#KKATARK

[haiky-u-lously]

King Kuroo and the Red Knights (6)

Summary:

A Camelot AU where King Arthur is Kuroo Tetsuro, and the Knights of the Roundtable of characters from seasons 1-4 of the HQ anime. Eventual Kuroo X Reader.

Themes:

Action/fighting, Fluff, Angst, Humor, Eventual Romance

Warnings:

Mentions of stalking and abuse of power, Language, Angst in feelings, Gore and fighting, mention of explosion

Word Count:

For Chapter: ~3100words               

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Ideas welcome as always.

Enjoy!

–Admin Red

Chapter 6: Attack

Hearing something like an explosion off in the distance, both Suga and you jumped from your sitting positions.

“I’ll check it out first,” Suga stated, headed for the doors.

You quickly grabbed his wrist, “No, we should go together. If this is another attack it’s the second since our arrival. And, should it be connected to us, when Camelot’s royals hadn’t expected us to arrive until tomorrow, that could be a real cause for worry.”

In an instant, fear, confusion, worry, and defiance seemed to flash across his face. Ultimately he sighed and bobbed his head in acceptance.

Putting your helmet back on, you followed your friend’s lead down the hall and through the castle.

Your pair stumbled upon some of the knights from the disastrous dinner and followed them to where the explosion should have came from. Reaching the point, you saw a giant hole in the end of the hall. Looking outside, you could see smoke floating up into the night sky.

“Damn.” You heard Suga curse as he had the same thought as you.

You drew your sword as you quickly walked up to the hole in the wall, thinking, ‘how is this kingdom safe? This is the second attack we’ve faced since arriving!’ It vaguely sounded as though Suga was screaming at you, but you ignored the feeling and jumped through the hole in the wall.

Falling through the sky you looked upon the fights happening below you. Counting the individual battles would have been more challenging than it was worth, but you quickly noted a handful of knights from dinner were fighting in simple chainmail against multiple enemies. You adjusted your form and mumbled a transfer spell, eyes beginning to glow in green as the strength from the attackers flowed into the knights.

‘Sure,’ you thought, adjusting your falling form once more to land properly, ‘they may have seemed like a group of assholes, if you only look at the dinner. But here they are fighting for their lives. And, being equally at fault, I should make it up to them somehow.’

You landed a bit more rough then you had anticipated. Legs shaking with the force of catching your armor’s weight despite only using the balls of your feet to stop your momentum. Within seconds however the attacking forces had noticed you and were looking to make you their target. Quickly, you lifted your sword and sliced down two of the rushing men.

More were coming to face you, noticing that their numbers were diminishing. You felt a sense of joy flush over you as you were finally able to fight as a true Red Knight. And, you felt pride looking around at the knights of Camelot who no longer struggled against their own multitude of attackers. 

Checking around your form, you’d seen the attacking forces circled you. You held your sword out, ready to fight. The men to your left lifted their own blades just a bit higher giving you the indication they’d try first. You quickly turned and swung your blade at their unprotected heads, forcing them to take the force as they used their swords as shields. They stepped back as to not fall from the intensity of the blocked swing, and you did a one-eighty to face the lone attacker who decided to leave their formation. Feinting first with a weak swipe across their side, forcing them to either try to parry or revert to defending tactics. Seeing the opponent choose to parry, you smiled behind your helmet and decided to pull a disengage. Feinting again for his left side, you quickly spun your blade around your opponent’s to his now open right side. You’d caught his shoulder and thrusted your blade through, causing the fighter to fall to his knees in pain as you pulled your sword out in an upward arc, ripping through skin and fabric alike.

As he fell, four of the man’s comrades rushed you. Spinning on the balls of your feet your blade flew at neck level of the current enemy. Catching the first two with ease, immediately killing them and forcing the others to back up enough to only get a scratch rather than meeting their end.

The opponents became disorganized as some went to their comrades, others rushed you and others still tried to keep you circled in. Swords clashing with someone who’d tried sneaking up on your back, you turned to grab their blade from them, kicking their guts as you thrusted either wielding arm into two men approaching from the sides. All three doubled over at the pain, pulling the swords back to a protective stance you killed the two the blades had half split. You stepped over one of the bodies and slashed across the chest of an opponent who’d mistakenly left it open for an attack, he screamed out in pain and you bent backwards as you swung the blades in a circular motion, cutting down the three that had been rushing you from behind.

“DAMMIT!” You heard the scream and knew Suga was pissed at you for jumping into the fighting fray without much concern for the title you were born to. Glancing to him you saw he sported the same breastplate and plackarts as the castle guards. “You just had to jump from the third floor to get into the fight!” He screamed at you chidingly as he cut down two enemies who tried to stop him from reaching your side.

Your moment of distraction gave way to an opponent thinking they had an opening. They swung their blade to hit the weakest point of your armour, but their attack went too low and hit on your greaves. You turned to kick the attacker, and saw another approaching. Dropping the blade you’d stolen from the enemy, you grabbed your own with both hands and swung down from above your head. The enemy let their weapon catch your attack as they held either end. You realized it wasn’t a sword as they smiled at you and twisted the pieces, just to pull it apart and reveal twin blades. The onslaught of attacks caused you to switch to the defensive.

Briefly, you considered breaking your magic hold on Camelot’s knights so you could finish your own battle quicker, but a chance glance to the right told you that with this many enemies, the knights and guards needed as much help as they could get.

It wasn’t your best decision, to check on others while barely properly defending yourself, and this was proven when your attackers blades cut through the weak points inside your counters. Immediately you felt the sting from the cuts inside your elbows, and your arms shook to adjust to the diminished strength output.

Backing up further, you tripped over one of the fallen, too busy defending against more blades to recognize if the body was friend or foe. Besides you an enemy body fell and you turned over and stabbed the man in the chest, using the momentum to follow through with a push to get you standing once more. 

Seeing Suga’s fighting form, you smiled behind your helmet, glad he’d given you the chance to pick yourself up rather than come to your rescue.

Swinging your sword around with just your wrist to loosen it back up, you were prepared to fight once more. Before getting to the enemies though, you felt a rushing presence that caused you to look up. The whining was almost silent to the others but you’d picked up on the arrow flying towards you. Timing it just so, you jumped and grabbed the piece out of the sky, spinning mid air to enhance the force as you plunged it into the eye of one of the men who’d been about to fight you.  

Back in the heart of the action, swords flying, *clinks* resounding across the square as metal met with metal, the distant sounds of faint explosions, the fighting went on. At one point Suga and you had been fighting back to back and he asked about your eyes. As soon as you both had defeated the immediately surrounding enemies, you indicated the knights of Camelot who also finished besting their opponents before more went after them.

You’d been separated a bit after that. Your erratic fighting style pulled more enemies to you than any other soldier in the square.

Before you could tell, you only faced two more live opponents, and you decided it was best to keep them for questioning. Checking that the others would be fine you released your enhancing power, eyes losing their green glow, and replaced it with a defensive power that would let you knock out your opponents as soon as you touched them, and your eyes took on an ember glow. As expected, knocking them out did not take long.

You sheathed your sword after cleaning the blade on the clothes of a fallen enemy and reached down to grab the back of the shirts of the two you’d captured. Finally looking up, you noticed there were hundreds of bodies surrounding Suga and you. Tilting your head at your friend since he couldn’t see your smile, you congratulated him on a fight well fought. He just threw his hand out and shook his head before walking around his own maze of death to get to a more open spot for you two to meet up.

