9 Years Prior
A sixteen year old Hinata hopped nimbly up the castle wall and started mindlessly scaling up to reach the next window.
It was undoubtedly the long way but Hinata found that, for this night, he preferred this route. It gave him time to think, outside in the open air with wind blowing through his hair rather than sitting alone in the darkness of a room which still felt too empty.
Nights like this he really regretted that Tsuki had finally taken over the Jack position and had moved out to a nicer, more lavish private suite. Hinata would've really liked to talk to him tonight and it would be too suspicious if a servant was seen sneaking into the new Jack's room in the darkest hours of pre-dawn.
Hinata sighed, swinging over a nearby window sill and into a quiet hall, just a bit away from his new room. He ambled along the hall, silent as a ghost as his thoughts grew increasingly loud inside his head.
He completed his first assassination tonight.
….He'd killed a man.
Granted, it wasn't a man that anyone would be particularly sad to see gone. For Hinata's first assassination, Tsuki had sent him after the most repugnant man Hinata had ever encountered-a detail, he couldn't help but feel, Tsuki did purposefully to try to make it easier. The man was a slaver and a sex trafficker-both crimes warranting a life sentence in any of the Card kingdoms. For weeks, Hinata and Tsuki had gathered piles upon piles of proof against him. The only problem with delivering this to the knights and trying him in court was that the man seemed to be bribing or blackmailing nearly an eighth of all the local officials-the names of which Tsuki and Hinata were still trying to track down. Worse yet, he was using the illegal profits to smuggle in more weapons to the rest of the Cards kingdoms and was now in danger of starting a crime war.
Really, Hinata couldn't even pretend to be sorry he was dead.
And maybe that was part of the problem.
On a purely physical level, killing him had been easy. The man was famed for taking his dinners completely alone. One silent entry, a cut neck, and an equally silent retreat and one of the biggest threats in Spades underworld was carefully taken care of.
Easy, Hinata thought again, frowning and scrubbing a hand through his hair as he opened the door to his room.
"Well, there you are," rang out a familiar voice and Hinata looked up to see Tsuki perched against the end of Hinata's bed and eyeing the mess of his room disdainfully.
"Have I mentioned lately how much cleaner my room is now that I live alone," Tsuki questioned, kicking one of Hinata shirts over to a pile.
"Tsuki! What are you doing here," Hinata asked, brow scrunching up in confusion and not a small amount of relief.
Tsuki rolled his eyes, scooting back on the bed until he was leaning on the wall. "It's not like I was going to wait in my office all night for you to report in."
"I was going to check back with you first thing in the morning," Hinata told him, sitting on the other side of the bed and folding his legs up under him. "I figured you'd be asleep."
Tsuki's mouth twitched and the blond looked up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. "Well...I suppose it didn't hurt me to come to you this time….Just this time, of course."
Hinata smiled, a knot in his chest slowly loosening and warming as he looked at the boy who was basically his brother.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment before finally, Tsuki spoke.
"So? How was the mission," Tsuki asked carefully.
Hinata shrugged, fiddling with a blanket as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "It was...alright, I guess. I mean it was a success, so...there's that."
"And how are you," Tsuki inquired, apparently done with beating around the bush.
"I don't know." Hinata paused a second and Tsuki waited for him to speak again. "Like it's not like I wanted to do it. I wasn't like happy about it or anything. And if I saw another way, I'd definitely have tried that first. But...I don't know," Hinata repeated. "I don't feel guilty or anything. I don't feel bad about it because...well, because it was for Spades, you know? But...what about me then? Does that make me a bad person?"
Hinata didn't want to be a bad person. He would, if Spades really needed it, but...it's not what he wanted. He didn't want to become just a killer.
"You're not," Tsuki said immediately and Hinata belatedly realized that last part had been out loud, too. It was entirely possible he was more out of it than he thought.
"You're not a bad person and you're definitely not just a killer," Tsuki continued. "Actions-people, really-aren't that simple. Just because the action's all we see, doesn't make the intentions meaningless. Why did you kill him?"
"To help Spades," Hinata answered slowly.
"Exactly, you did it to help people." Tsuki huffed then added under his breath, "everything you do always seems to be about helping people."
