Kagerou Days/カゲロウデイズ The Assassin's Prize

Shintaro stares up at the wooden ceiling, trying to focus on a specific point in the grain lines to keep himself from throwing up from the rickety movements of the cart. Every few moments, the constantly jiggling cart would hit a pothole in the road, causing Shintaro's head to rock forward from the floor, landing hard on it again. Of course, if he wanted to, he could sit up and spare himself the pain, but frankly, Shintaro is too lazy to exert the effort, and possessed little motivation at the moment.

Because Shintaro had fucked up. Shintaro had fucked up real bad.

Of all the things that could happen, this might have been the absolute worst. Right at the most pivotal moment of the war, right when it was starting to look like they might start to win, right when all of Shintaro's past plans and strategies building towards this one moment looked like they might finally pay off, they got crushed. Shintaro gives a low groan through the fabric his captors had tied around his mouth because his strategy was _so elaborate, _it had been _so meticulously planned out, _hours after _hours _staring at a completely scribbled-over map, trying to find the enemy's weak points, to think of some brilliant plan exploiting them, working to his advantage. _And it would have worked! _It would have worked if it wasn't for that _tiny_ little error, that _small_ piece of misinformation regarding the quality of the weaponry the approaching enemy unit really possessed. The informant had been fed a lie, or else maybe he himself had lied. Shintaro was never really sure with that unsettling, cat-eyed man who always wore a cheerful grin and spoke in a sing-song voice, as if there wasn't a brutal war raging on that claimed hundreds of innocent lives every day.

Nevertheless, it was Shintaro's fault for trusting the spy's word, because, regardless of Kano's intent, the information was false. The enemy's weaponry was more than capable of taking down the fort his unit was staying at to recover, contrary to what he'd been told. Shintaro thought they could easily defeat the enemy unit that was closing in based on the information. And that assumption cost him that fort that they had worked so hard to take over, the one that would have worked as a major strategic turning point in Shintaro's beautiful plan.

He closes his eyes, both trying to get away from his thoughts and from the nauseous feeling in his stomach, and decides to distract himself by attempting again to struggle against the ropes binding him. After a moment of giving himself even more rope burns, he stops. Nope. Couldn't move.

He groans again as the cart hits another particularly rocky spot. This was the absolute worst. He couldn't help himself from lamenting his failed plan again, from wallowing in self-pity. Not only did he cost his country the strategic location, but he had gotten himself, their best strategist and most of his unit, one of the most capable and highly trained in the army, captured as a result of his slip-up. To add to his misery, Shintaro had only a faint idea of where he was being transported, and his options didn't seem too pleasing. Either they were sending him to a dungeon or a labor camp. And either way, he'll most likely be tortured for information(yippee) and also won't be able to help in the war effort any more as a result of being detained. And if the Queen decided to send soldiers to rescue him, then it'd only be severely draining their resources from other important parts of the war front. He really was such a burden. Such a useless, piece of-

Suddenly, Shintaro's thought is interrupted by the cart suddenly halting, the abrupt stop throwing Shintaro's head up and down again like he was a rag doll. God, he hated carts.

He only just begins to wonder why they stopped so suddenly when a loud grunt pierces the air, followed by another and then, the thudding sound of bodies hitting the ground. _What on earth is going on?_ _Did…did the cart just get hijacked?! _Shintaro begins to consider if he should hide behind the boxes of goods when the sound of footsteps make their way towards the door to the interior of the cart. He has no time to hide, so he prays instead. _Please be an ally, please be an ally, please be an ally!_

A lock breaks, the door opens, and the dark outline of a tall, slender figure greets Shintaro against the bright outside light that now streamed into the dark interior of the cart. Shintaro's eyes aren't adjusted enough to the light to make out many distinctive features, but he can tell, squinting his eyes, that the figure has raven-black hair and pale, pale skin. And…? He couldn't figure out if his disoriented eyes were playing tricks on him or not, because the person's eyes appeared to be a definitely not natural shade of bright, honey-yellow.

The figure seems to stare at Shintaro, and Shintaro just squints back, unable to say anything through his gag. This goes on for several long moments before the figure _sighs_.

"What's this? I expected the boxes of goods, but not a tied-up…what are you, a boy?"

