Moonrise

The next forty-eight hours were absolute hell. Worse than hell. If this was the apocalypse, no one could tell the difference.

The teams weren’t allowed to communicate with each other, for safety’s sake. Sure, they could put the phones on vibrate, but who’d feel them when they spent a good deal of time running? Still, they did keep in contact with Mitsuhide and Oikawa, as requested. The problem they had was reporting their numbers as they knew them.

They knew they’d lose people. Even if they’d been trained to be the best, and they were, they still had to deal with members falling to the enemy. Still, for every one person they lost, they fought back, and several of their people were taken with them.

Mitsuhide chose not to say who was lost, at first. He felt that if they didn’t know, they would be able to keep their minds on their survival. That changed with each call to him. His teams wanted to know who was still with them, or rather, who had been lost.

Eventually, Mitsuhide handed this duty over to Oikawa, who was very nearly emotionless with each call, and seemed to handle it better. He would write down those who did not respond to the informal roll call, and then give them any orders Mitsuhide had for them. Once one call ended, another call came in, and the process was repeated. After the last call, he passed the paper to Mitsuhide, who would read it, and then hang his head. Tooru knew he did it from the pain of loss, and also relief that Kei wasn’t among those listed.
The older man grew increasingly afraid the next report would tell him he’d lost his last remaining son, and he couldn’t bear the thought. He stayed with Oikawa, though, unable to leave while his teams were still running.

~*~

Bokuto’s group was hit the hardest. Nearly all of his team was taken at various intervals through those forty-eight hours. Each of them sacrificed themselves to save someone else, and to see that Bokuto and Kuroo survived.

Kawanishi went back to help Tanaka, and was the first to fall. Tanaka, badly injured but still able to fight, saw to it that Osamu was able to keep going, and was able to take down Futakuchi with him in his final fight. In turn, Osamu pushed Kaori out of the way of a failed attack. He was able to save her, Bokuto, and Kuroo by not only taking out those immediately behind them, but anyone else by leaving small, but deadly landmines.

Wounded and unable to continue, he stayed behind to make sure no one else made it past him. One of his buried bombs caught the two men with Daishou, but he’d managed to escape somehow. Unfortunately, the shrapnel also caught him, and he could not follow Daishou. Kaori, who hadn’t been able to leave him behind as she was supposed to do, stayed with him until he breathed his last. She stayed with him, even after that, and when she knew it was safe to leave, she slowly followed in the direction Bokuto and Kuroo ran.

Daishou eventually caught up to the pair, and taunted Kuroo relentlessly. But nothing he said seemed to stop his quarry. Not until he mentioned Kei.

“He’s probably dead by now,” he yelled at Kuroo’s retreating back. “Your pretty boy couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag!”
“Don’t. He’s trying to get you to fight him,” Bokuto tried to warn him as soon as he stopped. “It’s a trap. An obvious one, and sloppy, too, but still a trap. We gotta keep going. Ignore him.”
“Good riddance!” They heard Daishou shout. “I’m sure Grandmother is happy. Her disgrace of a grandson is dead and the Tsukishima name is no longer tarnished by him… and his kind.”
“Bo?”
“Yeah?”
“You gonna stop me now?”
“Nah. I don’t even know what came over me earlier.”
“Good. It’s his fault, you know.”
“Yep. Totally his fault.” After a short silence, he had to ask, “Are you sure you can…?”
“I lied before. We fought once.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Two hits. I hit him, he hit the floor. I got suspended for a week, but that was just a formality, and they kept it off my record. No one blamed me for kicking his ass. Besides,” and he winked at Bokuto as he turned to face Daishou. “I’m a fast learner. I remember everything Kei taught me. Everything.”
“Then do what you need to. I’ll back you up, if you need it.”
“Thanks.”

They faced off right there. Daishou repeatedly taunts him; Kuroo remains silent, waiting. Standing calmly, like Kei had shown him, and as he’d seen Kei do that day at the villa. He was ready. So, when Daishou grew more and more frustrated that Kuroo kept quiet, he finally snapped, and ran straight at him.

