When Hinata came to, he immediately knew something was wrong. His arms were bound behind his back, for one, and the dagger he had hidden away in his boot mere minutes before was now missing. His face was throbbing; his nose was likely broken from where he had been punched. Hinata blinked and looked around to see he was being held by a man taller than Suga with huge arms.
Suga.
Hinata focused on the scene in front of him, still a little dazed. Suga was on his knees, doubled over and head bowed. Three tall men surrounded Suga, two holding his arms behind his back; one with unruly black hair and the other with spiky grey hair and wide eyes. The third man crouched in front of Suga, looking at him intently.
"You're a Seer," the man in front of him was saying, smiling sweetly. His clothes and brown hair were immaculate, only his boots showing signs of the rain outside, and a long sword with an intricate design on the scabbard was strapped to his hip.
"No," Suga said quietly. He seemed to be in pain, wincing as he spoke. "I'm a healer. I help the people of this town-"
"Liar." The man slapped Suga across the face, still smiling. Suga grimaced and spat onto the floor, a mixture of blood and saliva, looking back at the man with a glare. Hinata lurched forward out of anger, ready to fight the man, but was held back by his captor.
"Oikawa..." the man holding Hinata said with a warning tone. The man in front of Suga, Oikawa, ignored him. A hand mark was blossoming on Suga's cheek.
"You'll tell me the truth on your own free will," Oikawa said, venom in his voice, "Or we'll kill Chibi-chan over there."
A knife was pressed to Hinata's throat. He struggled against the arms holding him, but the knife pressed into his skin dangerously and he stilled. Hinata locked eyes with Suga for a mere second before Suga cursed under his breath and dropped his gaze to the floor.
Hinata trusted Suga immensely. He had always trusted the older man to keep him safe, and had done his best to help Suga in return. Now, however, Hinata's trust in Suga wavered. He didn't know how desperately Suga wanted to keep his identity a secret, and for a few moments Hinata feared the price of that secrecy would be his life.
"Fine," Suga said finally, and the knife at Hinata's throat fell away. "I possess the Sight."
Oikawa smiled and stood up. Hinata let out a small breath, not loud enough for anyone to hear. The two men holding Suga hauled him to his feet as well, and the arm holding Hinata's bound ones tightened.
A man that Hinata hadn't noticed before straightened from his place beside the door. Oikawa made his way towards him and took his long coat from him. "Yahaba, tell Kenma to take what he wants from this place. When he's done-" Oikawa turned to look at the black haired man holding Suga. "-Kuroo can torch the town." The man, Kuroo, grimaced but nodded in acknowledgement.
Suga made a sound of protest, struggling against his captors, but Oikawa shushed him with a hand, setting his jaw in a firm line. "Anyone who is worth something to us is alive. Everyone else in this town is dead already. No use fighting a battle you've already lost." With that, he strode out the door into the rain.
Hinata's heart plummeted. Dead? Hinata cast a glance over at Suga, but he seemed to have lost all will to fight. As Hinata watched, the light faded from Suga's eyes and his head dropped, an unreadable expression on his face. Suga went still, his legs barely working as Kuroo and the white haired man pushed him forward and out the door.
Was Suga the one they had been looking for? Hinata wondered, stumbling forward when his own captor made to follow the trio ahead of them.
They were pulled out into the rain and out of town, over to a small caravan of horses and wagons. Only a few people were around, feeding horses and doing repairs on wagons. Suga was pulled into a covered wagon near the middle, Kuroo waiting outside while the white haired man tied Suga to the wall of the wagon. After a moment, Hinata was lifted in and tied to the opposite side of the wagon.
The three men conversed outside of the wagon for a moment before dispersing. Hinata struggled against his bonds, but they were too intricate for him to untie blindly, so with no knife he was stuck.
"Suga-san," Hinata whispered. Suga didn't look up at him, his face still grave. "Sugawara-san," he tried again, more intently. Suga looked up at him, his brown eyes dark, but said nothing. "Are you okay, Suga-san? Are you hurt?"
Of all the responses Hinata expected, a short, bitter laugh was not one of them. It was so unlike Suga's usual demeanour, Hinata backed off immediately, almost scared of the man before him.
"Okay? Don't you get it, Hinata? They came for me. They slaughtered the entire town to get me. Everyone is dead because of me." The next part came as a broken whisper. "It's all my fault..."
Hinata could only watch as his mentor, the man who had shown him such compassion and friendship, who was funny and sassy and took no shit from anyone, who was always so strong in a crisis, broke down before him. Suga didn't cry, but something inside him was breaking. He was dead behind the eyes, his usual light gone.
"Suga-san..." Hinata didn't know what to say, but he was interrupted by someone climbing into the wagon.
"Take care of them, Kenma," someone else said from outside. Hinata saw Kuroo standing there once more, looking grave, as he opened his right hand in front of his face and flame sprung to life. Despite everything, Hinata watched in awe as Kuroo coaxed the flame to grow in his palm.
