Moonrise

“Okay, men, we have a general idea of where our targets are. They’ve separated into four groups. The one at the compound will be taken care of shortly, the rest are for us to handle.”

Tendo, Ushijima, and Futakuchi stood up in front of a platoon of men from the compound, most newly recruited, and all of them itching for a fight. Well, they were about to get one, since those they were after were pretty scrappy, if he had to put a name to them. The unfortunate part was that at least two of their former teammates were with them. Tendo hadn’t guessed Eita to be a turncoat, but he was the first to defect. Kawanishi hadn’t been that far behind. No one else, to his knowledge, had even gotten involved, which suited him just fine.

“We’re going to split you guys up and send you off to the last known location of their three groups. We’ve had reports that they are currently in Osaka, Gifu, and Shimane prefectures. If they’re smart, and they are, they’ll be moving in a northern direction, towards Miyagi. We need to stop them. Orders have changed, again, and we are now on a manhunt. Kill or be killed, gentlemen.”

Ushijima stepped forward. “Three groups of sixteen men,” he said gruffly. “Tendo leads one, Futakuchi will lead another, and I’ll take the third. We’ll leave tonight. Get your affairs in order and meet us back here.”
“Yes, sir!”

The men rushed off to go do whatever they needed to, and once they were gone, another person crept out of the shadows. The three men turned to face him.

“Daishou. Thought you were staying at the remote station,” Tendo said, his voice questioning.
“Yeah, no. I’ve been kept back too many times, and I wanna have some fun, too. Besides, I have my own score to settle with one of our targets.”
“Oh yeah! You have some sort of beef with Kuroo, don’t you?”
Daisho nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go with that group.”
“The more the merrier,” Futakuchi said. He was in charge of that particular group.
“I’m going after Eita and his group,” Tendo told him.
“Ah. That leaves Ushijima to lead the one going after Tsukishima.”
“Right,” Ushijima confirmed.

What the former Ace hadn’t said was that he’d recently discovered Hinata was with Tsukishima, and he had a score to settle with them both. Two birds with one stone, to paraphrase the old saying.

Several hours later, the men were assembled once again, and then split into three groups. Armed with everything they needed, they left in thirty minute increments.

~*~

Oikawa was becoming increasingly concerned. By his count, fifteen men had come from nearly every direction and met in the clearing. This was the home guard, apparently, and one they had somehow forgotten in their plans.

“Fuck,” he mouthed silently. “Oh, fuck,” he breathed again once the men started going inside. He had no way to warn his team that they were about to be ambushed. Still, he waited out the final minutes of the allotted time Akiteru had given, stupidly hopeful that there’s be a signal… or something.

How could they have forgotten the damned home guard?

Checking his watch, he had five minutes left. That’s when shit hit the fan. He heard gunfire and men yelling. Swiftly, he jumped down from his place in the trees, and waited.

“Three minutes. Come on, guys.”
“Two minutes. I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“One minute…”

Movement burst from the side where he last saw Akiteru and Hisashi. Bloody and stumbling, Hisashi made his way towards the trees. He almost made it before he finally fell, and stayed down.

“No, no, no…” Oikawa carefully made it over to the younger man, who was just barely clinging to life. In one hand, he held two flash drives.
“Get these to… Mitsuhide…” he heard Hisashi whisper.
“I will. Akiteru?”
Hishashi shook his head. “Oikawa… Grandmother is dead.”
“Then why…?”
“Omizu. He’s taken… control. Irihata and Washijo… aren’t stopping him.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“They’re going… to kill Kei. Tell Kazuhito I…” but he wasn’t able to get his last request out.

Oikawa sighed and closed his eyes. Fucking hell. Their first two casualties, and one of them the eldest of Mitsuhide’s sons. He reached down and shut Hisashi’s eyes, made sure no one was watching, and then ran as he’d been instructed. His boat was moored at Sendai port, and that was an hour away. Once he made it to his boat, he could be gone and on his way back to the villa at Miyazaki.

He could inform Mitsuhide as soon as he was a good distance away.
He just had to make it to his boat.

~*~

Later that night, three phones rang simultaneously. Kiyoko answered first, and she heard Bokuto and Akaashi pick up within moments of each other. So, a conference call. Mitsuhide told them to put the call on speaker, so everyone could hear. She collected her group, waking up those who had already fallen asleep, and they gathered in the kitchen around the table.