By the time you’d reached Suga, totting the two knocked out opponents behind you, Camelot’s knights and guards had also finished their battles. And a few were even approaching your pair.

“I cannot tell you how grateful we are that you helped us in this fight.” The dark haired knight said as he reached your pair. You recognized him as the man that had been sat next to Suga at the dinner. Looking at the faces of the other three knights, you realized they all had been sitting on Suga’s side of the dining table.

Instead of either of you commenting, you flung the captured attackers at the knights feet and started walking off.

“Please excuse Yomimasu. Once the fighting begins, we must confirm everything is in fact finished before relaxing.” Suga explained on your behalf. 

You looked around the square, only seeing the royal guards maneuvering about and returned to Suga’s side.

“--ver expected you two to be so strong.” A silver haired knight was talking to Suga, but you’d only heard the tail end of the statement.

Your friend must have sensed something wrong with your form because he quickly explained, “The knights were explaining to me why they said they couldn’t say how grateful they were. Apparently despite knowing of the Red Knight Order, nothing was really written or told about what we did. They never expected us to be as strong as,” He glanced around at all the fallen bodies behind you, “that.” When your hand just clenched in response, he nodded. Both of you knew this was hand to hand combat only. Had either of you used your powers to fight, things would have ended a lot quicker.

Nodding to him, Suga faced the knights once more, easily getting back into conversation with them.

You only half listened as you thought about how it was a good thing you’d done this little switch. Looking at all of Camelot’s knights and guards, you though, ‘It’s obvious they only let men join the fights. And what would have occurred had you not been there? Not only as a fighter but to use your magic in supporting the knights in their fights. Suga could have, but he’d needed time to get protective gear. And, sure, you’d been a little reckles---’ Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard the knights mention the thing you were just recalling.

“Honestly, watching the Red Knight jump out the hole created by that explosion was something else altogether. I think when that happened we all started to feel a surge of power as we knew our new acquaintance had our backs.” A black haired knight resounded happily, holding his fist in front of him with a wide grin.

“Daichi, I think I’d have to agree with you. I mean, I didn’t see the Knight jump, but I caught a glimpse of a red figure falling through the air and when I took a moment to look and saw it was you, Red Knight, I felt like we locked eyes and you were encouraging us to use all our strength.” Another black haired knight commented, only you seemed to recognize this one a little bit. You weren’t entirely sure but he looked like one of the boys your ex-friend Oikawa used to run around with before the boy moved. 

You shook your head to get rid of the memory. To get the traitor out of your memory.

Suga just smiled at the pair, “That is great that Yomimasu’s actions seemed to help you, but it’s not really an excuse for the reckless behavior.” When he turned his grin on you with the follow up question hissed through his teeth you knew you were in for it later, “Wouldn’t you agree, Dear Red Knight?”

You shuddered at the thought of what he would do to you in retaliation, holding your hands out in front of you you began to back up slowly. He kept the smile on his face and took a single step towards your retreating form, you quickly spun and ran off to reenter the castle and escape your clearly upset friend.

__________________________________________________

“Um, was it really that bad that he jumped like that?”

“Right? His landing was practically perfect!”

Suga shook his head and let his face settle into a basic expression. “It’s more that it was a reckless move. We had no information on the people attacking, nor any idea of their goals. Sure there were enemies down here but your King hadn’t even given his knights in the corridor instructions. (Y/)--Yomimasu just acted on their own thoughts. It could have ended a lot differently than this. We got lucky, and luck is not something to be praised.”

“Not sure I agree with that, Sugawara.” The dark haired knight, presumably Daichi commented before explaining, “I mean we came here to fight before meeting up with the King and getting directions for his battle plan. We figured if they were storming the castle they’d have to come in from here. And, we hadn’t expected so many adversaries. Had it not been for the strength we felt from the support of the Red Knight, perhaps the battles would have ended with our death and not theirs.” He concluded, indicating the bodies around them.

“We will have to agree to disagree then.” Suga concluded, before changing topics. “Yomimasu knocked these two out rather than killing them. Your guards should take them into custody for questioning.”

The silver haired male looked at the passed out men questionably before speaking, “They seem more like lower totem pole fighters, not anyone who’d have real knowledge about what happened.”

Suga sighed and explained your reasoning, having understood it as soon as he saw your eyes’ glow change color. “You can easily see how many men the Red Knight and I killed fighting to defend your castle with you. What is more surprising, if you weren’t watching is two-thirds of these were their kills. And the only hits my knight took were when they’d been distracted by looking after me or you all to confirm we were alright. Whoever was in charge and sending men out must have seen the Red Knight as the biggest threat and personally kept sending men to attack. Otherwise, why would they keep walking to certain death when they could have tried their luck with someone else or just tried to continue to breach the castle’s front doors?”

“So you think they could at least tell us who was running the ground attack?” The light-brown-haired knight inquired.

Nodding, Suga glanced down at the men, “That’s our thoughts. Anyway, should we regroup with your King?”

The knights looked to each other, both black-haired knights grabbed one of the foes and dragged them over to the royal guards, the other two began leading their visitor back inside the castle.

___________________________________________________

‘Now, where would another strong attack take place? The King would go to either protect or fight depending on his personality, but I think he’d go to fight first…’ You thought to yourself, following the random string of fallen guards and attackers alike scattered down different halls leading from the entrance. You heard the distinct rings of metal against metal and knew the fight continued within the castle walls. Rushing to where the sounds came from, you saw a clean dressed, thin faced male with dark hair facing off against a lone individual. His clothes were too well kept to be one of the enemy, and you made the rash judgment that the other must have been the adversary.

About to make a move to enter the hall and distract the foe, you stopped moving forward and grabbed the edge of the wall as quickly as you could. The surge of power that began to emit from the supposed ally blew away the enemy and the air surrounding them. The force reaching you at the end of the corridor.

Seeing the enemy on his back, you watched as the dark haired male moved to stand over his foe’s figure.

“You thought you could defeat me? Please,” The male scoffed before spitting on the man at his feet. “At least this little tussle will act as proof to the king that I was attacked along with the rest of them. You’ve done your job well.” He smirked and knelt down closer to the man, whose eyes now stood blown back in fear and utter surprise. “Now, be a good soldier and die.” He held his hand over the fallen’s throat and cursed a spell, his eyes glowing orange like a dancing fire as he snuffed out the life of his enemy.

Quickly retreating before the magician could catch sight of you, you returned to your goal of searching for the king. Thinking about how the energy from that person was the same you’d felt from the dark presence watching you from the tower when you’d first met the King’s men.

_________________________________

Table of contents:

Chapter 5                                                         Chapter 7

[haiky-u-lously]

King Kuroo and the Red Knights (5)

Summary:

A Camelot AU where King Arthur is Kuroo Tetsuro, and the Knights of the Roundtable of characters from seasons 1-4 of the HQ anime. Eventual Kuroo X Reader.

Themes:

Action, Fluff, Angst, Humor, Eventual Romance

Warnings:

Mentions of stalking and abuse of power, Language, Angst in feelings, Gore and fighting, mention of explosion

Word Count:

For Chapter: ~3500words              

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Ideas welcome as always.

Enjoy!

–Admin Red

Chapter 5: Planning a Festival

“Well, that was an absolute trash can of a first impression.” Yamagata said a few moments after the guests had left the dining hall.

