Chapter Text
“So…how exactly does your magic work?” Hinata asked excitedly.
They had walked to an empty field in order to discuss plans for their job and practice using their magic together.
“It’s a song,” Kageyama said sternly.
“…You’re going to sing?” Kageyama sighed in annoyance. He glared at the orange-haired boy in front of him and rolled his eyes.
“Have you never heard of a Sanga before?” When Hinata shook his head Kageyama grunted in frustration. “How the hell did I let this happen…I should be working with an s-class mage…” he grumbled to himself.
“C’mon, Kageyama! You already agreed to give me a chance! After we finish this job you can go beg one of the older mages to work with you, but for right now just explain it to me, okay?” In an ironic twist, Kageyama found that Hinata had begun to be annoyed by Kageyama’s annoyance. He sighed in what seemed to be turning into a habit around Hinata, and began his explanation.
“A Sanga is someone who uses magic to produce a song from their body. The song will help my partner in battle, they’re called a Touga. Different songs have different effects like making the Touga faster or stronger.” Hinata looked up at him with sparkling eyes and Kageyama blinked and looked away. “The effects only last for the duration of the song, idiot. Don’t get too excited.”
“So what?! That’s still really cool!” Hinata declared. Kageyama looked back into his eyes and noticed that their sparkle would not diminish.
“It is. Seriously how have you not heard of a Sanga before? Wars have been won thanks to them!” Kageyama exclaimed furiously.
“Hmm, history was never really my best subject. Well, I didn’t really take to school in general, really,” Hinata said sheepishly.
“Neither did I, but that’s no excuse! This is basic knowledge! I knew Torono was a small town, but really…” Kageyama said. “Whatever, now you know. Now, we have to come up with a plan.”
“Well… since it’ll be dark out anyway, we should sneak up on them!” Hinata suggested.
“Yeah, I was thinking that too. Your magic… it’s High Speed magic, right?”
“Yeah! Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Hinata asked with a grin.
“…Sure…” Kageyama grumbled. “But if we’re going to sneak up on them, if they hear my song we won’t have the element of surprise…”
“That’s right… Then I’ll just have to make the first move, right?” Kageyama was taken aback.
“You’ll trust me to back you up after you attack..?”
“Yeah? If it works then we should be able to take them down, right? I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Hinata replied, confused. But Kageyama did see something wrong with that.
‘How can he trust me to the point of putting his life in my hands..?’ Kageyama thought. He thought back to when he and Hinata first met, a week prior, and was under the impression that Hinata despised him.
When Kageyama first walked through the guild doors, he was immediately greeted by Sugawara.
“Hello, welcome to Soaring Crow! Is there something I can help you with?” Suga said cheerfully. Kageyama recognized him and scrunched his face.
“Hello, Sugawara-san! I’d like to join the guild if I can!” Kageyama said as he bowed.
“Of course, no need to be so formal,” Suga replied. “But, how do you know my name?”
“I’ve read all about the s-class mages in the guild,” Kageyama said. “It was an important factor in decided which guild to join.”
“I see. The s-class mages here are pretty amazing aren’t they?”
“Yes!”
After they got all the formalities of Kageyama becoming guild member out of the way, such as getting his guild mark and being shown around the guild, Kageyama had one question.
“Excuse me, Sugawara-san, but is Oikawa-san not here?” he asked.
“Oikawa? He’s still out on a job right now, and I’m afraid it’s a pretty high level one so he probably won’t be back for a while… Sorry about that,” Suga replied.
“I see. That’s fine, but could you let me know when he’s back?” Kageyama requested.
“Sure. Are you a fan of his? He gets quite a few fans asking about him.”
“It’s not that I’m a fan, I just use the same magic as him and I want to ask him to teach me…” Kageyama said. “I knew him in the past and he always used to turn me down whenever I asked him.”
“Ah, so that’s how it is,” Suga said. “Well, let’s hope he returns soon, hm?”
“Yes.”
