kurokenmonth prompt: au

(i haven't played rpg games in so long why did i decide this was a good idea...
tw: mentions of blood/violence)

Slowly exhaling a long, exhausted sigh, Kenma lowers his staff back to his side. The small meadow under the goldmine is now full of knocked-out hogbunnies, each one steadily poofing into thin air, leaving behind clumps of coins and the occasional drop item. He throws back his hood, shaking his messy blond hair out of his face as he strides forwards to collect the winnings from his latest kill. It's not much, but these low-level kills don't deplete too much of his energy while gaining him experience, which is good enough for him. It's Shouyou's fault for cancelling on their plans to go into the dungeons this afternoon anyway. All for that scary new mage in town.

He's examining a reddish lump that looks suspiciously like a half-bitten radish when a shuffling noise behind him causes him to stiffen. He tightens his grip on his staff, spinning around to scan the area for any threat. This area isn't supposed to contain any high-level bosses, but the occasional monster does get lost from time to time and have been known to take other adventurers by surprise. Kenma's only a mage, and while he has managed to up his stats more than other people gave him credit for, he's still alone and not at all prepared for a real attack by an actual monster.

He's preparing to just make a run for it when his eyes catch sight of a dark blob to his right, close to where the entrance to the mine is. It isn't moving. After a second more of debating, Kenma cautiously ventures closer. He holds his staff out in front of him. If all else fails, he can always whack the thing over the head. It'll allow him a few seconds to flee at least.

When he pushes aside the tall grass, his eyes land on the dark blob that turns out to be a man, passed out face down on the ground. He's not moving. Kenma glances around, but there's nothing and nobody else around. He looks back at the person on the ground. He's dressed in dark garb, but fitted tighter than Kenma's own loose robes, and made of tougher material, made for protecting against hard hits, close combat fighting. There's also a giant sword slung across his back. A knight, then. He must have come out of the goldmine, and from a nasty encounter with some sort of monster in there, judging by the staggering trail of blood and green ooze behind the prone body.

"Mmmrf."

Kenma jumps back, startled by the sudden groan. His wide eyes stare at the knight, who doesn't make another peep, lying still once more.

Kenma glances around again. There's still nobody around. He glances back down. He sighs. Deciding an unconscious man, even if he is at least a head taller than himself, can't possibly do him any harm, Kenma carefully places his staff on the ground. He bends to roll the knight over. Catching a glimpse of the knight's face, he realizes the person is actually closer to his own age than he thought. He also has a terrible wound on his shoulder. Kenma sighs. He presses his hands together, summoning his healing skill, and gets to work.

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"Mmmng."

Kenma looks up from his new gadget that he purchased in town last week, with all the coins he managed to save from some very painful party quests. Kenma doesn't really like questing with a party because he's always put on support, which isn't bad in itself since he is a mage after all, but then his party members always seem to make ridiculous demands as if it hasn't occurred to them that Kenma is only one person and can't heal people when they're standing fifty metres apart, like honestly, you'd think being a level 25 adventurer one would figure out that healing circles only extend so far. Recently, he's been adventuring with Shouyou and his friends, which is slightly better, except they're a little too loud and now Kageyama is apparently a package deal with the orange-headed bandit, which really puts a damper on Kenma's mood because the young raven-haired mage is the scariest thing he's seen since that giant elephant-spider down in the dungeons.

The knight is blinking open dark eyes, taking in his surroundings slowly. Since Kenma can't possibly carry the guy on his own, the mage opted to just wait until the knight is conscious enough to move his own body.

"Am I dead?" The knight's voice is deeper than Kenma expected, but instead has a lilting quality to it. Kenma stays still as dark eyes land on him. "Are you an angel?"

Kenma frowns. "I'm only a mage."

"Ah." The knight sits up, wincing only slightly. He rotates his shoulder, looking down at it with mild surprise. "I'm assuming you were the one that healed me?"

Kenma nods. "It might still reopen though."

"Thank you." The knight sounds sincere, at least. He blinks at Kenma. "I'm Kuroo, by the way. Level 30 knight. What about you?"

Kenma blinks back. "... Kenma."

"Kenma what?"

"... Level 32 mage."

"Whoa, really?" Kuroo straightens, looking Kenma over appreciatively. "That's amazing. I've never met such a high level mage before. Where have you been all my life?"

Kenma glances away, not sure how to take that. He should be used to such bold statements, seeing as he hangs around Shouyou and his frankness all the time, but this one is borderline flirting. Which is terrifying, to say the least. "Um, if you're fine now, I'm just going to, uh, leave..."

