Leve Pair; Day Eight 1/2

I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy one, I will indulge the other. ~Mary Shelly, Frankenstein

Someone is shaking his shoulder and in his sleep addled mind, the first thing he thinks of is white wings. Kageyama's eyes snap open, his wings splaying threateningly, and one arm swinging. The large form beside him stumbles back as he comes to his feet and something latches onto his other hand.

"Kageyama!"

He turns on the new threat with a vengeance— and freezes as he comes face to face with Hinata. The boy's eyes are set with determination, but also deep sadness, and Kageyama stares at him for a long moment.

"Hey." Hinata says softly. "It's okay. You're home. Remember?"

Kageyama's heart is still ricocheting off his sternum, but he focuses hard on those almond eyes, a bridge back to the world around him. After a moment, he becomes aware of the other faces in the room. Asahi is watching him warily from by the door, a nurse over his shoulder. Noya is blinking up at him with puffy red eyes, still foggy with sleep, and Momma Yu is watching him rather tensely, her hand hanging in midreach for the redhead who's got a vice grip on his own arm.

They're uneasy. He realizes. The only one that isn't is Hinata who watches him with that infinite look in his eyes.

"Sorry." He murmurs before stepping backward and pulling out of Hinata's grasp before the redhead can stop him.

He draws a deep breath and retreats through the doorway, Asahi and the nurse clearing out of his way in a hurry. He's barely able to keep it in until he's around the corner before he staggers against the wall in the hallway. His breath is coming in spurts, his heart's still pounding, and as he raises a hand to his head, he dimly notes that that is shaking, too. The rush of terror and rage is still snapping through him like wildfire in a parched forest.

All it took for him to react that badly was a half formed impression of white feathers born from the wisps of waking sleep. The assailant isn't real, but the emotions surely are. He flinches violently at a light brush against his shoulder and his gaze snaps around to land on the diminutive large crow.

"Sorry, Kageyama. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that." He says, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"It's not your fault." He says automatically. Asahi nods but Kageyama can tell he doesn't agree… or at the very least, is still very unsure about what just happened.

"A nurse was sent for you…" he says, gesturing to the woman that he recognizes from a few seconds ago who materializes behind him. "Your father asked her to come get you."

Still struggling to level his breathing and slow his heart, his eyes flicker between them.

"I see. Thanks for letting me know." He says, his mouth feeling dry.

He looks to the nurse and she bows slightly before stepping around him to take him to his father. He starts after her dutifully before pausing as a thought hits him and he turns back to where the larger crow watches him carefully.

"The game master probably knows where to find food in this place if you want to get some breakfast for you and the others." He says, feeling awkward. Asahi blinks at him and offers a small smile.

Kageyama is surprised at his own words. They are something Daichi would say, not him. Daichi was generally the defacto leader of the unit; he only stepped out of that role if another person was appointed to it for a mission or something. And on the rare occasion during a Volley game where Kageyama's greatest strengths surfaced...if he made critical choices on the field, they were treated much like Daichi's unofficial orders off the field.

Remembering the others and looking out for them in their unit was something Daichi had always done, although lately it was coming more from Suga. The thrush had joined them at Daichi's very determined insistence, and even though no one in the unit minded, he'd kind of become the unspoken second and largely joined at the hip to the pivotal leading crow. Kageyama somehow found that odd… as if it were kind of screwing with their unit's dynamics, changing them... but so long as they all performed to his father's standards, he didn't really care that much.

It was never what his father had wanted, but he was content to let Daichi lead, content to concede to Suga as well.

"Master Kageyama, do we need to go through an eval before I take you to your father?"

He blinks blankly down at the nurse who's paused ahead of him.

"I'll be fine." He manages, his thoughts scattering.

Kageyama's not awake enough yet to deal with Tooru and his manipulative personality, and he's sure that with his heart still setting a pace just above where it should be, he's not thinking as clear as he needs to, either. His disarrayed thoughts are a good indication of the current deficiency of his mental processing. Anytime he's had to talk to his dad, pretty much as far back as he can remember, it has always been mentally exhausting and occasionally humiliating or even dangerous if he wasn't on point and keeping up with everything the Grand King threw at him.

Kageyama's eyes narrow slightly. Though he will be on guard just as much today as any other, it will probably be rough. The nurse leads him all the way across the military grounds to his father's study, his own silence both a comfort and an overwhelming threat.

"Ah, Tobio, I hope you got some rest." Tooru says, looking up from the maps and markers on a table when they walk in. Three of his high ranking officers and his second in command stand around it with him and Tooru looks over and nods slightly with a fabricated grin to them as Kageyama steps inside. It's the Grand King's default expression he reserves for him when in front of his subordinates. Normally, it wouldn't faze him, but today, it irks the younger crow.

