I said I'd update on Saturday, it's nearly 4am so it's technically Saturday
Hitoka takes her first breath of fresh air in the longest while. It's tainted with dust, with tension, with desperation, but she can breathe again.
She runs her hands through her hair, the blond strands much longer now, nearly brushing past her knees. She flexes her fingers, her toes, digging her bare feet into the now soft dirt beneath her. The dirt becomes darker, blades of grass and small blossoms begin to sprout beneath her, the growth rapidly spreading past herself and Kageyama, stopping before it reaches the beings surrounding them.
Kageyama's lost his Leader eyes, the pink and gold replaced with a plain dark blue in both eyes. In return, Hitoka can see the faint spotlights of blue and green on his skin where she's looking at him. She consciously dims the glow as the realization dawns on her.
"I have a body," she says, giggling.
Kageyama smiles and his mouth opens to say something but he looks behind her instead.
"Yachi! Kageyama!"
Hitoka spins around as Hinata collides into her, knocking her into Kageyama, and taking all three of them to the ground. She hopes the Silence is still in place. Hinata always had a habit of using their real names in front of other beings instead of their Leader titles. Judging by the bewildered looks of those around them, they heard nothing but warbling.
She wraps her arms around Hinata and squeezes him, a moment later feeling Kageyama's arms around the both of them.
"It worked," Hinata practically shouts. Belatedly, he seems to realize the situation they're in and clambers to his feet, helping Hitoka to her feet. Kageyama stands a moment later.
"Identify yourselves."
The command comes from Keen Eye, Hitoka recognizes him and knows him as Akaashi Keiji. Kageyama's interacted with him on several occasions, whether in meetings or otherwise. However, even if they'd never met, she remembers him, he was a curious blossom from the start. He stands beside his Watcher, Sugawara. Kiyoko is present as well, with the real Leader Law. Hitoka knows his name to be Oikawa Tooru.
Strangely, there's no malice or negative emotions rolling off of him.
There are plenty more beings surrounding them now, however. Enforcers of Balance, in uniform with weapons at the ready. She spots a few familiar faces but none of them look happy in the slightest. Intermingled are Watchers from Knowledge, they aren't armed with anything physical, but Hitoka can see their potential for magic easily enough.
Akaashi ordered them to identify themselves, she knows why he has no idea who they are. He knows Kageyama, but Hinata and Hitoka are as good as ghosts, anyone who knew them before has faded, their names, their titles, their Realms: lost.
Erased, is more like it.
"Former Leader Fable, of the Realm of Change," Kageyama says.
"Leader Repose, my Realm is Death," Hinata calls, his flowers glowing brightly a moment.
"Leader Oasis, the Realm of Life, now of the Realm of Change." Hitoka nearly forgets the last part. Her Realm was taken, bastardized and reshaped to become the Realm of Change. Kageyama gifted her his own Realm, transferred his Leader status so she would have something to come back to.
Lost and erased.
Something ignites in her chest, something hot and dangerous.
"I am Leader Keen Eye," Akaashi says. "These are Leaders Law, Abyss, and Bronze."
"I know," Hinata says.
"I'm aware," Hitoka says at the same time.
"How is that?" Akaashi asks.
"We were Patrons," she says. "I've been Change's Patron since I was deposed, and Repose was Patron to Consumption. Prior, you were all part of my Garden."
There isn't a single spark of recognition at the mention of such a thing and it breaks her heart. When they went to Creation, Kageyama couldn't exactly ask if there was a Garden, not without arousing some kind of suspicion. What gentle prodding he managed always turned up absolutely nothing, but she still had hope.
Still has hope.
Abyss, Yamaguchi Tadashi, clutches at his stone, now dull with Hinata's absence. Hinata gives him a smile, his flowers giving off a comforting pulse of light. A single pale purple flower comes into existence behind Yamaguchi's ear as Hinata meets his eyes.
As a Patron, her own emotions were either too dull to express, or overwhelming. It wasn't a standard experience. Her Realm, Kageyama's, was merged into Balance, it made her feel everything or nothing. Kageyama tried to keep moving, always busy off Realm to give her a measure of comfort. They went to Creation a lot, as it was her former Realm, she felt more at peace there than anywhere. Her experience as a Patron wasn't like the Night Eye, she didn't have her own Realm to exist on and look out from. For all intents and purposes, Hitoka was the stone around Kageyama's neck, equal measures her salvation and prison.
The spark grows hotter and Hitoka realizes what it is.
She's never felt anger like this before, she considers herself a fairly happy and level headed being. But now she understands all of Kageyama's rage.
Rage at the predecessors for what they did.
Rage because they're not even around anymore to answer for their actions.
Rage because even after everything Kageyama did to get them back, he's going to be taken away.
The grass dies at her feet, she sucks the life from it and feels her body glow. She summons the winds, feels each stream whip her hair about her body. The faint green patterns impressed on her skin glow with the rest of her, and she is little more than a beacon of pure energy.