"Hey, hey, no. Don't go." The knight reaches out a hand, and then withdraws when Kenma leans away. "I mean, hey, we just met each other. Why don't we continue to get to know each other, hm?"

Kenma blinks at the boy's smirk. "I need to go back to town. My friend is looking for me."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

Kenma frowns to himself. It is a long way back to the nearest portal, and the sun is setting. He picks up his staff. "Come on, then."

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Their walk back down the hill is quiet.

Kenma keeps a small distance between the knight and himself, just in case. There isn't really anything suspicious about the boy, other than that annoying smirk on his face, of course. He's certainly a lot better behaved than other knights Kenma has the misfortune of meeting, even offering a hand in helping Kenma cross obstacles in their path. He wonders why the knight was in the goldmine alone.

"So what were you doing on that hill alone?" asks Kuroo.

Kenma glances up at him. The knight's looking back down at him with his lazy smirk, but his dark eyes are sharp and more perceptive than his messy hair gives him credit for. Kenma glances away. "Hogbunnies," he replies simply.

"Ah, looking for special drop items?"

Surprised the knight knew that hogbunnies often drop pretty rare items, Kenma nods.

"So did you find any?"

"Not this time."

"Better luck next time then." Kuroo pauses to hack at a bush in their way. He gains a small berry. He immediately turns to offer it to Kenma, who shakes his head. "But you're a mage, why are you out wandering about on your own?"

Kenma sends him a small glare. "I'm not weak."

Kuroo holds up his hands. "Okay, I never said you were. It's just, most mages don't bother trying to adventure alone. You're the first mage that I've met that travels alone, without even a pet." He grins slightly. "You're a special one, aren't you?"

"... Not really."

Kuroo laughs. He doesn't say anything else for a couple minutes.

Kenma squints into the distance. The portal is somewhere across the river. They've still got a long way to go, considering Kenma doesn't exert more energy than he has to, and Kuroo's still technically healing from an injury. "Why were you in the goldmine alone?"

Kuroo glances at him, surprised. "Ah, I was... completing a quest?"

"Alone? In the goldmine?"

Kuroo lets out a sheepish laugh. "Okay, yeah, I know that wasn't the smartest choice. But it's not my fault the rest of my party decided to just suddenly call it quits. I really needed to obtain that gold horn, okay?"

"... Did you get it?"

"The horn? You bet I did." Kuroo presents a tiny gold horn from his pack. Kenma nods appreciatively while Kuroo grins. "I went through so much trouble for this baby. Now I can finally use it!"

"Use it for what?"

"Well... It's a long story." Kuroo lifts the gold horn to the fading sunlight. "See, my best bro, Bokuto? You heard of him? He runs that guild Fukurodani. He's probably one of the best knights in town, actually, stats way up the roof-though to be completely honest, half his attack power is because of that mage of his, Akaashi, who basically stops him from being killed on a daily basis. Bless that kid."

Kenma blinks, taking the information in. He never really paid attention to guilds, because they are usually loud and occupied most pubs and public areas in town at night, also always managing to take up the inns Kenma wants. He's been invited to a few guilds, but he never accepted on account of not being good with other people. Lately Shouyou keeps bugging him about joining that new fledgling guild with the crow on their flag, but Kenma's pretty sure that's only because Kageyama's intent on joining. He has heard of the Fukurodani guild though, only because they manage to take down the big bosses with only a couple of strategically timed hits. Also because of the guildmaster's wild hair. Almost as wild as the knight beside him, actually.

"Bokuto keeps bragging about how good they are and how awesome Akaashi and his teamwork is, and while I agree, it's honestly beginning to get on my nerves. So, I decided to do the logical thing, and hunted down every boss I could defeat, and with this last one, I'm just about ready to-"

Just as Kuroo is finishing the sentence, a sudden roar above their heads causes them both to freeze. Kenma's eyes widen as Kuroo glances over at him.

"Bearboar!" They yell as a huge shadow falls over them both. They spin around, but the monster is already rearing its big ugly head and crashing towards them. They run.

"I thought this area wasn't supposed to have that class of monster!" Kuroo shouts as he jumps over a log.

"It's not," answers Kenma, huffing as he tries not to trip over his robes. He really should buy new ones that won't kill him before the monster can. "It must've gotten lost!"