Kuroo sat in his seat and leaned his head back as he contemplated the new information he’d been given. ‘An offspring of the King of the Red Knight Order. I’d gone against the offspring of their King. Gods help me from here on out.’ His thoughts just kept circling back to the fact that he’d not only insulted them but that he’d insulted another royal. ‘But which one is the royal? The squire? That’d make sense because of how he spoke. But the squire hadn’t given any information until the Knight made a move. Maybe it’s the Knight, but then why did he listen to the orders of the squire? And going as far as to carry all the bags and his food. But then the squire carried the Knight’s plate.’ His thoughts confused him the harder he tried to come to a conclusion.

“What, in your ever stupid mind, were you thinking Atsumu?” Satori challenged the blonde twin.

Rolling his eyes before answering, Atsumu reached for an extra helping of food, showing his disinterest in being scolded or questioned. “Obviously, I was thinking I’d pull that Knight’s helmet off so we could see the face of the person that’s made such a fuss around Camelot.”

“If Futa hadn’t stopped you, things would have ended so much worse!” Daichi screamed at him, pushing up from his seat as he did so. “If you had really pulled off the Red Knight’s helmet, they would have left without a second thought. Didn’t you listen outside? Are you really that impatient about your own wants?”

“My own wants?” He restated. Sending a glare to Daichi, Atsumu answered his own question, “Like all of you weren’t wanting the same thing. Kuroo had already pushed them apart by changing our seating arrangement when we’d all returned.”

Osamu nodded in agreement with his brother, and added, “It is odd that they wouldn’t even let us see his face. Add that he refused to speak, it was an odd order that squire demanded of us. And, we’d had no idea where their confidence came from. Can’t really blame him, Daichi.”

“Actually, I agree with Daichi,” Iwaizumi noted. “Atsumu, you and Bokuto seemed to be trying to make headway with the Knight and we were all for it. Letting you do your own thing in hopes it would work was the general agreement between all of us.” Seeing that the twins were looking at him expectantly, Iwaizumi continued to explain his thoughts, “I don’t fully agree with Futakuchi revealing his powers so early, but the squire had just told us that they’d only reveal the Knight’s identity when, or rather if, they approved Kuroo’s rule. His actions were solid in upholding that part of the agreement. Sure, he’d also said not to try talking to the Knight without him but technically he was still in the room.” Iwaizumi sighed in defeat as he rubbed the spot between his eyes. Clearly annoyed about the entire situation. “Now, to find out that one of them is a royal of the Red Knight Order? It should make us even more grateful that Futa covered your lapse in judgment.”

Futakuchi coughed to draw their attention to himself, “Well, to be fair. They already knew about my powers.”

The shock carried across the room at the magician’s revelation. 

“What?!” Kuroo, Bokuto, Daichi, and Yamagata all screamed as they springed up from their seats.

Just nodding as a response, Futakuchi contemplated as to whether he should explain further or not.

“Well, isn’t that something?” Terushima called with a laugh, interrupting Futakuchi’s thoughts. “Presume that means one of them also holds some magic. That’s awesome! Now I really want to challenge them to a duel!”

Satori also joined in laughter, “True, maybe we could make it up to them.” Tapping his chin in thought, the red-haired knight beamed with excitement, “We should hold a tournament!!”

His overly-excited announcement pulled the tension from some of the knights in the room.

Terushima clapped in approval, “Yes! A tournament! We could use it as, what? Call it a proper welcome to our guests. And then, we’ll have a real chance to challenge them!”

“That could be exciting, I’ll admit.” Yamagata stated, scratching at the back of his neck, still a bit embarrassed at his outburst of surprise.

Aone, who’d been silent for the majority of the time since the Red Knights had entered the hall, nodded. “Could be used to make up for tonight’s mistakes.”

The twins looked to each other, silently discussing their ideas towards the idea of a tournament. They nodded to one another once, and Osamu smiled at the other knights. “Atsumu will be on his best behavior here on out. We’re in for a tournament against those guys.”

Kuroo glanced around, meeting eyes with each of the men around him. Realizing that every single one of them were dreaming up scenarios of a good and fun fighting game between each other and their guests, he just smiled to himself and released a breath of relief. He trusted these men with his life, always would, and if they felt the best course of action was a sort of festival, then what type of King would he be to refuse them.

“Very well! We’ll plan a tournament. Futa,” Kuroo called for his friend. “Which one noticed your powers? We’ll have to keep that in mind when setting the rules for this tournament should they not face you first.”

Futakuchi shook his head, “I know for a fact that the squire knew, But my assumption is that the Knight did as well.”

“It’s probably rude of us to keep referring to them as their positions and not their names, isn’t it?” Yamagata questioned, hearing Futakuchi’s answer to the King.

A few of the knights looked at each other in question.

“Maybe?” Atsumu half-answered, half-asked in response.

Bokuto, who had kept uncharacteristically quiet for most of the exchange, chose to speak out at this. “I think calling the squire has earned us calling him by his name, but I didn’t hear it from atop the stairs when we were outside. But that other guy, if he doesn’t want to reveal his identity then why should we call him by anything but the Red Knight? No. If he wants to stay in his role until they decide we are worthy enough, then that’s exactly how we should treat him.”

Kuroo really looked at his friend, and recognized that there was a real struggle going on in his mind. “Sure, Bokuto. That is a great assessment of the situation. So we should call Sugawara by his name and the other will be referred to in some way of relation to his job as a knight.”

The others nodded to indicate they’d follow the King’s words.

“So then,” Daichi commented, confirming his own thoughts, “We are going to hold a tournament?”

The more excitable knights shouted in positive affirmation. The quieter ones just nodded. Kuroo looked to Futakuchi, and they shared a smile.

“Looks to be,” Futakuchi answered.

‘It’s a blessing of the Gods that I have these men by my side.’ Kuroo thought to himself, looking over his friends as they held side conversations about the new decision. ‘Bokuto has something going on with him, maybe he should face Satori first. His teases could prove to pull that idiot out his own head before he hits one of his depressive states I guess. Futa could be paired against the squire, that’d be interesting to watch. Two magic wielders. That’s assuming Sugawara would not only agree to participate but would be willing to showcase his powers.’ Kuroo sighed at his thoughts but let them continue to work through a plan. ‘Teru is keyed up for a good fight, pinning him against Iwa would just make him more energetic. But I’d rather have the twins fight, that’s always a good show no matter who wins. But if Teru gets paired against Aone he’ll just complain about how there’s no chance for him to win. Iwa would probably want to face Daichi again, maybe he’s picked up a few new tricks since the last time they faced off. If Daichou decides to participate, then Daichi or Aone would be good choices to fight him. But who would I go against first?’ He kept thinking about all the individuals and how a good line-up would work.

“Kuroo?” Daichi repeated when the King had yet to answer his question.

“Earth to Kuroo!” Terushima yelled from across the table.

Still no answer.

Atsumu laughed to himself before calling after the king himself, “Your royal ass-ness! Hello!”

Bokuto rolled his eyes at the nickname but chuckled at how not even that caused the King to withdrawal from his thoughts. “Oi! Idiot King! Your knights are trying to talk to you!”

Futakuchi was surprised that not even Bokuto’s voice could break the King’s concentration.

“Hey, Kuroo?” Iwaizumi made an attempt while waving his hand in front of the King’s face.

Still no change in expression came, and the knights looked to Aone. Hoping his tone could pull the King from his trance.

“King Kuroo.” The bear of a knight spoke aloud, voice carrying the same seriousness it generally did.

But, the King still made no indication of hearing the knights.

