"Iwaizumi, Bokuto woke up." The vice-captain turned his head from the gravestones and met Takeda's serious eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this is important. We need you there", the medic stated and lowered his head to apologize. Iwaizumi gazed the gravestones again and sighed quietly. The stones all had the similar text in them: Name, year of birth, date of death, and the same, small quote: Fallen in duty. Daichi, Kenma and Futakuchi had gotten their own places just like most of the soldiers before them. Daishou had only a small memorial plate just as Kuguri, Semi and Kindaichi did, since their bodies were not found. It had a different text: Soldier's pride never wavers.
Iwaizumi turned his head away from the stones and nodded to Takeda. He followed the medic back to the headquarters and to the operating room. Bokuto was laying on his bed, eyes closed and breath stable as he was sleeping. When the door creaked a little as Iwaizumi stepped in the room after Takeda, the Owl opened his eyes and turned his head towards the two soldiers.
"Iwaizumi", he croaked. "You're finally here."
"Ya", the vice-captain muttered and sat on the chair next to the bed. "Sorry for making you wait. How are you feeling?"
"Not well", the soldier partly laughed, partly coughed. "Did Takeda tell you anything yet?"
Iwaizumi shook his head and gazed the medic. Takeda sighed slightly and crossed his arms.
"I thought you could tell him yourself", the man said. "Should I get Akaashi here, too?"
"Don't", Bokuto's quick answer surprised Iwaizumi. "I… have to get some courage before I can tell him." Iwaizumi had linked his fingers and looked at Bokuto with a restless light in his eyes. The vice-captain had never heard Bokuto say that he needed to get courage for something, and that made him nervous. The captain of Owls had always been the reckless one, the one that never gave up. He was an important friend and comrade for Iwaizumi, and the brunet feared for his health. He was afraid of what Bokuto would say next.
"How's your back?" the brunet asked when he couldn't tolerate the heavy atmosphere anymore. "Will you be okay?"
Bokuto was quiet for an uncomfortable moment, and Iwaizumi could've guessed his answer. "No", he whispered. "I can't feel my legs, Iwaizumi. I can't walk properly anymore."
The vice-captain gritted his teeth and leaned his forehead on his hands. "Crap", he mumbled. "I'm sorry, Bo."
"No need to", the Owl let out a sorrowful laughter. "You'll be fine without me. I can stay here and give you mental strength or something. It's not your fault."
"You were in the western city because of my command", Iwaizumi reminded. "We should've stayed together. I knew something was off, but I still let your team go by your own."
"Iwaizumi, stop that", Bokuto huffed and reached his hand on the vice-captain's shoulder. "I was the one that didn't retreat early enough. It's completely my own fault." The Owl was quiet for a slight moment and continued: "At least I'm alive. Your part of the unit was the one that got losses. This is nothing compared to Daichi's case."
"So you heard already", Iwaizumi sighed. "Still. I-"
"Enough", Bokuto interrupted him. "Seriously, Iwaizumi, this isn't your fault. And maybe Ukai could make new legs for me or something, since he helped Akaashi, too", the man laughed shortly. "I will be fine. I can't be a soldier or a captain anymore, but I'm alive and that's what matters. I can give Akaashi all the support he needs even if I can't take part in patrols."
"Right, Akaashi", Iwaizumi suddenly remembered the sniper Owl. "Do you think he will be alright? Tooru has already told Matsukawa and Hanamaki all they need to know about him, but I can't help being a little doubtful."
Bokuto looked at him with serious, calm eyes and nodded slightly. "Akaashi will be okay, I know that. He needs some time to adjust, but he isn't weak at all, Iwaizumi. He can do this." He was quiet for a moment before continuing: "Akaashi will be completely okay, so you don't need to worry about that. Right, you should probably go to sleep now. I guess you haven't slept at all in a few days after the incident? You are barely awake. You really should take care of yourself, Iwaizumi."