Kuroo met Hinata's eyes briefly and the man smiled sadly before walking away and out of Hinata's line of vision. He recalled Oikawa's words from earlier; Kuroo can torch the town. Hinata's stomach clenched.
The person who had climbed into the wagon with them settled beside Hinata, eyeing Suga warily. He had blond hair with black roots and an uninterested look in his face. He had a bag in his hands.
"I'm Kenma," he said, looking back to Hinata expectantly.
"Uh, Hinata Shouyou," Hinata replied, looking to Suga for help and receiving none. "That's Sugawara-san."
Kenma nodded. "I'm sorry about your town," Kenma said. "No one likes killing innocent people, but we have to follow orders."
Hinata was blindsided by the sincerity in his words.
"I went through your supplies after you were brought here," Kenma continued, knowing it was impossible for Hinata to properly reply to his previous statement. "I grabbed everything that seemed important. I'm a healer in this group," he explained, opening the bag and reaching inside. "I knew what most of this was, but I wanted to ask about some of it. Are you his apprentice?" Kenma asked, nodding towards Suga.
"Yes," Hinata said.
It almost seemed normal, explaining the pastes and liquids that he and Suga had spent so much time making. Kenma didn't seem like the enemy, just a fellow healer looking to learn. Most of it was very useful; Kenma had understood Suga's sorting methods as to what was important and what wasn't.
"I didn't take some things I already had, as I've been able to make it while we've been travelling, but some of this I haven't seen before," Kenma explained, holding up a jar filled with dried herbs as an example.
Suga moved then, sitting up and looking at Kenma intently. "That's basil."
Kenma looked surprised for only a moment before shrugging and replacing the jar in the bag. He reached inside once more and brought out two sets of trousers and shirts. "In hindsight, I probably should have done this first, but you were very helpful so I thank you," he said. "I'm going to treat your wounds and help you change and get dry so you don't die of hypothermia."
Hinata hadn't noticed because of the adrenaline rushing through his system, but both he and Suga were shaking in their soaked clothes.
Kenma quickly realigned Hinata's nose, the pain searing for a moment before fading into a dull throb, then moved to help Suga. Hinata noticed Kenma moved very carefully as he untied Suga's arms and gently removed his shirt, and then he saw why.
Bruises dotted Suga's chest, a large one blossoming on his side. Kenma laid a hand on it carefully, gauging Suga's reaction, before wrapping Suga's torso in a bandage. Suga's face remained blank while Kenma worked, only moving to put on the new shirt.
"Suga-san, what happened?" Hinata asked, but neither answered him.
Changing was slow going due to injuries and binds, but soon they were dressed in dry clothes. Kenma retied their hands in a more comfortable position, then reached for his bag for the last time. He pulled out their thick cloaks that had been left behind in the house and fastened them around their necks.
"Thank you," Hinata said, watching Kenma.
Kenma shook his head. "Don't thank me. We've been told to keep you alive is all."
Kenma dropped back out of the wagon and vanished.
As the night drew on, more and more people began making their way through the caravan. The rain stopped after several hours, leaving the ground soaked and squelching. Hinata listened to the voices outside of the wagon, trying to glean information from them about their fate, but learned nothing of importance. He had given up trying to talk to Sugawara after several failed attempts; Suga had placed all of the blame for what had happened on himself, and the guilt seemed to be killing him quickly and quietly.
"Suga-san, it wasn't your fault. You know somewhere in you that this can't be your fault. For now, I'll leave you to blame yourself, but when you're done we'll work this out together." Hinata fell silent, but saw Suga flinch at his words.
Two people stationed themselves outside of the wagon but said nothing to its occupants. The night wore on and Hinata dozed, occasionally waking to see Suga staring out of the back of the wagon, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
At one point, Hinata began to pray. He had never been religious necessarily, but it felt like the right thing to do. He closed his eyes and began an internal monologue, wishing for the peace of those who had been lost in the town, that they were all together somewhere, and that they were happy in death. He wished for his and Suga's safety, for escape, for freedom. He kept it up, hoping for better days and sanctuary for those lost, long into the night.
When day finally broke, the caravan came to life again, people bustling around in preparation for departure.
Some time after sunrise, Kenma reappeared, Kuroo at his side. Kenma sat beside Hinata again and Kuroo slid in next to Suga, who did not acknowledge him.
"You burned our town," Hinata said, his rage starting to bubble up. Kuroo looked at him sadly.
"Yes."
The honesty struck Hinata by surprise, stunning him into silence.
Kuroo continued. "I burned your town full of dead innocent people because I have to follow orders." Kuroo was wringing his hands, no longer looking at Hinata but down at his hands with disgust. Then, a whisper. "I'm too much of a coward to not follow them."
Kenma was looking at Kuroo with empathetic eyes, but didn't say anything. Hinata's anger had dissipated, replaced by confusion.
"If you don't like the orders you're given, why don't you stop following them? You can leave, can't you?" he asked.
