I've had this samurai AU bouncing around my head for over a year. Hope you enjoy it!
Nishinoya Yuu cracked his neck, ignoring the risk the slight noise could give away his position in the bushes. After all, he didn't think his targets were anywhere near yet. The human smuggler Iwaizumi Hajime and his convoy of three carts should have passed by 15 minutes ago. Nishinoya paid a mole in Iwaizumi's band for the information, never mind this was a frequent route for traffickers.
He froze as a high-pitched screech wailed in the distance. Somebody was huffing down the dirt road, a child perhaps. In his peripherals from the bushes alongside the path, a brunet child, about eight-years-old, came into view and tripped. His elbows grazed, the boy sniffed and then whined in the middle of the trail. A trap perhaps? But something was terribly wrong. Remaining in the brush parallel to the road, Nishinoya bolted in the direction whence the child came.
A quarter-mile down the trail, he found his answer. Two of the carts in Iwaizumi's convoy lay abandoned, one with a broken axle. A handful of traumatized children staggered around, morose, laconic. The body of one of Iwaizumi's henchmen lay on the ground with a mortal stab wound.
Somebody had beaten Nishinoya to the punch. Whoever had done it, though, was nowhere to be found, and neither was Iwaizumi or the third cart. Noya wanted to help the children, but he feared what the calamity meant and sprinted farther down the road.
He trekked through the forest until he reached a cave, probably one of Iwaizumi's hideouts. The missing third cart sat at its entrance. Deep inside, Noya could hear aggravated grumblings.
Iwaizumi was here. Finally after five months of painstaking detective work, Noya had tracked down one of the largest bounties in the region. But facing such an accomplished criminal in his own lair was a danger. Then, he heard the pained gasps of a teenager in the cave as well.
In one cavernous space illuminated by a single candle on a table, Iwaizumi himself flung a whip at a short boy chained to the wall. The orange-haired lad looked to be in his late teens and did a remarkable job keeping his cries soft at the vicious impact. One of Iwaizumi's associates scoured parchments beside the candle, trying to figure out how to salvage their situation.
"Try that again, Crow!" Iwaizumi barked hoarsely at his prisoner.
Crow? Noya thought. "Crow" was the nickname of a rounin notorious for busting child trafficking rings. Rumors had it he was young, small, and was unmatched with the sword. The description resembled what people used to say of the infamous kidnapper called the Little Giant.
If this boy was the Crow, then no doubt he had saved the children, and Nishinoya wouldn't abandon him to his fate.
"Iwaizumi-san, it'll be three days before we can get more carts here," the lackey Kindaichi Yuutarou advised.
"Then we'll kill this bird and round up the brats ourselves," griped Iwaizumi with another crack of the whip. Kindaichi scoffed, not thrilled with the prospect of corralling whiny preteens. Alas, he achingly pushed himself up from his stool and hoisted the strap of his katana over his shoulder. It was too late by the time he noticed a figure whishing from the darkness.
Iwaizumi gasped as his affiliate fell beneath the blade of a pint-sized adult. There was no doubt who this new interloper was. He was shorter than even the current prisoner with wild black hair save for a golden tuft on the front. Hajime chuckled. He didn't realize he had been on the radar of the bounty hunting vigilante, Nishinoya Yuu. The dangling prisoner, his wrists chafing as his arms hung from the cold cuffs, glanced over his shoulder at the swordsman with a red-stained blade that had cut down Kindaichi. Noya glare was firmly affixed on the criminal.
"So both you and the Crow are midgets," scoffed Iwaizumi as he unsheathed his katana. "Some of my clients would find someone your size delightful," he chuckled.
Iwaizumi charged at Noya who dodged slickly, twirling around behind his foe. Iwaizumi instinctively spun to block an expected strike, only to find Noya gone.
"Crow!" Noya yelled as he tossed a key pickpocketed from Kindaichi's corpse. The teen caught it in his teeth and strained it towards one of the restraints.
"Why, you!" roared Iwaizumi who went in for another strike. Nishinoya flipped onto the table, but it wobbled and toppled underneath him. Using it as a springboard, Noya catapulted towards Iwaizumi with sword raised for a downward aerial slash. The candle illuminating the space fell snuffed out when it hit the ground, plunging the chamber into darkness before Iwaizumi and Nishinoya's slashes hit their mark.
Moments later, Iwaizumi Hajime relit the candle and set it on the rocky floor. He leaned forward, blood dripping from his chest where Nishinoya's slash had got him. Propped against a wall, Noya was comforting a gash in his rib inflicted by his foe at the same time.
"Too bad, Nishinoya-san," Iwaizumi said as he raised his sword for a final strike. "Mine is the last bounty you chase."
Suddenly, before Nishinoya's eyes, another blade burst through the existing gash in Iwaizumi's torso. Paralyzed in shock, Iwaizumi stumbled when the sword was retracted through his spine. The great criminal seized and collapsed facedown, his life extinguished. Behind him stood the towering, panting figure of the Crow.
Nishinoya gazed with awe at the young fighter who'd snuck up on Iwaizumi and felled the accomplished samurai. The teen proceeded to search a rucksack for some medical supplies to give to Noya. Hobbled away from the wall, his forearm pressed to his chest, Nishinoya held part of his gray kimono sleeve in his teeth and ripped a strap. He began to bandage himself much to the Crow's intrigue.
"You're good at that," said the Crow, taking note of his first aid skills. Noya now got a look at the boy in his distinct all-black kimono and shimmering orange hair. He estimated the boy was about 19.
"Thanks," Noya replied. "For your help."
"Same," answered the Crow. "I'm going to round up the children to get them home, so, um, if you don't need anything, I guess I'll see you later."
Nishinoya was surprised. Did the Crow always go out of his way to reunite rescued children with their families? Not knowing where any of the kids came from, such a task must take months. But the boy's focused gaze suggested he wasn't lying as he prepared to embark out of the room.
"Wait," called Noya. The Crow stopped. "Let me help. I can make it easier for you," he continued. "We've never met, but I used to be in the police. I have a good friend nearby who can help locate the families. Name's Nishinoya Yuu."
"Noya?" the Crow answered, his informality striking Nishinoya oddly. "All right." Notably he didn't volunteer his name, but Nishinoya had a detective-level hunch based on the person's hair color and sword style.
"You're from the Hinata clan, aren't you?" he guessed. The famous samurai family was wiped out in a tragic incident several months ago. However, there was no mistaking the lineage's orange hair.
"Shouyou," the Crow answered. "Please call me, Shouyou. And you said you wanted to help?" Hinata Shouyou redirected.
"Huh? Yeah," Noya said after finishing tying his bandage. They could get some medicine in town too.
And off the pair went to locate all of the children in the area.
I wrote this as the first chapter of a longer fic, but I am posting it as a one-shot to gauge interest and stay active during my hiatus. Any responses are appreciated, and if you want to see more, let me know!
~Breeze