Kuroo waited til the last possible second, and then moved, bringing his hands down hard on Daishou’s arms, knocking them down and away from him. This also served to push Daishou off balance, but he recovered and came back. Again, Daishou’s arms were reaching for him, and again, Kuroo batted them away. But this time, he brought his hand up and hit Daishou’s chin, snapping the man’s neck back. At the same time, the palm of Kuroo’s hand slid hard into Daishou’s nose, and the man crumpled to the ground, bleeding profusely.

“You gonna stop, now?” he calmly asked Daishou, finally speaking.
“No. Why should I?” Daishou’s voice was muffled, but audible.
“Dude, this is the second time I kicked your ass. One would think you’d learn by now…”
“Learn what?” Daishou said, bleeding nose forgotten as he held a gun, aimed at Kuroo’s head. “I’m the one who’ll win this fight. Not you.”
“Kuroo! Down! Now!” Bokuto barked out, and Kuroo hit the ground immediately. At the same time, the report of a gun rent the air, and when Kuroo looked up, Daishou was lying awkwardly on the ground, dead from a headshot.
“You okay?” Bokuto asked after he came to help Kuroo to his feet.
“Fine. You?”
“Not my first rodeo, Bro. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.”
“Come on. Let’s get moving.”
“What about Suzumeda?”
“She’ll catch up,” was all he said.

That night, after they made it to their safe house at the border, Bokuto reported that of his six teammates, only three were left: Kuroo, Kaori, and himself.

~*~

The next hardest hit group was Kiyoko’s. Unfortunately, she was one of the first among those lost. During an attack, she and Inuoka both fought to keep Yachi safe, who had never been a fighter, even while the Crows were still whole. She was their tracker, and helped the team with ops and logistics. Paired with Yuki, and the two of them managed to keep them all together until around the forty hour mark.

Yachi had been hurt, but not enough to keep her from running, which Kiyoko ordered her to do. Handing her the phone, an extra gun, and her own set of shuriken, Kiyoko ran with Yachi until the enemy began closing in. With a strong shove, she yelled at Yachi to keep going, to find the rest of their team, who had taken a different path in order to draw off some of their hunters. Then, she ran back to help Inuoka, who had already taken care of several attackers. It was the last time anyone would see either of them alive.

A few miles away from the safe house, Tendo met them, calling out to Eita for a fight. Eita refused at first, but was forced into it when Atsumu stepped into the line of fire: incoming knives thrown by an amateur, which would have hit him because he was too busy staring down Tendo.

Eita had not only been known for fighting (and winning) in school. His reputation was more from his temper, which had a very short fuse. Watching Atsumu fall, and hearing Yuki scream his friend’s name, was all it took to set him off. And Tendo suddenly looked like he both won, and lost, at the same time. Taking a risk, he ran, and Eita was behind him, gun in hand and firing. Perhaps it could be considered dishonorable to shoot someone from behind, but Eita had snapped. He fired his next to last bullet (in this gun, anyway), and Tendo fell.

Once Eita caught up to his former teammate, the man had the nerve to laugh.

“Seems you made the right choice, Semi Semi,” Tendo panted his nickname for the setter, holding the heavily bleeding wound in his leg. “I think you hit the artery.”
“Good. Means I don’t need to waste my last bullet.” Eita growled. “Besides, it wasn’t much of a choice. I know right from wrong, and Grandmother was wrong.”
“I don’t think so,” Tendo denied.
“Really? And how often were you able to be with Ushiwaka? Openly?”
Tendo was silent. The look of realization on his face was enough of an answer. Eita started to back away, leaving Tendo where he lay.
“I might not think like you do, or walk on the same side of the tracks. But Grandmother was completely in the wrong. And you were completely misguided by her.”
He turned and started leaving, when he heard the tell-tale sound of a gun cocking. He almost resigned himself to being shot in the back, but something flew past his face, and hit Tendo. He heard a grunt, and a low thud as Tendo finally toppled over and remained still.