"I need to choose what to do with Suga first", the vice-captain sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and turning his look to the ceiling. "I don't want him to stay here. Not after that. He will not get back on his feet if he stays here."
"I bet you know what you're talking about", Bokuto admitted with a sigh. "But that's something for Sugawara to decide."
"You are right, but I don't think he will listen to me", Iwaizumi mumbled. "I have to talk to him. It's just awful to bring this back up when it's only been two days."
"I know", Bokuto whispered. "Talk to him and go to sleep. Otherwise you will be the next who can't walk anymore."

"Sugawara", Iwaizumi kept his voice carefully soft and low when he called out the sniper Crow. "How are you feeling?"
The grey-haired Crow didn't turn his look from his cup of coffee right away. He was clearly tired, but his eyes were still wide and he had a spooked look in them. The dark circles were almost as bad as Iwaizumi's, and Sugawara looked like he hadn't eaten at all in a few days.
"Not good", the sniper finally answered. "I didn't sleep well." Iwaizumi nodded slightly and sat next to him on the bench.
"Have you been thinking what you will do now?" the vice-captain asked. "Daichi was an important comrade and friend for you. You have a right to leave if staying here gets too painful." The Crow gazed him quickly, his brows raised and mouth a little bit open.
"What?" he whispered. "How could I? I would never leave, Iwaizumi, I will be fine with time. How could I leave after years of being here?"
"I knew you'd say that", Iwaizumi sighed. "I'm serious, Suga. This place doesn't let you heal. You'll end up the same as me and Akaashi if you don't pick yourself up right away or leave completely. I think you should find a safe place for yourself and Elysia to live."
"So you are basically kicking me out?" Suga had raised his voice to a high-pitched one that was full of doubt and shock. "I thought we needed all the soldiers possible to keep this unit alive!"
"Sugawara, please calm down", Iwaizumi pleaded. "I'm not kicking you out. You can stay if you want, but I just said that in my opinion that isn't a good idea. I'm worried about you, Suga. I don't want to risk your mental health any more than this."
"I can't leave", Sugawara stated. "I just can't. I could never leave my team now when it needs every possible support it can get. I will not leave, Iwaizumi. This is the place I belong to."
The vice-captain looked at the sniper for a while, carefully observing the Crow's expression. "How about Elysia?" he asked quietly. "Will she stay here too? In a place where she sees injuries, blood and death every day? Will she be okay?"
The Crow fell silent. Iwaizumi waited for a while, but when neither of them broke the silence, the vice-captain stood up with a sigh. "You should talk to her. Then you can decide. You are a valuable soldier and my friend, Suga, and that exactly why I would prefer you to leave. You don't know what kind of hell this can be." Then the brunet nodded towards the coffee cup in front of the sniper. "You should go to sleep instead of drinking that. The Owls are in the patrol, so the others can rest." The brunet walked to the kitchen's door and gazed one more time behind his back. "I'll accept your decision whatever it is. Just make sure you will not regret it." Without waiting for any kind of answer the vice-captain stepped out of the room.
When Iwaizumi closed the door behind him, he let out a deep sigh. The unit needed Sugawara right now, and the vice-captain should've asked this from Kuroo first, but he wanted to do everything to prevent deepening the mental scars Sugawara had.
"What's with the long face?" Oikawa's chirpy voice was the last thing Iwaizumi needed right now, and the brunet let out a pained grunt, leaning on the door and letting himself slide to the floor. Oikawa made a worried-sounding sound and instantly crouched down next to his teammate.
"Hey, is something wrong, Hajime?" the sniper asked concernedly. "Did something happen?"
"I don't know what the fuck I should do", Iwaizumi sighed and leaned his head and back on the wall. "How do you do that, Tooru? You always seem so freakin' positive and energetic. I would have some use for that."
"Don't know, it's my nature", the sniper hummed and shrugged. "But seriously though, what happened? You weren't that tired when I last saw you."