It's a man's voice and immediately Shintaro hates it. So full of narcissism and self-righteous snobbery. Gross. Not to mention the insult to his masculinity. He glares as the man comes closer to Shintaro, able to catch more of the man's appearance now that his squinted eyes are adjusting to the outside light. The stranger is dressed rather weirdly, a collar way too high up his neck covered by a long scarf, torn and dirtied from wear. His clothes are constricting and loose at the same time, long sleeves and poofy pants, but a tight shirt and boots. A belt wraps around his hip, hanging from it are many small knives of different sizes, a sheath holding a dagger fastened to the side of the belt. Judging from his appearance, he'd say the man was a thief, probably raiding the cart for goods to steal.

"Hmph. Looks like it's your lucky day, little boy."

The man pulls him to his knees by the collar of his ragged shirt, pulling his gag off of his mouth so Shintaro can speak.

"Tch…I'm not a 'little boy'….but thanks for saving me." Shintaro almost chokes on his fake gratitude, but it'd be in his best interest to be grateful to the thief. "I really appreciate it." Ew, that sounded awful. In response, the man arches his eyebrows, his yellow, yup, definitely _yellow, _eyes piercing into Shintaro's.

"Well, how do you expect to repay me?" He stares expectantly at Shintaro, who widens his eyes stupidly at the man's unexpected response.

"Wha-what do you mean? You can keep the cart's goods, I don't care." He narrows his eyes at the thief. He's tied up and in prisoner's rags, for Pete's sake, how is he supposed to have money to pay him with?!

"They weren't yours to begin with, dearie," the man tells him wearily, blinking in irritation. "I'm asking what _you _can give me to repay me for saving you." He crosses his arms, looking down at the tied-up boy.

"Tch! I-I don't have any money, ok? Sorry. You have my thanks for the rescue, but that's all I can give you." He adds a harsh tone to his voice, more than a little irritated with the stranger. _Just let me go, already, I don't have anything for you! _The man just sighs at Shintaro's acidic response.

"See, but that's not good enough," he explains, bending down to Shintaro's level, looking him dead in the eyes. "I expect debts to be paid to their fullest."

Suddenly, the man reaches his hand out to grab Shintaro's chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting his head upward so Kuroha can get a better look at his face.

"E-Eh?!" Shintaro can only stare up at the man in surprise, unable to push him away through his restraints.

"Hmm. Yes, you do have good looks on your side." An unsettling grin stretches across the man's face. "Perhaps I can make a pretty penny or two by selling you."

"Huh?! _Selling _me, what the _hell_ are you talking about?!" He tries to turn his head, attempting to pull his chin out of the man's grasp, but the man's hand doesn't budge, keeping Shintaro's chin right where it was.

"Yes, yes, I believe there is a high demand for pretty, young boys right now," the man informs him agreeably, nodding his head. "Of course, I'd have to gag you before trading you off. That loud mouth of yours could cause a deal to fall through. Most buyers don't like their toys rowdy like you are." He says all this casually, as if he's thoughtfully discussing the weather.

"-! Bastard! You don't own me!" Shintaro spits angrily, clenching his teeth and glaring daggers at the man looking down at him.

The man just smirks in response, unfazed by Shintaro's heated stare. "You're indebted to me, sweet," he informs him lightly, finally releasing his chin and patting his cheek. "I can do whatever I need to in order to get my money's worth out of you."

Shintaro scowls defiantly, turning his freed head away from the man's touch.

"And well, isn't this better than whatever those people were going to do to you?" he asks, smiling at Shintaro's attempt to distance himself. "Judging by your rags, you're a prisoner of war, right? You must have been on your way to the work camp that's up this road."

Shintaro freezes._ Uh-oh. _The man knows he is a prisoner of war._ What if he decides to sell him to the enemy forces instead?! _A bead of sweat rolls down his forehead, and the thief notices, letting out a laugh.

"Don't worry, sweet! I won't hand you over to them, I promise." He reaches out to cup Shintaro's cheek with his hand gently, his eyes glimmering with greed. "You're worth much more in the sex industry."

Shintaro flinches, disgusted by the man's suggestion. "You're sick," he tells the man defiantly, glaring at him, eyes burning with anger. "You're petty and lowly and sick."