"But…" Hinata started, wrapping his arms around his legs. "Don't the actions matter, too? It can't be all about intentions. What if...what if one day I mess up? What if what I think I'm doing is right but I end up really hurting someone...or killing someone that didn't deserve it."
Tsuki paused, thinking and Hinata tried to pretend he wasn't waiting on tenterhooks for the answer.
Eventually, Tsuki sighed. "Maybe that will happen. We're not gods, we're not Fates, we're human. We can never view ourselves as infallible, especially not when we have so many lives counting on us."
Hinata tensed, frowning down unhappily as the unwanted truth settled around him.
"But," Tsuki continued, emphasizing the word, "I don't think anything like what you're worried about will happen. I don't think you could ever become a monster."
Hinata exhaled a shuddering breath as Tsuki used the word Hinata had been so careful to avoid.
Monster
"...Why?"
"Well, first," Tsuki said, whacking Hinata in the leg to get him to look up, "is that you're a good person. A good person, deep down to your very bones probably-things like that don't change just because your job has some unsavory elements. If anything, it's why people like you are the only ones who should ever have those jobs, the only ones we can trust in them."
"Next," Tsuki continued, ignoring how Hinata was now staring at him with damp eyes, "is that you have me and Suga and probably even our absent King and the rest of the Card's Suits if we ever needed it. We're watching out for you even in the utterly insane event you go too far."
Tsuki rolled his eyes again, just to show how ridiculous he found that notion.
"But, last, if you're really not convinced, you've got something that hardly anyone else has. Something that will always tell you if you're too far down the wrong path."
"What," Hinata asked, bringing a hand up to scrub his eyes.
Tsuki caught his arm before he could lower it and tapped hard on Hinata's shoulder, right where the mark laid.
"Spades will always tell you if you're no longer worthy to lead it," Tsuki said, his expression going somewhat wry. "It's both our blessing and our curse, I suppose."
Tsuki let Hinata's hand drop, readjusting on the bed and going back to leaning against the wall. "If you're ever really worried, just look at your mark. Then you'll know for sure if what you're doing is right for Spades."
Seemingly unconscious, Tsuki raised his own hand before stopping it abruptly before it reached his neck. Hinata was struck suddenly questioning how often Tsuki looked at his own mark, let himself be reassured by the bright "J" that proved him the Jack of Spades.
The thought was interrupted by Tsuki letting out a sudden and long yawn, looking chagrined with himself the moment it ended.
As if breaking a spell, Hinata realized how heavy his own limbs felt, how his eyes were now struggling to stay open under the weight of the day.
"You should get back to your own room, Tsuki," Hinata mumbled, unfolding his legs and laying back on his bed.
Tsuki waved a hand dismissively, leaning boneless against the room's corner. "It's too late. I'll sneak back in the morning. It's not like we're not used to sharing a room."
Hinata nodded, too tired to argue and vaguely wondered whether this had been Tsuki's plan all alone. So, Hinata wouldn't be alone tonight.
Hinata smiled, feeling that same warmth from earlier.
As his eyes grew tireder, Hinata made one final move to pull up his shirt sleeve until the golden "A" shone right in front of him like a warm beacon of reassurance. He was still worthy.
With that, Hinata's eyes closed and he fell into an easy sleep, the world slowly growing darker…
...and darker…
...and darker…
...and darker…
...and Hinata's world was entirely black.
There was nothing and he felt almost like he was floating. His consciousness was slipping and he was having a hard time holding on to thoughts, like trying to hold water with open fingers.
There was blackness.
So much blackness that Hinata struggled to remember if he knew anything other than the blackness. The blackness wasn't so bad-there was no pain, only a niggling thought in the back of his head trying to remind him of….something, he couldn't remember.
But, still Hinata had the vague notion that there was supposed to be more than this. Something else, something other.
As if summoned by his thoughts, a bright, warm light appeared in the distance.
Hinata thought he heard a voice coming from it. A woman's voice. A familiar voice. One that he hadn't heard in a long, long time but still called him "my darling".
Through the darkness, Hinata felt himself reaching for the light, trying to banish the darkness and get close enough to where all there would be was light and warmth.
That sounded...that sounded nice.
The darkness grabbed him back, pulling him in tighter and spread over him again, covering him. And suddenly…
Suddenly, the darkness wasn't so nice anymore.