"A lot happened", Iwaizumi sighed. "Firstly, Bokuto can't be a soldier anymore. He can't feel his legs. Secondly, I don't know how Akaashi will tolerate that. Thirdly, I don't know what to do with Sugawara. It would be the best for him to leave, but he doesn't want to and to be honest we need him right now. Fourthly, the fair is getting closer and I should contact the hosts to discuss about the security. Fifthly, Tsukishima still hasn't woken up and Kiyoko still isn't sure if he ever will. Sixthly, I need to check the information of the new soldiers that will arrive in a few days. The heading unit said they would also bring us something to help with our fight against the Dolls. I should check what that 'something' is, and-"
"Whoa, hold up a second", Oikawa aspirated and held his hands in front of Iwaizumi's face to get the brunet's attention. "That was more than enough. You have way too much work, Hajime, that'll seriously kill you if you don't take a break right now. You can do your work a little later when you have rested for a while, that would be more effective." The sniper stopped for a moment and touched the left side of Iwaizumi's face slightly. "On the top of that the wound on the left side of your face doesn't look that good. Yachi should check it."
Iwaizumi blinked his eyes slowly, trying to keep his thoughts clear. He had noticed the throbbing pain on his face, but it had quickly faded under the killing headache he had. "I guess you are right", he mumbled and turned his look away from the other Cat. "I'll… go to rest after talking to Yachi."
Oikawa's face wasn't relieved, it was far from that when the sniper observed his vice-captain's expression and eyes. The concern was glistening in his eyes, but he didn't say anything when he nodded and stood up.
"Fine, then. Make sure to sleep well."

Akaashi felt incredibly nervous when he walked down the street, Matsukawa and Hanamaki following right after him. The sniper felt lost when Bokuto was not there, and he hadn't even gotten to know the other two soldiers well since they both were quite new here. Akaashi knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't help the restless tingling in the tips of his fingers. He didn't have his captain on his side to make sure nothing would surprise them, and Akaashi knew he wouldn't be quick enough to aim with a handgun if something would attack them. He didn't doubt Matsukawa or Hanamaki's skills, but he didn't trust the two soldiers completely either. He had noticed how Matsukawa stayed on the sniper's right side and knew that Oikawa had told the two soldiers about his right eye, but that didn't make him any less nervous. He had always needed time to get along with someone, but now time was something he didn't have.
"We need to check houses from three to nine", the Owl said, trying to accept the fact he needed to act as a captain for a while. The words felt unnatural coming from his mouth, and Akaashi would've given anything to Bokuto to be alright already. "That isn't much, so we will go together. Six and seven are abandoned, so we need to be careful with them." Matsukawa and Hanamaki nodded in agreement. They could only go through less than one street, since Hanamaki was still quite badly injured and Matsukawa had some wounds that couldn't be strained too much, too. They'd just ask a few civilians if there was something they should know and go back to the headquarters then.
When they arrived to the first house, Akaashi knocked the door a bit hesitantly. This was Bokuto's job, and it felt wrong to do it. Still, the sniper took a deep breath and straightened his back when the door was opened. There was a young woman standing on the doorstep, and Akaashi thanked his luck for that.
"Evening", the woman greeted with a little confused voice. "Can I help you?"
"Good evening", Akaashi greeted back and nodded slightly. "Nothing particular, we're just patrolling. Has everything been fine lately? Anything strange?"
"Ah, nothing", the woman assured and waved his hand lightly. "It's been quite calm. The only thing was a noise from a few streets further three days ago, but looks like it was you", she continued after gazing the bandages around Matsukawa's neck and the scratches on Hanamaki's cheek. "Are you all okay?"
"Not really, but that's nothing for you to worry about", Akaashi uttered a short laughed and gave a light-hearted smile to the woman. It was rare for Akaashi to smile like that, but he needed to hide the misery in his eyes so he wouldn't make the civilian even more worried. "We will be back on track shortly. It's good to hear that it has been calm here. Keep yourself safe."
"The same goes to you", the woman mumbled, leaning on the doorway. "Good luck. You seem to need it."

