Work Text:
He was a king, and she was villager b. He was proper and bad-tempered, and she was kind and casual. He fell in love, and she fell right back.
~
Yachi Hitoka has always felt nervous during royal visits. There wasn’t any particular reason for this, and she knew it was absolutely absurd to feel this nervous about a person (who, to be fair, had control over almost everything that went on in the village, but nonetheless, a person) checking everything over, and seeing how things were travelling.
It was stupid, and yet her heart was still in overdrive, watching her king examine various different objects in her tiny home, glaring at them with an intensity of a fire. She felt self conscious, knowing that his bedchamber was at least double the size of her home, and definitely much prettier than what she had.
Yachi ran her fingers through the end of her hair, checking for the third time if it was neat and straight, and stared at the kings back. He turned his head, and she immediately averted her eyes, a pink tinge colouring her ears.
“Your mother moved away not long ago, I hear?” he asked, and she squeaked, standing rigid. She nods slowly, watching his eyes flicker with an unreadable emotion. He nodded, turning back to a shelf, and playing with an unused art kit she had received from an unknown maiden. “You draw?”
“I-it’s how I…” she trailed off, her voice growing quiet, but he listened to every word, listening attentively. She stared up at him, “It’s a means to survive… and, it’s fun,” she hesitated, and continued, “C-creating something, I-I mean, it’s fun."
“Right. Well, everything seems in order here,” he turned and headed to the door, He gripped the handle, before turning back, “G-… Good luck with…” he stopped, and opened the door, “Farewell,” and with that, he left, shutting the door behind him.
She let out a deep breath, and her tense shoulders loosened slowly, her posture slacking slightly. She jogged over to the crack in the door, and peered through, leaning against the wood. The king was about to leave, bowing to the leader of the village. She watched curiously as he stepped into his carriage, and shut the door behind him.
~
Running away from her village was the hardest thing Yachi has ever done, but the feeling of freedom she felt from the wind blowing through her hair was exhilarating. The feeling of the twigs and rough grass beneath her feet hurt, but it made her realise that wow, she is actually doing this, this is amazing!
However, her feet were inevitable to fail her, and she tripped, the grass doing nothing to break her fall. Her satchel landed heavily on her back, and she heard a rather ugly crunch underneath her. Yachi pulled herself up, and sat on her knees, examining herself. There were a few scratches on her arms and legs, and she knew there would probably be a few bruises appearing on her legs soon, but she was fine overall.
Yachi pushed herself up, and examined her surroundings, before it hit her on the head—
“Where am I?” she asked nobody, looking up at the foliage around her. By the looks of the sun, it would be nearing sundown soon, and when that happened, she would have no means to protect herself from anything. Thieves, animals, weather, anything.
I really didn’t think this one through, huh? She began walking again, adjusting the satchel on her shoulder. It wasn’t like her, to do something so spontaneously, but it felt… right? No, that wasn’t the way to put it… Exciting, perhaps? That sounded about right, but there was still something missing.
Upon hearing the news of the king’s disappearance, she decided on it. Yachi loaded in the essentials into her satchel, along with some drawing equipment, and took off, not waiting to say goodbye. She did regret that – not saying goodbye. It was a bit rude, but when you’re running, you don’t really have time to think about that sort of thing.
She heard crunching behind her, and she turned like a deer under fire. Yachi could do nothing but stand like a statue, watching someone emerge from in-between two bushes. She stood with a wide-eyed expression, as the person turned to face her.
Yachi assumed she was an elf, judging by the oddly shaped dents in her cloak’s hood. She was quite beautiful, dark black hair framing her face perfectly. Her eyes bored into Yachi’s frame, staring at her with scrutiny. She held a neutral expression, before speaking.
“How did you find this place?” she asked, her voice quite different from what Yachi expected. Yachi’s throat turned dry, before she took a hesitant step towards her.
“I-I- I’m l-lost!” she announced, “I ran away from my village and now I don’t know where I’m going to go…” the last bit she mumbled, a hint of insecurity showing in her voice. The woman stared some more, before breaking into a small smile.
“Do you have anywhere to stay during the night?” she asked delicately, approaching Yachi without much hesitation. Yachi shook her head, and the woman smiled, “You might be able to stay with our party for a little while, if you need to. Is that alright?”
“Eh? R-really?” Yachi asked, “I-I mean, would that be alright with t-the rest of your party? I wouldn’t be a burden.”
The woman smiled, “I don’t think you would be. There are much louder, and more expressive people than you. They wouldn’t mind.”
“I-is that so…” Yachi trailed, “If it’s really alright, I s-suppose it wouldn’t hurt… Thank you.”
“It’s alright, I promise you. No one will mind,” she grinned, “I’m Shimizu Kiyoko, it’s nice to meet you.”
“I-I’m Yachi Hitoka of Village B! It’s nice to meet you too.”
Kiyoko grinned, and grabbed her arm gently, “Follow me, and don’t let go. You could get lost quite easily here.” Yachi nodded furiously, gripping Kiyoko’s arm loosely, and following her movements, not evading the scrapes from branches and bushes along her legs. They’re going to hurt in the morning, she thought, admiring the scenery around them.
