YEAR THREE 1/9 Dissolution & Moirai's Whisper
I don't believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no accidents. ~Pablo Picasso in History
The inhabitants of the beach house are just past year three at their coastal home when a message comes from Ukai, summoning Kuroo to town with all haste even as evening closes in.
The black cat returns with dire news. The shop owner has received a raven bearing an unsigned memo with two lines of urgent scrawl:
Five units dispatched on snake nest raid. Make yourselves scarce.
Ryuunosuke Tanaka peruses the shelves laden with pretty little blown glass ornaments of a glass maker's stall in the small village market. The craftsman who made them is quite talented and it's rare to find a place like this in a small town so far off the beaten path and the coast; he absently wonders if there's one that his sister would like.
She wasn't really into flowers and cute girly things… she was far too cynical for those. She didn't wear much of what most people would term 'fine jewelry' and was picky about her earrings; she wouldn't wear any dangly type stuff. There really wasn't much that fit Saeko's particular style… but all the shiny little delicate trinkets and jewelry really were impressive.
Finally, one catches his eye and he bends down to get a better look at it. It's little more than a pin, but a moment of inspiration hits him when he remembers the way Saeko goes all out with her drum performances. The needlepoint itself is polished metal, but the simple glasswork piece affixed to its end is… almost perfect.
The graceful mitsudomoe insignia that was emblazoned across the face of her drums is captured perfectly in red dyed glass, underlined with smoky black. This small pin would be the perfect thing to keep her headwrap in place for performances. His hand absently reaches for it with quiet awe, but he pauses when his peripheral awareness stops him.
There's a second or two where he wonders if he's seeing things, because he could swear Hinata was over by a katsudon stand with Kageyama. He frowns and slowly turns his head toward the patch of orange hair beside him, utterly baffled at why the redhead would be interested in glass artwork. He catches his breath.
It's not Hinata.
But it could have been if he were a good couple centuries younger… and a girl.
It's like seeing a weird mirage, right down to the black wings that sprout from her shoulders that are flecked with white feathers on their undersides— exactly like Hinata's had been.
He takes in the kid beside him as she stares at the glass trinkets with her mouth set into a flat line but her eyes focused with an awed expression. She's a little thin, but on the verge of adolescence, her bright orange hair pulled into two unruly pigtails, her shirt coated with dust from the road.
And of everything about her, that last detail is what makes him frown, because she has wings. Most avians didn't traverse roads or earthen routes when they could fly. He glances back at her wings, but while they seem off somehow, he can see nothing obviously wrong with them.
So why would she be walking?
Was she injured?
Her eyes snap to him guardedly, suddenly aware of his critical focus, and he flinches. Almond eyes that could have been Hinata's watch him with sharp suspicion, her brows drawing down into a frown. They are creased with unease where Hinata's are often creased with laughter, but they are every bit as expressive.
"Eh… what's your name?" He asks a little awkwardly. The girl simply stares at him.
"Um… you here with someone? Parents or a brother or something?" He tries instead. Her head tilts slightly.
"... brother?" Her voice slips out almost inaudibly, uncertainly. Ryuu smiles slightly.
"You have a brother?"
Again, no response. Ryuu reaches up to scratch the back of his head and the girl flinches and takes a step backward. He instantly freezes at the wary look that crosses her face and holds his hands up in the universal gesture of 'I'm harmless'. He knows it probably doesn't help much; Saeko had always said he had a roughshod look to him that could make people uneasy.
"Eto… I have a sister." He says and glances back at the mitsudomoe pin. "I haven't seen her for a while and was thinking of maybe getting her something."
"Sister?" Her tiny voice finds him cautiously and he glances back at her with a small smile.
"Yeah. She's a drummer. I was thinking this one." He says and points to the mitsudomoe.
"What do you think?" He asks.
She watches him for a long moment before looking back at the array of pretty little baubles. She looks at the pin in question only a moment before her eyes roam across the shelves of glass. Her scan complete, she points to another piece, a small hairpin overlaid with spun glass sunflowers.
"You think that one?" He asks, surprised and she nods, the ghost of a smile tugging at her mouth that makes him think that if she really smiled with uninhibited joy— and were a boy, she'd be a dead ringer for Hinata.
"Hmm. My sister's weird. She doesn't really like flowers." He grumbles. The girl looks at him with a frown and points to the hairpin again.
Heh, insistently stubborn like that shrimp, too.
"That's really the one I should get her, huh?"
She nods again. He scratches the back of his head again, belatedly pleased that she doesn't shy from the motion this time.
"Ano… I don't know—" The girl stomps her foot, her wings shifting with agitation.