“What could he possibly be thinking about so hard that none of us can break his train of thought?” Yamagata questioned, looking upon the King with a look of utter disbelief.

“Right? Since when does Kuroo actually think so hard that he becomes deaf to the space around him?” Osamu added.

Satori just rolled his eyes each knight to another, grin widening as the seconds ticked by, before he abruptly jumped from his seat and screamed at the top of his lungs in the King’s direction.

After calming themselves from the shock, the other knights looked to Kuroo to see if the sudden explosion of sound would hold any effect. To their continued disbelief, the King sat undisturbed.

“Well that was pointless then, Satori.” Semi chided his friend, before approaching the King. He placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to meet Kuroo’s eyes. “Kuroo. It’s time for you to play King again.”

When even touch didn’t pull the King from his state, the knights began to feel nervous.

“Could a spell have been cast upon him?”

“What if the guests cursed him as retaliation?”

“But, he was normal just before.”

“Right, he was talking normally before we started talking about who would face who.”

As the knights openly discussed the situation around the man himself, the King freely pulled himself from his thoughts. He’d caught Atsumu’s comment that maybe Satori was right in assuming the magic wielder cursed him in retaliation. And, despite not knowing where the statement stemmed from, he found himself laughing out at the idea. Around his laughs, and missing the fact that everyone went silent as they stared him down, Kuroo asked after the blonde twin, “Do you really think the Order would curse me as a form of retaliation from tonight?” His laughter continued, and he had to take a few deep breaths to calm down before he finally realized the expressions on his friends’ faces. “What?” He asked incredulously, “Do I have something stuck to my face?”

“We’d been calling for you!” Iwaizumi informed Kuroo in exasperation.

Yamagata nodded and added, “You were so out of it not even Satori straight shouting pulled your attention.”

Kuroo’s eyes went wide as he looked to Saotri, “You screamed?”

Futakuchi laughed, “Kuroo, they all tried to get your attention! Even Aone called out to you and you just stayed silently staring off into space. What else were we supposed to think?”

“You’re very stupid aren’t you Futa?” Kuroo shook his head, a smile held on his features. “I was thinking through the tournament arrangements and trying to decide who’d be unlucky enough to face me first.”

“Wha--!” Futakuchi started, ready to argue with Kuroo about his intelligence levels, but was quickly cut off by the doors to the hall opening.

Lord Daishou stood at the entrance and presented a wicked grin that shut Futakuchi up in a split second. “A tournament? To welcome our guests I presume?” The King’s brother strutted to the seat he’d always taken up and smiled at Kuroo as he made a plate of food for himself as he continued to speak. “That sounds absolutely splendid. I do hope you’ll plan for me to join as well, Kuroo.”

“Of course you’ll participate, Daishou!” Kuroo confirmed happily, “What type of tournament would it be if the King and his brother didn’t participate?”

“Great, I just ask that I don’t face you first. I’d rather face one of your lessers.” Daichou insulted the knights offhandedly.

Though Kuroo only seemed to hear the part of his brother not wanting to face him first. Cackling as though he’d just heard the best joke in ages, Kuroo responded by saying, “If you are that afraid of me brother, perhaps I’ll let you face Futa to help give you a bit of a confidence boost.”

The knights around the table played at laughing along with their King’s comment. All of them knew about Futakuchi’s powers, but Daishou was only aware of a small portion of all the attendant could do. It was all because of Futakuchi’s mistrust of the Lord, but they were grateful that the King allowed the magician, for the most part, to choose who he shared his gifts with.

With the Lord having come into the room, many of the knights who also mistrusted the man felt an immense pressure to leave. But they knew their duty was to stay until the King determined the next course of action.

They looked to Futakuchi for direction, as he too would want to be elsewhere.

“Your Highness,” Futakuchi called in a more formal tone than he normally used with the King, “Should we continue the research from earlier or put up the works?”

Thinking for a moment before answering, Kuroo recalled how the guests laughed outside when they thought the Camelot knights were trying to sway their opinions. “We can be done with all that. Take some of the guys to help you clean up the room and return everything to where it belongs. Meet me in my chambers later to discuss possible line-ups.”

The attendant bowed in what would be considered a proper bow for a servant to his King, and the knights who’d been away from the castle too long to remember, recalled that the pair always acted so much more formally when Daishou was around.AS if they feared retaliation from the Lord should it be discovered that the King was in fact friends with his ‘lowly’ servant.

Without a word between them, Atsumu, Terushima, Semi, Daichi and Iwaizumi stood to leave with Futakuchi. Aone and Yamagata stayed behind because they were better at hiding their true feelings about the King’s brother. Osamu, Bokuto, and Satori, having their own reasons for not feeling pressured to leave, also stayed seated.

With Futakuchi leading, the six men left the mess hall.

“If Daishou participates, maybe we shouldn’t have you face the visiting sorcerer.” Iwaizumi commented once he was sure they were a far enough distance away from the dining room.

Daichi agreed and added his own thoughts of the matter, “Though it’s better that he joins so that we can keep a close eye on him.”

“Please, with Futa’s powers, we’d just need a good plan if we wanted to keep close eyes on that jerk of a Lord.” Terushima countered.

Atsumu rolled his eyes, and said plainly, “He’s already decided to join, nothing we can do but prevent him discovering just how much power you wield.”

Futakuchi thought about the knights’ comments before answering, “I’ll probably try to get Kuroo to match Daishou against the Red Knight first. Because either I am right that the Knight has powers also, and then two things would happen. Either a fight between magic wielders would be showcased, or Daishou would be struck with confusion at the Knight’s powers. Each is a desirable outcome. But, should my assumption be wrong about the Knight having powers, and he wins, then Daishou will be watching all the battles with fierce determination for the rest of the tournament.”

Camelot’s knights nodded as they listened to their sorcerer’s understanding of the possible situations.

“But, I still feel like that would be the best first pair up since he decided to join and Ushijimia and Asahi aren’t here.” Futakuchi concluded.

The others nodded, and the rest of their trip commenced in silence. Each male thinking about how Diashou’s presence could potentially ruin any chance they have at redeeming Camelot in the eyes of their visitors.

________________________________________________________________

A knock on his door indicated to the King that Futakuchi had arrived. Without looking up from his desk, Kuroo called out for his friend to enter the room.

“Kuroo,” Futakuchi called upon entering.

“Futa, what do you think of this line-up? We’d have two face-offs at a time for the first round to make it go a bit quicker. Then on the second day we could have round two and three. With the last day holding the finals. We’d need some of the training knights to do some jousts in between fights on days 2 and 3 to keep it entertaining for the people, and to give some reprise to our guests. But I was thinking through the first pairings and I know some that I want for sure, but the others could be changed.” Kuroo explained in quick succession. “Take a look.”

The order was followed by the King holding out a piece of parchment, while he continued to read over a books in front of him.

Snatching the document from Kuroo, Futakuchi looked it over, thinking as he did so. ‘First would be the twins facing each other on one side, while Terushima would face Satori on the other. That would be a good fight to watch. And having both be high profile pairings would draw in and entice the crowd. Then would be Aone facing the Red Knight,’ humming to himself, Futa smiled at how a good match that could potentially be. ‘That would be alongside me fighting Semi. Gahhhh, why’d he pit me against Semi? Actually he probably doesn’t care who I face first. He probably put me here with the idea that if I beat my first opponent the second match would be thoroughly exciting.’ Rolling his eyes, he looked over the next groups, ‘Daishou versus Bokuto. Another good pairing. Alongside Iwaizumi and Daichi at that. So the third first round is another eye catching event, huh, Kuroo? Well at least Iwa will be happy about getting a chance to repay Diachi’s beat down from the last tournament. The last pair would be Yamagata against the squire, Sugawara. If Ushijima and Asahi were here I’d probably change a few of these around, but since they aren’t I guess this is the best line-up we’ll get.’

