Chapter Text
Akaashi Keiji wasn’t the type to sit around and allow his human’s emotions to overcome his moral compass. Which was precisely why the junior guardian angel was currently so stressed.
No matter how many times he went over Konoha Akinori’s emotion files, he simply couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The amount of hours he had spent in the office in the past week had far passed the three digit mark. His co workers had attempted multiple times to pull him away from the endless hours of footage of Konoha’s daily activities, but he simply wouldn’t budge.
Thus brought about the predicament he currently found himself in. As he read through his human’s file from the previous night, his door flew open.
“You work too much!’’ A voice boomed from the doorway of Akaashi’s small office. “Come have lunch with us!”
“I apologize, I will have to miss out yet again. I have to go through th-”
“His files, we get it!” His co worker, Oikawa, continued. “But come on, you haven’t left the office in days. Not even Suga-chan is this diligent!”
Akaashi looked up at the brunette over the frames of his reading glasses. “I’d prefer you not call our senpai, ‘chan’, Oikawa-san.”
“Only if you agree to come to lunch with us!” Oikawa sing songed, leaning against the doorframe.
Akaashi sighed, placing the file in his drawer and standing up. Oikawa cheered as he grabbed his jacket and followed him into the hallway.
“Tetsu-chan and Tendou-chan will meet us there.” Oikawa explained, leading an unwilling Akaashi into the elevator.
“This was a bad idea.” Akaashi groaned, pushing the button to take them to the lobby. “I have work to do.”
“Or you can take a break for once in your life.” Oikawa teased, leaning against the wall.
Akaashi raised his eyebrow at the man. “If I take too many breaks then I’ll be just as incompetent an angel as you.”
It was true. Oikawa was not the best angel in business, preferring to spend the majority of his time having fun with his fellow slackers, or simply admiring his human’s arms.
“Rude, Aka-chan!” Oikawa huffed, walking into the busy lobby. “I’ll have you know that Iwa-chan is a responsible human who doesn’t need my help to keep his emotions in check. He could use the help picking up girls though.”
“I pity his poor soul that ended up with you.” Akaashi deadpanned.
The two dodged the crowds in the lobby, making their way to the front door. As Akaashi emerged onto the even busier street, Oikawa grabbed his hand and dragged him through the masses.
“Tetsu-chan is going to be so excited! You’ve finally left your sulking cave!” Oikawa exclaimed as they approached a small intersection.
“It’s my office, not my sulking cave, Oikawa-san.”
“Same difference.” The brunette winked.
The two arrived at a small coffee shop, a large green awning providing shade for a few outside tables.
Two men sat at one of the mentioned outdoor tables, one with wild red hair, and the other with even more unruly black hair.
“Oikawa!” Kuroo exclaimed, looking up from the laminated menu he was currently holding.
The two approached the table as Tendou greeted them. “Oh? You got Akaashi-kun to finally leave his sulking cave.”
“It’s my office.”
“Sulking cave.” Kuroo nodded in agreement.
“I told you, Aka-chan!” Oikawa said, picking up the menu. “Everyone agrees that it’s the sulking cave!”
Akaashi sighed, skimming halfheartedly through a laminated menu of his own. “So how are your humans doing?”
“You only ever talk about work.” Tendou drawled out, draping himself over the table.
Kuroo rolled his eyes at the redhead’s antics, turning to Akaashi. “Horrible. My human made a new friend recently, which means I’ll be getting a knock on my door from that troublesome Kageyama any moment now.”
“Oh, Tobio-chan from the second floor?” Oikawa asked.
“That’s the one.”
Oikawa grimaced. “He bugged me for ages asking how I keep my human so calm. He’s such a little brat.”
“Well, his human is just a little bundle of energy. Almost as bad as Bokuto.”
Tendou leaned over to the black haired man, a smug look on his face. “I guess we can’t all be as lucky as me, with my delightfully composed SemiSemi.”
“How does that poor man even survive with an angel like you watching over him.” Akaashi said.
Tendou smirked, leaning back in his chair. “He’s actually quite the hothead. It’s fun to push his buttons a bit and get him to burst.”
“You’re a terrible person, Tendou-chan.” Oikawa laughed.
The waitress came by and took each of their orders, undoubtedly making a mistake in Oikawa’s complicated lunch concoction.
“So, Akaashi, what exactly is the trouble with your human?” Kuroo asked, handing the last menu to the waitress.
Akaashi took a sip of his water, attempting to block out the three curious, and slightly mischievous, looks his coworkers were giving him. “Konoha-san is beginning to get involved in illicit and immoral activities.”
