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In the city, it was the church bells that woke Kageyama first, rather than the sunrise.
It was quite a marked difference to living in the forest. To start with, there amongst the trees, mornings were one of the quietest times of day. In the hours just before dawn, when the ground was covered with a lush carpet of moss and dew and fog, the world hovered on the brink of peace.
But the city was the opposite, and shortly before the sun was due to come up over the horizon, the ringing bells rose such a clamor that it pulled Kageyama from slumber. The horse carts were already clattering along the cobblestones in the streets below, and the townsfolk had begun to go about their daily routines. So Kageyama stretched in the too-small bed, his feet hanging off the edge, and sat up, scratching at his belly beneath his rough woven tunic.
It was time, too, for him to get a start on the day. He needed to find a new job, and soon, for he'd recently left his old employ behind.
The morning was pleasant, and Kageyama took a more leisurely path than he would have otherwise, passing through the town square. It was rare that he did this, and several new announcements posted on a noticeboard in the square grabbed his attention, one in particular catching his eye.
He glanced at it, looked away, and then looked back sharply. Heart hammering, he rushed to have a closer look at a large poster, which bore a very familiar visage.
CAUGHT! the poster announced in large, bold letters. The Outlaw of Miyagi Forest Apprehended At Last! Hanging to commence on the ensuing date and time!
The words were printed above the picture of a young man, and though the artist had depicted him much surlier and more intimidating than Kageyama had ever known him, there could be no mistaking his face.
The outlaw of Miyagi Forest, Hinata Shouyou, was Kageyama's former employer—and his (also, possibly former) best friend.
The scroll went on to announce that the Sheriff of Miyagi himself would attend the execution. The printed date upon which Hinata was to be hanged was in a week's time—which meant Kageyama had no time to spare.
With a volley of swearing that drew several shocked stares in his direction, Kageyama ripped the scroll down from the noticeboard and ran headlong from the town square. He had feared this this would happen, because he knew Hinata too well, and now it would be up to Kageyama to save him.
*
Up until a mere two weeks earlier, Hinata had unquestionably been Kageyama's closest ally and confidante.
Perhaps there were those who would assert that it was more significant that a mere two weeks ago, Kageyama had also been a part of the gang of merry outlaws that terrorized the rich and unscrupulous-minded nobility around the entire region of Miyagi. To the common folk and peasants, they were something out of legends and folk stories. Their reputation for stealing from the rich to give to the needy had made them quite popular with the rabble; consequently, this made them even more reviled and feared in the area by the corrupt sheriff. And Hinata was their leader.
But he was also Kageyama's best friend; and this, to Kageyama, was the most important footnote of all in their many years of thievery and rule-breaking together.
What this meant, however, was that the two were quite used to speaking their minds to one another; and being both of strong wills and rather combative temperaments, this led to more than their fair share of disagreements.
The trouble had arisen on a night still young. The kegs of ale they'd recently pilfered tasted especially delicious in celebrating a job just completed, and well done. Consequently, part of the fight surely could be blamed on having had too much to drink. But mostly it was tension, of all sorts, that caused the bursting of the dam.
"That was, without a doubt, our most successful robbery yet," Hinata said.
He thunked two frothing flagons of ale down on the rough log they'd made their table, one for himself, and one for Kageyama. It was at least their third mug each. A ways away, Noya, Tanaka, and Tsukishima celebrated, or rather, Noya and Tanaka made a lot of noise, and Tsukishima tried to escape their revelry. They seemed intent on getting him to drink with them.
"And we got away scot free," Kageyama said. "No thanks, by the way, to you." Hinata had almost gotten caught by the sheriff's men when he'd gotten a bit too cheeky taunting them during their carefully planned escape. Kageyama had lost nearly ten years off his life, but it had all turned out more than fine.
Hinata waved his hand dismissively, and raised his drink, his cheeks already ruddy. He grinned at Kageyama. "A toast to us fine and upstanding citizens!"
Froth flew from the tops of their mugs as they knocked them together, before downing them steadily. Kageyama peered at Hinata as they both fought to drain their drink as quickly as possible. With a satisfied "Aah!" he banged his now empty mug down a split second before Hinata did. Hinata yowled at his defeat as Kageyama belched loudly in triumph.
