And All the Prince's Men (haikyu)

𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 27

"This is the dumbest idea we've had this whole journey," Kyoutani huffs, keeping low to the ground.

"There's not much we can do about it," Iwaizumi sighs, nudging him forward.

"At least they both didn't come," Yahaba reminds.

"I could not spend another moment at Tsukishima's manor. Don't act like I'm useless," Prince Tobio snaps back, crawling forward with a stern scowling face.

"If anything happens to him, you can blame it on me. It can just add to my tally," Yahaba offers.

Kyoutani kicks him lightly, "Stop being a fucking martyr."

"Stop fucking the mar-" Yahaba teases back before receiving another angry kick.

"What are they talking about," Prince Tobio asks, frowning.

Iwaizumi groans, "They're beneath you sire, don't pay them or he gross things they say, any mind."

It only takes them a few days with the Princely escort to reach the Tri-Kingdom border. There they leave Prince Shouyou with their horses, sneaking into Fukurodani territory under the cover of darkness. Iwaizumi does not know how to feel about Prince Tobio's insistence on his inclusion in this last part of the mission. Wonders if it truly is only about his dislike for the Karasuno Lord, or if it be from the amalgamation of guilt surely sinking through his system.

Iwaizumi decides not to question it. He is tired. The breeze is getting colder, heralding Winter's coming arrival, and Iwaizumi longs to stop. To rest for more than a day. To go home.

But home is not a place, not really. Home is where Oikawa is, and he longs to be there again. So he trudges forward, desperately. Their destination so close now he can almost taste.

He can see it in the way the forest grows gloomier and darker, sees it in the coldness of his breath, feels it in the trepidation that gives him goose bumps along his neck. This darkness is not normal, its ethereal. He knows they must be close. He knows that Oikawa has to be here. Somewhere. Everywhere.

Part of him wishes to call out, to shout his name, to order him to stop this unnecessary hiding. To come back to him. But the other part knows that this is foolish. They can not be the only ones in these woods. Being found out now would be disastrous, especially by Fukurodani officials.

"Stay down!" Prince Tobio hisses, suddenly. In one quick move, he plucks an arrow from his back, drawing it upon his bow and firing it inches from Kyoutani's head. The knight rears back, and inhuman squeal reverberates around them. Black talons retract from the fog, arrow still embedded into the scaly skin as it disappears.

Yahaba pulls Kyoutani back as the blond curses, "The fuck was that?"

"Are we already in the cursed forest?" Iwaizumi mutters, drawing his sword out and crouching low, keeping close to his companions.

Prince Tobio draws another arrow, blue eyes searching the grassy area around them for any hint of movement. He shivers suddenly, as if a coldness brushed against him and he swivels around. Iwaizumi ducks so as not to get hit by the waving arrow, "Watch it."

Prince Tobio doesn't reply, swiveling around and around. His calm precise motions becoming more erratic and panicked.

"Sire, are you alright?" Yahaba asks, stepping toward him, lowering his dagger.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Prince Tobio orders, but he's not looking at Yahaba. He's looking all over the place. He fires an arrow, it hits a tree, embedding in the bark uselessly.

His blue eyes are wide as they swivel back toward Iwaizumi, fingers trembling, "Make them stop!" He shouts.

Iwaizumi takes a step forward, and Prince Tobio fires his next arrow, scraping across his shin painfully, blood starting to drip down his legs. He lets out a pained hiss, hands coming down to clutch at the new wound.

He hears a voice in his head, are you alright?

Iwaizumi keeps his gaze on Prince Tobio's shaking form. The boy has dropped his bow entirely, staring at the ground and mumbling to himself. Iwaizumi can't help but think, in turn, I'm fine, but something is terribly wrong with Prince Tobio.

Iwaizumi shudders, eyes blinking into temporary blindness. There is only darkness around him and terror seizes. But it only for the briefes of moments, because one he blinks again, he can see. He feels winded. He shakes his head out of the coolness that had overtaken him.

Kyoutani is by his side, Yahaba stepping toward the panicking Prince with soothing words. But there's something else. Iwaizumi tears his eyes away from the scene in favor to look around, because now that he can look away he can feel it. There's someone else here, something else here. A dark, horrendous presence in the shadows, building up with dread.

And then Iwaizumi sees it, it's hunkering mass growing, and he's not sure how he could not see it before. It rises from the darkness of a tree, amassing itself in a plume of black smoke, right behind Prince Tobio. Skinny spindling talons coming down towards the boy, shaking on the ground, pulling at his own hair. Following the spindly arms up the shadow he can see a white, oval mask smiling at him.

He feels his legs stiffen up under him in terror.

How does Yahaba not see it? Or Kyoutani for that matter? Both keep their gaze locked on Prince Tobio's panic attack, bodies unable to move from both fear and confusion. Iwaizumi tries to get his body to comply, fingers twitching to get to his sword at his side and ready it.

And then, suddenly, there is a fifth presence.

There is a whistle in the air, a sudden gust of wind that billows around them, a dark and foreboding aura encompassing them all, it's force pushing away at the plumes of smoke. And suddenly a demon rises in their midst, shielding Prince Tobio's crouching form from the growing darkness.

His wears a dark cloak, hood up. Sharp talons glint in the evening light. The wind pushes the hood back, revealing feral brown hair, and long spiraling horns. Yahaba lets out a shriek, as if revisited by a nightmare, and he backs away completely, grappling for Kyoutani's arm to pull him back too.

The demon lets out an inhuman snarl, thin tail whipping out. The dark force seems to shrink back, and in that moment's reprieve the demon bends down to pick the limp Prince up from the ground, shoving him into Iwaizumi's arm.

It is then, and only then that he makes eye contact with him.

Brown eyes stare into green and Iwaizumi feels his knees about to buckle.

But there is no time for that, because the shadow lets out a sudden bellow. Oikawa doesn't look back at it, keeps his gaze focused on Iwaizumi, then he lifts his arm and points.

Iwaizumi follows the motion toward the tree in question and knows what he needs to do.