Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They had been planning this job for weeks, the target house looked empty, it had looked empty for weeks. No one had come or gone, and the place was huge, it was a perfect score. Osamu had taken a little convincing, it was the biggest job they had ever taken on, but eventually he caved.

Getting in had been easy, most of the building had sensors on the windows, save one on the first floor at the back of the house. A large tree was placed near enough to it, which is where Atsumu had spent the better part of the last few nights, detailing as much as he could about the mansion.

He and Osamu had gone inside, and leaving Osamu to search the room they entered, Atsumu opened the first door he came across in the corridor outside and stepped inside. He sensed something was wrong about three seconds before the sudden wave of gut churning dread processed in his brain. Ice flooded through him as he heard the door close behind him, and felt the end of a silencer right between his shoulder blades.

Atsumu flicked his wrist quickly to his face and whispered 'fox' into the small clip on his sleeve.

"Ah so you're not alone," came a deep voice from behind him.

Atsumu felt the gun push against his back.

"Get against the left wall, and tell whoever you're with to get in here in 30 seconds or I'll put a bullet in your brain."

Atsumu moved slowly against the wall, his back against it, seeing a man directly in front of him, in a pristine black suit, with black shirt and black tie. He wore a face mask, with only black eyes and part of his forehead visible, black curls hung over his face.

The door opened behind them, and Osamu stepped in. Atsumu shot him a glare from behind his mask that his brother couldn't see.

"I told ya to get out." Atsumu hissed.

The man in the black suit moved swiftly as Osamu entered the room, he pointed his gun at Osamu with one hand, and wrapped his fingers around Atsumu's throat with the other, squeezing hard. Atsumu tilted his head up, pushing up on tip toes, struggling to breathe.

"We live together, we die together." Osamu said.

"Die together it is then." the man in black said.

He dropped his hand from Atsumu then, and watched him crumple onto his hands and knees. The man then pulled something from his pocket and wrapped it around Atsumu's neck, locking it in place.

"Lets make this simple. That collar is rigged with explosives. Not enough to do damage to anything important to me, but enough to end your lovers life. Try and do anything and he dies. Got it?"

"Got it, but he's not my lover." Osamu replied.

"What's with the 'live together die together' shit then?"

"Don't." Atsumu called.

"I don't think it really matters anymore brother." Osamu replied.

The man in black stepped forward then, ripping the mask off of Osamu's face, then repeated with Atsumu, who was still kneeling on the floor.

"Ah, the fox twins, how interesting. Kneel next to your brother."

"Ya know who we are?" Atsumu said.

"Yes, Atsumu I assume? Yes I know of you."

"Who are you?" Atsumu replied.

"And why would I tell you that?" the man replied.

"Well yer gonna kill us, so what does it matter?" Atsumu shot back.

"Very well, but first, just in case."

The man bent forward, and rigged another collar around Osamu's neck clicking it in place. He then stood back up and slid his mask down slightly, revealing two small moles on his forehead.

"Fuck," Atsumu said. "you're Jackal."

"I see my reputation proceeds me."

"I'm so sorry brother." Atsumu said, turning to face Osamu.

The twins knelt before each other, staring into each others eyes. Jackal was one of the most famous assassins of this generation, he was cold blooded and utterly ruthless. There was a story that someone had once spilt coffee on Jackal, and had been subject to a month of torture before his body had been found dumped outside of the coffee shop.

"So it was your idea to break in then?" Jackal said, turning to face Atsumu.

"Yes, I talked my brother into it, take everything out on me." Atsumu said, raising his head to look at Jackal.

"Oh I'm not sure that's the most fun way. Hurting you doesn't seem anywhere near as enjoyable as doing everything to Osamu over here, and letting you watch it all, knowing it's entirely your fault."

Atsumu looked at his brother, tears forming in his eyes, he moved forward on his knees to wrap his arms around his brother, muttering how sorry he was over and over again.

"You know what, I've just thought of a fun game we can play together Atsumu. Move back, I want to see your face when I tell you the rules."

Atsumu shuffled away from his brother, tear lines etched down his cheeks. Jackal ran a gloved hand under Atsumu's chin, forcing him to look up.

"The game will go like this. You're going to work for me. I'm going to send you on the jobs I don't want to do. See, sometimes my work gets high risk, and you're expendable, so I'll just send you, and if you die, well, I honestly don't care, but should you live, I'll get paid for doing nothing."

Jackal stopped to watch the look of horror seep through Atsumu's face and smiled behind his mask.

"Osamu will stay here with me. You'll have a task, and a deadline, you fail the task, or fail to return, and you can start a little collection of the parts of your brother that I remove. Don't worry, I'll be kind for the start, he can still function perfectly fine without some fingers and toes."

Jackal watched Atsumu full body shiver in front of him and smiled again.

"You going to be a good boy and do everything I tell you to do?"

Atsumu nodded, looking at the floor.

"Look at me. Say it."

"Ye-yes sir." Atsumu stammered out, looking up at the black eyes above him.

"Good boy. Now follow me, we need to go and get your darling brother acquainted with his new home."

Jackal walked away then, Atsumu paused, offering a hand to Osamu, who gripped it tightly. They stayed that way, following Jackal through the house and down into the basement. They were met with a solid metal door that was key code locked, with a thumb and iris scanner. Atsumu swallowed, squeezing his brothers hand.

They stepped into a stone walled room, there were chains attached to the right wall, with droplets of dried blood on the floor, a single bed on the left side, a metal table and metal chair, all of which were bolted to the floor. There was also a single door open to the left, that showed a small bathroom, also entirely metal.

"Welcome home Osamu. I don't feel the need to chain you up, as I'm sure you're more than aware of what I could do to your brother if you even remotely piss me off. Make yourself at home, oh and don't bother to try anything, the entire room is a completely closed system. Nothing gets out."

With that he turned and walked out.

"Come along Atsumu, you have work to do."

"Yes sir." Atsumu replied, he let go of his brothers hand, then stepped towards him, holding him tightly.

"I won't let him hurt ya," he whispered before pulling away.

"Oh yes, I nearly forgot."

Jackal stepped forward, pulled the clip off of Osamu's wrist, dropped it to the floor and crushed it.

"Now come along Atsumu. If you're good, I might let you talk to your brother tomorrow."

Atsumu watched with tears leaking down his face as the door closed on Osamu, and turned to follow his new master up the stairs.

Jackal walked into one of the bedrooms on the 2nd floor.

"Find clothing in the chest of drawers, use the en-suite, go shower now and change."

Atsumu turned towards the drawer unit, then paused, turning back, he pulled the clip from his sleeve and handed it over to Jackal, not that it mattered now, it was worthless without his brothers one, but he couldn't cope with the reminder.

Jackal took it without comment, tossing it into the bin behind him, and stood waiting. Atsumu returned to him, freshly showered, wearing black sweat pants and t-shirt.

"Ya must really like black." Atsumu said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to the chest of drawers.

Jackal said nothing, just simply observed him.

"You know, it's such a shame your brother revealed who you are. Shame for you that is. Would have been a couple of bullets to the back of your heads and game over if he hadn't. Now I know who you are though, I know perfectly well that you have no family or friends, no one to notice you're missing. It's perfect for me."

"What do ya want me to do first?"

"Straight to the point I see. For tonight, nothing, I need to make some arrangements, now that the situation has changed. Just go to sleep."

"Ya don't want me to do anythin'? You won't hurt my brother will ya?" Atsumu said quickly.

"You're of no use to me for work matters tonight."

"Ya make that sound like there are non work matters."

"Yes, well I could make other uses of you I suppose, let's just say favours can be done in order to appease me when you screw up, because I know you will, but for tonight, sleep."

"What do ya want? I'll do anything to protect my brother."

"Anything?" Jackal raised an eyebrow, "very well, I could make use of your mouth and throat for example."

"Oh." Atsumu's eyes widened.

"As I said, we'll discuss it when you fuck up." With that, Jackal turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Atsumu called.

As Jackal turned, Atsumu dropped to his knees in front of the bed footer.

"Really keen to get on my good side are we?" Jackal smirked.

Atsumu said nothing, but closed his eyes and opened his mouth. A silent surrender.

"Very well then."

Jackal stepped forward, wrapping his hand around Atsumu's throat, pushing him back against the wood, then unzipped his trousers and pulled out his semi-hard cock, inserting himself into Atsumu's mouth.

He observed Atsumu's head moving back and forwards against him a few times, then ran his hand through Atsumu's hair, gripping tightly, before pushing himself down Atsumu's throat. He heard the blond gag sharply. Jackal kept his grip tight, forcing Atsumu to stay on him, struggling to breathe. When he saw Atsumu reaching his limits, he pulled out, watching Atsumu choke in air to his deprived lungs.

Atsumu had barely recovered when Jackal pushed back in, using his mouth and throat roughly, making Atsumu gag occasionally, fucking him hard until he spilt his load down Atsumu's throat. With that he pulled away, closing his fly again, and walked out of the room, leaving Atsumu bent forward on his hands and knees, recovering.

Atsumu pulled himself up, and threw himself on the bed. He knew he would do anything and everything to protect his brother, as it was Atsumu who put them in this situation. As Atsumu drifted off into a restless sleep, he wondered just how broken he was going to get, stopping his brother getting broken.

Chapter Text

"Get up, you have work to do. Be downstairs in 10 minutes."

Atsumu heard the door close and shot out of bed, showering as fast as possible and ran down to the front door. Jackal walked in a minute later.

"Follow me."

Jackal walked down to the basement and unlocked his brothers room, stepping inside. Atsumu saw Osamu lying on the bed, he looked nervous but otherwise unharmed.

"I have a job for you Atsumu, will you do it successfully or do you need motivation."

Atsumu looked at Jackal, noticing a pair of pliers in his right hand. Jackal noticed his glance, opened the pliers and ran his gloved index finger over the sharp edge. Atsumu swallowed, which hurt due to the damage to his throat.

"I'll do it."

"Good. Come along then."

Atsumu glanced at his brother once more before exiting the room.

--

"It complete?"

Atsumu answered by placing a small black velvet bag down on the dining table. Jackal moved forward, opening it up and tipping the flawless amethyst out onto his hand. He pulled out a magnifying glass from his pocket, inspected the gem, then placed it back in the pouch.

"Shame. I really wanted to hurt someone tonight."

"Why don't ya then?"

"You want me to hurt your brother?"

"No, not him. I mean, ya could just hurt me anyway, not like I can do anything about it. Nothing is stopping ya." Atsumu looked down at the floor.

Jackal cocked his head to one side before rising from his chair, walked towards Atsumu and stood looking down at him.

"You know, it's rather stupid of you to give me such good ideas."

Atsumu found himself on the floor after that, the side of his head ringing, having received a blow to the right side of his face. Atsumu shook his head, then pulled himself back up to stand in front of Jackal again.

"Hoping I take everything out on you so I don't hurt your brother? How noble of you."

Atsumu just stood there, his eyes trained at the floor.

"Kneel."

Atsumu got on his knees without question, eyes still on the floor. Jackal put a hand under his chin, pulling his face up, a bruise already blooming on Atsumu's cheek. Jackal poked his index finger harshly into the bruise, watching Atsumu wince.

"You know, this isn't nearly as much fun when you blindly accept it. Maybe I do need to visit your brother after all."

"No, please... please I'll do anything ya want of me." Atsumu begged.

Jackal dragging Atsumu to his feet by gripping the front of his t-shirt and pulled him out the door. Atsumu was shaking by the time Jackal finished unlocking his brothers door.

"Hello Osamu," Jackal said.

Osamu took one glance at his brother's face as Atsumu was shoved harshly into the room then his eyes flicked back to Jackal in fear.

"I'm hoping you can solve a problem for me Osamu. Atsumu over there is being perfect. He even got on his knees for my pleasure in order to stop me hurting you. Isn't he a good brother? That's not very fun for me though. I was so looking forward to him failing me so I could make you scream. It now seems that I need to hurt you in order to break his little perfect act. What do you think?"

Atsumu knelt on the floor, watching his brother shaking on the bed, as Jackal approached Osamu and sat down on the end of the bed.

"No!" Atsumu yelled.

"Is this defiance from you Atsumu? How interesting. Come here."

Atsumu shuffled forward on his knees until he was knelt in front of Jackal. Jackal pushed his thumb onto Atsumu's jaw hard, forcing his mouth open, then inserted his index finger inside, pushing down until Atsumu gagged.

"Stop." Osamu called.

Jackal withdrew his hand, pushing Atsumu back away from him and rounded on Osamu. He drew a small object from inside his suit jacket pocket, flicked open a blade and gripped Osamu's hand, his thumb pushing into Osamu's palm, bending his wrist backwards. Osamu gasped in pain but didn't move or resist. Jackal hovered the blade over the webbing between Osamu's index finger and thumb, pushing down lightly. He watched Osamu wince.

Atsumu threw himself on top of Jackal then, pushing him back away from Osamu, Jackal dropped the blade on the bed, Osamu picked it up, as Jackal threw Atsumu to the floor.

"Drop it or he dies." Jackal called, a small black remote pointed at the collar on Atsumu's neck.

Osamu dropped the blade, moving across the room to kneel in front of his brother.

"Well then. I can see I'm going to enjoy this. Both of you are so determined to protect the other. I wonder how far I can push that before that brotherly love breaks and your survival instinct kicks in? At what point will you put yourselves first I wonder?"

"Never!" Atsumu shouted, "I would die first."

"We shall see if you still feel that way after a few months. Come along Atsumu, we have things to do."

--

Atsumu followed Jackal back up stairs into Atsumu's room. When Jackal stood there without speaking for a few minutes, Atsumu gathered fresh clothing and disappeared into the shower. He walked out of the bathroom ten minutes later, seeing Jackal still stood in the same place.

"So it turns out when it comes to your brother suffering, you do defy me. Interesting." Jackal remarked.

Atsumu swallowed, fear showing on his face, and dropped to his knees.

"Oh don't you worry, I'm not going to hurt him for what you did. This time anyway. Come here, you know what to do."

Atsumu shuffled forward, opening his mouth. Jackal choked him hard, abusing his throat repeatedly, rougher than previously, until climax, then pulled away. Atsumu dropped to the floor, tears flooding down his face.

"Next time, don't interfere with your brothers punishments. It will only get worse for you."

With that Jackal turned and walked away, leaving Atsumu on his knees, crying.

--

It was nearly two in the morning, and Atsumu was in pain. His throat felt like it was on fire and he was struggling to breathe easily, even though Jackal had left him hours ago. He got up and crept downstairs as quietly as he could, made his way to the basement, and sat down with his back to his brothers door. He placed a hand behind him, feeling the cold metal.

The door was way too thick for his horse voice to penetrate but it was a small comfort to Atsumu to know his brother was so close. Tears flowed down his face. His head snapped up at the sudden movement in front of him, to see Jackal standing before him. He was still wearing his mask and gloves, but was otherwise just dressed in a black t-shirt and black jogging bottoms.

It was the first time Atsumu had seen him outside of his suit. His eyes racked over the ivory skin on his arms and neck.

"What the fuck are you doing down here?"

"I.. um... couldn't sleep. How did ya know I was down here?" Atsumu choked out.

"The whole house is rigged with motion sensors."

"Ya have the house rigged up with high level security and ya left one window accessible?"

"Yes, it was intentional."

"It's a trap?" Atsumu croaked out in shock.

"Yes. You left the room too fast to notice, but your brother would have, it's why he came to you. The window is rigged to close and lock once the system is triggered. Once you're in, you don't leave."

Atsumu swallowed at that, albeit painfully. He had always tried to protect his brother, but now he had led him into a trap, one they had no way of escaping other than to die.

Jackal stepped forward then and dragged Atsumu away from the door. Atsumu made to start walking back up the stairs, when he heard the door unlock. He turned back, and Jackal was holding the door open for him. Atsumu eyed him for a moment, before Jackal nodded, and Atsumu slipped inside.

Osamu was asleep on the single bed when he entered, but as he approached, Osamu's eyes fluttered open.

"'Tsumu?" he whispered.

Atsumu threw himself down on the bed and wrapped his arms around his brother, tears falling down his face. Osamu wrapped his arms around Atsumu, gripping him tightly. Osamu looked up at Jackal, his face pulled into a questioning frown. Jackal made no comment, other than shutting the door, locking them both inside.

Osamu stroked his brothers back, listening to him choke out the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again in a horse voice.

"'Tsumu, stop, this isn't yer fault. Stop letting him do this to ya as well." Osamu said, touching the side of his brothers throat. "I don't care what he does to me, it kills me to see ya this way."

Atsumu shook his head violently, "I can take it." he croaked out.

Osamu felt tears forming in his own eyes then, and tightened his grip on his brother.

"Come on, sleep." he said, sliding to the side of the bed, pulling his brother under the covers.

Osamu kept his arms wrapped around his brother, nestling his brothers head into his collar bone and squeezing him. They stayed like that, with Osamu rubbing Atsumu's back until the other fell asleep.

--

The twins had been awake for a while, now, but had no way of knowing the time of day. Atsumu had bruising around his throat and his voice was croaky. They had both showered and changed into fresh clothing some time ago. Atsumu was now lying the wrong way around on the bed, with his feet under Osamu's pillow. Osamu was sat at the foot of the bed, one hand behind his head, let against the wall, the other on his brothers shoulder. Atsumu moved his head slightly across his brothers lower thigh, stretching out his back.

"When do ya think he'll come get me?" Atsumu said, breaking the silence.

"No idea, I wasn't really expecting him to let ya stay with me."

"Me either, wonder why he did."

Osamu half shrugged in reply, but didn't comment further. They stayed in silence for a while after that Osamu rubbing his thumb softly across his brothers shoulder.

"What ya thinkin' about?" Atsumu asked.

Before Osamu had a chance to respond the door opened.

"Move. I have work for you."

Atsumu pulled himself up, and with a quick glance to his brother, headed out the door.

