I'm so sorry I don't have the time to reply to reviews, I've gotten so busy with school and I'm doing these updates by the skin of my teeth—I read and appreciate every single one though!
My line breaks aren't working, so it might seem a bit weird.
When The Crown Falls
By Ko-Sensei
part three.
It could only be one person, since the sacrifices on their side have also backed away from that corner, giving the king his own respectful space.
"His name," Hinata's younger sister trills, very excited, (though Hinata's heart starts sinking because this is wrong, wrong, wrong),
"...Is Kageyama Tobio."
The wind suddenly blows.
It rushes towards him in a breeze, and he can feel his normally-spiky, already-messy bangs get swept back behind his face.
Amazing. His eyes widen ever so slightly, and he feels like he's been caught straight in the scene of a romantic fairy tale adventure story; the sky is a striking midnight blue, the stars are out and shining in full view, the air is slightly cold (and feels fresh on his face), the moon is full tonight, there are no clouds to be seen anywhere, leaves are rustling quietly around him, and a single pink blossomed flower falls from a branch, sashaying down towards the ground in a final delicate, fragile, effortless dance.
As the barrier slowly comes down, dissolving into nothing but snippets of words that had been spoken, everyone else eventually turns to look towards the center.
-It's a breathtaking scene.
It's definitely befitting of the ceremony tonight,. Taking into account that this will be a special, memorable day for many of the fighters and sacrifices which will meet today, it most definitely is. The fated pairs that will find each other and get their bond, their lifetime connection.
What a stage. This is most absolutely overly dramatic, but it's just so fitting at the same time.
Maybe the teachers did something with the scenery, because the world has never been so vibrant or so alive to many of the students here. All of them become quiet- the side chatting that had been going on amongst the students immediately stop, and surprisingly (as it takes a lot to quiet down infamous Noya, Tanaka, and Hinata), the three who had just been terrifying the majority of the other fighters standing around them have stopped leaking out dark, dangerous auras or making scary expressions all at once.
(Which takes a lot- not even the hand of God can keep the three at bay).
They quiet down immediately, and their dark energy fades away in an instant.
Even Tanaka immediately calms down. Tanaka, who is well known around the school for having his boundless energy and needless enthusiasm in whatever he does (AKA-having-a-one-track-mind-and-being-an-idiot-at-times) has stopped ripping off his shirt, hands lowering, and has dropped his ridiculous 'scary' face (making the crowd of fighters around them sigh in relief).
Everyone there... every single one of the students there, fighter or sacrifice, young or old- are excited when the torches surrounding the courtyard suddenly light up, revealing faces and surprised countenances, determined looks and dazed expressions.
Of course, there are the few people that look unsurprised or are playing it 'cool' (Noya, for example, simply tilts his head to the side and wears a confident grin), some who look uninterested about the entire thing (over to the right, Kenma looks bored- and maybe uncomfortable?), some that are wearing cocky expressions (Tsukishima is smirking at how everyone else is stupidly mesmerized, some guy with a black rooster-head hairstyle is laughing and pointing at people while standing next to Tsuki), some that look vaguely amused at this (a brown-haired sacrifice on the other side smiles and some fangirls around him faint or squeal 'Oikawa-kun!'), ... and there's one person who is glaring coldly at everyone and everything in general, looking disdainful and like this is wasting his time.
Hinata nearly chokes on air.
It's that person.
A certain black-haired boy that's been plaguing his dreams at night, filling his thoughts during the day, and driving him to the heights of his emotions (sadness? excitement? happiness? ..pain?) with the smallest of actions (getting a glimpse of him under the table that night, hearing rumors about him from other fighters, and listening to the teachers talk about that 'king.')
Right then, the sight of that person, with the cobalt-blue eyes and dark hair, sharp jawline and pale skin, elegant composure with ethereal beauty simply just standing there (having no fucking idea what this does to him, Hinata wants to sit down and cry) becomes etched in his memory, and - Hinata knows that it's something he will never forget for the rest of his life.