"Take D sentries seven through nine to the west quadrant and one, five, and six to the Karasuno-Torono confluence. Use caution and report anything strange immediately. We will regroup later this afternoon when you've returned with a report on your progress." He dismisses them and they file out, leaving Kageyama alone— always alone— with his father.

"You are looking more alive today." He says, the grin falling away and his face growing more serious.

"I am." He says reflexively.

"Good. We need to discuss what happened. You were gone for six days; it was something of a big deal." The Grand King says, and Kageyama resists the urge to roll his eyes.

Was it, now? Him being the heir apparent to the rookery leadership aside, they were two crows that had gone missing out of thousands. But he doesn't have the energy to grouse at him.

"It was someone with white wings. He attacked us on the last stretch of the route." He says bluntly. His father frowns slightly.

"We scoured those routes and never found you." He says and Kageyama senses something, a catch in his voice that he can't quite grasp.

"We were taken off course in the altercation. We wound up more northeast by the Torono river." An eyebrow rises slightly and Kageyama gets the impression of curious skepticism. He has no idea why; he is telling the truth after all and that is something his father has always been stellar at— unearthing lies.

"That's a considerable distance off point. Were you caught all the way up in owl territory?" Tooru asks. Kageyama almost shrugs before remembering who he's talking to.

"Not sure. I didn't get a solid look at landmarks on the way down."

Because I wasn't looking for any. He'd been concerned only with finding Hinata.

"Who was it that attacked you?" The Grand King drills and Kageyama's gaze drops slightly.

"I don't know. I didn't get a good look at him. He had white wings and that's about all I remember." He murmurs. Tooru's head tilts slightly as if he's unsure he heard him, his eyes pinning him with minorly annoyed puzzlement.

"How did you not get a good look at him? He was obviously around long enough to ground your redheaded scout." He asks with a note of incredulity. Kageyama hates this conversation.

"I wasn't conscious for most of it and by the time I came to, he'd already lost them." He says, bitterness creeping into his tone.

"A single enemy got the better of two sentries from our best unit? How did that happen?"

Kageyama does shrug this time and shakes his head slightly.

"He came from behind and we weren't prepared for it. As far as the identity, Hinata would be the better person to ask. His eyes are sharper than mine and as you said, he is the one who spent enough time with him to lose his wings. I doubt he'd forget the face of the bastard who did that." Kageyama can't bring himself to care about how sullen he sounds. He's been saying a lot of things that he normally wouldn't hardly think let alone utter since he came back, and he wonders on some level if his sanity has abandoned him. His father is one of the last people he should be losing his filter with, but it keeps happening.

"Tobio, I need you to work with me. We are trying to piece together what happened so we can set it straight and correct the oversight in the future. You will lead these people one day."

Kageyama wants to roll his eyes. How often has the Grand King reminded him of this? He's been told from the outset that he'd one day rule, but with other concerns rising to the forefront right now— namely Hinata and the whole level pair thing— Kageyama doesn't think he's been more disinclined to be invested in his preplanned future in his life.

"They don't need me to lead them when they have you. You built this world anyway." He mutters before he can bite it back. And one glance at the Grand King's slight smirk tells him that he didn't speak softly enough for him to miss it. Damn. He really needed to find where he misplaced that filter.

"Is this jealousy? Tobio, you should have said so, I would have started involving you sooner."

Kageyama knows he's probably failing miserably at keeping the scowl off his face.

"This is your kingdom, not mine. You did amazing at building it from nothing— all for the sole purpose of handing it over to me to do with as I like? To make it greater? Take it to war? Destroy it? You never once asked if I even wanted it." He says cynically and he sees Tooru's eyebrows rise.

Crap. The words were out before he thought about it. He's really off his game today; he should really quit while he's already behind.

He is surprised when, instead of disappointment or anger clouding his father's face, Tooru laughs. It is disconcerting and Kageyama feels like he's been outmaneuvered in a chess match.

"You're really trying to tell me you don't want it? Come on Tobio." He chortles and Kageyama feels his spine stiffen.

"You were always more your mother's son than you were mine, but you are still mine and I know you better than that. You were still crawling as an infant and yet you wanted to walk, to run before you'd even stood upright. Your wings weren't even grown in yet and you wanted to play Volley. You worked until you could beat those who had years on you, always determined to catch anyone ahead of you. You accept nothing but the best performance from your unit. All your life you've always been reaching out, pushing harder, flying higher, getting stronger, faster, smarter. Everything you've done has been with precision and determination. You've always yearned for the top, to be the best, to win. You are much like me in that regard. You might be more withdrawn like your mother, and you get your impressive Volley skills from her, too, but that determination, that drive, is mine. You can't tell me that you don't want this."

