I've been thinking about a Fantasy AU for YEARS but I never got ot write it, between my OC romance ff and my SUperhero AU (I promise I'll go back to that one someday), so when for the Orange Court's Christmas Exchange my giftee wanted a Fantasy AU it was the PERFECT opportunity to try it out!
It's kind of a snippet of what it *might* someday maybe become. If people like this prologue, I'll write more!
I want to thank Cardie for beta-reading it! And Meggie, I hope you'll like your gift~! I loved writing it at least, it was SO MUCH FUN!
Enjoy~!
HAIKYUU! FANTASY AU
In the far, far, far away Land of Haikyuu, magic was everywhere. It vibrated in the air, flowed in water, grew in trees… This land was divided into many kingdoms, the territories of various sizes depending on the power and importance of the different states. Each kingdom had many clans each with a specialised domain of elemental magic: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, or Metal. For centuries, wars and conflicts for more power, more territory, more supremacy, destroyed clans and kingdoms, enslaved the people, and ruined all idea of peace and happiness.
Tired of witnessing the endless destruction and misery, the twelve deities of Haikyuu descended to put a stop to it. They offered twelve objects of immense power, the Jyuuni Regalia, that were a part of the souls of the deities incarnated on Earth. The Regalia would be held by the twelve chosen kings of Haikyuu and the gods imposed a competition: every five years, the clans of each kingdom would compete to decide who would be the next king. The victorious clan would hold power for five years, until the next competition.
It brought peace and the warfare was forgotten for trade and art between the twelve kingdoms.
Our story started many years ago when, during the competition to decide of the next King of the Kingdom of Miyagi. The recurrent champion of the Shiratorizawa Clan, Ushijima Wakatoshi, disappeared. He, whose family had reigned over the Kingdom of Miyagi for decades, He, who had been promised the throne and the Greylag Goose's Orb of Miyagi, vanished…
The next-in-power, the Aoba Jousai Clan claimed the crown and put on the Miyagi throne their heir: Oikawa Tooru. Despite the mournful circumstances that had raised the Aoba Jousai Clan, everyone held hope that their new king would maintain the Kingdom of Miyagi as a peaceful and prosperous realm…
Then, everything changed when a dark power twisted King Oikawa's heart and the Greylag Goose's Orb was destroyed. The gods, furious that the symbol, the heart and soul of their companion, had been broken, cursed the Kingdom of Miyagi: darkness fell over the lands, plants and cultures died, animals fled… Clans tried to overthrow King Oikawa, but all were defeated until he held hostage all of the clans' heirs, claiming their powers to himself and reducing the clans' willpower to none…
They could all but bow to his immense power.
Walls of dark and terrifying thorns were grown to protect the Dark Grand King Oikawa from his enemies…
The neighbouring kingdoms, though anxious at first, relaxed when the Dark Grand King seemed satisfied to remain isolated into his own Kingdom of Miyagi… what they didn't know yet was that that sickness, that evil, was growing and spreading…
Kingdom of Tokyo, Protective Deity: Sakura Tree, at the frontier between the Nekoma and Fukurodani Clans…
The leaves were whistling happily from the spring wind, a winter freshness lingered. Birds were singing and the river that separated the Clans of Nekoma and Fukurodani was joyfully twinkling over the rocks and pebbles. It was a nice and quiet place, far away from the bustling cities at the frontiers, or even smaller cities, or villages, or houses, or anyone really.
Kozume Kenma preferred it that way. He liked not being disturbed and continuing to use his magic to keep himself entertained. He could have water directly from the river, he could eat the roots and berries he found and whatever more consistent food he would occasionally buy at the nearest (but still a considerable distance away) village. There, he would also sell his balms and potions. He was known as the wandering healer, the weirdo with the strange hair who travelled around and never stayed put… But really, he was just too lazy to do anything more than what was strictly necessary to survive. That was why he had chosen to move into the half-abandoned house near the river. It was the perfect spot, and no one ever bothered him. He liked his peace and quiet.
What he didn't like was finding drowned corpses at the very river he went to every morning.
He used his high and twisted branch of wood that served him as walking stick to prob at the orange-haired dead man laying face-down into the pebbles.
The corpse didn't react.
Shrugging, Kenma started walking up-stream. That was someone else's problem. He did not want to deal with dead stuff today.
The drowned man wasn't so dead as Kenma had first assumed though, because the sound of rolling pebbles and a moan rose in Kenma's back.