Chapter Text

Atsumu stood in the hallway a few hours later shaking, then collapsed onto his knees and continued to tremble. Blood was running down the side of his face, dripping onto his hands. He had failed his mission. His right eye was swollen shut and he hurt all over. He'd been sent to collect money from a group that owed Jackal money. They hadn't believed Atsumu worked for him, and Atsumu had been subject to one of the thugs beating him before he was thrown out the door.

"What the fuck happened?"

Jackal was stood in front of him, anger seeping into his voice. Atsumu looked up terrified.

"They.. didn't believe ya sent me." He stuttered out.

Atsumu hung his head, as Jackal pulled out a phone and placed a call.

"I need you to do a collection."

Jackal paused to listen to the man at the end of the phone. Atsumu couldn't hear what they were saying, but the voice was deep.

"I'll text you the address. Double your normal fee," Jackal listened again then added, "no, I want all of them."

He hung up, then turned to Atsumu.

"Go get cleaned up."

Atsumu stayed on his knees, tears running down his face.

"Please, please don't hurt my brother, I know I failed ya, I'm sorry. Please take it out on me instead." Atsumu begged.

"Just go do what you're fucking told."

Atsumu got off his knees and headed to his room, he was in the bathroom, attempting to clean the blood from his body in the sink when the door opened. Jackal came in with a first aid kit, dumped it on the side and walked out of the bathroom silently. He paused at the bedroom door and called back.

"Meet me by your brothers room in 15 minutes."

He left, leaving Atsumu shaking in fear. Atsumu patched himself up the best he could with the first aid kit then moved as fast as he could down stairs. Jackal was waiting by his brothers door when he arrived. Atsumu trembled in front of him, but then to his surprise Jackal turned and walked past his brothers door, and headed further down the corridor.

Atsumu followed him inside another room, there were four men already inside. Three were kneeling with their hands bound and hoods over their faces, and a fourth was standing off to the side. The man standing was wearing a black roll neck jumper and black jeans, with a black mask and gloves.

"Remove their hoods Suna." Jackal said.

The man in black stepped forward, removing the hoods from the three men on the floor.

"Atsumu, come here." Jackal said.

Atsumu walked around to the front of the three men, and immediately the middle man began spluttering.

"Jackal, we didn't know he worked for you, we will pay... we will pay you double."

"Atsumu, tell me which one beat you."

"The.. the middle one." Atsumu stammered out.

"Oh good, I was hoping it would be that one." Jackal replied.

With that he walked around the back of the three men, took the silenced pistol that Suna was holding and executed the man on the left. The man in the middle began begging again, but Jackal ignored him, executing the man on the right as well. Atsumu watched the bodies drop, shaking.

"Suna." Jackal said simply.

Suna came forward then, taking the pistol back again, pulling the bound man to his feet and cut the ties. He threw the man against the wall and bound his hands with chains.

"Leave Atsumu."

Atsumu hurried towards the door, pulling it shut behind him and quickly walked back towards his brothers room. He didn't make it to the door before the screaming started. Atsumu didn't know how long he sat listening to the screams. He just kept his hand on his brothers door, his back pressed against the cold metal, and waited it out.

Jackal came back along corridor after a few hours, Suna following behind, a black body bag slung over his shoulder. Suna moved past them without a word, continuing upstairs. Jackal said nothing, but started unlocking the door. Atsumu scrambled to his feet.

"Please, please don't hurt him." Atsumu stammered out.

Jackal ignored him, opening the door and walking inside.

"Where's my brother?" Osamu stated instantly, his voice came out so broken, tear marks etched down his face.

Jackal stood aside, and Atsumu came into the room.

"Atsumu!" Osamu cried out, running to him, he seemed too scared to touch him, too scared that any contact would hurt him.

"I.. I thought..it was ya..." Osamu shook as he spoke, tears falling down his face.

"No, I'm okay Osamu."

Osamu glanced up at Jackal then, and then back to his brother.

"This wasn't him. I was sent on a job to collect money. The guy didn't believe who I was so he roughed me up a bit, and um when I got back.. he was collected and.. that's who ya heard um.. " Atsumu trailed off, swallowing.

"You failed to do the job I sent you on." Jackal said.

Atsumu turned around, placing his brother behind him, and got on his knees.

"I know, I'm sorry, please, please let me make it up to you, I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt Osamu."

Tears flowed down Atsumu's face, and his eye stung from the swelling. Jackal didn't respond immediately, he seemed to be contemplating.

"I think you've both been punished enough for one day. Though I hope you better understand what happens to people who mess with my property."

With that Jackal headed towards the door.

"Ya must take ya money seriously then."

Jackal paused at the door. He hummed questioningly.

"That's what ya meant by ya property no?" Atsumu replied.

"Actually, I was talking about you. Come along."

Atsumu's brow furrowed then, and he glanced at his brother, who gave him a weak smile and shrugged. Atsumu kept his eyes locked on his brother as the door closed, then headed up the stairs to his room.

On the foot of the stairs to the first floor, Jackal called out to him.

"Are you okay?"

Atsumu turned back, and stared at him for a moment.

"Sore," he said eventually.

"The door opposite yours is a full bathroom, go take a bath."

With that, Jackal stalked away, leaving Atsumu to head up the stairs, feeling slightly confused.

--

The next day Jackal didn't come to him at all until the evening, Atsumu went to the dining room at the times he'd been instructed to go eat, he showered, put on clean clothes. Jackal called him down to his brothers room, let him in and walked away, returning some time later to let him back out.

This cycle repeated for over a week. His injuries started to heal slowly, but he was still in pain. He was currently lying on his brothers bed, his eyes closed. Osamu was sat to his side, with his back against the wall.

"I love ya." Osamu said suddenly, looking down at Atsumu.

"I love ya too, but what made you say it then?" Atsumu said, frowning.

"It's been over a week since he's sent ya out, it's only gonna be so long before he decides yer healed enough to go out again. Ya never know what's gonna happen."

Atsumu didn't reply then, he just placed his hand on top of his brothers and squeezed. After a few minutes he spoke again.

"Remember the promise we made each other when ma died."

Osamu nodded in reply, then closed his eyes and sighed. It turns out Osamu's intuition had been correct, Jackal approached Atsumu the following morning.

"Ready to work again?"

"I think so." Atsumu replied.

"Good, Suna has a job he needs help with. He's upstairs, go."

--

Atsumu had been in the shower for the better part of the last thirty minutes. Today he had learnt just how bad bodies smell when they were submerged in acid for over a week. He had scrubbed his skin to bright red and raw, but he couldn't shift the smell from his nostrils. It was like it had been burned into his skin. He had already vomited multiple times, and not even the smell of his own vomit could take away the smell of the bodies.

He reluctantly turned off the shower when he heard the bedroom door open, and walked out with just a towel around his waist to see Jackal standing in his room.

"You're late."

Atsumu glanced at the clock, it was already the time he visited his brother.

"Fuck."

He turned and ran back into the bathroom, but before he closed the door, he heard the words.

"I'm not waiting for you."

Jackal got up and walked towards the door, before he left, he heard the sound of glass breaking and swearing. Jackal entered the bathroom, to see Atsumu leaning against the sink, his right hand bleeding profusely and bits of broken mirror littering the counter.

Atsumu found himself pressed against the bathroom wall then, with a hand around his throat. He couldn't breathe, but after today, he just wanted to forget everything. The pain was helping him forget the smell. He didn't put up a fight. After another thirty seconds, the hand released him and he choked in air.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Atsumu doubled over, his hand around his own throat, massaging it.

"It stopped me thinkin' about the smell." Atsumu choked out.

"Ah, you wanted a distraction."

Atsumu nodded slowly.

"Get dressed."

With that, Jackal walked out. Atsumu quickly pulled on boxers, jogging bottoms and a t-shirt and headed out into the bedroom. He saw Jackal standing near the bottom of the bed again. Atsumu walked up so he was directly in front of him. Jackal wrapped his hand around Atsumu's throat again, and Atsumu sunk to his knees, opening his mouth.

"How obedient of you." Jackal sneered, opening his fly.

Atsumu took him into his mouth immediately, desperately wanting the distraction. Jackal ran his gloved index finger along the underside of Atsumu's ear, along his jaw, and then lower, wrapping a hand around his throat, the other in his hair, forcing himself down Atsumu's throat until he gagged and choked.

He pushed Atsumu to his limit again and again, and Atsumu took it willingly. Tears streaming down his face, until Jackal finished in his throat. Atsumu swallowed and remained kneeling while Jackal zipped his fly again and walked out the bedroom.

Atsumu went back into the bathroom after that, bandaging his hand, then carefully cleaning up the glass and disposing of it into the trash. He brushed his teeth and washed his face. When he left the bathroom, Jackal was standing in his room again, Osamu by his side. Atsumu swallowed nervously, looking from Osamu to Jackal.

Jackal said nothing, just walked out the door. Osamu ran over to his brother and hugged him.

"How come he let ya out?" Atsumu said.

"I don't know, he just came down, told me to follow him and took me to ya."

"Well it's not like we can leave, he has the whole house rigged."

They got into bed, thankful for it being a queen size, Atsumu told Osamu about what happened to him during the day, which resulted in Osamu dragging his brother next to him to hold him for a while. Eventually Atsumu drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Time passed slowly, Osamu had been returned to the basement the following morning. Atsumu continued to go on jobs, mostly with Suna, mostly collecting payments, sometimes bringing people back. The weeks stretched on and Atsumu fell into a routine. Do jobs, give head, get to visit his brother. Jackal hadn't threatened him or his brother in over a week now.

"I have a job that requires three people."

Atsumu lifted his head from his bed then.

"Ya coming with me and Suna?" Atsumu said, surprised. Atsumu then noticed the silenced pistol in Jackals hand.

"No, something's come up that requires urgent attention."

With that he turned and walked out of the room. Atsumu scurried off the bed and followed him into the basement. Jackal unlocked Osamu's door and called him out, then closed the door. Jackal turned then and wrapped his hand around Atsumu's throat, speaking in a low dangerous voice.

"Just because he's not locked in here for this mission, don't think you can try anything. I will find you anywhere, and well, you've seen first hand what Suna is capable of. Do not fuck with him. Do not fuck with me, or the last thing you ever hear is the sound of your brother screaming as I take him apart joint by joint."

When his throat was released, he nodded silently.

"Suna is upstairs, go."

Atsumu turned and jogged up the stairs, Osamu still in shock, followed in his wake. Suna was standing by the door, threw a bag to each of them. Atsumu was used to this, he picked up both bags, and grabbed his brothers hand, pulling him along into a nearby room.

"Just like old times, yer not forgotten right?" Atsumu said, grinning slightly.

Atsumu pulled open a bag, revealing the clothing and equipment they would need. He pulled his top off and replaced it with the skin tight black long sleeve t-shirt. Osamu took a few minutes to process the situation, but as he pulled on the black t-shirt and tight black trousers, then bent to lace his boots, his head fell into the quiet calm it always did before they broke into a house.

Atsumu grinned at his brother again, then pulled on the mask that covered his whole head apart from his eyes, and leather gloves. There was a small empty black draw string bag inside one of the duffel bags. Atsumu put the equipment inside it and pulled it on, walking out the door.

Suna was stood waiting for them in an identical outfit, gloves on, wearing his normal face mask, but not a full head mask. His soft brown hair stuck out in little tufts either side.

"Ya not coming in with us?" Atsumu asked.

"No need, two man job inside, I'm just driving. You'll see why it's three man when you get there."

"Alright."

"I'm sure that Jackal has already told you what he's gonna do to you two if you fuck this up, but just to make things perfectly clear, if you fuck me over in any way, then mark my words Atsumu, the last thing you'll be doing in this life is clearing out the acid barrel of your brothers corpse. Got it?"

Atsumu nodded in reply, glancing sideways at his brother, and headed out the door. The twins were in the back of a black van with no plates, blueprints of a warehouse spread in front of them with four red Xs marked on it.

"You'll have 90 seconds." Suna called from the front.

"We'll have to split up. Ya take those two on the side, I'll take the two on this side. We'll meet back here."

Osamu jabbed at the map as he spoke, Atsumu nodding as he went.

"Drop in 4 minutes." Suna called.

The twins stared at the map, trying to memorise every exit from their rendezvous point.

"Drop in 60 seconds. You remember where I'm picking you up right?"

"Yes." Atsumu called.

"If you're over 90 seconds, I'll kill you myself, so I hope you got a good plan."

Atsumu glanced at the front, Suna had his phone on the dash, a timer sat ready.

"Three... two...."

Atsumu gripped the lock on the door, he already had the two devices he was planting out of the bag and strapped to each thigh, Osamu had bolt cutters in his hand. As Suna yelled one, Atsumu flung the back doors open, and jumped from the slow moving truck, he rolled across the tarmac and leapt into a sprint. Osamu broke the chain on the gate and tossed the bolt cutters.

The twins threw a quick glance at each other and ran for opposite doors, Atsumu climbed the ladder, smacking the first device down on the black box at the top, then ran across the top of the catwalk. His feet thundered in time to his heart beat. He skidded to a halt at the other end, slapping the second device down, and threw himself down the ladder, planting his knees on the outside to slide down it.

He saw Samu leap off the ladder on his side, sprinting towards him, Atsumu pushed against the door of the fire exit, but it didn't move. He smashed his body again it, but it didnt move. He glanced at his brother, who grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the ladder Atsumu had just climbed down. Atsumu shoved Osamu into it, and they began to climb. At the top Osamu smashed a hole in the window, sticking his foot up on the ledge and threw himself out. Atsumu pulled himself onto the ledge as well, seeing that Osamu had fallen feet first into a skip full of garbage. He leapt then, Osamu just managing to scramble out the way in time.

Atsumu had been less lucky than Osamu, his leg hit something metal. He cried out in pain, Osamu dragged him out and they ran. The black van was in sight. They threw themselves in and Osamu pulled the door shut. Suna floored it. Osamu put his hand on Atsumu's leg, and Atsumu yelled out in pain, as Osamu pulled his hands away, his fingers were covered in blood. Osamu pulled out a Swiss army knife from the bag they had dumped, running it up Atsumu's trouser leg to the knee. Osamu used the knife to shred the material he cut off and tied it around the wound to try and stem the bleeding.

It was only then that Osamu looked up to the front of the van, noticing that Suna's phone was still on the timer, it read 94 seconds. Osamu turned back to his brother, swallowing thickly, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

--

It suddenly went dark, Osamu's eyes shoot up towards the front of the van, realising Suna had gone underground. Fear washed through him then. This wasn't part of the plan. His eyes glanced to the 94 seconds on the phone again then. He watched Suna stop, pull the keys out and grab his phone, locking it. A few seconds later, the back doors opened and Suna stood in front of them.

"Follow me."

Osamu pulled his brother up, throwing Atsumu's arm over his shoulders and half dragged half carried his brother after Suna. They were in some kind of underground parking complex. Suna had dumped the van sideways across three bays. With the exception of a couple of really nice looking sports cars, the rest of the place was empty. There was a solid looking metal garage door at the far end, which Osamu guessed they came through, and then a white metal door with a key pad by the van.

Suna stepped forward and entered at least 8 digits into the key pad then pressed his thumb to the top. The door opened. The whole room was grey poured concrete and completely open plan. A small kitchenette was on the right wall, with some bar stalls across a breakfast bar. On the left was a two seater sofa with a fluffy rug in front of it, further along the back wall was a queen size bed, and in the back right was a door, which Osamu assumed lead to a bathroom. Nearly everything in the place was monochromatic.

"Put him down there." Suna said, gesturing the sofa, and walking off towards the closed door.

Atsumu had passed out from the pain. Osamu bent forward to brush his brothers hair off his eyes. Suna came back nearly instantly with a large first aid kit, and set to work on Atsumu's leg.

"This yer place?" Osamu asked.

Suna silenced Osamu with a look and carried on working on Atsumu's leg. A few minutes passed.

"Yes," Suna said eventually, "one of them anyway. I relocate a lot. Makes it harder to find me. Working for Jackal brings risks."

He was silent again for a few minutes.

"Fuck it, I can't work like this."

With that he removed his gloves, pulling out a packet of anti bacterial wipes and rubbing down his hands, then pulled off his mask and threw it on the sofa next to Atsumu. Osamu sucked in a breath.

"What?" Suna said, glancing up at him.

Osamu averted his eyes immediately, looking at the floor.

"Oh, you think I'm going to kill you now you've seen my face?" Suna laughed then.

"Oh, I didn't actually think of that." Osamu mumbled.

"What was that gasp for then?" Suna said, focused on Atsumu's leg.

"Err... sorry." Osamu said awkwardly.

Suna glanced up at Osamu again, noticing a blush spreading over his face, and his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"I will let your brother bleed to death if you don't tell me."

It's um... yer really hot." Osamu mumbled, looking at the floor.

Suna just laughed at that, pulling items out of the first aid kit.

"Well, thanks I guess."

After a few minutes, Suna looked up at Osamu.

"I need your help, you need to put pressure where my hands are."

Osamu dropped to his knees immediately, pulling his mask and gloves off as he did, grabbed a wipe and cleaned his hands quickly. His hand brushed against Suna's slightly as they exchanged positions. Suna looked up at him then, their faces were only a few inches apart. They kept eyes locked for a few seconds before Suna pulled away to collect the next items he needed.

Suna got up when he finished getting the bandage on, walked over to the kitchen, and returned with a glass of liquid that was slightly yellow in colour.

"Get this into him, it'll help with the pain."

"What is it?" Osamu asked.

Suna gave him a pointed look that said 'if I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead already'. With that, Osamu shook his brother awake and slowly fed him the liquid.

"Go dump him on the bed, I've let your owner know what happened. He's still out anyway, so you won't be missed."

Osamu picked Atsumu up and carried him to the bed, then returned, Suna was sat down on one half of the sofa. Osamu sat next to him awkwardly.

"Relax Jesus. I'm not gonna kill you." Suna laughed.

"Ya gave us 90 seconds, we were 94 though." Osamu replied.

"Yeah, it was impressive to be honest." Suna replied.

"What?!" Osamu exclaimed.

"What escape route did you used when the fire exit wouldn't open?" Suna asked.

"We climbed the ladder and jumped out the window into the dumpsters outsi... wait how did ya know the exit was blocked?"

