Cloverfield no Tame

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Go/五 3/12]

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Gotta Write 'Em All 2-9 A]

A Kuroko no Basuke One Shot

The world before dawn was quiet. The nocturnal animals had already gone away to rest, and the birds had not yet awakened to greet the new day. Shintaro indulged in the crisp air as he trekked the path towards the forest outside of town, the weight of his gear against his back with every step. The trail, worn from generations of use, winded through the hills and curves of the land. Before the sun could even start to tinge the sky, Shintaro had already entered the cover of trees, their branches welcoming him in as one would an old friend.

It was a challenge to walk across the underbrush without making a sound, but Shintaro knew how to tread so that any disturbance he brought was minimal. Like the surrounding hills, there were also paths in the forest, but Shintaro ignored those, counting his paces and turning once he was satisfied with the distance. His trained ear could pick up faint rustles through the foliage nearby, but he didn't so much as reach for the bow upon his back.

Be patient. Asami's guidance has never lead you astray.

It took about a quarter of an hour until Shintaro came to a stop. Squinting into the dark, he made out his rough location, then set about scanning the surrounding trees. A suitable vantage point presented itself in the form of a redwood, a crook of branches big enough for his purposes at the perfect height. Without looking further, Shintaro set about scaling the tree and settling into the perch. Once he was satisfied with his balance, he took his bow in hand, knocked an arrow, and waited.

Time passed in a trickle, but Shintaro was used to such mornings. There were days when it was near afternoon before he found anything suitable. But Asami had predicted a big boon in the early hours. Shintaro had gone through his good luck rituals, prayed for guidance, and followed the instructions in his fortune. Fate wouldn't lead him astray.

Sunlight trickled down from above, easing from tiny lines to full beams flashing through the leaves. A family of birds started to sing as they woke up, and Shintaro didn't move so as not to disturb him. On occasion, a squirrel would dash across the ground, but nothing worth a hunt. Shintaro remained at constant vigil, his mind sharp and waiting for the slightest movement.

He did not miss the deer that wandered below him, a buck that led the way for a decent-sized doe. Their movement were slow, but not yet cautious, the lumber of an early morning.

Shintaro was only slow enough as necessary to not alert the deer to his presence. The arrow disappeared from the blow in the space of a blink and whizzed through the deer. The shot went true, striking the buck through the throat. Before either deer could dash, Shintaro had let loose his second arrow and was already knocking the third.

The buck fell to the ground, still thrashing, but unable to stand. The doe had turned tail, but the vantage point gave an unobstructed view of its path, not much tree cover in the way. Shintaro squinted to sharpen his vision, letting another arrow fly. The shot went wide, and Shintaro clicked his tongue. It had been foolish to think he could have such a good haul without putting in the required effort. Keeping a close eye on the flash of the doe in the trees, Shintaro felt the magic thrum off his fingers as he knocked his next arrow. Most hunters wouldn't even bother to take the shot for fear of wasting an arrow.

Shintaro was not most hunters.

The arrow flashed through the trees with the vengeance of a wronged hawk. A thread of magic stretched out between Shintaro and the arrow, the pulse of viridian aura vivid even amongst the natural tones of the forest. Shintaro maintained the connection and fired his next two shots as fast as he could, taking just the minimal amount of time to aim. From the distance, none of the arrows seemed like they would connect—until Shintaro focused on his target, and all three arrows switched direction in midair at his will.

His shots hit home. The doe stumbled, and Shintaro put his bow away before hopping from the tree and pulling a knife from his belt.

"Oho, I see you did make a good hull this morning."

With a grin on her face, Asami turned around before Shintaro could even announce his presence. The elder stood shorter than most other women, which made her seem even smaller in comparison to Shintaro's towering height. Her eyes just barely glanced over him before noting the packages of meat in his arms. Shintaro had already cleaned both animals, and the buck was already at his home.

"This is for you," Shintaro said, knowing that if he didn't get to the point Asami would just talk circles around him. "Your predictions were correct again. I came to repay my debt."

Asami shrugged, resuming shuffling the deck of cards in her hands. "I didn't do much, boy. Just let you know what fate could do for you. You're the one who made the results into reality."

"Nonsense." Conversations with Asami went much the same way every time, so Shintaro was not deterred. "I wouldn't be able to accomplish half of my successes without your guidance. It's only right."

Asami turned back to the card table. "You should be feeding your family, boy."

Though she was no longer facing him, Shintaro kept a stern expression. The sound of her cards shuffling against one another filled the air. "My family has been cared for."