“I’m not losing you, too, Eita,” he heard Yuki say from somewhere in front of him. She finally showed herself, and had Yachi with her. “We’re all that’s left,” her voice broke, but she held herself together. “Come on, son. We need to go.”

Eita holstered his gun and caught up to the ladies, matching his stride with Yachi’s. And if he just happened to take her hand in his, and held tight, then of course it was just a coincidence. Nevermind the older woman’s cunning smile as she led them to the safe house.

~*~

“Just a couple more hours, and we should be at the safe house,” Hoshiumi told them as they left what seemed like the smallest town in Japan. He, Suga, and Akaashi had caught up with them a few miles out from the town. The plan was to eat a real meal, and maybe get a couple hours rest, but that plan was scrapped when they were attacked on the outskirts.

Clearly, their pursuers had not only caught up, but passed them and waited. It was so much a Tendo maneuver, they almost convinced themselves that it wasn’t Ushiwaka leading this team. Still, they managed to slip through their net, and make it through the town without incident.

“If you guys don’t mind, we can eat and sleep at the safe house,” Akaashi said. “I’d rather not take another chance to get caught.”
“Good idea,” Suga replied. “You guys okay with it?” he asked the rest of their team.
“It’s fine,” Noya answered. Hoshiumi gave a thumbs up, and kept his eyes forward. Hinata merely grunted his answer.
“Kei?” Suga asked after several minutes with no reply. “You good?”
“What? Oh, yeah. I guess.”
“Distracted, much?”
“No. I caught some movement further up.” He pinned Akaashi with a look. “Still nothing from Narita or Fukunaga?”
“No, and I’m worried,” Akaashi replied. “We have to keep going, though, even if I want to go find them.”

At that very moment, he reached for his pocket bringing out his phone. He’d put it on vibrate while they passed through the town, and he hadn’t changed it back. Answering it, he started slowing down, until he stopped walking altogether. The rest of the group also stopped, and watched him. His face was pale, he’d pushed his free hand through his hair, and gripped it. He didn’t look good, even though his voice stayed calm, low, yet still strangely upbeat. The rest of them couldn’t really hear what he was saying, but easily picked up on his body language. And before Akaashi hung up, they’d all figured out what the call was about.

Noya went to stand on Kei’s left, and Hinata stayed in place on his right. Suga joined them. The rest stayed where they were, respecting their need to be together.

“That was Fukunaga,” Akaashi informed them. “They were discovered. Fought as hard as they could, but were outnumbered. Narita is gone. Fukunaga thinks he’s not too far behind. Warned us that Ushiwaka’s team is ahead of us again.”
“Are we all that’s left?” Kei asked quietly.
“We don’t know for sure,” Suga tried to assure him, though even he looked like he didn’t believe it. “Once we get to the safe house, we’ll know.”
“What do we need to do?” Hosiumi asked gently. “We can’t stay here, and we can’t backtrack. We’re too close.”
“Agreed. Unless anyone can think of a better idea, we’ll need to punch through. Again,” Akaashi said, looking at everyone, one at a time. When no one offered a second solution, he nodded. “Alright. We’ll split up again, but stay within hearing distance, and call out when you need help. Take out as many as you can; we can’t afford any of them chansing us to the safe house. Suga, you and Hoshiumi stay with me. Noya, you and Hinata stay with Kei.”
“Right.”
“Stay safe. Good luck. Most importantly… stay alive.”
“See you on the other side,” Hinata finally spoke up. Everyone glared at him, and he merely held his hands out with a little laugh. “Just a joke, guys! You know I meant the other side of our enemy.”
“Not funny, Sho,” Noya said lowly.
“I know.”