Looking up from the document, Futakuchi’s eyes locked with Kuroo’s who’d been waiting for him to finish thinking through the proposed groupings.

“Yea, it looks mostly good. I presume you’d face whoever won between Yamagata and Sugawara?” Futakuchi questioned while returning the parchment.

“That would be the plan.” Kuroo answered.

Nodding, Futakuchi moved about the room to stand by the window. Once looking out across Camelot’s grounds, the magician asked further, “Though they aren’t yet here. If Ushijima and Asahi were to arrive in time to join, I would still change some of the pairings. Have we actually determined that they are not coming?”

Kuroo sighed as he stood from the desk, “If they arrive we can rearrange the schedule, but we cannot plan for them to participate if they aren’t even here. Besides, it was your job to get them here if I recall correctly.”

The two men thought in silence, both trying to figure out how to bring about certain topics without pushing the other over the edge. Futakuchi wanted to ask Kuroo to send Daishou on a mission to get him away from the castle for the duration of the tournament so they could fully determine the strength of power from Sugawara. Kuroo wanted to ask Futakuchi about Bokuto’s seemingly growing issues but also wanted to ask him to try and get closer to their guests since they were brother’s in magics.

Neither ended up saying a thing to each other.

With the silence stretched for many minutes, Futakuchi was about to excuse himself. He’d turn away from the window to face Kuroo.

*BOOM* 

*BOOM BOOM*

A sudden explosion sounded, quickly followed by two more. The men glanced at each other, Futakuchi picked up the King’s sword from its place against the wall and tossed it to Kuroo, who caught it with one hand and took off running towards where the sound came from.

Looking back out the window, Futkuchi saw smoke rising from the square inside the castle’s walls. A fire quickly spreading along the dry grass and hay.

“We’re under attack.” He whispered to himself before sprinting to catch up to Kuroo and tell of what he saw.

Table of contents:

Chapter 4                                                        Chapter 6

[haiky-u-lously]

King Kuroo and the Red Knights (4)

Summary:

A Camelot AU where King Arthur is Kuroo Tetsuro, and the Knights of the Roundtable of characters from seasons 1-4 of the HQ anime. Eventual Kuroo X Reader.

Themes:

Action, Fluff, Angst, Humor, Eventual Romance

Warnings:

Mentions of stalking and abuse of power, Language, Angst in feelings, Gore and fighting

Word Count:

For Chapter: ~5600words            

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Ideas welcome as always.

This week you get 2 chapter updates! As a thank you to the first comment I recieved here on Tumblr and on AO3! Thank you for reading!

Enjoy!

–Admin Red

Chapter 4: First Impressions

In your traveling companion’s suit of armor, sat upon your horse’s back, Suga and you approach the castle within Camelot’s bounds. Halting just steps away from the stairs up to the main entrance.

“You know your role from here on.” Suga whispered as he dismounted.

Nodding once to indicate you both heard and understood him, you followed suit and dismounted as well. 

Your pair stood, waiting to see how the residents of the kingdom would react to your arrival. Suga held Mapo’s reins and indicated he would take Tofu’s as well. Handing them over, you took a short walk around the open square, eyeing all the open crevices and possible attack points, making note of them should things happen to go wrong during your stay.

A sound reaches your ears and you face the direction your friend and horses were still standing. Trying to focus your vision, you squinted past their figures and caught the glimpse of  a reflection from the setting sun on metal, though from the current distance you couldn’t tell if the reflection was from a weapon or something else. Deciding to be safe, you made your way back to Suga, waving as you did so.

Having donned the Red Knight’s armour, you knew better than to speak. It was one of the first rules of being a proper Knight, ‘Do not speak when wearing your gear, Y/N. You generally know how to hold your tongue, especially when it’s necessary, but this is a rule all of us follow to make sure our anonymity stays intact.’ You recalled Suga’s squad leader’s teachings from the times he’d allowed you to train with them.

Suga noticed your quick gestures and tightened his hold on the horse’s reins. Glancing around him as inconspicuously as he could while waiting for you to return to his side.

“How many?” He asked promptly when you reached for Tofu, a ploy of stroking his mane to cover the act of regrouping with your companion. You held up a fist to indicate how unsure you were. “Difficult,” He whispered back.

Suga was trained as a proper Red Knight, and though you were never given the title, so were you. If anyone dared to attack you, your pair would be ready. 

This time Suga didn’t miss the reflected light and he recognized the size of the weapon. He looked at you and smiled, speaking tightly through his facade of a grin, “Long swords, it’s probably an ambush. At least 2, more likely there are more.”

You smiled, and despite your face hiding behind the mask of the armour, you could tell that your friend knew what expression you wore. 

“Don’t be reckless before we even make an introduction.” He chastised, though you both knew it was procedural and not intended to hold any real effect.

You walked towards the edge of the square, headed towards a hand pump situated closer to where the reflections were coming from, but obvious enough that any would be attacker would confuse the approach.

Pushing upon the force rod a few times so the water would be released, you acted to be off guard, inviting the attackers to utilize a moment of weakness.

To your joy, the ploy worked and suddenly there was a long sword pushed against the chest of your armour just under where your helmet ended.

“Be a good knight there and don’t move.” The voice warned, a cackle escaping him as he added, “Unless you want your friend back there to die a most gruesome death.”

You made a small attempt to glance towards Suga and the horses, but the sword  was swung to sit sideways. The sharp edge now jutting just under your helmet. Accommodating your attacker, you stood up instead of trying to look back. 

Now you could see the male clearly.

He laughed again, his near blue-toned skin darkening in the crease of his brow and his hair flipping back and forth as he jutted his head in his hysterics. “And here I thought the great Red Knights were something to be cautious of. You were taken so easily!” His annoying voice continued to ring out, but you let him continue to think he held the upper hand. Wanting to get a proper look at Suga’s situation before making a move. “Because I am so kind, I’ll let you watch as we cut your friend down to size.” He hissed, still all smiles as he whipped your body around and forced you to your knees as you faced your friend from across the square once more.

Suga’s eyes were glued to you, his lips pressed thinly together. You tracked his eye’s movements as they showed you the three attackers hiding behind Mapo, the two holding short swords to his figure, and the four trying to keep Tofu from bucking any of them.

Ten. Ten people. They thought ten was enough to subdue them? You wanted to laugh at their miscalculation. But you had the rule to consider.

To everyone’s surprise a loud bell rang across the castle grounds.

So surprising in fact, that one of the men holding a sword to your friend sliced the metal across his bare arm. Suga wailed out in pain and you knew there had to be more than just metal that scratched him. Eyes locked on his figure as he fell to his knees still crying out in pain despite the other attacker trying to keep him standing up, you watched with held breath.

The men were apparently unable to quiet Suga in whatever way they originally wanted, and the one who’d scratched his arm swung the sword out in preparation for a beheading. 

Your eyes lit with an ember glow, and all nine men around Suga and your horses began to rise in the air. They fought the invisible strings, twisting their bodies around, blindly swinging their weapons. Growling you jerked your head backwards and the floating men bulleted towards you and the man who up until that moment had thought he’d bested you.