"Goddammit, I hate this world," groans Kuroo, grabbing Kenma by the arm when the mage nearly goes down in a ditch. "Can't you use a stunning spell or something?"

Kenma huffs, glancing behind them quickly. "My mana generates slow. I used it on you."

Kuroo curses. He tugs them behind a giant bush, allowing them to catch their breaths for a second. The loud pounding footsteps of the beast approaches, and they stare at each other in dismay. The knight unsheathes his sword, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, you can still cast defense, yeah?"

Kenma bites his lip, checking his stats. He nods once.

"Well, this is short notice, and I'm hella tired, but I don't want to die here tonight." Kuroo hefts his sword, turning to face the monster shuffling behind the bush, trying to locate them with its giant snout. "Cover me the best you can, Kenma, and I'll buy you a drink later, okay?"

"I don't drink."

Kuroo spares him an amused glance. "Fine then. How about food?"

"... Apple pie."

"Deal."

"Don't die."

"That's up to you, mage."

Kuroo launches himself out behind the bush, summoning his flame skill. Kenma peeks out. The knight managed to catch the bearboar in the back, dealing a quick blow to its side. But the bearboar isn't a B class for nothing. The monster quickly turns, rearing its head, snarling at Kuroo. It lifts its giant paws to swat at the knight, roaring in a deafening manner. Kenma claps his hands to his ears, but Kuroo doesn't even flinch. He leaps back into action, dodging the paws and striking at the bearboar's flank. Kenma is impressed that the knight manages to land so many hits, but the bearboar doesn't even seem to register the attacks.

Kenma blinks, fixing his golden eyes on the monster. He raises his staff, calling on his observe skill. He only has enough power to use it for a few seconds, but it's enough.

Kuroo falls back, barely managing to escape a giant paw. His mana is nearly out, and his stamina is nowhere near good. He breathes heavily, but then a slow warmth is spreading through his body. He glances up. "Kenma?"

Kenma isn't looking at him, but his arms are raised in casting position. His golden eyes remain fixed upon the monster, which is glaring down at the two of them, ready to attack again. The mage sucks in a breath. His magic can last just enough, if he works fast.

"Kuro!" he shouts, diminishing his healing circle. "I have a plan!"

The knight blinks at the shortening of his name. He grins. "Bring it on, Kenma!"

"Its hind paws. They don't move. As long as you attack from the front, keep it distracted, I can find a way to reach the back of its head."

"That's where its core is?"

"Yes!"

"Got it!" Kuroo lifts his sword, feeling a lot better than before. He can practically feel his magic powering back up through his veins. He bares his teeth at the bearboar. "Come at me, you ugly thing!"

Kenma inches back as Kuroo gets to work, taunting the monster and driving painful hits home upon the monster's face and body. The mage moves as fast as his robes allow, until he is directly behind the bearboar's butt. It's not a pleasant view, but Kenma's seen worse. He looks up. There it is. He raises his staff. Summoning what's left of his mana, Kenma begins casting his best attack spell. He breathes, staring right at his target.

He shoots.

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"Kenma!"

Kenma blinks his eyes open, only to see a mess of black hair and a blurry face. He closes his eyes again.

"Kenma, don't go back to sleep!" There's a finger poking at his cheek.

"Stop it." Kenma swats the hand away, sitting up on his own. He blinks around him. They're still in the forest clearing, only it's a bit darker and there's no monster in sight. "What happened?"

Kuroo grins at him. The knight holds up his hands to present him a blood red gem. "You did it, Kenma. You took down the bearboar."

"I did?" Kenma accepts the gem, watching it disappear into his inventory.

"You passed out because your mana was empty, so I gave you a mana potion."

Kenma nods his thanks, and then stops. He lifts his head to fix Kuroo his best deadpan expression. "You had extra mana potions."

The knight scratches his head sheepishly. "I, uh, was caught up in the moment?"

Kenma stands up, reaching for his staff. "We'd better head back to town."

"Yeah. Thanks for keeping me alive back there."

"Mm."

Kuroo grabs the mage's hand before he can walk further. "Kenma. Join me."

Kenma stares at him. "What."

"Join me! Let's build a guild together!" Kuroo grins, producing the gold horn once more. "I've got enough items and we're both good. Come on, you were there against that monster, we make a good team. Let's build a guild together, Kenma!"

Kenma stares some more. His cheeks are warm. How brilliant can this knight's smile be? He's a knight, not a bard. Slowly, he tugs his hand away. "... Are you proposing to me?"

Kuroo grins.

Together, they head back to town.