Moonrise

“Kuroo, will you stop pacing? They’ll be here.” Bokuto assured him for the nth time.
“What time is it?” he asked. Again.
“Five minutes from the last time you asked, dear,” his mother replied, completely nonchalant while she started cooking their dinner.
Kuroo didn’t bother to reply to either of them, knowing he was being a pain, but growing more worried as the minutes ticked by.
“Hey, Bo? Have you seen Kaori yet?” Yachi asked from her place beside Eita. “You said she’d be here.”
“I did,” Bokuto confirmed. “But no, I haven’t seen her, either. If I know her, she’ll show up when she’s ready. Pretty sure I know why she’s late.”
“Oh yeah?” Eita chimed in to the conversation. “Why?”
“Osamu,” was all he needed to say, and everyone remained silent.

What was left of their two groups had made it to the safe house before sunset on the second day of their flight. They were exhausted, hungry, and unwilling to make another move until everyone was there. Without any word from Akaashi, no one knew who survived from his group, and as time passed, everyone grew more on edge. Only Kuroo showed his worry outwardly. The rest kept it to themselves. Mostly.

Yachi and Eita huddled together. It seemed the grumpy former setter had formed an attachment for the tiny former manager at some point during their travels. He hovered over her constantly, making sure she was taken care of. And it seemed she appreciated his efforts, smiling shyly up at him, sitting close to him, even falling asleep against him right after they’d arrived.

Kuroo looked at them and grinned, and then caught his mother looking rather smug. Of course she’d have a hand in their new relationship. Yuki Kuroo was nothing if not a consummate matchmaker. Still, the love of his life had yet to arrive, and it was driving him crazy. Without another word, he walked toward the front door, intending to wait outside.

“Kuroo?” He heard Bokuto’s voice behind him.
“Yeah?”
“We can’t go out. Not yet. We don’t know if we were followed.”
“Wouldn’t they have done something by now, if we were?”
“Dunno. With two of the three leaders dead, anyone left who’s smart enough will likely disappear. Grandmother’s also dead, so there’s no reason to go back. Unless her ‘council’ has taken over, which I suspect they haven’t. That said, it’s still best to not give away our position to anyone who may not have gotten the memo.”
“Right.”
“They’ll be here,” Bokuto said again. He was about to say something else, when he suddenly reached for his phone. He took it out and answered quickly.

“Hello…?” Barely a heartbeat later, “oh, thank god!”
Kuroo’s full attention was on his friend, and Bokuto looked back at him. The smile on his face was blinding.
“Hang on a sec, okay? I’m going to put you on speaker.”
Bokuto quickly grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the kitchen, where everyone else was waiting. He put the phone on the table and pushed a button.
“We’re here, Keiji.”
“Hey guys! Thought we’d take the risk and call you. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes, give or take. Do you need us to stop for anything?”
“You make it sound like we’re all just here to party,” Eita said sarcastically. Yachi put her hand on his arm. “Sorry. Bring drinks.”
“Got it.” There was a long pause. “Who’s there, Bo?”
Immediately, the mood in the room plummeted. Bokuto sighed heavily and looked at each one as he said their names.
“Yuki, Eita and Yachi, Kuroo and myself. We’re waiting on Kaori, and you guys.”
Another long pause. “That’s it?”
“Yeah. How about you?”
“Kei, myself, Hoshiumi, Noya, and Suga.”
“Damn.”
“I know. Hey, look, we need to keep moving. Just thought I’d let you know we’re almost there.”
“Thank you. See you shortly.”
“See you.”

No one spoke for a long while after. Only Yuki moved to the stove to make sure nothing burned. Yachi had huddled closer to Eita, who wrapped his arms around her.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Bokuto said quietly. “We all knew he wasn’t going to give up.”
“He really wasn’t the type to let anything, or anyone stop him when he was truly determined,” Eita agreed.
“Still, he promised,” Yachi replied.
“I don’t think he did,” Yuki stated. “I mean, I don’t know that for sure. The only ones who can truly answer that will be here soon.”