That needed luck left Akaashi when the door of the fourth house was opened. Akaashi's skin became white as a sheet when he met the eyes of a tall, middle-aged man, and the sniper opened his mouth to talk but couldn't make any noise. The blood froze in his veins and his heartbeat got faster and louder, and the only reason wasn't the man's appearance. Akaashi knew him.
"You", the Owl finally could get a small voice out of his mouth and put his hand in front of Matsukawa, who was going to take his place to talk to the man. "What… are you doing here?"
Akaashi couldn't even breathe when the man grinned and let out an evil laugh. "Oh, my God, what a consequence! You really remember me, brat. I just came to check how Ryan's slave is doing in the military. Your precious sister isn't here, eh?"
"Yuki isn't here and you will not get to know where she is", Akaashi snarled. "How could I ever forget?" The Owl's voice was clearly shaking. He could never forget the face of the man that was on the street on that misfortunate night, the man that let his father take him back to the Hell he was living in. The man that made Akaashi lose his trust in every other man in the world. "You didn't help me back then. You left me with my father… You hit me just like he did. I thought you could help us. I thought…" Akaashi shook his head slightly and had to turn his face away. Instantly, he felt a strong slap on the side of his face and flinched, stepping back a few steps to get away from the man's reach. He didn't find any strength to act like a soldier should've, and he felt like a helpless child again.
"You look people in the eyes when you're talking" the man snarled to the sniper. "Or have you forgotten Ryan's education?"
"Hey!" Matsukawa snapped and stepped front. "Don't touch our captain. You better keep your filthy hands off him."
"A captain, hmm?" the man chuckled. "I should tell that to Ryan right away when he gets back home, he'd get a good laugh of it."
"You little…" Matsukawa grumbled and was clearly ready to punch the man's teeth to his throat, but something had caught Akaashi's attention.
"Don't", he aspirated to the soldier. "You. You can't tell, he's in prison", the Owl said to the man, who was still grinning and chuckling by himself. "Has been for ten years and will be for the rest of his life. You can't tell."
The man laughed and that made Akaashi shiver. "Poor boy, you really think he'd stay there?" he laughed and looked at Akaashi, shrugging slightly. "Believe what you want. He'll get out three days from today, and he will surely pay you a visit during the fair."
Akaashi's right hand instantly rose to his neck, covering the choker and the scar under it, like he was afraid of being attacked right here and now. "Thank… you for that info", he murmured. He couldn't believe he thanked this vicious man for something. "Hanamaki, do you have a phone with you?" The Owl tried his best to keep himself together for the sake of his team's imago. If he'd been alone, he would have already collapsed to the ground due the throbbing pain in the back of his head.
"Ya", the soldier mumbled and gave his phone to the sniper. Akaashi took it from him and tried to remember one exact phone number, pressing the buttons with weakened fingers.
"We should keep going. And you, you'll stay away from Akaashi and us", Matsukawa stated to the man. "If you ever, ever threaten him again, you will pay for that."
If that would've come from anyone else than Matsukawa, the man would've probably laughed. Now, staring at the taller, scarred soldier, he stayed silent and nodded slightly.
"Back to the headquarters", Akaashi ordered before pressing the phone against his ear. "We are done for today."
Beep. Beep. Akaashi's hands were sweating when he waited for the answer from the other end of the line. He was walking quickly to get away from the heavy atmosphere as quickly as possible. He needed to talk to Iwaizumi or Bokuto to calm down, and they were both at the headquarters.
"Akaashi Yuki." The sniper's heart skipped a beat when he finally heard a voice from the other end.
"Yuki?" he, for some reason, repeated. "Thank god you answered. It's Keiji. I'm calling from my comrade's phone."
"Keiji? Oh my gosh!" the young woman squeaked. "You are alright! It has been so long time that I thought something has happened to you! Why haven't you called?"
"I've been busy and don't have own phone", the sniper muttered. "Yuki, listen. You said in your letter that you'd be coming to the fair, right?"