When Kiyoko finally let go of her, Yachi was met with a sight she wasn’t expecting. There were tents pitched up nicely, scattered around an empty, yet enclosed field. There were weapons lying around, not particularly neatly, but not particularly messily either. She assumed that the people laughing and talking were Kiyoko’s party, all gathered around the one area. There were two who stood marginally away from the group – a tall, blonde boy with slightly pointed ears, and a dark haired one that held himself slightly better. In fact, he looked kind of familiar…
“Kiyoko-san! Who’s that?” A shorter boy exclaimed, jumping up and almost leaping towards Yachi, a giant smile on his face. His bright hair was what stood out the most, sticking up in almost every direction poofily, almost as though he’d be standing in direct wind for far too long. Yachi took a cautious step back out of shock, and Kiyoko glances at her.
“Her name is Yachi Hitoka, she’s staying with us for a little while.” Kiyoko explained, and Yachi thought she could see the sparkles bursting from his brown eyes. He smiled at her, and held out his hand.
“I’m Hinata Shouyou, it’s nice to meet you, Yachi-san!” Yachi hesitantly took his hand, a shocked expression taking over as he shook it fiercely, but not unkindly, and led her towards the group. Yachi struggled to keep up, her legs absolutely aching from her wild ride. “Kageyama, say hi to Yachi-san!"
Yachi cocked her head to the side, which one of these people were Kageyama? There were so many of them, and they were all so tall, it was hard to pick out which one the short boy was referring to.
“Hello…” a voice spoke, and she looked up (quite far up, too far up) to see the dark haired boy from before. She stared at him, unable to shake that familiarity from him. Hinata let her wrist go, and jumped up, smiling widely at the two. She stiffened slightly, standing at her full height, which barely reached his shoulders. She noticed the failing sneer on his face, before a sudden realisation hit her on the head.
“U-um…. H-hello!” she greeted, bowing slightly. Her seemed to hesitate at her bow, and attempted to give her a smile, failing miserably.
“You…. You’re from Village B, right?” he asked, and Yachi nodded, grabbing her satchel for support. “You did the art.” It wasn’t a question, but Yachi nodded in affirmation.
“U-um, w-what are you-?”
“You’re good at art, Yachi-san?” Hinata exclaimed, grabbing her hands. “You have to show me while you’re here!” His enthusiasm was astounding and exhausting, Yachi thought, nodding furiously.
“Hinata, I think you’re overwhelming her,” another man stepped in, putting his hands on Hinata’s shoulders and moving pushing him away. He gave her an apologetic look, and she took a deep breath.
“It’s almost like standing in direct sunlight,” she mutters to herself, and she heard a tiny scoff from beside her. She glanced up slightly, and noticed the disapproving look on Kageyama’s face in Hinata’s direction. She grinned softly, and clutched her satchel tighter.
~
Kiyoko was absolutely right. The party was loud, and they were expressive.
Yachi had learned the names of each member now, Sugawara introducing them all to her. The tall blond, who she now knew as Tsukishima, was very reluctant to talk to her, but the two were told to collect firewood together. She learned that he was closest with Yamaguchi (the tall, freckled elf with a kind grin), and found Hinata and Kageyama annoying. He wasn’t particularly either way with any of the other members. Yachi nodded, not particularly knowing how to react to any of this new information. Tsukishima also told her about Kageyama, to which she nodded her head and formed him that she knew about his status.
That evening was an adventure in itself though, opinions and stories being thrown across the camp like nobody’s business. There was yelling, laughter, and lots of name-calling, accusations of said name-calling (followed by denial of it). It was all good natured though, as everyone tried their hardest to make Yachi feel welcome, and boy did it work, he nerves both on edge and set at ease at the same time.
Hinata demanded to see Yachi draw something, and she complied, quickly sketching out the scene in front of her in charcoal, and holding it up for him to see. He made a large exhibition about it, too. Pointing everything out that seemed simple enough for her, and complimenting it immensely, and making everyone look at the spectacle, even Tsukishima, who barely hid curiousity. She received compliments from almost everyone, and could feel herself get more and more flustered.
That wasn’t all, though. She was hammered with questions about herself – where she was from, why she ran, her interests, and some of her beliefs. Most of these questions made her a bit overwhelmed, but there was one in particular that stood out to her.
“Are you going to be staying?”
It wasn’t a tricky question to answer, nor was it an easy one. She honestly didn’t know if she was, and she didn’t know if it would be rude to say that. She made an uncertain noise, but Kiyoko answered for her.
“She’s been here for less than five hours, we don’t have to think about that yet, right?”
Yachi breathed easy after that, as there were no questions like that afterwards. There were more questions, of course, but none quite so intense as that.
That night, however, she found it hard to sleep. The comparable quiet was unbearable, and the look of the stars above her head was unnerving. She was so used to having a roof over her head, and a semi-comfortable resting place, but now she was on the ground with nothing but a small blanket to keep herself warm. She had never realised how sheltered she really was, and took it for granted.
It was evident she wasn’t going to be getting any sleep any time soon, so she propped herself up on her elbows. Yachi wasn’t sure who was on watch at the moment, and she was a bit hesitant about approaching whoever it was. She didn’t know any of them well enough to know how they’d react, or if they’d even want her company, and she was a little scared to look.
She tried to be as subtle as possible when she reached over for her water bottle. She took a sip, and tried to smooth down her messy hair as much as she possibly could, knowing it would be a lost cause without decent lighting. She spotted a figure over at the stump of the tree, holding a bow and arrow loosely in his hands. Yachi sat up fully, recapping her bottle and resting it softly on the ground.
