At last, the climax of our story. Don't forget there's one more chapter to come after this. I'll reveal my future creative plans after the final chapter, which, like this chapter, you do not want to miss! Follow stylinbreeze60 on tumblr for news on those creative plans and for other fic updates as well.
Special shoutout to abeya on tumblr for making the cover image you now see on this fic. Check her out; she's doing commissions.
And now the moment we've all been waiting for.
Oikawa waited in the lobby of the General Hospital in the Yukigaoka City suburb of Ubugawa while the view outside tinted yellow in the sunset. A convoy with a motorcade was bringing the nation's president shortly. Soon, the lead vehicles of the military convoy rolled through the ER driveway until a stately black sedan came to a rest in front of the entrance. Members of the Presidential Guard emerged and opened the rear passenger door. Oikawa stepped out to greet the arriving dignitary.
"Mr. President," Toru welcomed, extending a hand.
"Thank you, Oikawa," bowed Hinata graciously as they shook hands.
The pair proceeded into the lobby where Lt.-Gen. Yutaro Kindaichi waited primly. Hinata chose not to make eye contact, his focus fixed on the double doors in the back of the room leading into the hospital itself. Oikawa said it was the demand of the rebels that none of the president's personal bodyguards join him inside the building.
As the president and deputy prime minister flowed past Kindaichi, the lieutenant-general and two soldiers silently joined behind. Hinata sensed the escort but glanced only at Oikawa who appeared calm.
Then the group proceeded to the third floor where Kindaichi signaled the soldiers to hold back by the elevator. There were no other soldiers in sight, Hinata noted. The trio then stopped at a room on the west side of the building. Shoyo and Oikawa stood either side of the sliding entryway with Kindaichi positioned between them and back, making a triangle.
"Kageyama is in here," Oikawa said. "We have video and audio set up at your request. Kindaichi is one of my trusted comrades, and he and I will stop anyone from trying to breach the room from out here. There is a guard in the room, but he has Kindaichi's seal of approval."
Hinata was sternly confident. Beyond this door, he hoped, was the truth.
After Hinata entered, Oikawa closed the door softly behind the president, and Kindaichi gave the deputy prime minister a stabbing look. Toru ignored it. Yutaro had made his choice a long time ago, and even if he were to fight back now, he'd have to face all of Lt. Daisho's squad singlehandedly. If he remained an obedient dog, Oikawa would make it worth his while, a fact Kindaichi knew.
As for Hinata, Toru didn't plan to kill him in Kageyama's room. If the meeting proceeded as expected, it would end without fanfare. Afterward, Toru would offer Hinata a drink laced with a chemical from the hospital's lab. The strongest opposition to an Oikawa premiership after that would probably come from Tanaka, but that man had already flushed his credibility down the toilet. The subsequent inquest into Hinata's death would pin the blame squarely (and exclusively) on Lt. Daisho, the commander of the forces guarding the hospital. The man would be unable to avoid execution, but Toru shed no tears for the officer notorious for playing fast and loose with military regulations. Despite his fidelity, there was no way to save Bokuto at this point either. If Yamamoto was still alive, he was doomed to the gallows as well.
Alongside Kageyama as the case may be.
That was assuming this meeting between Kageyama and Hinata went according to plan, and there remained the possibility it wouldn't. If the conversation went especially awry, the guard inside the room—Iwaizumi—stood by as insurance with a simple directive: make it look like a murder-suicide.
After Oikawa shut the door, Hinata took in the atmosphere of the space. The Venetian blinds on the room-length window were closed, masking a yellow aura that gave the white space a warm shade. The guard Oikawa mentioned, with an oversized helmet and surgical mask, was staunchly posed against the side wall, equidistant between the foot of Kageyama's bed and the entrance.
Tobio slouched in the singular hospital bunk that was flush with the window. Tobio sat upright, his lower half covered by white sheets, his torso in a bluish hospital gown. A gauze bandage covered his left eye, and his right arm—the one closest to Hinata—was handcuffed to the bedpost. Tobio snuck an emotionless glance at Hinata and then resumed what he seemed to have been doing before: sulking.
Oikawa warned him Hinata was coming. Toru went on about how nothing Kageyama said would change the outcome. Iwaizumi's presence—Tobio made eye contact with the man once and instantly recognized him—was proof of Toru's threat enough. However, Kageyama had no defense for himself anyway.
Shoyo's first act was to march to the plastic blinds, twisting the rod until the slats were horizontal and allowing the blinding sunlight above the townscape to blast in, hurting Kageyama's eyes. Hinata then yanked the lift cord to raise the blinds fully. Tobio could see the apartment structure that sat over a thousand feet beyond the hospital plaza.
Then Shoyo paced to Kageyama's side. His face was one of grave vexation, and the uncharacteristic look of, dare he say, righteous anger made Kageyama pay more attention.