"Yea, of course I'm coming", Yuki answered, clearly confused. "It's the first time in ages when I have free time during the time of the fair so I can finally visit you. Why, did something happen?"
"Don't come", Akaashi aspirated without answering his sister's question. "Really, Yuki. Don't come."
"Why? What happened, Keiji?"
Akaashi run his fingers through his head and tried to find the right things to say. "Dad", he mumbled. "He will be coming, too. I'm serious, Yuki. Don't come."
The line fell silent, and it took a moment for Yuki to answer. "I thought he was still in the prison", she whispered. Akaashi knew that his sister feared their father just as much as he did, so bringing this up made his heart feel heavy.
"He'll get out in three days", Akaashi explained and took a deep breath to keep his voice stable. "He'll be there for sure. He will kill us both if we show up, Yuki, please don't come."
"But you have to be there because you are a soldier!" Yuki aspirated. "I will not leave you there alone!"
"Yuki, please, put yourself first for once", Akaashi pleaded. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, but you don't deserve to get hurt. I can keep him away from myself since I'm a soldier. You'll only make things more difficult if you show up. You can visit me some other time, before or after the fair. Just don't put yourself in danger by showing up there."
"I could say the same to you", his sister wasn't clearly pleased. "Keiji, you are just as much in danger as I am! Even more to be honest. After all, Dad promised to leave me alone. I haven't seen him in ten years. You are the one that's in danger."
"The deal wasn't to get him into the prison, so he will most likely break his promises towards you", Akaashi partly coughed the words. "Yuki, please. Come visit me before the fair. I don't want you to come there."
Yuki was quiet again for an uncomfortable moment before answering. "I understand. I will come there four days before the fair, okay? Keep yourself safe, brother."
"Okay. You too stay safe. Remember to come with a car, this place is crowded with Dolls", he reminded. "Bye. Love you."
"Love you too. See you."
Akaashi put the phone down and tossed it to Hanamaki. "Thanks. That was a huge help."
"No problem", Hanamaki assured and put the phone back to his pocket. "Are you sure you are okay?"
"I just need to talk with Iwaizumi or Bokuto", Akaashi sighed. He couldn't get the startled look away from his eyes, and his heart was still running. "I just… got surprised, that's all."
That wasn't all, and Matsukawa and Hanamaki knew that judging by the concerned looks on their faces.
"Remember that you're not alone", Matsukawa noted quietly. "We won't let anything happen to you or anyone else during the fair."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Akaashi's voice was becoming shaky again. "My father… He isn't sane, Matsukawa. No one should go near him. I'm afraid that he'll harm the civilians if he doesn't get what he wants." The sniper let out an embarrassed, dry laughter. "Sorry, I must sound like a spooked mouse. I just…"
"It's okay", Hanamaki hurried to assure. "We understand. And we'll make sure nothing bad happens in the fair."
Akaashi was quiet for a while, and he didn't even gaze the two soldiers while walking forward. "Thank you", he finally said. "But we have way greater problems than that. You don't need to be bothered by him."

"Bokuto is sleeping, I don't think it would be wise to wake him up", Kiyoko said quietly. "He needs to rest."
"Shit", Akaashi mumbled and ran his fingers through his hair. "Iwaizumi?"
"Sleeping, finally", the medic sighed. "I don't suggest interrupting his rest either."
"Oikawa?"
"Tooru went to the graveyard", a low voice interrupted Kiyoko before she could even answer, and the sniper and the medic turned their heads to see Iwaizumi. The vice-captain had bandages covering his other eye, and Akaashi assumed they were there just to keep the wound on the left side of his face clean. "Is something wrong, Keiji?"
"Iwaizumi, you-" Kiyoko started, but the vice-captain silenced her with a half-hearted hand wave.
"It's almost a fact that I can't sleep more than twenty minutes by now, Kiyoko", the brunet sighed and yawned. "There's no helping it." Iwaizumi turned his face to Akaashi, and concern glimpsed in his tired eyes. "For real, did something happen?"