Suddenly there was pain in the darkness. A bitter stabbing in his side, a burn in his throat and lungs, and a tight feeling like he couldn't breathe.
He struggled and fought, trying to get back to the light.
And there, he was almost winning against the darkness, was almost to the warmth, when-
A second voice broke through. Also, familiar. This one coming from the darkness.
"-nata!"
Hinata paused in his struggle, staining to listen.
"Hinata!"
Oh, Hinata thought-maybe said, he still wasn't quite sure how this world worked. He recognized the voice now. And that was right, the memories were slowly coming back now.
I still have things to do.
Hinata stopped fighting and let the darkness and pain swallow him back.
"Hinata! Suga, he's still not breathing. How much longer-"
"We're doing everything we can. Just keep pressing. Lev, is all the water out of his lungs?"
"I-I think so. I've never done this but-"
"Good. Tsukishima, keep pressing on his chest. I'll keep working on getting him breathing."
"I think I feel a pulse!"
Hinata resurfaced, bolting up right with a pained hacking cough.
He doubled over, feeling like his lungs were bursting and trying to desperately get more air. Around him, he was vaguely aware of things moving and he twisted around to-
"Hinata," said that same voice from earlier and Hinata blinked his eyes until the hazy form finally materialized in front of him.
"T..tsuki," Hinata croaked, only for the man in question to push him back on what felt like grass below.
"Lay back down, you idiot," Tsuki ordered, hand firmly but gently holding him in place. "You were just stabbed, fell two stories into a lake, and basically drowned. Akaashi only just got the wound closed."
Huh, Hinata mused, the thought of Akaashi healing him trickling in the back of his mind in a way that probably should have clued him in to something. Stabbed, fell, and drowned. I wonder how that happened?
Hinata shot upright again, slapping away Tsuki's hand as he tried to keep him down. "King Yuta! Guys, we have to-" Hinata broke off, scanning the audience for the sign of a single face.
"So, it was Yuta." Kuroo frowned and behind him Hinata now saw that the rest of the Cards Suits were gathered around the lake, all looking at Hinata anxiously. "Why would King Yuta try to kill a servant?"
"Yes," Tsuki said, grinding his teeth. "Why would King Yuta attack a servant?"
He shot Hinata a loaded glance after that but Hinata honestly couldn't care less at the moment because there was one glaring absence in the Suits' gathering.
"Kageyama," Hinata shouted. Ignoring Tsuki's cursing, he scrambled to his feet before crying out and almost unbalancing as his side throbbed so painfully it was like he'd been stabbed again.
Suga caught him before he could fall. "Hinata…"
"Where's Kageyama," Hinata repeated. But, no, that wasn't the right question. The King had already told him where Kageyama was. "How long was I in the lake? When-"
Tsuki grabbed his shoulders, stopping him from moving. "Ten minutes! You almost died just ten minutes ago, now lay back down and shut up. You're lucky Suga saw you fall and that we have three Mages on hand to heal you or you'd be dead. Do you understand?"
Behind him, Hinata absently noticed the rest of the Suits were now watching the two curiously but Hinata couldn't focus on that right now because-
"King Yuta's going to kill Kageyama," Hinata said, brain already running through how far the King could have gotten in ten minutes.
"What," Suga asked. "Hinata, what are you-King Yuta can't do that. Not if he's trying to be King of Hearts. It's too suspicious, the people would-"
"He doesn't care about that," Hinata replied, tensing as he remembered the rest of his conversation with the King. "He doesn't care about the position it puts their King of Hearts in because he doesn't have the mark, his son does. He's getting rid of his son, too."
Suga's eyes went wide, falling back.
"Oh shit, you're the Ace of Spades," Kuroo yelled out, staring at Hinata with a mix of realization and amazement.
Bokuto let out a bark of unsettled laughter. "Kuroo, man, what are you talking about Hinata's not-"
"We don't have time for this," Hinata interrupted, trying to shake out of Tsuki's hold.
"No, we don't," Tsuki said, expression clearing in sudden comprehension. "Prince Yudai hasn't arrived at the ball yet…." A sharp intake of breath. "They're doing it tonight."
Tsuki's and Hinata's eyes met, a silent conversation passing between them.
"Tsuki," Hinata said slowly. "Let me go. I'm the only one who can get to Kageyama in time. I'll handle the King and you take care of the Prince. It's the only way."
