I really don't normally update this quickly and consistently, but it's spring break and i really have nothing better to do at the moment. Just a warning in advance.
~Xar
"Uhh, Riko, I think there's something off about these monsters," Hyuga said, as he peered at the magical forest with a spyglass.
"Wrong? What do you mean? I buffed them up a little but they shouldn't be too bad," Riko said, a finger to her mouth. Had her formula been too strong or something?
"I don't think your formula is the problem, for once," Hyuga said, adjusting the glass so she could see through it too.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR ONCE?" Riko screeched, before an earth-shattering roar rang out. Swallowing her next words, she looked into the device, only to see a couple of contestants running from a giant rabid plant monster that was definitely NOT one of the ones she had cooked up for this test. "Shit. Call it off, now!"
"Riko, is it really the best idea to just call off the entire hunt-"
"It's more than halfway finished anyway, and I don't want dead recruits, call it off now!" Riko grabbed her horn of loudspeak and started announcing directions.
"Sorry folks, but it seems some forest monsters have gotten loose into our arena. Due to this unforeseen circumstance, we are closing the Hunt early, but rest assured, the points that have been accumulated, will be counted!"
A firecracker was let off, triggering the sudden end to the games as the guild members rushed forward to take care of the sudden problem.
Meanwhile, the tank and white mage duo had fought themselves through five more pus-covered kills-including another angry plant- before Kagami showed his true idiot colors and fell down a hole.
"Kagami-kun, you're stupid. Why am I partners with you?" Kuroko asked, peering down at the prone armored figure. The man in question just yelled some rude words at him before, getting up, showing that nothing had gotten through that thick skull of his.
Kuroko had to admit that he and Kagami were getting better as a team with each successive battle. The first one against the monster was rough, because Kuroko was unused to the red-haired tank's fighting style, and Kagami had never been around a white mage in his life. However, their second plant kill showed how far their skills grew in a short period of time; it took half the time as the first kill to bring down.
He would at least be more admiring if said object of admiration hadn't just fallen down a pitfall trap and was now making them late to what seemed to be the end of the games. A loud firecracker sounded above them. "It seems Aida-san has ended the hunt," Kuroko calmly observed at the noise that made Kagami curse out loud.
"That's what the fuck that was? I thought we were all gonna die!" Kagami yelled, now attempting to climb up the dirt covered wall. However, he only succeeding in bringing more dirt onto his head.
"You look ridiculous," Kuroko said, having entirely too much fun with this. It actually felt nice to have a moment of levity like this, considering what he had to do.
"Shut the hell up and help me, Kuroko!" Kagami shouted again. Kuroko was sure if looks could kill, Kagami would be partnerless now, but instead he just closed his eyes and concentrated. This would be the first time he tried this spell on a human so he hoped it worked.
White light briefly glowed in his hands before engulfing Kagami's body, gently lifting and floating him of the ground. Ignoring the tank's protests, Kuroko poured more magic into the spell, lifting him higher and higher until he was level with the ground. However, he'd reached his limit and the spell cut out, causing Kagami to face plant comically into the ground.
"What the fuck was that for," Kagami hissed, spitting out a piece of moss in his direction. It took a bit for the white mage to catch his breath again before answering.
"Kagami-kun, like I said before, not all of us have your endurance. I'm thankful I managed to life you that far, since that spell is only meant to allow you to traverse difficult terrain," Kuroko said.
Kagami made a sort of gesture like he wanted to strangle Kuroko but decided against it and just wrapped his hand around his partner's head, lifting him up painfully. "This is for dropping me on the ground, moron. Now get moving!"
Kuroko did his best to wiggle out of the tank's vice grip, giving him an offended look when he was finally free. He hated people touching his head-his friends at Teiko had learned that one the hard way. "Kagami-kun, I don't want to be your partner anymore."