"Cheer up," Kageyama said, "there's always next time."
"Speaking of which," Hinata said, with a dangerous glint in his eye, "I've been thinking about our next job."
"Our next job should be getting a good night's rest," Kageyama said. After the amount of planning and endless nighttime stakeouts they'd all just weathered, he needed a long sleep while the excitement wore off. But Hinata didn't know the meaning of the word "rest".
"I have heard rumors," Hinata continued on, "that the taxes the sheriff took unjustly from the village of Sendai are to be delivered to a very important recipient. The prince, himself. "
Kageyama raised an eyebrow at him. "And…?"
"And we, obviously, aren't going to let that transfer take place!" Hinata said.
Kageyama laughed outright. "Are you mad? Do you know how many guards they'll have posted for a delivery like that? We might as well turn ourselves over to the sheriff himself."
"If we hit them at the right time, we could pull it off," Hinata said. His expression had become steely. "They took all of Sendai's money, Tobio. Those people were already in rough shape."
"And if we steal it back, which is not to say I even believe we can," Kageyama said, "then what? We can't just bring it back to them, the sheriff will seize it again and he'll likely punish the villagers."
"So we redistribute it by other means!" Hinata said, smacking his hand on the table. "We can figure that out after we've got the money in hand. Right now, we—"
"Right now, we aren't doing anything," Kageyama said. His frustration was mounting. "Hinata, we just survived our last job, and now you want to try something even more dangerous?"
"Who cares how dangerous it is?" Hinata asked. "What's dangerous is a village left with no food, no crops, and not enough money to trade for anything! What's dangerous is letting the sheriff run unchecked, while the rest of us sit on our hands and let him do whatever he wants. What's dangerous—"
"I don't give a damn about any of that!" Kageyama said, rising to his feet. His voice rose with him. "We're helping where we can, but none of that matters if something happens to you!"
"Who cares what happens to me, as long as—"
"I CARE!" Kageyama shouted. Hinata fell silent, staring at him, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. Idiot Hinata, and his willingness to self-sacrifice. "I care about what happens to you, alright? More than I care about any of those people, or the sheriff, or—or this whole damn province."
Hinata shook his head slowly. "The whole point of why we do this is for the people who can't help themselves."
Kageyama swallowed. "Are you saying that my feelings mean nothing, then?"
"No, I—" Hinata ran his hands through his hair. He dropped his eyes, gaze becoming fixated on the table. "That's not it at all. But I… I can't just stop caring about those things."
Kageyama knew that. He had known for a long time that as much as Hinata cared about him and the others, his first priority would always be the people he tried to help.
But somewhere along the way, the whole point of why Kageyama was doing this had become Hinata. Helping Hinata, being there for Hinata… his feelings, for Hinata. It had just taken this long for him to realize it, this long to say something.
"I'm not going to help you plan this," Kageyama told him. "I won't help you jump to your death."
"Then leave," Hinata replied.
So that was that, then. Perhaps by Hinata's side wasn't the best place for Kageyama to be anymore.
*
Talking to Tsukishima Kei was always an exercise in patience, and Kageyama had almost none of that even on a good day.
"We didn't let him do anything," Tsukishima said, voice thick with irritation.
Normally, he tended towards apathy. Kageyama wasn't stupid enough to ignore this—it was stress. Hinata was scheduled to be executed and they had very little time to do anything about it. He felt the same, and normally, he'd know better than to try and argue with Tsukishima when they were both in such a mood. Today, they didn't have the luxury.
"You know better than anyone how he is," Tsukishima said. "I woke up and he was gone." He looked furious. Most of it was likely directed at Hinata, but surely, like Kageyama, there was plenty of anger left over for himself.
"You didn't think to contact me, to ask me for—" For what? Help? He was the one who'd walked away.
"I didn't even know what town you were in," Tsukishima said.
"Arguing about this isn't going to get us anywhere," Tanaka cut in, always the most reasonable when the pressure was highest. "We need a plan."
