Moonrise

Bokuto sent word early the next morning that they’d be arriving in small groups, staggered through the evening, starting around 5:15pm. That gave the Crows (and Kawanishi) time to get the villa ready for at least twelve more people. There was a possibility for a few more, meaning they’d have a sizable force under one roof. So to speak. At most, there would be twenty-five people.

Rooms within the main house that weren’t in use were opened up and aired out, dusted, and cleaned. They divided forces and tackled the bungalows, giving each the same treatment as the main house. They also made sure the power was working and that there were enough towels, bedsheets, pillows and blankets.

Narita decided they would figure out who would sleep where once everyone arrived, so they packed up their gear from the rooms they were currently in. The meeting room would be converted into extra sleeping space for anyone else not given a room assignment. Extra futons, pillows and blankets were stacked in the meeting room.

Suga and Kiyoko took Kei out to procure more supplies, especially in the way of foodstuffs. They bought enough to feed a small army, and then a little more, just in case. They had been given kitchen duty, since they were the best cooks among the Crows. Once they came back with the goods, they started making a hearty lunch for everyone, since they didn’t really take time to eat breakfast.

By 5pm, they had everything in order and dinner would be ready about midway through the arrivals.

By 5:15pm, they made their way to the front of the villa, ready to greet the first arrivals. Kei couldn’t help being a little excited; he didn’t know who was supposed to come when, but still, he was looking forward to seeing Tetsu again. But as they made their way up the path, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

“Tsuki!” Both Aunt Yui and Yachi ran up to him, swamping him in their arms. Surprised, but pleased, he returned their hugs.
“Thank goodness you’re safe!” Aunt Yui said, reaching up to frame his face with her hands.
“Thank you? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, nevermind me. I was just worried about you, is all,” she tried to backpedal. “I smell some delicious aromas! Have you been cooking?”
“Yeah. Well, Suga and Kiyoko, too.”

He was saved by the rest of his team, as they came over to surround them. Hinata and Noya managed to divert Yachi, taking her away to the side to talk. Narita and the rest swooped in to greet Eita and Atsumu, who had just stood by and watched.

“Come on inside and put your stuff down. We’ll be figuring out bed space once everyone gets here. We have some light snacks for you if you’re hungry, but dinner will be ready in about an hour, so don’t fill up,” Suga told them.
“So, the rumors were true, then,” Eita said with a smile.
“Oh? What rumors were those?” Suga asked, clearly knowing what Eita was talking about.
“They called you Sugamama during your third year, and Daichi was…” Eita’s voice dropped away. “Sorry.”
Suga shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. And he was known as Dadchi.”
“You actually let them call you that?” Atsumu asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, not at first. But then, we realized they were right. We did act a lot like parents of our teammates, so at that point, we just went with it.”
“They took it seriously, too,” Kei added as he walked up with Aunt Yui.
“Look at who we had to deal with.”
“Point for Suga.”
“Exactly.”
Kei laughed and then looked down at Aunt Yui, who was staring up at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
“What’s that look for?”
“You seem different.”
“Is… is that good, or bad?”
“Oh, it’s good. Just… different.”
“Well, why don’t you mull it over inside. Get you some food and something to drink while we wait on the others.”
“I think I just figured out what it was that’s different,” she said with a grin. “See ya later.”
“Right.”

They welcomed each of the arrivals each time, with everyone going to meet them. It was like a great big family reunion, and no one was safe from being hugged, jostled, or shoved around. It was almost as if they took a short trip back in time to when they were in high school. With none of the rivalries, of course. Well, unless one counted the little extra punch to the arm Hinata took from Eita and Kawanichi.

The last to arrive was Bokuto and Kuroo. By this time, the rest of them stayed inside, too busy talking over dinner and catching up with each other. The only two that came out to welcome them were Akaashi and Kei. Both of them guessed that Aunt Yui had somehow gone to everyone and told them to wait inside; to let them greet their lovers’ without a crowd surrounding them. Which suited them just fine.

As soon as Bokuto caught sight of Akaashi, he smiled so bright it would rival the sun. They met halfway and kissed deeply. There was no rush or hurry; they’d only parted this morning. Still, it was clear they were both happy to see each other made it safely.

Kei watched them for a few moments before turning his full attention on the man striding up to him. When he stopped, they were toe-to-toe, only inches apart, and neither of them looked away.

“Are you okay?” Tetsu asked quietly.
“Yeah. Fine,” Kei replied in kind. “You?”
“Same.” Tetsu’s hands came up and gently framed Kei’s face, then glided back to sift his fingers through golden blonde locks. “You didn’t change the color.”
“No. Not yet, anyway.”
“Good. I like it this way,” he said softly. “It’s normal. It’s you.”
“Yeah, well…”
“I know.”
Kei reached up and took Tetsu’s hands in his, lowering them from his hair.
“Are you going to kiss me, or not?”
Tetsu’s eyes widened in surprise, a pinkish hue lit his cheekbones, and then he smiled wolfishly.
“Only if you don’t mind kissing in front of an audience,” he replied, looking past Kei and at the villa.