She pushed herself up tiredly, trying to avoid anything crunchy underneath her feet. She didn’t want to wake anyone else, as they deserve their sleep. Yachi tiptoed over to the person, and stood in front of them.
“Can you not sleep?” he asked, dropping his weaponry slightly. Kageyama.
Yachi shook her head, “W-would it be alright if I joined you…?” she asked in a quiet voice, and he nodded, not meeting her eyes. Yachi stepped forward, and sat down in the gap next to him, ensuring she wasn’t intruding on his personal space. She was absolute sure she was flushed pink right now, from her head to her toes, and from the looks of him, he was too.
“U-um-!” she finally said, and he turned to her, his gaze intensely focused upon her face. She hesitated, before continuing, “Why did you come here?” From the look on his face, she could tell she touched something raw, “Y-you don’t have to answer if you don't want t-to! It’s just… everyone’s really worried, and I was curious. I- I’m sorry if I’m overstepping my bounds.”
He stared, before looking down at his bow, “It’s… hard to explain.” Yachi moved her eyes down to her knees, “It was just so…” His throat was closing up, and Yachi could tell it was hard to talk about.
“You… you don’t have to talk about it, i-if you don’t want to. It was a silly thing to ask.”
“Huh? What’s that mean?”
Yachi was taken aback, “What does what mean?”
“’A silly thing to ask’.”
“U-um… I was being prying, and I shouldn’t have been.”
Kageyama looked confused still, his dark blue eyes glazed over, “You mean like what Hinata asks a lot of the time?”
Yachi stops, realising he meant it literally, “U-um, from what I gather from what Tsukishima-kun told me, yes?” It was more of a question than a response, and Kageyama only looked a bit more confused, “Wait, what?”
“What?” he asked in response, a totally clueless expression on his face. Yachi’s face mirrored it, the two confusing themselves. They stared at each other, before Yachi burst into a fit of giggles, the tinge on her face darkening. Kageyama’s did considerably, knowing he was the cause of this (that, and a girl was laughing, and a cute one at that. Nothing like the noble girls that gave him nothing but token, fake laughs. This was real laughter, and he didn’t know how to deal with it).
“Wha-?” he gaped at her while she calmed herself down, a grin still on her face.
“We confused ourselves,” she explained, and Kageyama still didn’t understand her laughter.
“So what?”
Yachi grinned even more, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Kageyama was bewildered – why would a person laugh for no reason? It made absolutely no sense to him.
“I don’t know.” Yachi confirmed, and Kageyama dropped it, still not quite understanding.
They fell into silence, neither of them knowing exactly what they were supposed to say. Yachi wondered what King’s and noble’s talked about, wondering if someone of her status should even be conversing with him like this. Kageyama didn’t know how to talk to girls that weren’t being nice to him because they had to. He was fully aware he wasn’t the best to talk to, and yet this one person did so willingly, and even laughed properly with him (or at him?). He was always taught certain things he could and could not say to people, but none of them seemed to fit with her. It was odd for him, this feeling. It was uncertain, and nerve-wracking, and exciting all at the same time.
They sat in silence, before Kageyama thought of something.
“How did you get into art?”
Yachi’s head snapped towards him, her face a bit like a fish. Her cheeks got darker in the low light, and she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. “My mother thought me, before she…”
“Left?”
“Mhm… she left me a lot of charcoal, and panes to draw on, and I somehow managed to make a living out of it,” she shrugged, “It’s pretty fun, actually.” She smiled unconsciously, and Kageyama watched her"
“That’s a bit like me and archery, I guess.” Kageyama said quietly, and Yachi looked at him curiously. “I had to learn as part of my duties, but… I ended up liking it. My bow is my favourite weapon.”
“Can I see?” Yachi asked, and Kageyama held it out to her hesitantly.
She didn’t dare touch it, but the immense amount of detail astounded her. There were patterns carved into the limbs, adding the slightest amount of beauty to it. It looked quite light, and loved, with scuffmarks around the centre, and a well-used string. She could understand how he’d love it, because even just looking at it, she could tell it was the perfect tool for him.
“It’s beautiful,” she complimented in all sincerity, “I can tell you really love it.”
Kageyama looked away, “Yeah.” he brought the bow closer towards him, “Do you… wanna learn, or something… I! I mean, if you want to, that is. I could teach you.”
Yachi jumped away, “O-only if you want to! I probably won’t be any good at it, though. I’d probably break it, ahaha” She replied nervously, holding her hands out in front of her chest, and crossing them over in embarrassment.
“O-only if you want to…” Kageyama muttered, and they both pointedly looked away from each other.
“O-okay.”
Kageyama’s glanced over at her from the corner of his eye, but he looked away immediately when he saw her facing him. “Really?”
“O-only if you want to teach me, of course!”
“Okay.”
~
One thing she realised was that Tsukishima was absolutely right about some of Kageyama’s behaviour.
He yelled at Hinata for doing something silly often (Yachi didn’t consider it too bad herself, but Kageyama obviously didn’t agree). He also got riled up easily, taking all of Tsukishima’s digs to heart, and retaliating inappropriately. He was also not on the brighter side, seeming to only know about things that a person of nobility would need to. Yachi had to admit he did act a bit like a king, but only in certain actions.