『And at that very moment, time ceases to move for Hinata Shouyou. 』
-It simply stops.
It's not the kind of "stop" where time slows down in slow motion or trickles by slowly (like they do in movies or dramas, when there's a huge revelation). Nothing like that at all- if anything, the things happening around him are way too fast, and Hinata feels kind of helpless, like he's been swept away by a storm and is unable to fight against it.
Nothing changes much, it's just that... his time stops, because instead of moving forward in his life, being able to see that other person (Kageyama Tobio, the really pretty person who he's been unable to stop obsessing over), seeing that everyone will get matched up now (people are starting to gasp and move, feeling their connections zap), and slowly comprehending what Natsu had just told him was unraveling everything he wanted.
Hinata's time simply stops, because his life doesn't move forward anymore, and the painful tightening in his chest tells him that it isn't going to get any better.
Maybe it's an instinct, or maybe it's just reality catching up with him now, but.. something inside him is warning him to run away now. Now, and it's really urgent, his body seems to be telling him, because his feet are taking steps backwards and-
"Nii-san?" Natsu throws her arms around his shoulders (effectively jarring him out of his daze, and is that moisture around his eyes?), pouting. "Nii-saaan, you're ignoring me!"
Noya and Tanaka had been standing on either side of him just a moment ago, but they've disappeared. Looking around once, Hinata sees Tanaka calmly walking through the crowd (what? he's not roaring and going crazy?), and Noya chasing after some really tall guy with a determined look on his face. The person he's chasing is really tall, has brown hair pulled back in a bun thing on the back of his head(?), and looks really scared or nervous-
"Nii-saaan," His younger sister repeats again, and Hinata's attention snaps back to her. "Oh.. haha. Sorry, Natsu," Hinata says sheepishly, patting his sister's arm a few times, trying to console her. "Blanked out for a moment. Um, I think I saw you point to the wrong person.. anyways. So who's your secret boyfriend? Looks like I'll have to call the gang back and go beat him up!"
The older brother teases, putting his hands on his hips dramatically. It works somewhat, as Natsu giggles at this, swatting at him and denying the boyfriend claim. He's trying to sound cheerful and easygoing, and it seems to work.
"Is not! I don't wanna boyfriend, kissing is gross. Eww. I'll get the boy-cooties."
"But you just said you love him, Natsu, which I've never heard you say about anyone since that one time I introduced you to Noya-senpai. I might be stupid, but I'm not that stupid! No denying it, Natsu."
"Well.. he's different! He's really nice, and kind, and cool, and smart, and he's just amazing."
Oh. Haha. He'd just seen it wrong. Hinata sighs a little in relief at this, because he must have gotten confused. There's no way that the infamous Kageyama Tobio would be any of those things, or even come close to it. Phew. Maybe Natsu's just making a joke, because that name is legend, and probably #1 on the ranking list for sacrifices. Or something.
(Or so he tells himself, but the sinking feeling in his chest grows heavier.)
"All right then. Grrr." Hinata tosses his little sister off of his back (since she'd been hanging onto him), and crosses his arms impishly. "So you do have a secret boyfriend. You're only thirteen, Natsu- I'm going to go beat him up for you! So who is he?"
Except, his cheerful demeanor starts to dissolve, and his voice wavers. (Crap. Crap. This is not good.)
Fortunately (or maybe not?), Natsu doesn't seem to notice this, and only beams, bouncing up and down before she points over in that direction again-
"Go ask him, it's true! He's my new special person!"
Special...person?
... And this time, Kageyama Tobio looks over at them, and something close to electricity seems to rush across Hinata's skin when their eyes meet briefly (though the cobalt-blue eyes look cold), but the other thing is..