"Because I'm the one that blocked it." Suna replied.

"What the fuck, why?"

"To see how good you are."

"Oh. So, we passed?"

"Well, I mean Atsumu fucked his leg up pretty bad so Jackal's probably gonna be pissed, that he can't work for a while. I'm sure he'll let me have you instead though."

"Sure, whatever it takes to keep Atsumu safe, I'll do."

"You'd be preferable anyway, his hair's a fucking eyesore."

Osamu laughed, nodding.

"How you finding it anyway.. working for Jackal that is?"

"I take it ya know how we ended up there?"

"Yeah, Jackal filled me in."

"Honestly I'd rather be putting my ass on the line with him, rather than being stuck in that room, but it is what it is."

"I'll talk to Jackal, especially if Atsumu is gonna be out for a while. I wonder if Jackal will consider doing the Blaker project now."

"The what?" Osamu replied.

"It's something he's always wanted to do, but it needs four people. Jackal used to have a third guy who I met a few times, but he was killed doing some freelance shit, he was a fucking idiot though."

"Do ya know who he is?"

"Who, Jackal?"

Osamu nods in reply.

"Yeah, I've known him since I was sixteen, so like nine years now. I'm the only person who's ever seen him without a mask since he did his first kill at fourteen, and even then, that was only once. It was a job gone wrong. Fucked up by that dipshit who I said was killed the other year. Anyway, dipshit was driver but was opening the building up, Jackal and I went in. Guess he missed an alarm, or just didn't do it right, either way, sirens started going off 60 seconds after we got in. I saw Jackal get out his side clean, my side wasn't clean though, I was already up too high."

Suna swallowed then, rubbing the back of his hand down the side of his nose.

"So dipshit is back in the car, I was three stories up, only fast way out was through the window, I made it down the drain pipe to like the middle of the second floor, but it was rusted, it didn't take my weight. I dropped on a mound of some grain or some shit, landed hard on my back, but I got in the car and we got out the compound. Dipshit put it through a fence on the way back and into the river. He got out, but I didn't, my back had locked up. Long story short, Jackal got me out, he had to take his mask off to give me mouth to mouth. I owe him my life, and I'd die for him."

"Well shit." Osamu said when Suna stopped talking.

"So what's the worst horror story of the Miya twins?"

Osamu's eyes widened at that comment.

"How the fuck do you know that? We dropped our family name when we were ten."

Suna grinned at him.

"Not even Jackal knows that about you. I wouldn't like to brag but I'm pretty sure only the three people in this room are the only living people who know who you are."

"How?"

"Let's just say I'm good at collecting information. I did my research on you. Don't you worry though, no one needs to know who your father was, not even Jackal."

With that Suna got up, turned back to flash him a wink and walked towards the bathroom. After a few minutes he came out, then walked to the fridge, pulled out two bottles of beer, flipped the lids off and walked back, passing one to Osamu.

"Cheers." Osamu said as he took the beer.

Suna reacted to his phone lighting up on the arm of the sofa, and unlocked his phone, flicking through notifications.

"Jackal's on his way back home. Holiday's over kids."

With that Suna tipped the beer back and downed it, then walked across the kitchen to toss it in the trash. Osamu followed suit, not sure when he would get to drink another beer, pulling his mask and gloves back on then dragged his sorry ass brother off the bed and out the door. Suna already had his mask and gloves back on, stood at the back door of the van waiting for Osamu to finish dragging Atsumu in.

"You staying with him, or wanna ride up front?" Suna said at the door.

"Ah fuck him." Osamu said, and climbed out, slamming the door shut and getting in the passenger seat. Suna set off on the route back to the mansion.

"I meant what I said by the way, about your dad. No one else will be able to find out the way I did, I've erased any trace of it." Suna said, glancing over at Osamu when they stopped at a red light.

"Thanks. I owe ya, a lot."

"And one day, I'll collect." Suna replied with a smile, dropping his foot back on the gas.

Chapter Text

They'd got back fairly uneventfully. Jackal hadn't even been pissed about Atsumu's leg. Osamu had dragged his brother's sorry ass up to his room and returned to his own, with no comment by Jackal. That had been about an hour ago now. Osamu had got back, showered and thrown on boxers and sweat pants. He was now lying on his bed, adrenaline from the mission keeping him awake despite the fact he knew it had been past midnight when they got back.

His mind drifted to Suna. While on the sofa, Osamu had noticed the piercings in his left ear, black studs across his lobe and a hoop in his helix. Suna had black nail polish on, and had black eyeliner framing his narrow eyes. The sharp contrast between his dark hair, pale skin and olive eyes had made it hard for Osamu to not stare.

He was slightly taller than the twins, slim build but well defined with muscles, clearly strong. Osamu was fully aware of exactly what Suna did for Jackal, but putting that aside, he couldn't help but feel a strong attraction to Suna. Osamu was glad of the dark room when his bedroom door opened suddenly. He quickly dragged his legs up to loosen the material of his sweat pants around the slight tent that had developed, as his eyes swept up to see Suna standing in his doorway. Well fuck.

Suna stood watching him shift slightly awkwardly on the bed and laughed, before walking over and sitting down on the end of the bed. He took his mask off as he went, discarding it next to him.

"I spoke to Jackal, he's agreed to give your brother a few weeks off while his leg recovers. So for the time being, you're mine."

Suna watched Osamu shift his slightly as he said the last few words.

"Are you going home tonight?" Osamu asked.

"Yes." Suna replied.

"Oh."

"Wow, you really are desperate for me aren't you?" Suna added, laughing.

Osamu flushed red at those words.

"I do stay a fair bit though, Jackal sometimes needs me early in the morning, or if I just can't be bothered to go home."

With that Suna shifted up to the side of Osamu's bed, twisted to face Osamu, their hips touched slightly, and Suna drew his leg up so his knee was pressed against the side of Osamu's rib cage, tucking his foot under his other knee.

Suna smirked, his eyes drifted down Osamu's body, lingering on the dark patch of material just below the waistband of his sweat pants.

With that he twisted further, placing a hand on the outside of Osamu's knee, and sliding it down his leg to his hip bone, leaning over Osamu's chest to whisper in his ear.

"Do I really have that much of an affect on you?"

He drew back slightly, his face an inch away from Osamu's. His hand moved up from Osamu's hip, dragging his index finger across his abs lazily.

"Nothing to say?" Suna said softly.

Osamu swallowed hard and opened his mouth but no words came out. Suna laughed, continuing to run his finger across Osamu's body in random patterns. Osamu lay there, transfixed. Suna got up a few minutes later, fixed his mask back on and headed for the door, as he opened it, he turned back.

"Let me know when you voice starts working again. Oh and, those sweat pants don't hide anything." He winked and closed the door.

"Fuck." Osamu let out in a whisper, then slid his hand into his boxers and closed his eyes, surrendering himself to bliss.

--

Osamu had completed several jobs over the last week with Suna, the brunette hadn't made any comments about his night time visit, or acknowledged Osamu as anything other than someone who was here to get work done. Each job had gone successfully, and Jackal was content with their work.

They worked efficiently together, Jackal hadn't even made any threats at all after their fourth job completion, and on the fifth, hadn't even commented. He just provided Suna with a bunch of tasks to get done and left them to it. Atsumu was healing slowly, he was now able to walk around without too much pain. Jackal had said he would be going back to work on the following Monday.

Suna and Osamu had just finished their ninth job. It was 3 in the morning on Friday, Osamu tossed the duffel bag of cash into the front of the van and got in. As soon as the door shut, Suna drove off. It had taken over two hours to get out to the job, and Osamu was shattered. Osamu closed his eyes, and the next thing he knew, he was being punched by Suna. Osamu opened his eyes, only fifteen minutes had passed, he glanced over at Suna, confused.

Suna grabbed the duffel and got out, slinging it over his back, and walking towards a black door with a key pad. Suna punched in the numbers and scanned his thumb.

"I can't be fucked to drive all that way tonight. This is another one of my safe houses. I'll just let Jackal know we will be late back with his cash." Suna said.

With that he tossed the bag onto a chair and walked over to the bed, bending down and pulling at the base, rising the end up, then pulled out two lots of sweat pants and two t-shirts. He tossed the grey set at Osamu and gestured his thumb towards the bathroom. Osamu entered, what turned out to be a tiny wet room, he stuck the clothes on the shelf by the door, stripped quickly, showered and dressed.

When he exited, he observed the apartment, it was smaller than the last one, instead of a sofa there was just a chair, and a bean bag, and the kitchenette consisted of just a fridge, sink and a single work surface that was mostly taken up by a microwave. Osamu sat in the chair while he waited for Suna to come back.

"Thought you'd be in bed by now, it's nearly 4:30 in the morning." Suna's voice called from under the towel he was rubbing across his hair. Osamu watched Suna walk across the room and get in the right side of the bed, then lent across to draw the covers back on the left side, and looked up at Osamu. Suna chuckled as Osamu's face flushed red.

Osamu climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him, willing his blush to disappear. Suna lay on his right side, watching him.

"What?" Osamu said after a minute of being watched, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm just enjoying torturing you." Suna said with a smirk.

With that, Osamu rolled onto his side and locked eyes with Suna. Osamu had managed to calm himself down, and his face returned to normal.

"Well that's no fun." Suna said.

With that, he shuffled forward until he was barely an inch away for Osamu. Osamu drew back a little.

"You're scared of me aren't you?" Suna said, laughing.

"A little." Osamu admitted.

"You're good at what you do, so I have no reason to hurt you. Unless you want me to anyway." Suna bit his lip then, slowly scraping his tooth across it until it sprung back in to place, then he grinned.

Osamu relaxed at that, though his face flushed red as he watched Suna's lips. Suna moved away from him then, and turned over. Osamu lay on his back, willing himself to calm down so he could sleep, he was exhausted but all the blood in his body was currently at hip level.

Osamu woke up lying on his right side, suddenly very conscious of the warmth curved around his spine and the arm across his waist. He tried to regulate his breathing, concentrating entirely on that until he calmed down. He then glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly 11. He hoped his brother wouldn't be worried.

Movement behind him drew him from his thoughts, and he felt the arm flex around his waist, drawing his back against Suna's chest. Osamu went back to trying to remember how to breathe like a normal human being, as Suna woke up fully and realised he was cuddling Osamu. He drew back up then, and sat up, checking the time, swearing and grabbing his phone.

Osamu watched him flicking through his messages, then tossing his phone behind him and getting out of bed, grabbing his discarded socks and pulling them on, fast.

"Jackal's pissed. He needs something in that bag. I have to get it to him by 12. Come on."

The pair threw their masks on, Suna grabbed the bag and locked the safe house. Osamu followed him towards the van, stopping by the passenger door, then realised Suna had gone past the drivers door, headed round a corner that Osamu hadn't seen the night before, to where a black Audi R8 sat. Suna got in, tossed the duffel in the back. The car's clock said 11:06.

Osamu had about 6 seconds to buckle up, and appreciate the super soft leather seats and tinted windows before Suna put it in gear and exited the garage at an insane speed. Osamu felt his knuckles turning white as he gripped the seat. He saw the mansion in the distance at last. 11:47

Suna pulled into the driveway at 11:58. Jackal was standing on the front step, with Atsumu on his knees in front of him, and the remote in his hand, aimed at Atsumu. Osamu swore, as Suna grabbed the duffel and got out. Jackal took the bag, unzipped the front pocket, pulled out something too small to see, and wrapped his hand around it, pocketing it, and the remote. He then threw the bag at Suna and walked back into the house.

Atsumu flopped forward then, sighing in relief and swearing. Osamu dropped to his knees in front of his brother, uttering apologies on repeat. He stood up, pulling his brother up, and pushing him into the house. He glanced back at Suna, who had already picked up the bag and slung it onto his back.

"Thanks Suna." Osamu called, as Suna walked back to his car.

"Go take care of your brother." Was all Suna said in reply as he got back into his car and reversed out the drive. Osamu watched the car disappear, then turned to follow his brother into the house. Osamu hugged his brother tightly.

"Ya okay?" Osamu said.

"Yeah, I'm getting used to his daily death threats now. Was he like that with ya when I was out?"

"Yeah."

"Not sure which one's worse."

The twins snapped their heads to the side at a pointed throat clear, and saw Jackal standing there.

"Atsumu follow me."

With that, Jackal turned and walked away. Osamu watched his brother go, then headed up to Atsumu's room to away his return, swallowing down the panic.

--

Atsumu followed Jackal into a dark room with black walls and no windows. The only light came from strip lighting in a deep red on the ceiling, illuminating a four poster bed made of black wood, with black silk sheets. Heavy black leather cuffs hung from the four posts, and there was a circle hole curved in the middle of two pieces of wood of the headboard.

Glancing to the side, Atsumu saw a dog cage, a recliner chair, and a structure that just seemed to consist of a series of metal bars connected together. Atsumu swallowed, and looked up at Jackal.

"You're lucky that Suna can drive at recklessly high speeds and made it back on time. I would hate to find out how desperate you would get to save your brother.. and just how far you'd go to protect him.."

Jackal's words hung in the air like a physical presence as Atsumu stood observing the room. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, he could make out a table in the corner, littered with objects, a collar, gag, chains and ropes, paddles, and a collection of candles were visible. The table ran further along the wall into the dark of the corner, and Atsumu couldn't see what else the table contained.

Jackal stood observing Atsumu for a moment, watching his head move around the room, salivating the look on fear in his eyes, but noticing another emotion lingered, that Jackal couldn't quite place. Excitement maybe? He pondered for a moment, but the emotion passed back to fear before the thought fully took root. With that, Jackal placed a hand on Atsumu's shoulder and dragged him from the room.

Jackal all but threw him across the corridor, locked the door and walked away, leaving Atsumu to return to his room. He opened the door to find Osamu lying on his bed, freshly showered. Osamu got up and crossed to his brother immediately.

"Did he hurt you?" Osamu asked instantly.

"No." Atsumu replied.

"What happened?" Osamu inquired.

"He gave me a better understanding of what will happen to me if I fail again."

Osamu swallowed. "I thought if ya failed, he would take it out on me?"

"I won't let that happen."

"What... what is he gonna do to ya?" Osamu stuttered out.

"I love ya." Was all that Atsumu replied before walking towards the bathroom and starting the shower.

"I.. I love ya too." Osamu whispered, looking at the floor.

Chapter Text

Atsumu returned to work on the Monday. The twins worked together, carrying out local jobs over the next few weeks, mostly breaking in and stealing things. They fell into their old rhythm easily, and none of the jobs were taxing. They returned earlier than their deadline frequently. At one point arriving over an hour early. Atsumu had received a punch to the side of his jaw to remove his smug look after that return, and had since kept his face neutral upon a completion.

Suna joined them for jobs that were further out than walking distance, or required more involvement than simple stealing. The twins expanded their skill sets the more time they spent with the tall brunette. Around three weeks had passed as Suna pulled the van back into the drive shortly after sunset. Suna opened the back up and the twins climbed out, dragging three duffel bags with them. Atsumu tossed one over at Suna, then dragged another two out.

"You know, we've not brought anyone back for a while." Suna observed as he slammed the door shut.

"So?" Atsumu replied.

"So, he will be getting bored." Suna replied.

"Fuck." Atsumu uttered under his breath.

Suna walked into the front door and tossed the bag he was carrying to the side, the twins followed suit with the other four. Osamu closed the door. Jackal was standing at the base of the stairs.

The twins removed their masks and placed them on the table by the door like they always did upon return, Atsumu's face turned to shock when Suna did the same. This was his first time seeing Suna without a mask. Jackal raised an eyebrow in response to Suna's action, only Osamu remained unfazed. Suna stood back then, looking up at Jackal, and just shrugged in response. He heard Jackal tut, but turned away and headed up the stairs, pausing a few steps up.

"Follow me."

The twins glanced at Suna, who didn't react at all, just walked towards the stairs and began to climb. Jackal stopped at Atsumu's door, then continued on to the next room, and opened it.

"Osamu, your new room." He said simply, before adding, "The floor is now yours, roam as you please. I'll know where you are anyway, so it's not like it matters."

Jackal rounded to face Atsumu then, moving dangerously close to his face.

"Don't even think about attempting to get into one of the locked doors."

The twins were some of the best in their field when it came to breaking into places, but Atsumu would always shine brighter in the lock picking department. Atsumu hadn't yet found a lock or safe he couldn't get into. He however was brash and hot-headed, Osamu kept him in check, and balanced him out. Osamu was the brains of the operation, he did the planning.

"I.. I won't." Atsumu stuttered, looking at the floor.

"Actually, I have a fun game we can play." Jackal responded.

Jackal walked towards the staircase, continuing to climb another two floors, and unlocked a small room. He gestured for the other three to walk inside, then shut the door. The only object in the room was something that looked like a medium sized safe, but every surface contained multiple locks, and all of them were different.

Jackal threw a brown leather pouch on the floor, Atsumu recognised it as his own lock picking set, he had dropped it the first night they broke in and hadn't seen it since. He knelt down to pick it up, caressing the worn out leather with one hand.

"It seems fair to let you use the tools you feel comfortable with."

Atsumu, still on his knees, looked at Jackal then, noticing a short black stick in his hand, Jackal walked forward, touched the end of the stick to the side of Atsumu's arm, and Atsumu let out a scream as the shock reverberated through his body. Atsumu collapsed forward onto his hands, shaking from the pain.

"'Tsumu!" Osamu cried out, stepping forward, but stopped in his tracks as Jackal moved the stick back towards Atsumu, looking at Osamu.

Osamu fell back along side Suna at that, and went silent. He side glanced at Suna, who was watching the scene in front of him expressionless. Osamu sighed softly, turning back to see his brother on his knees. Jackal pulled his phone out and unlocked it, after a few seconds he looked back at Atsumu.

"The game is simple. You open the safe. You have five minutes, go."

"Wh-what?!" Atsumu stammered, looking at the number of locks in front of him. "That's impossible!"

"4 minutes and 48 seconds now."