Tsuki hesitated briefly before letting go with a nod. "Be careful."
Hinata nodded back.
"Wait," Lev shouted out. "So, Hinata really is-"
Hinata didn't wait-he pulled up his strength, put a hand to his side to try to steady himself, and ran, faster than any human alive.
He had his King to save.
"...oh," Lev finished, blinking at the air that Hinata had previously occupied. "Well, that's…"
"We'll deal with existential crises later," Tsukishima said briskly. "You all go back to the ballroom and try to cut the Prince off before he can reveal the mark. I'll go to my office and grab the old Jack of Hearts mark. It's not much, but it might be enough to sow some doubt."
The rest of the Suit was still staring with mostly stunned expressions but Tsukishima ignored them. Trusting Suga to corral them, he turned on his heel and started to his office.
One night and eighteen years of secrecy out the window. Amazing. But, Tsukishima supposed he could handle that later.
He had a Prince to stop.
ooooooo
Ushijima merely stared at him, showing no sign that he'd even realized Oikawa had spoken.
Oikawa gritted his teeth. Typical.
"I said that I need your help," Oikawa ground out. "Come on, I'll even beg if you want me to. Just help me."
The Fate blinked at him, tilting his head. "Sorry, I wondered if I had misheard or if the Young King had suffered a head injury recently since I am unaware of when you've ever wanted my help before."
Oikawa threw up his hands. "Ushijima, this is no time to gloat!"
"I'm not-"
"You were right, okay," Oikawa shouted, pacing across the roof. "You were right! Maybe not about destiny or any of that other stuff, but….you were right about me being King. Or at least," he sighed, "I think I'm ready to see if you were."
Ushijima stared again before abruptly his expression cleared, leaving him with a satisfied smile. "Excellent, I knew you would see reason one day."
"Yeah, yeah," Oikawa rolled his eyes.
"Especially since Hyakuzawa's about to declare war," Ushijima continued, pleased.
Oikawa stared at him, uncomprehending.
Then with the force of an avalanche, the last statement hit him
Oikawa all at once found himself several feet forward and grabbing onto the Fate's vest. "Wait-WHAT?!"
Ushijima nodded, seeming unconcerned. "The Hyakuzawan King forged the mark from the previous King of Hearts. They're instituting their own King to create an opening for an invasion. It should happen tonight."
"WHAT?!" Oikawa yelled again, directly in Ushijima face before pushing off and gripping a hand in his hair. "Fuck. FUCK! Why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't Iwaizumi tell me?! Shit, does Iwaizumi even know about this?!"
"I believe the rest of the Suit members have pieced it together, yes," Ushijima replied. "As for not telling you, I apologize I didn't realize the news would interest you. You've been quite adamant about not wanting to be King, after all."
Oikawa glared at the Fate, gripping his hands so tight he wouldn't be surprised if there were red crescents from his nails. He reminded himself once again that Ushijima was not human and didn't have the same rationale as literally anyone else would have.
He still ended up almost strangling him.
Oikawa's shoulders dropped at another sudden realization. "Shit, you said this was happening tonight. There's no way I can get to Spades in time, it's a whole different kingdom."
Fuck, Oikawa echoed again mentally. He had finally decided to be King and now there was nothing he could do but watch as his country was thrown into war a kingdom away.
"If the Young King wished, my magic can transport him to Spades by tonight," Ushijima spoke up.
Oikawa's head whipped around. "Your magic can do that?"
Even Mages couldn't use their magic like that.
The Fate nodded, bringing his brows together as if the answer was obvious. "It will be no difficulty. It is mine and Chaos' magics that created the entirety of the Cards Kingdom after all."
Oikawa supposed, in retrospect, transporting someone across a kingdom was less difficult than creating the interwoven magics that Cards used to chose their Suits. Right now, there were more pressing concerns though.
"Take me," Oikawa said, pleading with Ushijima. "Please, Ushijima, I need to be there. I need to help."
Ushijima smiled. "Of course, Young King."
The Fate reached out and grabbed Oikawa's hands and then there was a loud pop in Oikawa's ears.
He stumbled back and when he next looked around the dark roof was long gone, replaced by a torch lit hallway that he had never seen before. Under the torches, the clearly recognizable symbol for the Spades kingdom glinted under the torchlight
Oikawa let out a wild, startled laugh, turning to Ushijima. "So, I guess this makes you something like my fairy godfather, doesn't it?"
