The King's Servant

Chapter 33

Hinata's POV

I stood by the edge of the ship, watching the water quietly. I wonder if I would spot another mermaid or merman or something. I was focusing on the water when Kageyama snuck up behind me. If it weren't for Kageyama grabbing me, I might've panicked and fallen overboard.

"D-don't scare me like that...!!"

"Sorry. Here, close your eyes and face me." He said with a smile. I huffed but did as he said. I felt Kageyama grab my left hand and put something on my finger. Once Kageyama said to open my eyes, I looked down curiously. 

"Woah. How did you-"

"When I was little, my grandpa taught me a few things about blacksmithing. Not nearly enough to be like, an actual blacksmith, but enough to do things like that."

"Where'd you get the stuff!"

"I traded Kuroo something for the material." I looked in awe at a ring now on my finger. 

"Now you don't have to worry about losing the scale." Kageyama said with a small smile. He slid an identical ring onto his own hand. I giggled, admiring the ring for a bit before jumping onto my boyfriend and kissing him. I nearly forgot we were on a pirate ship with a bunch of pirates just, hanging around to see. Kageyama chuckled when I blushed heavily and slowly slid off of him. 

"Whoops... I uh. Forgot where we were...!" I said with an embarrassed laugh. Kageyama grinned and leaned down, giving me a very, very passionate kiss. One passionate enough to make me try and stifle any noise.

"Let them watch, just means these pirates know who you belong too." He said, pulling away and laughing at my face that was probably as red as a tomato. I grabbed Kageyama's hand and just sat down on the deck of the ship with our backs resting against the walls around the ridges.

"The rings are really pretty..." I said with a small smile, grabbing Kageyama's hand and holding my left hand up right next to his. I giggled at our hand size difference before looking up at my boyfriend.

"Kageyama? After we get to the city, can we go visit Akaashi?"

"If you want to. It might be hard to find him though."

"But wouldn't it be sooooooo cool!" I asked with an excited tone. Kageyama chuckled slightly and nodded, booping my forehead with his. 

Kenma's POV

"Hey Kenma, come look at this." I dragged myself out of bed and walked over to Kuroo. Looking down at what he was looking at on his desk.

"Oh. Are these the things Kageyama came in here to give you in exchange for those rings."

"Yeah. This crest will be worth a lot of money."

"I bet."

"Oh, the other thing he traded me was this. I took it because I thought you would like it." Kuroo reached over to the side of his desk and handed me a book. I curiously look at the leather cover before smiling slightly. It was a book about botany. I had a bunch of books and scrolls but not one about plants.

"Thank you Kuroo." I said, giving Kuroo's cheek a little kiss before wandering to the bed and curling up to read. After a while of reading, I stretched and rested the book on my stomach.

"Hey Kuroo?"

"Mhm."

"How long until we'll be at the next city."

"Probably by tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"I dunno. I kinda liked having Hinata around." I said, Kuroo huffing. I smiled faintly and looked up at the ceiling. Hinata was very fun, and nice. A nice change of pace from the others on this ship. It's not like that anyone here was particularly mean, but Hinata was like a ball of sunshine compared to everyone else here.

Kuroo got up and walked over to me. I watched as he removed all the books and scrolls I had laying on and around me before falling on me. I groaned, trying to shove him off.

"Kuroo you're gonna kill me."

"How come.. you like Hinata, better than me!" He said, making me pause for a moment. I couldn't help but laugh slightly. Oh. That's what he was worried about. Kuroo is a huge baby, at least for being a pirate captain. I managed to get my arms out from underneath Kuroo's body, and poked his head until he looked at me.

Kuroo looked at me with a pout, the sight making me smile slightly. I cupped his cheeks and gave him a kiss.

"Maybe after we reach the city I should stay there so I can be by Hinata." I said jokingly.

"Kenmaaaaaaaaaa!" Kuroo whined childishly.

"You better hope no one comes in here and finds their captain lying on top of me whining."

"Kenmaaaaaa."

"Kuroo, I'm not going anywhere. I wanted to come along when you asked me to join you, remember?"

"But you just came along because you wanted to travelllllll..."

"Yes, I wanted to come along because I wanted to travel and see what else was out there. But I also came along because I wanted to be with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, you idiot." I said, Kuroo smiling all happily as he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me half to death. Once he loosened his grip, I took in a deep breath and flicked his forehead.

"Ow!"

"You're the one who tried squeezing the life out of me."

"Did you really want to be with me??"

"Of course. I love you, Kuroo." I said, Kuroo looking like he was actually gonna cry.

"Uwahhhh, KENMAAAA."

"...Are you really the same person who cut the tentacle of a Kraken off...." I grumbled, Kuroo nuzzling his face into my chest. As baby-ish as he was being, I kind of liked when Kuroo showed this side of himself to me. It shows me he hasn't truly changed from when we were children. He hasn't changed from the person I first fell in love with.