He stopped. That was someone else's problem…
A strangled cough and the painful growl went on and on…
"Damn it." Kenma mumbled to himself, turning around and going back over his own steps to examine the non-corpse.
Even though the body of the drowned young man was rather small, Kenma didn't trust his own body strength and used his staff to turn over the orange-haired creature. He immediately took deep breathes of air, followed by a violent cough and the young man rolled on his side to spit water.
Kenma knelt down and observed him closely as he laid back on the pebbles, struggling to breathe, but breathing, nonetheless.
He had wet orange hair, darker from the water, but it probably was a mandarin shade when dry. His face and hands were scratched and there was an empty scabbard at his side. More importantly, his dark clothes were a strange contrast to his light features. His boots and arm braces were made of leather, of good quality from what Kenma could say. He wore a thick but light cloth that was stuck to his defined muscles – though not prominent enough to distinguish him as an experienced warrior. And yet… his collar had turned into a tangled mess of wet, black feathers and on his chest…
Kenma sighed, recognizing the protective animal of the Karasuno Clan from the Miyagi Kingdom: a screeching crow expanding its wings to fly and reach the heavens.
The Karasuno Clan was famous in his own clan, the Nekoma one, for their on-going rivalry. Friendly, for the most part but… well, rivalry often turned into conflict and part of the reason why the Karasuno were a Fallen Clan, and Nekoma had seen its territory considerably reduced, was out of punishment from their respective kings a few years ago. Back then, the Kingdom of Miyagi was still ruled by the Shiratorizawa Clan… the Kingdom of Tokyo hadn't changed its ruling clan for decades now: the Itachiyama.
Except the enormous amount of water he had drunk while going down the river, and his few scratches and bruises, the young Karasuno man didn't seem injured any further. And despite the lack of visitors he usually received, Kenma assumed it would be better not to leave a Karasuno man laying within the territory of the Nekoma Clan.
Kenma glanced around, stood up, then he closed his eyes. He heard more clearly the singing poetry of the river and the rhythmic songs of the birds, then it faded away. The leaves rustled more fiercely in his mind, then, they became a background sound that he could easily ignore. He felt nature and its elements reach out to him, but he quickly crushed that warm sensation.
He and the Karasuno man were alone. He could use his magic.
Kenma tapped his staff to the ground. Whiffs of air gathered under the young man and lifted him up. Roots and plants grew to help guide the Karasuno wanderer and the body was half carried, half dragged, towards the wood cabin where Kenma lived.
Homesickness was a funny feeling, when it got a seat into your heart. It was so difficult to ignore its presence. Using his magic always made him ache for his childhood.
Once the Karasuno man was lying down, Kenma set down to heal him as best he could. As he was removing some of his clothes to make sure he wouldn't catch pneumonia, a metallic object fell at his feet. Leaning down, he found a cylinder with the crow seal of the Karasuno. Probably a secret message the wanderer had been supposed to give to someone important. Obviously, Kenma opened it.
Thankfully, the cylinder had been waterproof, and the message was still clear.
Kenma's eyes widened when he read the first line.
It wasn't any message… that man wasn't just any messenger…
The darkness of King Oikawa was spreading and little by little, he was using his dark magic to twist the mind of several eminent people across the Twelve Kingdoms: merchants, Warriors, Magicians, bandits, even important clan priests and heirs–
There had been rumours that the Dark Great King Oikawa's darkness had been spreading beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Miyagi, but Kenma would have never imagined it was so bad. There was no way the heads of states weren't aware of this but then, why weren't they doing something before the gods turned against the entire Land of Haikyuu?
Kenma's breathing stopped when his gaze fell on a name he recognized. His heart missed a beat and he felt himself pale. A sudden dizziness forced him to sit down.
The Karasuno man suddenly coughed and woke up. He startled and sat up suddenly.
"AH!" he screamed with wide, brown eyes specked with gold.
Kenma startled at the unexpected cry.
"Aaaaw!" He winced, hands going to his injured head.
The young man bent around in pain, then lied back down, rolling around for a bit. He finally opened his eyes and looked up to notice Kenma. He startled back into a sitting position.
"AH! Did you save me?! Thank you! What's your name?! I'm Hinata Shouyou, from the Karasuno Clan!" He exclaimed with a bright smile.
His personality was as much of a striking contrast with his dark outfit and origins. He was pure and outgoing like sunshine. Kenma winced. Outgoing people were the worst for him…
"I know…" Kenma started slowly.