"Th… that one." She says with a fierce scowl. The words are curled, as if they aren't her native tongue and she seems a little unsure of them despite her conviction. Ryuu's brows rise.
Does she not speak crow?
For a moment, he wants to facepalm, because he just asked some kid who doesn't speak their language to help him pick out a gift for his crazy sister. He huffs slightly before straightening. His sister would never wear it, but she'd undoubtedly find this situation hilarious.
He reluctantly points out the sunflower hairpin and hands over the few coins the grinning shopkeeper asks, feeling entirely foolish. He takes the pin and turns back to the girl only to find her grinning up at him. It takes him off guard, and he blinks as he realizes that she's pretty cute in a maddening sort of way.
"She will like." She says in her warped accent and he grins crookedly down at her.
Oh yes, Saeko will find this hysterical.
"Tanaka." He glances up from the girl when he hears Kuroo's voice over his shoulder.
Taking mental stock of where Kageyama and Hinata are arguing over what to bring back for dinner a couple stalls down, he turns toward the approaching cat and his leveler shadow.
"Hey, Baldy. We need to let the others know that there are snakes in the area. Pressure from the rookery a few days back is creating a ripple effect and I heard that they are on the move."
"Is it something that should concern us more than sentries?" Ryuu asks lowly. The cat tosses his hair and points to his cloudy eye.
"They aren't the savory type. They captured Kenma with the intent to sell him overseas centuries ago, and their habits haven't changed much." He murmurs, scanning their surroundings. Ryuu's eyes widen.
"They traffic people?" He asks with surprise and Kuroo nods.
"Among other things… and the rookery cracking down on them the last year or so has placed them under stress. Keep close to the shrimp. They aren't in the habit of abducting crows, but his red hair makes him an oddity— and all the more interesting if they realize he's a grounded bird. I need to find Daichi and Suga and inform them."
Ryuu nods as the cats disappear and he quickly finds the younger level pair with new alertness.
In a flash of insight, he remembers another face framed by orange hair. If Hinata were at risk, she would be, too. He turns back to the girl only to find her gone. He frowns and glances up and down the street, searching for orange pigtails and black wings, but comes up nil. He glances back at the pin in his hand, reaffirming that he didn't lose his mind and imagine that little exchange that led to this poor decision. His frown deepens.
Pocketing the pin, he turns and heads for the shrimp and crow setter, hoping she will be fine.
They'd been fortunate that everyone had been home when Ukai had gotten the raven; tracking down half their group with the message to not come home would have been a nightmare.
When the cat had returned a half hour later at a clip, everyone had paused. When he'd started issuing orders to pack enough so they could be gone by morning, everyone had leapt. By the first gray tendrils of light the following day, they'd gathered outside the beach house, all in one place in front of their home for the last time for the foreseeable future.
Kuroo had split the group into three sects. Noya and Asahi were sent with the girls and Lev and Yaku, the short crow not at all happy about being separated from the rest of their unit. Kuroo had stressed that a split was necessary in the event that one group got caught; they would need people who would have inside knowledge of the rookery in order to attempt a rescue.
The small crow had hated it, but had grudgingly agreed. Ryuu could definitely understand how Noya felt; he'd had very much the same feeling despite understanding where the large feline was coming from.
Kuroo had then sent the owls with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi to live inside Sheru Bay itself, staying with Suga's relatives. The owls still had their dock jobs and would need to stay in order to avoid suspicion by randomly disappearing, and the other two would help with the Sugawara family store and Ukai's shop. They were on standby to maintain communication between the three groups and would be the ones to give them the all clear when it was safe to return.
Kuroo had packed up himself and Kenma to join the remainder of the former Karasuno unit with the intent of splitting them once more after they got a bit farther north. Tanaka didn't like the idea, but he had to admit that larger groups definitely attracted more attention than smaller ones.
The bald crow has the feeling that he'll be split off with Daichi and Suga while the cats remain with the avian heir and grounded redhead. It's a dull prospect; he holds nothing but respect and affection for the older level pair, but they aren't nearly as much fun as Noya and Hinata.
But that doesn't matter when it comes to their safety. As he catches up with the bickering pair, they both turn toward him.
For a moment, he sees smaller almond eyes framed by orange pigtails when Hinata looks at him, and he hopes that they will all stay safe.
A/N: How about THAT little surprise? I think the only mention of this wonderfully vexing child (i'm NOT good at writing kids so this could very well go sideways) was way back in Iwa's first chapter.
Ha, so did anyone catch that I was watching YOI when I was writing this one?
Just a heads up, but I won't have internet access tomorrow so there wont be a new chapter... apologies. Stay awesome guys, have a spectacular evening!