"You should sleep instead of worrying about that", Akaashi mumbled but couldn't help feeling relieved that the vice-captain was awake. "But if you really can't, then I guess there's no need to not tell you."
"Let's go to the kitchen, I need a coffee and the others aren't there", Iwaizumi suggested. "I assume you want to talk just between the two of us?"
"Ya", Akaashi admitted and turned around to head to the kitchen. Iwaizumi followed him, and a small glimpse of quilt flashed in Akaashi's mind when he realized how heavy the vice-captain's steps were. It wouldn't be a good idea to worry him even more, but Akaashi needed to talk to someone, someone who would really understand.
"So", Iwaizumi started while putting the coffee maker on. "Did something happen while the patrol? Did Matsukawa and Hanamaki do well?"
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with their behavior", Akaashi hurried to assure. "It isn't anything related to that. We just… came across someone I didn't want to see."
Iwaizumi glanced the sniper with worried eyes, and Akaashi could already tell what he was thinking.
"Not my dad", he noted. "He's still in prison… But I have told you about this man. He was the one that didn't help me back then when I got out of my house to search for help. He's one of my father's friends", the Owl explained. "I behaved like a kid and couldn't face him, but I think I would still have been fine with that. But Iwaizumi, he told something that I didn't think was possible." Akaashi leaned back on the chair he had sat in, and tried to gather his courage so he wouldn't become a scared mess while talking. "My dad will get out of prison in three days. He'll come to the fair."
Iwaizumi was quiet for a slight, unbelieving moment and gazed the other soldier again. "I thought he would stay in the prison for the rest of his life", the brunet stated quietly. "At least he would've deserved that."
"I neither know how he gets to leave, but that's not important", Akaashi sighed heavily and crossed his arms. "I already called Yuki and told her to not come to the fair, so that's okay, but…" The Owl tried to find the fitting words that wouldn't make him sound like a spooked kid. After a while of silence he gave up, reminding himself that Iwaizumi would understand. "I just don't know if I'll be able to act like a soldier should if I have to fear him all the time. We got him into the prison, me and Yuki. He will…" His sentence was left unfinished again, and the Owl lightly shook his head, feeling upset of his own helplessness.
"He will come after you", Iwaizumi finished for him. The vice-captain had sat on the other side of the table and put the coffee cup in front of him, but his eyes were fully concentrated on Akaashi.
"…Yea", Akaashi partly coughed the word. "I'm afraid of what he will do if he doesn't get what he wants." The Owl uttered a short, sarcastic laughter. "It's almost funny how I am more afraid of an old man than of a fight with a Dolls. I'm more afraid of a single hit that dying on the battlefield." The sniper fell silent again and covered his mouth with his fist, avoiding Iwaizumi's eyes. "I just… don't want to go back to that time. Not a slightest bit."
"Neither should you", Iwaizumi sighed quietly. "It's completely understandable. We'll keep him away from you and make sure he doesn't do anything to anyone else, either. If Yuki isn't there, then everything should be fine. I'm sorry that we need to take you there, but we need every soldier there."
"Of course, that's not what I meant", Akaashi assured. "I will come to the fair, and hopefully I can act like a soldier should. Hopefully he doesn't even come, but I doubt that. Iwaizumi, you don't have to change anything, I just needed to tell you. I will be fine." He had to gather all his willpower to keep his voice stable. He was afraid, scared stiff, but he didn't want to worry the vice-captain. He needed to get through this by himself.
"I really wish you will be fine", Iwaizumi sighed. "Just tell me if it gets too difficult. You are a soldier, but I bet he has still better build than you, so you won't be a match for him if he chooses to attack you." Akaashi nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He knew that very well, he would never win his father in a fair fight. He was just a skinny boy beside him and would be knocked down in an instant. Still, Akaashi felt how his heart slowly stopped beating faster than it should, and he could finally breathe properly again.
When Akaashi opened his eyes again, they showed a new light of determination.
"I will be okay. Don't worry."