Spirits In My Head // kagehina AU

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Daichi was not leaving to Delta with us.

As soon as dawn approaches, Nishinoya ushers everybody out of bed. I needed not to be bothered, for Nishinoya's loud voice when he was waking Asahi was enough to bring me to my senses. The man had a very loud voice for such a small body, though if I take Shouyo into consideration it does not seem that strange.

Everybody gathers on the first floor, packing up the rest of our supplies to get a move on. Nishinoya and a hunter friend of his would be leading Shouyo and I to Delta, where they would send us on our way southeast to Epsilon. To my surprise, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were going to tag along for part of the trip, planning to head southwest toward Mu instead. Personally, I did not want to spend any more time than necessary beside the blonde, and he seemed to share the feeling, but at times like this it seems like a better idea for them to tag along through such a populated area due to Yamaguchi's condition.

"Alright!" Nishinoya finally states. "Everybody ready?"

"Wait, Noya," Asahi attains the shorter man's attention, who walks over to him expectantly. The giant slips a chain over his head, holding it out to Nishinoya instead. The chain was a dull silver, with a black ring hanging from it. Noya bows his head, allowing the taller man to set it around his neck with a familiar motion. "Fly home," He mutters softly when Noya finally lifts his head to look at him.

"I'll be back by tomorrow evening," the smaller of the two grins. "Don't you worry too much." Asahi barely manages a small nod before Ace wanders over, stealing Nishinoya's attention. "Take care of him for me, okay boy?" Ruffling the huge dog's fur, Noya lets out a small laugh before turning to face the rest of us. "Alright, Ryuu is meeting us at the south gates, let's go."

Shouyo is reluctant to leave the dog behind, but we manage to gather everything and set out to the road. Business was already starting up along with the sun, slowly filling up the market with people who gather in a much smaller crowd than yesterday's. As we made our way to the gates, one man appears to stand out from the river or people. With a shaved head and a beige vest with fur trimmings, our second guide waits by the gate.

"Ryuu!" Nishinoya yells, shooting his voice through the sea or merchants and hunters.

The bald man immediately looks in our direction, exclaiming loudly. "Yuu!"

We reach the energetic man, and I watch as our guides fist bump and grin before twisting to face the rest of the party.

"These are the boys we'll be taking over to Delta," the smaller man explains.

"Ooh," the other scans us over. "Alright! You guys can call me Tanaka."

We each take turns introducing ourselves before marching through the gates and into the snow covered fields once more.

"Why do you guys want to go to Delta anyway?" Tanka asks after a ways of walking. "Got family there? None of you look like merchants. Possibly got some association to highwaymen?"

"We just need to get to Mu," Tsukishima states simply and quickly.

"To Mu? It's a quiet zone, I'll give you that, but I don't like fish enough to visit Mu of all places." Zone Mu, situated by one of the few surviving sources of water that has not been infected by the virus. They are known for their plentiful fish market, and nothing else. It's a very small and quiet zone, if anything. "You as well?" Tanaka turns to me.

I shake my head, "We were originally headed to Lambda, but we changed routes to Epsilon."

"I've heard of that," Noya speaks up. "Lambda fell not long ago, right?" I nod, looking at Tsukishima from the corner of my eye. He presses his lips into a thin line, tensing up at the mention of the zone. It seems like Tanaka catches it as well, so he urges a change in topic.

"I have a sister in Epsilon," He crosses his arms. "Said she didn't want to be a hunter like the rest of the family and headed west to find a better job."

"Does Saeko still own that inn?" Noya wonders out loud.

"Yeah! Accoding to her letters, she gets a lot of business as well."

"So cool! Your sister is awesome," Noya beams, yet Tanaka seems to doubt the statement.

I feel a tug at my sleeve and turn toward Shouyo, who is staring intently at Nishinoya. "The ring, what is it?"

Fly home.

There is no harm in asking, so I gather up my voice. "Nishinoya... Is that ring Asahi's?"

The man blinks in my direction, "Technically it is, but we pass it back and forth every once in a while." He holds up the ring for me to see. It was a simple back band with a small amber gem as the only detail. "Whenever he goes out to search for supplies, I pass possession to him. Whenever I go out hunting, he passes possession to me."

"Like a good luck charm, or something?" I ask, narrowing my eyes in confusion.

"Of sorts," Noya smiles softly, looking the ring over. "It's a wish. A wish for the one in possession to return home safely."

Shouyo's eyes light up, "so cool! Can we have something like that, Tobio!?"

"A promise ring?" I turn to him, eyes wide. "I'm not sure why we would need something like that."

Shouyo narrows his eyes, "Dumbass, you're no fun."

There is no need for a promise ring or a wish to return home if there in no home to return to.

I must have spoken out loud, because Shouyo's expression cracks open one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. "As long as we have each other, that's the only home we need."