Chapter Text
Daishou stared at the human who had apparently wandered into town completely by accident.
"Akaashi," Daishou said faintly. "Is that...?"
"A magical trident capable of summoning a tsunami? Yes, yes it is," Akaashi sighed. "Which is why I need you to compel the human into giving it up instead of me just taking it from him. And then I need you to compel him to forget about this town, and Hanamaki and Tendou will take him to a nice, human town." Daishou grimaced.
"Are you sure? I mean, it's been a while since a compulsion went wrong, but..." He trailed off when Akaashi smiled gently.
"You've spent ten years learning how to only compel people when you want to," Akaashi reminded him. Daishou had been brought to Ogygia by the kitsune pair when he was seven, because his compulsion powers were out of control, and every time he spoke, people were compelled to do what he said. He'd spent most of his time with either Akaashi or Iwaizumi, both of whom were resistant to his magic and able to help him learn to control it. "You handled the negotiation with the wendigo last month just fine. You can do this."Daishou took a deep breath, then nodded and approached the human, who - now that Daishou was close enough to get a good look at him - was actually an attractive guy with a blond undercut, who was sitting on a bench outside Takeda's haunted library, twirling the very dangerous trident like it was a toy.
"Hey there," the human said with a grin when he noticed Daishou. "Can you tell me where I am? I kind of got lost...and...you're really cute." Daishou, who had been about to do what Akaashi wanted and just try to compel the human to give up the very very dangerous trident, stopped and blinked.
"Uh...thanks?" Daishou muttered, glancing over his shoulder. This wasn't what he'd expected.
"You live around here, right? If you give me directions on how to get out of here, I'll buy you lunch or something," the human offered. Daishou blinked at him, feeling kind of lost. He shook his head and prepared to compel the human, but something about the open, friendly grin he had was very disarming.
"Uh...there's a really only like one restaurant in town," Daishou said. "It's run by a vampire, but he makes really good food, even though he can't eat it." The human stared at him, and Daishou frowned. "What?"
"A vampire. Is that their gimic to get people in?" the human asked. Daishou tilted his head.
"No, he's actually a vampire. Don't worry, though, Ennoshita is really nice, and he doesn't bite people. He drinks coconut milk instead," Daishou assured him.
"But. Vampires aren't real," the human said, but it sounded more like a question. Daishou groaned when he realized why the newcomer was so confused. This human didn't know anything about the supernatural. And Daishou had just told him about their town's resident vampire. Oh, well, he was supposed to compel the human to forget everything, anyway. It couldn't hurt to tell him about the town and take him to Ennoshita's restaurant before he did that, right? The human shifted his grip on the trident in his hands. Oh, right. The trident.
"If you let me give that trident to a friend of mine, I'll prove it to you," Daishou offered. He didn't want to compel the human yet, didn't want to see his friendly grin frozen in place or slipping away as Daishou's magic washed away his memories and free will.
"The trident?" the human repeated, tilting his head and glancing at the weapon in his hands. "Sure, you can have it. I just found it when I was wandering around." Daishou blinked and took the weapon when the human handed it over.
"You...just found...a trident that summons tsunamis," Daishou repeated flatly.
"It does what?" the human yelped. Daishou sighed and glanced toward where Akaashi was waiting and beckoned him over. When Akaashi reached them, Daishou held out the trident.
"He just found it," Daishou said. Akaashi took the weapon, stepped back, spun it expertly, then brought it up and eyed it.
"He just found a trident that's been lost for over a thousand years and summons tsunamis," Akaashi repeated. Daishou shrugged. The human grinned sheepishly.
"Is it really that weird?" he asked. Daishou and Akaashi exchanged bewildered looks.
"Well, the important thing is, the trident is in safe hands now," Akaashi said. "Daishou, I'll send Hanamaki to-"
"Wait," Daishou interrupted. Akaashi blinked and tilted his head. "I...don't think I can..." He glanced at the human, who was watching them curiously.
"Suguru," Akaashi began gently. Daishou looked away; Akaashi rarely used his given name, and when he did, it meant things were serious. "It's dangerous for him to stay here, and it's dangerous for him to be in the outside world while knowing about Ogygia, or magic in general. It's for his own good."
"Hey, I'm right here. What are you two talking about?" the human demanded. Daishou hesitated, glancing at Akaashi.
"Suguru, you know I won't make you," Akaashi said. "But you also know it's for the best." Daishou nodded.
"Sorry. Guess I won't be proving the vampire thing after all," he said, turning to the human, who frowned.
"Aw, why not?" Daishou didn't answer. Instead, he closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, his magic was in place, ready to compel the human with his words. "Well...I don't know what you were talking about a minute ago, but even if you can't show me the vampire guy, can we be friends? My name's Terushima Yuuji. What's yours?" Daishou stared at him, then pushed his compulsion away.
"I can't do it," he said, turning away. "Akaashi, I can't." Before Akaashi could say anything, Daishou turned and darted down the street, leaving Akaashi with a very confused human, who looked like Daishou running off had kind of hurt his feelings. Akaashi sighed.
"Terushima, right?" he said. The human nodded. "What we were talking about before is that kid's ability. He can compel people, and he was supposed to use that power to erase your memories so we could take you to a safe, human town and drop you off." Terushima blinked.
"Oh. Are you...still going to do that?" he asked. Akaashi frowned and rubbed his temples.
"I can't erase your memories, not without a lot of preparation. And by the time I managed it, your family will have reported you missing, and then it'll be a mess," he replied.
"Oh, well if that's the problem, don't worry about it," Terushima said. "I've been on my own for a while, so it's fine." Akaashi frowned at him. Terushima gave him a humorless grin. "That trident isn't the first weird thing I've found." Akaashi nodded thoughtfully.
"In that case, maybe it's for the best that Daishou couldn't make himself compel you," he mused. "I'll have to talk to a few people, but if you've found magical items before, you might come across them again and get into trouble if we send you into the outside world." Terushima blinked, and Akaashi smiled. "Does it scare you that Daishou can compel people?"
"I'm not really sure what that means," Terushima said. "So not really." Akaashi let out a quiet huff that was almost a laugh.
"I'll take you to where he probably is, and you can talk to him some more while I make some arrangements, then." Terushima blinked.
"Arrangements?" he repeated.
"You said you were on your own, and we already talked about how you finding magical items can be dangerous. So I think it would be best if you stay here for a while. Come on. Daishou's probably in the park with Kyoutani."