Reaching out, you grabbed the hilt of the long sword held against your throat, eyes still burning, the light shining through from between the slits in your helmet. You saw the fear take over your assailant’s face. 

He fell on his backside as he clambered away from your being, having let go of the sword as soon as you’d taken hold.

A growl escaped you again as you rose your free hand into the air, the nine men who’d attempted to apprehend your companion jutting higher into the sky, their screams echoing around you. Throwing the sword you’d stolen at the lone male quivering in fright before you, you forced him to stay in place. The sword being used as a chain, buried into the ground through his shorts all the way to its hilt. 

He tried pulling at it, scratching at the dirt and rocks around where the blade met the earth, but the actions were to no avail. 

Determining one was taken care of thoroughly, you turned your full attention to those floating above you, and zeroed in on the man who’d struck your friend.

A whispered curse under your breath and all the mens’ weapons floated above their heads. You smiled behind your mask of protection, as you lowered eight of the assailants and trapped them similarly to the first.

Left with only the one you wanted to harm, you brought him close to your face. He screamed, but you paid it no mind. Your eyes’ glow changed from ember to red as you searched his mind, searching to find exactly what was used on the sword that hurt your best friend. Finding the potion mix in the man’s recent memories, you quickly threw him back up into the sky.

You heard something drop a small distance away, and hurried footsteps retreating from where you were, but you paid no real mind to it.

Growling once more, you were ready to rip Suga’s striker in half. But before you made another move a hand laid on your shoulder.

“That’s enough, (Y/N).” Suga’s warm voice whispered to you.

Glancing at him was enough to return your eye color to normal, and having removed the power from holding the attacker in the air, he quickly fell.

To your surprise, and the attacker’s relief, he landed on a pile of hay. When you turned to face him once more, he raced to scurry away, tripping over the loose hay beneath his feet but still rushing to get as far away from you as he could. 

Additionally with your power released, the weapons holding the others in place became loose and they helped one another to escape your immediate vicinity.

“Ah geesh,” Suga managed as he watched the group of men run off in pure terror. “Well there goes making a good first impression.”

You rolled your eyes but quickly moved to check his arm.

“It’s fine now. Sorry for scaring you.” He smiled as he pulled back from your touch. At your growl of annoyance, he sighed and let you take a look. Reluctantly, he half turned so his arm faced the little light still glossed over Camelot’s high walls. “See, hardly a thing once I used that salve Akaashi made. It extracted the poison fairly well I think.”

Though you had to admit, that it did only look like a cut from a sword now, the remnants of a fast acting poison still showed in his elevated veins. You scoffed at him before taking his scratch under your palm. Eyes glowing green as you whispered to yourself something that not even Suga could make out. When you released him, the scratch and evidence of poisoning had fully disappeared.

“See?” He smiled once more, “I told you it was all fine.”

You held your hand out to him, as you rolled your eyes once more.

“What?” He exclaimed indignantly, “I’m not paying you for that! I told you it was fine before you even did anything!”

When you just made a grabbing motion, and still held your hand out to him, he caved. Head drooping low as he returned to his horse’s side. He dug around one of his bags before finally pulling out a small wrapped object. “The things I let you get away with. I swear the King is going to kill me one of these days.”

You just took the treat from him and threw it into your own bag.

“And you’re not even going to eat it?!” He yelled out, annoyed that you’d take some of his chocolate and then just horde it.

Holding your pinky up at him, you used your signs to let him know you were sticking your tongue out in response. 

Before either of you could move to continue your bantering, loud footsteps were heard coming from the main entrance into the castle. Your pair looked up as 12 men stood atop the stairs, swords held at the ready. You glanced around them and noticed a single female hiding behind one male with white-tipped-hair. You sensed another pair of eyes on you and looked in their direction, seeing a dark figure move across the window space and disappear past it.

Suga coughed to pull your attention back to the men at the top of the steps, as they sheathed their swords and walked down in what you assumed was going to be their greeting towards you.

You glanced at Suga and pointed two fingers towards the ground, a sign to say he should explain very little and let the approaching group do the most talking. He nodded after seeing your message and coughed again to indicate the men had stopped just feet in front of your pair.

One man stood in the middle, and despite not wearing a crown you knew this was the new King of Camelot. The one your father had told you and Suga to determine trustworthy or not.

“Welcome to Camelot, your arrival is a bit surprising as we hadn’t expected you for at least another day.” The one you assumed was the King offered as a greeting.

You stood at attention, fulfilling your duty as an observationalist first and foremost.

Suga took his cue and began the more informative conversation. “Our King told us the letter said within the week we would arrive. To meet his expectations, with tomorrow being the end of the week, we had to arrive today.”

The men behind the King of Camelot glanced at one another, seemingly discussing things amongst themselves just as you did with Suga. It was expected of knights to be able to speak openly without being understood by outsiders. The smile that crossed the King’s features was surprising though.

“Of course! Our misunderstanding!” He joyfully announced, before actually introducing himself. “I am King Kuroo,” he indicated with a proud stance, before moving to the others. “The lady up there is my wife, Queen Yuurei. The one with her is my right hand knight, Sir Bokuto. And this,” He clamped his hand around a male to his right side, and forced the boy to step up next to him, “This is my attendant, Futakuchi.”

Your eyes narrowed behind your helmet as you sensed the amount of power pouring off the so-called attendant, and you sent a signal to Suga, though you figured he saw it as well.

“These other’s are some of the best and most important knights within Camelot’s kingdom.” He smiled, pure pride and appreciation of those around him showing through the tone he’d used to introduce them in such a manner.

Glancing at Suga, you saw his sign that he’d introduce you as agreed.

Taking a step forward, your friend proudly stood half between you and the men of Camelot. “I am Sugawara, squire to the Red Knight Yomimasu.” You bowed your head at Suga’s pause so the knights in front could recognize who he referred to. Continuing, Suga brought the attention back to himself, “If you need to speak to Yomimasu, you need me present as the Knights are forbidden to speak in uniform. We will not reveal the knight’s person until approval standards have been met. If you refuse these conditions we will leave at once.”

You could see it in the eyes of the knights behind the King, they were shocked that someone claiming to be a squire would address the King of Camelot in such a manner. In the eyes of the one introduced as Futakuchi, you saw recognition. He could see Suga’s power coursing through his veins and you watched as the servant came to understand exactly where your friend’s confidence came from. Looking at him last, the King had ample time to consider the words and tones directed at him...you were impressed to see his face held little change.

“Of course,” He answered the unasked question. “The rules of a Red Knight come first for you both. Camelot will do well to abide by them and not make you end your visit early.” He glanced around as if he didn’t really care about your answer or not, but his tone betrayed him. “Exactly how long do you expect your visit to be?”

Suga looked to you before answering, “The King expects a thorough investigation to take at least a few months, but could take longer if we feel you are trying to change our perceptions.”

You noticed a few of the knights in the rear of their formation wince, and figured they’d been doing some research into Camelot’s history with the Red Knights for just that purpose. You signaled to Suga that you wanted to laugh and he did so for you.

“Yomimasu wants to say it’s funny that you would think to try and pull something over on us like that.” Suga explained.

One of the knights stepped forward before speaking on his own, “Wait, so you really speak for the Red Knight?”

Suga and you nodded in the same instance. Neither missing a beat at the question.

“Well!” King Kuroo called, drawing attention back to himself, “I can understand that. Unfortunately your rooms are not yet prepared. Please, join us for a meal while I send someone to prepare them for you.” His smile was blinding and you thought that he probably got away with a lot just from that small action alone.

