Stay With Me

*a little earlier*

“Shoyo!” Noya called, having lost sight of his friend after another nasty turn.

The man was some sort of ninja, or he’d put all his volleyball abilities to another use. Whatever it was, Noya had only been able to keep up for so long. Thing of it was, Tobio knew exactly when and where Shoyo needed to be, and would signal him to go. Noya was almost convinced that Shoyo was still hearing Tobio’s directions, and was stuck somewhere between memory and reality.

“Shoyo!” Noya called again, and this time he heard a twig break.

He waited a moment, and then shifted left, letting the broken twig fall to the ground. Folding his arms, he waited a little more, listening for the moment when Hinata would drop, too. It was faint, but when he heard it, he remained where he was.

“You’re getting better,” the redhead said from behind him.
“Yeah, well, I have a good teacher.”
“Oddly enough, I get a strange kick out of knowing the younger is teaching the older.”
“I’m still older, Sho.”
“And still shorter,” came the laughing reply.
“Tsk. Such a sharp tongue.”
“I know.”
“Mean-assed, too. Are you trying to…”
A sigh came from Shoyo and he walked around to face Noya, rubbing a hand over his face and into his hair.
“No. I didn’t mean it. Sorry.”
“You know we’re here for you. All of us. Even Tsuki…”
“Don’t! Don’t you dare mention his name. He’s the entire reason…”

Noya’s rage spiked. He lashed out and punched Shoyo in the face, ducked a return fist, and then used his own swiftness to beat the younger man enough to slow him down.

“I knew… you’d defend him…” Shoyo panted, attempting another kick.
Noya dodged it easily. “I’d defend you too, dumbass! When are you going to wake up and come back to us? We need you! Tsuki needs you!”
“Fuck that!” Shoyo shouted, he flung dirt and ground debris up at Noya. “Ushijima may have killed Tobio, but it’s Saltyshima’s fault we were even there in the first place!”
“AND YOU KNOW WHY, DAMMIT!” Noya roared back.

He raced to catch up to Hinata, and launched himself at the redhead. Wrapping his arms around Shoyo’s midsection, he maneuvered himself in midair so that he landed on his friend - no little brother - hard. Quickly, he pinned the other’s hands on each side of his head, and fought to pin his legs. No one could best Noya’s groundwork. Then, he smashed his head down on Shoyo’s.

“Ow!”
“Damn right, ow. That hurt,” Noya agreed breathlessly. “But I’ll do it again, and gladly, if you start spoutin’ shit again.”
“I’m not…”
“Think, Hinata! Think! Somewhere in that memory of yours, you’ll find the entire reason we’re all in this business instead of our original goals. Look even harder, and you’ll remember WHY, too.”
“But… Tobio…”
“Yes, you lost Tobio. I lost Asahi. Suga lost Daichi. You know how close our bench squad was with each other. Is any of this helping you out, or are you still going to be deliberately dense?”

Shoyo went still and silent, his eyes swimming with tears. Noya sighed and moved off, sitting down beside him. Shoyo didn’t move. Not until he heaved a huge breath, and screamed for all he was worth. When he ran out of that breath, he pulled in another one, and screamed again. Noya let him scream, let him grieve, knowing his little brother hadn’t even stopped long enough to do so in god knew how long it had been. Who even cared if they brought attention down on themselves. Shoyo needed this, and to be honest, so did the rest of them.

He heard crashing sounds coming toward them, and the rest of the Crows at camp showed up, rushing to surround them both. A few minutes later, they were joined by Suga, Kiyoko, and Tsuki, who had stopped a few yards away. Noya got up, pushed his way through, and went to Tsuki, who had fallen to his knees. They were joined by Kinoshita, and eventually, Kiyoko. They did what they always had, supporting the youngest Crows, whether they wanted it or not.