"What the-hey! Are you really that angry?!" Kagami asked loudly, looking almost panicked for some reason. Kuroko sighed inwardly. His poker face certainly came in handy, but not when he was trying to be sarcastic with a brick wall. The mage didn't deign to answer, but instead grabbed Kagami by the collar and started dragging him with surprising determination.
"Hey! Get off! You little dick-I swear I'm gonna hurt you one of these days-"
The two-after Kagami had finally gotten over himself-emerged to a scene that could only be described at chaos. There were a few of Seirin guild members running back and forth, shouting orders and the rest of the participants were there.
Most of them seemed to be injured in some way, covered in the same green pus as Kagami so it was no surprise when a couple of medics ready with supplies and potions ran over to the two. "We're fine, don't worry," Kuroko said, causing them to look at him in surprise, then doubt.
"Are you sure? Aida-san was worried about you two since she signaled for the end and you were the only pair that didn't return…" One of the medics said, examining Kagami anyway.
"I fell down a hole. Sorry," Kagami said brusquely, pulling away from her ministrations. "I'm fuckin' fine!"
He looked over to Kuroko but he was already gone, running over to the other participants. The medic ran after him, shouting, but everyone quickly stopped short when he hovered over the Bel'ua's leg, a white light descending on the injury and healing it away.
"What the…" The medics and patient barely got any time to exclaim their surprise before Kuroko ran off to the next victim, a very haggard Kagami desperate to catch up. Most of the others had mostly minor injuries likes cuts and a couple of broken bones, but the white mage kneeled next to each one of them, gently asking if they were okay before casting a healing spell.
Kagami would've thought it was a touching scene if he wasn't worried that the mage's complexion was getting paler and paler and his legs were shaking underneath him as he continued to walk. Taking a few large steps, he caught up to Kuroko and grabbed his arm.
"Hey, stop this! You're gonna keel over at this rate!" Kagami demanded, not letting up his grip despite the cold look Kuroko was giving him.
"As a white mage, it's my duty to help those that are injured," the blue-haired mage said tonelessly.
"And as your partner, it's my duty to tell you you're being fucking stupid! You won't be of any use to anyone if you use up all your magic and die!" Kagami said, shaking him a little bit. "Look around you. They'll be fine without your help!"
Okay, maybe that phrase wasn't the right thing to use, because that same look of pain ran across Kuroko's face again before vanishing.
"What the idiot means to say is you've done more than enough. Worry about yourself a little more." A familiar voice came from behind them and Kagami turned around to see Hyuga and Riko walking up to them.
"I…" Kuroko swayed on his feet, but thanks to Kagami's hand on his arm, he just fell into his partner's shoulder. "I apologize."
It was true though. Medics and guild members were no longer running around wildly, and several of the participants that Kuroko had healed had gathered to thank him, grateful looks on their faces.
"It's okay, everyone here is indebted to your kindness," Riko said, folding her arms. "However, I wanted to ask you about the monsters you saw in the forest. Those plant creatures were never meant to be a part of the test."
"What? So is that why one of them almost killed me?" Kagami jolted angrily, but gently, he still had his mage leaning on him.
"Yes, well…those weren't supposed to be there. I'm really impressed that you two were able to kill not only one, but two of them with only minimal injuries," Riko said, staring the two down.
"Well, I can't take all the credit. Kuroko here has some pretty okay magic," Kagami said, feeling like the words had to be peeled off his tongue. Said mage in question merely nodded, his lips turning up only slightly.
"You were correct. Kagami-kun is a good partner," he said, trying to push himself up as far as the tank would let him.
Hyuga actually laughed, for once. "You know, when we saw your sign up then what you really looked like, I wasn't expecting much. But you're definitely the real thing, Kuroko-kun."
"And I don't care what people had against white mages in the past, you're more than welcome here in Seirin, both of you," Riko added, her smile genuine. "Of course, I'm not just saying that. The games may have ended abruptly but you guys still won. I should award bonus points for taking down those high level monsters."
