YEAR THREE 7/9 Unravel

Leaders become great, not because of power, but because of their ability to empower others. ~John Maxwell

Hajime Iwaizumi picks his way through the makeshift camp they've haphazardly set up in the dark, his mind in circling knots.

Everything has pretty much died down now, and he's been seeking a place just to try and sort through his head, but everywhere is noisy. The sentries around him celebrate on a successful mission and he will have nothing but good remarks to bring back to the Grand King, but he can't keep the nervous agitation from spurring his feet to find that one quiet place.

Finally giving up on success inside the rings of torchlight, he steps just outside of it, and is instantly relieved to find an ancient fallen tree, it's roots having pulled up a large crater of earth. It hasn't toppled completely and Hajime agilely springs up on the massive trunk, quietly awed at its size. It is wider than his wingspan, and ignoring the way it brings him farther from the safety of the camp, his steps take him up bare and weather bleached wood that glows lightly in the moonlight.

As he finds a place against a protruding branch perhaps ten or fifteen meters off the ground, he turns and settles against it facing the camp. He can still hear the occasional bustling movement or conversation floating up to him from the glowing fires he can see through the branches. He draws in a deep breath and leans his head back, his eyes drifting closed.

His limbs burn with exhaustion, and he's spent from the day's exertion and nerve wracking tension. He'd been woken an hour earlier than necessary by a messenger this morning; the sun hadn't even begun to chase the gray of early morning out yet.

"Iwaizumi, Sir, you have an urgent raven that just came in at the aviary!"

He'd drug himself out of his bunk with a grunt and quickly tugged on clothes before following the kid out still half asleep.

But his mind had quickly picked up; there were five sentry units out on a snake raid for the last week… so far, updates had been steady and normal. But even if he had warned the beach crew, the sentries were still in that area.

Had something gone wrong?

Had the raven not reached Ukai in time and they'd caught the avian prince's group? Had it been intercepted? Had someone in Sheru Bay let it slip? Or had they just found another snake cell? Maybe thirty different scenarios had run through his head by the time he'd reached the aviary, each as nerve wracking as the last.

The actual message had nearly sent him to his knees in shock.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time.

He'd stared at it for several seconds until the messenger kid had asked him what it said. He'd blinked at the boy stupidly before turning and sprinting his way to the Grand King's private quarters as fast as he could.

"Sir! Permission to mobilize units, sir." He'd said, out of breath. The Grand King had looked up at him from a bit of parchment with a brow raised in surprise.

"You're awfully chipper so early in the morning, Iwa. You look like you just rolled out of bed, but I don't think I've ever seen you this awake before." Hajime had clenched his teeth to keep from rolling his eyes.

"Sir. Permission to—"

"Mobilize units, yes. Whatever for, Iwa?"

Hajime had debated for all of two seconds before handing the message to the grand king. Hajime didn't need to hear it when the Grand King read it out loud; the words were already seared into his head.

"Massive snake nest five leagues west of Ivoya. Four to five hundred. Bring the house, Iwa, party is at sundown on Moku. Feathers is about to do something stupid." The Grand King had looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not signed."

"It's my informant." He'd said haltingly.

"The one you told me about who keeps tipping you off?"

"Yes."

"Iwa." Hajime had tensed slightly at the direct address.

"Yes, sir."

"Why does he use the name I call you by?" The Grand King had asked with an arched brow and a deceptively pacifistic voice. Hajime had gone rigid.

"That's the alias I gave him. It's how I know it's from him." He'd lied.

"Is there a reason for that? I don't bestow such things on just anyone." Tooru had asked, leaning forward, and a snap of irritation had sent Hajime's rational thoughts running, likely easing him from the Grand King's critical eye at the same time.

"Because he's insufferable." He'd groused. A slight smirk had tipped the rookery leader's mouth.

"That was uncalled for, Iwa. Who is Feathers?"

Your idiot kid.

"My contact." Another lie… sort of. Kageyama was a contact… just not the one who'd sent the message. The Grand King had fixed him with a skeptical look.

"This guy seems pretty odd, Iwa."

"His information has never been wrong and he's been invaluable to our cause so far. I would like to help him." He'd said, not sure if he'd completely been able to hide the scowl.

Actually, no, he didn't really want to help the avian heir, but he couldn't in good conscience, leave him to fend for himself when the cat of all people, was asking.

"You are unusually motivated today, Iwa." The Grand King had remarked, his eyes a touch more serious than the bantering words. The sentry leader had known the rookery king was assessing had walked up to him and dropped the other piece of paper that had come with the raven next to his breakfast.