“I did this…” Tsuki half-whispered, looking so stricken.
“No! None of this was any of your fault,” Noya tried to assure him. But it was obvious Tsuki didn’t believe him.
“It was my Grandmother, my own family, who did this,” he said. “Because of me.”
“Oh god, please tell me I’m not going to have to beat him, too,” Noya whispered loud enough for the others to hear, jerking a thumb in Tsuki’s direction.
“You did that?” Kinoshita pointed behind him at Shoyo, who was… looking a little worse for wear. To put it mildly.
“Yeah. Dude was being stupid. He deserved it. This one,” and he pointed at Tsuki, “is being just as stupid.” He gave Tsuki a baleful glare. “Are all you first years really that dumb? I mean, I really just thought it was the weirdo duo, but you…”
“But…”
“Is anyone going to hold me back?”
“Are you really about to lay into him?”
“We’ll start verbally and go from there.”
“If you insist…”
“Kei Tsukishima. I DO NOT want to hear you blaming yourself EVER again. Do you understand me?”
“Noya…”
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”
“We really are gonna need to hold him back, aren’t we?” Kinoshita whispered.
“I’m staying out of it,” Kiyoko said, her eyes flashing.
“Clearly,” Kinoshita replied wryly.

Tsuki blinked at Noya. Part of him, a very small part, knew he wasn’t at fault. He was the original victim of this whole sad chapter in his life. But even so, he couldn’t help thinking that because it was his Grandmother, that he, too, had some part in everything that had happened to them. Still, he had to at least agree with Noya. If the way Hinata currently looked was any indication, Tsuki did not want any of what Noya seemed to be capable of.

“Yes,” he replied quietly.
“Say it again,” Noya demanded.
“Yes, I understand,” Tsuki dutifully replied.
“Good.” That seemed to calm Noya down a bit. “Every second, minute, day, month, and year of this … this … fiasco can be laid in your Grandmother’s lap. It is entirely her fault. We can’t help who we fall in love with, and there’s no one on this planet who can tell us otherwise. I hate to say it, but we might have been able to live with it if she’d left it at your exile from the family. But the minute she marked you for death, and sent her men out to kill you, that’s when we stepped in.”
“I see,” Tsuki replied carefully.
“Do you? Do you really? Do you understand that once you stepped into our gym, joined our volleyball club, and became part of our team, that you were also adopted into our family?”
“You guys keep telling me that.”
“Only because it doesn’t seem to stick,” Kiyoko imparted quietly. “And we’ll keep reminding you until you believe us.”
“Right.” He thought for a moment, and then he looked at Noya. “Think you could let me talk to him?”
“Wait. Why?”
“I have an idea. It may help knock some sense into us both.”
“Knock some sense… Kei, you’re not suggesting…?” Kinoshita asked incredulously.
“I am suggesting.”
“But… Do you even know how to fight?”
Kei turned his gaze on Kinoshita. “Short answer, yes. I know how to fight.”
“This I gotta see,” Noya muttered. “And I want to know the details.”
“You think I spent ten years on the run and didn’t learn how to defend myself, or fight back, if necessary?”
“Fair enough,” Noya said. “But what did you learn?”
“Tell you what,” Tsuki said as he rose to his feet. “Let Hinata try to beat me first. If he wins, I’ll tell you.”
“Okay, but what if he loses?”
Kei looked down at Noya and smirked. “I’ll still tell you.” And he started walking over to the rest of the Crows, leaving the three looking slightly confused. But, they stayed where they were.

~*~

Once he joined the bigger group, he lowered himself down beside Suga. Hinata was a hot mess, and Tsuki almost hated himself for doing this. But, he hadn’t lied to Noya: both Hinata and he needed some sense knocked into their heads for very different reasons. A fight between them might just solve at least some of their differences. He hoped.

He hated fighting. Tried to avoid it if at all possible. But during his travels, he’d met an Israeli man, living in Kanagawa prefecture, that wanted to help him out, to teach him that defense was important, but fighting was necessary if he found himself in a situation where defense wouldn’t be enough. Tsuki agreed, and learned what he could before he’d been forced to move on once again.