Kagami looked at her in shock. "Wait, really?"
"Of course! We can't exactly do the ceremony now, but you two are the winners of the Festival of the Hunt!" She clapped her hands a few times together for them before reaching into one of the many pouches she had on her person. She pulled out a small amulet, about the size of coin, that was made out of silver and set with an opal stone.
"The reward," Hyuga answered, noticing Kagami's questioning glare. "Remember we said the winners get a speedcasting pendant? Honestly, and you want to be a great hunter…"
"Shut up, I knew that!" Kagami growled, snatching the pendant away.
"Oi! Respect your seniors!"
While the two were arguing (again) Kuroko's hand snuck out and took the amulet from Kagami's hand, pulling it over his neck. "Thank you."
"Hey! Don't go taking things without asking!" Kagami protested.
Blue eyes stared back at him. "You have no use for it, Kagami-kun."
"Yeah, I know, but that's not the point!" He continued before getting interrupted by the two guild leaders.
"Since Kagami won't shut up," Riko said, "We'll leave you two be. But we hope you'll join the celebration later once everything's cleared up. Until then, we officially welcome you two into the Seirin guilds ranked members!"
Kagami couldn't help but grin.
They did later on visit the festival at Kuroko's insistence, in which Kagami was immediately surrounded by fans, who flocked to his height and powerful aura. It was all the white mage could do to not get trampled by the various people and go around taste-testing the various foods they had on display.
They were all delicious, though Kuroko spent most of the time around a candy booth manned by a kind older woman, who gave him free samples because 'he was adorable like her grandson'. It drove a pang into his heart to remember an old friend who would love the free food-one that would be all over the fortuntelling booth, and another's booming voice would be heard as he shouted out challenges-
No, Kuroko couldn't think like that. He'd come here to rescue them and with Kagami's help, he could. Even if the tank didn't know the true purpose, he was a good partner and had the drive to become the best.
He continued to chew on the candy as night time faded in for real, and the streetlamps lit up. All around him were happy sounds of adults and children. He'd heard a few ripples throughout the crowd about wanting to see this Teiko white mage everyone was talking about, but despite his unusual clothing, no one really approached him. To them, he was just another weird Seirin mage.
It was when his vision started getting blurry and his dark thoughts becoming too prominent that Kuroko decided to return to the guild headquarters to sleep. The members slept in an area off to the side of the main lobby and training grounds, usually with a roommate or two. Kuroko's roommate was of course, his partner, but he was gone right now, probably still in the middle of the festival.
He dropped a sigh as he padded over to his little bed on bare feet. It was more like a cushion, but soft and fluffy, so Kuroko sank gratefully into it. Kagami had been right-healing all those people had taken everything out of him and he fell asleep almost immediately. Stamina had never been his strong point.
It was a little later in the night that Kuroko woke up partially to the sound of the door being aggressively slid open, letting heavy footsteps pile in. That must've been Kagami, so the mage snuffled slightly and turned over. Somehow the blanket he'd draped over himself had disappeared in the night and without his coat on, the air was a bit cold.
Sighing at the fact he'd actually have to open his eyes and find it, he froze when a shadow appeared and a blanket was draped over him again, up to his neck. "You're gonna get cold," He heard above him, before the shadow moved away to the other side of the room.
Kuroko smiled silently. His partner must've thought he was asleep.
Okay. Kagami knew that he'd be awake the next day, probably early for training or whatever, but he didn't realize he'd be awake to a chicken pecking him in the face. A green chicken, accompanied by a loud screech that echoed throughout the guild house.
"IZUKI! DID YOU LET THE CHICKENS OUT AGAIN?! IF YOU DID YOU'RE CLEANING ITS SHIT UP OFF THE FLOOR!" Those tones certainly sounded like the spectacled elf, probably woken up in the same manner as Kagami, who had promptly shoved the green bird off of his face.
