Stay With Me

“I can’t believe they’re so stupid as to meet all in one place,” Kyotani whispered to his colleague. “It's a bonus that Tsukishima is with them, too.”

That little bit of intel was surprising, as no one had been able to identify him among the group. All the info they had on Tsukishima was that he had blonde hair, was tall and lanky, and had pale or lightly tanned skin. He wore glasses often, but was also known to wear contacts. When they located the group, no one matched that description. Until Terushima came over, and pointed him out almost immediately.

“One chameleon recognizes another fairly easily,” he’d said cryptically.
“If you say so,” Kyotani had replied, still shocked at how quickly that had happened.

Now, here they were, watching the enemy and waiting for the order to start wreaking havoc.

“It’d be so easy to start pickin’ them off…”
“We can’t. Not yet.”
“Excuse me? We could end this right now.”
“You’re not wrong. But we have orders.”
“From who? You know Grandmother wants him dead. She’s even put an additional 600,000 yen on the bounty.”
Kyotani snorted, but still looked interested. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Scuttlebutt, mostly,” his colleague replied. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true.”
“It’s true,” another voice confirmed from behind them.

Both Kyotani and his colleague started and then turned to see who came up from behind them. There were two; Terushima, who apparently decided to show himself now that he had better backup, and Futakuchi, who was smirking at them.

“She just sent the message out,” Terushima continued. “Don’t lose your minds and balk orders because of the money.”
“What do you mean? It’s 600,000 yen! That’s a lot of money, even for you, boss,” the other man said. “And they’re all… right there!”
“Don’t get excited!” Kyotani barked. “If you screw everything up, you won’t see the next minute, much less that bounty.”
“Are you telling me you'd kill me for taking the initiative?”
“Do what you want, dude. Find out what happens.” Futakuchi shrugged, looking gleeful.

The man looked at Kyotani, as if he’d find backup there, and who merely stared back. He knew he wasn’t the only one who’d be desperate enough to get their hands on the money.

“What do we do, then?” he asked, challenging them. “Just sit here and watch?!”
“Yes, that’s exactly what we do,” Terushima said. “Our orders were to gather up here, and then keep an eye on them. We’re merely surveillance until we get the green light from Grandmother.”
“When will that be?”
“It could be now, or two years from now. We won’t know until we get the orders,” Kyotani growled.

When they finally got it through the man’s head that he couldn’t just go shooting up a group of people in a very public place (not to mention governmentally protected), they all settled in to watch. Except, now, something was… off.

“I don’t see everybody anymore.”
“Yeah. Three, no four, are gone,” Kyotani confirmed.
“Which ones?” Terushima asked, his voice suddenly strained.
“Hell if I know,” Kyotani replied.
“Hinata, Noya, Sugawara, and one of the girls,” Futakuchi supplied the answers. “Oh! No, Kyotani, you miscounted. I don’t see Hoshiumi, either.”
“Which one was that?”
“All white hair. Slightly taller than Hinata.”
“Oh, yeah, right.”
“Fuck. Run, guys.” Terushima was already running.
“What? Why?”

It only took them all a few minutes to figure out that, with the exception of the Seagull, all the ones who had disappeared were Crows, and the most dangerous ones of all.

They bugged out. Post haste.