Later on, he found out what he learned wasn’t just one type of martial art, but a mix of them, plus a bit of boxing and wrestling as well.
“Hey, Shrimpy,” Tsuki said, using his mocking voice. “I heard you’re blaming me for all of your issues.”
“Uhhh… Tsuki? What are you doing?” Suga asked. Everyone, including Hinata, was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. He ignored them.
“That’s right. Blaming me for King’s death, even when I wasn’t there. Mighty brave of you,” he taunted further.
“Don’t call him that,” Hinata growled. “He hated that name. You know it.”
“Why not? He couldn’t completely hide his bossy, overbearing, personality. Kept trying to take over, because the setter is the ‘control tower’ of the team. He always managed to push everyone’s buttons, but the only one to push his was… you. Shrimpy.”
“Tanaka! Suga! Narita! Get your asses over here!” Noya shouted as Hinata struggled to rise. “NOW!”
“But, Noya…”
“Move your ass, Ryu!” This time it was Kiyoko, and Tanaka went without another word.
“You always needled him, poked fun at him,” Hinata said slowly, dangerously. “Taunted him any chance you got. All over his argument at Kitagawa First, way before you even knew him!” His voice rose steadily until he was screaming at Tsuki, who calmly sat there and waited. “You were the one to start all that mess between you over something you had nothing to do with!”
“I know. It was fun, really.”

The sound coming out of Hinata was something akin to a cougar’s scream, if one could call it that. Tsuki knew what he was doing, making Hinata angrier and angrier, until the sheer force of that anger finally propelled him forward.

Suga lunged for Narita and they ran off to join the others.
As an added measure, the group backed up a bit more.

Tsuki grunted with the force of Hinata’s body hitting him, but he was able to easily roll out of it and get to his feet. Hinata was on his feet in the blink of an eye. Both of them took defensive stances, ready for an attack.

“I know now’s not the time to ask, but are you armed?” Tsuki asked.
“Wouldn't you like to know,” Hinata bit back. “Are you scared?”
Tsuki shrugged. “No. Just need to know so I can prepare.”
“You should be scared.”
“Why?”
“Has no one told you my position in this business?”
“No. I’m rather new, so to speak. How about you tell me.”
“Assassin. Same as Noya. Same as Hoshiumi.”
“Assassin? Impressive. Show me what you got… Shrimpy.”

Another angry cougar scream, and Hinata charged. At the last second, Tsuki dodged, but had to readjust quickly because Hinata recovered and came right back. Hinata grabbed him around his middle, still too short to go for a proper choke hold, but Tsuki reared back and brought his elbow down right between the shoulder blades. Hinata let go instantly and hit the ground with a grunt.

Tsuki started to back away, but Hinata snatched his ankle, and yanked hard. He hit the ground with a thud, and then raised his arms to deflect the blows Hinata was suddenly pelting him with. He had to give the little man credit for moving so quickly, even when hurt. Occasionally, he even landed a hit, but Tsuki ignored it, and grabbed both wrists.

His groundwork could be compared to his receiving during his first year on the volleyball team. He wasn’t that bad at it, but he wasn’t good, either. Still, he kicked and bucked in an attempt to remove the redheaded fury from his body. In rapid succession, he managed to bring his knee up between Hinata’s legs, striking him in the most vulnerable area, and before Hinata could react, he nailed him with his head.

“OH! Twice in one day! Man’s gonna have a nasty headache in the morning,” he heard Noya yell from the side.
“Yeah, well, so are you,” Tanaka added. “You got a helluva goose egg under that fringe, buddy.”
“Yeah, I know. I only hope it’s worth it.”
“Why’s that?”
“I forgot the pain meds.”

A groan rippled through the Crows and they started to shove Noya around like a doll. The whole time, Noya was laughing.

Throwing Hinata off him, he slowly rolled to his knees in seiza, and turned so that he could see the other clearly.