“It’s that nasty snake on the third floor’s fault.” Kuroo hissed, “He has a terrarium in his office with actual reptiles in it.”
Oikawa nodded, keeping eye contact with Akaashi. “And his human’s personality is awful.”
“All because he’s too lazy to keep a proper eye on him.” Kuroo added.
“He doesn’t even care about his job.” Oikawa continued, waving his right hand passively.
Tendou rested his head on his hands, leaning forward to face the two. “You two seem to find him awfully disagreeable...”
“He is!” Oikawa huffed, crossing his arms.
“Though you two may dislike him, I believe the real blame here is to be placed upon Kuroo-san.” Akaashi said, emotionless. “His human does nothing but encourage this behaviour.”
Kuroo raised his hand in surrender, giving Akaashi a faux innocent look. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I did nothing wrong. I’m literally an angel.”
Akaashi narrowed his eyes at the man, pausing the topic as their food arrived.
“It could be said that Bokuto-chan is a bad influence on Aka-chan’s human.” Oikawa noted as he poked at his ramen.
Tendou nodded, eyes wide as noodles hung out of his mouth. “He is quite the party animal.” He said.
“And he insists on bringing Konoha-san along to his wild nights of... debauchery.” Akaashi said.
“Woah, okay, he’s not that bad.” Kuroo defended.
“My SemiSemi is so selfless, helping to control those monsters.” Tendou said dreamily.
Akaashi rolled his eyes, turning back to Kuroo. “Perhaps if you took the initiative in helping your human, such as Hana-san, we wouldn’t be having this problem.”
Oikawa dropped his chopsticks as a noodle fell out of Tendou’s mouth.
“Aka-chan...” Oikawa breathed out, eyes wide in shock. “You can’t be serious...”
Akaashi shrugged slightly, turning his attention to his food. Kuroo’s grip on his chopsticks tightened, one snapping at the raven haired boy grinded his teeth together.
“Aka-chan... You know how dangerous that is...”
Kuroo stood up abruptly, placing a few small coins on the table.
“Well, I’m leaving.” He said, glaring at Akaashi. “I hope you can get your little problem figured out without committing suicide.”
“Tetsu-chan, wai-”
Kuroo stormed off, back in the direction of the office building, leaving the other three behind with an awkward tension.
Akaashi pushed the guilt he felt down, simply continuing to eat as if nothing had happened. Tendou and Oikawa turned to him, shocked looks on their faces.
“Aka-chan, was that really necessary?” Oikawa asked in disbelief.
Tendou nodded, regaining his composure. “That was awfully rude of you.”
“He needs a reality check.” Akaashi said flippantly.
Oikawa sighed, looking down at his food. “He may not look it, but he’s actually quite diligent at his job. Especially after what happened with his last human. You don’t know how rough it is.”
Akaashi simply stood up, placing a few of his own coins on the table as well.
“I think I should head back as well.” He said, “It was a pleasure.”
***
When the very loud and overly energetic assistant of the boss knocked on Akaashi’s door the next day, he was pondering if it pertained to the offhanded comment he made to Kuroo. With Noya simply telling him that the boss was calling him, he was certain it was just that.
As he stepped into the elevator, the shorter boy pressed the button leading to the fortieth, and highest, floor. One that Akaashi had only been to once before.
As the light chime of the elevator signalled, the doors opened. Noya skipped out into the deserted hall, leading Akaashi down to the white door at the opposing end.
“See, Suga-san is right here.” Noya smiled, presenting the door.
Akaashi nodded, knocking three times, as per customary when addressing the boss.
Noya seemed to disappear as a muffled voice yelled for the angel to enter. As he slowly opened the heavy door, he was greeted with a large room, bookshelves covering every wall, from the floor to thirty foot high ceiling.
A small desk sat in the middle, a man with gray hair and a wide smile sat behind it.
“Akaashi, come in.” He prompted, indicating to the leather chair sat in front of the desk.
“Good afternoon, Suga-san.” Akaashi greeted, walking up and bowing to his boss.
“Oh, no need for the formalities. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?”
Akaashi sat down, shaking his head to indicate a no. “Thank you for the offer.”
“Of course.” Suga smiled, pulling a folder out of his desk. “Now, I wanted to speak to you about something, regarding your human.”
Akaashi nodded as Suga placed a pair of reading glasses onto his face, scanning the papers from the folder.
“It seems that you’ve been having a rough time with... Konoha-kun lately.” Suga continued, looking up at Akaashi.