"He handed me the keys to the nest and not only told me how many snakes are in it, but how to take it as well. We aren't usually gifted with such information and I think it would be foolish not to use it. Rescuing my idiotic contact is just a bonus." He'd murmured. The Grand King had frowned down at the paper.

"Is this…?"

"The nest layout, complete with nearly half the buildings marked along with notes on entry points and tactics. There are strategies on here that we've never thought to use against snakes; if we can take down a nest this size, they might send more information like this." He'd said and the Grand King's dark eyes had cut up to him.

"They?" Hajime had nodded.

"This isn't— Feathers' handwriting." He'd said, pointing to the graceful scratches on the blueprint and nearly slipping over the name. "I think he's drawing on his network of people to get us more information."

The Grand King had studied the mapped-out nest for several moments, his gaze flickering across it in calculating thought before he'd sat back and looked at him balefully.

"In order to take on four or five hundred snakes, you'd need a force that could rival that. How many units are we talking here, Iwa." He'd said.

"Half of them." He'd tried, knowing the answer before it was given.

"Denied."

"We wouldn't pull them all from here, sir. We need a reasonable number to stay back to protect the rookery." He'd argued all the same. He'd needed as many as he could get; he'd known that if he'd gotten the rookery leader to agree, he'd only get a portion of what he'd asked for, so he'd aimed unrealistically high in the hope to maximize that number when the Grand King returned with a counter.

"That is an awful lot of lives to gamble on one informant." He'd said with a frown, and Hajime'd felt like he might lose the chance altogether. He'd straightened, adopting a sterile expression and tone.

"Permission to speak freely." He'd said and the Grand King's eyebrow had risen once more.

"Granted."

"Your substantial personality flaws aside, you are, for whatever reason, an exceptional king, sir—"

"Did you just call me a crappy person?"

"— and I will always do as you command. You ask my thoughts and I will always voice them—"

"You do that when I don't ask."

"— but I will always leave the final decision to you. I don't believe I have ever lodged a formal request, but I would like to do so now. Please take half the units to Ivoya." He'd finished, ignoring the Grand King's interjections.

"You are determined today, Iwa. What has lit a fire under your feathers?" He'd asked curiously and Hajime had stared him down.

"Do you trust me sir?" He'd asked instead of answering the rookery leader.

"That depends. Are you commanding my units or designing my wardrobe? Because if it's the latter—"

"Do you trust me?" Hajime had cut him off with a deep frown, because, dammit, he was serious.

The Grand King had looked up at him with contemplation, his light features leveling into sincerity. Seeing the direct expression when he was so used to Tooru's fabricated geniality had made the look seem almost cold.

"More than anyone else, Iwa." He'd said quietly, nearly stunning Hajime off his feet. After swallowing hard twice he'd finally found his voice.

"Take them to Ivoya." He'd said, sounding somehow scratchy even to himself.

He'd had to get them there somehow. If it had taken breaking and telling the rookery leader everything in order to do it… Hajime knew he would have, because Tobio needed to live. The Grand King had drawn a large breath and let it out in a tired sigh.

"Alright, Iwa." He'd finally said, sounding somehow defeated. Hajime had blinked.

"Seriously?" The rookery leader had flashed him a sarcastic smile that somehow looked forced.

"Seriously." He'd said with a smirk, parroting the word Hajime had used. "But..."

… Of course, there was a 'but'.

The air had left Hajime's chest and his brow had drawn down into a scowl.

"And here come the terms. What ridiculous thing do I have to promise to get this?" He'd grumbled and the Grand King had grinned true.

"Why, since you are offering, I will have to think of something." He'd said with a laugh before fixing him with a firm look. "But I will not be going, Iwa. And you can't have half." Hajime's brow had creased in confusion.

"Not going?" He'd echoed.

"No."

"Then who is going to lead them?" He'd asked uncertainly.

"You will. This is your brain child, Iwa, I shall have no part in it." Hajime would probably have needed a shovel to pick his jaw up off the floor, and he'd swallowed hard.

"I don't think—"

"You may have forty percent, and fully half must stay here. Ivoya is a good ten-hour hard flight and this is supposed to go down tonight. You will be hard pressed to get things together and make it there on time. You might want to get on that, Iwa."

Hajime had stared at him for several moments, trying to process what he'd just said. And as his mind had started turning again, he'd rapidly begun calculating distances and time.

"The rest of the units were supposed to stop over about four hours out last night on their way back. If I get a messenger out to them in the next half hour, they should meet up and have enough time to get there. If we can congregate a few leagues shy of Ivoya, we should be able to keep our presence fairly well masked for the interim before an offensive. They've been prone to using crossbow bolts, so I think at least base armor would be wise. I would like to take the veterans who've had experience with them sir. Each of them is seasoned enough to take out more than one snake, so that would help with our disadvantage in numbers."