Asami paused for a moment. Shintaro knew the result and stepped into the fortuneteller's home. It was a small place, with just enough necessities to host one person. Aside from the usual cooking supplies that most homes would have, Asami's kitchen had good luck talismans hanging from the walls. Shintaro carefully set aside a box of opened divination bones before setting the venison on the dining table. Asami sighed.

"You sure have a strange set of priorities, boy," she said, but not with annoyance.

"I see no other right option than assisting someone who is so in touch with the ways of the gods."

Asami barked out a laugh. Her rocking chair creaked as the woman stood up, cane striking against the ground as she hobbled across the house to Shintaro. "You put faith in the strangest things."

Shintaro glanced up from his work, leaving the venison half organized. "Do you not put faith in the gods?" It seemed ridiculous that someone whose life work revolved around understanding the whims of fate would at least have some semblance of belief.

"It's not that I don't believe in them." Asami's tottering steps brought her closer. Shintaro resisted the urge to help her over. The last time he had done so, he'd earned himself a whack from her cane. Shintaro may have been stubborn, but he knew it was better to leave some things without further argument. "Don't get me wrong; the gods do exist. It's just that they're on a different side than Teiko's. The state of the war should be more than enough to show that."

"I see." The war wasn't close enough to be pushing on their home, but it wasn't something that anyone could afford to ignore. Drafts came by in waves, and on occasion a soldier would return home, if only because they were in worse enough shape that it wouldn't be worthwhile to pay for their medical care on the warfront. "Then what do you think about the state of this war?"

Asami near fell into her seat, another laugh snapping through the air. "This war isn't anything compared to what this country has been through before. A little civil skirmish like this? You're a lucky child that this is the worst you have to contend with." It was disconcerting to think of a nationwide battle as little, but Shintaro knew even his parents' generation had faced far worse. Asami knew what she was talking about. "What about you, boy?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Asami grinned, and Shintaro tried to school his expression. "Youth may be foolish, but you have a good head on your shoulders." As she leaned against the table, it let out a slight creak. "I'm curious how you see this war going."

Shintaro pulled his hands back, resigning himself to thought. Asami thumbed the side of her cards, a look of amusement across her wrinkled face. She knew better than everyone that Teiko was a country in a constant state of war; just what did she expect him to know about where it was going?

"You may have said that the gods have no interest in us," he said, only half thinking about the words that came from his mouth, "but I don't think that's quite true. A situation like this—only one of the gods or someone on their power could change this situation." Asami had calmed her snickers, and the room held a heavy silence. "I believe in the gods, and I believe in their stories. Either they will step up, or—or someone else will come to take their place."

"Oh?" Asami raised her eyebrows, unleashing wrinkles in droves upon her forehead. "You do enjoy your old stories, don't you? You believe in those who can overcome the gods? Of course, it makes sense that you would, all things considered."

Shintaro had long since gotten over feeling offended by such comments. Asami never meant ill by them, anyway. "Something is going to have to change." The world couldn't keep going in the same direction. He could say that much with confidence. "If the gods don't do it, then someone might as well."

Asami nodded, almost placatingly. "For having such a good head on your shoulders, you sure also have some ambitious ideas." Chortling, she slapped Shintaro's shoulder once, then went back to her cards. "You're like your father, though, Shintaro. You'll make a change, no matter what you decide to do."

Shintaro dipped his head. "You honor me."

"I recognize your potential is all." Asami tapped her deck of cards on the table and straightened out the edges before flipping over the top. Shintaro leaned forward to see the familiar image of a being with one foot on a body of water, with the other foot on land. "Temperance again. With how dedicated you are, maybe that silly little idea of yours will become reality."

Shintaro allowed himself a smile. "If you insist on giving me guidance every time I come over, then that's all the more reason for you to take the meat."

Asami snorted but didn't try to push the packages back towards him. "Very well."

Rina flashed into the dining room, her steps light enough that they didn't make much more than a patter across the floor. She'd been growing her hair out the

past few years, her green locks spilling into the air with each step. She showed no signs of slowing, and Shintaro stopped wrapping up his fingers and braced himself to become a cushion if necessary. Just as his younger sister was about to crash into him, she caught onto the edge of the table and forced herself to a full stop, the giddy grin never once falling from her face.

"Brother, Brother, look!" Rina stuffed her hands into her pockets, and out the plants spilled, their blend of sharp and sweet scents adding the aroma of dinner from the kitchen. Rina muttered a bit, sorting out the different greens with precision—a stack for herbs, a stack for flowers, and so on. At last, she extracted one small stem from the rest and presented the four-leaf clover. "I found it outside today, so I picked it for you!"