Kei turned enough to look, and sure enough, nearly everyone in the house was crowded around the front windows. Including Aunt Yui, who undoubtedly also gathered everyone to watch them. Then, he turned again and looked past Tetsu, and saw Bokuto and Akaashi were also watching.

Sighing, he shrugged and looked back at Tetsu. “I mean, I guess we could. Can’t let our loyal viewers down, can we?”
“Didn’t take you for an exhibitionist,” Tetsu teased, his focus once again on Kei, and Kei alone.
“I’m not.”
“Okay, so why don’t we just…”
He tugged on Kei’s hand and started to walk, when Kei tugged back, stopping him.
“Tetsu?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
“Here? You sure?”

Losing all patience, Kei started kissing him, with Tetsu laughing between moments when they parted before going in for another kiss. And another. Soon, they were kissing with wild abandon, and completely ignoring the fact that everyone was cheering loudly for them.

When their kiss ended, they held each other, and Tetsu tried (and failed) to glare the audience into going away. Still, he saw Bokuto and Akaashi going into the villa, and heard one of them telling everyone else to mind their business.

Bokuto stuck his head back out the door for a minute. “Hey guys, when you’re done, come inside. There isn’t much dinner left.”

Tetsu gave him a thumbs up, and Bokuto returned it, but before he went back in, he looked toward the direction in which everyone came up to the villa. Instead of going back, he called for Akaashi and Narita to join him, and the three came out and stood waiting. Tetsu turned and saw who they were looking at.

Coming up the path were Oikawa, Akiteru, and two people he didn’t know, the woman holding hands with the man. He felt Kei’s hand grip his a little tighter, and when he looked into those golden brown eyes, he saw a mix of confusion and anger.

“Kei? Do you know them?”
“Yeah.”

The woman, who had been minding the path in front of her, looked up at them. Her face lit up with so much joy. She instantly dropped the man’s hand and ran to Kei, wrapping her arms around him. She was both laughing and crying hysterically.

Oikawa went to stand with Bokuto and Akaashi, and Tetsu, not sure what he was supposed to do, started to go stand with them. But, Kei still held his hand, and wasn’t letting go.

“Kei?”
“Tetsu, this is my mom, Hotaru Tsukishima.”

She was still too hysterical for him to offer a proper greeting, so he just waited, because it looked like Kei was going to speak again. He was staring straight at the man, who was standing beside Akiteru. And, as Tetsu looked more, he began to see similarities between the man and Kei. The same blonde hair, both wore glasses, and both were roughly the same height and build. The man’s eyes were what cemented Tetsu’s suspicions about him; they were golden brown, just like Kei’s.

“And that’s my dad; Mitsuhide Tsukishima,” Kei finished the introduction.

~*~

A few hours later, after everyone had gone to bed, Tetsu and Kei sat up in one of the little bungalows apart from the main house. There was a TV and blu-ray player, but they weren’t interested in watching anything. Instead, Tetsu waited patiently while Kei thought his way through the earlier revelation: his dad was clearly still alive. Not only that, but it seemed everyone else knew who he was, but never said anything to Kei. Well, it wasn’t as if they could; the information had been classified. Still, that’s one hell of a secret to keep from him.

Kei hadn’t spoken another word all night, not to anyone. If he was asked to help with something, he did, but that was it. He helped serve dinner, helped make more because it wasn’t quite enough to feed everyone, and then helped clean up afterward. When asked, he helped people carry their things to their assigned sleeping quarters, but once everyone was settled, he took Tetsu’s hand and they left for their bungalow.

Now, they sat in the middle of the bed, Kei’s back to his chest, and Tetsu’s arms wrapped around him. They’d been sitting that way for at least an hour now, and still Kei hadn’t said a word. Tetsu was about to urge him to say something, but was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Reluctantly, he let go of Kei and went to see who was there.

“Can we come in?” Akaashi asked quietly. Standing behind him was Bokuto and Narita.
“No, I don’t…”
“It’s fine, Tetsu,” Kei said from their bed. “Let them in.”

With a wry grin, he stepped back and opened the door further so they could come in. Kei watched them as they stood there and Tetsu closed the door behind them.

“You guys can sit down,” he said, gesturing toward the table and chairs. When they settled into their seats, he joined them at the table.

