likely to still be on edge after hunting you all." Midoriya slowed his speech down, likely trying to be more aware of which language he was speaking. "We should try our luck with Red."

Ace made a hissing chirp-like sound that had Keigo's feathers fluffing up. Hatsume tilted her head in consideration and made another chirping sound back, and he took a moment to marvel at the fact that this girl was already imitating these sounds to such a degree. They say immersion in a language is the fastest way to learn, but Keigo hadn't thought it would apply to cross-species languages like this.

"We should make our move soon." Midoriya sighed. "Red's–" he made another sound that sounded almost like a purr, "is coming up, and they'll all be far more territorial during that time."

"Mating season." Hatsume chimed in with a fond smile. "But Izu, don't you think these two should learn some survival skills first? I mean, you didn't let me out of your sight for the first few weeks."

Midoriya paused at that, clicking his teeth as he thought. "Yeah, you're right. These two would–" he made a series of sharp sounds that left Keigo feeling vaguely insulted, "if they come along as they are."

Hatsume didn't translate this time, which only made Keigo feel even more sure that he'd somehow been insulted in Raptor.

"But you said their breeding season was coming up, right?" Archive hummed. "How long do we have?"

"Uh... it's not really something you measure by time." Midoriya shook his head. "It's a scent in the air. When the–" the sound was like a purr and a growl interrupted by soft chuffs, "then you know that it's mating season. And when the smell starts to change into–" Keigo was starting to get used to these odd noises the kid was making, "then it becomes nesting season."

"Something like pheromones." Hatsume shrugged before turning towards Midoriya with a raised eyebrow. "Can you even smell that?"

"Of course. It's a very strong smell." Midoriya furrowed his brows and gave her a puzzled look, as if being able to smell dinosaur pheromones was a normal thing. "When one pack starts, it usually sets off the others, so it's hard to miss the scent, especially when they encroach on the others' territories in the name of mating. Ace also has her breeding cycles around the same time. You'd have to be anosmic to miss it."

Ace made a sharp, almost reprimanding chirp. If Keigo didn't know any better, he'd think she was almost embarrassed.

Midoriya chuffed at her. "I told you you can," another chuffing sound preceded an almost fond rumbling in his chest, "if you want."

Ace swung her head left and right, snapping her jaws with an irritated sound. She butted her head against Midoriya's shoulder, and the boy ran his hand under her chin, scratching lightly at her scales.

"All right, all right." He gave a soft smile, resting his forehead against hers. As odd as the scene was, it was strangely tender.

Until that moment, he thought that Midoriya had created a mutually beneficial situation with the raptor, but what he was seeing now was... it was warm. This wasn't something built on survival, this was built on trust. Midoriya and Ace looked at one another like family. Keigo felt like an intruder, watching something so gentle.

"Well, it's like that." Hatsume's voice was softer than earlier. "Those two really have a close bond. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Will he really..." Keigo felt his words slipping through his grasp. To give voice to his thoughts felt wrong, somehow. Would Midoriya really be okay to leave this? There was no way he'd be able to take a velociraptor with him back into the city.

"That's a choice he'll need to make himself. Outsiders like us have no place telling him what he should or shouldn't do." The girl gave the two a soft, sad smile. "As pack, it's our job to make sure he's supported no matter his decision. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Pack...?" Archive tilted his head a little.

"Yeah. Izu's the Alpha of the pack, and Ace is his second in command. I've been lucky enough to be included in their pack. You two are still..."

Outsiders. Keigo didn't need her to spell that out for him. It was obvious that they didn't belong in this pack of theirs. Hatsume had had a lot of time to bond with them, but Keigo and Archive had only met them yesterday. In all honesty, he was just relieved he wasn't on their menu.

"Sorry." Midoriya stood back up and joined them, Ace trotting along faithfully at his side. "Back to our earlier conversation, though. You two will need to learn a bit about this island before we can take you into the territories of other predators." He tapped a stick against the map. "This is us—by the great plains. It's a neutral hunting ground nestled between several major predators. It'll be an ideal area to teach you two some survival skills. The last thing you need is to get separated from us and end up as someone's lunch."

A strong shiver went down Keigo's spine. "Right. So, uh... when do we start?"

Omthiit'sLineChan!It'sbeentoolongeveryone!How'reyou?!

Mei leaned back against the trunk of a tree as Hawks and Archive panted. The two had been with them for the better part of two weeks, and while they were making fantastic progress, the young inventor was surprised to find she was still leagues ahead of them.