Ushijima blinked, face remaining utterly placid. "I'd rather you didn't call me that."
And then Oikawa started because the Fate almost sounded vaguely annoyed by the casual wording. But, that couldn't be, Oikawa had spent literally a decade trying to annoy him and nothing worked. There was no way, he'd finally found something entirely by accident.
He opened his mouth to confirm his suspicions but when he looked back, Ushijima had disappeared.
Leaving him in an entirely random hallway in the middle of an unfamiliar castle.
Oikawa swore, picked a random direction, and started walking.
Time to confront his destiny, he supposed.
ooooooo
Heart pounding in his chest, Kageyama flung open the door to his room.
The visions of approaching armies, of death, of blood staining white formal wear were flashing through his mind almost as vividly as King Yuta's words echoed in his head.
He made it to the window, looking out and praying that the armies weren't too close, that Spades' army still had time to prepare.
The grounds were empty. Moonlight shone down, revealing no soldiers creeping through the lands nor danger lurking in the forest. The view from Kageyama's window was as calm and peaceful as it had been yesterday and every night before.
Kageyama sat down so heavily it was indistinguishable from falling.
That...that couldn't be right though. King Yuta's words, the smirk, the party-all of it Kageyama thought...no, he was certain that the King was referencing the attack on Nohebi.
Then, where were the Hyakuzawan soldiers?
Could Kageyama have missed them? No, the forest this close to the castle wasn't dense enough to hide in with the moon this bright. Could the soldiers not have approached yet? But why, the party was already in full swing? Everyone who was coming had already arrived, the crowd's would only dissipate from here.
Unless...Had Kageyama only imagined it? Jumped to a wrong conclusion based on another one of King Yuta's underlain threats? Was King Yuta bluffing just to panic him?
Kageyama stayed still, possibilities turning through his head slowly as time marched around him.
He didn't understand-
A laugh interrupted his thoughts and Kageyama looked up, almost as if dreaming, to see a smiling King Yuta standing in his doorway.
"What-"
Yuta laughed again, cutting him off. "Oh, poor little King, all alone in your tall, tall tower while everyone else is having fun at the ball."
"Tell me," the King said, stepping forward, "do you think it's ironic or fitting that you'll die in the exact way you've chosen to live?"
It was only then that Kageyama looked down to see a bright sharp knife, held expertly in King Yuta's hand and already stained in red. His breath froze in his chest and the King stepped forward again, trapping Kageyama between him and the wall.
"I take it you've already realized there's no army coming," King Yuta drawled before pausing. "Well, not tonight anyway. Never fret though, your last worry won't be entirely wrong. After all, tonight will still begin Cards' downfall."
Kageyama gritted his teeth, looking around for a weapon but seeing only books.
"You know," the King continued, "for how much of a pain you all have been these past few months, I really didn't expect tonight to go so easy. Yet here we are….Maybe this is a turning point. I've already killed your Ace..." He stopped to shoot Kageyama a toothy grin. "Oh, and that was easy. Distracted him just a bit and the Ace of Spades fell to my knife just like any other mortal man." King Yuta let out a wild laugh. "Or maybe I'm just a god. It makes sense in a way. If Cards was created by some kind of divine power, than must not the one who destroys it be just as divine?"
King Yuta shrugged. "A question for the philosophers, I suppose. The only point I really care about is that with one King and one Ace dead and the newest one not only a foreigner but also under suspicion for their murder, then Cards will fall faster than...well, a house of cards."
"It won't," Kageyama rasped out, drawing himself up and readying himself to do...something. "Even if you kill us all, Cards will never be destroyed."
King Yuta smile grew in a look that was almost pitying. "Well, I guess I'll have to test that out, won't I? Goodbye, King of Spades. Thank you, this is the most fun I've had in years."
The knife drew back and Kageyama tensed, watching as it came down.
A dark shape barreled into the King before the knife could land.
Yuta unbalanced, almost falling to the ground before he caught the shape and hauled it off. He raised his knife again, ready to stab it at the shape before-
The book slammed against the King's head with all the force Kageyama had in his entire body.
King Yuta cried out, falling away and steadying himself against the frame of Kageyama's bed.