"I have one," Kageyama said, at the same time Tsukishima told them,
"What do you think I've been doing?"
They looked at each other. Kageyama took a deep breath.
"You first," he said.
*
As it turned out, they were both good plans. Combining them was an even better one.
Two days later, on the evening before the sheriff was set to depart for the castle, they made their move.
The sheriff's estate was a formidable stronghold—difficult to lay siege to, but as a consequence, unprepared for a reckless attack. To everyone's surprise, this was precisely what Tsukishima had proposed. He was normally a fan of a more stealthy approach, but that involved lots of planning and observation, and they didn't have the time.
So as Tsukishima, Noya, and Tanaka stormed the castle—though to the soldiers, it would seem like many more than three people, with the amount of commotion Noya's smoke bombs caused—Kageyama was left to enact his part of the plan in the midst of all the chaos.
Under the cover of darkness, he snuck in past the posted sentries, both of whom were left soundly unconscious, their stunned cries as he easily overwhelmed them swallowed up by the noise and shouting from inside the castle. The overgrown entrance to the castle's sewage and moat system was padlocked, but several hard hits with his staff allowed him entry. Conscious of the noise level above, he ventured forth, ready to be ambushed at any time.
But no ambush came. The others were doing their job well; all that was left was for Kageyama to hold up his end of the plan in order to make sure they could all escape in time.
The moat led him underneath the castle, to a claustrophobic, narrow passage that ended at an old wooden door that looked as though it hadn't been opened in years. It was locked from the inside, and Kageyama threw all his considerable weight against it. Against his strength, it splintered, metal shrieking in protest as he forced it completely off its hinges.
Here, he was met with more guards—but that was encouraging, for if they were there in the dungeons, there must be a prisoner for them to guard.
"Hinata?" Kageyama called.
And to his immense relief, a voice called back: "Kageyama?! What are you doing here?"
The guards began to close rank around Kageyama and he hefted his staff in his hands, ready for the oncoming fight. "I came to say I told you so."
A long sigh of defeat echoed back to him from one of the dark prison cells.
"I'd rather hang," came the sullen reply.
"Not while I've anything to say about it," Kageyama vowed, and then the guards were upon him.
*
The first time Kageyama was happened upon by Hinata Shouyou of Miyagi, he had wondered—for a fleeting moment—if perhaps all those stories he had always scoffed at, that told of enchanted creatures roaming the Miyagi forest, mightn't, in fact, be true.
It was on an early, bright morn, with the sunlight dappled off the waters of the river rushing below the log he sat on, that Kageyama's lunch was suddenly and most startlingly interrupted.
The interruption was done by a man (or maybe a boy, or perhaps even an uncommonly small elf). He was of diminutive stature, and dressed all in green. He would have blended in well with the forest if he had wanted to stay hidden; but standing tall upon the log, the hood of his cloak thrown back so the red of his hair was set against the blue sky behind him, Kageyama could hardly have missed him. He was smiling a very bright smile down at Kageyama, where Kageyama sat with his food spread out around him. He had unpacked it very painstakingly, and was just now settling in to enjoy it, after a long morning's walk through the misty wood. The log connecting the two riverbanks had seemed a perfect spot to sit. The wood was so quiet that he hadn't given much thought to the fact that people might need to use the path to get across the water.
He didn't see much merit in moving. And the man-boy-fae had yet to say anything, hadn't done anything at all other than look at Kageyama. And so, Kageyama looked back at him, and took another bite of his sandwich (cheese and ham).
"Hello, stranger!" said the one in green, at length, and Kageyama decided from the high, clear tone of his voice: boy. "May I pass?"
Kageyama chewed the delicious morsel of his sandwich slowly, for he would not allow this sudden intrusion to come between him and his meal. He swallowed, licked his lips, and said,
"Who are you calling a stranger, when I was here well ahead of you?" He took another bite of his food and said through the large mouthful, "I'll finish up here, first, and then you can make your way across." He didn't plan to re-pack and unpack his food once more, not for some ruffian boy.
The small stranger stumbled backwards, aghast, a hand over his heart. "That's rude!" he exclaimed.