"Okay, what the hell?" The tank asked, blearily looking over at Kuroko who was not only up, but surrounded by the stupid birds, one even perched on his head. "What?"
"Kagami-kun, they are very cute," the blue-haired mage said, picking one up in his hands.
"I'm dreaming. Please tell me I'm dreaming."
He was not dreaming, and this fact was made evident when a red-faced Hyuga and equally distressed black-haired human came barging into the room. "There they are!"
Everyone looked in silence at Kuroko surrounded by chickens, the one on his head squawking and ruffling its feathers. "I think they like me."
No one had anything to say to that. Hyuga just rubbed his temples like he dealt with this all the time and told Kuroko to hand the multicolored chickens over to Izuki, who apparently was the other black-haired mage they'd seen yesterday.
"It's his summoning pet project. I have no clue why, but he felt like seeing if he could breed summoned familiars with regular chickens. It didn't go well," Hyuga said, explained why one of them was purple.
It was because of this incident that Kagami concluded that the guild he'd just entered was full of nutjobs, and for once, Kuroko agreed.
"This isn't as bad as some of the things I've seen in Teiko, though." Kuroko said as they got breakfast. Kagami ended up eating most of his partner's food, seeing how he kept insisting he wasn't hungry.
"You tellin' me all hunting guilds are insane?" He asked, his mouth stuffed full with bread.
"Kagami-kun, that's rude. Seirin is a bit different since it has so many mages, but two of my friends in Kiseki fought so often the arena had to be rebuilt every other week," Kuroko said.
"Wait, what?! You know THE Kiseki? Those miracle guys that literally every hunter knows who they are?" The tank asked, stunned. Sure, he knew the white mage was from Teiko, but he thought the guy was just like a healer for them, not actually interacting with the hunters.
"Yes, as I told you before, they are my friends," Kuroko said, his gaze still locked in neutral. Kagami really wanted to pry more, but never got a chance before Riko suddenly burst in, grabbed them both by their hair, and dragged them off to practice.
"Everyone, silence!" Riko shouted, standing in front of all the new recruits, including Kuroko and Kagami, who were all sitting, looking terrified. They were in front of what looked like a large field made for combat and a long, low-hanging building, probably for when it was raining. But for now, their new guild leader, sporting a pair of shorts and a top that looked like it had been dragged through several swamps and a monster's intestinal tract, slapped the board she had set up with a long stick.
"You all can flap your mouths later! I, as everyone knows, am Aida Riko, your new guild leader and trainer. Some may call me devil-spawn, but that is a price I am willing to pay for making our hunters the best they are. Now that our lovely LATE ARRIVALS are here-"there were two raps on the head for one Kagami and one Kuroko in the front row-"we can begin."
"I am Hyuga Junpei, the personnel officer. It's my job to make sure everyone has the correct missions and are sent off on ones that use their talents to the fullest," The elf said, pushing his glasses up on his face. "This over here is the idiot summoner Izuki Shun, whom cannot speak at the moment."
The black-haired man on the other side of Riko smiled and made an apologetic face, holding up a board with shimmering letters on it. 'HYUGA FED ME A SILENCE POTION FOR TELLING TOO MANY PUNS.'
He erased the letters with a wave of his hand, turning it around and writing something with a magic pencil. Kagami watched, actually sort of fascinated. He'd seen those in the city, but never got to play with one before. Izuki spun his sign back around so everyone could read it. 'ALSO, I AM SORRY FOR ANY FOWL PLAY THIS MORNING. MY BAD.'
"IZUKI YOU BITCH!" Hyuga screamed out, kicking the man in the side of the face. "I gave you that potion so you WOULDN'T TELL PUNS!"
Riko completely ignored the chaos going on behind her and continued her introduction. "I'm afraid these are the only senior hunters we have right now. Kiyoshi and the others are out on a large hunt and won't be back for a couple of weeks. Now that we're done, I want all of you to introduce yourselves. Name, race and class, so we can know more about you."