At that, the smile vanishes from the man's face, and he narrows his eyes at the boy, releasing Shintaro's cheek to bring his hand back, preparing to strike his face. Shintaro sees what's coming and closes his eyes, flinching at the moment when he expected impact. However, nothing happens. Opening his eyes, he finds that the stranger had halted his hand right before it was about to hit him and potentially leave a nasty bruise on his cheek. Blinking in surprise, Shintaro's eyes wander to the man's face, finding a dead serious expression, no kindness, not even fake kindness, being found in his features.

"Take that as a warning, dearie," the stranger suggests in a low voice, one that screamed _danger, danger, get away now! _to Shintaro. "Usually, I'd strike a person for an insult like that, but I can't risk damaging that pretty face of yours, now can I? Don't try me again."

Shintaro gulps and nods slightly, he was never one for taking physical pain very well, and he knew from the thief's tone that he'd keep true to his word. At that, the man smiles cheerily again like nothing had happened. _What's with this guy? One second angry, the next grinning like a stupid idiot!_

"Well, the next town is quite a bit a ways, so looks like we'll be getting to know each other until then!" He announces enthusiastically, grinning all the while. "Ah, how rude of me! I didn't introduce myself!" The man suddenly steps back and takes a dramatic bow, one hand to his chest, the other held behind his back, bending forward deeply as if he was a noble. "I'm who most people know as 'The Scarred Assassin', but you, my sweet, may call me 'Kuroha.'"

At that, Shintaro feels his heart skip a beat. He knows who this guy is. And it isn't good. Suddenly, he finds his situation becoming ten times worse now that he knows that the man isn't just a lowly thief, after all. He's an _assassin,_ and a pretty notorious one at that. Not good. Really not good.

Kuroha straightens his back again after his introduction, addressing Shintaro in his same whimsical, over-the-top friendly tone. "Let's get along, _~?" he pauses, looking expectantly at Shintaro.

Shintaro stares back at him dumbly. _Shit_. He had to give a reply or risk angering the man again, but he couldn't give his real name, in the case that Kuroha has heard of him. What if the assassin decides he can make more money by selling the strategist to the enemy than in human trafficking? That'd be the last thing Shintaro wants, at least if Kuroha has to travel a ways with him to the next town to sell him, he'll have plenty of chances to attempt an escape. But once Shintaro's sold to the enemy, it's game over for him, no questions asked. He pauses, frantically searching his head before sputtering out the first name that comes to mind.

"A-Aya-!" _Fuck._

"_Aya?_" Kuroha snickers a bit. "Well, I suppose such a feminine name makes sense for a pretty boy like you."

Shintaro feels his face heat up; he's self-conscious enough about his looks without Kuroha demeaning him like this.

"Shut up!" He snaps in his frustration, losing his self-control. He suddenly freezes, realizing what he's done. _Uh-oh._ Turning his head, he gazes, frightened, at the assassin, expecting for him to get angry again, but the bastard just snickers once more.

"My, you're so breathtaking when you're mad, Aya!" Another one of his stupid grins stretches across his face. "I have a feeling the next few days together are going to be quite fun, hm?"

Shintaro frowns frustratingly at the man; he didn't get him at all. One unfriendly remark makes him angry, another makes him smile. What a weirdo.

He sighs an exasperated sigh because, while this situation is still better than the one he found himself in earlier today, this was most definitely _not _going to be a fun next few days.

Note:

It's been so long! Sorry! I wrote this awhile ago but then just kept on putting off publishing it, eheh.

sidenote: cart looks something like this . .

All except, it doesn't have benches, just a floor. I know it's more of a carriage than a cart, but meh.

Also, if you didn't understand why Shintaro named himself "Aya" it was because he was thinking about Ayano. She's dead in this Au(oh noesssss)

Welp. Anyway, I'm gonna try to juggle this Au with my other Kuroshin fic, writing simultaneously. I'm not giving up on the other one, I promise! Just taking a break….Probably going to be a while until I write again, even though I have a lot of things planned for this story...(sorry in advance!)


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Kagerou Days/カゲロウデイズ, Angst, Fantasy