Your friend had been distracted momentarily as well before you clamped a hand on his shoulder and stood ground. He looked at you, locking eyes around the slits in the headpiece. When he finally understood, he faced the King and his knights, and said in the most serious tone, “We need to lock up our belongings before we leave them be.”

The men glanced between themselves once more before King Kuroo grinned and pushed his page forward. “Surely, Futa here would be happy to lock up your stuff for you.”

Suga frowned at the King’s twist of his words, “No, I said that WE need to lock up our belongings. Please, show us to where we will be lodged.”

It seemed the King would take Suga’s words as a threat, and had anyone questioned him again or challenged his directives it would have quickly turned into one, but a different knight stepped up from the group and stood up for your companion.

“Futa, take them to their rooms. Should be the ones next to mine. Let them lock up and then bring them to the mess hall.” The giant knight ordered as if he held the power and title of a King before trekking up the stairs, presumably to return to the dining facility himself. The other knights shrugged before following suit.

Only King Kuroo and his attendant remained in front of your pair. Suga looked on, waiting for either the King to conform to his request and follow his knight's suggestions, or to see if the King would challenge him again.

The one called Futakuchi sighed before facing his king. “Kuroo, just go back to dinner. I will take the guests as Aone has suggested.”

King Kuroo gave him a quick glare, but released it when he faced Suga’s determined gaze. “I suppose you two are correct in this course of action. Very well. Sugawara, Yomimasu, I look forward to you joining us for dinner promptly.

You just nodded again, and Suga responded that you’d make your trip short and quick.

Only then did the King nod and make his own way back to the rest of his men.

Being left alone, apparently gave the attendant confidence as he quickly stepped up to Suga and announced, “I can sense your power. If you even think to use it against Kuroo or Camelot I will end you.”

Suga glanced down to see your long sword cutting through the space between his side and arm and point directly at the attendant’s heart.

“Please refrain from threatening me as it angers Yomimasu.” He retaliated calmly.

Futakuchi looked down and saw the blade, astonished at the speed the Knight would have needed to make his draw so acutely positioned. 

Deciding that a call-out was an appropriate response, Suga regarded the King’s aide with his own threat, thinly veiled by his smiling face. “I can see yours as well there, magician. If you are trying to hide it from your King, I suggest you find a new profession.” The brunet’s eyes blew wide before Suga lazily waved his hand about, “But we do not have plans to do anything against your King or his Kingdom. As representatives of the Red Knight Order, we are here for a job and shall work to that end. Though,” he began to whisper and leaned in towards the man he was currently speaking to, “If we are attacked like that again I can’t guarantee anyone’s safety from that one.” His thumb indicated your figure and the brunet stood stock still. 

You could tell he was trying to see your power, but internally laughed as you remembered what your father told you was so special about the Red Knight’s armor.

As long as he didn’t see you outside the uniform he would never be the wiser to your true power level. And this fact made your grin despite yourself.

‘It’s important because it hides the magic that the knights possess. We don’t speak because it keeps anonymity amongst the knights, but if other magicians could see your magic then anonymity would be pointless.’

“Anyway,” Suga rolled out, his voice dragging out the syllables as he slowly faced Futakuchi once more, “Can we lock up our belongings now?”

Futakuchi nodded stiffly, before moving to help Suga with his bags and leading us to where our supposed rooms would be.

Walking down the halls of the castle, you once more felt the gaze of the dark figure you’d seen through the window. You externally ignored the presence as you had to keep up with your guide and friend.

“Here you are. You can choose who gets which room, but as Sir Aone and King Kuroo determined you’d share this hall with the knight, well…it’s just...but then...and sort of...well...see it’s...more so then...but...uh...I...see it’s just...” His inability to fully explain his thoughts confused you, but when you grabbed a pair of keys that Suga had taken from the servant, and opened the door to the room at the end of the hall you thought you understood. 

In your armour, your frame overtook most of the opened doorway. You looked inside the room and saw only a bed. No dresser, no mantle, nothing but a bed frame and what seemed to be a mattress. Though the bumped-out seat beneath the window was a benefit, the way the rest of the room lacked anything to actually lock your stuff in upset you. Turning around you faced Suga, and held your hand out to switch keys, to which he obliged quickly. 

You didn’t miss the wince that passed through Futakuchi’s lips as you moved to unlock the other room. But, you hadn’t expected it to be worse off then the room you’d just sceen.

A growl passed through your lips before you could stop it, and Suga quickly looked into the room from around your form, to see only a mattress sitting directly on the ground. No bed frame, no dresser, no mantle. He thought about how troublesome this would be, and quickly moved to stand between your and the servant’s bodies. “Calm yourself, Yomimasu.”

It couldn’t be stopped, another growl escaped your lips.

Futakuchi, to his defense, stood his ground and tried to laugh around an explanation, “The King did say the rooms were unprepared.”

With nowhere to actively lock up the belongings you couldn’t let anyone catch sight of this early into the mission, you tightened your grip on your bags and poked Suga’s shoulder forward.

“Very well,” He closed his eyes as he contemplated your suggestion. “Futakuchi, if you would lead us to the dining facility. As agreed we will meet your King and his men there now.”

The servant’s eyes blew wide before he glanced at the bags still held in your hands, “But, what about--” He’d started before being cut off by Suga’s sharp tone.

“We will abide by our agreement to meet your King in the dining facility quickly.” He reiterated.

Futakuchi nodded before turning back down the hall, leading the pair of visitors, luggage and all, to the mess for dinner.

When the group reached the doors, and the guards noticed the armor of the Red Knight, they began shivering as if a cold wind caught them off guard. Futakuchi noticed their behavior, but presumed they were still surprised by how quickly your pair had reacted to your apparent attack. He opened the doors himself and held them for Suga and you to enter.

You motioned for Suga to fall back on your walk. Whispering to him as soon as you knew he was within earshot, “You will move the mattress to stay with me until they get us proper rooms.”

He nodded in understanding and moved back to his position before your guide noticed a change in either of your demeanors.

You glanced around the room and took notice of the seating arrangements of the knights and royals. Only three empty set seats around the table, and none of them next to each other, Suga’s face contorted as he also recognized this obvious attempt to separate your pair.

“And after he’d just agreed to abide by our rules too.” Your friend mumbled just loud enough for the servant to catch. You could see the wince he made as he approached the King directly.

Suga took the seat right next to the Queen, the one he knew had probably been reserved for you, but dropped his bags at his feet, a clear sign of displeasure at the supposed accommodations recommended to them for locking up their belongings.

Deciding it best to watch, you took a seat towards the end of the table, next to the only knight who’d been formally introduced and noting he was now as far from the Queen as he could physically be while still being in the same room as her. ‘Interesting’ You thought.

To the royal’s benefit, Suga noted that he acted in the manner of a true King. He didn’t make any verbal response and instead moved slightly closer to hear the continued whispers of his magician.

“I see,” The King sighed upon Futakuchi’s conclusion, “Please pardon the state of the rooms, as I told you outside, we had not expected you until tomorrow. I have sent the maids to prepare them properly at once.”

Suga nodded, but refused to dignify that excuse with an answer.

The Queen, however, seemed not to notice the silent battle waging between the King and his visitor. “Dear, you are a cute one aren’t you. Are all the Red Knights as adorable as you?” Her gushing would make some of his shier squadmates blush, but Suga had grown up with your teases and felt he was immune to most comments as such. 