~*~

“I really wish Hinata hadn’t taught Noya and Hoshiumi that move,” Bokuto sighed, and then looked at everyone. “Guys, we need to break up.”
“Wait. Why?” Atsumu asked as everyone grouped around Bokuto and Akaashi.
“I’d say we’ve just been found,” Akaashi told them. “Which means, we need to think fast and move faster.”
“Okay, so what's our exit strategy?” Suzu asked them.
“Our what?” Tanaka asked before anyone could answer.
“Oh my god, we’re all gonna die,” Osumu groaned.
There was a sprinkling of laughter through the group before Bokuto spoke up. “Eita, Atsumu, Akaashi, you go with Aunt Yui and Kuroo. I have your numbers, I’ll contact you with a rendezvous point. Hoshiumi will catch up to you.”
“Right.”
“Narita, Kinoshita, Tanaka, you go with Tsuki. Same instructions. Hinata, Shimizu, Suga, and Noya will find you.”
“Nice touch, boss,” Fukunaga nodded. “Keeping them together.”
“Figure people will think twice before messing with a murder of Crows. Especially now.”
“Good point.”
“Everyone else is with me. I don’t care where you go in the direction I point you in, just be sure to make it to the rendezvous point once I get it to you. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Wait! What about Yachi?” Everyone turned to her, and she flushed.
“Oh! Don’t worry about me. I’ll just go back…”
“Unfortunately, you’ve been sighted with us. You can’t go back.”
“Oh. Well, then…”
“She can come with us,” Aunt Yui said, gathering up the younger woman under one arm. “I think I’ll need my own backup with all these guys around me.”
“She’s funny,” Atsumu said sarcastically, pointing in her direction.
“Oh, a real riot,” Eita followed suit.
“Surprised you’re not used to it by now,” Kuroo added.
“Watch for flying objects,” Tsuki offered. “She may, or may not, miss.”
“I know how much you guys love me, but honestly…”
“Hey, Bokuto?” Kuroo looked over at the de facto leader of their group.
Bokuto winked. “Go ahead. We’ll cover for ya. Just don’t take too long.”
“Right.” Kuroo grabbed Tsuki’s hand and they ran off to a less public area of the garden.
“If anyone else needs to take a minute to…”
“No goodbyes, boss,” Tanaka said fiercely.
“Gonna let me finish?”
“Sure. As long as you don’t say goodbye.”
“If anyone else needs to take a minute to wish friends, lovers, fiances good luck and farewell, then do so now.” He reached for Akaashi, who was already reaching for him. “We’ll see each other again soon.” And they were gone.

Everyone else just grouped together and talked quietly, enjoying what time they had left until they met again.

“Ummm… Auntie Yui?”
“Yes, dear? Oh, but please. Call me either Auntie, or Yui, but never both at once.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Yachi bent in half bowing.
“Yachi, sweetie, please don’t do that, either,” Yui said, gently urging the younger woman to stand up straight. “Now, what do you need?”
“Before we go, I have to speak to Tsuki.”
“What about, dear?”
“I- I’d rather not say. It’s for his ears alone.”
“Oh, but…”
“Hey, Auntie Yui?” Eita interrupted, deliberately using the nickname she hated to get her attention. “Let them talk. Not all private matters are for you.”
“Wow, Eita. Grumpy, much?” Atsumu said.
“No, he has a point,” Yui said, only slightly contritely. “I can be too nosey.”
Eita snorted. “I didn’t mean it to sound that way,” he apologized.
“Oh, you’re fine,” Yui smiled, waving a hand at him. “Someone has to be the grumpy one to Atsumu’s sunshiny nature.” Both tall men smiled at her, clearly won over by the tiny lady. “Yachi, dear, I only ask one thing: don’t you think your timing may be a little off?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s with my nephew at the moment, and they’re having to split apart again, which is hard enough for them both. Do you think you could wait a little bit before talking to him?”
“But what if…”
“No, dear. No ‘what ifs.’ We’re all going to make it to the rendezvous point, and that’s all. Do you think you can wait till then?”
“I suppose…”
“I’m sorry to ask it of you, because it looks like you really need to get it off your chest. But, I think it’s best to wait.”
“I understand.”
“Thank you. I only want the best for those two boys of mine.”
“You make it sound like they’re your sons, Auntie,” Atsumu said with a grin.
She smiled fondly. “They might as well be,” she answered softly, looking off in the direction Tetsu and Tsuki had gone. “They might as well be,” she repeated, more to herself than the others.

~*~

“Think maybe they’d let us go together?” Tetsu asked after a long, slow kiss. “If we’re all on the run now, I’d rather be with you.”
“We could ask,” Kei replied breathlessly, leaning into Tetsu’s touch. “But, even Bokuto and Akaashi are splitting up.”
“Right.” Tetsu’s mouth went to Kei’s neck in response to the hands gliding under his shirt and over his skin. “Be careful,” he whispered. “Take care of yourself. Don’t make me sic Aunt Yui on you.”
“Oh god,” Kei panted. “Not Aunt Yui.”
“And she’d be second in line behind me.”
“Oh yeah? What would you do to me?”