Kageyama just stares at him. There may have been a time when he cared about that… where it mattered— and perhaps it still does. But for the life of him, he can't pinpoint when it began to not. And he realizes with definite certainty that it was long before this last week and Hinata's grounding. He doesn't need to rule. He'd be totally content to stay just where he is, so long as it's with his unit and Hinata. He'd be satisfied with all the drills and exercises and playing Volley everyday for the rest of his life so long as it was with them.

"You were your mother's pride and joy, and I will move mountains to see that you have every opportunity at your fingertips to reach that pinnacle, Tobio." His father says and Kageyama starts just a touch.

He can feel the air leave his lungs in a curious half bark of laughter and Tooru's gaze sharpens on him guardedly. He finally understands… and in that moment, all he can feel for his father is pity.

"You aren't setting the stage for a son, you are galvanizing a memory." He says and Tooru's eyes widen. And then Kageyama's head snaps to the side, his face stinging from the backhand. And still he can't be angry.

His father has no one anymore. His mother left them both but Kageyama had been able to look beyond that and see other people at Hinata's insistence. No one had done that for his father. His father had no Hinata or Momma Yu or Daichi or the others.

I think he probably loved your mom.

Hinata's words from so long ago glare in his mind and he knows instinctively that he was right. His father loved very few things, held very little close enough that it couldn't be discarded. His mother was one of them… perhaps the only one. And when she died…

"Sorry." He says, looking back up at his father, his face still stinging. "That was out of line."

Tooru's expression is pulled into a rare glower but Kageyama knows what's behind it now.

Pain… and a soul deep loneliness.

And that, Kageyama realized, was why they were so different. His father faced the world alone with that maddeningly complacent mask, while he had chosen to face it among… friends. They were more than teammates or comrades. Kageyama knows that if it came down to it, he'd fight for any one of them. Kageyama imagines his own father would fight for him at least, but the reason would be overshadowed by the past.

Tooru cared about his mother and her dreams and her memory enough that he won't let go of it without a fight. He'd clung desperately to her memory, and his reaction now is proof that he still does. And that somehow makes him seem that much more human to Kageyama. His father had always been a looming figure in his world, an untouchable entity, but standing toe to toe and looking up at this shell of a man, he can't understand why he'd been so intimidating.

"Did you have any other information that would be useful in our efforts?" His father asks stiffly and Kageyama tilts his head.

"There are cats in our forest. I didn't get a clear view of them either but Hinata is sure there are at least two." He says, feeling somehow guilty for reopening old wounds for the man before him.

"Cats? There's always a few cats around, I suppose. I will let the sentries know to keep an eye out." Tooru turns back to his table with the maps and unit markers and Kageyama can't stop himself from asking the question that's burned in him since they'd gotten back… since he'd found Shouyou without wings, actually.

"What do you think we should do about Hinata?"

Tooru glances toward the door with a pensive look.

"It is unfortunate that he lost his wings, but I doubt there is much we can do." There is sympathy in his tone, but little else. It rubs Kageyama the wrong way.

"He will stay." Kageyama says curtly.

"I'm sorry, what?" His father says with surprise and pins him with a wry frown.

"He belongs in the murder."

"Without wings, Tobio? I can understand your position, but how do you think he will take having to be ferried around and having to watch everyone fly when he no longer can?"

"He'll stay." Kageyama reaffirms.

"He might be able to stay in the rookery bouncing from tree to tree with hatchlings but what happens when we migrate for the winter? There's no way." Tooru says as if this shouldn't be something he needs to explain. Kageyama's mouth thins into a line.

"Me and Noya and the others will carry him." He says evenly. His father stares at him for a long moment before he suffocates a laugh through his nose.

"Tobio…" The chuckle escapes and it makes Kageyama want to punch something. "Tobio, Tobio! I thought with how well you'd been handling the missions and special operations I'd handed you guys this past decade that you were finally past all the juvenile stupidity."

There is a candid smile on his face but it feels somehow predatory to Kageyama.

"Tell me Tobio, why have I been giving you all these tasks? Come on, tell me why?" He prods and Kageyama's scowl deepens. Hadn't they just argued about this?

"You want me to take over for you." He sullenly obliges and Tooru's head tilts.

"If you understand that, then you understand what that means. You will lead thousands of people one day. You cannot make global choices around one individual." He stresses.

"I won't leave him behind." Kageyama states placidly, the demand barely fazing him; his father is no longer untouchable, he can't find it in him to be afraid of him anymore. "Us carrying him won't hinder anyone else."

