Archive of Our Own

Kuroo walks into the shop at exactly 19:01 to find Kenma sitting by the front door, patiently waiting for him.

In hindsight, this should have been the first hint that there was something wrong. Kenma never waited for him in the shop. He’d usually lounge around in the house until he arrived or, if Bokuto got home first, he’d follow him around until he settled down, at which point Kenma would make himself comfortable in Bokuto’s lap, and take a nap while Bokuto gently ran his hand through his fur.

However, Kuroo is so tired that the strangeness of this occurrence completely escapes his notice, so he simply gives Kenma a tired smile, scratches him slowly behind the ear, completely overlooking how tense Kenma is, as well as the sharp looks he gives Kuroo, and heads deep into the store, unlocking the back door that leads to his apartment upstairs.

He climbs the stairs slowly, cracking his neck along the way, and sighing tiredly. It really had been a long day. He had to travel all the way to the city to exorcise an amanojaku that was haunting some teenage kid. As if that wasn’t troublesome enough, the kid’s mother kept hanging over him, making things way more difficult (bless her, he could understand her worry and she was wise enough to seek him out in the first place, but people need to just let him do his job.) His eyelids drop. Not to mention the weight hanging over him. It was always more difficult facing creatures capable of looking inside people’s minds. He didn’t need anyone picking apart his insecurities, and going through his most intimate thoughts, tainting everything pure and bringing out the bad.

He stops in front of his front door, and looks back at Kenma. At least he’s home now. He can just cuddle with Bokuto, and Kenma on his lap, and let all those bad thoughts slip away. He smiles gently at Kenma, the cat’s worried gaze going completely over his head, and opens the door.

“Bokuto, I’m home.”

A moment passes, and then Bokuto’s voice rings out from what appears to be the living room. “Welcome back!”

Immediately, Kuroo feels some tension leave his muscles, and his smile widens. He quickly shrugs off his coat and throws it on the nearest chair, darting to the living room where Bokuto is waiting for him. He’s turning to enter the living room, when he suddenly halts, nearly running into the doorway because of the momentum. Bokuto isn’t alone. He’s sitting sideways on their couch, and sitting opposite him is a stranger. Kuroo opens his mouth. “Uhhh.”

It’s a kitsune. A very beautiful one in fact, what with its black hair and pale blue eyes. But its pretty features weren’t enough to distract Kuroo from the fox ears twitching on its head and the two, four, six, seven – seven tails resting comfortably behind it on the couch.

Kuroo smiles invitingly, eyes flitting quickly over Bokuto trying to assess his condition and whether he’s under any sort of illusion, as he slowly crosses his arms over his chest. Bokuto seems to be completely okay, so Kuroo turns his smile on the kitsune, as he grips the small hunting knife hidden in his shirt’s inside pocket. “Well, hello there.”

The kitsune gives him a friendly smile, and a small wave. “Hey! Nice to meet y—” A small, distressed sound escapes its lips, and a look of surprise paints its features as Kuroo’s knife glides through the air aimed directly at its face. Kuroo is already reaching for his dagger, the weapon actually capable of killing these things, but the small knife never even makes contact as a pillow appears seemingly out of nowhere, blocking its path.

“Bokuto, what—”

“Kuroo, calm down.” Bokuto stands between him and the kitsune and raises a hand placatingly. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

Kuroo does lower his dagger slightly, but his eyes don’t leave the kitsune now looking amusedly between them. “Bokuto?”

“Yes, darling?”

“There’s a kitsune in our living room.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Why is there a kitsune in our living room?”

“I’d be more than happy to tell you, but maybe you should put the dagger down first.” Kuroo doesn’t answer that, eyes narrowing as the kitsune’s amused smile turns into a smug smirk. “Hey, it’s fine. Trust me, Tetsu.”

At that, Kuroo’s eyes flicker to Bokuto’s and the amount of care and trust in them melts away the harsh grip he has on his blade. Kuroo sighs and puts it away in its hidden sheath again. Bokuto smiles at him, and crosses the distance between them to give him a tight hug. Kuroo feels the urge to laugh bubble up inside him, but he can’t quite feel at ease with the kitsune there. “So, mind telling me what the hell is going on?”

Bokuto pulls back from the hug, but leaves his right arm around his waist as they turn to face the kitsune. “This is Oikawa.”

The kitsune, Oikawa, grins widely at him. “Nice to meet you.”

Kuroo nods tensely, and Bokuto continues. “He’s here because he needs our help.”

Kuroo’s eyes widen and he turns to look at Bokuto. “What?”

“He and his family lived in an old abandoned shrine, but they got attacked by karasu-tengu who took over the place and kicked them out.” Kuroo looks at the kitsune who nods solemnly, and back at Bokuto. “He can’t fight them alone, so he asked for our help.”

“Why didn’t you just kick him out?”

“I think we should help him.”

“Listen Bokuto, can we talk in private for a minute?”

They turn to give Oikawa a pointed look, and the kitsune raises his hands in defeat before getting up. “Alright, don’t mind me. I’m leaving.” He steps out of the room and shuts the door behind him.

They wait a few seconds, until they can no longer hear the sound of footsteps, and then Kuroo turns to Bokuto. “Koutarou, are you out of your mind? We can’t help him.”

