Chapter Text
“Tsukki, did you go past the wards?” Yamaguchi called, frowning. “Where are you?” The moon god was fond of slipping away to get some peace and quiet, but he usually told Yamaguchi where he was going. Today, Yamaguchi had returned from visiting the light fairy, Yachi, who he’d befriended the week before, and Tsukishima was gone. Yamaguchi’s search had brought him to the wards, but there was still no sign of his master.
“Hello? Is someone there? Please, help me!” an unfamiliar voice reached Yamaguchi from across the wards. The constellation moved toward the voice and froze. There, outside Ogygia’s protection, Tsukishima lay unconscious, with a blond stranger kneeling beside him. “Someone! Anyone! Please!” Yamaguchi scowled and stepped through the wards, the silvery-white flames of his star fire appearing around him.
“Get away from my master!” Yamaguchi ordered, raising his hands as the flames gathered into spheres in his palms. The blond stared up at him.
“You’re a constellation,” he said, surprise more than fear in his voice. “Can you help him, then?” Yamaguchi studied the stranger’s earnest expression for a long moment. Then he nodded. The stranger moved away from Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi hurried to his side, falling to his knees beside the moon god and banishing the star fire. He’d learned from experience that sometimes a gentle nudge with constellation energy could help Tsukishima heal, so whatever had made him collapse would hopefully be fixed if Yamaguchi gave him a little boost.
“Who are you?” Yamaguchi asked as he sent a slight pulse of energy, as soft and warm as he could manage, into Tsukishima.
“Akaashi, I need to speak with you,” Takeda announced, walking into the Magister’s office without bothering to knock. Akaashi looked up from the book he was reading and frowned. Semi, who was sitting on Akaashi’s desk and watching the mage, glanced over his shoulder and joined Akaashi in frowning at Takeda.
“What is it?” Akaashi asked. Takeda hesitated, glancing at Semi.
“You know how you mentioned how many of our citizens have been affected by a power-hungry black mage?” Takeda reminded him. Akaashi tensed and nodded. Semi’s eyes narrowed, and he floated off the desk and sat cross-legged in midair, arms folded over his chest as he glared from Akaashi to Takeda and back.
“Were you worrying about people trusting you again?” Semi demanded. Akaashi avoided Semi’s searching gaze, and the jinn huffed disapprovingly. “I swear, every couple of years you start thinking about him again, and then you start worrying too much.”
“Takeda has something important to say, I think,” Akaashi said calmly, ignoring Semi’s outburst.
“Sugawara, Sawamura, Yahaba, and Moniwa all described the black mage they encountered as incredibly strong, blond, arrogant, and cold, and Suga and Yahaba both mentioned the name Royal,” Takeda said grimly. Akaashi and Semi were unusually still and quiet as Takeda continued, “And I witnessed some of Aone’s memories through an enchanted book, and the mage who wiped out the Futakuchi mages, leaving only our magicless Futakuchi, fit the same description and called himself Royal.”
“More accurately,” Akaashi murmured, “Royal stole Futakuchi’s magic and killed his family doing the same to them. That’s why he would have targeted the Moniwa, Sakunami, and Shibayama families as well.”
“You’re missing the point, Keiji,” Semi snapped, his quiet gone as energy - or, knowing him, reality - rippled around him. “Royal. Blond. Powerful. Steals magic. You know who that sounds like.”
“We killed him,” Akaashi replied shortly. “We killed him, Eita. He can’t be going around hurting people when he’s dead .”
“What if he survived somehow? Futakuchi survived having his magic ripped out, so-”
“Futakuchi was a child, too young to even remember what he lost. He still doesn't know he ever had magic to start with,” Akaashi snapped. “ He wasn’t. There’s no way-”
“I thought there was no way a mage could capture me and force me to assist with his spells, but that bastard managed it,” Semi retorted. “What if we underestimated him again, Keiji? What if he’s alive and getting stronger from what he’s gathered from the mage families and the creatures he’s encountered?”
“Even he can’t come back from the dead!” Akaashi insisted.
“Who are you two talking about?” Takeda asked nervously, gaze darting between the two terrifyingly powerful beings who were glaring at each other in front of him.
“A very powerful black mage we killed hundreds of years ago,” Akaashi answered stiffly. “Who can’t possibly be the same-”
“Unless he survived what we did,” Semi interrupted, exasperated.
“Who?” Takeda asked again. Semi and Akaashi frowned at each other for a long moment, then finally turned their attention to the librarian.
“A very, very old black mage - possibly the first one ever - who was my mentor when I was still learning to use my powers,” Akaashi answered grimly. “His name was-”
“I’m Miya Atsumu,” the stranger answered, leaning over Tsukishima and resting his palm on Yamaguchi’s cheek. The constellation tensed and frowned at the stranger.
“What are you doing?” Yamaguchi demanded, reaching up to knock his hand away.
“You’re going to do as I say,” Miya replied, his voice suddenly heavy and intoxicating. Yamaguchi found himself leaning forward, listening intently. “You’re going to walk me through that ward and take me to the library. Understood?” The words pressed down on Yamaguchi’s mind, making his thoughts sluggish and foggy. He nodded woodenly and stood to do as Miya said.