Stay With Me

“Tsuki was here,” Shimizu reported as she ran up to Akaashi. “Stayed in a hostel just a few minutes from here.”
“Did anyone talk to him, see which way he went?” Akaashi asked.
“Not really. He acted friendly enough, but kept to himself. No one saw which way he left; everyone was still asleep,” Fukunaga said from right behind her.
“Damn. Well, cast your nets, see what comes up. I just got a message that we need to wait here for the rest of our team.”
“Who’s coming?”
Akaashi grinned. “They didn’t say.”
“They never do,” Shimizu sighed. “Completely random, as always.”
“I wonder…” Fukunaga mused.
“If they send both Miyans, I’m going home,” Shimizu said flatly.
“I’ll join you,” Akaashi agreed.
“Come on, guys! It really wasn’t that bad. No one was hurt.”
“You got lucky,” Akaashi reminded him. “The building was abandoned and on the outskirts of town. Good thing they already had plans to tear it down. You three just helped them with early demolition.”
“So why won’t you guys let it drop?”
“You used enough explosives that they heard it in the next prefecture? You not only completely obliterated a simple two-story wooden building, but left a 10-foot deep crater in its place? That you got caught up in a competition with Atsumu in the first place?”

Shimizu ticked off three of the biggest reasons she had on three fingers. Fukunaga at least had the presence of mind to look ashamed. For about a minute. Then, he smiled, and the others knew he wasn’t sorry in the least. Akaashi rubbed a hand down his face, and Shimizu shook her head. Fukunaga was their weapons expert, after all.

“Go see what else you can find out, and pray the trail isn’t too cold. I only have a general idea of his next destination, and that’s assuming he’s going by the directions he was given,” Akaashi ordered. “I’ll wait here for the others.”
“Yes, sir,” his teammates replied, and they left immediately, in opposite directions.

Akaashi found a bench nearby, and sat down, making himself comfortable. Outwardly, he was looking at the ocean, admiring the view. But, inwardly, he was considering his next move. If Tsuki were to go by the letter his mother had sent him, he’d be on his way to Fukuoka prefecture. From there, he was supposed to end up in Hyogo. But knowing the man had been on the run for a decade, he wouldn’t do exactly as he’d been told. More than half that time, he was on his own in terms of running and hiding.

Akaashi chuckled. He’d never met the youngest Tsukishima, but he wanted to. He wanted to meet the man who had been forced to essentially become a human chameleon.

They had their work cut out to find and catch up to him, that’s for sure.

Within a half hour, and just as Shimizu and Fukunaga returned with nothing new, he sighted a speedboat flying into port, and then performing what he could only describe as a skid as it ended up flush against the nearest dock. The rest of their team had arrived, and Akaashi was already guessing who drove the boat.

“Three guesses as to who’s driving,” Shimizu said quietly from beside him. “And the first two don’t count.”
“Only one comes to mind, to be honest,” he replied. And had his suspicions confirmed the moment he saw Oikawa appear at the stern. “Show off,” he muttered.
“Is he joining us?”
“God, I hope not.”
“Who else can you see?”
Fukunaga squinted. “More crows,” he said quietly. “Likely to help get Tsuki to trust us.”
“I see Narita, Kinoshita, and… Hinata. This will be interesting,” Shimizu added. “Oh! Also, one of the Miyans.”
“Which one?”
“Osamu.”
“Good. The sane one.”
“He’s just as chaotic as his brother. Just… sneakier.”
“Right. Well, let’s go meet them. We have less than no time to get moving again.”
“Right.”

The three of them made their way down to the dock, and happily greeted their friends and teammates. Akaashi quickly outlined his next plan, and they all agreed it was time to leave. Then, he turned to face Oikawa, who was sitting nonchalantly on the stairs that led to the cockpit.

