Chapter Text
FUKURODANI
“My son,” growled a man shrouded in darkness. He was sitting behind a mahogany desk smoking a cigar. “You have the mission, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” responded the young man standing before the desk. His hair was just as dark as his father’s, though much messier. His narrow, steel-colored eyes analyzed his father’s movements. “What should I do about this one though?” He throws a thumb over his shoulder to a suit-clad figure standing behind him.
“Akaashi!” cried the man in protest. “You’re taking me with you, obviously.” Akaashi turned to look at him. He had spiky hair sticking up in all directions, and his copper colored eyes sparked with annoyance. “I am your gang leader, after all. How about showing some respect?”
"Respect?” Akaashi snarled. “ Your position is in no way eligible to be ordering me around. Don’t get a big head now, Bokuto.”
Bokuto looked down at his shoes, then made eye contact with Akaashi once more. “You’re taking me with you, aren’t you?” Akaashi saw a spark of defiance in his partner’s eyes and sighed heavily. Even if he were to tell Bokuto to stay behind, he’d probably just get followed by the persistent boy anyways. “Of course I am, idiot.” Akaashi relented. “You have my back.”
“Always, Akaashi.” Bokuto grinned. He winked and blew Akaashi a kiss.
“Want me to shoot you dead now, you asshole?” Akaashi smiled to himself. If there was one thing he valued more than the welfare of his mafia, it was the abundant love he received from Bokuto.
***
The bastard had been relentless with the owl puns and constant flirting for years. It took a long time before Akaashi finally got the hint that Bokuto wasn’t just being nice to get in good with his father. He actually really liked Akaashi. And the leader's son... didn't really seem to mind. It hadn't ever really crossed his mind that he could like someone like Bokuto; it just happened. They started to get closer as friends, and Akaashi’s father began sending them out to do more work together. They became partners in crime- literally.
One night Bokuto and Akaashi were celebrating yet another successful job. They had to take down a small group that was making a name for themselves in their territory. Of course, the two were able to handle it on their own, despite Bokuto's protests to take his whole team. Akaashi enjoyed the alone time he was able to spend with Bokuto, even if it got him nowhere.
"Akaashi, you were great tonight." Bokuto laughed. He asked the bartender for another beer.
Akaashi rolled his eyes, too drunk to really argue. "You make it shound like we had shex." he slurred. What? Akaashi thought. I've only had two beers.
Bokuto laughed at that. "You sound funny." came the response. "Have you had too much to drink?"
"Shaddup, Bokuto." The heir slurred his words so tiredly. "It'sh getting late. Let'sh head back."
Bokuto offered Akaashi a place to stay at his home, which Akaashi was to tired and drunk to refuse. "If your father saw you like this..." was Bokuto's reasonong. Akaashi had to agree to that. his father would likely kill him if he was found like that.
Bokuto's home was quaint, small. It was in a peaceful neighborhood, not too far from their main compound. They made their way back to Bokuto’s room, which was organized, much to Akaashi’s surprise. Bokuto laid the heir on his bed and meticulously began to peel off Akaashi's clothes. The dark-haired boy jumped back. "What're you doing?" he asked, eyes widened.
"Shh, calm down, Akaashi." Bokuto soothed. "I'm just taking off your clothes. You need to sleep in something comfortable. I'll let you borrow some of my clothes."
Akaashi let his head fall back on to the comforter. Soft... Akaashi thought. "I hate that I'm being taken care of by you. Dammit, it should be the other way around."
Bokuto shook his head and assured his partner that that was not the case. "It's what people who like each other do for one another. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go put your clothes in the wash." And he stepped out of the room, leaving the bomb just dropped to settle in Akaashi's mind.
People who like each other...? Akaashi wondered. How long had Bokuto known that the feelings he had were mutual? Akaashi sat up on the bed. When Bokuto came back, he called the eccentric man over to him and crashed their lips together.
The next thing Akaashi remembered was waking up in Bokuto’s bed, next to the owner of said bed. Bokuto was polishing a silver pistol humming to himself.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Bokuto smiled, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe a bit of drool from Akaashi’s face. “Sleep well?”
Akaashi’s head pounded, and his body ached. “The fuck happened last night?” he asked tiredly. Even talking hurt. Why is my throat raw? he wondered. Bokuto set his gun on the bedside table and smiled down at Akaashi. The grin was ear-splitting. “Let’s just say that I knew you’d be flexible, Akaashi, but you surpassed even my expectations.”
Akaashi’s face flushed as he remembered the events that had transpired. “ Shit.” he whispered. Bokuto got up and came back moments later with a bottle of water, holding it out to the dark haired boy with a gentle smile. “Drink up, Akaashi.”