Atsumu flung open his leather pouch at that point and slid forward on his knees, setting to work on the first lock. He could see at least 5 locks on this side alone, some of them he recognised and could break in thirty seconds, others however he had never even seen before. He set to work, breaking through the one's he could do easily first. He moved around the safe, successfully opening around half before a beeping pulled his concentration.

He felt the pain in his back before he even saw Jackal's movements. He screamed but the pain quickly passed. Jackal turned his phone towards Atsumu then, another 5 minute timer on the screen. Atsumu swallowed and nodded.

"Lets give you some more motivation, from now on, your brother gets the shocks."

Atsumu's hand shook at that, he curled his fingers, digging his nails into his palms, using the pain to calm himself. He threw a glance at his brother, then watched Jackal start the timer again. The beeping felt like it had come again far too fast. He heard his brother screaming, but forced himself to stay looking at the lock in front of him, his tools were still inside it but his hands weren't moving. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to continue without the timer on and didn't want his brother to be hurt any more if he carried on.

The timer started again, and he managed to complete the lock. Seven left, but they were getting harder, a third and fourth timer went off, as the fifth timer went off, the lock he had been working on clicked open. Two to go. He looked up at his brother then, tears in his eyes. Their eyes locked and he noticed that Osamu had a face of steel, his calm head space before they started a job. Atsumu turned his eyes to the penultimate lock then, the calm washing through him. His brothers scream sounded like it was in a distant room, Atsumu channeled his focus into the lock in front of him, and shut out the rest.

At the thirty five minute mark, Jackal removed his focus from Osamu, who was on his knees in front of one of the walls, to focus on Atsumu working on the final lock. With Jackal's back turned, Suna shifted his hand ever so slightly, to brush Osamu's shoulder with one finger tip. When Osamu turned to look up at him, Suna was stood facing forward, utterly emotionless, hands behind his back standing straight. Osamu was just thinking he had imagined the touch when he noticed Suna's eyes flick towards him briefly, keeping his head perfectly straight.

Osamu turned his head back forwards as Suna looked away, he swallowed, and steadied himself, watching his brother. Jackal watched Atsumu working on the final lock, his head tilted to the side. The lock was a cage system, it had eight arms locked into a central panel, each had to be removed in order to even unlock the main panel. It looked a little like a dead spider, with legs curled into it's body.

Atsumu had two of the eight legs released, and was working on the third when a wrong move shot a spike of electricity through his tools and into his hands. He dropped his tools, and watched in horror as the two freed legs snapped back locked again. He had to start over.

He had just made it back to the third leg again, when the timer went off. Jackal turned it off, but didn't walk towards his brother. Atsumu didn't spare a second to glance up or question why Jackal hadn't moved, he was at the point he'd fallen into the pitfall trap last time and focused fully on the lock. Another thirty seconds of painfully slow movements, millimeter by millimeter and the third leg sprang free.

Atsumu heard Jackal shift slightly behind him, and noticed Suna's movements around the box to watch him as well. Atsumu was working on the fifth leg when Osamu also approached. He lay down on his back to get to the underside of the fifth leg, trying to work out how to open it. Each leg was getting progressively harder.

Osamu glanced up at Jackal, who was watching silently, then at Suna, who's eyes darted to him for a split second. He could have sworn Suna nodded ever so slightly. Osamu dropped to his knees by his brother, then lay on his back as well, studying the lock.

The twins lay side by side, discussing the lock quietly between them, Osamu keeping Atsumu's rash brain from jumping in too fast. Osamu checking and double checking over all of Atsumu's actions, looking for all the traps he could find. The twins successfully released the seventh leg after another painfully slow twenty minutes.

Suna disappeared about ten minutes into their work on the final leg, returning with two bottles of water and two granola bars, which he threw onto the floor next to them, and returned to his stoic position next to Jackal. Jackal made no comment, or acknowledge his action in any way. Osamu paused to drink a mouthful of water, but Atsumu didn't stop at all, he had one hand held steady with his thinnest tool jammed inside the top of the spider leg, and he was counting under his breath. The eighth leg had retracted part way on the twenty third and forty fifth pin. He got to sixty seven before the leg snapped back to it's original position. Atsumu swore.

Atsumu had been working on the box for over two hours now, he was mentally and physically drained. Osamu put his hand on his brothers arm and pulled him back. He silently passed him food and the water. Atsumu sat on the floor, with his knees drawn up, one elbow leaning on his knee, rubbing his forehead. He chewed slowly, still staring at the lock.

Chapter Text

Atsumu woke up with a start. He couldn't remember what he had been dreaming about, but his heart was racing. He and Osamu had triggered too many pit falls on the eighth leg, and all eight had sprung back into place about an hour into their work on it last night. They had continued on for another two hours, getting back to the eight leg when Jackal had kicked them out of the room to sleep. After showering, Atsumu had collapsed on the bed.

Atsumu looked at the clock, he'd only been asleep for a few hours but he felt wide awake now. He glanced at the leather pouch on his bed side table, and started the trek upstairs. He paused at the door, realising it was locked, and remembering Jackal's words about locked doors, he paused for a moment, but proceeded anyway. Fuck it.

It was nearly five in the morning by the time the last leg snapped back away from the final lock. He spent over thirty minutes silently studying every angle of it, then set to work, a grin on his face. He saw the light change in the corridor outside the room, the sun was raising in the sky, pooling into the corridor. He glanced at his watch, twenty past seven. This was it, the moment of truth. He had been carefully counting and testing inside the lock for the last hour, and had broken it down to one of two actions.

Atsumu had exhausted every single thing he knew about lock workings, he had nothing else to go on now, it was a fifty fifty chance. He thought about his brother for a moment, technically his younger brother by two minutes, he thought about how much he wanted to protect him. Just two minutes older, but he felt that he had to keep him safe. Atsumu smiled then, and pushed the tool into the second pin.

The lock snapped open, and the door swung forward, to reveal, nothing at all. The safe was utterly empty, but Atsumu grinned like it was the biggest score of his life. With that, he felt the exhaustion sweep over him and he collapsed on the floor, falling asleep.

Atsumu woke up to a foot nudging him, he opened his eyes to see Suna standing above him, watching him draw back to see Jackal standing in the doorway. Atsumu pushed himself up and stood. Jackal made no comment, just watched Atsumu, then gestured the door.

Atsumu scrambled to his knees immediately.

"I know what ya said about locked doors and I'm sorry, I just couldn't let it go, I had to finish it, please please don't hurt 'Samu." He begged.

Jackal just bent forward, gripped the front of Atsumu's hoodie and pulled him to his feet. Jackal turned to observe Suna then. Suna raised an eyebrow at him.

"Blaker?" Suna said.

Jackal turned and walked away, pausing at the door.

"Yes."

Suna walked out of the room after Jackal's single word, and left Atsumu on his knees, confusion spread across his face.

-- 

Jackal had barely acknowledged the twins existence in the two weeks since Atsumu broke into the safe, Suna had collected one or both of the twins each morning, or sometimes over night, they worked hard, kept their heads down. Atsumu hadn't even seen Jackal in three day's now. Osamu mentioned seeing him last night when he and Suna has returned from a job. Osamu had mentioned Jackal seemed really tense.

Atsumu was growing worried. If Jackal was getting worked up, and they hadn't brought anyone else back for a while, he didn't know how long it would be until Jackal turned his attention on Osamu again, and if Jackal was getting tense, it was bound to be bad when he finally snapped.

This is how Atsumu found himself roaming through the house, searching Jackal out. He climbed higher into the house, on the 5th floor, he came across Suna walking down a set of much narrower stairs than the rest of the house.

"What are you doing up here?" Suna asked.

"Looking for Jackal." Atsumu replied.

Suna eyed him for a moment, his brows furrowed in concentration.

"You're trying to protect your brother aren't you?" Suna said evenly.

Atsumu nodded. Suna stepped aside from the staircase.

"Fine, go up. Knock twice and wait."

Atsumu nodded again, walking up the stairs, hearing Suna walk away. Atsumu knocked twice on the mahogany doors in front of him, observing the gold leaves that ran the length of the door edging. If Atsumu wasn't mistaken, it was pure gold poured into carvings in the door.

"Enter." Jackals voice snapped from the other side.

Atsumu opened the door, to Jackal sat behind a large black desk, his head down reading over a document.

"Did you forget something Suna...?" Jackal started, then raised his head. "Oh. What do you want?"

"I was wondering, if there was anything I can do for ya?" Atsumu asked nervously, shuffling his feet to the side.

"Suna is running the day to day jobs now, he will call you when you're needed."

"I know that, but that's work, and... this... ain't... I am asking if there's anything I can do for ya." Atsumu bowed his head as he stammered out the words, then dropped to his knees, waiting.

Jackal got up from his chair and walked around the desk until he was directly in front of Atsumu, he ran a finger under Atsumu's chin, tilting his face up. Jackal had removed his tie and suit jacket, his black shirt had several buttons open, leaving his pale collar bones exposed. Atsumu felt something stir inside him.

"Tell me Atsumu, how much of this is about protecting your brother, and how much of it is because you're desperate to please me?"

Atsumu looked up into Jackals black eyes, and swallowed thickly. Unable to break away from looking due to the finger probing into his jaw.

"About half and half." He admitted eventually.

Jackal released him then and walked to the left side of his office, opening the double doors that stood there, revealing a King size four poster bed.

"Come here."

Atsumu got up and followed Jackal into the room, realising exactly where he was for the first time, this was Jackal's actual bedroom. He swallowed again, watching Jackal lie down on the bed, eyes focused on Atsumu.

"Get to work then."

Atsumu stepped forward, climbing onto the bed between Jackal's parted legs and reached out a hand to undo the fly in front of him, hesitating to pull out Jackal's cock and began to run his hand along the slowly hardening length. Atsumu knelt forward then, placing his mouth over the head, and working his tongue around the shaft. He pushed deeper then, taking half the length into his mouth, using his tongue and lips to moisten every inch of him.

He felt Jackal's hand slide into the back of his hair, and push his head down slightly, not a forceful push, but a request. Atsumu's eyes widened in surprise, but did what was requested of him, sliding down until he engulfed the whole length. He gagged slightly at the pressure in his throat, then gagged again as Jackal's hips bucked slightly into him.

Atsumu pulled back a little, then pushed forward again, alternating between fast paced sucking, and forcing himself down fully over the length, making himself gag and choke as he went. Jackal left a hand on his head but didn't push him down again.

Atsumu continued until his jaw and throat ached, and his brain screamed for him to stop, protesting the continuation of the pain. Jackal had released his hand from his head at this point, and was laid back on his bed, with his eyes closed. Atsumu withdrew, running his tongue down his full length, before pushing down so hard his throat hurt from the impact. Jackal let out a soft moan at that and Atsumu felt pride flood through him, carrying on until Jackal spilled down his throat.

Atsumu sat back and waited, he had taken the dark haired mans load more times than he could remember now, all had been entirely by Jackals control, and Jackal had never once made a single noise, even at climax. Jackal had given over to Atsumu to be in control this time, and that tiny moan from him had swept a warm feeling through Atsumu that he couldn't quite place. Jackal zipped his fly back up then, raising from the bed.

"Leave."

Atsumu rose of the bed and walked out, back through the office, closing the door behind him, and headed back to his room. He made it back and inside the shower, and was part way through washing the suds from his chest when he realised what the feeling was. He liked the pain. He felt his arousal grow with that, and let a hand slide down his body to relieve himself.

--

"Enter."

Atsumu had stood outside the doors again the next night, knocked twice and waited. He opened the door, closing it behind him and got on his knees again, waiting. Jackal looked up, and raised an eye brow at the sight before him.

"Leave."

Jackal went back to reading, then looked back up, Atsumu was still on his knees in front of the door. Jackal got up then, walked over to Atsumu, dragged him up to his feet and slammed him against the wall, wrapping a hand around his throat and squeezed. Atsumu choked as he struggled to breathe but didn't resist.

Jackal loosened his grip slightly, keeping it at a tight hold, but not hard enough to cut off the oxygen. He observed Atsumu, turning his hand to move Atsumu's head from one side to the next.

"You like it don't you?" Jackal said in a quiet voice.

Atsumu nodded.

"Answer me." Jackal said again.

"Yes."

"What do you want from me?"

"Hurt me.. Use me.. Do whatever ya want to me." Atsumu choked out.

Jackal released his hand then, stepping back.

"Still trying to get in my good books to protect your brother?"

"No."

"What?" Jackal said, surprise colouring his voice, it was the first time Atsumu heard any emotion other than anger affect him.

"I... I want it." Atsumu mumbled.

"I see."

Jackal walked away, back to his desk then, sat down and picked up the document again.

"Go to the room tomorrow at midnight. You know which room I am referring to I assume?" He said without looking back up.

Atsumu nodded, then realised Jackal wasn't looking at him, so stuttered out a "Yes".

"Good. Now get out."

Atsumu hurried out the door.

--

Atsumu walked into the room just after midnight, and Jackal shut the door behind him, Atsumu heard the door lock automatically.

"Just so we are clear, anything that happens in this room tonight, will have no baring or impact on anything else once we leave. You aren't earning any favours for your brother, or appeasing me in anyway here. We are here because you chose it, you wanted it. If you're doing this for any reason other than your own desire, walk away now."

Atsumu stood still then, he could no longer pretend he was doing all of his actions to protect his brother, this was finally an admittance that he liked being abused and used, and the only thing that he was left with after Jackal told him to leave was that he wanted more. He swallowed, but didn't move.

"Very well then, tell me your limits."

Atsumu remained silent for a few moments. What were his limits? He wasn't sure if he should be horrified in himself or not but he couldn't think of a single scenario that he wouldn't want. He wanted to be told what his limits were, and then to be pushed beyond them. He didn't care if he broke, he just wanted... needed, more.

"Do you not have any limits?"

Atsumu shook his head.

"You'll willingly let me do anything I like to you?"

Atsumu nodded.

"Say it."

"Yes."

"Say it fully."

"Ya can do anything ya want to me. Push me to my limits. Push me beyond them." Atsumu said, his voice not faltering as he realised it was what he desperately wanted.

"Very well then, remove your top and lie on the bed."

Jackal bound each of his legs to the base of the bed, then attached a collar to his neck on top of the existing collar. He hooked a chain through the back of the collar and bound it to the head of the bed, causing it to pull tightly, but not tight enough to cut off oxygen, unless Atsumu struggled.

Jackal had left several candles burning while he bound Atsumu, and now carried one over, a small pool of liquid wax already formed. He tipped the candle, letting it spill onto Atsumu's torso, watching as Atsumu squirmed at the soft pain, and in the process, cut off his own oxygen supply and choked. Jackal repeated the process again and again until Atsumu's chest was littered in black wax, the skin under slightly red from the heat.

Jackal leaned forward, pealing the dried wax off then, watching Atsumu wince in pain. When most of the larger clumps had been removed, he picked up one of Atsumu's hands, he remodeled his fingers until his index finger was exposed and the rest curled into a fist, then he slowly lowered the finger pad closer to the flame, watching the way Atsumu's face scrunched up as the pain increased. Jackal kept going until Atsumu finally let out a scream, and his hand was released.

Atsumu curled his finger up towards him, looking at the way the skin blistered, trembling. It was then he noticed that Jackal had disappeared, returning a few minutes later with a cloth and an ice pack. He handed the items over to Atsumu, who wrapped the ice pack in the cloth quickly and lay his finger against it. Jackal undid the collar and proceeded to remove the chains, carrying them away, then returned and sat on the bottom of the bed, his black eyes on Atsumu.

"Are you okay?"

Atsumu looked up into the black eyes then, and nodded. Jackal got up then, and scanned his thumb against a pad on the wall, unlocking the door. Atsumu followed him out, headed back to his room and into the shower. He washed away the rest of the wax, carefully keeping his blistered finger out of the hot spray of water.

The next morning he was coming back into the dining room when Osamu noticed his finger.

"What did ya do?" Osamu asked.

"Caught it on the kettle." Atsumu replied.

The twins turned their heads then, hearing a slight laugh, that transitioned into a throat clear. Jackal was standing in the doorway.

"Suna is waiting for you."

The twins got up immediately and walked out of the door.

"Oh, and Atsumu, you should be careful around kettles, they can be dangerous." Jackal added, as he walked into the dining room.

Chapter Text

Atsumu had spent several evenings a week in the room with Jackal after that first session, slowly progressing through the regime that Jackal had set out. Two weeks later, the four were now stood in the dining room, Suna was updating Jackal on their job progress so far that week. Atsumu shifted slightly during the update, his back was still hurting from the lashings Jackal had given him the night before.

"And Blaker is about a week away from being ready, I've nearly finished with the suits." Suna added.

"Very well, have you completed the Iceland one?" Jackal replied.

"No, we have an issue with that. It's a three man job, and those two can't go in. It needs at least two inside." Suna said.

"Why?"

"The collars will trigger the sensors."

"Very well, I'll remove Atsumu's for the job."

"You want to put Atsumu and I in?" Suna shot back.

"You want to put the twins in don't you?" Jackal replied.

Suna nodded, waiting.

Jackal moved his eyes between the three in front of him. His eyes lingered on Osamu and then on Suna. He stood, calculating.

"Very well Suna, I'll agree to your terms, but on your head be it."

With that Jackal pulled a chain up from under his shirt and inserted a key into Osamu's collar, then turned and wrapped it around Suna's neck, locking it in place.

"Are you sure you'd bet your life on this?"

Suna's eyes flicked to Osamu and off again, then nodded. Jackal stepped forward then and remove Atsumu's collar. With that, Suna walked out the door, the twins followed. Atsumu glanced sideways at Osamu as they followed Suna, Osamu however kept his eyes on the brunette in front of him.

Suna was stood in the open area by the front door, already topless, his discarded t-shirt at his feet. He pulled one of the kit bags out, and dumped it at his feet, then pulled another two, tossing one to Atsumu, waiting until Atsumu turned away before throwing another at Osamu. Their eyes locked for a moment, Osamu's traveled down to Suna's lips, then down his neck and lingered on his body. Suna turned away and pulled the long sleeve t-shirt out of his bag and finishing changing.