“We’re sorry,” Narita started. “We wanted to tell you, but…”
“Classified,” Kei said, his voice low.
“Right.”
“And yet, everyone clearly knew about it.”
“To be fair, you weren’t a part of our… organization,” Bokuto offered by way of explanation.
“No. I’m just his son,” Kei bit out. “That should have been enough clearance for someone to tell me my dad was still alive.”
“Would you have believed us if we had told you?” Akaashi asked quietly.
“Probably not. But is that still any reason to keep it from me?”
“We had orders, directly from…”
“I understand. Even my own dad didn’t want me to know.”
“And if you knew he was alive, what would you have done?” Narita asked carefully.
“I don’t know,” Kei answered honestly. “I don’t think it’s a matter of what I’d have done, but what he could’ve done.”
“And what do you think I could have done, Kei?”

Everyone started, and then turned to see the elder Tsukishima standing just inside the doorway. No one heard anyone knock, and no one heard the door open. One by one, they stood up and bowed, and with a look, each one left. But not before offering Kei a bit of support by gripping his arm or shoulder as they passed. Even Tetsu would have gone, but Kei reached out to stop him.

“Stay with me,” Kei whispered.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright.”

Kei faced his father for the first time since they arrived at the villa. Really, one could call it the first time in fifteen years.

“What do you think I could’ve done?” Mitsuhide asked again.
“I don’t know, sir. Maybe you could’ve kept our family together? Maybe you could’ve been there for us? Maybe you could’ve stopped Grandmother ....”
“Even before she exiled you from the family, she was well on her way to building her ‘empire.’ I was heir apparent, and expected to do what she told me. And I did. I was a good son. Up until my best friend decided to leave the organization. She wanted to be with her family, to help raise her son.”
“What happened to her?” Kei asked.
“It wasn’t what happened to her, but what happened to her husband. One day, he left for work, and never came home. They called it an accident, and it appeared to be one. Enough for the authorities to rule it as such.”
“Oh god.”
“Indeed. Once I found out what happened, I helped her escape, and made sure she and her son were safely hidden away, names and identities changed, until it was safe.”

Kei needed to sit down. He backed up to the nearest chair and sat down heavily. Of all the things he expected to hear about his dad disappearing, this wasn’t part of it. Beside him, Tetsu sat down too, propping his elbows on the table and looking out the window toward the villa. It looked like he was doing some serious thinking, and Kei wanted to know what it was about. Even so, he also wanted to hear the rest of his dad’s story.

“What happened to them?”
“For all intents and purposes, they disappeared. I couldn’t risk getting in touch with her, or vice versa, or we’d both be in hot water. It was a good thing no one suspected your mother. She kept me updated, and they became best friends as well.”
“Okay. So…”
“For a few years, a search was conducted, but we were unable to discover her, or her son’s, whereabouts.”
“You say that as if you were part of the search.”
“I had to be, so Grandmother wouldn’t suspect anything.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Anyhow, when Grandmother gave up looking for my best friend, she doubled her efforts to build her empire. She would do anything to elevate the Tsukishima name, and I began thinking that this wasn’t the same woman I knew anymore; it just got worse and worse. I finally had enough, and decided I had to leave too, to find a way to stop her.”
“So you left us?”
“Your mother was the only one who knew anything about it. Akiteru found out a few years ago.”
“But if you had stayed…”
“Do you honestly think I could have stopped her from exiling you?”
“Well, yes!”
“How?”
“You are her son and heir apparent…”
“A son and heir apparent with zero power or influence to do anything! I would not have been able to save you from exile, and I would not have been able to stop the hitmen she sent out after you. I left so that I could fight her in my own way. I left so that I could help you.”

Kei blinked hard. He’d been told something similar by Kiyoko. Sort of. Akiteru must have done the recruiting of his teammates before he graduated, and once he did and was forced to run, they were called for duty. And overall, it was his dad that got the ball rolling in the first place.

“But why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t. If you knew, and you were caught, my plans to dismantle my mother’s empire would be in shambles. Not only that, but everyone involved would be marked for death, too. Trust me, I hated leaving you in the dark, but as long as you didn’t know, then all of us were safe.”

Once again, it was silent in the little bungalow. Kei turned to look at Tetsu, who was still looking out the window. Tetsu turned his head and smiled gently, and then his attention was back to looking outside. Suddenly, he stood up, and turned to look at Kei’s dad.

“Your best friend. Who was she?”
“I think you know, Kuroo.”
Tetsu chuckled softly. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“You don’t seem to be surprised.”
“Not really. I have a few questions for her, but otherwise, I’m not surprised at all.” Tetsu bent and kissed Kei’s forehead. “I’ll be right back, okay, Moonshine?”

Kei simply nodded, confused from the last conversation. He watched Tetsu leave, and then turned to look out the window. Tetsu was making his way back to the villa. Standing in the entryway was Aunt Yui.

“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Who was your best friend?”
“She’s still my best friend, Kei. But to answer your question, you know her as Yui Shibata. Her real name is Yuki Kuroo.”