"It's your own fault for coming here after I started eating," Kageyama told him, raising the sandwich to his mouth once more.
But before he could enjoy one more bite, the rest of the sandwich was whisked out of his hand so quickly that he didn't even realize at first what had happened. One moment it was there, and the next, gone. And then he heard a thunk—and turned to see his sandwich, bread, meat, cheese and all, pinned to the trunk of a nearby tree by an arrow shaft pierced straight through it.
He turned back to look at the boy. Where he had been empty-handed before, now a bow had appeared in his hands.
Kageyama shot to his feet. "Oy!"
The boy (whom Kageyama was beginning to feel wasn't actually a boy, nor an elf, but a man, of whom many tales were told nonetheless) grinned at Kageyama, as if this bow, and the sudden loss of Kageyama's sandwich, were completely unrelated.
"Thank you for moving," he said, "I'll just be on my way—"
"You're him, aren't you?" Kageyama asked. "The Outlaw of Miyagi. Hinata Shouyou." The famous archer, in the flesh.
"Ah!" said the man, and Kageyama caught a challenging sort of mischief twinkling in the depths of his sunny eyes. "You've heard of me, then!"
"There's few who haven't," Kageyama said.
"Are you one of the sheriff's men?" Hinata asked, and though he still smiled, the twinkle hardened to a gleam like steel.
"Hardly," Kageyama said.
"Then you'll have no issues letting me through!" Hinata said.
"Not so fast," Kageyama said, as Hinata approached. He straightened to his full height, looming tall over Hinata. "I take issue with you being a sandwich ruining menace. If you want to pass me, you'll have to do it by force."
Rather than be cowed by Kageyama's much greater stature, Hinata broke into a full grin.
"You know," he said, "I was hoping to find some sport when I set out wandering this morning. If you want to be my challenge today, so be it. But one moment!"
Following his bold proclamation, he rushed back to the other side of the river, foraging along the ground there until he found what he sought. When he returned to Kageyama, it was with a long, sturdy branch in hand, near the length and thickness of Kageyama's greatstaff.
"It's hardly fair of me to fight you with my bow," Hinata told him.
"It doesn't matter to me how you fight," Kageyama said, though he had to begrudgingly admit this was quite sporting, indeed.
"Neither me," Hinata said, "but I'll beat you either way!"
He rushed at Kageyama with no further warning to attack him head on. Kageyama was, at first, surprised by the speed and strength of his attack. No wonder Hinata was confident—his skill was such that he could have been assured of winning, had he been fighting anyone else.
But Kageyama was not anyone else. Where Hinata was unmatched with a bow, Kageyama was unbeatable with a staff. It was that skill that led to Hinata being cracked over the head quite sharply with Kageyama's quarterstaff, a feat that led the small thief to shout in shock and frustration as he charged at Kageyama, who parried his blows with a grin of his own. Maybe Hinata couldn't quite match him, it was true—but it had been long since Kageyama had had a fight this satisfying.
"I'll bet your sandwich wasn't that good anyway!" Hinata cried out.
Incensed, Kageyama struck a decisive blow, determined to make Hinata eat his words, since he had deprived Kageyama of the chance to eat his lunch. He swung his staff and caught Hinata right in the middle, and Hinata yelped as the momentum behind the hit sent him toppling from the log. He fell with a great splash, right into the river, drenching himself from head to toe.
Spluttering, shaking river water from his eyes, he called out, "Alright! A truce!"
"Giving up so soon?" Kageyama called.
"I think I've got fish in my trousers, so yes."
Kageyama hopped from the log into the river to stand over Hinata triumphantly. "Well," he said, "it's a good thing you're better at fishing than dueling."
"Why's that a good thing?" Hinata asked him, blinking water from his eyes as he looked up at Kageyama.
"Because you can help me catch some for my dinner, to make up for the sandwich," Kageyama said. He offered a hand to Hinata.
Hinata reached out, and took it. "I can do you one better!"
"Can you?" Kageyama asked, eyebrow raised, for he didn't see how.
"Come have dinner with my men and me," Hinata said, with a firm shake of his hand, as though they they were just being introduced. Kageyama took it into consideration. He nodded.
