AN: Hello! Well, here goes my first anime fanfic! It's kind of a weird challenge for me because it seems none of the fandoms I write for are animated. It's weird translating the quirkiness of anime into words to read as a story but I guess there is an obvious diversion from anime to fanfiction. I actually got the idea for this fic (and then the mighty, unconquerable need for it) when I watched the English Dub version of Fairy Tail and realized that the guy who voiced Natsu also voiced Hikaru. From there I realized that there's a lot alike between Natsu and Hikaru (although there are some obvious differences too). Anyway, I'm not really sure how to classify this fic. Basically, the characters from Ouran will be in the Fairy Tail universe so it's certainly AU but since I'm not using any characters from Fairy Tail, is it still considered a crossover? For now I'm not going to label it as one but if someone thinks I should, please let me know! Okay, away with the fic!
Set Me On Fire
Chapter 1: Wherever you go, I'll follow
The streets were nearly buzzing with activity when Kaoru finally made it into town. Swarms of people made their way easily despite the crowds, maneuvering around the dozen or so attendants hanging decorations for the upcoming parade. Working his weary way through the crowd, the red-headed boy plopped down heavily on a nearby crate and let out a heavy sigh. Most citizens ignored him; after all these townspeople were used to odder sights than the one the drained teen presented them. Kaoru was glad of it as he leaned against the wall behind him and dropped his heavy sack onto the ground. There was no way he could currently deal with people asking him about his torn clothing, his blood-stained skin, or… was that a twig in his hair? The young teen grimaced as he pulled the offending piece of wood out of his hair and threw it a measure away before running a shaking hand through his red locks. I could probably use a hot shower he thought as he tugged a few leaves from his hair as well. The only problem was finding the will to get up, of course.
The boy's hand eventually left his hair and drifted downward almost automatically to the pendant dangling from his right ear. It was small but a tired smile lit Kaoru's face as his fingers skimmed gracefully over the smooth surface. I'll find him soon. I know I will.
"That's a cool earring you got there, boy."
Kaoru nearly leapt out of his skin at the voice that spoke so suddenly near his ear. Turning quickly and leaning away from the face held so uncomfortably close, the teen frowned at the middle-aged man leering down at him. "What do you want?" he growled, his hands curling into fists by his sides. The man's grin turned lecherous as his eyes once again drifted to the earring and Kaoru felt his own eyes darken.
"I want that earring, and you're going to give it to me," the man said with a smirk, his eyes trailing down the side of Kaoru's neck and lazily back up to his face. The red head could feel his skin crawling at the unshaven man's gaze but he kept his face resolute and his eyes hard.
"Why," he said, voice monotone, "it's just a metal earring." The man laughed in a hollowed tone that indicated he didn't find Kaoru's denial amusing.
"I think we both know it's not," the man said, reaching out to touch the pendant only to have it slapped away. He grinned. "I've been following you since I saw that dragon scale glinting in the sun just outside of town. Dragon scales are mighty rare."
Kaoru struggled to keep the rage he was feeling towards this man under wraps as he continued to glare. "I'm surprised you know what it is," he muttered, his arms coming up to cross in front of his chest. He felt the heat rising from each as they touched and closed his eyes, focusing on calming down. Not here, he's not worth it. His eyes fluttered back open to again settle on the man in front of him who continued to hold that sufferable amused look on his face. "But you're not getting it, and there's nothing you could do to change that fact so walk away."
The man laughed loudly at Kaoru's response and the teen could feel his blood boiling. Yes, he was aware he didn't have the most threatening voice but would it hurt for people to take him seriously once and a while? Sneering, the man leaned closer to Kaoru, forcing the boy to lean further back on his perch to get away. "You think you can stop me, boy?" the man barked out. With a quick movement of his hand, the man lifted a finger a few centimeters from Kaoru's face. The finger was glowing and it was quite easy for Kaoru to guess the man was using magic. Glancing from the finger to the owner of it, Kaoru frowned in an unimpressed manner. The man faltered for a moment at the red-headed teen's apparent lack of concern, his amused grin melting into a tetchy scowl. "Don't you know what this is, boy?"
Kaoru was really getting annoyed with that title, boy, but he struggled to contain his annoyance. "Magic?" he asked in a bored manner. Now wearing a full-blown frown, the man snapped his fingers and produced a green aura that surrounded his fingertips.
"I'm a magician boy, so hand over that dragon scale before I have to hurt ya."
Rolling his eyes, Kaoru lightly shoved the man's arm away from himself and turned to grab his bag from the ground. "Well, thanks for giving me motivation to get up," Kaoru muttered as he stood, bring his bag up and over his shoulder. The man growled and stood quickly, getting between the teen and his only exit from the alleyway. Snapping his fingers, a small zap suddenly flew at Kaoru's shoulder. Kaoru was caught off guard and sent flying backward, landing with a soft 'oof' on the ground a few feet away. He could feel an angry flush take his cheeks as he stood once again and tried to control his anger. Not here he reminded himself insistently.
"I don't want any trouble," Kaoru muttered, once again shouldering his bag. The man growled and stalked forward, only to be met by an invisible wall. Kaoru's eyebrow quirked in confusion as the man once again tried to walk forward and was once again stopped by some invisible force.
"What the hell?" the man yelled in anger, looking at Kaoru accusingly as he was once again forced back by the invisible barrier. The red head held up his hands in a sign of innocence and laughed as the man ran at the barrier only to be forced back on his ass.