It of course started with Kuroko, who was sitting in the very first spot. "Kuroko Tetsuya, half-elf, white mage."
The white mage part, of course, got a few whispers, but they'd all seen his powers in the festival. Kagami, however, had something else to ask. "Half-elf? But you look completely human!"
Kuroko merely brushed a few hairs aside, revealing the slightly pointed tips of his ears. Now that he thought about it, his face was smoother and more angular than a human's would be, but still.
"Kagami, shut up! You're next!"
"Ugh, fine! Kagami Taiga, human, berserker. Happy?" That of course earned him another slap to the head. The introductions continued down the line, though Kagami mostly tuned it out, glaring at his devil of a 'teacher.'
"Because I forgot to mention it before, I am an alchemist, and Hyuga is a nature mage, so if you have any questions about those two fields, please tell us immediately. Bad things could happen if you don't," Riko said, and it looked like the fight behind her had finally stopped.
"Now. Review!" Riko shouted, slapping the board with a loud noise that made everyone jump. "What are the five main humanoid races?!"
Kagami was jolted out of his daze. What? What did this have to do with hunting? A hand was raised by one of the other recruits, who immediately answers when the stick was pointed at him. "Um, h-human, elf, demon, Bel'ua, and Magnus…"
"Correct! Each race has their own distinguishing characteristics and magical properties. Knowing this will help you better understand your own abilities and those of any enemies you may come across. It's very common for hunters to fight among each other, whether in tournaments or in the field, so I want all of you to be prepared!" Riko said authoritatively, and the tank inwardly groaned, despite what she said making sense. If there was one thing he hated more than hunger, it was sitting still and learning about things.
The lecture went on for a little while, causing him to go into an even fouler mood. YES, he knew that Bel'ua had several different animal characteristics and often took on the traits of their respective species, and yes, he knew that Magnus were gigantic and had rams horns so why was he being told this again? Even Kuroko was sort of sleeping through it, only waking up when he heard an important word.
Thankfully, it was only about an hour long, because Riko wanted to see the extent of their abilities. Despite being promoted to ranked hunters, she told Kagami and Kuroko they still had a lot of training to do to get up to standard.
"Hunters usually work in pairs. It's obvious you two have chemistry already, but you're not used to each other's ways of fighting yet. This training menu will fix that," she said, beginning to divide the rest up in pairs as well.
The so called training menu ended up being a workout from hell, if Kagami had anything to say about it. It started with all the recruits together-even the senior members-running, jumping, and even crawling through a maze to increase their stamina. (Riko expressly banned Kuroko from using his float spell on himself.)
It was followed up by a number of exercises for his muscles that made him want to keel over and die, his entire body hurt that much. He was a big guy, he wasn't a wimp, but he'd never even heard of training like this.
At one of their myriad breaks, he angrily inquired about this, only to learn that Riko was apparently a genius when it came to unlocking hunter's true potential-she could just look at them and figure out not only what they were best at, but how to strengthen them to their finest. Combined with her skills in potion-making and alchemy, Kagami's new guild leader was a fearsome person he was glad to have on his side.
If he could call this training on his side. By the end of the day, the tank felt like he wanted to lay face down in the dirt, and Kuroko WAS lying face down in the dirt. He had to pick the poor kid up and make him eat something before putting him to bed, he'd overworked himself so much.
The next day was just as grueling, if not more. There was more lecture in the morning, which he slept through, and then Kagami put his aching muscles through some more workout. He was actually concerned for Kuroko's health when he saw the mage looking unusually pale, but he stuck through it, never complaining not even once. It made him both impressed and angrily worried at the same time.
Afterwards, Riko had split them into groups according to classes/talents. The mages went with Hyuga and Izuki, while she and a couple of the sword-wielding guild members took the rest. It was the first time Kagami had been separated from his partner since they met, and it left him with an odd, empty feeling. It was stupid. He'd just met the kid a couple days ago, thought he was kind of blunt and annoying, yet every time he turned around he was expecting the blue eyes to be there, ready to judge him and offer sarcastic replies.