Tetsu backed him up against the nearest tree, his mouth firmly locked on Kei’s, hands roaming his skin, fingers toying with the waistline of his jeans. One hand kept moving lower, gliding over the denim fabric everywhere but where Kei wanted that hand to go. His hips hitched forward, his body begging for what Tetsu was denying him. The other hand, curse it, unsnapped the button at the top, ever so slowly unzipped the zipper, and still somehow left him untouched.

“Tease,” he gasped, breaking the kiss, his chest heaving.
“You asked me what I’d do to you. I’m showing you.”
Kei moaned when that hand brushed over him. “Fuck.”
“Not here. Not unless you want an audience.”
“Pretty sure they wouldn’t disturb us. Ah!” The hand pressed against him, making him see stars. “Tetsu, please.”
“Please, what?”
Kei was losing his mind. He reached up to take Tetsu’s face in his hands. “Please?”

Tetsu smiled, and relented, lowering himself to his knees.

A little while later, after Kei had done the same to Tetsu, they quietly held each other for as long as they could. They had put each other back to rights, so aside from flushed faces and dazed eyes, no one could really tell what they’d been up to. Not that anyone would ask.

“Think they’d say yes if we asked them?” Kei asked quietly, moving so that he could look at his lover. He smiled at Tetsu’s surprised expression. “I never said it was a bad idea. Just pointed out that we weren’t the only pair to be forced apart.”
“True. Let’s ask. I mean, it’s only a 50/50 shot they’d say yes, right?”
“Right.” He waited a few moments. “But, what if they disagree? No, wait. Nevermind. We have to trust them.”
“Still want to run away alone?”
Tsuki shrugged. “It’s all I knew for ten years. I trust them because I trust you more. If you hadn’t been here, I would have been gone already.”
“I know.”
“Oh! What about your job?”
“That’s not totally random,” Tetsu quipped. “What about my job?”
“Well, you’re part of this now, so you can’t go back. At least, not right away.”
“To be honest, I don’t know what might happen. But, if I can, I’ll see about taking a hiatus.”
“Tetsu…”
“I’ve been meaning to take a break, anyway. I mean, I do love my job, but I haven’t taken much time off at all.” He shrugged nonchalantly and grinned. “Workaholic, reporting for duty.” He playfully saluted.

Kei caught his hand and gently weaved his fingers through Tetsu’s. He watched as the playful grin faded into worry, and even a little fear. Kei hated seeing that look on his face. Yet, this was likely how he’d look until they somehow managed to beat Grandmother.

“Kuroo? Tsuki?” Akaashi’s quiet voice broke the silence around them. “We need to go.”
“Right,” they both replied, grinning at each other like a pair of school children.

When they met up with Akaashi, Kei was the one to ask their question as they walked back to join the group. As they walked, they held hands, unable to let each other go yet.

“I wish I could say yes, honestly,” Akaashi said apologetically. “It might be easier if you were.”
“But?”
“We decided that it’d be better for everyone, especially the Crows, that you stay with them, and only them.”
“I see.”
“Trust me, I know you two want to be together. So do we,” and he looked over at Bokuto, who was chatting with Aunt Yui and Yachi, making them laugh. He smiled wistfully. “We even tried, once. But this way is better. We have more people able to keep you safe, without having to worry about others. That’s why we split you up.”
“But, you have myself, Aunt Yui, and Yachi in your group,” Tetsu argued. “And if it’s a case of defense, I can hold my own in a fight.”
“Bold of you to assume the other guy wouldn’t have a gun or a knife.” Akaashi sighed. “Look, I get it. I do. But for now, this is how we’re going to do things. Alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Right.”
Akaashi looked relieved that they agreed. “Tsuki, your team is calling for you.”
Tsuki turned to see Narita, Kinoshita, and Tanaka waiting for him. He waved and then turned back to Akaashi, holding out his free hand.
“Good luck, Akaashi. Take good care of them, please?”
Akaashi took his hand and shook it briefly. “I will do everything in my power to see they’re safe,” he promised.
“Thank you.” Tsuki turned again to face Aunt Yui and Yachi. “Guess I’ll see you two again soon, huh?”
“Of course you will,” Aunt Yui said with her characteristic confidence. “We got this.” She bypassed his hand and hugged him, which made him let go of Tetsu. But he didn’t mind at all. “Be safe, okay, Tsuki?”
“I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“I expect nothing less.”
When she finally let him go, she patted his cheek gently, and then went to her nephew, which left Tsuki alone with Yachi.
“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time, grinning at the memories of doing the same thing in high school.
“I didn’t know you were involved, but I’m sorry I got you back into it,” Tsuki said quietly.
“I was only involved peripherally. Only asked to join in when they needed my help.” She looked like she wanted to say something, but remained silent. Instead, she held out her hand. “Good luck, Tsuki. Be safe. Come back alive.”
“I will. I promise,” he told her, unsure what exactly she meant by that last phrase.