“Think you can get us to Fukuoka?”
“Well, yeah…”
“But?”
“She just barely made it here from Miyazaki. I’ll need to gas up, and make sure she’s good to go again.”
“How long?”
“A day at the least.”
Akaashi squinted. “What else?”
“Five passengers is all I can do to keep things safe and speedy. There are seven of you, with me making it eight. That’s way too heavy a load, which would, at the very least, slow her down. Besides, I assume you need to get there as soon as possible, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me call a friend of mine. He owes me a favor, anyway. He’ll fly you there.”
“Fly?”
Everyone looked at Kinoshita. He shrugged helplessly. “I hate flying.”
“We can’t afford to leave you behind…”
“I’ll go,” he reassured them. “I just… really hate flying.”
“If you’re sure?” Akaashi watched as Kinoshita nodded. Then, he turned back to Oikawa. “Make your call. We need to be in the air as soon as your friend is ready.”
“Done. Give me a few minutes.” He got up and climbed the stairs, disappearing into the boat.

While Oikawa was calling his friend, Akaashi and the others started outlining their two main objectives. First, earn/regain Tsuki’s trust. That would take the most effort, especially because they’d been ostensibly sent by his brother, whom he barely trusted. Second, they had to keep him safe, which meant they had to move as quickly as he did from place to place. Which would be difficult for eight people, even with their combined expertise.

Oikawa came back, and when his eyes met Akaashi’s he gave a thumbs up along with his trademark bright smile. “You’re good to go. He’ll be ready as soon as you get there.”
“Thanks, man. Appreciate your help.”
“No worries! Glad to help.” His expression turned serious in the blink of an eye. “Be careful out there. Best of luck.”
“Thanks, Oikawa. You too.”

They waved at each other as they parted ways.

~*~

Bokuto snickered as he put his phone away. Akaashi had just texted him with news, and the last part had him wishing he could have been in Okinawa.

“What’s got you laughing?” Eita asked from beside him.
“Akaashi met up with his half of the backup team.”
“Which means ours is en route.”
“Or already here,” Tanaka added as he walked up to them. “Who’d he get?”
“Half your old team,” Bokuto replied with a grin.
“Understandable.”
“Yes, but who?” Eita asked. “I need to know if I should be concerned or afraid.”
“You’re never afraid, Dude,” Tanaka joked, slugging him in the arm. “You shoot first, ask questions later.”
“Best way to deal with scary people.”
“If I thought you were serious, I’d have to reevaluate Aki’s reasoning,” Bokuto joined in. “Anyway, Akaashi said that Narita, Kinoshita, and Hinata are all part of his team.”
“Hinata! That sneaky little son of a…” Eita muttered under his breath.
“Still bitter over that loss, aren’t ya?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“It’s been, like what, thirteen years or something? But okay, yeah, sure.”
“We get Atsumu,” Bokuto interrupted them.
“Captain Chaos! Alright!” Eita cheered, his eyes lit up with excitement.
“But, I thought that was Noya.” Tanaka was as loyal as ever.
“He’s coming, too.”
“Even if they are half of two pairs of Chaos Twins, Noya and Atsumu could wreak enough havoc on their own.”
“Truth.”
“You don’t get to agree, Tanaka. Compared to the Miyans, Hinata and Noya, you’re the tame one.”
“What’d you just call me?”
“Do I need to separate you two?”
“This from Emperor Emo?”
“Never going to live that one down, am I?”
“Not even a little bit.”
Bokuto grinned. “Suzumeda and Hoshiumi round out our team.”
“Oh, good.”
“You sound relieved.”
“Suzu and Hoshi are the sane ones.”
“Truth.”
“Why are you even agreeing with me, Tanaka?”
Tanaka shrugged. “‘Cuz I know it irritates the hell out of you.”
“Okay, guys, I think I see Suzu and Atsumu walking this way. Let’s go.”

Eita and Tanaka immediately ended their verbal scuffle and followed Bokuto out into the open. When Suzu caught sight of the three of them, she smiled big, made a show of hollering and raising her hands and waving, and then threw herself into Bokuto’s arms.

“Play along,” she whispered in his ear. “We may have been followed.”
“Already?” Bokuto replied, but leaned back far enough to smile brightly at her. “Glad you two finally made it!” he exclaimed loudly.
“We nearly got lost! You’re so bad with directions.”