"I just need you to say it," Hinata began firmly. "Oikawa is the one behind this." Kageyama jolted at the accusation but was not so surprised. Shoyo was capable of being intelligent if given the chance, a fact Tobio was well aware of from their many private conversations. "This conversation is being recorded, so speak the truth," Shoyo concluded.
That the conversation was being recorded was one of the reasons Kageyama couldn't speak the truth though. After the way he had been demonized and amidst the lack of faith from his comrades, anything he'd say would sound like a lie. He had no defense for siding with Oikawa, for spending hours at Toru's estate while his fellow cabinet members were dying, for standing by while the deputy prime minister whipped so many into shape. Never mind Toru would never let any statement incriminating himself go public.
And that wasn't the only issue. Tobio snuck a glance at Iwaizumi who was hauntingly glaring back.
"I can't," Tobio whispered. The barely audible voice made Hajime, and he took a step closer to further remind Kageyama to watch what he says.
"Why did you take Oikawa's side?" Shoyo rephrased, just as stern.
Stoic in the flesh, Tobio's blood boiled inside. "You idiot," he wanted to mutter. If Shoyo suspected Oikawa, why on earth did he walk into the man's clutches? As long as he was here, Shoyo was in grave danger.
"Hinata," Tobio remorsefully mumbled, "you just need to go."
"Tell me!" Shoyo yelled.
"Tell you what?!" Kageyama yelled back. He was angry with the foolishness Shoyo displayed in coming here, but he also hoped exploding on the premier would frighten him into leaving. "You think you came here to get me to clear my name?!"
"Yes," Shoyo said, suddenly calm again. The change in tone struck Kageyama silent. "Do you remember when I chose you as prime minister? Asahi didn't trust you. Neither did Tanaka. But you remember who vouched for you?"
Sawamura, Kageyama recalled. His idealistic eloquence and confident way with words appeased many a quibbler during the formation of Hinata's cabinet. During a private hearing with Hinata's closest confidantes at which Tobio was in attendance, Asahi openly insinuated Kageyama was out to steal the office from Hinata. But Sawamura held firm: "No. At best, he'll stop the office from being stolen."
What a prediction. And what a terrible duty to live up to, Kageyama dreaded the moment he heard the statement.
What would Tobio do if he succeeded Hinata as president? Honestly, he wasn't sure himself. He only knew one thing for sure:
Finish what Hinata started.
Nothing else in this country was worthwhile.
"Sawamura stood up for you," Hinata continued after the lull in conversation. "But like back then, nobody trusts you."
Kageyama sighed. Either forgetting or ignoring the audio in the room, he decided to speak unfiltered. They were both as good as dead, their respective necks in nooses tied to Oikawa's finger. Despite the obvious and horrifying prognosis, Hinata stood his ground without fear. And that made Tobio at least want to satisfy Shoyo if nobody else.
"You really think anyone would accept me if I say I'm innocent?" he complained.
"No," answered Hinata. "The people will believe me though. Oikawa conned you into this, didn't he?"
"I thought I could do something to undermine him," Tobio gulped. "But the rest of the government won't accept that."
"No, they won't believe you if you say that," Hinata stated as he unlocked his cell phone and fiddled with an app. "They won't believe me either," he added with a tint of annoyance. Kageyama quizzically watched the premier as he set the phone face up on a tray for medical instruments beside the bed. "But like before, they'll believe Sawamura."
Hinata tapped a voice message that broadcast in the room, captivating both Kageyama and Iwaizumi as Daichi Sawamura's huffing voice expounded:
"Oikawa's behind the coup! They've killed Asahi. They're going to frame Kageyama. They've captured HQ, and the cabinet. Yukigaoka has fallen. Please—"
A dull sound heralded Daichi groaning before a final, pained sendoff: "Please, save Haikyu."
During a brief moment of data signal in the caverns of the city of Tokonami, Hinata had gotten messages out to a few people. After he emerged in Wakunan, he had enough signal to receive a reply sent by Sawamura. He'd kept it a secret, both fearing the reality of what Daichi said and fearing without any other proof that nobody would believe Kageyama was being made a scapegoat. All of his subsequent instructions to Sugawara were intended not to tie Tobio publicly to the coup. Tanaka ruined that—but not irreparably, Shoyo insisted to himself. If anyone had known about the message before he came to this meeting, they'd stop him from coming, and so he kept it a secret even now. He had to ensure Tobio's name was cleared before taking Oikawa down.
Tobio gawked, hearing Sawamura not only exonerate him but implicate Oikawa.
Then he remembered the other person in the room.
Iwaizumi was dumbfounded. He had completely forgotten about the voice message Sawamura sent right before he murdered the man. That message was based on the hints he dropped to Sawamura. Daisho, monitoring the audio in the room, most likely heard the recording.
If just to save himself, Hajime had to clean this up right now.
"Hinata!" yelled Kageyama as Iwaizumi rapidly aimed his sidearm at the president.