Another long silence, and then Kuroo quietly excused himself from the group, going back toward the door. This time he didn’t stop; he opened the door, closed it, and took a quick walk around to the back of the safe house. It was pitch dark; there was no moon to illuminate their surroundings. Around the corner, he backed up against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. He drew up his knees and rested his arms over them, his head bent down as if he was exhausted. And, in many ways, he was. This was the first time they’d been able to stop for longer than a max of a couple hours.

“Kuroo…”
“I know. I’m sorry. I had to get out.”
Bokuto sighed and moved to sit beside him.
“You’re relieved, aren’t you?”
Kuroo nodded, but then spoke. “Yeah.”
“It’s okay. Your fiance is still alive, so you’re well within your rights to feel relieved. Happy, even. I feel the same, too.”
“Yeah, but…”
“You didn’t know Hinata the way we did.”
“Well, no, I didn’t. But I didn’t want to be in there, looking relieved and happy while everyone else….”
“It’s fine. We understand. This isn’t anything you’ve ever experienced…”
“And never want to again,” Kuroo interrupted. “Fair warning, Bo: I’m going to steal Kei away from all of you.”
“No argument here. To be honest, I’m going to steal Keiji away. Oikawa’s going back home to his boyfriend. I’m sure you noticed Eita and Yachi?”
Kuroo grinned. “Yeah. And I’m one hundred percent sure my mother had a hand in it.”
Bokuto chuckled. “Clearly, she has a gift.”
“Yeah, if that’s what you wanna call it.”
“Right. Anyway, after this is finally over, we might not see each other for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Don’t know.”
“Think we could stay in touch?”
“First, you tell me you never want to do this ever again, and now you ask to stay in touch?”
Kuroo grinned, hearing the irony. “I mean, if you don’t want to…”
“Dude, I think it’s fair to say that you’ll have a few new numbers in your contacts when we’re finally, officially, done. Whether you want them or not.”
“Thanks, Bo.”
“No problem.”

They stayed there and talked quietly until they were called inside for dinner.

~*~

“I am going to eat everything!” Noya exclaimed as he burst through the door of the safe house, roughly thirty-five minutes later.
“That’s one way to announce your arrival,” Bokuto exclaimed, rising from the table.
“Sorry we’re a bit late. We ran into someone at the store,” Keiji said, gesturing back at Kaori who followed him in.

Everyone else dropped their forks and hurried to meet the last of their teammates. Once they were all inside, everyone stood there, just staring at each other. Noya, Suga, Kei, Hoshiumi, Akaashi, and Kaori faced Eita, Yachi, Yuki, Bokuto, and Kuroo. Eleven of them. Less than half of what they started with. Not including the three they’d be meeting soon.

It was Yachi who started the welcoming, walking away from Eita’s side and moving directly to where the remaining Crows were waiting for her. Immediately, they gathered around her, wrapping her, and each other, up in their arms. This led to Bokuto and Akaashi joining Kaori, and Eita standing with Yuki, Kuroo, and Hoshiumi, watching the whole thing. Eventually, everyone gathered together in the kitchen, and Yuki served more food.

No one spoke about their fallen friends. Especially not Hinata. They kept talking about who they met along the way, and how they were looking forward to everything finally ending. Later, Yuki and Yachi helped everyone unroll the futons and get everyone settled for the night. This was something everyone had been looking forward to almost as much as the hot meal they’d just had. In the midst of the chaos, two people slipped away. If anyone noticed, they didn’t see fit to tell the others.

~*~

Tetsu had noticed something off about Kei the moment he’d walked in the door. It was hard to explain; it was as if he had become a different person. There were the normal reactions: laughing at something funny, smiling at friends, joining in to tell part of a story… nothing that would seem out of the ordinary. Kei’s eyes, however, were dull, lifeless.

Tetsu could hardly stand seeing him this way. That’s why he waited for the perfect time to sneak out with Kei. He almost had to drag him at first, which was also part of the difference he’d noticed. When he looked back at Kei, before they left the light from inside the house, he’d seen the way his love’s eyes tried to see into the darkness, scanning their surroundings.

When he reached his spot behind the house, he pushed Kei against the house, and stood in front of him. He could barely make out Kei’s face, and that was going to make things difficult.