Atsumu gazed at them fondly, as if he were a doting elder brother. But he gave a slight hand signal and Eita moved so that he could hear clearly.

“There were four men tailin’ us halfway here. We gave ‘em the slip a couple times, but they’re tenacious.”
“Any sign of Kuroo or his aunt?”
“Not yet, but it’s almost lunch hour, so if they stick to their usual pattern, they’ll be around soon enough,” Suzu told them after surprising Bokuto with a kiss on the cheek and a pat to his chest.
“What’s yer plan, o fearless leader?”
“Smartass.”
“Smart up here, too,” Atsumu tapped the side of his head.
Eita snorted. “Debatable.”
“Guys, let’s find a safer spot. Where are Hoshi and Noya?” Bokuto interrupted them.
“Taking care of our followers. Give them a few more minutes, and they should be joining us.”

Making it look like they were just a group of friends meeting for fun, they started walking and talking as if they didn't have a care in the world. In between bouts of laughter and light-hearted punches, Bokuto outlined his plan.

They were going to arrange a meeting with Kuroo and his aunt, letting them know they would be protected. They meant to stay out of the way, most of the time, in order to make everything appear normal. But, if necessary, one or two of them will be there with them. It all depended on what the enemy threw at them.

When they came to a stop at an intersection, they found Hoshiumi and Nishinoya waiting for them.

“Took you guys long enough!” Hoshi said, leaping off the bench he’d perched on.
“Thought I was gonna starve waiting on you,” Noya grinned as he stood up. “TANAKA!” he hollered, racing over to leap onto his best friend.
“NOYA!”

Suzu grabbed the back of Atsumu’s shirt. “Don’t you dare.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll let go if they invite you over.”
“Fine.”

“What do we need to know?” Hoshi asked Bokuto, who filled him in.
“Compared to Akaashi, our job is relatively easy.”
“Do they really need all of us?”
“Well, considering you and Noya are supposed to remain unseen, for the most part, yeah. They need all of us.”
“So, when do we arrange the meeting?”
“How about now?”

The new voice startled the seven of them into silence. Atsumu even had the gall to fake a jump, like he’d been scared. The older lady raised an eyebrow in his direction, and he immediately looked chastened, though he was grinning anyway. When Bokuto turned around, he found a tiny (she had to be as tall as Noya at the least) dark-haired lady with small rectangular glasses watching them with a puckish smile, and a much taller man just behind her, looking rather menacing.

Bokuto smiled, bowed, and held out his hand. “Kotaro Bokuto, ma’am. Nice to meet you.”
“Yui Shibata,” the lady sounded so amused. She returned his greeting. “That’s my nephew, Tetsuro Kuroo. He’s not as scary as he’s trying to look.”
“Auntie,” Kuroo groaned.
“She’s right, though,” Bokuto said out loud. He held out his hand to Kuroo. “Besides, pretty sure we’ve met before.”
Kuroo tilted his head and looked at him at the same time he shook Bokuto’s hand. Then, his eyes lit with remembrance.
“Captain of the Fukurodani VBC! Yeah, I know you! How’ve you been?”
“Great! Thanks for asking…”
“Guys, reunion later. We need to get moving,” Suzu reminded them. “It’s crowded, but that gives them the opportunity to sneak up on us if we’re not careful.”
“You’re right.” He turned to smile at Shibata. “Any suggestions?”
“I know a place. They serve good food, too.”
“Lead the way!”
“Wait,” Kuroo said, and they turned to look at him. “Weren’t there two shorties with you?”
“Oh, yeah, them,” Bokuto replied with a little shrug. “They’re still around.”
“Really? Where?”
“Oh, don’t worry. They’ll catch up to us. Now, why don’t we catch up to your aunt? She’s commandeered Eita and Atsumu, and I have a feeling they’ll want backup.”
Kuroo laughed and started walking alongside Bokuto. “We should just watch and see what kind of fun she has with them.”
“Good idea!”