Bokuto raises his eyebrows. “Why not?”

“He’s a kitsune. He’s probably just tricking us for some reason.”

“That may be so, but if it’s true then that means we should help him.”

“So you’re just going to help any damn creature that shows up on our doorstep?”

“Oh, he didn’t come to the store.”

“…what?”

“I found him near the edge of the woods and brought him here.”

Kuroo huffs out some air and runs a hand through his hair, looking at Bokuto in disbelief.

“So, let me see if I got this straight. You found a lost kitsune.”

Bokuto nods.

“You brought him home.”

Bokuto nods again.

“And now you want us to help him get his shrine, that was apparently overrun by some nasty crow demons, back.”

“That’s right.”

Kuroo sighs and rubs his forehead.

“You know, our clients are usually more on the human side.”

Suddenly, he hears the sound of the toilet flushing and Oikawa’s head pops up in a corner as he excitedly yells, “Oh my god, you guys have a water bowl where the water whirls around?!”

Kuroo watches him for a moment before turning away. “I need a drink.”

Bokuto grabs his hand and pulls him closer, encasing him in a hug. “Hey Tetsu, I’m sorry.”

Kuroo raises his arms and hugs Bokuto back. “It’s just, I’m worried.”

“I get what you’re saying. I have a feeling that there’s more to this whole thing too, but if that’s true then we need to help whoever is in that temple.”

Kuroo sighs. “You’re right.”

Bokuto pulls back, straightens his back and looks him right in the eyes. “And I’ll take responsibility if things go wrong.”

Kuroo snorts and pulls him closer again, resting his forehead on Bokuto’s shoulder. He takes a deep breath before muttering softly, “Ok.”

Bokuto snakes his arms over Kuroo’s back returning the embrace. Then they pull away, and Kuroo calls out. “Okay, you can come out now, fuzzball.”

Oikawa pops up, with an offended look on his face. “Who are you calling a fuzzball?”

Kuroo ignores him and drags Bokuto behind him. “Hey Bo, let’s grab some dinner and go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

Bokuto perks up and holds Kuroo’s hand tighter as he moves to walk beside him. “I grilled some tuna and one of those vegetable mixes from the store, you know, the one you like.”

“Really?” Kuroo grins. “Thanks.”

“We can eat in the bedroom if you want to, and you can tell me about your day.”

“That sounds great, Bo. Why don’t you get the stuff to the bedroom and I’ll be right over.”

“Ok!” Bokuto walks over to the kitchen and starts setting up their plates. Kuroo smiles gently while watching him go, before he turns to one of the cupboards, rummaging through it. Oikawa watches him nervously.

“What are you doing?”

Kuroo grabs a container of rosemary and a pot of marigold seeds and starts grounding them together. “I’m making sure you won’t bother us tonight.” Oikawa watches him, tails swaying tensely behind him. Kuroo eyes the lavender thoughtfully and grabs it too, adding a little bit to the mix. Once it’s ground into a fine dust, he reaches into the third drawer and grabs a plastic bag. He pours the mixture in and ties a knot. He pulls a piece of worn string from the same drawer, and ties it around the bag while heading for his room. Once he reaches the doorway, he stops and ties the other end of the string to a small, inconspicuous nail above the door. Once he’s done he inspect his work and nods. “There. Hopefully, that should keep you away.”

He enters the bedroom and Oikawa stops him. “Wait. I have to sleep out here alone?”

“Yep. Good night.” Kuroo grins and shuts the door in his face.

Kuroo wakes up to sunlight filtering in through his window, and sunshine watching him tenderly. His lips slowly stretch to a smile, and he blinks a few times at Bokuto, a bit embarrassed at the situation. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Yeah. I have to make the most of when I can actually see your face, instead of a bunch of hair sticking out of the pillow,” Bokuto teases.

Kuroo laughs and gently punches his chest, moving closer to Bokuto, who wraps his arm around him, pressing him closer. Kuroo can feel Kenma warmly tucked between them, and everything feels right. He thinks he could stay like this for the rest of his life. That is until Kenma promptly sits on his face. Kuroo pulls back, spluttering the cat fur on his mouth. “Kenma, what the hell?” That’s around the time that he notices that there’s still a fuzzy ball of fur between him and Bokuto.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” He looks down to see a small fox with black fur and seven tails nestled between them. He immediately sits up, while Kenma lays down beside him. “What are you doing here?”

The fox opens one of its eyes and lazily looks up at Kuroo. It slowly gets up, stretching its back and paws before sitting. “Good morning.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s way more comfortable here than outside.”

“Get out of my bed.” Kuroo pulls the sheets back and Oikawa falls from the bed with a small yelp. “I’m going to talk to Akaashi about these herbs he gave us,” he mutters under his breath. He then turns towards Bokuto and continues louder. “Come on, Bokuto. We need to get up so we can send this kitsune back where it came from.” He stands and looks to the feet of the bed where Oikawa had fallen to see him pouting, now in his human shape.

“You’re mean, Kuroo-chan.”

Kuroo freezes and turns back to Oikawa, while Bokuto laughs heartily still laying down on the bed. “Don’t call me that.”

“What, why?”

“Yeah, Kuroo. Why?” Bokuto chuckles, leaning up on his elbow. “I think it’s cute.”

