Burning Ice (A Haikyuu AU)

33. Pancakes

(3rd Person)

"I shouldn't have left him there." Was what Vio had been repeating over the last hour. "That was my mistake. I shouldn't have left him there."

"Shh, it's okay." Aya said, which was what she had been repeating over the last hour. "We'll get him back. Do you remember anything else?"

She had managed to get a few scraps of information out of Vio, and had marked down the name 'Hana Fujito' in her mental notebook.

"This is like when you went to scout that house, but worse, because none of us are with him, and he's all alone, and they're probably feeding him poison ---"

Hold on.

"Vio, what happened when I went to scout the house?"

Even in her half-panicked state, Vio could still muster up a convincing lying face. "What do you mean?

"I mean." Aya narrowed her eyes. "When I went to scout out the house and Kenken didn't have his mask anymore."

Vio sighed. "Alright." She picked at her nails. "We kinda followed you."

Aya slapped a hand over her face. "Tell me you're lying."

Vio shrugged. "Nope. We followed you but not into the house, and maybe possibly got into a little scuffle with the patrolling guards."

Aya gave her the most condescending look she could. "Not the brightest lot, are you?"

"Shut up."

"Well, now that's all over with, I need to research." She forced a pile of books into Vio's hands. "You might as well help me. Go through these kidnapping cases and see if you can find anything related to Hana."

"Kenjiro probably has something similar." Vio remarked. "He knew a lot more about this whole kidnapping thing than I expected."

"Really." Aya made another mental note.

"Yeah. He was talking about how another case looked similar. Kageyama, I think?"

Aya froze. The names on the files were printed and inked into her mind, and she connected the dots instantly. 

Athena's Angels.

Files that the Flames wanted.

Akaashi's past.

Matthew Carter.

The Miyagi centre.

"They're keeping kids in there." Aya said.

"What?"

"They're keeping kids." She repeated. "In the Miyagi police station."

Vio shook her head. "Aya, I'm not following with the thought process."

Aya stood up. "Act first, talk later."

----------------------------

Shirabu fell asleep.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep, in the dungeon that was irritatingly and surprisingly comfortable. The floor was cold stone, but he had a blanket. A blanket that smelt like how he imagined Semi to smell --- the barest hint of something spicy and sweet. 

He had buried his face in the blanket in an attempt to clear his mind, which probably wasn't a great idea, and fell asleep. 

When he woke up again, the first thing that appeared in his eyesight was the stone floor. And then, seconds later, the brown eyes of Semi Eita, amused and way too close.

Shirabu flinched back.

"Not here to hurt you." Semi said, blinking those eyes of his. "I promise."

I know. Shirabu wanted to say, but that leads down a strange path he didn't want to go down. So he said instead, "Why would I trust your promise?"

"Ouch. But point taken. And I guess I deserved it."

"Very much so." His eyes traveled to the the barred windows. "What time is it?" The sunlight was shining through, casting its golden brilliance wherever it could reach. 

"The morning." Semi said cheerfully. "I brought you pancakes."

So this is how it's going to be, huh? Shirabu nearly snorted. It was a reward system. He knew exactly what had led to this. Last night, he had told him what little he knew about Matthew Carter. 

"In charge of the Miyagi centre. Doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. Has a wife and son apparently."

"Anything else?"

"No." He had a suspicion that Aya knew more, but he wasn't about to tell Semi that. 

"In exchange." Semi had sighed, his eyes closing briefly. He really was pretty. "Hana has been kidnapped by who we suspect is Matthew Carter, for a program."

That was all he had been able to get out of the boy. He stared at the pancakes now, wondering if he should eat them. After all, just because he wasn't poisoned last night didn't mean they won't try today.

To give himself time to decide, he asked, "Is this your blanket?"

Silence ensued. Shirabu looked up to see surprise light Semi's eyes for a second, before flickering out and settling into his easy, amused smile again. "Why?"

Shirabu shook his head. 

"Well, to answer your question, that is my blanket." Semi winked, "So please take good care of it. I'd like it back eventually."

Shirabu rolled his eyes, because how else was he supposed to react? He decided that the pancakes looked good enough for him to stop being cautious and start eating. He tasted buttery lightness and a maple syrup good enough to kill. It was basically poison --- if he got these pancakes everyday, the Flames would have half the Ice's information already.

What an effective system. He made a guess. "Osamu Miya?"

"How could you tell?" Semi was looking at him with a small smile, and Shirabu suddenly found it a little bit harder to breath. And like all questions he didn't know how to answer, he shrugged.