"It sounds like you have everything all mapped out already, Iwa." He'd said with a smirk, but Hajime had shaken his head.

"It's not… I don't think we'd have any problem overrunning a nest like this during the day, but I think it's going to be far more challenging in the dark. Snakes don't need light to see— we do." The Grand King's head had tilted slightly in amusement.

"If it really is a surprise for them, I don't think that will have as great an impact. If you are really worried about visibility, start setting buildings on fire— give yourself more light. They might also have a much harder time finding you if they have a blinding inferno to contend with as well. Just know that once you raze a building, it tends to alert everyone."

Hajime had realized then, exactly how inexperienced he was with serious warfare. The Grand King was exceptional at avoiding confrontation if possible, but when the need arose, he could be ruthless and methodical to maximize the chances for his side. Really, he had such a well of strategic knowledge to call upon—a well that Hajime woefully lacked.

"You really think it wise to leave this in my hands? I don't even know if the other units will listen to me." He'd said.

"The very fact that you hesitate means you consider their lives in high regard and will not throw them away on a whim. It means you will do everything in your power to see them safe. Take my seal for the missive you send with your messenger, if you are concerned. I don't think it will be as difficult as you fear. I believe in you Iwaizumi… and so will they." He'd said, holding out the small metal die. Hajime had taken it with numb fingers, completely floored by the power he'd just been handed.

There had been no way he'd been ready for that responsibility. Damn you, Feathers.

"I hope I do not disappoint, sir." He'd said mechanically with a bow.

"Good Luck, Iwa. And oh! I've thought of what ridiculous promise I shall exact from you." The Grand King had said with one of his cheesiest grins. Hajime had blinked at him owlishly.

"What would that be?" He'd grumbled, almost cringing at the mere idea of how absurd the request would be.

"You must promise to come back." He'd said, the playful banter sliding from his face, and Hajime had blanked.

"What? Why wouldn't I—"

"Do not die out there, Iwa. It would be lonelier than I could bear without you around...and I would never find out what secret it is that you are keeping."

Hajime opens his eyes, his gaze lingering on the bonfire glow that used to be the snake nest.

Everything had gone off without a hitch. The units Hajime had led from the rookery had met up with those returning from the snake raid in the east a couple leagues south of Ivoya; a songbird scout had confirmed the location of the nest as the sun was starting to set. He'd conferred with all unit leaders, showing them the layout of the nest and diplomatically soliciting their thoughts. They'd attacked just after dark, Hajime taking the Grand King's advice and torching buildings so they had the advantage of sight.

It had been over in a half hour, the nest completely overrun and the surviving snakes scattering into the darkness. He'd scored his first major military command victory against unfavorable numbers, and he'd done it soaringly. And yet…

Damn you, Tobio. Hajime had no desire to lead, either.

"You're far more approachable when you leave yourself open like this."

Hajime jars sharply, his entire body flinching. He spins in place to see a mismatched gaze, short wild locks, and the outline of slouching shoulders he knows all too well leaning against the next branch over.

"Well that's a softer reaction than the first time I showed up in the rookery. Or the second. The second might have been worse, actually." The black cat says with a smirk.

"Oh, for the love of— it's a goddamn rookery, cats aren't supposed to be anywhere in it, not to mention it'll be my fucking hide if you're ever caught. Where the hell did you come from, anyway?" He grouses saltily. The black cat smirks and jerks a thumb over his shoulder.

"Further up the tree." Hajime huffs in annoyance and rubs a temple with his fingers.

"Forget I asked. Is he alive?" Hajime mutters sullenly.

"He is. Next time you see him, he owes you a debt of gratitude. We'd never have made it out without you."

"Glad to hear it. We never saw any of you." He says flatly and the cat shrugs.

"That's because we weren't here." Hajime's jaw drops.

"You weren't here? You had me come crush a nest with an impossible deadline and you weren't here?!" He spits, white hot anger zapping his limbs to life.

"Just boosting your military career, Iwa. The correct response would be 'thank you'." The cat says blandly and Hajime's arm whips out and latches onto his shirt, fully intending to punch him. A flicker of irritation slips through Kuroo's features.

"Relax, Crow. We were a league north at their holding point." Thoughts of swinging at the cat die.

"Holding point?" He echoes.

"When you get the chance, take a small group and head that way. You will find a compound of like five buildings up against the river gorge. Inside one will be a set of stairs that leads underground. Use caution since there were still a couple snakes there when we left, but you'll find many people who will be happy to see you."

Hajime blinks slowly. He had wondered why they hadn't really found any captives in the nest.