Kuroo looked up at him like he had suggested they take off and fly somewhere. Then, he laughed, the same short laugh Suga had emitted earlier. "Kid, I can't leave. They'd kill me. My family. Anyone I care about..." Hinata noticed Kuroo's gaze lingered on Kenma briefly. "I'm stuck, following orders I don't agree with from a man I hate."
"Oikawa?" Hinata asked, recalling the man from earlier.
Kuroo shook his head. "No. He's not here with us, we just do his dirty work."
Kenma sent Hinata a look to say that the topic should close, and Hinata moved it along quickly. "You had fire in your hand," he said. "Are you immune to it?"
Kuroo laughed, but this time it was more easy-going and genuine. He snapped his fingers and a flame sparked to life on the tips. He wiggled his fingers, making the flame dance along them. Hinata gaped as Kuroo worked.
"I'm a magician, Chibi-chan. One of the few around. Fire is my speciality."
Hinata's eyes widened, and he was about to gush about how cool that was, when Suga interrupted him. His eyes were narrowed, but otherwise his face was carefully blank.
"You brought on the darkness," Suga said. "You messed up my Sight with your magic."
Kuroo's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't know magic could interfere with Sight, though I haven't met a Seer before so that's reasonable."
Suga made a derisive noise but fell silent once more.
"Anyway," Kenma said, sounding bored. "You're riding up with us today. The wagons are going to be filled with supplies. We'll untie you, but know that if you try to run you will be caught and you will be killed."
Hinata nodded. Suga was quiet for a moment, searching Kenma's face for something, but he eventually nodded as well.
Kenma seemed to be something of a horse whisperer, and after wandering among the horses for a few minutes, he rested his hand on a bay gelding, a few hands smaller than the rest. "Hinata, this is Sho. I think you'll be a good fit for him." Hinata gently stroked the horse's flank, and Sho turned to look at him with a wide brown eye.
Suga was quietly whispering to a black mare named Mirai, Kuroo hovering nearby.
Once they were saddled and ready to go, they led the horses to where people had begun gathering. Hinata spotted Oikawa at the front of the group, talking to the white haired man and three others. Hinata recognized one of them as the man that had held him the night before.
"That's Oikawa up there," Kenma said quietly as they approached. "Bokuto is the one with the white hair, he's our navigator. Iwaizumi you know from last night, he's Oikawa's second in command. Beside him is Daichi, he commands our troops and leads our defence, and Kageyama is the taller one. He's in line to take Oikawa's place if something were to happen."
Hinata inspected the group with rage in his eyes. His anger was slowly coming back to him and he wanted to do nothing more than to run at them.
"Hinata," Suga said in a low, warning voice. Hinata looked over at the man, but Suga was watching the five men carefully, mouth set in a straight line. Hinata got a chill as he watched, and it appeared that others were affected similarly, as Oikawa turned slowly to face them even from so far away.
Oikawa narrowed his eyes, then sent them a winning smile, the sarcasm behind it evident, and turned back to the map Bokuto was explaining. Oikawa still looked immaculate, but very tired. Hinata wondered if he had been up all night.
"Why aren't you up there with them?" Suga asked Kuroo. "You seem important enough."
Kuroo laughed. "They might think so, too, but they're some of the few that actually trust me. Magicians aren't usually well received, and most of those accompanying us avoid me like the plague. Besides, they're more scared of you than of me, and they think I might be the only one who can deal with your seer abilities."
Suga's face twitched, almost in what seemed to be the start of a smile, and Hinata grinned to himself. Hopefully, in light of the disaster of last night, Suga wouldn't be lost to him forever.
"Come on, we're moving out." Kenma took a horse from a handler nearby, swinging up onto it quickly before looking at Hinata expectantly. Though Sho was smaller than most of the horses, he was no pony and was far too big for Hinata to mount unassisted. Kuroo grinned and picked him up, setting him in the saddle and promising to teach him a trick to it later on.
Suga swung onto his mare gracefully, stroking down her neck as he settled and muttering to her. Kuroo followed suit, taking his own black mare with white socks and settling himself in the saddle. Hinata caught Suga holding his left side, supporting his ribs, but looked away when Suga played it off as adjusting his clothing.
Hinata looked back up to the head group to see they had dispersed; Oikawa and Iwaizumi were still up front with Bokuto, but Daichi had fallen back to talk to the largest group outfitted with weapons of many descriptions, and Kageyama had disappeared.
As he watched, Daichi's group spread out, some going to the front of the caravan, others to the back, and still more to flank the sides. Daichi turned to take his horse from a handler and met Hinata's eyes for a brief second before looking past him. Hinata turned to see what Daichi was looking at to see Suga staring back with a hard expression. Suga then purposefully turned his head away and focused on Hinata's horse.
A whistle came from the front of the caravan and everyone started moving simultaneously. No one spared a glance to the two captives riding among them.
Notes: I'm sorry Suga! I swear I love you! And so soon after your birthday too...
Tumblr: silverwordswrites