She was quieter in the forest than either could even attempt to be, and she was much faster at scaling trees. She was still the only one Izuku and Ace allowed to accompany them on hunts, but the two outsiders were slowly starting to find their own roles in this strange pack of theirs.

Hawks had quickly learned to earn his keep by keeping a feather out for danger. He could control his feathers remotely and read vibrations in the air to warn them of both predator and prey—a valuable skill that had Ace and Izuku giving him appreciative looks.

Archive, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out how he could contribute to the pack. He was working hard with Izu to memorize the different territories and migration patterns of the island, but Izu already had that down. While it was useful to know, it wasn't vital to the pack's survival, nor did it contribute in such a way as to make survival easier for the pack.

Hawks, in that aspect, held more favorability with Ace and Izu than Archive. Mei had gotten a pretty easy free pass, as the first human interaction Izu had had in years. Well, that and the fact that Ace thought she was a hatchling whose pack had sabotaged her somehow. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

But Hawks and Archive were obviously adults. Even Ace could see that. And apparently the raptor was a lot more hesitant to allow two adults into the pack unless they could provide a significant contribution to their survival. Mei couldn't really blame her on that one. She'd only been with Izu and Ace for a short time and she could already feel an adjustment in her way of thinking.

When she'd first seen the group of people gathered around the campfire, her upper lip had curled back in distaste. She, like Izu and Ace, had judged many of them by their actions. She hadn't seen them as people in that moment, but as potential allies or threats. Nothing less and nothing more.

It was an uncomfortable mindset to her that shook her moral compass a bit more than she'd like to admit. She'd been relieved when Alex had chased those men into the forest. But at the same time, she also understood that it was that very mindset that was needed to survive in a place like this.

And yet, Izu had still given them the opportunity to save themselves. Perhaps his drive to become a hero—something he'd told her was his dream—ran deeper than a simple goal.

She let her attention drift back towards her temporary charges. As Mei was the lowest ranking member of the pack, it was up to her to whip these two into shape. She was trying to take it as easy as she could without compromising their survival, but it was a hard line to walk. She'd rather run them ragged than be the reason for their deaths.

"This is brutal." Hawks finally groaned out, shaking sweat from his good wing. His other wing was healing nicely, but it hadn't even been a full two weeks yet. They were lucky it hadn't gotten infected. Izu had stated that if he continued to heal well, he'd be able to fly again in a few more weeks. Hawks—Takami Keigo, as he had insisted they call him—had continued running himself through wing exercises so his muscles would remain strong, but he still couldn't fly.

Teaching him to climb had been both frustrating and amusing, because he continually flared out his wings whenever he felt off-balance or fought the urge to leap to the next branch.

"I must say, my training wasn't quite this physical back home." Archive took a long drink from the waterskin Izu had provided for them both. "And you're sure tree-climbing is a skill we'll need?"

Mei leveled them both with a look she'd learned from Izu, and was pleasantly surprised to find both men shiver and avert their gazes. "Most predators on this island can't climb. If you can get into a tall enough tree, you'll be as safe as you can be in this place. The faster you can get up there, the higher your odds of survival."

"She's right." Takami sighed, running a hand through his grimy blonde hair. His jacket had been left at the nest, as he'd taken to using it as a blanket at night. "There's no way we can fight or outrun these beasts. They've survived here much longer than us. Our best chance of getting home is to listen to the pack."

Mei felt some part of herself preen with pride at being referred to as part of the pack, and mentally blamed Izu for his weird dino-mannerisms brushing off on her. "I get that this is strange." She sighed. "Trust me, I was just as perplexed by this stuff as you when I first met Izu and Ace. But everything Izu has taught me... everything he knows is because he had to learn the hard way." She glanced over to the side, idly swatting away some flying insect that'd gotten too close to her. "You haven't seen how many scars he has. Nobody should've survived what he did, but somehow he made it through. And he did it alone." She let that sink in for a moment before grabbing a stick, carefully inspecting the tip of it. She grabbed a pocket knife and started to chisel it into a point.

"I... Never thought of it that way." Takami idly tossed a rock at the root of a nearby tree. "He disappeared years ago, so if he's been here that whole time..."

"Here's an important lesson for you both." Mei glanced at them both before stabbing her freshly made spear into the dirt between them, startling both heroes. They quickly scrambled away when they realized something in the ground was moving, and she casually held up the snake she'd pierced through the skull, careful to keep its head attached to the tip of her spear. "Always be aware of your surroundings."