“Yes, I’ve been looking through his folders nonstop and watching his footage, but... I’m not entirely sure what to do.” Akaashi admitted.
Suga smiled at the black haired man, taking his glasses off and looking him in the eyes. “Akaashi, you are a great guardian angel, one of the best in the department.” He began, “This is only your first human, and it’s taken almost twenty years for you to experience your first hiccup with him. I believe that’s something to be proud of, don’t you?”
“Uh... Yes, sir.”
“Precisely. I know that you will have a great future here, especially once you have a human or two on your resume. I have been observing Konoha-kun myself for a few days, and I must admit, I am slightly worried at how quickly he is beginning to corrupt. By no fault of your own. I fear this may be beyond your control.”
Akaashi stood up, placing his hands onto the desk. “How can I help him, Suga-san. Please, tell me what I can do.”
Suga sighed, leaning forward onto the desk. “If you want to stop this situation before it spirals out of control, there is only one method I can think of.”
Akaashi slowly sat down, looking at his boss with a shocked face. “You don’t mean...”
“Typically, I wouldn’t allow a junior angel to do this...” Suga sighed, sitting back. “But, this situation worries me. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a human spiral out of control so quickly.”
“Suga-san, this is incredibly dangerous.” Akaashi said. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”
“You are by no means required to do this. But if this human becomes fully corrupt, you know the consequences.” Suga stood up, putting the file away. “That is all. If you decide that you wish to go through with this, please come see me tomorrow. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a business meeting with another head angel from the Leviticus branch.”
Akaashi stood up, thanking Suga and bowing, only to quickly walk out of the office. As he walked down the never ending hallway, his mind spun. He would have to make his decision by the next day. He had one day, twenty-four hours, to decide his fate.
***
“Akaashi! Akaashi! Open the door!”
Akaashi sat on the couch in his small apartment, a video clip of Konoha at volleyball practice displayed on his television. He heard the voices of Kuroo and Oikawa outside of his door, the former attempting to knock it down entirely.
“Aka-chan! Let us in!”
“We know what Suga-san asked you to do!”
“You’re going to get yourself killed, Aka-chan!”
“You can’t really be considering it!”
As Tendou’s voice joined the mix, claiming to be able to pick the lock, Akaashi knew he would have to confront his friends.
“Aha!”
Tendou’s voice echoed through the apartment as the door swung open, the three fellow angels barging in.
“Noya-chan told us everything.” Oikawa said, turning off Akaashi’s television.
Akaashi sighed, turning his attention to the papers in his lap.
“Don’t ignore us, Akaashi-kun.” Tendou warned, pulling the papers out of Akaashi’s hands.
“You can’t really be selfish enough to think this is a good idea.” Kuroo said, leaning against the table next to the couch.
“How is wanting to help my human selfish?” Akaashi asked, refusing to give away any emotion in his voice.
Kuroo ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “You’re doing this for the success. We all know it. You’re doing this for yourself.”
“What are you implying by that, Kuroo-san?” Akaashi asked, grinding his teeth together.
“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you exactly how selfish you’re being.”
“I want to hel-”
“You could die!”
Akaashi looked Kuroo in the eyes for the first time. “Do you think I’m simply ignoring that fact?”
The room was silent for a while, Akaashi and Kuroo simply glaring at one another.
“Don’t do it.” Kuroo said, turning his gaze to the wall. “There are other ways.”
“No, there aren’t.” Akaashi declared. “I have to do this. I’m going to do this. I’m going to call Suga-san immediately.”
“Aka-chan...” Oikawa croaked out.
“Fine.” Kuroo snapped. “Do what you want. But when you get Konoha killed, I won’t be there for you to cry to.”
Akaashi looked down at the ground, shutting out his surroundings. “Not everyone makes the same mistakes as you.”
The last thing he heard was a door slam.
And then he was alone.
***
“Are you sure you wish to do this?” Suga asked.
Akaashi nodded, taking a seat on the leather chair he had sat on the day before. “Tell me what I need to do.”
Suga sighed, pulling a small envelope from his desk drawer. “This should help you out. There is the address of a friend you can stay with in there, along with a job application and twenty thousand yen to get you started.” Akaashi took the envelope as Suga continued.
“Once you’re on earth, no one from heaven can help you. I hope you know that. You’ll be on your own. We have an angel currently stationed around the same area that you’re heading to, but she needs to return here very soon, should she risk corrupting her soul.
“Don’t get distracted. You’re there for one purpose and one purpose alone.”
“To help Konoha-san.” Akaashi said.
Suga smiled at him, standing up. “Exactly.”