“Well, I don’t. Now get your lazy butt to the kitchen or I’m eating without you.”

“Okay, okay. I’m up.” Bokuto jumps from the bed, grabbing a shirt from a nearby chair and quickly putting it on while already walking towards the kitchen. “So, what do you want for breakfast?”

“Ooh. Is there any aburage?” Oikawa says.

Kuroo chuckles at Bokuto’s energy. He got up last, yet he reached the kitchen first. He sits down at their small table and rests his chin on his hand, watching Bokuto fondly. “I don’t know, whatever you feel like having.”

“Ah, I want some aburage,” Oikawa supplies.

Bokuto hums, examining their cupboards with crossed arms, before turning to Kuroo. “How about pancakes?”

Kuroo smiles. “Pancakes sound great, Bokuto.”

Bokuto perks up and reaches for the ingredients. “Good! I’ll get them done in a minute.”

“Why are you ignoring me?” Oikawa whines, draping himself dramatically over their kitchen table.

“Because you don’t live here,” Kuroo says dryly. Oikawa huffs indignantly, and Kuroo feels his lips stretch into a smirk at the sight. He’s about to tell Oikawa that animals aren’t allowed at the table, when he feels soft fur lightly brush his calf. Kuroo looks down to see Kenma pressed to his leg, watching him expectantly. “Hey, you’re up early today.”

Kuroo reaches down and gently scratches behind his ear, making Kenma close his eyes in contentment. He pulls back and gets up, reaching into the lower cabinet. “Let’s get you something to eat.” He grabs a small can of cat food and opens it, emptying its contents into a red bowl near the table. “Here you go.”

He waits until Kenma starts eating to settle back down on the table. He glances at Oikawa and furrows his eyebrows. “Ugh, you’re still here.”

Oikawa sits up straight. “What do you mean I’m still here. Of course I am. Where would I have gone to?”

“I don’t know. I was just hoping you’d have left and we could go on with our lives.”

“Hm, is that so?” Oikawa smirks. “Too bad, ‘cause you’re stuck with me.”

Kuroo’s eyebrow twitches and he opens his mouth to retort but at that exact moment Bokuto places a plate in front of him, momentarily distracting him. “Here you go! Nice and warm to start the day well!” He then leans down and pecks Kuroo on the cheek, effectively melting away the mean remarks he felt bubbling beneath the surface.

“Thanks, Bo.”

Bokuto smiles brightly. “No problem!” He puts down his plate and places another one in front of Oikawa before sitting down.

Oikawa pouts, blinking innocently at Bokuto. “Eh, you kiss Kuroo-chan but not me? I’m feeling lonely now…”

Bokuto, already with a mouthful of pancakes looks at him in surprise. “Oh.” He swallows, and looks uncertainly at Oikawa for a moment before reaching over and patting him on the head. “I hope you like them.”

Kuroo nearly spits out the pancake he had on his mouth at Oikawa’s bewildered look. He coughs lightly, chuckling under his breath, and waves off Bokuto’s concerned look, before smirking at Oikawa as he brings another forkful to his mouth.

Breakfast continues without further incidents, and after washing the dishes and clearing the table, Bokuto pulls him aside. “So I have an appointment today to take care of a few spirits haunting the Oiwake estate. I was thinking of visiting Akaashi after that and ask him about some protection spells against tengu. What do you think?”

Kuroo nods. “Sounds good. I’ll stay here and man the shop as well as keep an eye on our guest.”

“Ok. I’ll go get dressed.” Bokuto walks off towards their bedroom, and Kuroo heads to their library. He turns on the light, and moves towards the bookcase on the right. His eyes run through the book spines until he finds the title he’s searching for: Animal-Like Youkai: A Guide. He grabs the book, carefully sliding it off the shelf, and opens it, flipping through the pages, looking for the chapter on Karasu-tengu. He stops once he finds it, and carefully reads through it, taking in as much information as he can.

Once he finishes, he nods somewhat satisfied, and moves his arm to put the book back on the shelf, when a thought suddenly occurs to him. Kuroo stops, and opens the book again, searching for the information on Kitsune. Just like the karasu-tengu, there wasn’t much to go on, but there was one interesting bit about hoshi no tama – a very important object to kitsune.

Kuroo puts the book away, and leaves the library, heading to his room to tell Bokuto about his findings. He reaches the doorway and stops, hiding behind the wall. Bokuto is inside getting dressed, fresh out of the shower and Oikawa is with him.

“Thank you so much for helping me, Bokkun.”

Bokuto shakes his head sending a few water droplets through the air, and puts his pants on. “No problem. It’s the right thing to do.”

Kuroo’s heart races as he watches Oikawa get up from where he was sitting on the nightstand, and make his way to Bokuto.

“You really are a good man, aren’t you?” Oikawa reaches him, and slides his arms over Bokuto’s waist, holding him close. Kuroo’s heart drops, as every bad feeling that came from yesterday’s encounter with the amanojaku comes back full-force. He is. He really is a good man. Bokuto is goodness, and kindness, and light all wrapped together into a human shape, and Kuroo loves him, he loves him so much, but it eats away at him, because surely someone as good as Bokuto deserves much better than Kuroo will ever be.