Did Kuroko feel the same way? He really wanted to know if he was imagining things.
"Unfortunately, our resident martial arts expert is out on a mission right now, but the rest of us will do our best to fill in the gap, "Riko said, clapping her hands together. The archers and swordsmen seemed to fit in comfortably with the guild members and led off to practice fields, but she didn't seem to know what to do with Kagami. It was obvious he already had training, curtesy of his teacher from Luna, and Seirin never really dealt with a tank before, especially not one of the physical class.
"I'm sorry. It's true we have some pretty strong fighters in our seniors, but Seirin is pretty heavily mage-based. We don't have as many resources for your types as other guilds do," Riko apologized, actually upset that she couldn't provide the best for one of her students. Kagami actually blushed and muttered that it was okay. He couldn't take the fact that these people were so nice to him after taking him in, despite yelling at him all the time.
That being said, Riko's brilliant idea to help him out was to summon a freaking rock golem, stand on top of it, and yell out advice to Kagami as he was fighting it. Not on his top list of things he ever wanted to do again, but he definitely learned how to dodge rocks.
Later that night he finally met up with Kuroko again, only to see the mage was about to pass out again. When questioned about what exactly he did, the boy only balefully glanced at him and told him something about 'magic preservation and stamina building' before promptly passing out on his shoulder again.
Kagami had to carry him to bed.
This kept up for a week before they got any respite, and while Kagami could tell his muscles were getting used to it, he didn't feel like he was getting any stronger. Besides, each night he went to bed, he had to lie next to Kuroko and listen to the mage's labored breathing. If Kagami was in this much pain, he couldn't imagine what Kuroko was even going through. The kid was tiny and there wasn't much to him in the first place.
The first night that he saw Kuroko come back with an ashen face, his limbs nearly useless, Kagami almost bust down the door to Hyuga's room, demanding he lighten up on his partner. However, Kuroko stopped him midway through, saying he didn't mind.
"Kagami-kun, I know I'm weak, but I don't want any special treatment because of it," Kuroko said quietly, a trembling hand holding onto his shirt. "Please don't."
Kagami let out a long breath. He sounded so pathetic and when the mage looked at him like that, how could he refuse? Angrily sitting down next to his partner's bed, he forced him to lie down again. "You know what? Fine, I can tell when you're too fuckin' stubborn to deal with. But I'm not gonna let you just kill yourself over some training. You're so pathetic sometimes."
Kuroko didn't even say anything back to that, just stared at him with his unreadable eyes. "I'm sorry Kagami-kun, but I won't agree with you on that. I won't give up just because I'm pathetic and weak."
Well, now he certainly felt like the bad guy. Kagami brushed away and feelings of shame and poked the mage in the head. "Then don't die, idiot. Seriously, if you keep this up even I'm gonna get worried about you. What's even driving you so hard anyway?"
For some reason, the tank never removed his hand and it just sort of stayed there against Kuroko's soft hair. The mage however, didn't answer for a little while, and just breathed out, his breath tickling Kagami's exposed skin.
"I have some friends, Kagami-kun. I talked about them before, the Kiseki of the Teiko guild right?" He swallowed and continued. "They are my friends, and something bad happened to them. I…I watched it happen and I couldn't do anything about it, Kagami-kun. It was a terrible feeling. I watched them all fall into darkness and throw me away and there was nothing I could do about it. So I ran away because I was weak.
"So that's why I came here and I want to train. I am a white mage, and it is my duty to help my companions. And I will become stronger until I can bring them all back to the way they are. Do you understand, Kagami-kun?"
He did. Kagami gave a gentle pat to the boys head before removing it. "Get some sleep then. You can't save your friends if you're dead, and it would be troublesome for me to have a corpse as a partner."