“Some assassin,” he panted, still taunting. “You could barely get a hit in.”
“Tell that to… the men I killed… protecting Tobio. Tell that… to Terushima.”
“Terushima? What does he have to do…”

Hinata struggled to roll over and face him. He began to talk, and for once, almost sounded normal.

“He and his men had been sent after you. We were sent after them. Both sides learned that you were supposedly already gone, and both sides reported that no one had even seen you. We didn’t know you’re a chameleon. Terushima somehow figured that out. We fought anyway. I think you know what happened next.”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Just so you know: you won because Noya got to me first.”
“You think you can beat me when you’re healthy?”
Hinata paused. “Maybe. The technique you were using…”
“Krav Maga.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“I could have killed you within the first few seconds.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Why?”

Tsuki moved closer to Hinata, trusting that the man wasn’t going to try anything more, but ready for it anyway. He also angled himself so the others couldn’t hear them, or read lips.

“Do you really hate me, Sho?”
Brown eyes went wide. Tsuki had never used his nickname. Ever.
“Do you truly blame me for Tobio’s death?”

Shoyo slowly maneuvered himself so that he was sitting in front of Tsuki, cross-legged, arms draped loosely over his knees, and head lowered. At first, Tsuki didn’t know what was going on, but eventually he heard it. Soft gasps and sobs, and tears were dripping from his face.

“No. I don’t,” Shoyo finally said, his voice watery from tears. “I never did. I knew what I signed up for; so did Tobio. I guess I… I just thought… I don’t know. I needed someone to unleash on, and I couldn’t get my hands on you. It’s like I couldn’t remember anything beyond you being the reason we were there.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Shoyo raised his head to look at him steadily.
He didn’t expect that. “For everything? For having a … family member like mine.”
“HEY SHO! DID HE JUST APOLOGIZE?!”
“Dammit Noya! Keep your small-assed nose out of our business!” Tsuki hollered back.
“Damn son! Guess he told you!” Tanaka added, laughing.
“SHO! ANSWER ME!”

They stared at each other for ages. If they’d had a chance at any point in the last decade, Tsuki wondered if they’d have been actual friends, rather than frenemies. Even so, he still wanted to make it work. Shoyo was a good guy, and an asset to their team; both then and now. Tsuki wasn’t about to ruin it by just being here, and if the others were willing to fight to keep him here, including fighting each other, then he’d put forth the effort, too. It’s like they keep telling him: they are family. They chose to be family. That meant so much more than just being born to what amounted to a bunch of strangers with the unfortunate circumstance of sharing the same blood type.

Shoyo slowly raised his right hand, and then slowly lowered all but one finger.
Shoyo had just flipped off Noya, and was smirking at Kei.

“OOOHHHHHH!!!” Everyone erupted at once, including Noya, who clearly didn’t mind he’d been shown the bird.

With the same hand, Shoyo brought it back and held it out to Kei, who took it in his own. It wasn’t the best start, but it was something, and Kei would take it.

“Shoyo Hinata. Assassin. Nice to meet you.”
“Kei Tsukishima…. Uuuhhhmmmm…. No title. Nice to meet you, too.”

Shoyo tilted his head and thought for a few minutes. “Fighter, definitely. Maybe Ops. Not sure if you could actually be an assassin, though.”
“Considering the three I’ve met, it seems to be a position for people of shorter stature.”

It took a few minutes, maybe less, but Shoyo smiled first, and then started laughing. Not just any laughter, either. Even in pain, he gave a full belly laugh, which echoed all around them. Tsuki smiled back, and looked at the rest of his family. They were all shocked, and then started running toward them. Soon, the two of them were being hugged and shoved and, in his case, slugged in the arm. But overall, they were all together again, because Kei was sure those that weren’t, were there in spirit, too.


*Author's Notes*
The world’s most effective and dangerous form of martial art is also the deadliest in the world. Krav Maga is a non-sport form of martial arts, which means it doesn’t care for rules or the opponent's well being.

The basic philosophy of Krav Maga is a ‘he or I’ situation in an environment where defeat would be deadly.