Kageyama then walked over to the request board to look for a job. It was his first official job as a mage so he was rather excited. He scanned the board and skimmed through various job descriptions until he found one that seemed perfect, as if he were meant to take it. He reached only to see another hand reach for it at the same time. His eyes followed the hand until they rested on the person it belonged to, who looked at him in return. A small, short, orange-haired boy who looked to be his age. Kageyama narrowed his eyes.
“I want this job,” he declared firmly. The boy was visibly shaken by his glare.
“W-well, I want it too!” he announced nervously. His voice was shaky. Kageyama’s presence clearly frightened him and yet he spoke challenging words. Kageyama grabbed the job request and stepped towards the boy, who gulped nervously.
“You look tiny and weak. I’m clearly more suited to take this job, physically.” After Kageyama’s insulting words, the boy appeared to have less fear and more fury.
“I may be small, but I can fight! I can use magic and work as a mage just like anyone else here!” The boy’s outburst had garnered attention from the other mages present. Kageyama had clearly struck a nerve. “What’s your name?!”
“Kageyama Tobio,” he answered. He was surprised by the boy’s sudden confidence, but didn’t lose the sharp glare in his eyes.
“Kageyama… My name is Hinata Shouyou. You can have the job this time, but know this: One day, I will defeat you!” Hinata glared at him with an intensity that he didn’t anticipate, but he didn’t let it affect him, at least not visibly.
Kageyama grunted and walked away. He didn’t intend to anger Hinata to that extent, but he supposed he would deal with it later.
Unfortunately, the next time he and Hinata met, things between them didn’t get any better.
“You don’t hate me?” Kageyama asked. He looked at Hinata. His orange hair was intensified by the setting sun and even though there was no helping how short he was, he did look like he at least kept in shape and maintained some athleticism.
“You are annoying and mean all the time, but I don’t hate you. I just hate the idea of you being better than me,” Hinata answered firmly. Kageyama looked away, seemingly in thought. “Anyway, shouldn’t we practice you using your magic on me?”
“I don’t think so. Sanga magic is extremely draining and I want to have as much magic power as possible when we go after those Siren Song guys. Let’s just get armed and ready.”
Hinata was disappointed that he had to wait to hear Kageyama’s song, but agreed. The two of them got ready, dressed in dark clothes and got the map marking the location of where the thieves were last spotted and went on their way when there was no longer any trace of the sun.
Hinata scratched at the itchy black beanie that he was wearing because, “your hair will stand out too much, stupid,” Kageyama had said while handing it to him earlier. They had walked through the forest for about twenty minutes before Hinata asked the inevitable question.
“Kageyama, are we there yet?” Kageyama glared at him.
“Who knows?! Just be quiet and keep an eye out. They could be anywhere around here…”
After another few minutes of walking Hinata walked right into Kageyama’s back.
“Ow, jeez, what did you stop walking for?!’
“Shut up! Look over there,” he said and pointed ahead. Hinata squinted and looked where Kageyama pointed. It was difficult to see due to the darkness, but there was an unmistakable flickering of fire in what seemed to be a clearing. They took soft and light footsteps closer and sure enough, the light of the fire lit up a campsite where four figures sat around the fire. Their backs were facing Kageyama and Hinata and they wore cloaks. On the back of their cloaks was a symbol: Siren Song’s guild mark. Hinata and Kageyama looked at each other and nodded.
They slowly inched closer and hid behind the trees. Hinata pulled his two shortswords out of their sheaths and gripped their hilts tightly. After one minute of watching them, Kageyama signaled to Hinata, then he blinked and Hinata was a blur.
He blasted to their targets and used both swords in opposite directions to slash at the legs of one of them. He cried out in agony and dropped to his knees. The other three immediately surrounded Hinata and gave him nowhere to escape. Hinata narrowed his eyes and began to panic as they started to close in on him.
Then, he heard music. He saw a bright light from the corner of his eye and looked to see that it, along with the music was being emitted from Kageyama, who had stepped out from hiding behind a tree. The light flowed in streams from Kageyama to Hinata and when it reached him, he truly felt the music. The tones seemed to vibrate throughout his body and he felt an emotion that came with them. It wasn’t quite happiness, but not quite sadness either.