Still, he took her hand, and something cold touched his palm. There was an odd look in her eyes, like she was determined for him to understand whatever it was she couldn’t say. When he let go, he put the thing she gave him in his pocket and nodded to her. Whatever she’d given him, he’d look at it as soon as he could. Yachi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Okay guys,” Bokuto’s voice gained everyone’s attention. “I’ve already told Akaashi and Narita which direction they needed to go from here. They are your leads, so please keep that in mind. No fighting,” and he looked meaningfully over at Tanaka.
“We always fight, dude. We’re Crows!” Tanaka said, laughing along with the rest of them. “But we know what you mean.”
“Alright. You got an hour to get the hell out of here. Get whatever stuff you have stashed, and disappear. Plan on shaking off whatever followers you have, and we’ll meet again soon. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good luck! Now, get out of here!”

~*~

The four of them looked down at the body, yet none of them really felt any better for having killed him. Each had blood spatter on them - each had gotten in at least one strike - but none more so than Hinata, who was practically covered in it.

“Terushima never had a chance,” Hoshiumi said from his place in the shadows. He hadn’t taken part; only made sure that no one else intruded, or even stumbled upon them as they worked. “Though, I honestly didn’t think you guys would go this far.”
“He killed five of us,” Shimizu said calmly, as if this was a daily occurrence.
“I thought it was just two, with the others falling to his men.”
“He was their leader. He killed them,” Hinata growled.
“Calm down, Sho,” Noya rested a hand on the younger’s back. “We got him back. We got our revenge.”
“No. There’s one more.”
“Wait. Don’t tell me someone else survived,” Suga sounded surprised, his eyes flitting between Hinata and Noya, and then to the others. “We tore through everyone left. Who is it?”

No one moved or spoke for what felt like eons. Hinata was visibly shaking, fighting within to get himself together. It wasn’t like his loss was anymore significant than the others, and none of them viewed it that way. But the connection between Hinata and Kageyama was unique. They were rivals, teammates, lovers. They equally hated and loved each other. Where you found one, the other was nearby. The two of them were inseparable. They’d been married only a few weeks before…

“Hinata?” Shimizu quietly encouraged him to speak.

He lifted his head, his eyes glimmering with pure, unadulterated hatred. No one had ever seen that look on his face. Frustration, irritation, even anger; they’d seen all of those. But never in all the years they’d known him had he ever looked so crazed with hatred. Their sunshine, the boy that never once let anything get him down, had died the same day Kageyama was killed. Who he was now, well… he just wasn’t the same.

“Sho?” This time it was Noya who asked.
“It was… Ushijima Wakatoshi. He killed Tobio.”
“Oh my god.”
“Are you sure, Shoyo?” Hoshiumi asked calmly.
“Oh, I’m sure, Korai. I was there. I saw him do it.”
Silence filled the little meadow. Not even the night creatures sang their songs.
“I guess he’s next, then,” Suga said, as if this really was a daily occurrence.
“He’s mine,” Hinata whispered. “He’s mine.”
“Done, man,” Noya agreed. “We’ll make sure you get him.”