The dark shape, meanwhile, moved into a crouch, positioning itself protectively in front of Kageyama.
Kageyama blinked and slowly his intense focus on the King drained away just enough for him to actually focus on the hunched figure-seeing bright orange hair and-
"Hinata?"
ooooooo
Hinata tensed at the sound of his name, but didn't take his eyes off King Yuta.
His side ached painfully and he had the intense urge to throw up but batted it away with a surge of adrenaline.
He didn't have much time left.
King Yuta was standing now, gaze zeroing in on Hinata, and-for a second-all other emotions drained away to leave outright shock.
"H-how," the King demanded. "How are you alive?"
Hinata didn't answer, staying still and watching the King with an almost animalistic intensity.
King Yuta shook himself, readying his knife. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Even magic couldn't have healed you enough to fight yet. And, look at that," the King laughed again, still somewhat shaky, "all you've got is a small kitchen knife."
Hinata's hand tightened around the tiny knife, the only thing he could easily access on his run here.
King Yuta's smile faded. "Not very talkative this time, are you? That's okay. I find myself growing rather tired, too. I suppose even the most enjoyable of nights must end eventually."
The King charged forward, knife aimed right for Hinata's chest.
Hinata countered the knife stroke with his own, bringing his knee up to push the King back.
King Yuta swore, stumbling back again and gripping the bed frame. He didn't wait long before pushing forward again, using his knife's longer reach to aim at Hinata's throat.
Hinata ducked back and the knife sailed pass, harmlessly. His own knife flashed forward to swipe at the King's chest, not enough power behind it to make the move anything more than a sharp warning.
The King dodged back easily, breathing heavily and leaning against the desk. His hand tensed around the knife's handle.
"Is that all," King Yuta shouted, face flushed. "Is this the final acts of Spade's greatest warrior? Dodging and some half-hearted defenses! Not even enough energy to give me a real fight? Why, I don't even think you're trying to kill me."
"I don't need to," Hinata said quietly, watching the King's sweat reflect in the bright candlelight.
King Yuta let out a half-crazed laugh. "And why's that?"
"Because I already have."
King Yuta stopped, laugh cutting off eerily as his eyes widened and he slowly followed Hinata's gaze down to the small cut right on his upper thigh-a cut Hinata had given him the second he'd pushed him away from Kageyama.
"Oh." King Yuta said, blankly. "Poison."
He huffed out something like a snort. "You know, that's really quite underhanded of you. I think…" King' Yuta's eyelids flickered and his speech slurred. "I think I approve."
The King of Hyakuzawa fell-knife hitting the ground as he did.
Not yet untensing, Hinata carefully straightened and went to check Yuta's pulse. Dead.
Hinata let out a breath of relief, slipping the poisoned knife back up his sleeve where it had laid since he'd gotten it from Asahi before the match.
"Hinata?"
A chill ran up Hinata's spine and he braced himself, slowly turning to face Kageyama.
"Yeah," Hinata said, voice hoarse.
Kageyama didn't say anything. He just continued to stare, like a man who had finally placed the last piece of a puzzle and found the picture entirely different from what he expected.
Hinata waited, not even daring to move.
"You're the Ace of Spades," Kageyama said-a statement, not a question.
And it was at this that Hinata finally broke.
"I wanted to tell you," Hinata said in a rush. "Please, believe me, I wanted to tell you so, so bad, Kageyama. I never wanted to lie to you or-"
"Lie," Kageyama interrupted, slowly taking a step towards Hinata. "What did you lie about?"
"Nothing," Hinata insisted urgently. "Nothing….Well, maybe about being clumsy. But...but not my feelings or...or how much I believe in you or the stories or...or anything. I swear. I just couldn't about the Ace and...and I didn't think you wanted-"
"That's not a lie," Kageyama said, coming even closer until he was barely a hand's breadth away from Hinata. "I told you not to tell me."
"But I wanted to," Hinata repeated, softly.
Kageyama again fell silent, reaching out and lightly pulling down Hinata's collar to see the red mark made by his sword just a day ago.
"Why did you do that," he asked and Hinata knew he wasn't talking about what happened tonight.
Hinata met his eyes-warm brown meeting deep blue. "Because you're my King."
Kageyama breathed in sharply.