As time wore on, they got closer and closer. Bokuto started dropping hints about the future, and Akaashi started getting annoyed with the lack of subtlety. One summer night, they were laying on the roof of the compound, holding hands, looking at the stars.
"I wish we could stay like this forever." Bokuto said quietly.
"What?" Akaashi asked. It's not that he didn't hear the boy he fell for, he just wanted to hear it again. Bokuto shrugged. "I said I want to stay like this forever. Like, together."
By the end of the summer, they were engaged.
***
“Akaashi?” Bokuto poked his partner’s cheek. “Are you ready to head out?”
Akaashi jumped back into the present and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“Keiji.” Akaashi’s father grumbled. The young man stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his first name. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
“I’ll be outside.” Bokuto said, quickly bowing to Akaashi’s father and excusing himself.
Bokuto paced the hallway. It had been quite some time since Akaashi’s father had called him anything other than “my son”. He hoped it wasn’t something desperately serious. He straightened his suit and tie and took a deep breath. Whatever it was, he was sure Akaashi Keiji would trust him to know.
Akaashi came out of the room, face as stagnant of emotions as ever. He motioned for Bokuto to follow him, and he followed without question. They made their way down the narrow hallway, Bokuto following close behind him to let people walk the other direction. He noticed Akaashi’s hands were balled into fists. “Akaashi…” he murmured.
“Not here, Bokuto.” Akaashi forced out. For once, he was glad Bokuto could only see his back, because the pain he felt in his chest was enough to suffocate Bokuto as well.
They made it outside, where dark clouds were beginning to roll over the city. “Let’s just get this job done and over with.” Akaashi grumbled.
“We just have to get the money from Karasuno, right?” Bokuto asked.
“Yeah. Easy enough.”
KARASUNO
A small orange haired boy glanced curiously around the compound. He looked at the tall, dark-haired man he was following. “Daichi-san, why am I here?”
“You were recruited, remember?” Daichi said over his shoulder. “You’re here because you’re now one of us. Don’t worry though, Kageyama will take good care of you.” Under his breath, he added, “I hope.”
The orange haired boy gulped at the thought of this Kageyama character. What kind of person was he? Part of his name does mean “shadow”, so maybe he’s dark…? He didn’t know. They rounded a corner and walked into a large, gymnasium-type room. Many boys were sparring with one another, and there were double doors to one side with bolded words SHOOTING RANGE over it.
“Gather up, boys!” Daichi calls through the gym. “Kageyama, go get Suga.”
“Sir!” came a harsh voice. The red haired boy noticed a tall, dark haired boy with olive skin run towards the doors to the shooting range. Kageyama…
Four boys gathered in front of Daichi and the new recruit, and the ginger froze. All of these boys were a lot taller than him… except for one. “Oi!” he said, pointing to the short boy. He had chocolate hair with a blonde streak in the front. “How tall are you?”
The small boy with slanted brown eyes looked at the ginger. “159 centimeters.” he grumbled. The red haired boy made a loud noise that startled Kageyama and the silver haired man following him.
“I’m taller than you!” the ginger bellowed. That angered the shorter boy. He raced forward and grabbed the ginger’s shirt and lifted him off his feet.
“Oh, yeah? Do you get off to that?” commented the dark-haired character contemptuously. “Daichi, who is this asshole and where did you pick him up from?”
“Nishinoya, release him.” Daichi growled. “This is Hinata, the new recruit I’ve been telling you about. I want you all to make him feel welcome.” Daichi’s eyes narrowed at Nishinoya, who simply said, “Tch.” And stormed off.
Kageyama walked up with the silver haired man in tow. “Hinata, huh?” Kageyama’s voice came out as a low growl, making Hinata’s skin crawl. Kageyama suddenly lashed out and hooked Hinata in the face. The small ginger boy flew to the side, but never let his body hit the ground before his feet. Kageyama frowned. “You think quick on your feet, I’ll give you that. But you have no reflexes. You probably didn’t even realize I was swinging.”
“Of course I didn’t!” cried Hinata. “There was no warning!”
Kageyama gave him a look of sadistic amusement. “You think there’ll be any warning when you’re out on a job, and people are trying to kill you? Chivalry is dead, dumbass.” Kageyama turned to Daichi, scowling. “I refuse to teach this greenhorn.”
Daichi looked startled. “K-Kageyama-”
“I refuse to teach this greenhorn.” Kageyama said adamantly, glaring at Daichi. “I won’t teach somebody who doesn’t know the first thing about fighting, nonetheless killing.”
Hinata flinched and balled his hands into fists. He tucked his chin to his chest and felt his face flare up. “What could you possibly know…” he grumbled. All the boys looked toward the new recruit. Hinata looked up, tears clouding his vision. “What could you possibly know about me? We just met.”