A single gunshot rang out. Oikawa and Kindaichi flinched, the latter then gulping. Oikawa threw open the door with barely restrained glee.
Shoyo Hinata, standing upright and perfectly well, gazed wide-eyed at Toru now standing in the threshold. Tobio gaped with a mix of fear and confusion. Perplexed, Oikawa peered towards Iwaizumi, who was on the ground, shivering from a gunshot wound to the neck. Neither Hinata nor Kageyama were armed. Oikawa traced a theoretical projectile trajectory to the window and spotted a bullet-sized hole in the glass.
"Yutaro!" Oikawa shoved Kindaichi aside, quickly produced his own pistol, and fired at the corner of the blinds. As he did so, another rifle blast came through the glass and missed Oikawa by a hair. Toru's bullet snapped the reel of the blinds, and the raised window covering rattled all the way closed, obscuring all vision from the outside world. Oikawa quickly closed the door behind him, his gun predatorily marking an unsettled Hinata.
"I don't know how you pulled that off, but this is it, Shrimpy." Iwaizumi, his head exposed by his helmet having rolled off when he fell, heaved deeply as he watched the unfolding scene. Hinata stared coldly back, totally unfazed. Oikawa found the man's repugnance almost adorable.
Then Oikawa heard a pistol cock beside him as Kindaichi aimed his personal weapon at Toru's head.
"I'd suggest you be careful where you're pointing that, Yutaro," puffed Oikawa.
"It's over," the lieutenant-general simply said. Oikawa refrained from laughing. Daisho could see everything taking place on video. Even sooner than expected, two soldiers with assault rifles opened the door to the space.
"Shoot Yutaro!" Oikawa screamed, hopping away melodramatically, hoping to take advantage of the confusion.
But there was no gunfire. Oikawa rapidly realized the interlopers' aim was on him.
"It's no use," Kindaichi continued dryly. "Every soldier guarding this hospital is from the Miya Company."
Oikawa twitched in shock. All the soldiers they'd captured at Shinzen were supposed to have been transferred somewhere else, a task Kindaichi was put in charge of.
"Where's Daisho?" gnashed Toru.
"You left me in charge of troop deployments, so I sent him and his entire regiment to the front."
Oikawa scowled angrily. "Oh, yeah?" he replied skeptically. "You expect me to believe you arranged this whole setup yourself without my noticing?"
Then came another blithe voice from the hallway.
"You're right. He didn't," the ashen-haired speaker said as he peered around the corner with a gleeful grin. "I did," finished Koshi Sugawara.
Toru recalled telling Kindaichi to execute Sugawara, and instantly he realized where he'd screwed up. He snarled at his traitorous subordinate.
"Oh, I think I should mention," Sugawara chimed, "I took the liberty of talking to Terushima. He told me everything," he grinned mischievously.
"I can't believe you," Toru growled at Kindaichi.
"Don't give us all the credit," Sugawara said with folded arms. "The whole thing was the president's idea."
Oikawa spun in shock to the deviously beaming Hinata. Shortly after Hinata's first phone call with Oikawa ended, Kindaichi—instead of ordering Sugawara's execution—reached out to the only person he could think of: Aone. Having been released by Hinata's command, Takanobu routed Yutaro to the premier. Since sneaking troops behind enemy lines unfeasible, the plan to use Oikawa's own prisoners developed. Once everything was in place, Hinata agreed to the rendezvous for the purpose of getting Kageyama to indict Oikawa and—in theory—set up an arrest, the Miya twins stationed as snipers to take down Iwaizumi if needed.
"You," Oikawa gnashed at the president. "This is all your fault!"
He pointed his handgun at the premier. The response was swift. A few short bursts of gunfire, and Toru Oikawa tumbled like a sack of bricks.
After a few moments, Kindaichi checked Oikawa's pulse and found none.
It was over.
"Thank you. For getting my footage," Hinata grinned at the prime minister. Kageyama smiled.
Forgotten by the relieved men in the room, the felled Iwaizumi gawped.
This was always bound to happen, he'd thought. His conscience told him Oikawa's plans were too grandiose to realistically succeed. And now the man who would protect him was dead. The man he'd given up everything for.
And it was all Shoyo Hinata's fault.
With everyone focused on the dead body of Toru Oikawa, Iwaizumi reclaimed his weapon and aimed at the president. Kageyama spotted him first.
"Hinata!"
Hajime let out two rounds before the room's occupants could shower his body with gunfire, pulverizing any life from him.
Shoyo hit the wall after the first gunshot in his side and vibrated from the second in his chest.
"Hinata!" Kageyama bellowed again, falling out of the bed trying to reach the president, twisting around the bedpost he was cuffed to.
"Hinata! Hinata!" he again panted as he stretched his unfettered arm to catch the president's falling body.
Shoyo could hear Kageyama's voice, and then Sugawara's, calling his name. The racket in the room became dreamlike as his eyelids closed.