Osamu didn't follow his brother like normal, he shredded his t-shirt where he stood, the two men changed in silence, Osamu's eyes remaining on the black collar that stood out so harshly against Suna's pale skin.

Atsumu returned in a few minutes, Suna pulled tools out from the cupboard, explaining the mission as he went. He sounded as calm as he always did before a mission. They went outside, Suna opened the back of the van, and Atsumu climbed in, Osamu put a foot up on the back, but before he pulled himself up, he ran his hand up the side of Suna's arm. Suna didn't react to the contact, but his eyes flicked to Osamu's again.

The job was estimated to take 10 minutes, and the twins were eight minutes in. It had gone flawlessly so far, Atsumu was working on his last lock.

"We could get out ya know." Atsumu said suddenly. "I saw a room on the blueprints, it has a door out to the street, there's a network of alleys there, we could get lost in there pretty easy."

"No." Osamu replied, starting on his last lock.

"Why? I thought ya wanted to get out? I could cause enough of a distraction to get ya out 'Samu, I got us into this shit all those months ago, I said I would get ya out."

The lock in front of Atsumu clicked open then, before Osamu spoke again.

"I won't risk Suna's life."

Atsumu glanced at Osamu then, puzzling over something,

"Ya like him dontcha?"

Osamu said nothing, just nodded.

"Move ya ass." Atsumu replied, then added, "honestly.. I don't want to leave either."

Osamu shifted from the lock, and Atsumu set to work, his back twinging slightly in pain, but he savoured it. The lock clicked open a few minutes later. Osamu grabbed the black box inside, opening it up to see a necklace and two earrings encrusted with diamonds. Osamu slid it inside the inner pocket of his jacket and zipped it up, then took his brothers hand a pulled him up. He undid the back of the van, waited for Atsumu to get in, then shut it and walked to the passenger side, climbed in next to Suna.

Suna eyed him for a moment, letting out a slight sigh of relief. Osamu unzipped his jacket, showed Suna the box. Suna nodded, and started the engine. Osamu zipped the jewelry back in again safely.

"Did ya think we weren't coming back?"

"It crossed my mind." Suna replied, focused on the road.

Suna relaxed again then, leaving one hand on the wheel, he stole a quick glance at Osamu. With that, Osamu reached out and put his hand over Suna's free hand that was resting on his thigh, Suna removed his hand from under Osamu's, but as Osamu made to withdraw his hand, Suna wrapped his hand around the inside of Osamu's palm and pulled it back, resting it back on his thigh again. They stayed like that for the rest of the journey.

--

The twins followed Suna upstairs to Jackal's office. Suna opened the door after being told to enter, and stepped forward. The twins stepped up behind him, flanking him on each side. Suna looked over his left shoulder at Osamu, who stepped forward around him, unzipping his jacket and pulling out the box. He placed it on Jackal's desk and fell back into place. Jackal lent forward and opened the box, then snapped it shut and left it on his desk. He walked over to Suna, pulling out the key and unlocking the collar, placing it back around Osamu's neck.

"Leave."

Osamu and Suna turned immediately and walked away, Atsumu paused, watching Jackal walk back to his desk.

"What?" Jackal said as he sat again.

"Ya didn't collar me." Atsumu said.

"Yes, I am aware. Now leave."

Atsumu stood frozen in the doorway.

"If you don't leave, I will put it back on you, they are your only choices."

With that, Atsumu turned and left.

--

"Suna."

The brunette turned at the front door, his eyes on Osamu.

"Where ya going?"

"Home." Suna replied.

"Will ya stay?" Osamu asked softly.

"Why?"

Osamu walked up to him then, pushing the door shut in front of Suna, then stepped forward, making Suna back up against the door. Suna's eyes lingered on Osamu's for a moment, before he flipped Osamu around, pressing him up against the door. Their breath mingled as their eyes locked to each other.

"What do you want?" Suna asked.

"You." Osamu replied.

With that Suna crushed his lips harshly against Osamu's, pinning Osamu's body to the door. Osamu tilted his head to the side, as Suna's tongue pressed against Osamu's lips. Osamu opened his mouth, relinquishing himself to Suna's exploring tongue. After a few minutes, Suna broke their kiss and stepped away, pulling Osamu away from the door. He ran his thumb across his lower lip, then pulled his mask on, tying it tightly.

"I have a job to do, I'll be back in a few days."

With that he pulled the door open and walked out into the night. Osamu closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, watching the brunette get into the van and drive away. 

--

"Atsumu. Be in my office in 30 minutes."

Atsumu was stood in his room, with a towel wrapped around his waist, having just stepped out the shower. He watched Jackal walk away. It was nearly midnight, but it wasn't one of the nights that they were set to spend together in the red room.

When he got to the office twenty minutes later, the door was already open, but he knocked anyway. Jackal looked up as he walked in.

"Suna is finalising the set up for a four man job, it's going to be ready to run this weekend. I let you and your brother off collar last week, and you did the job successfully, though, I have a feeling Suna's life being on the line might have played on Osamu for any consideration you both put into attempting to run."

Jackal rolled his fingers across the desk a few times, pausing as if to contemplate his next words then.

"The Blaker Project isn't something I can enter into lightly, I need people I can trust to go in, collars cannot be worn and all four of us will need to be inside. I cannot be sure where your loyalties lie when your brother's not following his heart. So with that being said I shall offer you a simple deal. You have two options."

Jackal locked eyes with Atsumu at that point.

"Option one, I'll remove your brother's collar, and you can both leave, no questions asked, you're free. Option two, I'll remove your brother's collar, and you work for me. You'll join Suna and I on the Blaker Project, and you'll continue to work for me."

"Ya'll free us?" Atsumu stammered out.

"If you choose option one, yes. Take until Friday to make your choice, go talk to your brother about it."

"He would choose to stay." Atsumu replied, without hesitation, eyes focused on the floor.

"I see, for Suna I assume?" Jackal replied.

"Yeah, I know him well enough to know that."

"Very well, and yourself? I assume you would stay if he stayed regardless?" Jackal replied.

"Yeah." Atsumu looked up from the floor then, looking into the black eyes in front of him. "Though that's not the only reason why I'd stay."

Jackal got up from behind his desk then, and walked over, placing his fingers under Atsumu's chin, and ran his thumb along the side of Atsumu's cheek, and across his lower lip. Atsumu shivered slightly at the feel of the soft black leather. Jackal got up and walked out the door, with Atsumu following behind. They walked to Osamu's room, and entered. Jackal walked up, unlocked Osamu's collar and took it off him.

"Atsumu can fill you in fully, but simply put, you are both free to go. You can leave, go where you want to. You can come back here at night if you want somewhere to sleep, or you can find your own place to stay."

Jackal's eyes lingered on Osamu then.

"I'm sure Suna would take you in as well."

Jackal turned back to Atsumu.

"My options still stand, if you want option two, be here on Friday night at 8."

With that Jackal walked out and shut the door.

"What the hell was that about?" Osamu turned to his brother.

"Come on, I'll explain on the way." Atsumu pulled his brother by his hand and headed out of the mansion.

As the front door closed, Jackal stood in the shadow of the staircase, his eyes on the front door.

"They'll come back."

Jackal turned to Suna, silently nodded then headed to his office. 

Chapter Text

The twins made it back to the studio flat they'd not seen for over six months now, it looked pretty unchanged. A layer of dust hung over everything, and it looked tired and sad, but it was home.

"Sorry baby." Osamu said.

Atsumu looked over to Osamu talking to his dead pot plant. He laughed.

"I'll get ya a new one." Atsumu said.

"Ya wanna do the job don't ya?" Osamu said.

"Do ya?" Atsumu replied.

Osamu nodded in reply, starting to brush the layer of dust off the table in front of him.

"Ya just doing it 'cause of Suna?" Atsumu asked.

"He might have something to do with it, but I also like it. Is that weird? Before we met Jackal, every job was super high risk, we had to scout everythin' for days, and we never knew whether we'd make it back out okay. I actually feel safer working for him, especially since ya had yer collar taken off."

Atsumu nodded along to his brothers words, then he opened the fridge, and immediately closed it again, wrinkling his nose up.

"Ya got Suna's number?"

"Ya want me to ask him if we can stay at one of his places don't ya?" Osamu said, laughing.

Osamu pulled out his phone and dialed Suna's number, after a brief conversation, he hung up.

"He's gonna meet us, let's go."

Suna pulled up to the curb where the twins stood, in a yellow Lotus Evora. Atsumu let out a soft whistle as Suna leaned across to open the passenger door, and flicked the front seat forward. Atsumu squashed himself in the back and Osamu climbed in the front. Suna was dressed in black skinny jeans and a skin tight baby blue long sleeve t-shirt. He wasn't wearing a mask, instead had a pair of gold rimmed aviators on, and a joint in his mouth. He smiled at Osamu, flicked the car in gear using a leather gloved hand and pulled away.

"Nice car." Atsumu said.

"It's Jackal's" Suna said with a laugh, blowing smoke out the window. "Most of the cars in my safe houses belong to him, I just get to play with his toys. The R8 is mine though. Was a gift from Jackal actually."

"Nice gift." Atsumu said, envy seeping into his voice.

"So where we going?" Osamu said.

"Jackal's given me a few days off, hence my clothing and," Suna gestured the joint, "but gotta keep the gloves on in his car, easier than dealing with finger prints. I was heading out of town when you called, I'll take you to Wednesday."

"Wednesday?" Osamu enquired.

"All my safe houses are named after days of the week. Easy to remember, doesn't sound out of place in a normal sentence and it's not obvious what they are."

"Smart." Osamu replied.

The lapsed into comfortable conversation for another hour on the drive, before Suna changed topic.

"You going to take the job?"

"Yeah." Osamu replied instantly.

"Good." Suna replied, before changing the topic once again.

Suna eventually drove down a ramp and scanned his thumb against a sensor, the door opened, he parked up and let the twins out.

"Thursday was the first place you stayed at, and the other one was Sunday. Welcome to Wednesday." Suna said as he opened the door.

Unlike the other two, this one was larger, they entered straight into a lounge, with two sofas and a TV, an archway was off to the right, that housed a semi open plan full size kitchen. A door at the back of the lounge was opened into small squarish room that had three doors off of it. Suna walked through, opening the three doors, to a full bathroom, and two double rooms. The bedroom on the left contained a few semi personal belongings, that the twins assumed belonged to Suna, the other bedroom was clinical and emotionless.

Suna walked back into the lounge, tossing his shades on the table next to him, stretching out, he flicked on the TV, then he tossed the remote to Osamu and walked off towards the bedrooms. A few minutes later they heard the shower start. Osamu stuck on a generic action movie that he barely paid attention to, Atsumu sat on the end of the other sofa, scrolling through his phone.

Osamu glanced up from the TV when Suna walked back in, wearing just sweat pants, he threw himself down on the other end of the sofa to where Osamu sat and clicked his neck to one side, then locked his fingers together, stretching out his arms and popping his shoulder. Osamu got up and wandered off to the bedroom straight ahead, in a chest of drawers he found clean sweat pants, t-shirts and a packet of unopened boxers. He headed into the shower, and returned to see Suna lounged half way across the left and middle seat of the sofa. Osamu sat down on the end cushion, and watched Atsumu get up to go take a shower.

Osamu heard the shower turn off a while later, but Atsumu didn't return. After another twenty minutes, he got up and stuck his head around the bedroom door, Atsumu was lying on the bed, scrolling through his phone. Atsumu winked at his brother, and Osamu rolled his eyes, before shutting the door, walking back to Suna. Suna was just finishing rolling a new joint. 

Suna had sat up slightly, his back pressed into the corner between the sofa back and arm, with his right leg diagonally forward across the sofa, and his the left planted on the floor. When Osamu walked in, Suna raised his right arm up, and looked pointedly at Osamu. Osamu took the hint and lay down, with his head on Suna's chest, his arm across Suna's abs. Suna lowered his arm around Osamu's shoulders. Suna offered the joint to Osamu, who shook his head.

"Not a fan?" Suna asked. 

"Of the nicotine no, edibles are fine." Osamu replied.

"Open your mouth." 

Osamu tilted his head up, mouth open, as Suna blew the smoke out into it.

"Brownies are better." Osamu said, grinning.

"When we get time off next, we'll make some. Jackal will kill me if I get high when I'm working."

After an hour or so, Suna shifted down further, twisting to place his back on the end of the sofa, Osamu was half on top of him now, Osamu's chest was pressed against Suna's side, and Osamu's right leg was slotted between Suna's. Osamu looked up at Suna, Suna bent his neck forward and pressed their lips together briefly before turning back to the movie. Osamu reached up to turn Suna's face back again, connecting their lips again. Suna slid further down the sofa then, until he was directly under Osamu, wrapping his arms around the other's body, deepening the kiss. The movie remained playing, long forgotten.

Osamu and Suna prized themselves apart a few hours later, and were now stood cooking in the kitchen. Well, Osamu was cooking, Suna was assisting, and hindering slightly. After ten minutes, Osamu pushed him out of the kitchen. With that Suna went to the fridge, pulled out a couple of beers, left one in the kitchen for Osamu, took one to Atsumu and sat back down on the sofa. Atsumu came out and joined his brother. Suna sat and watched the way the worked, wordlessly synced.

--

The next few days passed fairly uneventfully, Osamu had taken to sleeping in Suna's bed from the first night, Atsumu was thankful to have his headphones with him. Friday morning came around far too quickly. The trio piled back in the Lotus and left Wednesday, making it back to the mansion around noon. Suna let them in, then parked the Lotus back in the garage, muttering something about not wanting Jackal to murder him if he left the Lotus exposed to the elements.

The twins roamed upstairs to their rooms, Atsumu left Osamu there, and headed up to Jackal's office. He knocked twice and waited. Atsumu was about to turn away when he finally heard an 'Enter' more distantly than normal.

He entered, closing the door behind him, noticing the desk was empty, he turned to face the bedroom, Jackal was stood in the dark room, with a black towel wrapped around his waist, light from his desk lamp, illuminating the ivory skin of his rib cage downwards. The rest of Jackal's body was obscured in shadow, but Atsumu could tell he wasn't wearing a mask from the outline of his face. Atsumu averted his gaze then, looking down. He watched as Jackal turned away and disappeared into the darkness.

"I wasn't expecting you back for a few hours."

Jackal emerged a few moments later, wearing his normal suit trousers, buttoning a black shirt as he walked, mask back on.

"Is there anything ya need from me or Osamu for tonight?"

"Has Suna told you what the Blaker Operation is?"

"He's explained what I'm doing, yeah."

"No, I mean, has he told you why we are doing it?"

Atsumu shook his head.

"This isn't like any other job, it's a challenge. There's iris recognition entry, each person can only attempt it once a month. Once inside, you have 60 minutes to complete a series of tasks, once the timer is up, the room filled with toxic gas, you have about 30 seconds to get out, or game over. You can leave at any point before the 60 minutes are up, but it's impossible to stay after. With the release of the gas, the room resets.

There are a bunch of traps and fail safes inside that if triggered, release the gas early. It's why I need people that I can trust inside. There are 10 stages, and no one to date has got past stage three without triggering the gas. It's meant to be impossible, but saying that, so was the safe you opened."

Jackal observed him for a moment.

"You ready?"

Atsumu stood in shock, his hand trembled slightly, but he nodded. Jackal got up and walked around the desk, placing his right hand on Atsumu's shoulder and squeezed.

"Don't disappoint me."

With that he turned and walked away towards back to his desk, sat down and picked up a file. Atsumu took that to be a dismissal, turned and walked away. He spent the rest of the time going through his lock picking set, cleaning each of the tools, and oiling the worn leather. It was his way of entering into the calm head space he needed to perform at his best. 

Chapter Text

Just before eight, he looked up at the light knock on his door, seeing his brother standing there. Atsumu wrapped up the leather, securing it and sliding it into his pocket, heading downstairs. Suna was stood in his normal place by the front door. The kit bag cupboard open. Suna ignored the standard black duffel bags and reached up to the top shelf, where three light grey bags sat. He pulled them down and threw one to each of the twins, then walked away to a room down the corridor and shut the door.

Osamu turned to another room and left as well, Atsumu watched his brother walk away without a word, he could tell Osamu was nervous, but decided against following him. Osamu got into his head space easier alone. Atsumu kicked the door shut behind him and stripped down to his boxers, before unzipping the bag and dumping the contents on the floor.

Inside were a pair of skin tight worn leather trousers, that clung to his body and provided the complete flexibility. Atsumu pulled his knee up flush to his chest, appreciating how freely he could move in them. He pulled on his normal black long sleeve t-shirt, and then a black leather jacket. He unzipped the inside pocket, sliding his tool set in and zipping it closed again. He pulled on black leather boots with a solid grip, leather gloves that felt so thin he could feel everything easily.  Finally he pulled on a full head black mask, that only had thin slits for eyes, and covered the rest of his head completely.

He walked back out then, seeing his brother emerging from the door next to him. Suna was already leaning casually against a wall near the door. Footsteps sounded behind him, and Atsumu turned to watch Jackal descending the stairs, dressed identically to them.

Suna opened the front door and walked around to the garages at the side of the mansion, he scanned his eye against the wall and the doors opened. Atsumu sucked in a breath, lined up along the back wall was the Lotus they had been in earlier, a matte black Lamborghini Huracan, a white Tesla Roadster, and a grey Koen Gemera. Atsumu heard Jackal laugh a little and glance at him.

Suna tossed a set of keys in the air and caught them a few times as he walked towards the Lotus, he called Osamu's name. Osamu glanced sideways at his brother, then followed Suna, climbing into the passenger seat. Atsumu watched Suna start the engine and pull forward, idling in the driveway outside the garage.

"I'm never getting the key back for that fucking car." Jackal said, as he watched Suna go, and laughed.

He walked over to the strong box on the wall, and scanned his eye, it opened to four hooks, three containing keys.

"Which one?" Jackal called out.

"The Lambo." Atsumu replied.