"You knew?! How did you know my name!?" Hinata exclaimed with wide, amazed eyes.
Shouldn't he be more suspicious and careful if he was on a mission?
"…No, I didn't know your name, but I knew you were from the Karasuno Clan." Kenma answered.
"How?"
The Nekoma man pointed at the silver crow seal that shone on Hinata's drying outfit.
"Oh! That makes sense! Of course! What's your name? AH! Where am I?!"
Kenma hesitated, glancing around nervously. Panic almost rose but before it'd strangle him, he spoke softly:
"Kozume… Kenma…" he answered.
"Kenma! Nice to meet you, Kenma! You've healed me, right? Thank you!"
When Kenma didn't share his enthusiasm, Hinata lost his smile. He looked around but there was nothing about the landscape he could see, or the house that would give him any clue on who he was with, or where.
As if knowing his line of thoughts, Kenma answered his previous question:
"You're right at the border between the Nekoma and Fukurodani Clans of the Tokyo Kingdom… On the Nekoma side."
Hinata actually paled enough that Kenma worried he might collapse again, or die for good. He had more stamina and endurance than expected because Hinata blinked and the sick look on his face disappeared.
"Oh… t-then… I'm… you're… you're a cat, aren't you?"
"And you're a crow. Don't worry, I don't care about these ridiculous conflicts between our clans," Kenma answered with a shrug.
Hinata visibly relaxed as his shoulders went down and his smile returned.
"Oh, that's nice! I don't care either! I used to want to participate in an epic battle between our clans but… then, y'know, everything happened. With the Dark Great King."
Kenma wouldn't have thought possible for Hinata, sun incarnated as he was, to darken, and yet… a cloud passed over his face.
"I have to go…" he whispered, starting to stand up.
"Wait–"
A dizziness took over Hinata and he stumbled. Kenma kept him from hitting his head again and helped him back down.
"You can't move for now, it's a miracle you even survived so long with a concussion and half-drowned. You're lucky you landed at my doorstep and not a few miles down the river… The villagers there hate crows."
"B-but…"
"You need to rest. I'm a healer, I know what I'm saying." Kenma insisted, taking the bowl he had prepared earlier to make him drink it, "How did you even arrive all the way here?" he asked, keeping the scroll with the message from the Karasuno Clan hidden from Hinata's sight.
"Oh, uh…"
Hinata grimaced after drinking the potion, then he looked up thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"I have to find someone."
"Oh?"
"I was… uh… I can't stay here–"
"Hold on, just tell me what happened, maybe I can help?"
You idiot, why would you say that, now he's got expectations! Kenma scolded himself as Hinata turned to him with an expression that was a mix of curiosity and hope.
"I need to go back into the Fukurodani Clan. I was supposed to give a secret message to their heir– AGH! THE MESSAGE!"
He jumped on his clothes to look through the pockets and panicked when he couldn't find the scroll.
"Calm down," Kenma sighed, pulling out the scroll from his wide sleeves, "I've got it right here."
"Oh, thank the Twelve Gods! I didn't lose it! Wait– have you read it?!"
"Of course not. I am perfectly capable of respecting your privacy," Kenma lied smoothly, giving back the scroll to Hinata who held it against his chest, "What does it say?"
He had expected Hinata to reveal more, like he had so far, but he closed like a clamp.
"I can't tell you…" He answered, shoulders tight, "It's a message only destined to the Clan Heirs that have been selected by… the High Priests of the Karasuno clan."
"The High Priests of your clan?" Kenma repeated, surprised, "Then… the gods sent you?"
The priests of each clan were the messengers of the Twelve Gods, the bridge between the heavens and earth. A mission from the High Priests meant that Hinata Shouyou, as innocent and weak as he appeared, was on a mission given by the gods themselves. The Karasuno Clan mostly held the spies of the Kingdom of Miyagi and the crow was an animal associated with the divine messages – out of every clan of every kingdom, there must be a reason the Twelve Gods had chosen Hinata Shouyou…
"…Yes." Was all Hinata answered.
"…Are you a Warrior?"
Once again, Hinata darkened and he lowered his gaze to the ground. Kenma didn't need an answer to guess it:
"You're not. You don't have any elemental power, like most Warriors do. How did you even manage to get so high into the Karasuno Clan if you have no magic? Such clothes… such a mission, wouldn't be given to anyone."
