Chapter Text
This is the exact opposite of what you thought was going to happen today. You let out a heavy sigh as you struggled to carry the sleeping little boy in one arm, and two paper grocery bags filled to the brim in the other. Not even trying to hide the look of despair on your face, you walked down the street towards your new apartment. How in the world did you, a spy, a master of disguise, become a parent ( a single one to be exact) in less than 24 hours? Well it began yesterday evening, when he called you in.
“Don’t give me that look, you’re supposed to say ‘Yes sir, Handler sir.’” Kuroo Tetsuro rolled his eyes as you remained in disgusted shock. Your mind was running in circles. He watched you for a few more seconds, before sighing and standing up, walking around his desk to throw an arm across your shoulders and pull you into an awkward side hug. “Just think about it, we need someone to go undercover for our most incredibly challenging mission yet.” He rambles, but you don’t move. “And W.I.S.E. chose you , I chose you . You’re the only one right for Operation Strix, Twilight .” He whispered your code name into your ear, making you shiver. You pushed him off you but he’d already walked back to his seat. He smirked, hands folding together in front of him. His dark eyes were hollow despite his smile. They haunted you. “So, what do you say?”
You quietly placed the shopping bags onto the table as you placed the little boy down on the couch. He was sound asleep. Without another glance at him, you headed back to the kitchen area and began putting away the food for the week. Hmm, the tomatoes you’d bought were a really good deal, maybe some tomato soup for dinner? As you organized the food, you suddenly heard the TV turn on and you whipped around. “Shoyo, don’t watch too much TV, we have to study soon.” You warn. The tiny ginger boy turns and looks at you with shock, big round eyes and his mouth agape. “No! Shoyo doesn’t wanna studying!” He shouts, acting quite upset as he runs to his bedroom. You groan in annoyance, deciding it was best to ignore him for now. You’ve already had a difficult morning.
“Give me a kid who can read and write.” You ordered the orphanage owner. He looked you up and down, before taking you inside the dingy place. Children of all ages littered the building, all unkept and messy. You tried your best not to make eye contact with any of them for too long, knowing they might just get their hopes up, and you’d rather not break a heart this early in the morning. “Here our, er, smartest one of the bunch. Shoyo! Come here!” The man shouted, and a boy with fiery red hair popped out, carrying what looked to be an old stuffed animal of a crow. He skipped over, looking up at you with large curious eyes. “Shoyo here can read, write, you name it. Just get rid of the creepy kid for me,” The owner whispered the last part, but you definitely heard it.
You observed Shoyo. He was short and small for his age, which you assumed he was about four, too young for your mission, you needed someone who was at least five, preferably six- “Shoyo’s six years old!” The boy suddenly shouts and you’re taken aback. “Huh,” You muttered. Maybe it was just the conditions he lived in that made him appear younger. Well if so, you still needed a child who could read and write, they had to be able to go to school, especially Eden Academy. Shoyo ran off to a nearby table where a newspaper was laid. He picked it up and the pencil next to it. Was he going to solve the puzzle? That would be impossible for him, but for you it was simple, seeing as the answer for four down was homeostasis and-
“Done!” Shoyo showed off the completed puzzle and your jaw dropped. Every answer was correct, even the average adult would have struggled. Was this kid a genius in disguise??! Without another thought you looked to the owner. “Where do I sign?!”
You were seriously beginning to doubt Shoyo was the genius you believed him to be. His handwriting was barely legible on the paper you’d set out for him to start. And don’t even get started on his art skills. You rubbed your temples as they throbbed with frustration. Deciding you needed fresh air, you stood up abruptly. “I’m heading out alone, stay here.” You ordered, but Shoyo stood up. “Shoyo wants to come too.” He seemed giddy at the idea of an outing. “No. I need to be alone.” You tried to explain to him. You grab your coat and a hat, attempting to leave the apartment, only to find Shoyo right on your tail. “No, I said stay here!” You try not to shout, leading him back inside the house. It took you five more tries to keep Shoyo inside the apartment, you eventually had to barricade the front door, trapping him inside.