The gray haired smacked the back of Kageyama’s head. “Kageyama.” he said sternly. Kageyama looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. “Apologize to him.”
“Why should I, Suga? I don’t need to apologize for the truth.” Kageyama argued.
“You stepped on a landmine.” Suga growled. “Now apologize.”
Hinata sniffled a little and shook his head. “He doesn’t need to apologize.” Hinata said, faking a smile. “I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up over something in the past. It’s just that, right? It’s in the past.” Hinata beamed and looked to the other boys. “And you guys are?”
One had short-cropped blonde hair and glasses. Another had short black hair and narrow eyes with freckles dotting his face. The third was more or less bald with the most condescending smile and a look in his narrow eyes that said, “I’m more experienced than you. Take that.” It annoyed Hinata.
Daichi gestured to the blonde. “This is Tsukishima Kei. He’s our hacker. He works with the technical stuff.” Tsukishima nodded at Hinata.
Daichi moved to hold a hand out to the black haired boy. “This is Yamaguchi Tadashi. Currently being trained in the art of sniping by Suga-” he throws a thumb over his shoulder to the silver haired man, “-but is currently very skilled with handguns.” Yamaguchi gave Hinata a warm smile.
Finally, he moves to the condescending, practically bald guy. “This is Tanaka Ryuunosuke. Skilled with daggers and hand-to-hand combat.” Tanaka gave a smirk and a thumbs up to Hinata.
“And of course, you know me and Kageyama Tobio. And this man over here,” Daichi walked over to Suga and placed his arm around the man’s shoulder. “Is Sugawara Koushi.” Hinata noticed the pieces of jewelry on their hands as Daichi said, “My husband.”
Suddenly, a man with golden blonde hair burst into the room. “Daichi, gather your squad. We’ve got owls.”
The gym was alive and bustling after that. Suga called out to Yamaguchi to grab his guns and follow him. Tanaka and Nishinoya grabbed knives. Tsukishima ran out to head for the main boards. Daichi and Kageyama stocked up on ammunition for their handguns.
“Dumbass greenhorn!” Kageyama called out. Hinata turned just in time to catch the gun flying at him. “No better way to learn than to put you out on the front lines, right?” Hinata’s eyes widened. Front lines? Owls? What was going on?
“What are you talking about?” Hinata asked incredulously. “Owls?”
“The Fukurodani sect.” Kageyama explained. “They made their way to our compound. We need to flush them out.” He looked Hinata dead in the eye. “They don’t belong here.”
Scary… Hinata thought. How could one guy be so intense? The ginger followed the tall boy and the intense man who brought him here.
FUKURODANI
As Bokuto and Akaashi made their way up to the Karasuno compound, all seemed eerily quiet. “Is anyone even home?” Bokuto questioned out loud. Akaashi looked over at his fiancé. “They have to be. At least Ukai does. Where else could they go?”
A loud voice boomed overhead. “Why are you here?” It rang through the air, like the lingering blast of a gunshot. Bokuto put his hands in his suit’s pockets. “To collect, of course.” He responded. “As if you didn’t know, Ukai.”
“We have no intent of bartering with you.” Ukai’s voice rang out again. “Leave our territory.”
“No-can-do, Mister Boss.” Bokuto called out. Akaashi stopped him, and spoke up. “We have orders from our boss, you see. My father. If you don’t get us what we came for, I’ve been told we have to smoke the place.” He crossed his arms. “The last thing I want to do is disturb the peace between the groups, alright? So if you’ll just give us what we came for, that’d be great.”
There was a lengthy silence before a young man came out carrying a metal box. He was tailed by a dark, brooding character and a smaller one with fiery red hair. “Daichi.” Akaashi said. “It’s been a while.” He gave the Karasuno member a smile.
“Maybe not long enough, Akaashi.” Came Daichi’s response. Bokuto peered over to have a glance at the redhead. “New recruit?” he asked, glancing up at Daichi.
“Hinata.” Daichi introduced the newest member with a scowl directed towards Akaashi. “How about you control your pet, Akaashi? He seems to be a little untamed.”
“Out of my hands.” Akaashi responded coolly. “Your redheaded chihuaua seems to be shaking far too much. Does he have to pee? Is he cold? I’d look into that if I were you.” Akaashi turned and began to walk out, calling for Bokuto to follow him.
“He has a lot of potential, I think.” Bokuto commented. “It would be a shame to waste all of that, you know?” He looked at Akaashi, who had a dark look on his face. “Akaashi?”
Akaashi hummed thoughtfully. “He’ll be quite the formidable opponent, that little one."