The first thing they heard was the soft sounds of crying in the background. And once Mitsuhide began speaking, his voice was rough and gravely, not at all how he normally sounded.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” Kiyoko heard Kei ask.
“Oikawa’s on his way back,” Mitsuhide managed to say before choking up.
“Wait. Already?” that was Bokuto.
“This can’t be good.” Akaashi.
“What about Akiteru and Hisashi?” Narita’s normally calm tone sounded… less so. By now, everyone had started thinking the same thing.
“They didn’t make it,” Kiyoko guessed carefully, saying it quietly, yet clearly so as to be heard.
A brief silence before Mitsuhide confirmed it. “No. They didn’t. Grandmother has also passed, but that doesn’t mean we can stop or lower our guard. Guys, you need to be careful. We can’t lose anymore of you. Yuki, I’m going to need you to go active for me. They’re going to need your expertise to help keep them alive.”
“Who’s Yuki?” Kiyoko heard several people across the call ask.
“I’ll do everything I can,” Yuki answered from beside her. Kiyoko looked at her; she wasn’t surprised, but Eita and Atsumu looked completely taken aback.
“Aunt Yui?”
“Otherwise known as Yuki Kuroo. My mom,” Kuroo responded for her. Then, “Kei, say something.”
“Sorry, Kuroo. He’s not doing well, if that’s what you wanted to know,” Suga answered for the younger man.
Mitsuhide interrupted. “Hinata?”
“Here, sir.”
“You are to stay with the main group. No going off by yourself, and no disappearing and not coming when called. Consider yourself grounded, kid. Hoshiumi and Noya can do the ranging. Narita?”
“Yes, sir?” Kiyoko grimaced, as did several others. His voice was shaky, but he was still able to reply.
“Go with Fukunaga ahead of everyone else. You two need to find out what the enemy is up to. Akaashi, give them the backup phone so they can contact you.”
Three voices answered, “yes, sir.”
“Weapons?” Fukunaga asked. Laughter rippled quietly across the call.
“As long as you don’t blow up any small houses, or towns, go crazy.”
“Take the C4 from him, Akaashi,” Tanaka yelled. Laughter again filled the call for a few minutes.
“I don’t think I need to remind everyone to stay alert and be careful. We are now the hunted rather than the hunters. Run if you have to, hide if you can’t run, fight back as a last resort. Avoid it if you can, but it’s kill or be killed.”
“Right!”
“Stay safe. Oikawa will help me as a point of contact, so it will be either of us calling the next time. Stay safe, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, if you guys don’t mind, I need to speak to Kei.”
“Wait!” Kuroo called before Bokuto hung up. “May I stay on the line, sir? Mom and I are worried.”
There was a slight pause and then they heard a lighter voice say, “of course, sweetie. You both are part of the family now,” Hotaru’s watery voice told them.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Kiyoko said as she handed the phone to Yuki.

Bokuto handed Kuroo the phone, laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, and then left with the rest of the team to give him some privacy.
Kiyoko gave her phone to Yuki, and accepted a hug from her before leaving with her team.
Akaashi handed Kei his phone, made sure he was okay, and patted him on the back, gathering up the rest and giving him some privacy.

~*~

“You don’t know how much I want you to come back here, son,” Kei heard his father say quietly.
“We just reunited our little family, and now…” Hotaru’s voice broke.

Kei still hadn’t responded, unable to trust his voice. His soon-to-be mother-in-law seemed to take his silence as some sort of cue, and began asking questions about his brother. What was he like? She’d only known him for a short time, and her gentle questions led to older memories, back when they were a happy family. His parents talked; clearly happy to be diverted.

He knew they were trying not to think too hard about Aki’s death, but… how could they? This was Akiteru! His brother who had done everything he could to help him, and he only just now realized how much it had cost him to do that. His brother, who he had looked up to when they were children, admired him when they were in school, and loved… even after his perceived betrayal.

Akiteru, who had never stopped loving him, either.
A sob escaped him, effectively halting the conversation.

“Oh, Kei,” he heard his mother say.
“Kei? Moonshine? Are you okay?”
“Obviously, he’s not Tetsuro,”
“I know that, Mom. I just want to hear…”
“I’m not okay,” Kei managed around a tight throat, fighting tears. “I wish you were here.”
“I know, baby. I know. I wish I were there, too.”
Kei cleared his throat and tried to pull himself together. “I’ll be alright. I have to be, don’t I? He’d want me to be strong.”
“And you are,” Tetsu’s voice had a soothing tone. “You’re strong in mind and body. For ten years, you’ve survived out there, doing everything you had to to stay alive. I don’t know anyone else who could do what you did for that long. And you are still strong, fighting to keep yourself and your friends safe. It’s one of the things I admire most about you. It’s part of the reason I fell in love with you.”
Kei was blushing now, and biting his lip to keep from smiling too much. “You big sap,” he said quietly.
“It’s true, though.”
“I love you, too.”
There was a brief silence before he could hear two things. Two women were gently chuckling, and his father was clearing his throat.
“I’m so happy I was right,” Yuki finally said. “Hotaru, I told you I was right!”
“Oh stop, Yuki. I believed you the first time you told me. At least I had a chance to see and hear it.”
“Now you stop. We have what’s left of an evil empire to crush and then plan a wedding.”
“Mom. Evil empire?”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Mitsuhide was now laughing, too.
“Kei, are you really okay?” Tetsu asked while the rest of them were talking nonsense.
“No, but I will be. Thanks.”
“When this is all over, we’ll go back to your flat above the bookshop and…”
“Sleep for days,” Kei interrupted quickly. “We’ll sleep for days.”
“You really think we believe that?” Yuki chimed in.
“Yes,” Kei and Tetsu said at the same time.
“Because that’s pretty much how it’s going to happen,” Tetsu continued. “Too exhausted to stay awake. For anything. Anything other than sleep…”
“Tetsu?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”