"I'm Kageyama Tobio," he said.
*
A great many things had changed since Kageyama Tobio had first met Hinata Shouyou on that bridge. Chief among them was that now, instead of fighting against each other, they were quite literally partners in crime. And they worked best and were at their most dangerous when they worked together.
The first thing Kageyama did was single out the guard who held the keys. He struck first, surprising them enough to throw them off balance, before any of them had a chance to react. One man against him was no match, and he knocked the sword from the guardsman's hands, before striking him across the knees and head in rapid succession.
Before the man could fall, Kageyama prodded him in the chest with his staff to keep him upright, and snatched his keys from his belt.
"Catch!" he shouted, looking past the guards—even in the low light, it was easy to catch sight of the telltale bright flash of orange. He drew back his arm and then hurled the keys as hard as he could in that direction.
"Oy! My hands are chained, those almost hit my face!"
Kageyama grinned. "Then be quick about things."
The other guards moved to attack him again and he swung into action. His staff gave him the longer reach, and even with their greater number, he could land hit after hit, keeping them at bay. But they began to surround him, and in the cramped quarters of the dungeon, his range was hampered by the low ceiling and close walls.
With a yell, one of the guards leapt onto his back to try and subdue him. The edge of his sword sliced across Kageyama's arm and he grit his teeth in pain. The guard locked his arms around his throat and began to choke him, as Kageyama reached desperately back to try and wrench him off, still mindful of the other swords pointed in his direction.
Suddenly, the man shouted in pain, and the grip around Kageyama's neck loosened. The man fell away, and his sword clattered to the floor. When Kageyama spared him a glance, it was to see him writhing on the floor, an arrow pierced through his shoulder.
"About time," Kageyama said, as Hinata stepped up beside him, bow and arrow in hand, pointed and readied.
"They took my bow," Hinata complained.
"Did you expect them to let you keep it?" Kageyama asked.
"It's harmless on its own!" Hinata protested. Now, of course, it was far from harmless, and he nocked another arrow before letting it fly, shooting another guard's sword clean out of his hand.
Against the two of them, the guards were no match. In seconds, Hinata could disarm them, try as they might to reach him before he could pull another arrow from his quiver—he was simply too fast. Once they were weaponless, it was all too easy for Kageyama to overwhelm them, rushing forward to knock them out cold without having to worry about their blades.
The reunited duo burst out of the dungeon, into the dimly lit moat.
"Not much time left," Kageyama said, looking to each side to check they hadn't been found by anyone else. "The others will be pulling back soon, we need to—"
"Kageyama!"
The outburst from Hinata made him freeze. He wondered if he was about to be berated for leaving. If he hadn't, would Hinata have ever been captured in the first place?
"Yeah?"
Hinata reached out and grabbed at his shirt, fist closing just above Kageyama's heart. "Thanks."
Kageyama allowed himself the briefest moment to smile. "We can both agree I was right later," he said, "let's go!"
They had all planned escape routes in different directions. And now that Hinata had escaped, there was bound to be even more confusion as the sheriff and his men attempted to figure out where their most hated outlaw had gone. As they raced for the trees, the last safety measure, set by Tanaka, activated. A ring of fire around the castle suddenly blazed to life, burning away in the grass, panicking guards and their horses alike. The shouting increased as many turned back from the burning brush. They would need as many men as they could spare to douse the blaze before it got out of hand.
"Add another few zeroes over our heads for property damage…" Hinata muttered.
Kageyama snorted. "I suppose I can live with that."
This stunt of theirs certainly would make the sheriff all the more vengeful. But even a substantial hike in their bounties was a small price to pay, if it meant Hinata was safe. They both pulled their hoods up over their faces, shrouding themselves in the deep green colors of the forest.
"Let's get home," Hinata said, as though Kageyama had never left it.
*
They all made it back to the hideout; though one of Tanaka's eyebrows had singed off, and Tsukishima was annoyed about a crack in his eyeglasses, they had all made it back in one piece.
"Why do you look so glum, Hinata?" Noya asked, thumping him on the back.