"Which one of you got caught?" He asks with a frown. The cat shakes his head.

"Doesn't matter, we retrieved them. How did your ranks fare?" He asks and Hajime thinks he might hear a note of sincere contrition in the question. The crow looks away.

"Eight casualties. Another forty-seven injured." The cat whistles low.

"Impressive. Far better than I'd have thought… but I'm going to assume you anticipate that first number rising."

Hajime doesn't answer. Venom does awful things to people; he's been lucky enough to never have experienced it, but he's gotten to see it firsthand. The cat clears his throat and glances toward the nest.

"Gotta hand it to you, Bird— I kinda like what you've done with the place. Although, it was a bitch going through burning buildings searching for medical supplies." Hajime's head tilts in bafflement.

"Medical supplies?" The cat eyes him a little skeptically.

"Ain't you supposed to be a crow? That's the second time you've mimicked me like a parrot." He says with a crease of annoyance before reaching into his shirt to pull something out.

"I'll have you know I nearly lost an eyebrow for these." He says and Hajime realizes they are small bottles. The cat holds up one.

"Pay careful attention to the symptoms. If their heart is racing and they are seeing double, it's mamushi. This one is for that." He says handing him the first one and holding up another. Hajime blinks.

"You found these in a snake nest?" He asks dumbfoundedly and the cat throws him a look of irritation.

"Most of 'em might be more resistant to poisons but enough are still nonvenomous that they keep these on hand in the event of a brawl or something. Focus, Iwa.

"If the venom entry point is swelling and they are passing out with blue fingertips, it's habu. These are the two most likely venoms you will see here… but we did see a third that isn't generally as common." He continues with a frown, passing Hajime the second bottle.

"Those two look similar, but don't mix them up. Give the wrong one and it makes things worse." Hajime blinks and makes sure to reiterate their names in his head and keep them straight.

"If… they are bleeding from the mouth, nose, or eyes for no obvious reason, it's yamakagashi. This is the antivenom, but use it with care. If there is any other venom besides yamakagashi in the system, this kills the victim. If the bleeding isn't bad, you can try treating for the others first and see if they will pull through the yamakagashi on their own." He says with an introspective look that Hajime doesn't miss as he hands that one over, too. An eyebrow creeps up his forehead.

"Someone got that one." He says and the cat's dual eyes flash his way before flickering off again.

"Yeah."

"Who?" Nervousness curls in his gut as Kuroo frowns, a pained look breaking across his face. It's surreal seeing the cat lose his easy composure in front of him. It hammers home just how much this man cares about the former unit.

"The thrush."

"Sugawara?" He asks with surprise and Kuroo nods once.

"Did he…?"

"Everyone was still alive when I left them a little while ago… but Suga... it doesn't look good." The black-haired man says heavily. Hajime frowns and looks away. A dying thrush isn't their only problem.

"Kuroo." He says, the name feeling strange in his mouth. The cat glances at him with his uneven gaze. "The Grand King knows I'm keeping things from him. Can you guys at least try to control your desire to shorten my life? I might have been able to pull it off this time, but I'm not a miracle worker."

"No promises, but I'm pretty sure everyone will be happy to swear off adventures like these for a while. But I had better get back and see if I still have the same number of companions I left with. Stay safe, Iwa. And thanks for saving our hides." He says and pushes off his branch and heads down the tree. He pauses three steps out and turns back.

"Oh. And if you happen to capture a fox somewhere in the middle of this snake mess, he's critical so don't kill him if you can help it."

"A fox." Hajime deadpans.

"Yep. You'll know him when you meet him. Good luck, Crow."

"Good luck, Cat." Hajime mimics petulantly as he disappears.

He just asked him to control his unruly group of brats, not add another to the mix. He glances down to the bottles in his hands with a scowl. It melts into contemplation as he reiterates which ones are for which venom and repeats the symptoms for each. He draws a deep breath and lets it out with a sigh before heading back down the tree for camp and the infirmary.

The cat probably has no idea what a gift he's given Hajime. Or maybe he does and has finally decided to trust the sentry leader enough after this crazy stunt to share such an advantage. It's a blessing in the middle of the crisis that is the Grand King's suspicion, because the crow now has the power to potentially save even more lives. His gaze sliding toward the north with speculation, he remembers the faces of those he's already lost and smiles ruefully, wishing he'd had it sooner.

A/N:So... Iwaizumi's facing challenges from both sides AND he's being forced into a role he's uncomfortable with. Hold out a little longer there Iwa-chan.

It's been great so far guys; just a reminder that there will be no update tomorrow (Thursday) evening. Thank you all for sticking with it and have a marvelous night guys!