~*~

The next morning, three groups left their safe houses and started another journey to yet another prefecture. They were down by two Crows, though one was from an older generation. Still, Akiteru had been a Crow, and that was what mattered most.

It was tough, but when Narita went to leave with Fukunaga, the Crows in their group huddled around him. Everyone else gave them room, and they all appreciated the time they had left to mourn together.

“I wish we could all be together again,” Hinata said solemnly.
“We will be,” Noya tried to sound hopeful. “We’ll just keep an eye out for everyone even more than before.”
“Well, in Kazuhito’s case, he’ll have a cat to look after him,” Kei added helpfully.
“Or blow everything up,” Suga joked.
From off to the side, “I heard that!” from the Cat himself.
Soft laughter rippled through their little group.
“Stay safe, Kazu,” Suga said quietly. “Stay alive. You got that?”
“Yeah. I will.”
“Meet you in Hyogo.”
“Right.”
Everyone might have been content with a simple handshake, but Suga had to get the ball rolling and hugged him. The rest followed suit, except that Noya and Hinata took it a step further and tackled him. After they stopped laughing, picked themselves up and dusted off, Narita said his final goodbye and joined Fukunaga. They watched them until they were out of sight.

“Come on guys,” Akaashi said after a few minutes. “We gotta get going if we’re to be in Hyogo by the day after tomorrow.”
“Right.”

~*~

“Fukui prefecture, huh?” Yuki glanced up from their map at Kiyoko. “Well, the fastest way would be to cut through Kyoto.”
“Fastest and easiest, but also the best one to get caught. A more roundabout route would be a better option,” Kiyoko cautioned.
“You have a point. But they might be expecting us to take the road less traveled, too. Ugh! I really wish I knew how many were after us. That would give me a better idea of what to do.”
“How so?” Inuoka asked.
“Well, the more people after us, the larger the net they cast to catch us. We’ve been lucky so far, because they’ve only sent out a few at a time, but…”
“Right. Well, we’ll need to stick together for this portion of our trek,” Kiyoko said. “It’ll be easier,” she said ironically. “Once we get into Fukui, we’ll split up like usual. Sound good?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Eita and Atsumu, you learn what you can from Yuki as we go. Eita, your weapons will come in handy. Got any extra?”
“Yeah. A few.”
“Get with who will be comfortable carrying one, and we’ll be ready to go.”
“Right.”
“We’ll leave this evening, so get some rest and everyone be ready to go when I say.”
“Yes, ma’am.”

~*~

“Next stop, Yamanashi prefecture,” Kaori told them over breakfast. “One of the shorter legs of our journey.”
“Right. Let’s keep to the usual plan, but with a little twist. Osamu, you come with us. Tanaka, you stay with Kaori.”
“Adding more protection for Kuroo?” Osamu asked with a grin.
“Partially, though he did learn a few things from Tsuki before we left. He knows how to fight, if I recall a few stories from high school, too. And, if needed, he knows his way around a gun.”
“Oh yeah? Who taught you?”
Kuroo shrugged and smirked at their half of the Miyans. “My mom did, of course.”
“Kinda wish I’d been assigned to her group now,” Osamu said. “But, then again…”
“We can’t have you and your brother fighting with each other the whole time, Doofus,” Bokuto said. “Tomorrow morning, Kaori and Tanaka will take off. We’ll leave around lunch time. If nothing goes sideways between here and Yamanashi, we’ll meet up with you for a late dinner.”
“I’ll scout out a place to stay, again,” Kawanishi said and Bokuto nodded.
“Kuroo and I will wander around and wait for our next contact.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kuroo said.
“We have a day to rest and get ready. There’s a shrine nearby, so if anyone feels the need to pray…”
“What time do you wanna go, boss?” Tanaka asked, and everyone looked at Bokuto.
“Are we all going?” He was met with a few nods and careless shrugs, and he smiled. “We’ll go before dinner, alright?”
“Right.”
“Until then, do what you need to do to prepare.”
“Yes, sir.”