The two shared a look. Even without knowing a thing about snakes, it was obvious from the bright colors that this one was venomous. "Uh... thanks." Takami gulped.

Mei's smile became something feral. If she'd seen it herself, she would've idly noted that it wouldn't look out of place on Izu's face. "Here's another lesson for you. Never waste an opportunity. Let me show you how to eat a snake."

Linechanagain!Hopeyourholidayswerefantastic.Ohwait,manyofyouareprobablyreadingthisafterthat,huh?

Izuku hummed to himself as he kicked his feet back and forth from his perch on a branch. Ace and Mei were hunting together today. They were hunting some of the mammals on the island—likely the original inhabitants before InGen decided to claim this place. It wasn't a hunt that Izuku needed to participate in, and it was a good test of Ace and Mei's teamwork.

As such, Izuku was on herositting duty. The two were sparring right now, and a distant part of the greenette appreciated the opportunity to see two pros in action like this. But the larger part of him was dismayed.

"You're doing it again." He called out, eyes fixed on Archive. "When you move to attack like that, you expose your shoulder too much. No predator will miss the chance to bite into your neck."

"Why are we doing combat training? I thought fighting these guys was a bad thing?" Takami accentuated his words with an irritated trill at the end of his sentence. Izuku had noted that the avian had begun making animalistic sounds more often, and idly wondered if it was because of him and Ace.

Izuku tilted his head to the side. "You won't always have the chance to run away. Sometimes you'll need to fight. Every animal should know how to defend themselves somehow." He noted the way the blonde flinched away from his piercing stare.

"Fighting people doesn't seem like it'd be overly helpful in this situation." Archive pointed out, and Izuku thought on that for a moment. Mei had started out sparring with him and then graduated to sparring with Ace. Izuku himself had learned to fight by sparring with Ace or through trial and error. Perhaps Archive had a point. Sparring with someone who wasn't of this island wouldn't teach them anything new.

"All right." Izuku swung his legs and leapt from his branch, kicking off another and snagging a lower one with one hand to break his fall. He landed in a crouch just before the two outsiders. "Let's try this then." A smirk tugged at his lips. "You two remember the way to the nest, right?" He waited for them to nod. "We're going to play a game of tag." He made sure to speak slowly so as not to accidentally slip into raptor. "You two will try to make it to the nest without me catching you. If I can get you on the ground or tap a vital spot, that means you've lost. If you can outmaneuver me or escape me and get to the nest, you win." He grinned, flashing his blunted fangs. The two paled slightly and shuddered hard. "Of course, to make sure this is as close to a real hunt as possible, I won't be climbing anything. If you get into a tree before I reach you, I won't come up after you. But you'll still have to reach the nest to survive."

"Do we get a headstart?" Takami asked meekly.

"A headstart?" Izuku tilted his head with wide eyes, and the two took a wary step back. "Why would I let my prey have something like that?" He subtly shifted his stance. "This is an ambush."

Archive, the more observant of the two, bolted at once. Takami's instincts were all that saved him from Izuku's lunge.

"Y-you didn't say start yet!" He protested, wings flapping in distress, kicking up dirt.

Izuku didn't grace him with a response. He bared his fangs and growled lowly in his throat, and that was all the encouragement the winged hero needed to take off running. He was smart to zig-zag. It would make it harder for something like a raptor or rex to grab him. But Izuku wasn't a physical raptor. He could turn just as sharply as the hero, and was making full use of his hard-earned grace.

His blood rushed through his veins and his mouth was open in a wide feral grin. This was a hunt he could enjoy. He made an excited chirp-trill, which seemed to make his prey even more afraid. He could smell the fear on Takami like flies on a carcass. It was a very easy to follow trail.

Not that Takami was outrunning him or anything. Izuku was much faster, especially when the terrain was taken into account. Izuku kicked off the roots beneath him hard, lunging for the hero.

But something red smacked into his face, causing him to yelp in surprise and back off for a moment. He quickly realized that Takami had used one of his feathers to blind him momentarily as the hero escaped into the underbrush. Clever.

But not clever enough.

Izuku scented the air, an anticipating clicking chirp-like sound forming in his throat as he followed the trail of fear the blonde had left behind him. It led him to the base of a tree. He blinked and looked up, lips curling in a bare-toothed smile when he caught a flash of red in the branches. So he'd escaped up a tree. Considering the fact that he still had to track down Archive, it wasn't a bad move. But if Izuku was working with Ace and Mei in this exercise, Takami would've been stuck up there for some time.