“Haha, I guess, Kuroo is much better than me, though.”

Kuroo’s eyes widen, and he looks inside the room again to see Bokuto shake off Oikawa’s arms and grab his shirt.

“He’s always thinking about others. I’ve never met anyone kinder than him.”

Kuroo swallows thickly, a surge of emotion going through him. He shakes his head, bringing a hand to his forehead as a grateful smile paints his face. Of course, Bokuto has never thought of him as a lesser being, or as someone undeserving of his love. He’s always seen something in Kuroo that he can’t quite see himself, and he loves him back just as much as Kuroo loves him.

He lets out a small laugh and exhales shakily, leaning his head back against the wall. He hears footsteps coming from the bedroom and then Bokuto appears beside him. “Oh.”

Kuroo feels his doubts slip away completely, and he pulls Bokuto into an embrace. “Hey.”

Bokuto looks confused but hugs him back all the same. “Hey.”

Kuroo laughs, and pulls back. “Good luck dealing with the spirits.”

Bokuto grins. “I don’t need luck!”

“Of course you don’t.”

“Call me if you need anything.” Bokuto pecks Kuroo on the lips and then walks out the door waving goodbye with a grin on his face.

Kuroo watches him go with a smile on his own face. He feels lighter now. The days after dealing with mind-readers are the worst, but as long as he has Bokuto and Kenma by his side, he can handle them.

Suddenly, an arm lands around his shoulder and he hears Oikawa’s voice uncomfortably close to his ear. “So, what are we going to do?”

Kuroo sighs and peels Oikawa’s arm away. “I’m going to get dressed, and you’re going to stay here and not do anything stupid.”

Oikawa pouts. “Eh, that sounds boring.”

“Too bad. You’re here because you need our help, so you’re going to have to play by our rules.”

“You’re no fun, Kuroo-chan.”

Kuroo ignores him and enters the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. It’s going to be a long day.

Kuroo crosses his arms and leans against the wall taking in the sight in front of him. “What are you doing?”

Oikawa jumps slightly, a small movement that Kuroo probably wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the bounce of his tails.

“Oh, you startled me.”

“What were you doing?”

Oikawa smiles. “I was just trying to see your shop.”

Kuroo hums.

“But your cat here doesn’t let me through.”

That makes Kuroo laugh. Kenma was sitting still in front of the door leading to the shop, staring down Oikawa before he arrived. Kuroo leans off the wall and approaches the doorway, leaning down to run his hand through Kenma’s fur. Kenma lightly nuzzles his hand and follows him as he enters the shop. “He doesn’t let people he doesn’t like inside the shop.”

Oikawa’s smile tightens. “Is that so?” He moves to follow Kuroo but is suddenly shot backwards when he tries to pass the doorway. He falls down with an undignified squawk, and stares at Kuroo perplexed. “Uh, what was that?”

Kuroo smiles as he fishes the front door’s key from his pocket and starts walking towards it. “That was a protective ward that keeps youkai and other supernatural creatures out of the shop.” He reaches the door and unlocks it, turning the sign on the door so the side that reads open is facing the street. He opens the door and takes a deep breath enjoying the early morning breeze. He places his hand on his hips and turns his head slightly so he can look at Oikawa. “Guess you’ll have to sit there all day then.”

Oikawa holds his gaze but eventually smiles, lips stretching almost unnaturally. “I guess so.”

Kuroo grins back and walks inside to sit behind the counter. Kenma hops up on the counter in front of him, and lays down, facing the doorway where Oikawa sits. Kuroo runs a hand through his fur and looks out the window.

The day goes by pretty normally much to Kuroo’s joy. He gets a few costumers. The old couple that lives down the street who wanted to buy a new windchime to ward off evil spirits; a man looking for some statues to bring good fortune to his life; and a kid who looked like he had no business even being in that shop but wanted to buy a long katana and some purified water anyway. (Kuroo asked him if there was anything wrong, but apparently he wanted them just in case, so he could defend himself, so Kuroo sent him off with a few incense sticks, a small bottle of purified water to ease his mind and a dumpling that would help protect him. (The dumpling was actually made by Bokuto’s mom who had dropped off a batch a couple of days before, and did not in fact contain any magical properties, but the kid liked the sweet taste and went off happily anyway, so it all worked out.)

When it starts to darken, Kuroo closes up shop and goes to the back, near where Oikawa had been sitting all day. He starts arranging a few items, mostly watering some herbs and making sure the paper for rune writing was stacked properly, while Oikawa watches him silently, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Hey fuzzball, is everything okay?”

Oikawa nods and gets up. Kuroo motions for Kenma to follow him and heads for the stairway to go back home. As soon as he passes the doorway though, Oikawa gently grips his hips and presses closer until Kuroo’s back hits the wall behind him.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Oikawa drags his tongue over his lips, and smiles, fangs flashing dangerously. “Trying to see who you are. You know, the eyes are the windows to the soul.” He blinks coyly, grey eyes boring into Kuroo’s own. A voice in the back of his mind wonders if they had always been that color, but Kuroo ignores it in favor of retorting.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

Oikawa’s eyes widen, amusement swirling in them. “Eh?”