"…I was adopted by our Clan Heir, Sawamura Daichi. I've always wanted to become a Warrior, even if I don't have any magic or affinity to any element… Our Clan Heir, Daichi-san, waited before trying to stop the Great King, but by the time he went to the Aoba Jousai Castle, the Great King was too powerful and…"
"He became another one of the prisoners of the Great King Oikawa who absorbed Sawamura Daichi's power to become more powerful."
"Yes…"
"Many Warriors of my clan decided to rescue him, against the advice of our High Priest Sugawara, but they went anyway… Only our greatest Warrior came back, but… Asahi-san has lost… his strength and power. It's not gone, but he… can't use it anymore…"
"So, you were the last and only option." Kenma concluded.
"No– Suga-san asked the gods for guidance and they chose me! I don't know why… I have no power, no magic, no fighting skill… but it's my chance to become a Warrior and save my clan, my family! And everyone else in the Kingdom of Miyagi!" Hinata exclaimed with a determined gleam in his eyes.
Kenma blinked. He finally noticed an injury on Hinata's back that had escaped his attention earlier… A burn. Fire?
Out of every element, fire was the hardest to master. It was the most chaotic one and… the most dangerous if it was used by the wrong person. Some rumours even said that Oikawa Tooru, a powerful Earth Warrior, had been twisted by a form of fire magic… If that were the case, and Hinata was crossing the Kingdoms to stop the Great King Oikawa, and now had a burning mark…
"Hinata, how did you end up so far away from the capital of the Fukurodani Clan…?" Kenma asked in a tense voice.
Hinata bit his lower lip. He grabbed his half-dry clothes and started putting them back on.
"That's why I need to leave this place as soon as possible. Thank you for everything you have done and–"
This was when the ceiling collapsed on them.
Instincts kicked in. Kenma grabbed his staff and raised it above his head while pulling Hinata close. A protective barrier protected them from the falling debris of the roof – and the flames trying to devour them.
"You're a Magician!" Hinata gasped.
"Shut up!"
Sweat trickled down Kenma's forehead as he focused. He was out of practice and the fiery, destructive magic sent his way was more than he was used to dealing with– more than he had ever used. He won't last long.
Grabbing firmly Hinata's arm, he pushed him out of the way. They fell through the debris and landed on the scorched grass. Despite his injuries, Hinata's reflexes were faster than expected. It was his turn to grab Kenma's arm and pull him away from the rest of the cabin collapsing in a heap of destructive flames. He pulled the Magician up and away and they stared at the two figures that had landed on what was left of the house.
"What the–"
"Tanaka-san! Noya-san! This isn't you! Don't you recognize me?! It's me, Shouyou!" Hinata pleaded, obviously hurt.
"What sort of magic is this?! Are they–"
"Karasuno Warriors, yes… twisted by the Great King Oikawa…" Hinata answered.
The two Warriors… no, the creatures, looked down at their preys, and hissed. Their human faces and bodies were still there, but dark feathers had covered their legs, turned into talons, and their arms had turned into wide wings.
As a Magician, the rarest form of magic users in all Twelve Kingdoms, Kenma had studied all sorts of magics but this? This he had never heard of!
Former Warriors, magic-wielders, had been turned into monstruous creatures obeying the orders of the Dark Great King Oikawa!
Kenma felt stupid for not having kept half of his magic awake to examine his surroundings while Hinata, a possibly dangerous enemy, was here. Now it all made sense: while crossing the Fukurodani Clan, the two crow-like creatures had traced Hinata all the way here. They must have been the reason why he was scratched and burnt – and why he had fallen into the river between the two clans.
And they had followed him all the way into Kenma's home.
That would serve him as a good lesson for helping a complete stranger from the Karasuno Clan!
"Close your eyes!" Kenma shouted.
Hinata turned to him, instead of closing his eyes, but Kenma didn't wait for the information to kick into Hinata's slow brain. A bright, sudden light erupted from his Magician staff. Hinata gasped, covering his eyes, while the two creatures screeched, blinded by the gods' pure magic.
While the light subsided and the creatures were still distracted by the pain, Kenma grabbed Hinata's arm and dragged him down to the riverside and over the stones and pebbles. The light was now gone but the crows were still blinded and confused. But their sense of smell wasn't gone: they hissed and screeched and flew off at impossible speed.
"To the trees!" Hinata shouted.