‘So this is Kageyama’s song…’ he thought. The more light flowed into him, the more magic power and physical strength he felt he had. ‘It’s working! I feel stronger.’
“That guy is a Sanga?!” one of the thieves cried out and darted towards Kageyama. Hinata faced the other two thieves while Kageyama defended himself with his shield and pulled his gladius sword out of its sheath. It was a simple sword, but reliable. The thief attacked Kageyama with his own sword while Kageyama defended himself to the best of his ability.
The two thieves dashed at Hinata, who circled around them and came at them from behind. He kicked the right one behind the knees, which successfully tripped him, then slashed at the left one with one of his swords and managed to incapacitate him. The other got up and attempted to throw a punch at Hinata, who dodged and stabbed him in the gut. Both the thieves had fallen to the ground.
Hinata heard Kageyama cry out in pain and looked over to see him drop his sword to clutch his arm in pain.
“Kageyama!” Hinata ran over to his side as fast as he could. When he reached him, he stood in front of him and defended him against the thief’s attacks.
“Hinata… this guy is different from the others,” Kageyama uttered.
“You’re quite perceptive, Sanga,” the thief said. “But your Touga doesn’t seem to share that quality.” He smirked at Hinata, who began to push against his sword with more force.
“What did you say?!”
“I’ve seen plenty of better High Speed magic users. Really, your Sanga would be better served with someone else.”
Hinata growled with rage until he felt Kageyama’s hand on his shoulder.
“Relax… he’s just trying to rile you up…” Kageyama winced at the pain in his arm, which did not diminish and only grew.
Hinata nodded and let his anger flow out of him. Focusing on the flow and melody of Kageyama’s song. As he did so, he felt it resonate in his body with even more strength. ‘I see. I didn’t even appreciate it before so I couldn’t even feel the full effect of it, but now…’ he thought.
He thrust more power into his arms and managed to push away the thief’s sword by doing so.
“Oh? Are you finally giving your Sanga the attention he deserves?” the thief taunted.
The clink of the swords scraping against each other resonated through the forest when Hinata thrusted at the thief with the sword in his right hand and the thief blocked it with his own sword. Hinata then used his other sword to slash at the thief’s arm. He held his arm in pain and Hinata smiled.
“That’s revenge for Kageyama,” he said. Kageyama looked at him with wide eyes. Hinata hit the thief’s sword with his own with enough strength to knock it out of his hands. The man fell to his knees and Hinata sliced at his other arm. “And that’s for looking down on me.”
Hinata tied up all the thieves with rope and then pulled out a cloth and a bottle of water from his pouch and walked to where Kageyama was sitting near the fire.
“Well? Come here and let me see your arm,” he said. Kageyama narrowed his eyes.
“What do you know about treating injuries?”
“Hey! I know enough! Kenma’s my best friend and he’s an expert,” Hinata replied angrily.
“So? His being an expert doesn’t make you one by association.”
“Agh, do you want help or not?!”
“..Fine.” Kageyama scooted closer to Hinata and rolled up his sleeve, wincing when the material moved against his wound. Hinata wet the cloth and then began to wipe away the blood. Kageyama hissed at the pain and leaned away.
“I know it hurts, but I have to clean it, you know?”
“I know! Just…get it over with,” he grumbled and leaned back. He managed to put up with the pain of Hinata cleaning his wound without any more complaints. Hinata then ripped a strip of cloth from his own shirt and tied it around Kageyama’s arm as a makeshift bandage. He took one last glance over his work and then gave Kageyama a thumbs up.
“This should at least be fine for until we get you to a healer,” Hinata said, smiling.
“.Th…Th-thanks…” Kageyama managed to utter and Hinata laughed.
“Ha! Jeez Kageyama, can you not even say ‘thank you’ properly?!” Kageyama growled and removed Hinata’s beanie in order to pull his hair.
“Ow! Not so hard! But, really I should be thanking you.” Kageyama lessened his grip at those words. “Your song…It was beautiful! And it made me feel all ‘gwaah’ inside! It was amazing!”