He actually saw it this time. The tank saw the edges of the mages mouth curl up into a real, albeit small smile. "Of course, Kagami-kun. We wouldn't want that."
Nothing more was said, but the red-haired tank felt something strange burning in his chest. Kuroko really just had been a means to an end at first, a support to climb on and get stronger, but they seemed to be moving past that.
Or at least, he felt that way.
For the rest of that week, Kagami and Kuroko never spoke of that conversation again, and the tank wondered for a moment if it even happened sometimes, if it not for the way Kuroko's gaze slightly changed every time they made eye contact. It was….kind of cute, actually. Not that he, really, cared.
His maddening disappearance act still fucking worked, though, as he learned the hard way when he was cooking breakfast for the whole guild. Hyuga discovered that he was actually an amazing chef somehow and commanded him to do so until some guy named Mitobe to come back, so Riko wouldn't murder them all with her cooking. The rest of the guild was grateful.
Kagami was not when Kuroko's sudden appearance caused him to spill hot water all over his hand. Kuroko would've laughed at him if he had any emotions at all, told Kagami he was stupid (again) and promptly healed his hand.
Eight days from when the two joined the guild is when they got their first mission.
"Congratulations you two!" Riko said, patting the two rather exhausted guild members on the shoulders. "Guess what we got on the bill board?"
"A mission!" Kagami's eye lit up like a puppy and he was instantly revitalized.
"Yep. A hunt to be more specific, and one so simple even your pea brain can handle it," she said, causing Kagami to sputter in anger before Kuroko jabbed him in the side.
"Stop that. Now it's a hunt for a bunch of D-class monsters, but there's a whole ton of them. It's more crowd control than anything else, and that's what a tank is good for, right?" Riko said, showing them both a winning smile. "Now you have a chance to put all my lovely training to good use."
This left the two with a very large concern about their state of health, even if it was against D-class monsters.
Kagami wanted to ask Kuroko if he was up to this, but he knew he would just get a scathing, blank glare in return. Besides, the mage looked a little bit less like death today, and that was a good thing.
Of course, all of that was blown out of the water when Riko guided them out of the HQ, over to a side of the practice fields neither of them had been to before. Before them sat none other than the strangest mechanical contraption either of them have ever seen: a real life airship.
"Isn't she great? My father built this for the Seirin guild to go on missions, and she was just finished with repairs today!" Riko exclaimed throwing her arms out wide while Kagami tried to take in the sight.
It wasn't big, but it was shaped like a bird and seemed to be laced with panels that gleamed in the sun. Metal wound around a few joints that looked like wood, creating edges that looked sharp in the sunlight. Izuki waved at them from the pilot's seat. "Hey guys, I finally got my voice back!"
With a good luck from Riko and the rest of the guild, the duo nervously stepped onto the open platform that was the deck-thankfully walled in so they wouldn't fall off. It was only when Izuki kicked it into gear that Kagami discovered something very, very important: he was afraid of heights.
Therefore he spent the entirety of the trip clinging to Kuroko and not opening his eyes. His partner alternated between making fun of him and awkwardly patting him on the back, knowing there was nothing he could do to pry Kagami's arms off of him.
It lasted for hours, and both of them were extremely grateful when the airship finally touched down and Kagami got off on shaky legs.
"I'm sorry you had to wing it with me, but we got here in one piece, right?" Izuki said, apparently happy he could speak again. Kagami nearly ripped his tongue out permanently.
"D rank hunt, huh?" Izuki had left them off on a plain that was more sand than grass, which seemed to lead into a great rolling desert. Kagami really hoped that they wouldn't have to go too far into the desert, as he tended to sink in sand.
It was hot too, but thankfully, the real heat of the season had yet to kick in. They were trudging along the edge of the desert, keeping eyes peeled for the small sandworms that were their target for today.
"Kagami-kun can use his nose again, can't he? After all, we're not in the forest," Kuroko said, suddenly appearing beside him. The tank looked down at him, surprised, before nodding. How had the mage remembered it from that far back?