“Your hoshi no tama. It’s your soul, isn’t it?” All traces of mirth disappear from Oikawa’s eyes, as he watches him sharply. Kuroo swallows nervously, and continues as nonchalantly as he can. “Kitsune always carry them around, but I haven’t seen yours anywhere.”

Oikawa smiles coldly. “I can’t just carry it around out in the open now, can I? Who knows what a human might do with it if he finds it.”

Kuroo quirks the corner of his lips into a smile. “Yeah, who knows.”

Oikawa inches closer, nose brushing against Kuroo’s. “Of course, you’d never do anything bad with it right, Tetsu?”

Oikawa is close, breath ghosting over Kuroo’s lips. “Yeah, of course not.” Kuroo closes the distance between them, and their cheeks brush together as he walks past Oikawa, starting to climb the stairs.

He hears a sigh behind him, and Oikawa places his hands on his hips. “Ah, are you and Bokkun that perfect?”

Kuroo stops and turns back with a grin. “Of course we are. Now let’s go, we have stuff to do.” He resumes walking up the stairs. “Oh, and don’t call me that either.”

“Okay, so here’s the plan.” Kuroo moves his pointer finger over a small, old map. “The shrine is located in the mountain, deep into the forest. No matter how you look at it we’ll have to approach it from the north, which is where the entrance is located. Now, we could examine the perimeter to find any breaches in the wall surrounding the shrine, but if there are twelve karasu-tengu like you say there are, there will probably be a few of them standing guard and we may be spotted.”

He looks up, to make sure Bokuto and Oikawa are listening to him, and finding that they are, he continues. “That being said, I don’t think we can just walk in there and avoid encountering anyone. So, we should go at night. It will be harder for us to be spotted and harder for them to notice when we leave a trail of unconscious tengu behind us. Bokuto and I will go through the entrance, taking out any guards if there are any, and try to sneak past the courtyard to the shrine door without being spotted. Oikawa, since you’re a Dark Kitsune, you’ll travel in the shadows where it’s safer and also the best place to jump out and take out the tengu without them noticing your presence.”

Oikawa looks at him a bit unsettled. “How do you know that I’m a Dark Kitsune?”

Bokuto who had been listening intently with crossed arms, grins at him. “Well, your fur is completely black when you’re a fox, and your hair and tails are black too in your human form.”

Oikawa chuckles. “Ah, I suppose that’s true.” His smile sours. “But I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Kuroo frowns. “What do you mean you can’t do it? It’s our best chance to actually enter the shrine without being caught.”

“That’s the thing.” Oikawa sighs. “They’re already familiar with my magic so they’ll be able to tell if I’m hiding in the shadows.”

Kuroo furrows his eyebrows. “You’re kidding. Then…” He looks back down at the map considering their options.

“It doesn’t matter. You two have fought other youkai before, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s three of us against twelve, very angry birds who are extremely skilled in martial arts.”

“We can do it.” Both Kuroo and Oikawa turn to look at Bokuto. “We still have the element of surprise since they won’t be expecting us to show up. Even if Oikawa doesn’t hide inside the shadows, we can still sneak up on them and knock them out.”

Oikawa smiles. “That’s right. I’m still a pretty strong kitsune, after all.”

Kuroo brings a hand to his lips in concentration. “That might work.”

Bokuto nods. “We’ll take down the tengu standing watch in the entrance to the shrine and try to cross the courtyard without being seen. Once we’re inside, we’ll search for the room where the tengu leader keeps his fan, and take it, holding it for ransom unless he agrees that they leave the shrine and let you and your family live there in peace.”

Kuroo turns to him. “Alright. In that case I think we should use Oikawa as a distraction, so we can knock out the tengu without them even realizing we’re there.”

Oikawa claps, and places his hands on his hips. “Alright. That sounds like a plan to me.”

Bokuto walks around the table and grabs a bag thrown on a chair. He reaches inside and pulls out a small leather pouch. “Akaashi gave us this.” He handed it to Kuroo. “It’s a special dust that will let us see the tengu if they use their invisibility. He said our weapons should be good enough to deal with them, but this is all he could he do without knowing their exact numbers and their location.”

Kuroo nods. “This is more than fine.” He throws the pouch in the air and catches it. “With this, we actually have a chance.”

Oikawa reaches for the daggers displayed on the table, and grabs one, spinning it in his hand gracefully. “So, we’ll get rid of those nasty crows and I’ll be able to go home.”

Kuroo grabs the dagger from his hand abruptly. “Yeah, but we’re not killing anyone, remember? The daggers are coated in a sleeping potion. We just need to scratch them and it’ll knock them out, and then we’ll get the fan. That’s it.”

Oikawa smiles politely. “Of course.”

Kuroo gathers the daggers and the map, and stores them inside a satchel. He turns back to Oikawa and Bokuto and sighs. “Alright, we should go to sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Bokuto nods and grabs his hand leading him to their room. Oikawa follows them but stops in his tracks when he reaches the door. Kuroo grins dangerously at him. “Hopefully you’ll stay here this time instead of sneaking in. Good night.” With that, he promptly shuts the door in Oikawa’s face.