However, there were things he didn’t mention. How he actively tried to improve with everything he did – interacting with others, his fighting, and general etiquette. He was genuinely trying to be a better person, trying to be kinder to people, and take their considerations into account before making decisions. He did have a fair way to go, despite this, but he was still trying.
“You need to give him a little more credit, Tsukishima-kun. He’s trying really hard.” Yachi frowned upon seeing Tsukishima’s sneer. Tsukishima looked down at her and shook his head.
“All I see is a loud, arrogant king,” he commented rather rudely, collecting another thick stick. Yachi adjusted the pile in her arms, and searched for more suitable pieces of wood.
“He’s not that bad, you know. You’ve just got a bias.”
Tsukishima clucked his tongue, “Just because you’re getting nice and cosy with him doesn’t mean everyone else has to, either.” Yachi was close to dropping her pile in shock, a dark blush creeping up her face. She had seized up, and she stared at Tsukishima like he’d just suggested the most awful, crude thing.
“I’m n-not getting cosy with Kageyama-kun!” she exclaimed, stomping her small foot to attempt to show authority. Tsukishima scoffed at her, and stepped closer to her.
“It’s beautiful,” he imitated her voice (badly, albeit), before leaning down and whispering in her ear, “Is learning archery the only thing you’ll be doing, hmm?” he teased, and Yachi took a step away from him, the blush deepening immensely. Tsukishima smirked, “Doing such things with a king, naughty girl.”
“Sh-shut up! He’s just teaching me archery. I-I d-don’t even know him!” Tsukishima’s smirk turned into a small laugh, and Yachi knocked him with her shoulder, careful not to hit him with any of the branches. He knocked her right back with his elbow, a lot gentler than it would have looked. “Stop teasing me!”
“Are you sure he’ll have the patience to do something like that, though?” Tsukishima asked in all seriousness. Yachi could tell that while he was having a go at the dark-haired king, he was asking in concern. “He’s not the most patient person, if you haven’t noticed.”
Yachi frowned, “It should be fine,” she said, “Right?” the last bit was an afterthought, but it pressed on her mind deeply. Would he really be able to teach her something so precise? Especially when she was as clumsy as she was.
“The king’s used to getting things on a platter, so I would highly doubt it.”
“H-he can’t be as bad as you say, though… Maybe he’s only impatient when you do silly things repetitively?”
Tsukishima shook his head; “He’s got stones for brains. Absolutely no patience what-so-ever.”
“Why do you dislike him so much, Tsukishima-kun?” Yachi asked in curiosity, and Tsukishima clicked his tongue.
“He’s a self-centred, useless hot-blooded king who doesn’t know the meaning of relaxation. What is there to like?”
“Tsukishima-kun… That really isn’t very nice.”
Tsukishima stared her in the eyes, “What do you want from me?” he demanded, and Yachi stepped back. She had obviously hit some sort of sore spot, even though she had no idea what it was.
“N-nothing…” she quivered under his gaze, and turned away, “Is this enough?” She gestured both of their piles, and he nodded, dropping their previous conversation.
“Daichi-san said to leave them where we did the other day.”
“I can take them if you want, and you return to camp.”
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, “Can you lift them with your arms?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, here,” Tsukishima loaded his pile onto Yachi’s, which was considerably smaller than his. She felt the weight of it under her thin arms, and adjusted it accordingly, barely being able to see over the height of it. She could see Tsukishima barely hiding a giggle, and averted her gaze, “Don't drop them, it’ll be a pain to have to pick them all up again.”
“I’ll try not to. I’ll meet you back at the camp, Tsukishima-kun.”
“Don’t get lost~” he waves her off, heading back off. Yachi took a deep breath, and headed off, careful of her footing
She reached the spot in record time, nearly tripping only once, and she dropped all of the branches and sticks down on the pile. She kicked the strays back into the group, and turned back for the camp as quickly as she could. As much as she wouldn’t admit it, she didn’t like being away from the camp alone. Tsukishima would tease her for it, though, so she wasn’t telling him. She reached the camp after a short jog, but what she saw made her wish she had gone at a regular pace.
Yachi cried out in shock, hands covering her eyes, and swivelling around quickly. She didn’t need to see that. She didn’t need to see that.
“I-I’m sorry!” her voice was much higher than usual, and her body felt warmer than it usually did. She felt like she was intruding, even though she knew none of them would have minded. This kind of embarrassment made her stomach churn, and she buried her face even deeper into her hands.
“You get used to that,” Kiyoko told her, resting a hand on the tiny blonde’s shoulder. Yachi shrugged it off, wanting to sink into the ground with embarrassment. She turned around again, and peeked through her fingers ever so slightly.
There were two people who stood out immensely to her: Hinata, and Kageyama.
Hinata had odd, burn like scars on his shoulder blades that had an orange tint to them. It was like something had repetitively painted over them, and left an imprint on his back. Kageyama, on the other hand, had a plethora of scrapes and scars along his forearms, which were now being covered by a loose, semi-crumpled button up shirt.
She also spotted Tsukishima staring at her with a smirk, before sending her a playful wink. Yachi flushed even more, dropping her hands slightly. Tsukishima shook his head, looping the string through the bow he was making in his vest. He stepped towards Yachi, and put a hand on her shoulder, smirking even more. He leaned down to her height, and whispered something in her ear once more.