Shintaro put aside his bandages for the moment and held out his palm. With much more delicacy than her haphazard entrance, Rina passed on the clover. "You always seem to find these. Thank you for giving it to me again."

"Well, yeah!" Rina folded her hands behind her back and bounced her foot. "It's super important for you to have good luck so you can bring us back food." Her smile as she looked up to Shintaro was flawless. "I wanna make you the luckiest hunter in the world, Brother. So, I'll try to find a four-leaf clover every day!"

"If you could do that, I'd argue that you'd have the most luck of us all." Rina giggled as Shintaro ruffled her hair. "I think we'll be having dinner soon. Why don't you clear this off the table and take the edible ones to the kitchen?" Shintaro tapped the table.

Rina's eyes flicked over her haul to where Shintaro's bandages rested. "You gotta clean off the table, too," she said, but reloaded her pockets anyway before scampering out of the dining room. "Maybe Papa will be home before it gets too late!"

Their father did arrive home sooner than he had the past few nights, and dinner was set out before much time could pass. Shintaro had spent most of his day starting work to prepare the deer to last for the long run, but he had saved some for their meal that night. With parents that were the physicians in town, they were by no means a poor family, but it was still a delight to eat game fresh.

"You've outdone yourself, Shintaro," his mother said between bites, and Rina hummed her satisfaction through a full mouth. "Asami says you bring her more than enough to survive, as well. You've been fortunate with your hunting lately."

"I've only been doing everything in my power. The rest is fate." Though Asami scoffed at him, it was what Shintaro believed. Humanity can put whatever effort they want in, but the gods are the ones who decide our failures and successes. It was why he never slacked in any of his preparations. "How has work been for you, Mother, Father?"

Shintaro's father grunted from down the table, and his brow furrowed beneath his close-cropped hair, just as green as his children's. "There have been more soldiers returning from the warfront. It's been exhausting getting them back in working condition."

Mother patted her husband's shoulder. "You've been doing everything you can, dear. Most of those men wouldn't even have a chance of recovery if it weren't for you." She wasn't exaggerating. While it wasn't on the level of the gods, Shintaro's father possessed enough magic to be able to heal injuries no normal medicine could manage. "Everyone else has manageable injuries, so you shouldn't have to drain yourself anymore."

"That doesn't change the fact that they'll still need assistance with recovery." Father sighed, but it was just from tiredness. "Well, I'm grateful that I can give them hope again, if nothing else. It's worth tiring evenings like these."

"You're amazing, Papa!" Rina said. "Oh, I picked you some herbs for medicine today. Can I come and watch you make some tomorrow?"

Mother smiled and reached over to pat Rina's hair. "I can help you with that. I can't make anything as powerful as your father can, but I'm sure you'll make something incredible." Even though she was the only one in the family without magic, that didn't make Mother's level of skill any less."

Shintaro smiled, but an uneasy sensation stirred in his heart and mind. "If more critically injured soldiers are coming back, does that mean we're losing ground?"

Both Mother's and Father's expressions sobered at the words. Rina was the only one undeterred, tucking back into her meal. Mother's eyes drifted to the table. "It sounds like the battles are getting tougher. We haven't given up any territory yet, but it could be troublesome if things keep going this way."

"Will one of you need to go then?" Shintaro glanced to Rina but didn't hold back the question. If another draft was likely, there was no doubt that the army would want experienced individuals—especially doctors. They'd been lucky as a family so far, but—

"If that happens," Father said without a shred of hesitation, "then I'll go. I can cover more damages than your Mother can, though she knows just as well what to expect." They had met on the last warfront, after all. Mother didn't look happy, but she nodded anyways. "Besides, I can't take her away from you and Rina."

Mother gave a wry smile. "You mean you'd rather deal with battle than tending to both the children?"

She was strong for making a joke out of such a situation, but Shintaro wasn't satisfied at all. "I've been thinking," he said, keeping his back straight and his tone even. "I'm more than old enough to fight on a battlefield. If one of us must go, then I'd rather do so in your place."

If either of his parents were shocked, they were good at hiding it. But Shintaro had gotten his own poker face from them, and no one gave any ground in the sudden staring contest. Rina looked up curiously around the table but seemed to recognize that it wasn't her place to speak.

"I won't allow it," Father said after some time. Shintaro just held back his immediate protest. "I'll admit, your ability with a bow is impressive, especially with your age. I have no doubt you'd be able to keep yourself safe. But this conflict won't fade quickly enough. My abilities—"

"Are better here, where you can help everyone who comes back," Shintaro said. Father narrowed his eyes at the interruption, but neither man backed down. Mother caught Rina's attention with another conversation. "All my magic is good for is hunting. I can't benefit everyone the way you can."