"Don't look at me, I'm not doing it."
"No, I am," another voice spoke and Kaoru's eyes shot up to the figure standing at the entrance of the alley way. The person had a slender form and was fairly short. Kaoru couldn't tell if the person was a male or a female, the lights were obscuring the figure's features and the person's voice could easily belong to either gender. The figure held out their hand and suddenly the card Kaoru had not noticed until that moment disappeared from the ground where the invisible barrier had been. Growling angrily, the man turned on the figure with anger making the green aura around him grow, weak as it was.
"Stay out of it," the man said with anger clear in his gruff voice, "this is between me and the boy."
The shadowed person chuckled with a hand perched on one hip and another still stretched toward the man. Kaoru briefly wondered if the man could sense the magic energy he could feel pouring from the mysterious individual. The person was clearly a powerful mage, and certainly not someone a common street criminal should be engaging. Apparently, the man really couldn't sense the wealth of magic energy the individual held because he made a single growl and once again spun on Kaoru, throwing out a weak wave of magic. The teen easily ducked the surge with another eye roll; this guy really was too arrogant for his own good.
"That is the last time you will attack a member of the Ouran Guild," the mysterious person's voice boomed, and Kaoru's eyebrow quirked curiously. The Ouran Guild? He wasn't a part of any guild, what was this person talking about?
Kaoru didn't have much more time to think about it as four rectangular shapes suddenly materialized in the air behind the man. With a flash, each exploded and sent the man flying in the direction of the exit. Another suddenly appeared near the man's prone body, exploding and sending his body flying into the wall Kaoru had rested against earlier. With a grunt, the man slid down the wall and his hand flew to his arm. Kaoru winced in sympathy as he noticed the odd angle the arm was now jutting out at, but his sympathy was short lived as he remembered the reason it was like that in the first place. Eyes now terrified and permanently cleansed of the humor that had settled there before, the man looked between Kaoru and the mage before he dashed off quicker than Kaoru had ever seen a man run before.
For a few moments, Kaoru watched the man's retreating back. Before long he let out a short laugh, his hand traveling up to his earring. The mage who had helped him made their way to Kaoru and the teen could finally make out their features. The short brown hair and flat chest told Kaoru that the person he was looking at was likely a male, but he still couldn't be sure. The person had a small stature like a female, and the hips to match. Kaoru was intrigued to say the least, and the wealth of magic energy he could still feel pulsing in the air around him only furthered that interest.
"He didn't do anything to you, did he Hikaru? Why are you so messy?"
Well, the voice didn't help Kaoru identify the person's gender either. It held a feminine quality but it could still be construed as male. Wait, did she just call me Hikaru?
"Who's Hikaru?" Kaoru asked with a slight frown, his arms suddenly crossed defensively in front of his chest again. The mage in front of him frowned.
"Don't be stupid, Hikaru. Did something happen to you?" the person asked. Kaoru opened his mouth to answer only to have his reply cut off as a squealing blonde suddenly tackled the mage in front of him.
"Oh Haruhi my precious daughter, I finally found you!" the flamboyant blonde yelled in a loud voice as he hugged the other mage to his chest. "Oh, and you found Hikaru!" the teen gasped as he looked up at Kaoru. The red head threw his hands up in exasperation at once again being mistaken for this 'Hikaru' person. He had no idea who these people were!
"I'm not Hikaru!" Kaoru protested, putting his hands on his hips angrily as the first mage, Haruhi, pushed the blonde off of her.
"What do you mean you're not Hikaru?" Haruhi demanded just as angrily, slapping away the blonde's hands as he tried to grab for her once again. "You might be wearing different clothes but you're definitely Hikaru." The blonde finally stopped trying to grab Haruhi and instead turned to Kaoru with interest and a touch of concern written on his face.
"Hikaru, everything okay? Did you go rolling around in a bush or something?" the blonde asked, and Kaoru felt the distinct urge to hit the teen over the head. Face going red in embarrassment, Kaoru straightened his ragged clothes self-consciously.
"For the last time, I am not Hikaru! And I don't know either of you!" Kaoru cried, his arms once again crossing in front of his chest. Haruhi frowned and glanced at the blonde for a moment before once again turning to Kaoru.
"If you're not Hikaru, then who are you?" she asked, her head quirked to the side in curiosity. Kaoru was just thankful it appeared someone was willing to listen to him, even if she looked pretty doubtful.
"My name is Kaoru, I just came into town today," he said, picking up his traveling bag to emphasize his point. Haruhi eyed the bag suspiciously.
"You-You're really not from around here?"
"No," Kaoru said with a sigh. The alleyway was silent for a few moments until suddenly the blonde squealed in delight and clapped his hands. Kaoru jumped and took a step back at the display, remembering the glomping the teen had given Haruhi when he had first entered the alleyway.
"Well, we can't let you stay here in this alley!" the blonde cried dramatically, his hand poised over his heart as his eyes filled with tears. "It was fate that we met you here today! You must come back to the guild with us!"
Kaoru looked the two over suspiciously, his hand tightening around his bag. While the two had just helped him out and were clearly not criminals, Kaoru was hesitant to follow two random people he had just met, especially when they smelled like two very powerful mages. However…
"You mean the Ouran Guild?" Kaoru asked, his voice hopeful. Sure, he tended to ride things out himself on the streets as he moved from town to town, but he'd often dreamed of joining a guild. And the Ouran Guild was legendary, one of the most prestigious of all the magical guilds. It can't hurt to just visit for a day, right?