“You’re certain you don’t want to do things with the king, Yachi-san?” his breath tickled her neck, and she flinched away, pushing his hand off of her shoulder. She shook her head viciously, her face buried in her hands once more. Tsukishima gave a short laugh, and pat her on the back as he walked past her. She watched him for a brief moment, before turning back to Kiyoko.
“What’s going on, anyway?” she tried to keep her voice as level as possible, but her surprise and nervousness seeped through it.
“A few of them are going into town to grab a few supplies, no need to worry.”
“O-oh… Why do they need to change, then?”
Kiyoko grinned, gesturing towards some of the armour resting on the ground. “It stands out a bit, don’t you think? But don’t worry, they still have some protection.” She winked, lifting up the hem of her shirt slightly.
“It’s hidden?”
“Yeah. There are certain ways you can… acquire special types of protection. What Azumane is wearing underneath his is courtesy of Akiteru.”
Yachi cocked her head to the side, “Akiteru?”
“Tsukki’s older brother,” Yamaguchi came up behind her, “He acquires and sells less-than-legal magical objects with Tanaka-san’s older sister, Saeko."
“Older brother?” Yachi asked, and Yamaguchi grinned, looking fondly in Tsukishima’s direction.
“Yeah. Tsukki doesn’t like to talk about him much, but he’s really nice. I can’t exactly say I agree with what they do, either, but it has helped us in tight spots.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head. “Unfortunately elf magic isn’t strong enough to do the things we need, so we have to get actual mage equipment, which is a pain."
“Don’t you know any mages?” Yachi asked, looking up at him curiously. Yamaguchi nodded.
“We do, but none are in our party,” Yamaguchi explained, “There’s one in the Nekoma party, which Hinata is familiar with, and another in Fukurodani, who Tsukki gets along with. There are none that are within a short proximity of us though, so we’re stuck.”
“Ah. Why not find one? Or move closer to the others?”
Yamaguchi frowned, “Mages don’t pop up from holes in the ground, you know. Most of them hide their identities. Do you know why?”
Kiyoko butted in, “People are afraid of them, and they’re afraid of rogue’s like us. But you shouldn’t worry about that, Hitoka.” Yachi turned at the sound of her name, and nodded. Why would they be afraid? Everyone here is a good person, and they’re all very kind. Why?
“O-oh…” she muttered, looking away. Yamaguchi, sensing her concern, put a hand over hers and gave her a wide grin.
“We’re all happy though, don’t worry. Townsfolk just want to pin blame for bad things on someone, and it just so happens to be us. I think I can speak for all of us when I say none of us care too much about it.”
“It’s just- “ Yachi was interrupted by Daichi clapping his hands loudly, and the camp fell silent.
“We’re off!” he exclaimed, and began to lead the part of six onwards. Sugawara stopped him, and put a hand over his chest. A small light appeared from his hand, and illuminated the skin underneath Daichi’s tunic.
“Come back home safely, or I’ll find you myself,” he threatened, before landing a small punch on the area he lit up. Daichi coughed, and nodded, removing Sugawara’s hand with a small pat. Daichi smiled at him, Sugawara returned it beautifully.
The party left, (not after Tsukishima making a suggestive face at her as obviously as possible) and after that tiny interaction, Yachi felt confused. What was that light? What is the relationship between Daichi-san and Sugawara-san? Is that elf magic?
“What was that light, Kiyoko-san?” she asked quietly, and Kiyoko smiled down at her.
“A protection blessing. Sugawara is exceptional at those sorts of spells.”
“Is it elf magic?”
Kiyoko nodded, “We all have one special talent that we are born with, and any other magic we have to learn. There are also limitations, unlike mages who are born with their powers and have to learn to control it."
“What’s your talent, Kiyoko-san?” Yachi asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Kiyoko held her hand out, and concentrated. A ball of light similar to Sugawara’s appeared above it, before drifting over above Yachi’s head. It hovered down in front of her face, before exploding into smaller, star-like shapes. Yachi watched it in wonder, her eyes wide.
“I can create a source of light and manipulate it at will, which comes in handy.”
“So- S-so cool! That’s amazing, Kiyoko-san!” Yachi exclaimed, her fists balled in excitement. “What can you do, Yamaguchi-kun?” she turned around and looked at him with the exact same expression as she did Kiyoko.
“I can heal wounds and the like. Protection spells. I can’t really show you, but…” he trailed off, mumbling under his breath, but Yachi still looked at him with that awe-struck expression.
“That’s so useful and amazing, Yamaguchi-kun! I’d love to see it in action!” Yachi realised what she had said after bewildered looks she was given, “W-wait! N-no! That’s not what I meant! I don’t w-want anyone to get hurt! I-I didn’t mean that!”
Yamaguchi grinned, “I hope you never have to see it.”
~
Kageyama felt nervous about this trip. There wasn’t anything rational about this, but there was this feeling in his stomach that rode all the way up to the back of his throat that he couldn’t get away. Or maybe that was his lunch? He could never really tell the difference between the two.
“What’s with you?” Hinata demanded from beside him, “You look like you just swallowed a sour grape!”
“That’s just my face!” Kageyama yelled at him, feeling mildly offended. He didn’t think he was making any sort of expression. Hinata shook his head, and knocked Kageyama on the back of his leg with his knee, frowning.