Regardless, he gave a somewhat irritated sound and padded back towards the last place he'd seen Archive—or Adam, as he'd once introduced himself. Izuku was quick to pick out the scent of tea and stale cologne. He licked his lips as he followed the trail at a brisk trot, making sure to stay quiet as he stalked his prey.

It didn't take him long to find him. He had to give the Englishman credit—he'd attempted to cover his tracks and disturb as little of the foliage as possible. The man had even doubled back on his trail a few times to lay false scent trails—something that had made Izu double back once or twice and allowed the other man several precious minutes to get ahead further.

Adam had managed to get halfway to the nest before Izuku spotted him. He was glancing around warily, keeping himself as quiet as he could while moving at a brisk pace. Izuku felt his chest vibrate with a low growl as he crouched low in the foliage. His green hair served to camouflage him with his environment.

Adam was not prepared for his attack.

Izuku sprang forth with a raptor's cry, and the foreign hero whirled about with wide, terrified eyes as he dove to the side, barely dodging Izuku's killstrike. The raptor-boy circled his prey, unheeding of the sounds that formed in his throat. The man looked deeply unnerved, and Izuku grinned. There was a split second where Adam flinched, and Izuku sprung. He had the man pinned in three seconds, teeth inches from his neck.

"Dead." Izuku declared, climbing off the hero. "You can return to the nest. I still have one more to hunt."

Adam shuddered. "I expect it won't take long."

"No." Izuku grinned again, licking his blunted fangs. "It won't."

Hi,it'slinekun!How'severyonebeen?It'sbeenawhile,hasn'tit?Hopeyou'rewell.

Adam sat in the cavern and stared out at the forest, trying to calm his trembling hands. The child, Izuku, was terrifying. At first, he'd thought the boy had survived through his excellent and hard-earned skills. It wasn't entirely inaccurate, but now he could clearly see just how little that assessment actually covered.

The child hadn't merely survived, he'd adapted. When he had suggested a game of tag, Adam had quickly understood that there would be no countdown to its start. In an environment like this, the game had begun the moment the child's feet had hit the ground.

Even still, he wasn't prepared for just how terrifying the boy could be. Izuku Midoriya's gaze was piercing on the best of days. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, just as Ace's stare did. But the moment he'd began their game, those green eyes had become downright predatory. He may have called it a game, but it was obviously a hunt.

The sounds only added to the instinctive fear, and when the boy had found him, he swore—for just one moment—that he was going to die. And then the child's teeth had brushed against the artery in his neck, separated by a breath and a thin membrane of skin. He'd never been so afraid of another human in all his life.

This child had become a predator of this island, just as ferocious as the raptor he called pack. For the first time, he wondered if they should ask the child to come back to civilization with them. He imagined that whoever inevitably ticked him off would require extensive mental care thereafter. Adam was sure he would, after all this.

He glanced up when a pale shaken Takami came in. He didn't even need to ask if he'd been caught—the trembling of his wingtips and grinning child behind him was all the answer he needed. He was privately glad the boy was now keeping his lips closed. His smiles were utter nightmare fuel when he showed his teeth.

"You two actually did quite well." Izuku complimented them. "Takami, going up the tree was exactly what you should've done. Just keep in mind that if you're being chased by a raptor, there will be more laying around in wait. I've had them wait for over a day for me to come down a tree before."

That was a thought that had a shiver running down Adam's spine.

"Adam! Good thinking, laying down a false scent trail. It threw me off for a bit and bought you precious time. But you wasted too much time doing too many of them. One or two would've been enough to slow me down until you could either reach a good climbing tree or get to the nest. Keep in mind, I'm following your scent as well as any physical trails you leave. There will be times when you'll have to prioritize speed over stealth. And when you know you're being hunted, never lower your guard."

"Is this a compliment? Because you said we did well and then pointed out all the ways we didn't." Takami pouted.

Izuku snickered. "You've done well enough." He amended. "I think you two might actually be ready for a little field trip."

"A field trip?" Mei entered the cave with a raised eyebrow, Ace trailing in after her. The raptor had some blood on her muzzle and Mei's hands looked a little stained. "Where to?"

Izuku licked his lips, and Adam shuddered as that predatory gleam returned, causing Ace and Mei to perk up. "Red's Compound."