Work Text:
"I just don't know what to do with him," Yaku sighed. "He won't pay attention to the basics, and he keeps trying more advanced skills without even a familiar to help him focus his powers."
"Have you tried getting him to summon a familiar?" Nekomata asked, watching as his familiar, Naoi, sparred with Yaku's familiar, Inuoka.
"I have. He can't even focus enough on any particular traits to narrow the summoning, so he never gets a response. And I can't just take him into the forest and hope he'll meet a potential there, because the war is still going on," Yaku added.
"And you want him to hurry up and get better so you can help the others," Nekomata guessed. Yaku looked away and nodded.
"Inuoka's getting restless. Until Lev joined us, I didn't stay in town a lot. Being in the same place so long has Inuoka on edge, especially with Kai and Yamamoto in enemy territory." Nekomata shot Yaku a stern look. "I know, I know. I haven't told him they got captured yet. I'm hoping Kuroo will rescue them before I have to say anything about it. Because as soon as Inuoka knows, Lev will find out, because Inuoka can't keep a secret, especially when he's upset. And then Lev will want to go save them, but we can't do anything until he focuses on his lessons. They'd both be worried, and it wouldn't help anyone."
"You shouldn't keep things from your familiar, especially when he'll find out eventually. Lev will, too," Nekomata pointed out. Yaku was silent, so the old mage continued, "You seem to view Lev as a kid, and he is very childish and enthusiastic, but he's also not that much younger than you are. I'm sure you'll get through to him eventually." Yaku sighed.
"He's just so frustrating. He has so much potential, so much power, but he won't slow down and really build up his skill," Yaku complained. Nekomata laughed.
"You know, Lev kind of reminds me of a young enchanter who was really frustrated because he didn't have a flashy, cool power like Kuroo's shadow magic or Kai's emotion-manipulation," the old water mage said cheerfully. Yaku grumbled, then leaned back and stared up at the sky.
"I guess you have a point. But it only took me a few days to get over it and start honing my magic. Lev's been with us for weeks," Yaku replied.
"And he's making more progress than you give him credit for," Nekomata insisted. "You were telling me the other day that he doesn't shock people by accident when he's excited anymore, right? Not everyone can instantly improve by getting a familiar like that crow Karasuno's hybrid found."
"Yaku!" an excited voice called. Yaku frowned and turned to find Lev running toward them, and he wasn't alone. He was carrying a small black cat in his arms.
"Lev, if you've picked up someone's pet again, I'm going to kick you," Yaku threatened as Lev reached them.
"No! This is Shibayama!" Lev exclaimed, holding the little cat out. The animal wiggled, and Lev put him down, only for the cat to change to the form of a short teenager with black hair.
"Shibayama! What are you doing here?" Inuoka abandoned his sparring match with Naoi and bounded over.
"I was coming to check in with the Guild, and Lev was the only one there," Shibayama explained. "I'm his familiar now." Yaku gaped at him. He knew Shibayama; he was a demon Inuoka had been friends with before Yaku bonded with him, and now Shibayama was one of Nekoma's informants, though he rarely passed information in person.
"You're Lev's familiar?" Inuoka blinked and looked up at Lev. "How did that happen?"
"He asked," Shibayama said simply. "And he's going to need someone if things don't go well." Yaku frowned.
"You know something?" the enchanter asked.
"There's a big battle going on at Windswept right now. If Karasuno and Aoba Josei lose..." Shibayama trailed off.
"We'd better see how well you and Lev work together, then," Yaku replied. "Just in case Kuroo and the others need our help."
"I'll get the targets set up," Nekomata said. Lev's eyes lit up.
For the next two days, Lev and Shibayama worked through every challenge and training exercise Yaku and Nekomata came up with for them, Shibayama's calm flexibility and control helping to curb Lev's impulsiveness and improve his aim, so the mage could actually hit the targets put before him. Yaku watched them, satisfaction warming his expression more with each test the new pair passed, and when Lev turned to him, beaming, Yaku found himself smiling back. When Lev's enthusiasm was properly directed, it could be an impressive driving force, the enchanter mused. He opened his mouth to congratulate the pair, but motion from Inuoka caught his attention. Yaku's familiar bolted across the yard, toward two figures who were approaching slowly. For a second, Yaku thought maybe Inuoka was going to attack a couple of trespassers, but then the enchanter recognized the people Inuoka was closing in on.
"Kuroo! Kenma!" Yaku exclaimed, following his familiar. After a second, Lev and Shibayama followed as well. Inuoka skidded to a stop short of where Kuroo and Kenma were, a confused whine escaping his throat as he stared from the shadow mage to his familiar. Yaku stepped up beside his own familiar and realized what was upsetting Inuoka. Yaku bit his lip, searching their expressions for answers and not liking the ones he found. "They didn't make it, did they?" he asked softly. Kuroo's fists clenched, and Kenma looked away. Inuoka started to step forward, then paused and backed away.
"We couldn't get there in time," Kuroo said grimly. "We couldn't save them." Lev hovered nearby, obviously not sure what was going on.