“You are very kind to think so, your highness.” He answered curtly, refusing to say more.

This was apparently not the reaction the Queen had expected, so she continued on. “The knights of Camelot are strong, sure, but very few of them have the looks to pull off all that being a knight entails. So, what of the Red Knights? Surely, you all meet those bare minimum requirements?” Her tone made it seem like a compliment, but he could sense something sinister mixed in.

He took a drink from the goblet of water in front of him, “If the knights of Camelot are regarded as knights, who are the Red Knights to judge. Not every Order has the same requirements.”

Having intentionally ignored the pressure from the Queen to answer in a manner for what she wanted, Suga smirked to himself around his glass. She huffed to herself a few times before announcing she would turn in for the evening. 

The King stood to see her out, but she rushed away despite his calls, only pausing momentarily to face the white-tipped-haired knight sat next to you at the end of the table. When his attention did not immediately get drawn to her, she continued her rush out of the hall.

Suga took the opportunity to glance at you, you’d a full plate in front of you, but you made no motions to eat anything off of it. He shook his head despite having expected this outcom. And he addressed the so-called King about it, “So you’d try to abide by our rules, huh?” 

Kuroo smirked at the call out before answering, “I only walked in a few moments before you. Perhaps my knights need a better explanation of what exactly are the expectations of our visitors while they are here in Camelot.” The smug grin the King sent to Suga irritated your friend, but he wasn’t going to back down so easily.

The two went back and forth a few more rounds before both men’s hunger demanded their utmost attention and they focused on eating instead.

At the other end of the table, you stared at the plate of food offered to you by the knights on either of your sides.

“What, is this stuff not good either?” The one that had been introduced to you as Bokuto asked, pulling chicken off its bone after asking you about your plate.

You made no move to answer, did not even turn your head to indicate you had listened to him.

“Probably can’t eat around that armor, right?” The blonde sat next to you pressured, “If that’s the case, you can just remove your helmet and eat peacefully.” He smiled as if he’d offered the best suggestion ever.

Baring your teeth behind your helmet, you successfully held back your growl. Your eyes glaring at the male who had just made that suggestion. You had to come up with something. If not, you’d go hungry, and that was not something you wished to do.

The one name Bokuto addressed his companion across from you, “Oh well Atsumu, didn’t the other guy say that the Red Knight wouldn’t reveal themselves until they decided if they were going to approve of Kuroo’s rule?”

Checking his eyes, you noticed that the knight had honestly been asking, and not trying to tease or make fun of you. This caused you to release some of the pent up frustration sitting between your shoulder blades, but that tension returned twice over when the blonde knight, presumably Atsumu began reaching for your helmet. You were sure he intended to remove it by force if necessary.

A cry of a curse was heard and you sensed the power of the King’s attendant grab hold of your helmet and hold it in place, despite the tugs of the blond knight.

“ATSUMU!” The King’s voice bellowed around the room, causing everyone to halt their actions.

The knight turned to face Kuroo with a half-sheepish grin, “Ah right, sorry about that Kuroo.”

With the tension levels high, Suga and you regrouped. Standing together as you faced the room as the Red Knights versus Camelot’s supposed finest once more. 

After a moment, you felt the pressure of Futakuchi’s magic release itself from your helmet.

You knew Suga was primed to fight, and you weren’t far off, but both of you knew that the point of coming to Camelot was not to fight these knights, or even to fight their King. You put your hand on Suga’s shoulder and tapped a specific message to him. 

“Are you sure?” He asked you aloud, clearly trying to build on the pressure amongst those still seated at the dining table.

To answer, you removed your hand from his shoulder and unsheathed your sword.

“Since you obviously refuse to acknowledge the way of the Red Knights we will return at once, and let our King know that the Order should never reacquaint itself with Camelot again.” His voice was even, and he spoke with the determination of a royal. And, you were proud of your friend for both understanding and agreeing with your assessment.

“Wait!” The fear in the King’s eyes was obvious, though the rest of his face attempted to hide it. “Surely, you don’t mean that. You are but a single Knight and squire. To begin, what power do two people such as you have over an entire Order. Further, it’s the first night. Everyone is on edge and with you both sneakily trying to lock away your bags and refusing to show us one of your faces. It is a bit much to just accept.”

Hearing the sound of more swords being drawn, you faced the knights you’d just been sat next to.

“We have the authority.” Suga responded plainly, giving no further explanation.

Kuroo, exalted and near enraged at the disrespect he felt Suga was giving him, but still fearful that he’d messed up too bad on the first meeting, grand stood for his position and continued to question your friend. “What authority? What authority gives you the power to enter another’s kingdom and not only demand certain treatment, but to demand you lock up your own stuff. For all we in Camelot know you could be planning to take us down with whatever items you have hidden in those bags of yours. So I ask again,” His voice evened out as he became serious in his accusatory question, “What authority?”

Before Suga could fight anymore you nodded to him, giving him permission to give more information than you had originally planned.

Sighing, Suga locked eyes with Camelot’s King. “We have the authority given to the King’s offspring.”

Eyes shooting wide, Kuroo glanced between the squire and the Red Knight, wondering just which of the pair was the royal and which was not. “Bokuto, Atsumu, Osamu, stand down!” He ordered the three knights.

Seeing that the King had figured something out, and that his men were putting their swords away, you sheathed your own.

“Yomimasu, grab your plate. We will eat in the rooms they’ve deemed worthy of your visit.” Suga instructed.

You rolled your eyes at his own grand standing attempt, half knowing it was a ploy to continue throwing off your hosts and half wondering if he truly expected you to not push their confusion further. So you walked directly to the King’s side. Grabbed Suga’s bags and plate, before turning back to grab your own gear, letting Suga grab your plate.

Your pair left the King and his knights in the dining hall, and found the rooms set aside for you with ease. They still stood barren of most furniture but you were both content that it was at minimum, away from the prying eyes of the people who’d made absolutely terrible first impressions.

Table of contents:

Chapter 3                                                               Chapter 5

[haiky-u-lously]

A question about KKATARK: do I need history knowledge to understand the story since you beautifully listed everyone who they’re playing or taking their place

Oh I see hahah😂

Not really?😅 But I'd be happy to share a bit!

Mostly, the basics of King Arthur after he becomes king is mostly just he finds out his wife and closest friend are sleeping together behind his back and it was the catalyst that destroyed Camelot. Obviously different renditions change things here or there to fit the author's story, as I have changed the setup that the King's best friend wants no part of the adultery acts.

And in some stories, Merlin's nemesis tends to be the Kings sibling (half or whole) or someone they are close to. And since Kuroo and Daishou had such a lovely interaction that reflected my own sibling dynamic, I decided to make him the half sibling for mostly that reason.

Final little tidbit, depending on the telling, Arthur was born royal and any sword in his hands could be Excalibur, or raised in poverty and proclaimed king from getting Excalibur, or even raised royal and still had to get Excalibur some way. But in nearly every story I've read or seen, the king before Arthur is a d**k. Particularly in BBC Merlin, Uther made magic illegal and killed anyone who practiced it, or helped those who did. I figured a lot of ppl were aware of this telling more so than others, so I made this the basis for the prior King in this too.

I think thatd be it for history knowledge, but if i write anything confusing from that aspect, pleeeease let me know and I'll happily explain it.

Writing out whos who was more for myself and then I figured I'd share for anyone who knew the tales of Camelot or wanted to look them up. Not necessary though at all😁