Father let out a sharp exhale, his nostrils flailing. "Your magic can do whatever you see fit if you train it." He pressed a large palm against the table, stopping just short of smacking it. "Regardless, I'm not about to let one of my own children step off to fight a battle when I'll do just fine."

"But, Father—"

"Doctors! Are you home?" The call came from the entrance, and both Mother and Father stood up at the summons. Rina pouted a little at the sudden loss of attention, but she knew well enough just how important her parents' jobs were. "Please, come, there's an emergency! Asami…" The messenger's voice died down as Mother worked her way into the next room. Shintaro locked his gaze with Father, trying to find some sort of leeway.

"We'll discuss this matter later if you like," Father said, "but you'll be hard pressed to convince me differently." Before he stepped away from the table, he patted Rina's shoulder. "Mama and I will be out tonight. Be a good girl for your brother, alright?"

"Alright!"

Shintaro and Rina finished their dinner alone. But no matter how much Shintaro ate, something inside him still felt empty.

"Brother, were you and Papa fighting earlier?"

Shintaro stopped halfway through tucking Rina into her bed in their shared room. As usual, she had scattered the remaining flowers that didn't go to the kitchen or the medicine around her bedspread. They would still be fresh in the morning.

Despite all her energy, Rina knew when to be patient. As she watched Shintaro for a reply, he knew she wouldn't stop looking for an answer anytime soon. With a sigh, Shintaro finished tucking the blankets around Rina's shoulders. "Yes," he said.

"About the war?" Shintaro blinked before his eyes went wide. Rina glanced at one of the plants beside her, a clover that wasn't lucky enough to have four leaves. Rina had picked it just the same. "I hear it from the plants. They say that lots of nature is dying because so many people are fighting on it." When she looked back to Shintaro, there was a rare flash of fear in her eyes. "Brother, are we in trouble? I think the fighting's getting closer."

Shintaro didn't know what to say. They never hid the war's existence of Rina, but they'd never talked to her about just what that could mean for their home, for their life. But she'd learned part of it anyway and was scared.

Asami said that I might be able to make my dream reality. I would like to stop the war. I don't know if that's possible with just my power, but… He looked at Rina again, so small, but so full of life. If nothing else, I can protect Rina and my parents.

Shintaro rested his forehead against Rina's and gave a reassuring smile. "You don't need to worry, Rina," he said. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what."

[Author's Notes]

Ah, nothing like accidentally closing your tab and losing your author's notes. Take two!

This one shot is part of the Sparagmos AU I've been poking at on and off. After writing Apotheosis, I thought it would be interesting to look into more of the other Generation of Miracles' backstories before the war and ascending to godhood. The original idea for this piece was much longer, covering the same expanse of time as Apotheosis, but I decided to be nice to myself and make it a reasonable length. Who knows, maybe this will turn into a two shot someday.

I decided to sit down and tackle this piece thanks to [Twelve Shots of Summer]. I was planning on writing it for the [Second Raid] Week Nine alternate prompt "Hunters in the Dark," but then the Week Three prompts came up, and I decided to combine them. "Forest" gives us the opening setting, as does "Hunters in the Dark," and "Natural Weakness" is a vague metaphor for Shintaro's desire to protect his family (or something). It makes sense if you squint.

Other developmental notes:
- Asami is meant to be a personification of Oha Asa, and her name is a reference to KagePro's Azami.
- I headcanon Midorima's younger sister to be much younger than him, not quite at school age during canon. They're both a bit older in this AU, so that makes her somewhere between seven and ten.
- I struggled with picking a name for her. At one point, I almost considered calling her Momo as another KagePro reference, but scrapped that idea for various reasons. "Rina" can be written with the characters for "jasmine" and "greens" (as in plants), both which nod to her magic in this AU and the "Midori" in Midorima.
- The Temperance arcana represents dedication and hard work, which parallels Shintaro's work ethic. It can also reference creativity and division between two parts.
- I also headcanon Midorima's parents to be doctors (failing to remember if that's canon or not), so the same holds true here.
- Unnecessary details I couldn't fit into the story without forcing it: Since this is something like a Greek/Roman-era esque AU, I found it difficult to think of a way for Midorima to have glasses. Then I realized I gave his father medical magic and he could just correct Shintaro's eyesight that way.

If you want to see any more of this AU, do check out Sparagmos and Apotheosis. I'd also be honored if you checked out my multi-chap AkashixOC fic, Reliability. Chapter nine just released today, so that's fun! And, of course, do consider checking out the [Twelve Shots of Summer] forum and C2 for great company and great stories.

Thanks for reading!

-Aviantei

[06.14.2018]