A Sanga’s song was produced by the true feelings in their heart. For it to be complemented was always meaningful and it had been a while since Kageyama had his song praised by someone. He looked away from Hinata and stood up.
“Anyway, let’s get back to town and tell the authorities that we captured these guys,” he said gruffly.
The two of them did just that. The walk back was quiet but not in an awkward way; it was a peaceful quiet. After reporting to the police station, Kageyama began to walk away.
“Wait, Kageyama! Where are you going? Don’t you need a healer?” Hinata called out.
“Yeah, but it’s the middle of the night. I’ll just go to sleep and then see a doctor or something in the morning,” he replied.
“But your arm looks pretty bad…How are you going to sleep if it hurts that much?” Hinata pointed out. “How about we go see Kenma? His healing magic could fix you right up!”
“But, like I said, it’s the middle of the night. I shouldn’t bother him…”
“It’s fine! Kenma’s told me not to worry and to just ask him for help whenever I need it since it’s his job as a healer.” Kageyama sighed in defeat and gave in only because of the immense pain that his arm was in. He followed Hinata’s lead to Kenma’s apartment. It was a standard-looking apartment building, not unlike Kageyama’s. It had three floors, and according to Hinata, Kenma’s was on the top floor. They walked up the stairs and knocked on the door labeled ‘402’. He door was answered by a very sleepy-looking, bedhead-ridden Kenma.
“Shouyou…are you hurt..?” Kenma said unable to suppress a yawn.
“No, but Kageyama is,” Hinata said, gesturing to Kageyama’s arm.
“Okay, come in.” Kenma opened the door wider and moved aside to the Hinata and Kageyama in. They all sat on Kenma’s couch and Kenma hovered his hands over Kageyama’s arm. His hands began to emit light, which spread to Kageyama’s injury. Kageyama sighed as his pain began to be relieved.
“I’m guessing the job was successful, then?” Kenma asked.
“Yeah! You should’ve seen it, Kenma! Kageyama’s magic made my magic really awesome!” Hinata exclaimed.
“I see. Maybe I’ll get to see it some other time.” Kenma smiled lightly. Hinata glanced around the room and noticed a few boxes scattered about.
“Kenma, are you still not done unpacking?” he asked. Kenma shook his head.
“...You just moved here?” Kageyama asked.
“Yes. My previous apartment building closed down. I came to this one a week ago,” Kenma stated.
“Hey Kenma, have you met any of your neighbours yet?” Hinata wondered.
“In ‘403’ there’s a nice old lady with a couple of really friendly cats,” Kenma said. “I haven’t met the guys in ‘401’ but the old lady told me about them. Apparently there’s two guys and they’re s-class. She said that they’re out on a job right now and that’s why they haven’t been around.”
Kageyama’s eyes widened at the mention of “s-class” and it was as if he was a dog whose ears perked up.
“S-class?! Who are they?! Do you know their names?!” Kageyama began asking rapid fire questions. Kenma looked to Hinata for help, but he seemed equally as excited and interested as Kageyama. Kenma sighed.
“Sorry, but I don’t know anything else about them,” he answered. Kageyama grunted.
The light faded away as Kenma retracted his hands and ceased his magic.
“Alright, that should be fine now,” he said. Kageyama loosened the bandage and looked over his arm. It was fully healed.
“…Thank you, Kozume-san,” Kageyama said and bowed.
“It’s fine, and call me Kenma,” he replied. “Now, I don’t mean to kick you both out, but it’s very late…”
“Yeah, we’ll head out now. Thank you, Kenma!” Hinata said.
Hinata and Kageyama began to walk to their homes up until the point where they had to part ways. Before he left, Hinata called out to him.
“Hey, Kageyama! How was I? It wasn’t too bad using your song on me, right?” Hinata smiled at him excitedly.
“No. You were…good.” Hinata’s smile grew wider. “It did take you a while to get the hang of it though.”
“Well, next time I’ll get it right away, for sure!” Hinata claimed. “See you!”
The orange-haired boy ran off down the street and Kageyama was left staring.
“Next time, huh?”