“There’s something definitely up with you. You haven’t been yelling at me this entire time.” Hinata skipped up ahead, and Kageyama’s frown deepened. Did my overthinking cause me to ignore him?
“Oi, dumbass! Don’t run ahead of me!” Kageyama yelled, running ahead of Hinata. Hinata cried out, and broke into a run, and the two competed for first place, yelling at each other as they did so.
“How can any person be as the two of them are?” Tsukishima drawled, rolling his eyes at the regular antics of the two. The two of them brought unwanted noise, and basically announced their presence to anyone watching. They were also plain annoying, if he was going to be terribly blunt (which was what he always aimed for with the two of them). There was no cure to their idiocy though, so he was stuck with them until they met their ends, or left the party.
Tsukishima spotted something out of the corner of his eye in one of the bushes near the edge of the forest. It was pointed, and low, moving around with the movement of at least one of them. He pointedly avoided looking at it, but picked up his pace ever so slightly, catching up with Daichi.
“Someone’s watching.” he whispered, eyes glancing over to the bush. Daichi’s eyes followed his, and nodded, clearly understanding the message.
“Thanks for telling me, Tsukishima.” Daichi’s voice was low, and he clutched his tunic, ready to pull out his short sword at any point. No one was going to harm his party, not under his watch.
Tsukishima nodded, and dropped back to where he was. Thinking back, he knew how cringe worthy that was in terms of illusory ignorance, but he wondered if the archer would think anything of it.
But then it happened.
~
Yachi wasn’t really clear on how it happened. What second, Nishinoya was excitedly telling Yamaguchi a story about his childhood, when Kageyama stumbled in, with Hinata barely managing to hold himself and Kageyama up. Tsukishima came running through past them, his face shocked and eyes wide.
“Yamaguchi!” he cried out, waving his hands out franticly. They were covered in crimson blood, and Yamaguchi immediately dropped the conversation with Nishinoya, and stared at his friend in horror.
Daichi and Tanaka followed afterwards, and Asahi ran up behind them seconds later.
The entire camp was frantic, but Yachi had no idea what was going on. All she knew was there was blood, and a hell of a lot of it, and there was still one stubborn idiot who insisted on completing the original task.
“We can still –“ he coughed, “We can finish it-! I-I’m f-fine!” He coughed again, and there was an outraged yelled.
“You were shot in the leg and attacked, we’re not completing the god damned mission!” Tanaka’s voice was loud and scolding, almost echoing through Yachi’s head.
“We can still-“
“Someone tried to kill you, king,” Tsukishima exclaimed, his original shocked expression turning into one of anger, “No more lives will be put at risk because of your fucking requests. You may be a king, but not here!” The last bit was yelled, and Kageyama looked a bit drowsy.
“Eh?” Was the only semi-intelligent thing that could come out of Yachi’s mouth as she was shoved out of the way by Yamaguchi, who obviously had much more stressing things on his mind than the fact he pushed a young girl.
“But-“
“No.” Daichi’s voice was final, but it still had a nervous edge. “Yamaguchi, now.”
~
It happened in an instant.
The arrow shot out of the bush and Tsukishima yelled out, but a moment too late. It hit its mark, piercing Kageyama’s right through the back of the leg. Kageyama yelled out, falling to the ground with a large thud.
There was panic, Hinata stumbling to halt, and running back to Kageyama. He began yelling out pointless things, like ARE YOU OKAY? and WHO SHOT YOU? Kageyama looked like he desperately wanted to strangle him for asking such stupid questions, but the throbbing in his leg weakened his glare.
“That way…” he hissed, nodding his head towards the edge of the forest, “I can- I’m fine-“
Kageyama tried to push himself up, but Hinata pushed him back down, “You’ll become a bigger target, idiot! It’s harder to hit someone who’s on the ground!” Kageyama scowled, and reached the back of his legs, “You don’t have to take it all on yourself, dumbass!”
“Shut up.”
“Does it hurt?” Hinata’s voice was softer than usual, and Kageyama turned his head towards him.
“It hurts.”
~
Yamaguchi ran over towards Kageyama, and rolled up his sleeves. “I need to directly get at the wound, can someone rip the fabric? Hinata, rest him down there, and prop his leg up.”
Hinata followed Yamaguchi’s instructions like they were gospel. He dropped Kageyama next to a tree, and pushed his leg up, so that the wound was easily accessible. He tore the fabric around the wound, and stepped back, so Yamaguchi could have full mobility.
Yamaguchi took his small knife, and made two small cuts near at the edges of the arrowhead, and took it out carefully, putting it on the ground next to him. He dropped the knife with it, and took a breath.
He pressed his hand against the wound, staining it. Kageyama visibly winced at his touch, but Yamaguchi paid no mind to that. A blue light emanated from Yamaguchi’s palm under Kageyama’s thigh, and Kageyama hissed, grasping Yamaguchi’s spare arm.
“Sorry, this hurts a little.” Yamaguchi gave him an apologetic look, but grasped Kageyama’s thigh harder, the blue light turning into a deep purple, and began to work it’s magic.
Kageyama’s grip on Yamaguchi’s arm tightened, his face scrunching up in pain. Yamaguchi looked in deep concentration, the light becoming lighter and lighter gradually.