Jackal picked up the key and pressed it, the doors rose up, waiting. He climbed in, and Atsumu followed, the doors closed around them, Atsumu sunk into the soft leather, and buckled up, as Jackal flicked up the red cover on the start button, and pressed it. The car purred into life. With that, he glanced sideways at the look of stunned awe on his face, then moved out of the garage.

--

Jackal turned into a generic looking concrete parking lot, and idled. A few minutes later, the yellow Lotus appeared behind them. Suna got out, leaving the engine running, walked over to metal box on the brick wall on the left and punched in a code. With that, a section of the ground in front of them raised up, revealing a ramp. Jackal drove down, parked and got out. He locked the car, slid the key into his jacket and walked towards the only door, in an otherwise utterly white and blank room.

Suna and Osamu walked up to them after parking. There were four iris scanners on the wall, two on either side. Jackal bent forward and scanned his, and the light went green, the others copied, and the door opened. The door shut behind them, they were once again in another generic looking room, the walls, floor and ceiling were all made of sheet metal panels. There was a single lock on the middle panel opposite the door they came through.

Jackal gestured Atsumu forward with his right hand, and Atsumu stepped forward, pulling out his tool kit. A hologram of a timer flickered to life in the middle of the room then, 60:00 displayed. Atsumu opened his kit up, Osamu stepped forward with his hands out. Atsumu lay it across his brothers left arm, leaving his right free to pass tools as required. It was how they has always worked when the locks were at standing height.

Atsumu studied the lock for a few minutes, noticing the timer was still set on 60:00. After he'd taken in everything he could about the lock, he turned back, noticing Suna had taken a bag off of his back, and he and Jackal were now tying straps of tool belts to their thighs. Suna stepped forward and attached one to Atsumu while he observed the lock, then repeated on Osamu. Suna's hands lingered a little longer than strictly required on Osamu's thighs.

Atsumu looked at Jackal again, who simply nodded. With that, Atsumu inserted the first tool, and the counter started. It took less than 30 seconds for him to break through that first room. The second room gave them four identical locks, with a quick glance to Jackal, Atsumu stepped forward, and each of them knelt in front of a lock. Atsumu had attached his old tool kit to the straps Suna had added to his other thigh.

Room three was a bit of a shock to the system. There were a series of green lasers, shooting in all directions. Atsumu spotted three locks, one on the left that was near the ceiling, and two on the right, one at floor level, and one towards the middle, but due to where the lasers lined up, was going to be a struggle to get to.

Suna grabbed Osamu's hand and navigated the way through the lasers to the left, he bend awkwardly onto one knee, and slid a foot over another laser, planting his foot on the floor, giving Osamu a platform to stand on. Osamu placed one foot on Suna's leg, just above his knee. Suna  steady himself with one hand against the wall, and used the other to help Osamu stand on his thigh. Once Osamu was up, Suna wrapped his free arm around Osamu's leg, holding it to his chest to secure him. Osamu set to work on the first lock.

Jackal pointed Atsumu over to the lock on the floor. Atsumu made it over, managing to find a position where he didn't hit any lasers and broke through the lock quickly. He carefully stood up, turning back to see Osamu climbing carefully down off Suna, the high lock now showing a green light, Atsumu turned to see Jackal standing on the ball of one foot, the other leg stretched forward in front of him, as his torso bent backwards between two lasers. 

Atsumu watched Jackal's body shake from the strain of holding himself in such a strained twisted position. Atsumu made his way through the laser maze quickly, getting to Jackal's side as the lock clicked green, with that Jackal's body gave out and he slid sideways slightly. Atsumu grabbed Jackal's waist to stop him from moving into a laser. Atsumu didn't let go as Jackal moved slowly to free his leg and arms from the series of turns he had to make to get himself into position.

Suna and Osamu had already made it across the room into the next, when Jackal finally got out of the mess of a predicament he was in. He ended up fully body flush against Atsumu, in a tiny triangle between two lasers, their masks pressed together. Atsumu was staring straight into Jackal's eyes. After a few seconds, Atsumu stepped back over the laser, letting his hands drop from Jackal's waist and worked his way across the room to join his brother and Suna.

There was twenty minutes left on the clock now and they had only just entered room four. Osamu and Suna were stood on a small lip just inside the door when Atsumu got inside. The floor in front of them was made of black and white checkered stone slabs. Suna explained quickly that Osamu had gone to step forward on one, it had started sinking and the timer jumped down by five minutes. The grid was 8x8 squares, and there was a lock on one of the tiles in the third row away from them, Atsumu got on his knees and stretched forward to try and reach the tile with the lock on it, but pitched forward too far and started to topple. Osamu and Suna grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him back.

Suna pulled a length of rope from his bag and wrapped it in an X shape across Atsumu's shoulders and under his arms, then tossed one of the ends to Osamu, before wrapping the other end around his hand, and gripping the door frame with the other. Osamu mirrored him. Jackal knelt on the ground, wrapping another rope around one of Atsumu's ankles, then the other, leaving taught rope between them, which he then knelt on, wrapping his hands around Atsumu's thighs.

Jackal then supported Atsumu's weight as Osamu and Suna slowly released the rope, allowing Atsumu to pitch forward into the void above the checkerboard. When he was in reach, the trio on the side gripped hold tightly, and Atsumu set to work on the lock with only three minutes remaining. It was more complicated than any of the previous locks. Atsumu failed to finish it in the first minute.

"Pull him out." Jackal called.

Atsumu slide his tools back into the pouch as his brother and Suna pulled at the ropes. Atsumu felt Jackals fingers dig into his thighs as they pulled him back up. Ninety seconds were left on the timer now, Jackal released his thighs when he was nearly back up, and began untying his feet. Suna and Osamu left the chest ropes on Atsumu, simply threading the ends through the cross of rope for speed.

"Go." Jackal called to the other two, they ran. Sixty four seconds.

As the other two ran through the lasers, the timer disappeared and the room went red. A new red timer started to count down from thirty. Jackal ripped the last tie from Atsumu's ankle, and rose up, shoving Atsumu forward. They sprinted for the exit, making it out of the last room with 4 seconds to spare.

A glass door shot across the doorway then, and gas filled the chamber. With that, the original door closed over the top. A display screen lit up above the iris scanners, all the existing lines shifted down, and a new line was entered, with the current date and time, four ID numbers, and the words 'Failed on room 4'. There were 4 other entries below, all failing on room three. With that Jackal turned and walked back towards his car. 

Chapter Text

Jackal slammed the front door behind them when they got back into the mansion, Suna immediately grabbed Osamu's hand and dragged him away up the stairs. Jackal punched the wall by the door hard, then turned around, putting his back to the damaged wall, and slid down.

Atsumu untied the ropes still attached to his chest in silence, then walked off to the kitchen, returning with a first aid kit. Jackal had torn through the thin gloves on his right hand and was bleeding. Atsumu knelt down and eyed him for a moment. Jackal said nothing, so Atsumu picked up his hand and removed his glove, then lay Jackal's hand on his thigh, cleaning away the blood and dressing the wound.

Atsumu zipped the kit back up, then pulled off his own gloves, and mask. He placed the items on the table to the side, stood, and offered a hand to Jackal. Jackal took it, and Atsumu pulled him up. Atsumu felt the touch of skin on skin, feeling the heat spreading through his body. Jackal dropped his hand immediately, and walked toward the stairs, starting to climb. Atsumu watched him walk up six stairs, then followed.

Jackal stopped on the floor with the red lit room on it, and turned to face Atsumu. Atsumu looked up, into his dark eyes, and realised Jackal was giving him a choice, to enter the red room or not. Atsumu swallowed and walked towards the door, waiting for Jackal to open it.

Inside, Atsumu pulled off his leather jacket, and t-shirt. He watched Jackal move to the end of the room, press his hand against one of the panels and it sprung open. He discarded his remaining glove and pulled on a new pair. He returned then with two black jogging bottoms and a black t-shirt. He threw a pair of jogging bottoms at Atsumu, then removed his own leather, replacing them with the clothes he had gathered.

"Still angry?" Atsumu asked when he finished changing.

"Yes."

Jackal was sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers gripped tightly against the silk sheets. Atsumu walked away at that returned with the whip that Jackal had used on him several times before. He lay it on the bed next to Jackal, then got on his knees, his back in front of Jackal.

Atsumu felt the sting of the whip across his back, over and over, until he felt the blood run. He crushed his eyes shut against the pain that burned across his back, clenching his jaw. He took every hit with a refusal to scream. Eventually Jackal stopped, got up and walked away.

"Lie on the bed."

Atsumu did as he was told, lying down on the bed, on his stomach. His back burned as he moved. Jackal returned, sitting down on the edge of the bed, cleaning the wounds on Atsumu's back carefully, applying ointment and binding them. He then applied an ice pack to the swelling, shifting it around every few moments. After 10 minutes of icing the wounds, Jackal discarded the items on the table by the bed, walked around to the other side of the bed and sat with his back against the headboard.

Atsumu opened his eyes and looked up at Jackal then, the anger had gone out of his eyes, and he looked relaxed again. He put his arm out then, and Atsumu shifted over, pillowing his head on Jackal's abs. Jackal placed his hand on the back of Atsumu's neck, gently stroking.

"Ya know, now we know what's in the firs' four rooms, we can prepare to execute it a lot faster."

"I'm going to have Suna construct a replica of the rooms. It's one of the reasons I keep him around, he's got a background in engineering. We have a month to practice. I'm going to put the gem collecting on the back burner for the time being, I want to get through that tenth room."

"Ya should put Osamu with Suna when Suna's built the rooms, he's a genius when it comes to planning. He always spots stuff I miss. How the hell is Suna gonna remember the details of the room's though?"

"That's where I come in, I have a photographic memory. I've never forgotten the detail of a single blue print. I have perfect recall."

"Well shit, that's a nice thing ta have."

Jackal laughed then.

"This team wasn't put together on a whim. I've been searching for people with your, and your brothers skill set for years. The safe and half the jobs I've sent you on, have been to test your abilities. I've told you about Suna's engineering skills, and you've seen him in the field, but he's also a proficient sniper, a hacker and an excellent driver."

"You're also more than aware of my skill set I'm sure, especially around extracting information from people, but I am also double jointed, allowing me to fit through gaps that other people can't. It's amazing how many secure places are accessible through holes that people shouldn't be able to fit through. The Police are still trying to solve the Willowtree murder to this day."

"What? Ya did that?" Atsumu exclaimed.

"Yes, I was fourteen, was one of my first kills."

"Fuckin' hell."

"Either way, I needed someone with your brother's skill set. His ability to stay calm and collected under pressure. Your brother and Suna have spent a lot of time together, and Suna has passed information related to your brother's skill sets on to me. His requirement to have an least four functional escape routes in his head at any time for example. He's impressed Suna a lot, so much in fact, that your brother has planned the majority of your jobs for the last month."

"Yeah, I know, I recognise the way his brain works."

"The icing on the cake was Suna accepting the collar for Osamu. Suna proved that he would die for your brother, and I believe Osamu would do the same for him in return. I think the only person preventing Suna being on the top of his protection list is you."

Jackal ran his fingers absentmindedly across the back of Atsumu's neck and into his hair as he continued.

"This brings me to you. I have been challenging the best thieves I could get my hands on to open that safe for the last four years. You're the only one to complete it. I will chalk that up as another bonus to your brother, he keeps you grounded when your brash attitude surfaces. Though I will admit I enjoy beating it out of you as well. I now have a strong team. Suna has sworn his life to me, and in turn Suna and Osamu have to each other by their feelings alone. Tying that into you and Osamu's connection, and we could hardly be bound stronger. That trust will be vital if we are to make it through the last door."

"I would die for ya too."

Jackal closed his eyes at those words, running his hand down the back of Atsumu's head.

"Lets hope you never need to. How's your back?"

"Can't complain, but I'm pretty fuckin' tired."

"Go to bed then."

Atsumu attempted to move then, but let out a hiss as he moved his back.

"Don't move." Jackal said.

Jackal slid off of the bed, and pulled the sheets back on the side he vacated, then slid Atsumu across the bed gently, before placing the covers over him. Jackal then moved around the bed, using a remote to turn off the dim lighting completely.

--

When Atsumu woke the next morning, he shifted slightly under the sheets, his back throbbed a little when he moved. His mind adjusted then as he realised he was under black silk rather than his normal white cotton. Memories of last night came flooding back, and he smiled to himself. He raised his head slightly, turning to face the other way, trying to stretch out the stiffness in his neck, and that's when he realised he wasn't alone. The silhouette of Jackal's back was visible in the dark room, Atsumu smiled again then closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Atsumu woke again a while later, to see the dim red lighting on again, and Jackal sitting at the footer of the bed, waiting.

"Ya should have just hit me awake or somethin'."

"Ah, you're finally awake."

"Yeah, how come yer here? Do ya need me to work?"

"I slept in here. After I got you into bed last night I realised the only way for someone to leave this room was with me. I didn't want to leave you trapped in here in case something happened."

"Oh."

"I put you in the situation, and as you work for me, I am responsible for your well being."

With that Jackal got up and walked to the door.

"Move, or I will leave you in here for the rest of the day."

Atsumu pulled himself up off the bed, wincing slightly as his back pulled, and headed out the door. When he got downstairs, he heard music coming from the dining room, so he stepped in, hearing his brother laughing, holding a spatula in front of the stove. Suna had an arm around his waist, and was singing along to 'Don't Stop Me Now' fairly out of tune.

Atsumu stood in the doorway then, watching his brother cooking pancakes, a smile forming on his face. Osamu then elbowed Suna in the stomach, who doubled over, backing away, before continuing to belt out the lyrics. Atsumu laughed at the pair of them, who both turned to see him leaning against the doorway, still wrapped in bandages.

"What happened to ya?" Osamu exclaimed.

"Jackal's bad mood happened didn't it?" Suna replied.

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"Ya want pancakes?" Osamu said, not looking entirely happy with Atsumu's response.

"God yeah." Atsumu replied, hopping up onto one of the work surfaces and leaning back on his hands, gently stretching his back out.

Suna was off again, this time cracking out 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Atsumu joined in singing with him during the first verse.

A third voice joined at 'Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead'. Atsumu looked up to see Jackal standing in the doorway, now wearing his normal attire. He fell silent again after that line. Atsumu grinned at his song line choice. He observed the way Jackal's hair hung a little heavier than normal, suggested he had recently showered. Suna hopped up on the counter next to Atsumu and the two swayed next to each other, singing away to the song.

"When you two have finished fucking around, we have work to do." Jackal said.

"Oh come on, lighten the fuck up for once, eat some pancakes, take the morning off. I'll build whatever the fuck you want doing this afternoon." Suna snapped.

Jackal looked at Suna slightly murderously for a moment.

"Fine."

With that he turned and walked out into the dining room. Atsumu let out a tense breath he had been holding, and watch Osamu quickly flip a pancake that had started to burn due to him being too scared to move.

"Do ya have a fucking death wish Suna?" Osamu whispered to him.

Suna looked slightly abashed, but hopped off the the counter, drew a smiley face in maple syrup on the pancakes Osamu just loaded on a plate, and walked out, dumping it in front of Jackal and walked back to the kitchen.

"Don't think I won't fucking kill you one of these days Suna, regardless of how useful you are." Jackal yelled from the next room.

"Right, so who wants to help me build a set of rooms?" Suna said, laughing, as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Chapter Text

The trio sat together in the dining room, finishing their breakfast when Jackal walked back in, he dumped a set of blueprints in front of Suna, who immediately dropped his fork and spread them open. Osamu moved his glass onto the top left corner to stop them curling. They stood together observing the detailed plans and Jackal's elegant script. Atsumu got up to join them, but Jackal interrupted before walking out the room.

"Atsumu I have a job for you."

Atsumu followed Jackal out the room. Suna flicked through the rest of the sheets of paper, finding what he was looking for.

"Jackal always gives a list of tools and stuff he recons he will need. Fancy going shopping?"

"Where the fuck are we gonna go that we can buy this stuff from?"

"Oh we aren't. We are gonna go get the parts I need to make them."

Osamu looked slightly awe struck for a moment and Suna grinned.

"Ya know how to make these?"

Suna just nodded, before stepping away from the table, and offering his hand to Osamu. The two went upstairs, Osamu pulled on a pair of black jeans, converse and a plain blue t-shirt, turning to see Suna wearing similar, his aviators in his hand.

"We need to walk a short distanced first, I need to collect something."

The duo headed downstairs, seeing Atsumu pulling on one of the normal mission kit's by the front door. Osamu hugged his brother before walking out the door with Suna.

They walked a few streets, down a side road where a fairly large white van was parked, Suna unlocked it and got in, waiting for Osamu to walk around to the other side. They spent the better part of the next few hours traveling to different hardware and department stores, collecting items. On the third one, Osamu began to get confused.

"We could have got some of this stuff in the first place we went to."

"Yes I know, I'm intentionally splitting up the purchases. Some of these items purchased together would run red flags on watch lists, so I am separating them. I'm swapping between different credit cards, using my different aliases." Suna held up one of his cards, "Say hello to Kita Shinsuke, apparently he decided he wanted to buy 5 propane tanks."

Osamu laughed at that and Suna grinned. They got back to the mansion, and took a few trips back and forth unloading the van into the area by the front door. Suna left to take the van back, so Osamu started ferrying the items into the basement. When Suna returned, he unlocked one of the doors in the basement, revealing steps to a sub basement. Suna flipped a switch, and strip lights flicked on, showing one large room, with a set of cabinets along one side.

"Welcome to my domain." Suna said with a laugh.

Once they had loaded all the items into the room, Suna set to work. He pinned the blue prints onto a cork board on the wall, and walked around, muttering to himself, pulling out tools as he went. He pulled a small radio out of one of the cupboards and stuck it on. Osamu watched him as he sat on floor then, with a notepad and pen, drawing.

"Anything I can do to help ya?" Osamu called.

It seems Suna had got lost in his own little world because he startled slightly when Osamu spoke. Osamu chuckled a little at him, then walked over and gave Suna's shoulders a quick massage. Suna looked up at him and smiled, then ripped a page off of his notepad and passed it up.