(Kageyama Tobio glances once at Natsu, then his entire composure changes; he's not scowling anymore, or looking anything near being irately annoyed. His face evens out, he looks really calm, and his expression flickers with.. what is it... warmth?)
-His time has definitely stopped; the world around him does not slow down, or lose color at all (in comparison, it seems to go even faster and get even more vibrant and in tense), but Hinata feels his heart stop dead as his time stops, his life stops moving forward (neither is it going backward, however, though he'd like that so much), and the seconds click down to zero.
-insert page break-
"Natsu," Hinata breathes out, his stomach lurching horribly. He suddenly grabs his sister, quickly checking her arms, legs, her back (by lifting up her shirt a little, though she whines at this) in a hurry. "Natsu, we're not supposed to.. Natsu, oh my god, did you... did you get marked with him?"
It kind of makes sense, in a horrible way. For the past two weeks, he's hardly seen much of Natsu though he wasn't too worried about it, since the ceremony was coming up and the two of them wanted to spend time with their friends.
But it'd been a weird kind of vacance, since he'd stopped seeing her at mealtimes, during breaks, in the hallways, etc. Normally, she'd burst into his shared room for Noya at least once a day (at morning or night) and cling to him, demanding attention, but she'd never appeared for two weeks.
Maybe she'd been spending time with... Kageyama?
(The few times he'd glimpsed her in-between classes, he had also noticed that she looked much happier/excited).
There's no blemishes out of the ordinary on her arms and ankles, check. Crap, if she had, what would he do...?!
He's not able to search her any more though, as she swats him away strongly, waving her hands across in an 'x' to signal no. "I wish I was, wouldn't that be nice? He's super strong too, see! But no, I'm not marked, stop checking me. I'm still unpaired, and so is he- and we got close to each other but nothing happened, so no, I'm not gonna get in trouble."
Oh. So they're not paired together. A relieved sigh leaves him (and he also feels a sense of guilt for feeling relieved by them not being together).
But he forces it down.
Natsu getting into trouble is the last thing he's worried about at this point, but he can't exactly tell her that, so Hinata settles for nervously laughing and holding his hands up in a surrender, kinda. "Okay, good..."
There's a familiar shout that echoes somewhere close to them, and Hinata turns around (being kind of distracted again) to see what seems to be.. Noya?
Noya pumps his fist once in victory... having tackled the person he'd been chasing around earlier? The poor person who's been attacked is sprawled out on the ground, mumbling sadly, but he's blushing, definitely blushing, and Hinata wonders if that's Noya's sacrifice.
How nice for Noya, he thinks, though it's kind of laughable how Noya had scared off his very tall and kinda scary-looking (but easily frightened?) sacrifice within a minute of meeting him. Nishinoya Yuu also has a reputation among the students for being a very fiery and wild fighter, he supposes, but his sacrifice will be all right; Noya's really caring and will cherish him enough to last five lifetimes, probably.
Hinata takes a step forwards towards the two, wanting to ask what their -name- is (wow, they've managed to pair up, this is really exciting), but he must be shaken from the events before (unconsciously), because he stumbles and trips, falling forward, and wahh, he's going to fall straight on his face-
-Only to be caught and steadied by a strong hand grabbing the back of his shirt, pulling him back up.
"Ack!" Hinata stumbles around again, still not having kept his balance (despite the help), but is pulled and guided smoothly into someone's arms backwards almost gently. He ends up being unhurt, and is instead held... like a princess (?), complete-movie-style (what the hell).
.
.
.
"Arara, what do I have here?" A few deft, nimble, and cold fingers tilt up his chin delicately, and he's forced to look up at the person who's caught him. Hinata simply blinks blankly though, being confused at what has just occured.
(He shivers slightly at the touches, as he's being observed so intensely).
What is even happening.
"Some uncoordinated idiot who has the ability to trip over a flat surface, apparently.. and that would only be you," The one and only Tsukishima Kei says amusedly.