“Just hang in a little more, I’m nearly done, okay?”
~
Tanaka reacted almost on instinct.
He sprinted towards the edge of the forest, unsheathing his twin daggers. He held them behind himself and let out a battle cry. The unknown archer was about to fire another arrow when he kicked the bow, and the arrow went flying off away from the small group.
He could hear a small tsk, before launching towards the person, attempting to tackle them. They dodged, jumping away from Tanaka in surprise. Tanaka’s head snapped around to find the culprit, but he only saw a masked face aiming at him once again.
Tanaka knew he had made a big mistake, and attempted to bring at least one of his daggers up to take a swipe, but he was too late.
~
The light finally turned purple, and Kageyama’s face loosened up, as did Yamaguchi’s grip. He leant down and checked the skin of Kageyama’s thigh, before nodding.
“You’re going to need to clean the blood off, but the wound has healed up properly. You’re going to need to take it easy though, okay, Kageyama?” Yamaguchi told him, and Kageyama nodded wearily.
“T-Thanks…” he muttered, reaching down for his own leg. He swiped some of the blood away with his thumb, and examined it quietly. Yamaguchi grinned at him.
“Is there anyone else?” he asked, and there was a nod from Hinata, and he pointed.
~
Tsukishima spotted the top of the bow, and the head of the perpetrator, and immediately went running. He jumped over the shrubbery, and kicked the bow out of the person’s hands. They looked up at him, before grabbing one of the arrows from beside him and taking a swipe at Tsukishima, who wasn’t able to dodge it.
The tip scraped against his palm, but Tsukishima grabbed the culprit’s arm tightly, swiping their legs out from underneath them.
“Tanaka-san!”
Tanaka nodded, and climbed on top of the person, holding his dagger to their throat. He ripped off the mask, and stared into the person’s eyes.
“What business did you have with our party?” he demanded, and the person spat up at him, and Tanaka repeated the question. The person scoffed.
“I don’t care about your party, I want the damn king. He was cruel, and he left us all for the sake of his own safety.”
Tanaka’s glare intensified, and he pressed his dagger down on the person’s throat.
“As far as I’m concerned, you just injured to of my friends, what do you have to say for that?”
“I want the oppressor dead. Nothing more and nothing less.”
Tanaka brought the dagger closer to his neck, and he –
~
Yamaguchi ran over to Tsukishima, and grabbed his hands, before resting one of his over his friend’s right palm. The blue light shone again, and turned the purple after Yamaguchi clutched Tsukishima’s hand. Tsukishima grit his teeth, but didn’t show signs of nay sort of pain on his face. He watched the light fade into the light blue he knew so well.
“Tip of the arrow scraped my hand, I’m fine.”
“I know you are, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi grinned, and continued gripping his hand even after it had healed. Tsukishima gave Yamaguchi’s hand a squeeze, before letting go, and examining his hand. “Are you the only other one who got hurt?”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t that bad.”
“Okay.”
~
“Hinata! You need to get Kageyama back to the camp, now!” Daichi yelled, and Hinata looked up at him with desperate eyes.
“But-“
Asahi chimed in, “I saw Tsukishima run after Tanaka, so we’ll wait for them.”
“But if you don’t get him to the camp, he’s gonna bleed out, or get an infection.” Daichi explained, crouching down next to Kageyama, who was now trying to push himself up. “Also, sorry Kageyama.”
Daichi held the skin around the arrow, stickying his fingers with blood, and clutched the arrow. He twisted it, and snapped the wood off, leaving only the tip. Hinata stared at it, before nodding to Daichi.
“Come on, Kageyama, you dumbass. Let’s go.”
~
Yamaguchi was right – Yachi didn’t want to see it in action.
This whole situation was awful. Kageyama had to strap his wound just in case he opened it, and the tip of the arrow was disposed of immediately. Tsukishima was being extra careful with his right hand, not stretching it the wrong way, or picking anything too heavy up with it.
Tanaka seemed shaken up, keeping more to himself than he usually would. As soon as he was sure everyone’s wounds were okay, he began wiping off one of his blades, even though it was already clean. Daichi and Asahi watched him in concern, knowing that what he had done had really gotten to him.
Hinata explained the gist of what had happened to those who stayed, and told Kageyama (yet again) that they weren’t completing the mission today, especially after an assassination attempt. There was the appropriate amount of fretting, but something was off to Yachi.
“Why would someone try and kill Kageyama-kun in the first place, Tsukishima-kun?” Yachi asked, sitting next to Tsukishima quietly. Tsukishima laced his fingers, and shrugged.
“He was oppressive, and then left. That would have made a few people upset.”
“He wasn’t oppressive, though… he just had a bit of trouble getting his point across, I think.” Yachi nudged him, “Is your hand alright?”
Tsukishima nodded, “Yamaguchi did a good job on it.”
“That’s good….” she smiled at him, and he looked at her a bit uncertainly.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“How I got it?” Tsukishima waved his hand out towards her, and she looked at him.
“An arrow scraped your hand, right?”
Tsukishima stared at her blankly, before giving up, “Whatever.”
“What are you expecting me to ask, Tsukishima-kun?” Yachi placed her hand on his knee, “I was curious, but I didn’t want to pry, okay? If you want to tell me, that’s okay, but I’m not prying.”