"You've always been my King," Hinata said, reaching up and grabbing Kageyama's hand. "Always. Whether I was the Ace or not, my life's always been yours."
The breath stuttered out and Kageyama looked down, breaking eye contact.
"I-I don't know if I can be the King you want me to be, Hinata." Kageyama looked up again, a long awaited fire finally burning behind the blue. "But, I'll try to be."
Hinata smiled slow and gently, brush the thumb of his free hand under Kageyama's eyes. "Tobio, that's what I keep trying to tell you. You don't need to try to be the King I want; you already are."
Kageyama kissed him. Hard. Fierce. The way that immediately stole Hinata's breath.
One hand threaded up into Hinata's hair while the other freed Hinata's hand to instead rest on his waist, clenching his side to pull him closer and-
"Ack!" Hinata grimaced, leaning heavily into Kageyama as pain radiated from his side.
"What is it," Kageyama demanded, gaze flickering across Hinata's face.
"I...might've…" Hinata said, panting and trying to catch his breath, "...gotten a little bit...um, stabbed."
In other situations, it would've been almost comical how fast Kageyama's eyebrows rose into his hairline. He quickly maneuvered Hinata to sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch his side.
"Dummy," Kageyama accused, voice still gentle. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Hinata shrugged, trying to get a grip now that the adrenaline had faded and his body was intent on reminding him just how close he'd came to death.
"I'm fine," Hinata said, which definitely wasn't quite true but he at least didn't think he was in danger of falling over dead any minute.
The magic had healed him that much. Probably.
In retrospect, he might need some help for this next part.
He looked up at Kageyama, who was still watching him anxiously.
Hinata coughed, wincing with the movement.
"So, ah," Hinata began, "not that I wouldn't so much prefer to go back to the kissing part. But, um, I kind of have something else I gotta do and I could really use your help."
Kageyama raised an eyebrow, regarding Hinata with a vaguely exasperated expression that was so familiar that Hinata smiled on instinct.
"What," Kageyama asked.
"How do you feel about moving a body?"
ooooooo
Tsukishima pushed aside file after file until he finally unearthed a small lock box, hidden discreetly in the very back of his desk.
He grabbed it, checking briefly to make sure it was still there-the old piece of skin barring the mark of the Jack, that Hinata had stolen now almost two months ago.
With a decisive snap, he closed back the box and pushed out the door, striding in the direction of the ballroom.
He barely made it a couple of steps before a voice called out to him.
"Hey! Hey, wait! I need your help."
Tsukishima found his arm being grabbed and he quickly shook it off, turning to see a disheveled young man wearing the clothes of a regular Cards commoner.
The man panted. "Finally. The castle is a maze, I didn't think I'd ever find anybody."
Tsukishima felt his eye twitch and tried to quickly maneuver around the man.
He couldn't waste time playing Spades' tour guide right now.
The man moved in front of him again and Tsukishima ground his teeth.
"Get out of my way."
"Come on, I just need some directions," the man huffed. "I'm trying to find-"
"I really don't care right now," Tsukishima ground out, pushing his way through. "I have to be somewhere."
The man grabbed his arm again and Tsukishima almost growled, trying to break the hold.
"Just listen," the man said. "My name is Oikawa and I'm looking for-"
"No, you listen," Tsukishima snapped, "I'm the Jack of Spades and if you don't get your hand off of me and let me get to the ballroom then you're about to see why the Ace of Spades isn't the only one you need to fear. So, unless you're the Fates-begotten Lost King of Hearts then get out of my way."
The man didn't let go and Tsukishima had almost resigned himself for doing this the hard way-regular Cards citizen or not-when he held up a hand.
Or more accurately, he held up a hand barring an all too familiar bright red heart.
"So," Oikawa said, "about that Lost King of Hearts."
Tsukishima blinked, looking between the mark and the stranger.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
ooooooo
A/N: Ta da! Chapter finished early so I didn't even have to make you wait longer after the last chapter's cliffhanger.
Also, next chapter is the second to last one (the last one being an epilogue) and I gotta say I've had so much fun writing this story. I'm thinking about writing a sequel (by which I mean I already have a fairly detailed chapter plan) so please, please tell me if that's something ya'll would be interested in. Either way, this story is self contained and will be completely wrapped up with no loose threads within the next two chapters. Hope ya'll enjoyed!