He's wearing his very-infuriating slight smirk like always, and all of a sudden, - their faces are close enough together that his breath fans against Hinata's face. It smells like an espresso...or something like strong black coffee, Hinata thinks blankly (and it's not a bad scent at all).
What is Tsukishima doing over here.
While Hinata is staring back at him stupidly, he can't help but notice... has Tsukishima always had such clear, sienna-colored eyes? They have flecks of gold in them that glint whenever he moves. He can't possibly be thinking that this infuriating tall megane is pretty, no way in hell, ever. ...But he might understand a little, little bit why Tsuki is so popular among the other sacrifices and such. Maybe.
(Just a little bit).
"Hello?" Tsuki waves a hand in front of his face, deadpanning, "Are you in there, chibi?" His cheek is tapped a few times (though Hinata still doesn't react yet). "It's not fun to make fun of you if you can't understand it. He-llo?"
At this, all of Hinata's coherent thoughts kick back in and he's struggling hard (as he's just realized their position, with Tsuki holding him and leaning forward, their faces almost touching, and this is too casual, like what even), attempting to kick Tsukishima or something for daring to make fun of him or something because he's not a princess and this is not cool.
"You baka-megane! What are you doing?!" Hinata yells loudly (trying to cover up his embarrassment, hopefully, Tsuki won't pick up on it). Black cat ears flatten on the top of his head, and his tail is probably waving around angrily.
"Cute, but..." Snidely laughing at him (that jerk), Tsukishima releases him, pushing him off. Waves at him offhandedly. "You're such a loser. This is rich."
Angrily exhaling, Hinata simply whips around, deciding to ignore him (since Tsuki is just so stupid), and he stomps off, refusing to talk to Tsukishima any longer-
"Found you! Geez!"
-Until he's stopped again by his little sister, who hops up and jumps on his back unexpectedly.
"Mouuu, nii-san," Natsu whines loudly, pounding at his chest. "Stop wandering off and meet Tobio!"
"..."
Right. Right. There was still that thing to deal with, though... the only thing he can think of is..
They're on first name basis?
Even with all the teachers and other adults that are in charge, he's never heard anyone call that person Tobio. It's just weird... too casual, or something.
Natsu just had, though.. were they that close?
Something like an arrow seems to stab through his chest, but he manages to give another forced laugh (since his sister is practically hanging on him). "Ah, sorry, Natsu! I'm paying attention now."
But he doesn't know if he can keep his composure, however, and not only that, but even do something outrageous like approach Kageyama Tobio and talk to him (if the situation arises).. so he decides to get out of there.
He doesn't want to be introduced to Kageyama by Natsu, doesn't want to see the two of them being nice to each other, doesn't wanna see them be friendly, doesn't want to see them like each other, so-
"Natsu...I need to suddenly go to the bathroom... be back later!" Unhooking his sister's arms from his neck, he gently pushes her away and lowers his head, planning on making a quick and quiet getaway smoothly. Natsu complains again ("What? What the heck.. wait, nii-san! Wait a minute!") and seems to be coming after him, so Hinata breaks into a run, not wanting to get caught here.
Thud. Except, with all his clumsiness and bad coordination skills, the laws of the universe just have to work in a way that he runs straight into someone, brushing against their shoulder really hard (enough to knock them off balance, crap).
He can't waste time here, Natsu's probably on his tail.. aahh, why is everything going wrong for him today?
"Um.. I'm really sorry!" His gaze still being stuck to the floor, Hinata does a small bow for an apology, not looking up just yet.
(Which later turns out to be a mistake).
"You lousy excuse of a...that was my bad shoulder you hit, you waste of breathing space." The person curses in a low voice, sounding very vexed (crap, he's so dead) and irritated. He sounds really, really angry (you don't know how scary those words sound like being muttered ten inches away from your face), and Hinata pales. Of all his luck...
"I'd get rid of you since you're taking up wasted air, but you're not worth the words, aren't you? You're just an inadequate, feeble fighter. One of the weaker ones."
