(promo fanfic) MHA: My Harem army

"Hey, Mr Po, did you see any samurai walk past here?" A young lad asked, gripping his knife within his grasp; scared of losing it once more. 

He stood in front of a dumpling stand the very next day, the morning winds fresh at this hour, blowing through the air in a gentle breeze that would softly brush through his brown hair and tattered clothing.

"A samurai hm?" Mr Po muttered thoughtfully.

"Yeah! He has his hair in a man bun, orange clothes, and looks kinda like a girl," The boy listed, swaying his hands around in hopes that Mr. Po would catch on to his description.

"I think I have seen a samurai like that." He cupped his chin, nodding as if he was pleased with himself for remembering. "He didn't have any money, so I thought he was one of those thugs and chased him off."

"He's not!" The boy snapped instinctively, his face falling when he saw Mr.Po's shocked expression to his outburst.

"Huh? Shou…" He uttered in disbelieve.

Without wasting another second, Shou slammed 10 Mon on the table, a determined look to him.

"Give me five dumplings please!" He requested, Mr.Po nodding and putting the dumplings in a wooden box for the young boy.

Mirai sat at a log in the forest, his eyes staring down at the grass that would rub against his sandals, a soft sigh escaping his lips. 

"Man I'm starving—" He groaned, leaning back with his arms behind him for support as he stared up to the patches of sky that would reveal themself past the trees around him.

"I haven't eaten in days– water just doesn't hit the same as it used to—" His stomach growled at him, his face scrunched up in discomfort at the feeling, softly cursing the name of Mr.Po who turned him away not too long ago.

"That old bag…" Mirai swore, his face hanging over his gut in agony.

"Are you hungry?" A soft voice rang through his ear, the young samurai jolting up at the sound, drawing his blade in the blink of an eye and holding it to the neck of whoever it was.

"I-it's just me!" The voice cried, Mirai's eyes widened when he saw it was only Shou, 

"What the hell kid?! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" Mirai roared, sheathing his blade once more and returned to his log.

"S-sorry I…" The boy muttered, the words in his head seeming to not come out as fluidly as he'd hoped.

"What? Spit it out," 

"I wanted to thank you for back there, thanks to you I've gotten my stuff back so– here," He finally said, handing him the wooden box filled with dumplings. Hesitantly, Mirai reached his hand into the box, taking one of the dumplings and popping it into his mouth.

He chewed for a while, his eyes closed as his jaw worked on the meal he had been given, the flavors finally melting onto his tongue

"Oh, this is really good!" He exclaimed, taking the rest of the box and putting another into his mouth. "Thanks! How'd you find me anyway?"

"I asked around and I heard from Mr. Poh he turned you away at the store," Shou murmured, fiddling with his thumbs as he spoke.

"He's not a bad guy, honest, we've been having our fair share of bandits rummaging through the village." Mirai looked intently at Shou as he spoke, his mouth still working on the meal given to him.

"You mean like those guys back there?"

"Yeah, they're regulars, they said they're a part of the Akai Kiba," The young kid muttered

The young samurai's heart practically stopped at the name, his eyes widened and his mouth left agape, quickly recovering and shaking it off.

"You okay?" the boy asked, his head leaned to the side in confusion to Mirai's shocked state

"Mn, yeah I'm fine–" He nodded, brushing off the feeling for now, but his hand still trembles in anger.

There was a moment of silence among the two, the boy's eyes lighting up once he realized something he'd been meaning to say.

"By the way… I've been meaning to ask you," He murmured, enticing Mirai's attention once more. 

"What's that?" Mirai pondered, listening intently to what he had to say.

"What brings you here?" Shou questioned, his eyes filled with curiosity towards the young samurai's purpose.

Mirai stilled at the question, his gaze drifting from the boy to his cupped palms. The wind had picked up, weaving through the branches and carrying with it the scent of earth and old bark. For a moment, he felt a pull—his memories, a flood of things left unsaid and undone. A shadow of hesitation crossed his face, but he quickly brushed it away, clenching his jaw as if that might contain the past.

"Me?" he finally replied, his voice softened, almost thoughtful. "I'm looking for powerful warriors to join my army."

He glanced back down at Shou, a smirk breaking through his mask of seriousness as if to deflect any curiosity. But his eyes lingered on the patched sky above, bright with his vision of things yet to 

"Army?" The boy recited the unusual reason for coming to such a small town.

"Well yeah! You can't be an emperor without an army right?" Mirai said in a matter a fact tone, looking towards the child once more. 

"I suppose that's true," Shou whispers thoughtfully, his head downcast as he thought about it.

"And I don't mean just any emperor, I want to be an emperor with power, power strong enough to stop any war that could happen." The young samurai stood up and stretched his muscles, loosening them after sitting still for so long.

"That's why… I need to take the shogun down with my own two hands–" His words caused Shou's lips to form a smile, a soft silence started to settle in between the two of them, one of silent reflection.

"By the way, got any more of those dumplings?" Mirai pondered shooting the moment in the leg with his question. Shou shook his head, slightly disappointed in his shift of topic.

"Nope, you ate them all."

"Aww, really??" Mirai groaned, slumping back into his seat, soon raising his head as an idea struck him.

"Say, I can get rid of those bandits for yah,"He let off a predatory grin as he spoke, Shou's eyes lighting up with excitement at his claim.

"You'd really do that?" Shou's voice quivered with awe, his wide eyes sparkling with excitement. His words of gratitude were abruptly cut off by Mirai's raised palm, the young samurai wearing a playful smirk that suggested he was enjoying this moment far too much.

"But not for free," Mirai continued, his tone shifting to a mock-seriousness. "I'll need some dumplings and a bit of mon in return, alright?"

Shou's face lit up at the prospect. His heart raced with eagerness, and he nodded enthusiastically, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "Right! That sounds fair!" His excitement bubbled over, and he felt a rush of warmth at the thought of being able to help.

Mirai's large hand descended playfully onto Shou's head, ruffling his messy hair like a big brother would. "Great! It's settled then!" The samurai grinned, a sense of camaraderie forming between them like the bright morning sun breaking through the trees.

"Say, kid, what's your name anyway?" Mirai asked, genuine curiosity shining through.

"Shou!" The young boy beamed, pride radiating from him as he stood a little taller, as if the simple act of sharing his name made him feel important.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Mirai Tachibana!" Mirai declared, mirroring Shou's bright expression with his own, almost as if they were two peas in a pod. There was an undeniable connection blossoming between the two—a bond forged in shared adventure.

"Yeah, I know!" Shou laughed, his eyes sparkling with mischief.