Morning comes and Oikawa has made his way into their bed. Again. After kicking him out, they tackle their daily chores, choosing not to open the shop since they’d need some time to prepare anyway. The day passes by slowly. Strangely. There’s this thick sense of unease that falls over them, no matter how much Bokuto tries to lift their spirits or Kenma nuzzles their hands (or hisses warningly, in Oikawa’s case.)

Kuroo watches the landscape from the living room window, as the sun begins to set. “Let’s go.”

They leave the shop, and begin the long trek up the mountain. Once they reach the large, hollow stump of a tree long dead, they stop.

“So, does everyone remember the plan?”

Bokuto and Oikawa nod.

“And do you have your weapons?”

Bokuto and Oikawa nod once more, and Kuroo sighs, nervously. “Okay.” He removes the satchel he had around his shoulder and takes out the pouch with the powder Akaashi had given them. He takes a pinch of it and sprinkles it over his eyes. He blinks a bit groggily and then focuses his eyes back on Bokuto. “Okay, now you.” He sprinkles it over Bokuto’s eyes and then over Oikawa’s. While they blink to readjust their eyesight, Kuroo puts the pouch back in the satchel, and crouches to tuck it away in a small hole near the stump’s roots. He gets up just in time to see Bokuto tightening the knife holster in his chest.

Bokuto nods at him once. “Let’s do this.”

Kuroo watches him and nods back, before turning away and starting to walk toward the shrine. Before he can go far though, a hand grabs his and he’s flung back into a hug. Bokuto looks up at him, and grins. “Good luck.”

Kuroo feels some of the tension leave his muscles, as he relaxes and hugs Bokuto back with a grin. “Good luck, you nerd.” They move closer and press their lips together into a chaste kiss. They pull back, still smiling, and finally disentangle from each other.

“Oh, great! And I get excluded again.” Oikawa whines beside them, before crossing his arms and huffing out a breath in indignation. Kuroo and Bokuto turn to him in surprise, and Kuroo chuckles, as Bokuto reaches for Oikawa and holds him tightly against his chest.

“Don’t worry, Oikawa! We’ll definitely give you your home back!” Oikawa’s eyes widen, and he just stands still, letting Bokuto hold him.

Bokuto lets go of him, and steps back, letting a hand linger over Oikawa’s arm comfortingly, as Kuroo grins behind him placing his hand on his hip. “Yeah, don’t worry fuzzball. We got this.”

Oikawa watches them for a moment, with wide eyes, before smiling and moving away. “Heh, you’re right. We do.”

The three of them share a grin before Oikawa shifts into his fox form, and then they all take off in different directions.

“Oi Kageyama, do you think trees have feelings?”

“Stop talking, dumbass!”

“But I have to know! I mean, we have feelings, humans have feelings, other youkai have feelings… but do trees have feelings?”

“What kind of stupid question is that? Of course they do! Remember that time Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san made that old oak tree cry because they scared away it’s best friend, who was a squirrel?”

“Oh yeah, I remember! So they really do have feelings.”

“Yeah. Now shut up, and focus. We’re supposed to be keeping watch.”

“But Kageyama, I’m bored… We’ve been here for days and no one’s co—” Suddenly Hinata tenses, black wings stretching to their full extent behind his back, as he grips the katana at his waist, eyes focusing on something in the tree lines. Kageyama reaches for his own katana, looking for danger.

“What is it? Do you see something?” His eyes suddenly land on a black fox, completely unnoticeable in the dark, its grey eyes twinkling in the moonlight the only thing that gave its location away. “Oikawa-san…”

Oikawa moves a few steps forward and then sits. “Hello, Tobio-chan, Chibi-chan.” As soon as he finishes talking, the two tengu jump towards him, sliding their katanas out of their sheathes. Oikawa watches them come, completely still and right when their blades are just a few centimeters away, the two tengu suddenly fall to the ground, never even touching him. Oikawa looks up, seeing Bokuto rise from his crouching position on the floor and Kuroo running a hand through his hair. They share a nod, and Oikawa walks through the two pillars that lead into the shrine’s courtyard. He moves slowly, trying to stick close to the shadows where the moonlight can’t reach. Suddenly he feels his fur stand on end and he quickly turns around to see a blonde, bespectacled tengu with a katana raised high in the air. Oikawa manages to move away just in time before the blade cuts one of his tails. Instinctively, he waves his tails to drain his enemy’s life force, but nothing happens, and the blonde quickly recovers from the missed hit, swinging at his head this time.

Oikawa flinches away, trying to make himself small, when he suddenly hears a loud thud behind him. He doesn’t look back, but he can tell from the blonde tengu’s surprised face that something good must have happened. Regardless, in the next moment, the blonde is tackled to the ground as Kuroo pounces on its back, before swiftly punching him in the jaw, effectively knocking him out. Oikawa looks back to see Bokuto slowly get up, an unconscious tengu beneath him.

Oikawa sighs in relief, and turns to Kuroo. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Kuroo answers looking around. “I think that’s all of them for now.”

Bokuto nods. “I don’t see anyone else around either.”

“Let’s go inside then.”

Oikawa walks slowly towards the shrine entrance, the soft touch of his paws on the ground not making a single sound. He reaches the two heavy doors, and lightly pushes them open with his muzzle. They creak almost forebodingly, and he steps inside quickly as soon as he can fit through the gap between them. He pushes himself against a corner and stops, examining the hallway. It’s empty.