“So that’s why you’re late?” Bokuto eyed you as he leaned against the counter of his little tobacco stand. You sent him a tired look, before standing straight. “Children who think crying to get their way are truly annoying.” You sigh, taking off your hat. Your hair is a bit frumpled now. “Hate to tell you this Twilight, but crying is kinda their job,” Bokuto smiled. “But here's the thing you asked for,” He passed you an envelope, it was stamped with the giant words REGISTERED. “An application, ticket for the exam, and the exam questions. I went through hell to get those,” He seemed to deflate a little, his wild hair following suit. You pocketed the envelope into your jacket. “Thanks Bo, I think we can pass if I have the kid memorize everything.” You mutter. You hope Shoyo has a good memory.
“Oh yeah, about your son,” Bokuto ducks beneath the counter for a second, reemerging with a folded piece of paper. “I dug up some of his past records, since that orphanage didn’t have any.” He hands you the paper and you unfold it, reading its contents. “I couldn’t find anything about his birth. No info, age and no parents either. The only things I found were from last year.” Bokuto explains. “Shoyo’s been adopted four times, and returned each time too. And he’s been to two other orphanages.” You focused on a certain part of the paper. “Shoyo Hinata, Shoyo Sato, Shoyo Nakamura, Shoyo Hashimoto.” You say out loud. Bokuto begins to laugh. “He’s changed his name as many times as you do, you two are perfect for each other!” He cackles and you glare once more. “What? I’m kidding, it's just a mission, right?”
This paper held the entirety of Shoyo’s existence, and it was quite short. You wondered how such a small, innocent little boy like him had ended up in an orphanage. Even more, adopted four times prior to you, yet returned each time within a few months. It pained you a little when you had to accept the fact that he’d be returning to that place soon, seeing as once your mission was complete, you had no use for him no more. “Look,” You let out a deep breath slowly. “Thanks for the info, I got to get back.” You pass Bokuto some cash and prepare to head back to the apartment. Hopefully Shoyo hasn’t gone off and hurt himself while you were out. “Hey,” Bokuto stops you before you get too far. His face has lost that upbeat charm it usually adorns. “Don’t go around getting too attached. You can’t afford it in your line of work. None of us can.” You can tell he means to warn you as a friend, despite his cold stare. “Yeah, I know,” You nod. “See you around Bo.”
As you walk up the steps to your apartment, you grunt, heaving up the heavy bag of child’s clothing. You couldn’t have Shoyo wearing the same black shirt and shorts every day, so you stopped by a clothing store. As you approached the door, something was off. You stopped. The barricade remained in its spot, but its position was slightly changed. Within a few seconds, your mind rummages through the possibilities of how this could happen. Silently, you push the barricade aside, and open the door to your quiet, dark apartment. You wait a second before taking a slow step inside. Immediately, someone who had hid behind the door swung a metal pole at you. Instead of their pole meeting your face, you duck and slug them right in the jaw. Another who had hidden behind the couch emerges and shoots at you. You throw the bag in the air, and dodge to the right. You grab the metal can of tuna you’d forgotten to put away on the counter, and chuck it at their face. As they're distracted from the pain, you slam the wooden chair from the dining set right over their head. It crumbles to pieces within contact.
With both people down, you begin to feel panicked. Who the hell were these guys? “Shoyo! Shoyo?!” You bust through his bedroom door, and find nothing. Then yours, and the sight of his fallen crow plush makes your heart drop. He’s been kidnapped?! It must be whoever sent these thugs, You deduct. From the looks of it, they know I’m a spy. You think, walking into the room. I need to hide, or I’ll be facing hell. You sigh, and grimace. The thought of just having to explain this incident to Kuroo, The Handler everyone called him, made you want to retch. Well, there are plenty of children to replace him. Back to square one I guess… As you reach down to grab his plush, you’re reminded of Shoyo’s records. He had no family, no information, no birthday. He had nothing-