The head angel walked over to a small storage cabinet in the corner of the room, returning with two vials of lilac liquid.
“Save this one for when you wish to return.” Suga instructed, handing one of the vials to Akaashi.
He put the vial into the pocket of his jacket, zipping it for safekeeping.
“And drink this one now. And remember, stay on task.”
Akaashi took the small vial, popping off the small glass top. He gave the liquid a suspicious look, swirling around the light purple mixture. He slowly took a sip, drowsiness immediately hitting him.
“I’ll see you in a couple weeks, Akaashi.” Suga said, as the angel’s world went black.
***
The muffled sound of a river awoke Akaashi. He immediately noticed that his entire body was sore, specifically his stomach.
He slowly opened his eyes to see the creator of the sound, the river, just a few feet away from him. He cautiously felt around the ground, hands running over soft grass and rough rocks. He propped himself up, looking around more thoroughly at his surroundings.
“Earth...” He muttered, standing up.
There was a small bridge over the shallow ravine where Akaashi found himself. It seemed to be older, barely able to keep itself from falling apart.
The angel crawled out of the ravine, onto the tiny cement road laying next to it. His body felt as though it was being dragged down to the earth by some invisible force, quite the opposite as the floating sensation he was used to.
As he looked around, he noticed that he was in the city. Tall buildings stood to one side of him, as large trees towered over him on his other side.
Various humans were jogging or walking their dogs in the area, a couple giving Akaashi a questioning look. The angel found his way to a bench, mostly hidden from the inhabitants of the park.
He pulled out the envelope he had been given, opening it and peeking at the contents. True to Suga’s word, it contained money and a job application, but a piece of paper with an address written on it was also visible.
He read over the piece of paper multiple times, but was barely able to make sense of it.
“You look confused.” A voice said.
Akaashi looked up to see a tall man with silver hair standing in front of him, giving him an innocent smile. He wore running shoes and workout clothes, his sweat giving away that he was on a jog. His piercing green eyes startled Akaashi, immediately making him weary of the man.
“Um... I’m looking for... this address.” Akaashi said, handing the paper over the man.
He seemed to analyze the paper for a few seconds, before looking back down as Akaashi.
“I’m useless with directions, but I can ask my friend, if you’d like!”
“Sure, that would be very kind of you.” Akaashi said, bowing slightly to the taller boy.
He pulled out his phone and began tapping away, while continuing to maintain a conversation with Akaashi. “My name is Lev by the way. Haiba Lev.”
“I’m Akaashi Keiji.”
“Nice to meet you, Akaashi!”
It was then that Akaashi saw something above the boy’s head. In dark red letters, it wrote ‘Yaku Morisuke’. Akaashi looked around at the other inhabitants of the park, quickly noting that they had names written over their heads as well.
“Semi!” Lev yelled, as a man walked up to the two.
Akaashi’s suspicions were confirmed as he saw the name ‘Tendou Satori’ written above the new man’s head.
This was Tendou’s beloved ‘SemiSemi’.
The new man also wore workout clothes, though he seemed to be slightly more winded than his taller friend.
“Semi, this is Akaashi. He’s lost.” Lev introduced.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Akaashi said politely, bowing to the gray and black haired man.
“Likewise.” Semi said. “So where are you trying to get to?”
Akaashi handed him the piece of paper as hours of footage of Konoha’s life fast forwarded through his mind. He attempted to recall where he had seen Semi’s face before, somewhere among the twenty years of information he had stored in his brain. Until it hit him.
“Do you play volleyball?” Akaashi suddenly asked, catching the other boy off guard.
“Um, yes. Yes I do.” He said, scratching his neck awkwardly. “I’m the setter of Tokyo University’s team.”
“Is Konoha Akinori on that team as well?” Akaashi asked.
Semi nodded, giving the angel a confused look. “He is. Do you know him?”
“You could say that.” Akaashi sighed, looking back down at the piece of paper.
“So, the address,” Semi began, changing the subject. “It’s quite close actually. Just down that street, a couple blocks, there should be an apartment building.” He said, pointing towards the buildings.
“Thank you, Semi-san.” Akaashi said, bowing.
Semi chuckled awkwardly, looking over to where Lev was chasing a couple ducks around. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll see you around then.” Akaashi said, turning away.
“See you.”
Akaashi began off in the general direction of where Semi had indicated, exiting the park and entering the jungle of cars and crosswalks.
It was nowhere near as crowded as the streets of heaven, but the hoards of people still made it difficult for Akaashi to navigate his way through.
Another thing that differed from the streets of heaven were streets themselves.