Tsukishima looked away from her, and let his shoulders drag, “I saw the culprit get killed.”
~
“Tanaka! Tsukishima!” Daichi’s voice called out, but neither of them really heard it.
Tanaka wiped his blade on the culprit’s clothing quickly and guiltily, refusing to look at the blood that seeped from their neck. Tsukishima just stared as he did this, his hand aching.
“We need to get back to the camp, now. What are you –“ Daichi stopped, and gaped wide-eyed at the two of them not responding. He didn’t even blame them, considering what they just had to do.
“Is Kageyama alright?” Tanaka finally asked, still holding his dagger. He pulled himself up, and looked at Daichi with an unwavering guilty expression.
“Hinata’s getting him back, we should get back too. Come on,” he pat Tanaka,’s back, pushing him along towards Asahi, before turning. “Tsukishima, you need to get to Yamaguchi so he can clean that up for you, okay?” Tsukishima nodded, and began running in the direction they came.
Daichi jogged to catch up with Asahi, who was looking ahead at Tsukishima and Tanaka in concern. Tsukishima had just broken into a full-out run, and Tanaka was following behind him, but not giving it his all.
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Asahi asked, and Daichi nodded.
“They’ll bounce back, but what they just did won’t be good for them. They’ll need time.”
“I hope so.”
~
“Eh?” Yachi jumped back in shock, and but Tsukishima didn’t look at her.
“He was going to kill the king, and he nicked me, so Tanaka-san –“ he shut his eyes, and Yachi looked at him sadly.
“O-oh… That’s awful, Tsukishima-kun.”
“No kidding,” he said spitefully, “Can you leave me alone? I don’t want to talk anymore.”
Yachi was taken aback, “Tsuki-“
“Leave me alone!” he snapped, and Yachi stood up immediately, and ran off, not sparing a second look at him.
~
The rest of that day was very tense, Yachi thought, the usual noise not quite there. Nishinoya and Hinata were loud enough for all of them, but it was still not the same.
It was obvious that Tanaka and Tsukishima were extremely rattled, and needed to be alone for a while. When Yachi asked Daichi about it, he agreed, saying it was best for the two of them to keep to themselves until they wanted to talk. Yachi still felt bad about it, though, knowing she was a big part of why Tsukishima was shutting everything out, even Yamaguchi.
She also noted Daichi and Asahi being extremely concerned, and that they deliberately didn’t mention it if the two in question could hear. Even then, it was sparing, and most definitely left some details out.
In fact, the only one who didn’t seem too bothered at all was Kageyama, the reason for all of this. He acted fairly normally, still arguing with Hinata like nobody’s business.
Yachi let the curiosity get the best of her, and she approached him slowly, “Kageyama-kun?” she asked, and he looked up at her, rather than playing with one of his arrows. He gave her a nod, and continued playing with it, “Is it alright if I sit next to you?” Kageyama nodded, and she followed through with her request, crossing her legs.
“Is your leg okay, Kageyama-kun?” she asked, nodding towards it. Kageyama put a hand to it, and nodded.
“Yeah. I feel okay.”
There was silence, before Yachi grabbed the bow resting beside him. She played with the string a little, and held it out in front of her, as though she was going to fire.
“Pull it out as far as possible, and then let go, like ‘pah!’” He instructed, and Yachi nodded, furrowing her brows in concentration.
She attempted to pull it as far as it would go, but her fingers slipped, and the bow snapped back to it’s original shape. She laughed a little in embarrassment, and tried again. She managed to pull it back further this time, but not far enough apparently, because Kageyama snatched it from her.
He held it in a horizontal position, and pulled on the string, stretching it to it’s full extent, before letting it go. It went back into shape with a ‘pah’ sound, just like he had said. Yachi watched him closely, and when it was her turn to try again, she tried to replicate it.
Kageyama coughed from beside her, and she turned to look at him, “You have a sour look on your face.”
“I’m copying you,” she pouted, and Kageyama looked at her in offence.
“I don’t look like that.”
“You do.”
“I don’t,” and there it was, that look, and Yachi laughed at him, poking his cheeks.
“You’re making that face right now.” she grinned at him, and he looked away, embarrassed. “Hey, it’s cute. Don’t look so miserable.”
“C-cute?”
“U-uh-!” Yachi cried out, jumping away from him slightly. “I-I mean… I-I-"
Kageyama looked pointedly away, not meeting her eye. ‘Try again.”
Yachi did as she was told (unconsciously pulling the face), and pulled it as far as she could. When she felt like her fingers were going to slip, she let go, and Kageyama nodded. He took the bow from her, and grabbed an arrow. Kageyama stood about 10 metres in front of Yachi, and held the bow up, resting the arrow on his fingers.
“Eventually, you get enough control to be able to do something like-“ he pushed the string back with the arrow, and fired, the arrow being launched into the tree they were leaning against. Yachi screeched, and jumped up away from the tree, clinging onto Kageyama.
“Don’t do something like that without warning me!” she scolded, holding his shirt tightly. Kageyama looked down at her with a shocked expression, and she looked up at him desperately.
There was a drumming in his heart. Fuck.
He was a king, and she was villager b. He was proper and bad-tempered, and she was kind and casual. He fell in love…
Yachi clung onto his shirt, fully aware of how clingy she felt, and yet…
and she fell right back.