"Start a few feet from the cabinets, and mark out the outlines of the rooms alone the floor, using these dimensions. There should be tape in the top left of the red cabinet."

It was an attribute to how much time Suna had spent in this room, as over the next few hours, every time Suna asked Osamu to get something for him, he knew exactly which of the six cabinet it was in, and it's exact location inside.

Suna got up a while later, stating he was going to go collect some food for them both, and disappeared up the stairs. He appeared again less than three minutes later, panting.

"Osamu, your brother's missing."

"What?!" Osamu exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.

"Jackal text me about an hour ago, I didn't get it as I don't have signal down here, but it came through when I got to the kitchen. Atsumu didn't return from the job he was on when he was meant to. When I didn't reply to the message, Jackal assumed we were still out, he's gone after Atsumu himself."

"What? But we need to help him!"

"Osamu. Breathe. He'll be okay. I've known Jackal a very long time. There's only two things that he's never done. Fail to kill someone who took something of his, and apologise. He won't start that today."

"But what if he can't find him?"

"Osamu, do you trust me?" Suna said, placing his hands on Osamu's arms.

"Yes."

"When Jackal first took you and your brother in, there was a few moments where you were both knocked out. I doubt you'll even remember it. Jackal had a small breathing tank under his mask. He gassed the room when you were both on your knees, and implanted a tracker into the back of your necks."

"How.. how do ya know that?" Osamu stuttered out, shocked.

"Because I was the one who inserted yours." Suna said, raising his hand, and touching the small scar on the side of Osamu's neck.

Osamu swallowed thickly, but didn't respond.

"Before you start getting shitty with me, I have one as well, and so does Jackal. The only way they can be tracked is through a laptop in the safe in his office, which he can access on his phone. I know how to access it in emergency in case he goes missing. Not that anyone's been stupid enough to ever try and take him."

Osamu nodded as Suna spoke.

"If you really do trust me, you can trust that Jackal wouldn't have gone alone if he couldn't handle it. You've heard his stories, he's never failed. Lets go upstairs in case he contacts me again."

Chapter Text

Jackal watched the speedo as the Koen Gemera hit 160. It was nearly four in the morning, and the roads were thankfully empty. He glanced at the little blinking green dot on his dash, and pushed his foot further to the floor.

He was half a block away from where Atsumu was being held, he abandoned his car in the middle of the road on a side street, picked up his phone and gun and locked the car. He was wearing an outfit he'd not worn in a while now. It'd been a few months since he'd been hired to take someone out, and even longer since he had killed for pleasure or revenge.

The full body suit was made of elasticated fabric with a leather like exterior, it allowed him to move completely silently, and to twist his limbs to their limits. With the exception of two slits for his eyes, the suit was fully sealed. He attached his pistol in the small of his back, and slide his silenced phone into a tight pocket on his thigh.

He'd already pulled the blueprints for the building Atsumu was in, and memorised them. There was an external fire escape that would take him to the roof, then it was a case of picking the lock, he patted his other leg pocket then, ensuring his tools were still in place. He got up onto a dumpster, and jumped onto the lower run of the fire escape, pulling himself up. He climbed quickly, and was through the lock on the roof in under a minute.

He located the vent he wanted, removed the screws, and slid in, then twisted two of his fingers back out through the vent to secure two of the screws in opposite corners just enough to hold the vent closed again. With that done, he pulled himself through the vents, descending the floors.

He exited the vent in the boiler room, thankful that his hunch that the vent wouldn't be secured in place due to continual maintenance, was correct. He pulled his phone then, the green dot was larger now. The chips had cost him a fortune, but now it was more than worth it. They had cost so much due to the fact the size of the dot increased with proximity. Standard tracking give you an X/Y, but it didn't help when the target was in a tall building, and there were many floors to cover. The dot size now showed that Atsumu must be within one of the rooms here, or directly above him.

Jackal opened the door quietly and slipped out into the corridor. He searched room by room, most of them looked like office spaces, or meeting rooms. Jackal approached a final room, and heard voices inside, several by the sounds of it. He eyed the ceiling, looking at the terrible looking polystyrene tiles suspended on thin metal bars. Not remotely close to enough to support his weight. He noticed a steel beam running above his head a few paces to his left, which looked like it ran straight through into the room where Atsumu was being held.

He stepped into a room opposite, which just housed a few photocopiers. He climbed up on one copiers, then pushed a tile up and pulled himself onto the beam, replacing the tile. He lay on his stomach, along the length of beam, it was a tight fit, with the concrete above his head. He pulled himself along the beam, listening as the voices became louder. He pulled a small switch blade from his pocket, and cut a tiny hole in the corner of the tile. He had been right in his estimate of the room size, seeing the back wall close by as the piece of tile fell away.

Jackal replaced his knife carefully and pulled out an endoscope, plugging it into his phone and inserted it into the hole. He observed the room below him, There were two guys flanking the doors to the room, both with SMGs in their hand, they look like hired muscle. Two other guys in suits sat around the room, and a final guy in a pristine suit, was standing in front of Atsumu. The guy was holding a baseball bat, and there was blood on the end of it. Atsumu was tied to a chair, his head hung forward.

It took Jackal a few minutes to process the scene, and come up with a plan. The two suits weren't an issue, no visible guns and too far away to be of any use to the other three in time. The guy with the bat could be a problem, he was wearing a holster, and Jackal had no way of knowing if it was empty or not. He would assume that it contained a pistol at least, and that Atsumu would quickly be taken hostage if Jackal didn't disable him. He observed again for a moment, looking at the way he held the bat, and decided he was right handed.

With that, Jackal slide back long the beam, lowered himself down and hit the power button on the printer, then mashed his foot onto the key pad, and set it off beeping. He heard the voices louder. Jackal pulled himself back up, and waited. The door opened, and one of the hired muscle guys walked in, Jackal pushed the door shut with his foot and put a bullet in the guys head. He slumped against the door.

Jackal quickly pulled himself back along the beam, knowing he only had about 30 seconds before the second hired gun would go investigate. He hooked his finger into the hole in the tile, pulling it up, and tilting sideways into the hole. The first bullet went into the arm holding the bat, second bullet was a perfect head shot to the second hired gun, who was half way out the door. Bullet three went into the head of the first suit, four went into the second suits shoulder, and five went into his head. He had already used a bullet on the first hired gun, leaving him with his seventh and final bullet.

He dropped into the room at that point, the guy with the bat, had dropped to his knees, his left hand wrapped around his bleeding arm.

"Who the fuck are you?" He demanded.

With that, Jackal raised his hand, and smashed the butt of his gun across the side of the guys face. He pulled the liner out of a nearby empty bin and wrapped it around the guys bleeding wound, tying it off tightly, then pulled a thin case from a pocket in his arm sleeve, removing a needle, and injecting it into the guys neck. He snapped the case closed again and put it back in it's pocket, and walked around to the front of Atsumu.

One of Atsumu's eyes was black and purple, and swollen shut, but the other was half open. He was staring up at Jackal with stunned disbelief, his mouth open. Jackal watched the blood drip from the side of Atsumu's mouth and swallowed. He pulled out his blade again, and cut each of the ropes binding Atsumu to the chair. Atsumu pitched forward as the ropes fell away. Jackal caught him before he fell off the chair, and pushed him back. He pulled another box out of his other sleeve, and injected it into Atsumu's arm, watching as Atsumu passed out.

--

When Atsumu woke, he felt the weight of a strap across his chest, he tried to open his eyes, but found that only one would open, and his vision was blurred. He registered yellow and black blurred shapes in front of him, and fast moving lights. He groaned, and felt a hand touch his thigh, stroking lightly. Atsumu focused all of his attention on the hand as he drifted again.

--

The next time he woke, he registered Suna's outline above him, and bright white lights. He felt a sting in his arm, and faded to black. 

Chapter Text

The third time Atsumu woke up, he was slightly more lucid. He recognised the fact he was in the mansion, in what looked like a room set up for medical purposes. Suna was dressed in scrubs standing off to the side, Osamu was sat on his bed, holding his hand, and Jackal was stood at the foot of the bed.

"How ya feeling?" Osamu asked.

"Hurts." Atsumu mumbled.

Suna moved around then, emptying two white pills from a bottle on a cabinet and filling a glass with water, and walked towards the bed.

"Atsumu, I'm sorry." Jackal said in a quiet, even voice.

Suna dropped the glass, it smashed on the floor, as he turned to look at Jackal open mouthed in shock. Jackal flicked his eyes to Suna briefly, as Suna swore under his breath and turned to get a new glass.

"I shouldn't have sent you in alone. I fucked up." Jackal finished, before walking across the room and exited, slamming the door behind him.

Suna returned with a new glass, handed Atsumu the pills, which he swallowed and followed it down with water.

"Well ya were wrong about one of the two." Osamu said, looking at Suna, laughing.

"Suna said that Jackal never fails to kill someone he wants dead, and he never apologises." Osamu added, seeing the confused look on his brothers face.

"I said he wouldn't start today. That was a couple of days ago, so technically I'm not wrong." Suna shot back, grinning.

"How.. long." Atsumu croaked out.

"You've been out for two days. You have a few fractured ribs, a broken wrist, your throat's pretty fucked up, and you have a fuck ton of bruising across most of your upper body and face, oh and you've lost a little blood. Majority of that will be alright in a couple of weeks. Ribs and wrist will take longer." Suna listed off. He paused and then added, "you look better than the other guy Jackal brought back anyway."

"Huh?" Atsumu replied.

"Mr fancy suit, real big fan of a baseball bat." Suna said.

"Ah yeah, I remember feelin' that one." Atsumu said.

"Yeah well, he's been in the basement since Jackal brought you back. I've never seen Jackal this angry before. I think he's mostly pissed with himself for sending you alone. Mr fancy suit ain't gonna have a good end."

Atsumu's one functional eye fluttered shut then, and Osamu squeezed his hand lightly before getting up to let him sleep. The days passed, stretching into weeks. Atsumu was finally allowed out of bed by Suna on week three. Jackal hadn't been back since the first day Atsumu was awake. Suna had informed him that Jackal spent time between his office and the basement.

Atsumu walked up to Jackal's office after a slow and painful shower. He had been able to get a t-shirt on with his arm in a sling, so just zipped a hoodie over his bare chest. He knocked and waited to be permitted to enter. Jackal called him in nearly immediately. Even without seeing his face, Atsumu could tell Jackal was tired. His shoulders were slumped and he was hunched over his desk, he looked drained. Jackal looked up when Atsumu entered. Atsumu walked around to the inside of his desk, lent against it and put his functional hand on Jackal's shoulder.

Jackal looked up at him, they sat in silence for a few minutes, then Atsumu offered his hand. Jackal took it. Atsumu pulled him up and lead him to the bedroom. Atsumu unzipped the hoodie and left it at the foot of the bed, laying down on top of the covers. Jackal's eyes lingered over Atsumu's body, the bandages and bruises that still clung to various sections of his skin, climbing onto bed as well.

Atsumu extended his functional arm, thankful that the ribs and wrist damaged were both on the same side. Jackal moved into his arm, burying his head in the crook of Atsumu's neck. Atsumu wrapped his arm around Jackal, and held him with one arm. After a few minutes, Jackal pulled away, and lay on his back, but his entire demeanor had changed, once again back to an emotionless mask. He looked recharged.

At some point they must have fallen asleep because Atsumu awoke to Jackal, freshly showered, already half dressed, buttoning his shirt.

"Where ya going?" Atsumu called.

"Basement."

With that, Jackal walked towards the door.

"Jackal, let it go." Atsumu called out after him.

Jackal said nothing in response, just disappearing out the door. Atsumu headed downstairs to his room, and showered carefully. It had taken him about twenty minutes longer than normal but he felt more alive after it.

He walked down to the dining room then, Suna was sat at the table eating, Osamu walked in from the kitchen then, stuffing his face as he went.

"Do ya ever stop fuckin' eating? Atsumu said, laughing.

"That's like telling me not to breathe." Osamu replied, sitting down next to Suna. "There's more in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Atsumu went into the kitchen then, struggling slightly to get a plate down.

"Suna, there's a body to get rid of when you're done." Jackal's voice came through from the dining room.

"That was quicker than I expected." Suna replied. "I'll get on it after this. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Atsumu heard Jackal walk in then, who walked over and took the plate out of Atsumu's hand, and got another.

"Go sit."

Atsumu walked out of the kitchen at that dismissal and sat opposite his brother. Jackal came in a few minutes later, placed a plate down in front of Atsumu and Jackal took the seat right next to him. His leg brushed against Atsumu's as he sat. He moved it away slightly, but Atsumu moved his leg over again, not close enough to directly touch, but he could feel the heat coming off of Jackal's leg.

Atsumu chased some of the food around the plate a little, attempting to eat one handed. Osamu had been feeding him in the hospital until that point, that had been humiliating enough for him, he refused it now he was out and walking again. He was just chasing those thoughts away when he felt Jackal's leg brush up against him again, and this time, stay.

Atsumu side glanced at Jackal, who was already watching him, they both flicked their eyes away. Osamu and Suna exchanged glances then, they both got up, dumped their plates in the kitchen and disappeared quickly.

"For fucks sake, give me your damn fork, this is painful to watch." Jackal said.

Atsumu ignored him, flushing red.

"What's it going to take to get you to listen to me?"

Atsumu stayed silent, looking at his plate. Willing something to happen that would detract from this situation, for once, Atsumu's prayers were answered.

Jackal sat back in his chair then, and with one swift movement, removed his mask.

Atsumu started at him, his eyes lingering on his defined jaw line, and now the mask had gone, the stark contrast between his ivory skin and black eyes was even more prominent. Jackal was nothing short of stunning attractive. One of the best looking men Atsumu had ever seen. Atsumu's jaw dropped at the sight, and with that, Jackal shoved a fork full of food in his mouth, then laughed.

Atsumu chewed and swallowed, watching the way Jackal's curls moved slightly as he laughed. Jackal removed his gloves then, and raised his hand to touch the side of Atsumu's face, gently touching over the damage to the side of his eye. Atsumu swallowed slowly, his heart beat increasing rapidly.

"Going to stop being a pain in the ass and let me help now?" Jackal said.

"I guess so Jackal." Atsumu conceded.

"Sakusa." Jackal replied.

"Huh?" Atsumu said.

Jackal sighed, as he loaded up another fork.

"My name, Sakusa Kiyoomi."

Atsumu opened his mouth in shock again, and once again received a fork full of food to the face for it.

"Can ya fuckin' stop doing that?" Atsumu stuttered out.

Sakusa laughed again.

"Well I'm running out of ways to surprise, you so I guess you're just going to have to suck it up and take it now."

"Fine, I relent."

Atsumu sat there and let Sakusa feed him for the rest of the meal. The chatted about nothing in particular a while, and Atsumu noticed it was the most relaxed he's ever seen the other man.

When they finished, Sakusa got up and took their plates to the kitchen.

"Sakusa." Atsumu called out, as the other returned.

"Am I allowed to call ya that?" Atsumu added quickly.

"When I don't have my mask on, sure."

With that, he placed his mask back on and walked out the room. He walked to the foot of the stairs, and then turned back.

"If you're feeling up for it, go help your brother and Suna in the basement."

With that, he disappeared back upstairs.

Chapter Text

Another week passed by, Atsumu's wrist was now healed enough to feed himself without assistance, having relented to another week of his brother feeding him. Jackal had been gone on a job from the day after he had fed Atsumu, and was due back soon.

The twins were currently stood in the basement. Osamu was holding one end of a steel pole next to Suna who was welding, both in full safety gear. Atsumu was at the other end of the pole, it balanced over his shoulder, wearing a full leather body suit, as Suna didn't have anything else to offer him. He was far enough away from Suna to not be at risk, but the room was boiling, and Atsumu was sweating heavily and dying to leave.

Atsumu's mind drifted to Sakusa while he stood there sweltering. His harsh jawline, the way his black eyes stood out on his pale skin. He'd not told his brother or Suna about what Jackal had done before he left. He felt like it was private, and wanted to keep it that way. When Suna was done welding the first end, Osamu walked over to take the other from Atsumu, and Atsumu was allowed to leave.

Atsumu stripped out of half the leather suit on his way upstairs, panting heavily. He got to his room and switched on the shower, stripping completely. After finishing and pulling on sweat pants and a t-shirt, he was heading down the main staircase to go back to the basement. The front door opened and Jackal walked in. Atsumu stopped three steps from the bottom of the stairs, to see Jackal look up at him. He was wearing the same outfit Atsumu had seen with one eye the night Jackal had rescued him, with a small duffel back slung over his back, and a pistol still in hand.

Jackal headed towards him, up the stairs, as Jackal got to the same step as Atsumu, his eyes flicked to Atsumu briefly, before continuing on walking. Jackal stopped at the top of the stairs, as if he was deciding something, then disappeared around the corner. Atsumu turned around and followed him.

Atsumu knew he'd made the correct decision when he got to the office door, and found it was open. He walked in, and shut the door, Jackal's gun and bag were dumped on his desk. Atsumu looked towards his bedroom, hearing the shower start, he went in, closing the bedroom door and sat on the edge of the bottom of the bed, facing away from the bathroom door. He heard the shower stop, and a few moments later, the bathroom door opened.

Atsumu continued looking at his own feet, until a pair of black jogging bottoms moved across his vision. He raised his eyes up, to see the ivory skin of his chest and abs, and then on to Sakusa's mask-less face. Their eyes met for a few seconds, before Sakusa pushed him harshly back against the bed, and climbed on top of him. Sakusa wrapped one hand around his neck, not gripping hard enough to cut off oxygen, but Sakusa could feel the arousal in Atsumu below him.

With that, Sakusa got up and lay down on the bed, sliding his jogging bottoms off and dropped them on the floor. Atsumu got the hint, flipping over and crawling forwards, running his hand up Sakusa's thigh and rubbing a palm down the front of his boxers. He felt Sakusa shift slightly, then relax into the pillow. Atsumu slid Sakusa's boxers down, wrapping his palm around Sakusa's hardening length, and took him into his mouth.