Hinata shook his head quickly. "No, I'm…" He suddenly clapped his hands in front of his face. "I'm incredibly grateful to you all! And I'm sorry, for all the trouble I caused."
Tanaka cuffed the back of his head. "We're used to you causing trouble. That's what we're here for, eh?"
Tsukishima adjusted his spectacles, and clicked his tongue as one of the lenses fell out. "It wasn't a complete waste."
"It wasn't…?"
The other three glanced at each other, before pulling from their coats fat cloth sacks, which they set heavily on the table. The contents jangled cheerfully.
"Is that…" Hinata whispered, reaching out to the string tying one. He undid it, and the cloth fell open, to reveal the gold coin glinting within.
"It's not all of it," Noya said. "Not by a long shot. But it's enough that nobody in Sendai should go hungry."
Hinata didn't even seem able to say anything. He just gaped at them all. Tanaka sighed fondly.
"Kageyama insisted on that, by the way," he said. As Hinata turned to look at Kageyama, Tanaka yawned and made a big show of stretching. "Well, I'm pretty beat… and you two probably have a lot to catch up on, so…" He began to meander off, grabbing Noya and Tsukishima firmly by the arms and bustling them away as well.
Hinata and Kageyama were left to stand together in awkward silence.
"Let me see that cut on your arm," Hinata finally said, avoiding Kageyama's eyes.
Kageyama blinked. "Alright."
He was perfectly capable of dressing a wound himself, but tonight, Hinata did it for him, carefully and slowly. Kageyama watched as nimble, slender fingers worked over his arm, cleaning the wound, bandaging it. Hinata still wasn't able to meet his eyes, it seemed—he kept them entirely focused on the task at hand.
But Kageyama was entirely focused on him. Nearly losing Hinata had made him acknowledge something he'd known for a long time, something he needed to say. He cleared his throat.
"Hinata—"
"I know," Hinata said. His voice was soft, and somewhat harsh.
"What do you know?" Kageyama asked.
"What you want to say," Hinata said. "I know you were right. I know I was too reckless. I know you had every reason not to come back for me and you still—"
"None of that is what I wanted to say," Kageyama cut him off. "I was going to say I love you." Hinata's mouth fell open. Kageyama decided to take advantage of the silence. "I have for a long time, you know."
"K-Kageyama!" Hinata said. His hands were shaking now, still pressed to Kageyama's arm. "You can't just… just say that, without warning."
"Too late for that now," Kageyama said, with a smirk. Strange, how he didn't feel nervous, or really much different. He did love Hinata, and he would continue to do so, unless Hinata told him to stop.
What he didn't expect was Hinata's response.
"I want to help people," Hinata said softly. "And you're right, I'd die for them, if I had to."
Kageyama shook his head. "I know, Shouyou, I just—"
"But—if you love me…" Hinata slid his fingers down Kageyama's arm, to take his hand. "Then I think I have a lot to live for, too."
Hinata, Kageyama knew, would always be more selfless than him. He was selfish. He couldn't stand to lose Hinata, ever.
"You mean that?" he asked. He wanted to be sure.
"I don't say things I don't mean!" Hinata told him, cheeks puffing indignantly. "And I can't help very many people if I'm dead. I'll be more careful."
Kageyama nodded, his mouth twitching at the corners. He knew Hinata would always be reckless. That didn't stop him from feeling a touch more reassured. "Alright."
"Besides," Hinata said, suddenly mumbling as he finished wrapping the bandage, "I've probably loved you longer."
"What—" Kageyama grabbed the front of his shirt. "Stop trying to beat me at everything!"
"It's true!" Hinata yelped.
"I've liked you for years," Kageyama said, but even that didn't seem sufficient, because Hinata could always just make something up. "The first time we gave a family the gold they needed to survive for the winter. I realized that's what you wanted to do… even if it killed you."
"Hmm…" Hinata said, tapping his chin. "I still win."
Kageyama glared. "Since when for you, then?"
Hinata grinned at him. "I fell a lot farther than it looked, the moment you knocked me off that bridge."
And that, Kageyama had to admit privately, pulling Hinata closer to crush him to his chest, must be the winning answer after all.