~*~

[If I didn’t already know how serious this is, I’d say I’m going to have fun with them]
[You would. That’s probably why that particular group is there.]
[Probably. How are you doing?]
[I’m fine. Within reason. Grandmother just left, trying to see if I know more than I’m supposed to]
[Which you do]
[She still thinks I’m lost without someone telling me what to do]
[I’d have gone crazy trying to keep up that act]
[Yeah, well, it’s harder than you think]
[I bet. You definitely have the talent and temperament to keep up appearances for however long you have to]
[I’ve had to. For my family, especially my sons]
[I know]
[Speaking of…]
[He’s holding up well enough]
[Good to hear]
[I need to go. Just thought I’d check in]
[Thanks for that. Be safe]
[I will. You too]

Hotaru Tsukishima smiled as she tucked the flip phone into the secret drawer she had beside her bed. It was nice to be able to talk with a friend from time to time, but part of her act was to be the clueless and isolated young mother who couldn’t string two decisions together if she tried. She’d managed it for over a decade, but only now was it starting to grind her gears.

Add to the fact that she had been unable to protect her baby boy when he needed her most, then and now, she was doing everything in her power to maintain her act. It didn’t help that Grandmother seemed to be onto her, visiting even more than before, and at random intervals, so that she barely had enough time to prepare. Making Akiteru join them was especially cruel, since he had to act like he was completely under Grandmother’s thumb.

They’d been so heartbroken the night Tsuki was forced to run away, and unable to do anything but watch him go. They’d cried so many times, remembering the look of utter betrayal on his face.

Even now, Hotaru wiped away a few tears. She guessed it was enough that he’d even talk to Aki when they met, even if it was orchestrated so the meeting was unavoidable. And it was enough that Tsuki accepted her letters, and sent messages back via Aki after those meetings. He’d always been a good boy, even if he acted salty and acerbic around new people.

Still, he didn’t trust them to help him, any more than the occasional tip off, which was understandable.

What was remarkable was his trust in his lover. He’d only known Kuroo for a short time, but it was enough that he had someone to trust. She’d been so happy when Aki told her about them, about the love they both had for each other. She hoped, once this was all over, that she would be able to meet Kuroo herself, and see him with her son. She wanted to see for herself how happy Kei was when he was with Kuroo.

~*~

“Well?”
“Still no location on the individual,” Washijo sighed. “He’s still going. We can only hope he runs himself into the ground. We might be able to find him, at that point.”
“Dammit! You’d think with all the men I’ve sent out, that we’d at least be able to catch up to him!” Grandmother exploded. Then, she began coughing, a deep and ragged cough that sounded painful. They waited while she fought for control. “Omizu, send Terushima. He might have better success,” she panted her order.
“Yes, ma’am!” Omizu replied excitedly, pulling out his phone. He stood and moved to a far corner of the room.
“Irihata?”
“Kuroo and his aunt have managed to evade our people, too. We can’t follow them without being diverted.”
“What is wrong with you?! How is it that we’re unable to locate my disgrace of a grandson? How is it that we’re unable to keep eyes on his closest friends?”

The room was silent. Even Omizu had gone conspicuously silent, though he still held the phone to his ear. He quickly gave his orders and hung up, returning to the table to sit down. By then, it looked like Grandmother had gotten herself under control.

“Double your efforts. I want answers, and I want them yesterday. I will not accept any more failures.”
“Ma’am, if you would just let me send…”
“You have Daisho and Ushijima. Use them. Put Tendo with them, and see if he can guess anything.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, sounding both disappointed and excited at the same time.
“Dismissed.”

The three rose up and bowed, leaving the room in single file. Once the door closed, Grandmother held herself upright for a few moments before collapsing in her seat. The doctor and nurse ran out from behind the hidden door, and barely managed to revive the old woman.

“Get off me! I’m fine!”
“Ma’am, you passed out. I must insist…”
“I told you I’m fine! Help me up,” she grumbled. “I have to meet with my grandson and daughter-in-law.”
The doctor sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”