Bokuto and Kuroo enter behind him and stop. There’s a hallway leading to a room straight ahead and two doors on either side of the hall that they’re on that could lead anywhere.

“So, we’ll each take a door?” Kuroo whispers.

“Sounds good to me,” Bokuto answers.

Oikawa watches them and then nods. “If one of us finds the fan, we’ll call out to each other, okay?”

Kuroo and Bokuto nod, and Bokuto turns to him. “I’ll take the one on the left, and you’ll go right?”

Kuroo nods and grins. “Okay, but whoever finds the fan first, gets free dinner on the other. Deal?”

Bokuto laughs wholeheartedly and grins back. “Deal.” He starts walking still looking at Kuroo. “Either way, my date is very pretty.”

Kuroo laughs. “Yeah, and my date has a very nice ass.” They turn away and start heading towards their respective doors.

Oikawa huffs, and turns toward his own door. “Couples.”

Kuroo laughs. “Don’t worry Oikawa. We’ll get you something to eat too.” He hears Oikawa chuckle behind him, and he smiles. He reaches the door and stops. Kuroo takes a deep breath, and reaches for the hilt of his dagger. He pushes open the door gently and looks inside. The room is completely empty. He takes a few steps inside, searching for the fan, when suddenly he hears a noise behind him. He turns around raising his dagger just in time to block the katana heading straight for his neck.

Kuroo jumps back, putting some distance between him and the silver-haired tengu. He’s somewhat surprised that he isn’t followed, but he doesn’t let his guard down.

“Hello,” the tengu says, an inviting smile on his face.

“Hey.” Kuroo nods, not lowering his dagger.

“What are you doing in this shrine?”

Kuroo grins uneasily. “So, you’re the strike first and ask questions later type, I see.”

The tengu laughs. “I guess I am. And your answer is?”

“I was hiking and got lost.”

The tengu lets out a laugh, and starts pacing around the room. Kuroo doesn’t take his eyes off of him. “Is it normal for hikers to carry enchanted daggers with them?”

“It is if they’re me.”

“I see. It’s a shame I can’t let you go now.” The tengu closes his eyes momentarily and when he opens them again, he starts moving towards Kuroo. There’s a strange aura surrounding him now, and Kuroo realizes he must have turned invisible. He plays along and looks around, pretending not to see him, while keeping him in his peripheral vision. Once he’s in range though, he slashes at his arm hoping to strike him or at least disarm him. The tengu gasps and jumps back, the sleeve of his kasaya now torn, but skin intact.

“So you can see me?”

“Surprise.”

“Too bad that won’t help you.” Suddenly, the tengu flickers and disappears. Kuroo’s head snaps around, looking for him, when he suddenly reappears right beside him, punching him square in the jaw. Kuroo nearly falls back from the sheer force of the impact, but he manages to keep standing. He clenches and unclenches his jaw. This isn’t what he signed up for when he decided to open his shop all those years ago.

Kuroo barely manages to bring his arms up to protect himself, when he’s getting punched again, this time in the gut. He makes a very undignified sound, that makes him a tad bit grateful that no one else is there to witness it. He regains his balance and draws his arm back, but the tengu is already behind him, kicking him in the side. Kuroo does end up falling this time. Ah, yes. Teleportation. He rises to his feet and wipes away a bit of blood from the corner of his lips that must have resulted from the earlier punch. “Flickering around like that. That isn’t very fair, is it?”

“You’re right. It’s not.” The tengu draws his katana back. “Let’s end this.”

He runs towards Kuroo and his katana slashes through the air. Kuroo stops it with his dagger, the clink of the blades meeting resounding through the air. Before the tengu can move, Kuroo brings his other hand back and stabs him in the chest with another dagger he had hidden in his belt.

For a moment Kuroo thinks that he’s done it, but then the tengu flickers and disappears once more. His eyes widen and he turns to look behind him just in time to see the katana coming at an incredible speed aimed straight at his neck.

Okay. Kuroo is going to die. He is going to die and the last thing he said to Bokuto was ‘nice ass’. He closes his eyes tightly, waiting for the finishing blow, when he suddenly hears a loud crash. He opens his eyes and sees Bokuto breathing heavily, while kneeling over the now unconscious tengu.

“Koutarou…” Bokuto rises to his feet, and Kuroo slams into him, crushing him in a hug.

Bokuto lifts his arms and hugs him back tightly. “I told you I’d take responsibility if things went wrong, didn’t I?”

Kuroo laughs coarsely, something tight in his throat. “You know I love you, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” He holds Kuroo tighter. “I love you too, Tetsu.”

Kuroo pulls back and looks at the tengu lying still on the floor. He swallows thickly and asks, “Is he dead?”

Bokuto shakes his head. “No, I stabbed him in the arm. It’ll probably take a while to heal, but he’ll be fine.” He turns towards the door. “But never mind that. We need to find Oikawa.”

Kuroo stashes away his daggers again, and follows Bokuto. “You didn’t find the fan?”

Bokuto shakes his head again. “It has to be where Oikawa went.” They reach the middle door where Oikawa went through and open it to find, Oikawa himself and what appears to be the leader of the karasu-tengu, if the fan on his hand is anything to go by.