Kei stared down at the ginger-haired assassin. Hinata had never completely promised to abort his personal mission. No one had made him do it, either. It was almost as if they all knew he was going to go through with his vendetta no matter what anyone else said.

So, in a pure Kageyama move, he grabbed a handful of Hinata’s shirt and dragged him away from the group. No one followed, but they all kept their eyes on them.

“Don’t make me kick your ass, Shoyo,” Kei growled. “You know you aren’t supposed to go after Ushiwaka.”
“Let go of me,” Shoyo snarled back, quickly making Kei lose his grip on him. “I can’t promise anyone anything if he shows himself. He’s mine, Kei. He won’t get away from me again.”
Kei sighed. “Okay. I understand. I’ll help, but here’s what we need to do….”
“Wait. What?”
“You heard me. I’m going to help you. Since I can’t stop you, I might as well keep any of Ushijima’s minions from interfering.”
“And anyone from our team, too.”
“I’ll do what I can, but like you, I can’t guarantee one of us won’t try to step in and save your ass.”

Hinata was silent long enough for Kei to guess that Hinata didn’t want the help, much less anyone trying to risk their lives saving him as he risked his own. Shoyo looked up at Kei, and he saw nothing of the sunshine he used to be. Hinata didn’t expect to live, and he was fine with it.

“If you can, keep Noya and Suga away. Hoshiumi won’t interfere.”
“He knows?”
Hinata nodded. “The wild card is Akaashi. You may need to keep him back, too. I don’t know.”
“Done.” They said nothing else, and Hinata turned to go back to their group. “Shoyo?”
The shorter man stopped and looked back, a tiny smile lifting the corner of his lips. “Don’t worry, Kei. I’m not going to make it easy for him.”
“Just stay alive. Okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”

The last image of Shoyo Hinata that Kei would always remember, for the rest of his life, was the brief glimpse of his fellow middle blocker. Smiling, determined to succeed, aiming to beat the best in order to be the best. He caught a glimpse of the sunshine Hinata once was.

~*~

“Somehow, I knew you’d be waiting,” Shoyo said, his eyes locked on the huge former Ace of Shiratorizawa. “Can’t say I’m happy to see you, though.”
“Sentiment shared, Hinata Shoyo,” Ushijima replied. Then, he turned his gaze on Kei. “Tsukishima Kei. You still survive.”
“Yep,” Kei replied, nonchalantly. “None of Grandmother’s people have yet been able to kill me.”
“That will change.”
“I don’t think so. In fact,” he said as he left Hinata’s side and walked toward Ushijima. “If you survive your fight with Hinata, I’ll be happy to pick up where he left off.”
“Bold of you to assume I’ll lose!” Hinata hollered at him.
“Bold of you to assume you’ll survive to fight me,” Ushijima said, quietly threatening. He whistled loud, and several men came out, surrounding them.

Kei chuckled. “Oh, good. I’ve been needing a workout. These guys should be enough.”
“What do you…”
“Did you think I couldn’t fight, Ushiwaka? Did you think I’d just accept my fate and die like a good grandson would for his deranged Grandmother? Did you honestly think I wouldn’t also want to avenge my brother?”
“We had nothing to do with…”
Kei looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “You joined her. You worked for her. You can’t honestly believe that you had nothing to do with his death. Oh, you might not have done it personally, but you are most certainly guilty by association.”

Kei didn’t stay to hear anything the man had to say after that. He went back to Hinata and bent just enough that he could speak without being heard. “Kick his ass, Sho. Fight for Tobio, for our friends, and for us.”
Shoyo simply nodded and went to meet his nemesis. Kei stood to his full height, and turned to focus on the closest man near him. He stood at the ready, loose-limbed and prepared.

“Come at me, coward.”

~*~

As Kei took care of the men surrounding them, Hinata and Ushijima circled each other warily. They never spoke to each other again, either. The height disparity wasn’t as much as it was when they were in high school; Hinata had grown. Still shorter by several inches, he didn’t let that distract him. Nor had he ever, when matched against taller players.