Laced with unhidden venom, the words are sharp, and Hinata wants to be angry, but he ends up wincing instead.
It's true, his ranking is near the bottom in the list. He's almost last place, and he's really weak with his techniques, what is he even doing, standing out here, hoping that he'll get matched with the infamous school legend.
Hinata does want to be strong, he just... doesn't like hurting people. He can't. He just can't.
That's not the last of it though, since the person continues-
"If you weren't so pathetic, I might consider getting rid of you since you're in the way, but it's not even worth it. Move."
.
Oh.
That's going past the line. That's going way past the line. Hinata apologized, he apologized, and might have taken the insults in good grace, but- being belittled like that (like he doesn't matter, like he's not worth it, when someday, he wants to make everyone recognize him) won't fly well with him at all.
Instantly, he raises his hand and clenches one of his hands into a fist, angry, but... when he looks at the person, his mind stops working.
Cobalt-blue eyes. Elegant composure. Sharp jawline. Pale skin, straight, midnight-black hair.
.
.
.
Kageyama Tobio.
"..." Unable to do anything at all (much less react, Hinata Shouyou is left unable to even coherently think), Hinata only stumbles backwards blindly, mortified.
Despite his shock, though, his hyper-alert senses tell him that all the people around them have turned to watch. Which is bad, his mind supplies for him, because Kageyama Tobio is infamous for being a cold-hearted genius, and not just that, but he hates all fighters and when provoked, he's known to attack them (which doesn't even make sense in the first place because he's a sacrifice?!) and hurt them really badly, enough to send them to hospitals for weeks, and the poor boy, people around them are whispering, he's going to get killed.
Hinata doesn't doubt it. He's heard all the rumors since he's started training, and Kageyama's over-confidentness (cocky, acting like nothing will touch him-which is probably true) is correct.
His expression is cold and icy, his words are blunt and unfiltered, intense power radiates off of him (Hinata can almost feel it brush against his skin, and it's electrifying). Strength, intelligence, dominance; he has it all, and Hinata still does not doubt for a minute that Kageyama can do so.
As if his thoughts are being read, however, unfortunately; it seems like the other will prove him right.
Kageyama extends one arm and lifts it up until the palm of his hand is pushed forward towards Hinata, and his expression dead-serious.
Metallic, cold, calculating eyes. There's probably all kinds of strategy and data being processed in Kageyama's head, Hinata guesses, but is still standing frozen in place.
The people around them stir and start to mutter. Uh-oh, there goes another fighter, one says. Another quickly urges someone go get a teacher quickly, it's not going to be pretty. There's some tittering that follows this. Kenma Kozume sped off to find a teacher.. though it's more likely they'll bring a doctor. A sigh is heard. This one looks really weak, damn, he has no chance against the 'king.' If he weren't a fighter, he might've been able to get away with it..
The last whisper that ends the conversation of the crowd is hushed, but everyone hears it.
That kid needs to apologize or run away.. what is he doing?! Run, kid, run-
It doesn't even occur to him to escape, however, since he's still dazed (and maybe mesmerized) by Kageyama's intense midnight-blue eyes glaring at him (he can't decide on what shade of blue they are), and though he should probably be worried for his life, he's unable to move (and probably blushing).
"Shouyou?!" All of a sudden, there's a person panicking and shouting loudly (is that Noya he hears?), stomping over to his direction (and probably pushing people apart, as there's a lot of gasps and hisses). "Shouyou, you're too far away, I can't make it.. what did I tell you about him?!"
That's definitely dependable, hyperactive Noya. Hinata doesn't have to turn around and look to know that his best friend is probably shoving people over, trying to frantically get to where he is. This is definitely overblown and dramatic.. though maybe for a good reason, since some of the people around him and Kageyama have already started to avert their eyes.
(Are Kageyama's attacks that drastic?)