He looks up from Oikawa, to watch Kuroo and Bokuto, and sighs. “So, you managed to defeat my crows.” He bows slightly, and resumes an upright position. “That’s quite a feat, so I’m telling you this. Leave now. Or you won’t be leaving this place alive.”

Bokuto shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but we can’t do that.”

Kuroo grins, shifting his feet to get into a better fighting stance. “Well, you heard him.”

The tengu closes his eyes, and sighs. “That’s a shame.” He opens them again and begins to slowly unfurl the fan, showing one feather at a time.

Kuroo’s eyes widen. “Uh, Oikawa now might be a good time to use your kitsune powers.”

Oikawa doesn’t answer, watching the fan, unmoving.

“Oikawa, what are you waiting for?”

He’s unfurled half the fan now.

“Oikawa!”

There’s only one feather left to unfurl, and Kuroo panics. He grabs his dagger, and throws it in the general direction of the tengu’s face. His eyes widen but he easily parries the dagger away. It doesn’t matter, Kuroo has already grabbed Bokuto’s hand, and thrown Oikawa under his arm, racing across the room toward the doors opposite of where they’d come from. He quickly shuts the doors behind him, and throws a piece of wood in front of them to block them. He grabs his pocket knife and carves three protective runes into the wood. As soon as he finishes the last rune, he can see a magical ward form from the center and cover the doors.

Kuroo steps back breathing heavily. He turns around and throws his arms up. “What the hell, Oikawa? We could have died there, why didn’t you do something?”

“I’m sorry.”

There’s a loud crash against the door, making the wood shake, but it still holds.

Bokuto looks around the room frantically, searching for any objects that could help them. “We need to do something.”

Kuroo moves towards the ward and touches it. “This ward won’t hold for long, we need to find a way to get out of here,” he yells back at Oikawa. He looks back to see him eerily still, eyes transfixed on something. “Oikawa?”

That seems to awake something in him, as his tails shake. Oikawa starts moving toward the altar in the middle of the room, as he grows larger, fur disappearing back into his body, as he shifts into his human form. There’s another loud crash outside the door, and there are now voices shouting, but Kuroo and Bokuto continue watching Oikawa, who has finally reached the altar. He stops, and looks at a small, nearly crystal-like ball, emitting a very faint glow. Oikawa reaches for it, hands nearly shaking and takes it.

As soon as it touches his skin, a wave of powerful magic pulses through the room. All noise from the other side of the door stops, and only silence remains. Bokuto and Kuroo watch dumbfounded as Oikawa’s hair and fur turn into a soft brown, and his eyes change from a muted grey to a dark hazel. He turns around, and the ball from before is now shining brightly with an intense turquoise glow.

“What’s… going on?”

Oikawa laughs. “This is my soul.”

Kuroo pales. “I thought.” He swallows. “I thought you said it was hidden.”

Oikawa smiles apologetically. “Ah, actually, these guys stole it from me.”

“Why?” Bokuto pipes up from beside him.

“Because they were afraid of me.”

“Should they be?” Bokuto asks.

Oikawa smiles, but doesn’t answer.

Kuroo feels something snap. “So it was all a lie? We risked our lives for you!”

Oikawa turns serious and begins to walk towards them. “I know. And for that I am eternally grateful.” He stops a few feet away. “But it wasn’t all a lie. I was dying. Without my soul, I’d just keep decaying and eventually fade away. I needed it back, so I could go back home to my family.”

Kuroo and Bokuto don’t answer, watching Oikawa in silence.

“Now, don’t worry. I won’t harm anyone just like you wanted.” He bows in respect and looks up, with a proud grin. “I am forever in your debt. If you ever need help, I’ll come running and protect you from whatever threatens you.”

Oikawa winks, as one of his tails moves in a circular motion in front of him, and he vanishes into thin air.

Bokuto and Kuroo remain unmoving, watching the spot he was standing on in disbelief.

Kuroo and Bokuto sit silently, side by side in the shrine’s front steps, staring at nothing. The sun is already rising, a few sunrays illuminating the stone around them, and the top of the trees surrounding the shrine.

“So… it did end up being a trick after all.”

“Yep.”

“Kuroo, I’m sorr—”

Kuroo waves him away. “Nah. You were right in the end. People really did need our help. Well, not people really, they’re tengu but, you get what I’m saying.”

Bokuto nods thoughtfully in response and they continue to stare at nothing in silence.

“So… what are we going to do about all these disgruntled, homeless tengu who are now fearing for their lives again?”

“I don’t know, but we are not bringing them home.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve had enough of magical creatures living in our house.”

“Yep.”

“Not to mention there’s too many of them. They wouldn’t fit and they’d just cause a mess.”

“You got that right.”

They spend another moment in silence.

“They’re coming home with us, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they probably are.”

Kuroo sighs and gets up, stretching his back. “Ah, I’m getting too old for this.”

Bokuto rises beside him and throws an arm around his shoulders. “Tetsu, we’re literally 22 years old.”

“Still.”

They stand quietly for a moment, enjoying the peaceful landscape in the early morning light.

“Let’s go home, Kou.”

“Yeah.”

A moment passes.

“So, I guess we’re both buying dinner, huh?”

“… Shut up.”