Kenma tripped over a big pebble but Hinata helped him up and forced him to go faster. The crow-creatures were going down against them, blindly.
Now on the Fukurodani Clan territory, only fifty metres or so and they would have the cover of the trees, but they wouldn't make it. These crows were too fast!
"Keep running!" Hinata exclaimed looking all around.
"WHAT!"
"Keep RUNNING!"
Kenma didn't ask questions when he felt the wind of the powerful wings of the creatures just behind him.
Hinata accelerated – he was made of pure speed and reflexes, what sort of human, no, creature was he?! He went full-speed towards high rocks. Kenma thought he would splatter against it and turn into jelly but Hinata used his momentum to jump from rock to rock and suddenly, he was circling high in the sky. Mouth gaping open at the surprising show of athletic skills, Kenma was millimetres away from getting grabbed by one of the crow-creature when Hinata landed onto the other one. Screeching, still blinded and going by smell, the crow creature tried to get Hinata off his back but the young Karasuno man used the feathers on the crow-creature's neck to guide him into his friend. The two devilised birds screeched as they landed on the ground, black feathers flying everywhere.
Hinata caught up with Kenma in no-time and they arrived in the forest. While the Magician slowed down considerably, Hinata jumped over tree trunks, against rocks, using the natural elements and his innate abilities to make the forest his playground.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Kenma collapsed against a tree trunk, breathing hard and barely able to keep his grip over his staff. Hinata stood over him, barely out of breath, looking all around with vigilant eyes.
"We can't stop for long, they'll soon recover from your light and the fall and the trees will only slow them down! Come on, let's get moving, Kenma!"
"Ah… argh! AGH! NO!" he shouted, still half melted between the ground and the tree trunk.
Hinata turned to him, surprised.
"I'm not… I'm no… arf… uhhhhh… not another step…!" he wheezed, eyes wide and furious.
"You can't stay here! You can't go back! They'll find you!"
"Why didn't you drown, damn it…" he murmured but Hinata didn't hear him.
"They have an exceptional sense of smell and they're super-fast! Now that they know you've helped me, they'll capture you for the Great King! You're in danger…! And it's… it's my fault… I'll do everything to help you find safety, but I can't think of anyone except Bokuto Koutarou, the Heir of the Fukurodani Kingdom. You must go there if you want to live."
In between painful huffs of breath, Kenma looked up at Hinata and sighed one last, terrible time…
He hated it when others had a point. And he hated it even more when others put him in ridiculous life-threatening danger because of some righteous divine mission!
"I hate this…" Kenma mumbled as Hinata helped him up.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this but, hey! It'll be a nice bonding time!" He exclaimed, all guilt gone to be cheerful again.
"Ugh."
"We'll have a lot of fun!"
"Life-threatening situations from the biggest threat of the last few centuries isn't what I consider 'fun'…" Kenma mumbled but Hinata was too far gone into his fantasy.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me you are a Magician!"
"Don't talk about it."
"I thought all the Nekoma Clan Magicians had been killed! What happened?!"
"It's a long story…"
"Tell me!"
"No."
"Aaaaw! Do you have friend or family?!"
"If you don't want me to zap you with lightning, close your mouth. You're making me uncomfortable and I'm still sweating from that stupid run."
"Oh. Sorry. I'll shut up."
They made three steps in awkward silence, until Hinata spoke up again:
"Despite it all, I'm happy I've met you, Kenma! I've always wanted to meet a Magician! I'm glad you're with me!"
Kenma stared at this earnest, bright smile… Hard to believe he had survived from the Karasuno Clan all the way here without magic… but the earlier prowess he had showed earlier might be the reason why the gods had chosen him to save the Twelve Kingdoms of the Land of Haikyuu…
Kenma already missed his quiet life in the middle of nowhere…
But the growing threat of the Dark Great King Oikawa couldn't be ignored… Not when his childhood best friend's name had been on the list of the persons targeted.
"We're going on an adventure together, Kenma! We are going to save the Twelve Kingdoms!" Hinata exclaimed, raising his fists to the sky.
Kenma sighed deeply. Hopefully, unlike Hinata, the Heir of the Fukurodani Clan, Bokuto Koutarou, would be able to help them and was a quiet, careful and intellectual man…
If you liked it, don't hesitate to favorite, follow or comment! The more people like it, the more likely I'll write the rest of the story and *believe me* I've got a lot planned for this Fantasy AU!
Yours Truly,
May