"And you somehow think he will thank you for that? He's grounded. He will never fly again. It will be better for everyone—him included—if he can find a quiet place to settle on the ground away from all of this." The words hurt, but Kageyama can't afford to stomach that pain at the moment.

"No. I want him with us." He states firmly and Tooru frowns.

"This is starting to sound like a toxic distraction, Tobio."

There's a weight in the Grand King's voice, a sharpness that carries warning. Kageyama merely watches him with a level frown. He is going to do the one thing he has never done, and refuse to back down before his father.

"Well, since you've lost your bearings, I suppose I shall have to force my own position. I will not let our best sentry unit be hamstrung during a migration due to a bird who's lost his wings."

Kageyama's eyes narrow, a warning going off in his head that puts him on guard.

"They will all agree with me and they will follow what I say over you." He challenges.

"Enough, Tobio. Distraction, indeed. If you continue to push this issue, I will exile him." Tooru says, his patience gone.

For a moment Kageyama freezes as his father's words sink in, and then his gut drops. All calm rationale leaves him.

Exile Shouyou?

It's basically a death sentence. People who are exiled have a peculiar tendency to disappear. There's an instant where his lungs are paralyzed while he reels under his father's harsh declaration. He may not be this looming entity over Kageyama's head anymore but he knows it is no idle threat. His father has been playing the game of political chess far longer than he has and his vastly superior level of experience and power has never been more obvious than right now.

"That would make you look like the mad Grand King Hinata always said you were." Kageyama bites out, knowing even before the words are out that it's a tactical mistake and his emotions are clouding his thoughts and responses.

"I don't really care what the kid thought of me, and our people might find it cruel, but if it is necessary, I'm prepared to suffer that stigma and your ire as well. You, on the other hand, sound like you've lost sight of the real goal. If I have to, I will place you under guard to see it done. You are our murder's future." Tooru says starting for the door.

Kageyama knows he's been boxed into a corner. His father is no longer an untouchable god… Kageyama can see he is just a man like any other now— but it was a mistake to take him lightly. His humanity suddenly makes him seem all the more dangerous. His father will have sway over every sentry unit except his own; his military power is an impossible hurdle. Dread curls in his gut.

"I wish to see Nishinoya." He says woodenly. His father flashes him a sharp glance.

"Denied. That was a mistake on my part back when I selected him to be in your unit. I initially picked him because I assumed he'd grow large like his father. I failed twice over with that one, and if I hadn't made that mistake, I doubt we'd be having a discussion over a flightless bird now." He says cuttingly.

"If it weren't for that mistake and that flightless bird, you wouldn't have a son." Kageyama spits, his patience virtually gone and any sympathy for this monster exchanged for the ugly emotion of loathing.

"A good thing, to be sure Tobio… it is the only thing redeeming them at the moment." Tooru says before leaving his study, the door slamming behind him.

Kageyama feels like he's five hundred years old again, his feet rooted to the floor after Tooru's given him another of his verbal chastisements.

His father is dealing threats… threats that will affect more people than just himself. Their unit is already never going to be the same without Hinata, but Noya as well? It's a sobering moment where Kageyama knows that none of his unit is safe if his father decides they no longer serve a purpose. Tooru is threatening everything Kageyama wants to protect. His shoulders tense in white rage. He will not allow this. They are his unit and he will do with them as he chooses.

And Kageyama's feet finally move. He flies toward the door with every intention of going after Tooru and making it clear he has no intention of seeing this through as the Grand King wishes. His hand closes on the handle, his face set in determination.

He will not be his father, a person who has no one. He is Kageyama. And he has many people. He yanks… and his eyes go wide.

He stares at the door uncomprehendingly. The dread is back, his chest tightening… tightening like the night he'd gotten the news about his mother and infant sister. He can tell that his sanity is quickly abandoning ship and his hand clenches on the handle.

He tries again and again but knows it's no use, because the door is locked.

A/N: So... I'm apparently unable to see new reviews lately and they haven't come through my emails either. I haven't seen any from the last three chapters and it's kind of frustrating. Hopefully that bug gets fixed soon; reviews are a fantastic motivator for us insane writer people. Not sure if it would make a difference as a PM or not... oh well. Honestly, this chapter was pretty tough to get right and I'm not sure I'm happy with it yet either. I feel like I failed on several levels at keeping Oikawa even remotely in character, and I think it totally turns him into an antagonist when he's not really supposed to be a bad person. I wasn't sure how to soften the projection of his character without altering the chapter severity and still make happen what I needed to, though. I hope you enjoyed it, though; it's the longest so far and kind of a big one, plot wise. Till next time :)