"They can't be..." Inuoka whimpered. Yaku reached up and rested a hand on his familiar's shoulder, not sure what else he could do. "Kai and Yamamoto wouldn't..."
"They got captured a few days ago," Yaku admitted. "I guess they didn't give up any information?" Inuoka froze, turning to the enchanter, his eyes wide with fear, grief, and hurt.
"You knew they were in trouble, and you didn't tell me?" Inuoka whispered. Yaku grimaced.
"I didn't want you to worry. We couldn't have helped them, anyway," he added grimly. Inuoka turned to Kuroo and Kenma.
"Why didn't you rescue them?" he demanded.
"We tried. We were too late. Windswept's Warden had them executed before we could get there," Kuroo explained.
"I hope you killed her and whoever did her dirty work," Inuoka growled, his voice rough with grief.
"The Warden is dead," Kenma assured him. "But the executioner was a victim, too. You can't blame him." Inuoka's lips pressed together angrily.
"Who did it? Who killed them?" he hissed. Kenma and Kuroo exchanged glances that were so full of exhaustion and reluctance that Yaku stepped in.
"Let's give them time to rest. I'm sure they'll tell us everything soon," Yaku said. "We should all go back to the Guild Hall for now, okay?"
"It's not okay!" Inuoka snapped. "I want to know who killed them!"
"Bokuto," Kuroo sighed. "The Warden forced Bokuto to kill them." Inuoka was frozen in place, shock and horror washing over his features. Yaku reached for him, but the familiar shook him off and turned without a word, changing to his dog form and taking off.
"Inuoka!" Yaku shouted.
"I'll talk to him," Shibayama said quietly. Yaku hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.
"Thank you. Please help him if you can," the enchanter added. Shibayama smiled slightly, then turned and followed Inuoka, shifting to his cat form as he went. For a moment, everyone else stood in silence.
"That's Lev's new familiar," Yaku explained, trying to alleviate a bit of the tension hanging in the air. Kuroo glanced at the tall hybrid, who was staring off into space. "They've been doing really well."
"Lev must have improved a lot if you're praising him," Kenma commented. Yaku shrugged.
"He has. I just wish Kai and Yamamoto could have seen how he's shaping up," the enchanter said sadly. Lev twitched at that, no longer staring off into space.
"I should've listened to you, and worked harder," Lev said quietly. The shock of Lev doing anything quietly nearly made Yaku fall over with surprise, but the look in the hybrid's green eyes grounded him. "It's my fault we were stuck here, instead of helping with the war."
"And we should have gotten there sooner," Kuroo replied. "And I'm the one who sent them alone."
"That's enough," Yaku snapped, pushing down his own grief and regrets. "It's fine to be sad, but if everyone starts blaming themselves, we'll all fall apart. Kuroo, you know just as well as I do that Kai and Yamamoto could take care of themselves, and I'm betting you used your shadow traveling to try to get there in time to save them. If that wasn't enough, then there was nothing you could have done. That sucks, but we can't change it. Lev, you're stubborn and you still have no patience for the basics, but you're also strong and your skills are improving. It's not your fault that you're less experienced, or that you didn't have a familiar to help you until recently. So you can't blame yourself either. Now, we're all going to go back to the Guild Hall and wait for Inuoka and Shibayama to get back, and when they do, we're going to sit around and talk about what's happened. We'll grieve, and we'll miss Kai and Yamamoto, but we're going to get through this." The others were staring at him, but Yaku didn't wait for them to react. He just started walking, forcing his fingers not to clench into fists. Once he was past them, headed for the Guild Hall, he let his stern expression fall away, and felt tears of frustration and grief well up. After all, despite is words to the others, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he'd decided to train Lev on the way, if they'd followed Kai and Yamamoto against Kuroo's orders, if he'd left Lev with Nekomata and taken Inuoka to help the captured pair as soon as Yaku had heard about them being caught.
A hand rested on Yaku's head, and he blinked back his tears, looking up at Lev, who'd apparently caught up with him.
"You can't blame yourself either," the tall hybrid informed him. "It's not fair for you to scold us for feeling responsible, then go and blame yourself." Yaku stared up at him, not sure what to say. "Besides, you're so tiny; you probably couldn't have done anything anyway," Lev added. Yaku scowled and shifted his weight, ready to kick Lev, but the taller mage leaned down and kissed his forehead. Then Lev kept walking, and Yaku found himself rooted to the spot, bewildered.
"Did I miss something?" Kuroo asked, pausing beside Yaku. "I mean, we all knew Lev was weird, but..."
"Lev adores Yaku," Kenma said, walking past them. "That's part of why he tries so hard to do 'cool' moves. He wants to impress you," he added, glancing over his shoulder at Yaku. "And I know you're frustrated with him partly because you see how amazing he'll be once he gets the hang of his magic."
"You're terrifying," Yaku informed Kenma. "And you're wrong. There's no way." Kenma just gave Yaku a little knowing smile, then continued toward the Guild Hall.