Surprise mini chapter! This one is rather short in comparison to the others so I figured I'd make time to post it. There will still be another chapter later this week, but I'm going to be a touch busy so it might not be Saturday. I'll be going into finals pretty soon so we'll see what happens to my update schedule.
Tobio almost regrets his actions.
Almost.
There had been time for that before, time long since passed. He doesn't have the luxury of regret anymore, doesn't have the room in his heart for it. He doesn't have room for much of anything anymore, and he's not sure if he misses the days when he could feel properly.
It will all be over soon.
"Are you sure this will work?"
Yachi's voice comes through a haze of static, but it's as soft and calming as ever.
Tobio takes a breath.
"It has to."
It's only through Yamaguchi's skill and Oikawa's influence that he's gotten this far. Kuroo has helped too, indirectly, and he can't really blame Akaashi. They are not their predecessors, but that doesn't mean that Tobio can't be angry.
Because he is.
They were torn apart because the predecessors were careless and lacked foresight. They were destroyed and resigned to the annals of time because the predecessors couldn't be bothered to use critical thinking for a half second. Tobio is more than just angry, there is a fire burning him from the inside out and he's gotten used to to the burning. He wants something better, wants things to be okay again.
They will be, or he'll die trying.
He tucks the scroll into his bag and takes a deep breath to calm himself. After that, he whispers the words he's memorized and his body goes intangible, nothing but a being of light. He descends, moving quickly through the blinding white because it's never a good idea to linger in a place such as this.
It's not long until Hinata's Realm comes into view.
It's fused partially with the dark stone around it, but the protective bubble over the Garden remains perfectly intact. He spares just a moment to look at the flowers, just enough to refresh his memory, before moving on.
He needs to move fast.
Tobio flies through the Keep doors and through the halls until he reaches the epicenter of the keep.
"It's here," Yachi says, "I can feel it."
Tobio dives beneath the floor, shaping his body like an arrowhead until he reaches the very bottom of Keep.
Here, here is where the History resides.
It rests on a pedestal of dark wood, worn down in some places, glossy and new in others. The History itself is impossibly massive, and it hums as Tobio approaches. He ends the Rite, starting a mental countdown for how long he can remain exposed before he puts himself at risk.
"Hello," Tobio whispers, opening the front cover. The contact sends dual spikes of heat and ice up his arm but he continues, turning pages and reading their contents as fast as he can.
There are more recent events toward the beginning, marks of Yamaguchi's Rot progression, the expansion of Knowledge, the instatement of new Leaders. Tobio keeps flipping, moving further back in time.
Where is it?
Where is it?
Where is it?
There.
Tobio slams his hands down on the pedestal to keep himself from turning more pages.
It was farther back than he thought. Time is a funny thing, and it's changed since his prime, it runs differently now and it's taken some getting used to.
But it's here before him.
The names.
The faces.
The words.
It's just the words that he cares about, the faces and names are old and won't help him in the slightest. They had their chance to help, they never did, now they are useless. Not worth a flower in the Garden, undeserving. If they've gotten one for some reason, Tobio will tear it from the roots. They're fodder for his anger at this point, but he tamps that down so he can focus.
Tobio copies the words into a small, leather journal that he keeps beneath his robes. There's a lot to write, and he's running out of time, but he can't rush this. He's good at calculation, he has just enough time to finish writing, then he can recite the Rite again and go.
Simple.
"We need to hurry, I can feel someone starting to look in," Yachi says, she's starting to shake from nervousness, her sudden drop in temperature chills the air around them and calms the fire in Tobio's veins.
"Shit, the Night Eye?"
"I'm not sure."
Tobio scribes the last word before closing the History and pressing a kiss to its cover.
He recites the Rite and then immediately rockets toward the surface, past the Keep and the Garden and the dark stone. Yachi gives him a burst of energy, large enough for him to warp their surroundings. He finds the thread he needs and pulls, tearing a hole to his office with minimal disturbance.
He lets go of the thread once he's standing on his own feet, breathing in deep and squeezing his eyes shut a moment as he ends the Rite once again.
"Did we do it?" Yachi asks.
"We did."
She starts crying immediately and Tobio holds her to his chest as frost begins to form in the office. It climbs up the walls like lace, spreading out from Yachi's center. There's a protective layer of magic over everything so the ice won't damage any of the records Tobio keeps. It clings to his body too, covering his robes and skin with a fine layer of cold.
When she's done crying, and the ice retracts back to her core, they move to the window seat and Tobio allows himself to slump down against the side wall, closing his eyes. Yachi is humming slightly with energy, giving off a white glow, but she stays quiet now.
"Everything will be back to normal soon," Tobio says, more for his own sake than Yachi's but she knows that. He reads what he scribed from the History, already beginning the memorization process should anything happen to his book.
Things will be better, they're so close now, closer than they've ever been.
It has to work.
"We'll see him soon then?" Yachi asks after a short while. "And I'll be back to normal too?"
"It won't be long now, I promise."
They need to act quickly, if what Yachi sensed was the Night Eye, then they don't have much time.
"Are you ready?" he asks.
"I am."
"Remember, I can at least get him back. I'll transfer my status to you as soon as Change is back. By that time, they'll probably have caught up to us, so you'll at least have a status if I'm arrested."
"Wait, no, there's no point in trying this if you might be-"
"You two have been gone long enough. After everything, they might let you visit me. I promised you two."
Tobio doesn't wait for her response, just seeks out the thread he used to make it back to his office. Yachi shakes a little, a bit of frost swirling together before she stills. He won't have time to fill Hinata in on the situation, but he trusts that force of charisma will be enough to convince Yamaguchi's beings to help him. Tobio figures, by that point, ripples will start to spread, Akaashi will hear of something, and he'll have to act fast.
"Okay."
Tobio pulls the thread and steps through.
A new player enters the arena! I think I'm especially interested to hear thoughts on this chapter, as it was particularly interesting to write.