He's probably imagining it, but Hinata thinks he hears another familiar voice call out "Chibi?! That can't be, why are you with the king..?!", and it kind of sounds like a certain tall blond he knows who wears glasses, but that can't be, so he drops the thought, attention snapping back to the infamous school legend.
Kageyama seems to focus on him for a moment, his lips moving silently (he's saying what seems to be a silent spell?).
Goodbye, world, Hinata thinks. He doesn't feel too sad though, and he wonders why.
-At the last moment, however, Kageyama stops, hanging onto the last word.. and seems to change his mind.
What?
Ignoring Hinata completely, he lowers his arms and scoffs, turning his face away.
did he just...
Instead, Kageyama opts to step forward, intending to walk past him and probably escape from the courtyard, skipping the ceremony (and ignoring everyone else).
He's saved. Hinata blinks a few times, not comprehending what's just happened to him. He's ticked off the school legend and lived.
The laws of the universe often don't make sense, and they've often treated him cruelly, but what happens next is something he'll never know whether it's a blessing or a curse, because right at that moment, when Kageyama Tobio walks by him-
-They both stop and freeze up, as an electrifying spark runs across both of them, tingling in a way that makes them numb, but the connection, the awareness of each other is suddenly set in place, like it's always meant to be, and the jolting feeling that leaves them breathing a little heavier, they're two pieces of a puzzle that were made to fit, two counterparts made to sing, and they're suddenly connected.
It's a wonder that he isn't killed immediately, Hinata thinks blankly, before he clutches at the side of his neck, crying out weakly as a burning sensation grazes into his flesh. Their name is written right on top of his collarbone, he realizes, and Hinata flushes because it's in such a public place, oh God, he's been paired- paired, and not only that, but though a feeling of adrenaline and happiness starts to fill him up, dread also begins to fill the bottom of his stomach, as he also realizes that he will die today.
-Some of the people in the crowd cry out in alarm at this ("Oh God it happened, it happened, that guy is going to be so dead..!"), utterly shocked, and some even start running away from the site ("The king's anger is not something to laugh at.. get the hell away from here!"), not wanting to get caught up in any intense explosions or attacks that the infamous sacrifice might unleash in anger.
Except, the two people in question that are being skirted around- pay no attention to them, lost in a world of their own.
.
.
.
Hinata Shouyou stares at the identical name engraved on Kageyama's collarbone as well, transfixed.
It reads, 'Breathless,' and it's just.. so fitting.
Their awareness of each other flickers, conscious minds brushing, their connection calling out to the other, and it was made to be.
It's perfect, and it's his name, Breathless is who he is... no, it's who they are.
Two people working together; one entity.
At that very moment, his very existence changes. It doesn't erase any part of his past, it doesn't change away any part of him that's him now, it simply adds in this connection and melds him together; his name isn't just Hinata Shouyou anymore, he's Hinata Shouyou of Breathless, and his other half is also a part of him because... Kageyama Tobio is also a part of Breathless, and no matter what anyone does, that won't change-
Though this makes him unexplainably happy, and fiercely giddy (to the point where his head spins), it can't last.
To no one's surprise, it doesn't last.
Strangely enough, Kageyama doesn't react violently yet. Hinata assumes that he's shocked by what just happened, and is a little blank-minded with their new pairing that's just occured (he himself is as well), and he's safe for now.. but not for long.
Kageyama's dark-blue eyes are fixated on the writing of -Breathless- on his own neck (Hinata shivers at being stared at so intensely, and can't help but a step back), and it's the strangest thing ever, since the cold-hearted school legend is staring at his name with the plain curiosity of a child, eyes widened with a slight fascination (heat rises to Hinata's cheeks at this), but it won't be long until those eyes narrow dangerously, seeing him as the thing Kageyama hates most and he's definitely going to be killed then.
Ah...
This is probably going to be the last day of his life.
.
.
.
"...You."