“Kei, what’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re… different. I can’t explain it, but something’s wrong.”
He felt more than saw Kei’s head tilt. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Too late,” Tetsu muttered. “I’m already worried. You’re not yourself. Something’s wrong, and I want to help…”
“Nothing’s wrong, Kuroo-san. I’m fine.”

The fact that Kei used his family name and honorific instead of calling him ‘Tetsu’ was enough to worry him further. The fact that Kei’s voice was just as dull and lifeless as his eyes, was frightening. This wasn’t the Kei he knew, and he took a step back, unsure how to get his Kei back. Another step, and he knew this was more than he could possibly handle alone was hammered home. Kei didn’t try to stop him, didn’t reach out for him, remained silent and alert.

“I.. I don’t know what to do,” Tetsu murmured. “What can I do?”

Footsteps approached, and Kei grabbed his arm, roughly switching places with him. Tetsu hit the wall, and Kei had his back to him, and he was standing as if ready to attack whoever was coming. From both sides of the house, Noya, Suga, and Yachi appeared. All of them carried lanterns with soft light to lend them sight. They placed themselves a few feet apart from each other, as if surrounding Kei.

“We’ve seen this before,” Noya said first, as if to explain.
“Hinata was in the same state after…” Suga added. “But you’re right. This is different.”
“You heard us?” Tetsu asked, unsure if he should be irritated or grateful.
“Yes,” Yachi answered. “We noticed the difference, too. It’s like, he’s going through all the motions of normality…” her voice faded.
“... but when it came to fighting and surviving and keeping others safe… Well, we made sure to stay out of his way,” Suga finished.
“Did he…”
“Kill people?” Noya finished his question. “Yeah, probably. We didn’t go back to find out for sure, though.”
There was a long pause, and then Suga spoke directly to Kei.
“You can stop now, Kei. Your job is done,” he said calmly.
“I can’t, senpai. It’s not over. We’re not safe.”
“We are safe, Kei. We made it to our safe house. We’ll be meeting your parents and Oikawa soon. It’s over.”
“Suga senpai, it’s not over!”
Noya’s head dipped, and he sighed. “Mind if I try something, Suga?”
“I didn’t think he’d gone that far, but yeah. Might as well. See if your way will snap him out of this.”

Yachi had slowly made her way to Tetsu while Kei was distracted. She tried to get his attention, but he was too engrossed in the exchange between Kei and Suga. When she reached for his hand, he blinked hard and looked down at her.

“Come on,” she told him, giving his hand a tug. “If this is going where I think it’s going, you and I need to get out of range.”
“Why? What’s going to happen?”
“They might have to fight him.”
“But, he’d be able to beat both of them.”
“They aren’t alone…” she tilted her head, and Tetsu noticed that the others had come out, too. Only two carried weapons: Eita had a taser and Bokuto had a collapsible baton.
“Wait, no. I want to help him. I need to help him.”
“How? Your way wasn’t working before.”
“No, but there’s got to be a way to help without hurting him.”
“Kuroo-san, he’s buried any part of himself you might know. The only reason we recognize it is we’ve seen it before.”
“Right. Suga mentioned that. But he also said it was different.”
“Hinata changed because of grief and the need for revenge. Kei is also grieving, but as far as we can tell, he wasn’t out for vengeance. It’s something else.”
“Okay, I get that. But what?”
“Kei’s the only one who can answer that.”

Tetsu went with her and joined his mother and Kaori, who were mainly there for support. He hated having to stand aside, but if this was going to help Kei come back to himself, then he’d do what he had to. Even so, his mind was spinning with alternative ways to bring him back without hurting him.

“Snap out of it, Beanpole.” Noya’s voice was hard. “You’re done. You can stop.”
“I can’t, Noya-senpai.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“They’re trying to kill us! We have to live. I can’t let them kill you!”
“So, you think you can save us all?”
“I have to try!”
“Well, you did try, I’ll give you that. But you failed.”
“Noya…” Suga interrupted quietly. “What are you doing?”
Noya ignored him. “You failed!” he shouted. “Kinoshita, Narita, Tanaka, Kiyoko… Hinata! You didn’t save any of them! You failed!”
Kei blinked rapidly, but his stance remained the same. “I know! Don’t you think I know that?! I tried, but he wouldn’t listen, so I told him to fight. And I told him I’d help.”
“Oh. Oh no. I get it now,” Suga said to Noya.
“Yeah,” Noya agreed. “I thought that’s what it was.”