She takes a step forward but Hinata's hand on her arm stops her from going much further. He siphons off the energy and disperses it back into the ground. Her glow vanishes immediately, as does the wind, and she's almost angry at Hinata for stopping her.
That's wrong though, she could never be angry at Hinata, especially not Hinata. It's been too long since she's had a body, since she's had a proper hold on herself. It's all too much right now.
"Yachi," Hinata says, voice soft. "I already know, but how are you feeling?"
Before she can answer, Kageyama moves to stand in front of her.
"Repose and Oasis were wronged by the predecessors," Kageyama says, throwing his voice. " I did what was necessary to bring them back because no one else was going to, and by the time the successors took over, knowledge of Repose and Oasis had been struck from the Record. Allow them to remain, and I will go to the Resting Place, I don't have my Leader abilities anymore, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Wait, Kageyama," Hitoka grabs his hand to keep him in place and wills him to look at her, but his gaze is fixed on Leader Law..
It was a lonely existence at the start.
It was just the three of them for what felt like forever. Kageyama would escort souls from Hitoka's Realm to Hinata's. They would tend the Gardens together, just the three of them. They didn't have beings, their jobs were fairly simple, because the world below wasn't complicated yet.
Just the three of them.
Then the other Realms came into existence. Balance came first, then Knowledge, then Consumption. As the world below developed, new beings came into existence and each Leader and Realm carved out specific duties and abilities.
The problems started with Hitoka's Realm, with Life. She had favorites from the world below, warriors who would visit her and tell her tales. In return, she offered them petals from the Garden. The petals gave them an extended lifespan, gave them abilities. She kept a close eye on her favorites, if any of them got out of hand, she dealt with it. All the same, Hitoka brought heroes into the world.
The other Leaders didn't like that, even when she limited access, even when she eventually barred entrance to her Realm.
So they deposed her. They took her Realm and destroyed it, then remade it into Creation, Leader Bronze showing up soon after. Kageyama saved her from fading, making her his Patron.
Then everything went downhill. The presence of Life purified the Rot of Consumption, and Creation couldn't take its place, fundamentally altered as it was. Hinata grew upset, claiming that the Leaders were being unfair, that they had no right to do what they did. Kageyama tried to stop him, but Hinata opposed the other Leaders.
They got rid of him too.
Kageyama couldn't keep him close, Hitoka was already his Patron, so he sent Hinata to Abyss, who was kind and the only Leader who had spoken up to try and save Hitoka. Then the Leaders merged Death into Consumption and Kageyama only just managed to encase it in a protective barrier before it was lost to them forever.
Then Kageyama and Hitoka vanished for a while. Change was between Life and Death, it was a small Realm, a bridge of sorts. Without its opposing sides, it couldn't function.
She knows these are not the Leaders who initially destroyed their lives, and she knows that Kageyama breaking into the Hidden Matter initially was an offense punishable by imprisonment.
But it's been a lonely existence, and Hitoka is done losing things.
She wrenches her arm from Hinata's grasp and moves to stand in front of Kageyama, putting her arms out, shielding both him and Hinata.
"You can't take him from me, I won't let you."
"Leader Oasis." Akaashi starts.
"Hitoka," Kageyama whispers.
"Why don't we talk this out?" This Leader Law is Oikawa Tooru, and he bares a good natured smile. "I'll admit, it's been some time since I've exercised my duties as a Leader. If possible, I would like to speak with the three of them alone."
"Law, this isn't-"
"Nothing about this is standard procedure, Keen Eye. I've had a lot of time to think while I was in the Resting Place, I would like to hear their stories."
Hitoka remembers Oikawa's flower in her Garden. It shone brightly with potential, its coloration indicative of a kind soul tinged with a burning determination. The successors were a good bunch of flowers, much better than their predecessors. Even so, she's not comfortable leaving Kageyama's fate in the hands of Oikawa Tooru.
If she has to fight, she will. She's rusty, and Oikawa is intimidating, but she's the oldest Leader present. She can do this for Kageyama, and for Hinata, if it comes to that.
"Well, what do you say?" Oikawa looks almost relaxed where he stands.
"We can talk to him," Kageyama says, "I don't think-"
"You don't know," Hitoka's voice quivers as she speaks and she bites down hard on her lip when she feels tears well up in her eyes. "I'm not going to be alone again, he could take you away from us."
"Yachi," Hinata slips one of his hands into hers. "It'll be okay. I won't let anyone take Kageyama away."
Kageyama rolls his eyes but he takes Hitoka's other hand and brings it up to kiss her knuckles.
"It's going to be all right, I promise," he says against her skin.
Hitoka takes a moment, a deep breath in out, a heavy exhale.
She fixes her sight on Oikawa and nods.
"Very well."
It's the best girl, making a proper appearance.
I'm too tired to say anything else