"There's none around here. I think they're a bit further in, and over that way," Kagami said, pointing to where several giant blocks of stone seemed to be rising from the sand. He sighed to himself a prepared to go in, Kuroko stepping lightly after him.
Thankfully after only a mile or so, the ground hardened and Kagami was able to walk easier. The pillars of stone were now in full view and there was an inkling in the back of his mind. He remembered his brother talking about this desert and its strange rock formations. The city of sand was further in, apparently surrounded by a waterfall made entire of sand itself, but all around it were the Stone Pillars and crystals, which rose up inexplicably from the ground.
"This place is powerful," Kuroko said, putting his hand on one of the crystals. They glowed softly in the sunlight, as if absorbing its energy. Further in, a few of the pillars had fused into a cliff-face that seemed to have abandoned structures all over it, and the expanse of ground had hardened shrubbery and a couple of scattered lizards.
Nothing that looked remotely like a sandworm.
Kagami's nose twitched. He could almost sense the presence of another person watching them, but more importantly, something had died close to here. Not saying anything, he just grabbed Kuroko's arm and dashed off into the direction of the smell. It wasn't far, and when he arrived, he almost had to cover his face, it was so fresh. A sandworm body was lying there in the open, bleeding from what looked like several gunshot wounds all over its body. And as if that were not enough, there was a strangely fletched arrow buried directly in its ugly face.
"Apparently someone's here to steal our kills, the bastard. We need to get a move on, Kuroko. Kuroko?" Kagami had turned to where his white mage partner usually was, but instead, he was inspecting the arrow lodged in the monster's skull.
Kuroko actually looked shocked for once. Like, legitimate facial expression, and it was enough to give the tank pause. "This arrow…" the mage muttered, fingering the green feathers.
"What is it? Do you know something about that?"
"…." Kuroko didn't say anything, merely yanking it out of the body and sticking it in his belt. "Kagami-kun, we need to find the rest of the sandworms before he can kill them all."
"Wait. 'He?' You know who shot that arrow? What's going on?" Kagami protested, but Kuroko ignored him completely.
"The person is obviously a good marksman. We need to be on the top of our game," the mage said, an uncharacteristic note of panic in his voice.
"Okay fine, calm down, but after the job is done you're sitting down and telling me every-found one!" Kagami didn't finished, but merely ran in the direction his nose told him too. Just a few seconds later, his ears confirmed the fact that there really was a living sandworm, and it was angry.
The two arrived at the scene of a rearing monster, only to hear a gunshot ring out and the creature fall dead before their eyes. "Fuck these bastards!"
"There's two of them, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said before concentrating on breathing. Kagami heard another one and they ran off to the sound, only this time to have a rain of green-fletched arrows kill the creature.
The tank looked up, but all he saw from the trajectory was the shadow of a figure before it disappeared again. Asshole is using the stone pillars as a goddamn vantage point! Kagami let out a snarl and increased his pace as the maddening game of catch continued.
It was no luck. The pair were only able to kill one of the sandworms, and that was because it nearly fell on top of them, running from the mysterious gunner. Kagami swore at the corpse that was slowly dissolving to ashes in front of him, paying no mind to his companion behind him. That, he figured, was probably a mistake.
There was a click. Kagami turned around, only to see a black haired human with a few strands in his place pressing a gun to Kuroko's head.
"I thought I heard a few rats running around," the man said in a smooth voice, like he wasn't holding Kagami's partner at gunpoint.
"You-" Kagami started forward, but the human just grabbed Kuroko's arm in retaliation, pressing the gun into his skull harder.
"Sshhhh, I swear all tanks have meat for brains. Am I right, pretty boy?" He said, but Kuroko's facial expression showed not one ounce of distress or anything.
"Who the hell are you?!" Kagami shouted, actually shaking in his immobile rage.
"Names Takao Kuzanari. And I believe this is checkmate."