Only one person saw the entire fight. Hoshiumi watched silently from his place above the fight. He saw when the two combatants met, bowed respectfully (something he never thought would happen, considering the circumstances), and then how both of them came up swinging.

Hinata got in the first hit, a sharp upper cut to the jaw. Ushiwaka shook it off, and grabbed Hinata’s shoulders, intending to throw him against the nearest tree. But, the younger man used one of the tricks Kei had shown him, and shook off Ushiwaka by jamming a finger into the soft part of the wrist.

It seemed the two were fighting rather honorably, not taking any shots that could be considered ‘dirty’. Not at first, anyway. The longer the fight continued, the longer it took for either of them to score a hit, the more they both grew frustrated. And then shit got real, once Ushiwaka pulled out a weapon.

Movement from the side caught Hoshiumi’s attention. The rest of their group had followed the sounds of the fight, and right now, Suga was doing his best to hold back Noya, even though it was plain he wanted to fly in to help his baby crow. Still, he held onto Noya, because Hinata had also drawn a weapon.

Akaashi, though, had eyes on both Hinata and Tsuki. More so Tsuki, as he was the one they were tasked to keep alive from the beginning. And yet, when Hoshiumi looked over at the tallest Crow, he’d disarmed and incompacitated all but two men, who were using some of the same techniques Tsuki was. It looked like Akaashi was willing to step in and help, if it looked like Tsuki needed it.

Metal clanged loudly, echoing around them. Hinata and Ushiwaka were fighting with foot long daggers. They flew at each other, nicking and striking, so that both of them were covered in bloody marks. Some were deeper than others, but not enough to stop them.
And then, Hinata ducked a strike from Ushiwaka, dove and sliced at the taller man’s left leg. Ushiwaka screamed in pain, and fell to his knees, dropping his dagger. Everyone stopped. No one made any moves. Hoshiumi’s full attention was on Hinata, who had moved back around to Ushiwaka’s front.

“I’m going to beat you,” he panted with exertion. “For Tobio. For my friends.”
“You still think you’re going to win?”
“I have the advantage.” Hinata almost sounded like he was bragging.
“The tallest are always the strongest,” Ushiwaka muttered.
“That would be me, now.”
“Come at me, Hinata Shoyo. I dare you.”

It happened so fast. Even Hosiumi had trouble following. Hinata rushed forward, slashing Ushiwaka’s chest and arms, but the bigger man ignored any pain, and snatched at Hinata. But suddenly, Hinata must have turned wrong, or slipped, or somehow made a fatal error.

Ushiwaka had him by the throat, and was squeezing. Yet, Hinata wasn’t going to give up, even as he was losing the ability to breathe. With one last swing. Hinata struck Ushiwaka, the dagger sinking deep into his chest. They remained locked in their positions, and time seemed to slow down. Finally, Ushiwaka dropped Hinata, and he fell to the ground, dead.

The first to reach Hinata was Kei. He was going to sport several ugly bruises, and it looked like he was favoring his left ankle, and the left part of his rib cage, but he ignored all that to reach Hinata.

“Don’t die, Shoyo,” he pleaded. “We’ll get you to a hospital, okay?”
Hinata couldn’t speak, but he shook his head slightly. His breathing was labored and whistled with each exhalation.
The rest of the team came to gather around them. No one was dry-eyed, including Hoshiumi.

He might not have been able to talk, but he mouthed words to each of his friends.

To Noya: “You were my favorite older brother. Watch over Kei.”
To Suga: “Second best Mom. Watch over Kei.”
To Akaashi: “You’re a great leader.”
To Hoshiumi: “I’ll be waiting.”
To Kei: “I’m glad we were finally friends.”

Before he left them forever, his face brightened, and it was as if they were looking at first-year Shoyo Hinata again. On his lips, and with just enough strength to whisper, they all heard him say, “Tobio.”

And then he slipped forever beyond their reach.