The angels in heaven never attempted to sell Akaashi an obscure brand of toothbrush or illegal substances as he passed. Nor had he ever remembered seeing graffiti or trash on the sidewalks in heaven.
He arrived at what looked to be a large apartment building, comparing the address to that written on the paper from Suga.
Only half-sure that he was at the right place, Akaashi opened the rusty front door of the brick building, stepping in. He took the staircase up to the second floor, as the paper instructed, and found his way to apartment number twelve.
Before he could even knock, the door swung open, revealing a girl he knew all too well.
“Hana-san?” He asked in slight disbelief.
She looked up at him, her stressed expression turning soft and sincere. “Akaashi! What are you doing here? On earth?”
“Well, I h-”
“Why don’t you come in and tell me about it.” She said, pulling the fellow angel into the neat apartment.
Akaashi sat down on the couch, awkwardly shuffling his feet as Hana began to boil water. It was a nice apartment. The kitchen and living room were connected, with one bedroom and an en suite bath.
“So, what’s up, Akaashi?” She called from the kitchen, preparing tea.
“Well, I came to help my human.” He explained, standing and walking over to the small kitchen.
Hana nodded, placing two cups on the counter. “What’s he been up to?”
“I fear he may begin to get involved with illegal activities if I do not interfere soon. He has proved himself to be quite the problematic human for the past few days, opting to party and drink rather than study or help others.”
“That’s the problem with my human.” Hana sighed, pouring the water. “He chose drugs over school, and I fear it’s too late.”
“Haven’t you been on earth for almost two weeks, Hana-san?” Akaashi asked, giving her a concerned look.
She nodded, handing him a cup. “I’ve already began to feel the pains. I don’t have much time left but... I can’t just leave him.”
“Hana-san, it may be too late for him.” Akaashi said.
“I know that.” She said, a disappointed expression on her face. “It’s just... He’s not a bad guy, really. All he wants is to have fun... He just doesn’t quite know how to do that...”
“Hana-san...”
“That’s enough about me, though!” She said quickly, masking the sorrowful look on her face. “Let’s talk about how you can get in contact with your human!”
“I considered joining the volleyball team that he is on, but I’m afraid that I don’t know much about the sport.” Akaashi explained, taking a sip of his tea.
“We can fix that!” Hana said with a fake smile. “That’s what the internet is for, right?”
“We don’t have the internet in heaven...”
“Maybe not, but we have it here, and two weeks has made me an expert at internet-ing!”
***
“So... you’re a counselor?”
“Of sorts.”
“And... you want to change professions?”
“That is precisely why I applied.”
“To be a barista?”
Akaashi currently sat in the office of the manager of a small coffee shop by the name of ‘Cafe Karas’. The manager was a kind man named Daichi, who seemed confused by Akaashi’s extremely fake job application.
“Is there something wrong with being a barista, Daichi-san?”
“Um no, nothing wrong, per say.” He said, looking from the application to Akaashi. “Just... Wondering why you would want to make espresso after being a shrink.”
“I needed a change of scenery.” Akaashi deadpanned, wishing for the interview to come to an end as soon as possible.
Daichi’s perplexed look remained as he stood up, reaching over his desk to shake Akaashi’s hand. “Then, I guess you’ve got the job. Come in tomorrow at six am.”
“Yes, sir.” Akaashi said, shaking his hand and exiting the room before he could ask any more questions.
He emerged from the office, caught slightly off guard by the long line by the counter. He darted through the cozy coffee shop, attempting not to be seen. Until a familiar voice caught his attention.
“C’mon, four eyes, it’s on me!”
Akaashi’s attention snapped over to where a large and boisterous man stood in line, a much less excited and skinnier blonde next to him.
“I told you, I don’t want anything.” The blonde with glasses hissed, his attention on his phone.
“Aw, but Tsukki.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Above the head of the loud man, right in front of his gravity-defying grey hair, was a name that Akaashi never wanted to see again.
It was Bokuto Koutarou, Kuroo Tetsuro’s human.
Half of Akaashi considered blowing up on the guy at that very moment. To rant about the inconveniences he has caused Akaashi’s human, and in turn, Akaashi himself.
But the more logical half took over, telling Akaashi to simply exit the coffee shop and make his way back to the apartment.
As he slipped out of the front door, Hana’s eyes popped up from where she sat on the bench, reading the human newspaper.
“Did you get the job?” She asked, standing up.
Akaashi nodded, sending a wary look back into the coffee shop. “I got it...”
“Great.” She smiled. “Now let’s go get you enrolled in classes.”