Tetsu was having a little trouble following, but he was starting to piece it together. Yachi’s hand, still holding his, was shaking. When he looked at her, he saw tears running down her face. Her other hand was covering her mouth. His mother had come up to hold his other hand. Her eyes were watery, but she hadn’t shed any tears.

“Mom?”
“Tell me what you think, Tetsuro.”
She always told him that when she knew he wanted to work something through out loud. She was his sounding board. He’d smile if he could, but right now…
“At some point, Kei shut himself away. At least, the part that we know. What he is right now must be who he was when he was on the run and alone. Someone who simply survives, and does what he has to in order to survive.”
“Yes. To a point.”
“Right. The difference here is, he wanted to help his friends in the way he knew how. That was his fighting.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And just now, he was talking about Hinata.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think he’s blaming himself?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“Other things?”
“He may be thinking he sent Hinata to his death.”
“Oh god.”
“Tetsu, when I say the word, you go to him, okay?”
“Yeah.”

“Kei, Shoyo wasn’t going to listen to anyone. It’s not your fault,” Suga took over for Noya. “I’m sure he appreciated your help…”
“I told him to stay alive. I told him…” his hands went to his head and he started wobbling, as if he was about to drop.
“Go, Tetsu! Go now!”

Tetsu was running to reach Kei before she even finished telling him to go. Once he got there, he threw his arms around Kei and held tight, as if to keep him from flying apart. Around him, the others gave them their space. A few went back inside, including his mom. Noya, Suga, Yachi, and Eita, stayed outside with them.

“It’s alright, now, Kei. I’m here. It’s okay. Come back to me.”
“Why, Tetsu? Why didn’t he listen? I thought we were friends! He told me we were friends.” Kei’s voice faded to a whisper, and then broke as he started crying. Tetsu couldn’t reply, so all he did was hang on.

~*~

Later that night, after Tetsu had helped Kei back inside and tucked him into bed, he sat beside him and watched him sleep, holding his hand. A few minutes later, a mug of tea floated into his vision. He looked at it, and then up at the person holding it. Suga smiled gently, and Tetsu took the mug from him.

“How are you holding up?” Suga asked after he sat down next to him.
“Well enough, I think,” he replied, taking a sip of the tea. “Thanks for this.”
“You looked like you needed it.”
“Thanks. I think.”
Suga chuckled. “We’re all so concerned about Kei, so we didn’t think about how you were managing this.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I didn’t really understand what had happened to him.” Putting the mug down, he reached over and ran his fingers through Kei’s hair. “He called me ‘Kuroo-san.”
“As if he knew who you were, but not what you meant to him.”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Why are you sorry?”
Suga took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “We didn’t let him mourn Akiteru’s death. We couldn’t. We needed everyone to stay focused. On top of that, Shoyo’s determination for revenge didn’t help either. I guess Kei decided that if he couldn’t stop Sho, he’d help out, instead.”
“What happened?”
“Shoyo and Ushiwaka fought each other. While that was going on, Kei kept anyone from interfering. He mowed down all but two of Ushiwaka’s men. Then, Shoyo killed Ushiwaka. But, Ushiwaka choked him, crushed his windpipe. He wasn’t able to speak, but he mouthed his last words to us. He told Kei he was glad they finally became friends.”
“It sounded like Kei thought they already were.”
“He probably did. Shoyo made it easy.”
“Oh.”
“I think he’ll be fine, now that you’re together again. That was another thing that affected him that we couldn’t let him dwell on too much; he missed you terribly. I apologize again.”
“It’s fine. I get why you had to do it.”
“I know I don’t need to tell you, but, help him out, okay? It’ll be rough at first, but he knows you’re here now, so that’s a big help.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
Suga smiled again and stood up, taking their empty mugs to the kitchen, and leaving them alone. Tetsu, finally letting his exhaustion win, crept under the blankets, snuggled up close to Kei, and held him in his arms. He was asleep in minutes.