Atsumu had done this enough times now to know exactly what Sakusa liked, but this time it felt so much more involved, he watched ever tiny movement in Sakusa's facial expression, mapping each one to memory, to work out how to pleasure him the most. As Sakusa's breathing increased, he tilted his head to watch Atsumu. Atsumu maintained eye contact with Sakusa as he bobbed up and down, then pushed down hard until he choked and gagged. He was rewarded with a small moan from Sakusa.

Atsumu went harder then, switching between fast movement and harsh deep throat, feeling the moans escaping Sakusa pooling all his blood down to his stiff cock. It didn't take long for Sakusa to finish down his throat.

Atsumu lay back on the bed then, panting. Sakusa got up and went into the bathroom, Atsumu heard the shower start again. Atsumu used this time to dart back downstairs, jump in his own shower and made himself finish fast. He pulled on fresh boxers and jogging bottoms, brushed his teeth.  He hesitated for a moment, but decided to push his luck and head back up stairs.

Sakusa was sat up in bed reading through some blue prints when Atsumu returned.

"I wasn't sure if you were returning or not." Sakusa remarked.

"I can go if ya want me to." Atsumu replied.

"No it's fine, you can stay."

With that, Atsumu pulled back the covers, and climbed into bed. He rolled onto his side, facing away from Sakusa. After a few minutes, Sakusa put the documents down, and turned out the light, shifting down under the covers. Atsumu was getting close to dropping off to sleep when he felt a warmth across his back. Sakusa's arm went over him, pulling his back flush with Sakusa's chest. Atsumu drifted off to sleep with the hand of one of the world's most deadly assassins around him, and never felt more safe in his life.

--

"How are your ribs?" Sakusa asked the following morning.

"Nearly healed." Atsumu replied.

With that, Sakusa probed a finger into the side of Atsumu's rib cage, watching the other wince slightly.

"Don't fucking lie to me."

"I can work fine like this, tell me what ya need."

 "It's not about work, it's about the second attempt on Blaker. We need your chest fully functional for the rigging."

"Rigging?" Atsumu enquired.

With that Sakusa fixed his mask back over his face and walked out of the bedroom, Atsumu following in his wake. They walked down to the sub basement. Osamu and Suna were already inside working. With the assistance of Atsumu yesterday, the duo had finally finished the framework for the cages, and Suna had set up a single laser in the third cage. 

"The first two rooms we can get through easily, and the third will go a lot faster now I have made this." Suna spoke as they entered.

He moved his leg through the laser and an alarm started, then took his leg back out and it stopped. Suna then flicked a switch on the side of a small metal cube and put his leg through the laser again. Nothing happened. 

"I'm not going to attempt to dumb it down enough for you to understand how it works. My watch has a few modifications to it, when we leaving last time, I used its sensor to break the laser.. and you know what, I really can't think of a way of breaking it down easily, but just trust me, we will be able to walk through them without triggering anything." 

Suna flicked the device back off, and Osamu turned the laser off. Atsumu noticed then that Osamu and Suna were both wearing chest harnesses. Suna handed a third to Jackal, who put it on. Suna then rigged up the back of Osamu's harness with ropes, tossed one to Jackal, and threaded the rope through a hoop on the front of his. 

"So we proved last time that our idea for room four was good enough, we've just made it a tad more refined. We are using Osamu as a guinea pig as your ribs are still healing. Osamu has boots on that I modified, the curved front becomes magnetic when they are switched on, it will allow you to plant the front of your boots to the metal ledge and pivot forward over the tiles."

Osamu stood on a marked outline then, on the edge of a steel beam and flicked switches on the sides of the boots, before slowly being lowered over the expanse in front of him by Jackal and Suna. 

"In addition to the harnesses, I've included these." Suna pulled at a chunk of metal on his hip attached to a rope. He pulled it, attached it to the steel beam behind him and flicked a switch on it, making it become magnetised. He locked it off at his belt and lent forward, being supported by the rope.

"In short, we can anchor ourselves to the walls and tip you forward. I recon with the additional equipment we can shave at least twenty minutes off the clock for the next attempt."

"But first yer ribs need to heal." Osamu added as he was pulled back to standing by Suna and Jackal. 

"Give me a week, and I'll be good to go." Atsumu said, glancing sideways at Jackal.

Jackal nodded, removing his harness. He turned then to the right wall, where a few sheets of metal had been rigged up what looked like every brand of lock that ever existed. 

"Practice while you're waiting." Jackal said. 

--

Atsumu spent the better part of the next five days in the basement with Suna and Osamu, lock picking until his fingers were numb. For at least an hour a day, the other three also joined him, practicing on the same lock types as the second room. They all got it down to under thirty seconds. 

Suna had completed the modification of their outfits, he had included reinforcing the thighs of his with metal strips, as he intended to plant his back to the wall in the laser room, with his thighs straight, for Osamu to stand on to do the high lock, now that the lasers weren't an issue. 

Suna had also changed Atsumu's to allow his leather pouch of tools to be attached to his chest for easy access. Suna had added a magnetic strip to the leather so the tools were more secure as well. The final modification Suna had done was to give them each a better mask, each containing a small valve that would give around 60 seconds of oxygen and prevent the gas getting in, just as an extra safety measure. 

--

Atsumu had barely seen Jackal over the last five days, apart from a few of his visits to the basement. He didn't want to overstep any boundaries, not even sure where the boundaries were. He just waited, and hoped. 

Suna rarely went home now. He had taken to sleeping in Osamu's room, and the pair spent every day together, practicing the set up for the lock pick in the laser room, and lowering a weighted manikin, on which Osamu had drawn an unflattering picture of Atsumu, much to the blonds annoyance. 

Atsumu now found himself sat in front of one of the harder locks, practicing with it, constantly being distracted by Suna and Osamu laughing. After five days nearly solidly with them and their relentless flirting, Atsumu was at his limit. He checked his watch, it was past 8 and he was tired. He ditched his tools and walked out of the room, not even sure that the other two had realised he was gone.

He got back to the ground floor where he heard sound coming from the kitchen. Atsumu entered the dining room and on to the kitchen, leaning against the door frame. Jackal was standing in front of a chopping board with a knife in his hand, cutting up something Atsumu couldn't see. Jackal was dressed in just sweat pants and a t-shirt. He had the radio on and was humming away, moving his hips as he worked.

Atsumu moved slightly as he watched, making the door creak. Jackal whipped around, with the knife held out in front of him. Atsumu raised his hands in surrender and laughed. 

"Make one comment and I will kill you."

"I would never make any comment's about a notorious assassin dancing around his kitchen bare foot listening to ABBA."

"Atsumu, I am warning you." Jackal growled from under his mask.

"Apologies dancin' queen." Atsumu said, hopping up on the counter next to him.

With that, Jackal side stepped in front of Atsumu and held the knife to his throat.

"I will beat the shit out of you." Jackal said, pressing the knife down slightly, turning Atsumu's skin red.

"Go ahead." Atsumu replied, winking.

Jackal returned to his chopping after that. Atsumu lay his head back against the wall, watching him work. Jackal quickly put him to work chopping, after they finished cooking, they ate together then headed upstairs. At the 2nd floor, Atsumu walked towards his room. 

"Come up when you've showered." 

Atsumu nodded his head as he continued to walk to his room and went inside. He knew full well he would pay for the comments in the kitchen and boy he found out just how correct he was twenty minutes later, when he was on his knees in Jackals room, having his face roughly fucked, and choked. Jackal kicked him out after that. Atsumu crawled into his bed with a grin, he would have happily gone through much worse for the memory of Sakusa's hips swaying in the kitchen, that was now ingrained in his mind. 

Chapter Text

The four were stood in front of the iris scanners again, in their newly updated gear. Atsumu's harness was already roped up ready to go. Atsumu stood next to Jackal at the two right hand scanners, he rolled his shoulders backwards, and clicked his neck, then stretched out his arms and shoulders. Jackal eyed him for a moment then flexed his wrist back to an unnatural position, seeing Atsumu shiver out the corner of his eye. Jackal let out a laugh.

"Ready?" Jackal called out.

The other three agreed, so Jackal bent forward and scanned his eyes. 

"The floor is yours Atsumu." Jackal said.

Atsumu was already moving forward, drawing his tools out of his belt as he did. They made it through the first two rooms in under three minutes. Suna pulled his device out in the third room and switched it on, waiting thirty seconds, then stuck a toe through a laser, nothing happened. With that he and Osamu dashed to the right, and Suna threw Osamu into the air, gripping the others thighs to his chest, as Osamu planted his feet on Suna's thighs. 

The team cleared the first three rooms before the clock hit 50 minutes. Suna and Osamu began releasing the ropes on Atsumu's back as soon as he was on the ledge, bending down to magnetise lock his boots to the floor. Osamu and Suna rigged Atsumu up to themselves while Jackal attached the other two's harnesses to the walls and clicked the magnets in place. Jackal grabbed Atsumu's thighs again and lowered him slowly over the exposed lock.

47:32

It took Atsumu a few minutes to get the lock undone, it went green, but nothing in the room changed except a second lock becoming visible on the 5th row, far too far away to reach from the platform. Jackal stuck a boot tentatively on the tile in front of him and put a small pressure on it. The tile dipped down and another 5 minutes disappeared off the clock. 

40:46

"Fuck." 

With that, Atsumu pushed down on the tile that the lock was on, it didn't move. 

"We need to get Atsumu onto that tile. Atsumu, stick your hands down, Suna, use him to get yourself down to his position." Osamu said.

Atsumu placed himself down in a plank, Suna detached himself from Atsumu, as Jackal pulled his wall attachment, Jackal took Suna's place, as Suna attached his boots to the floor and used Atsumu's body to place himself across the gap. 

"Pull Atsumu back up." Osamu called out to Jackal. 

When Atsumu was back standing, Osamu bent down and switched Atsumu's boots off, then placed slack in the rope, Jackal copying Osamu's actions. With the ropes loose, Osamu told Atsumu to walk across Suna. It was a credit to just how strong Suna was, when Atsumu made it across. He magnetised his boots again, and they lowered him forward. When he was down, Osamu and Jackal locked off the ropes, Osamu carefully bent down, and gripped the cord on Suna's back, attaching it to the wall, between him and Jackal, they managed to pull Suna back upright. 

Atsumu got through the second lock, and all the tiles went green. Osamu, Jackal and Suna worked releasing all the ropes quickly and they pushed forward into room five. 

32:19

In this room, they were presented with glass and wood table top, on a single leg. through the glass, there was a small metal ball in the left corner closest to them. In the back right corner was a section painted green. Covering the surfaces were multiple locks.

Atsumu set to work on the first lock, and upon its release, the table tilted slightly to the right. Osamu and Suna set to work unlocking all the locks, while Jackal observed each of the locks, the table tilt direction and amount with each change. The ball had barely moved by the time they had unlocked all the locks. Atsumu closed one of the locks, and watched the table tilt in reverse of what it had from opening the lock.

"Now what?" Atsumu said.

"He's processing a hell of a lot of information give him a section." Suna said, turned to Jackal with that, and waited. Fifteen seconds ticked by. 

With that Jackal started pointing out locks to them as he sat watching the table, using his perfect recall to work out which locks to work with. He got it slightly wrong a few times and the ball rolled a little too much, but they made it through the room with just over fifteen minutes on the clock. 

15:07

They entered the sixth room, and were met with almost a complete wall of solid metal, with a small hole in, barely bigger than a vent, and a key lock. Atsumu set to work on the lock, springing it open in under a minute, which made the hole wider. Atsumu climbed through and was met with another hole and key lock. 

"Fuck this." Jackal said.

With that he popped his shoulder out and squeezed himself through the tiny hole, disappearing. Atsumu set to work on the second lock, but by the time he made it to the third, the wall in front of him started descending. The trip stepped over the last 7 sinking walls to where Jackal was stood at the other end, with the final code lock glowing green, and popped his shoulder back in.

08:52

"Ya ain't human." Atsumu said as he passed into the seventh room. 

In the middle of the room stood a podium with a glass box on it, and around the walls were hundreds of locked boxes, each with a key code on. Painted across all the surfaces were various pictures, a landscape of cliffs and the sea, a forest, a nights sky, the face of a beautiful woman, various animals, flowers, trees filled with fruit. Suna swore at the sheer number of the boxes. 

Osamu approached the podium and read out loud what was written.

I have lashes, but I'm not a whip,

I can be closed, but I'm not a zip,

I have a socket, but no lever,

I have a lid but I'm no container.

I have letters three,

Written with two,

Pronounced as one.

I can be read from both ends,

And you can still comprehend.

What am I?

"There are way too many boxes to even attempt to open, especially in eight minutes." Suna said.

"It's a three letter word, we know that much, start looking for boxes that have objects of only three letters on them." Osamu said. 

"There's a dog here." Atsumu called. 

"How the fuck does a dog have a lid?" Osamu shot back. 

"What were the things it said it had again?" Suna called.

"Lashes, Socket, Lid, and can be closed." Osamu replied. 

"Eye!" Jackal called out. 

"There are literally like 20 animals on this wall, which fucking eye?" Atsumu called. 

"That box, the woman's eye takes up the whole box." Osamu called out. 

Atsumu ran to the wall with the woman on it, she was at the very top of the wall, Suna and Jackal ran over, lifting Atsumu up into the woman's face, he unlocked the box quickly, the door sprung open, and behind them the door opened. 

2:31

Jackal and Suna dropped Atsumu and the three sprinted through the door to where Osamu was already stood. Most of the floor of room eight was made of glass, above a deep pit, the bottom was visible, but it would be a two man job to get back out of again. In the middle of the room, on a metal rod, was a single lock. The walls were utterly smooth stone. Osamu attempted to attach a magnet, to any exposed surface, nothing would stick. 

Jackal was first to notice a metal circular hoop in the ceiling directly above the lock, he pointed it out to the others.

1:57

"Fuck all we can do about it now, might as well test this though." Jackal said.

With that, he stuck his foot on the glass, and the room went red. 

"RUN!" Jackal yelled, as the red 30 second timer came up. 

Suna and Osamu had been tested how far away the nearest magnetic surface was in the previous room, so they were already ahead when Jackal yelled, Atsumu saw Osamu get through the final door as he and Jackal got to room one, as the timer dropped to the last second. With that, the floor started to move. Atsumu had been lucky, with both of his feet on the moving panel, Jackal however had one foot on and one off, causing him to be launched forward, he hit the floor. 

Atsumu sprung forward, using the momentum of the flat out run and the moving floor to cause his right hand to collide with Jackals upper arm, pulling him forward and launching him out the door, as the glass closed. 

Atsumu heard Osamu's scream as the floors completed moving and the vents were exposed. Atsumu flicked the switch on the side of his mask, that popped out the breathing tube and felt the mask pinch down over his nostrils. The last thing Atsumu saw was Jackal's fist coming hard down on the outside of the glass, as the room started to fill with gas. Atsumu took the deepest breath he could hold, and inserted the breathing tube into his mouth, his eyes locked on the black ones behind the glass.

--

Osamu collapsed to the floor, shaking, with tears flowing down his face. Suna was on his knees, his arms around Osamu, tears running down his own face under the mask. Jackal was pacing in front of the glass, no longer able to see Atsumu through the fog. His fists were clenched into fists and he was seething in anger. He was counting in his head. 46..47..48.. 

With every turn, he would watch the glass again, watching for any sign of the gas clearing. 73..74..75..

Jackal had seen Atsumu take a deep breath before the gas filled the room, and he'd locked his mask down, he estimated that Atsumu would be to hold his breath for a minimum of thirty seconds before he activated the tube. 94...95...96..

The tank should have given him at least sixty seconds of oxygen, and then that would give him another thirty after that. 111...112...113...

The gas was still solid. Jackal knew that with special training, people could hold their breath for up to two minutes. He knew Atsumu wasn't trained, but he was young and fit, he should be able to hold his breath for longer than the average human right? 142..143...144...

Jackal smashed his fist on the glass again, then pressed his head against the glass, closing his eyes. 149...150...151...

Jackal opened his eyes after hearing a hiss, the room was venting. As it cleared, he noticed there was a metal wall cutting off access to the lock in the first room. He assumed that the room had a way of detecting someone was inside and allowed access to remove bodies without allowing someone to attempt the challenge. Jackal shook his head at the thought. 

With that the door opened. Jackal launched himself at Atsumu. Suna and Osamu must have heard the door open, because they were in a few seconds later, however Jackal had already ripped Atsumu's mask off and was checking for any sign of Atsumu breathing. Osamu's normal stony resolve on a mission had broken completely, he was on his knees near his brother, not moving. Suna dropped to his knees, picking up Atsumu's wrist and checking for a pulse, he shook his head. 

With that, Suna began 30 chest compression, Jackal ripped his own mask off, and as Suna's hands moved back, Jackal squeezed Atsumu's nostrils shut and executed two rescue breaths, before Suna started compression again. The two repeated the cycle for just over a minute before Atsumu suddenly gasped in a breath. Suna moved his hands away and pulled back, wrapping his arms around Osamu again.

"Sa..Sakusa?" Atsumu gasped. 

Sakusa sighed with relief, and with that, wrapped his arms around Atsumu's shoulders and closed his eyes. Osamu moved forward then, wrapping his arms around Atsumu's waist, tears still falling. Suna came over, wrapping an arm around Osamu's shoulder, and patting Sakusa on the back twice. The four remained silent for a while, then Suna stood, offering a hand to Osamu. Sakusa stood as well then, pulling Atsumu up too.

Sakusa put his mask back on, and the four walked back to the cars in silence, physically and emotionally exhausted, and headed home. 

Chapter Text

"Go shower, meet back in the dining room in 30 minutes." Jackal said as they entered the mansion.

With that, the four walked upstairs and disappeared into their rooms. Atsumu walked downstairs after his shower, his gear packed back up in the grey duffel. He paused by the front door to toss it up on the top shelf, where two bags already were, and walked into the dining room. 

Osamu was sat at the table, Suna standing behind him, bent forward, with his arms wrapped around Osamu's shoulders. Atsumu walked forward and sat in the chair opposite his brother. Osamu kicked him under the table.

"What the fuckin' hell was that for?" Atsumu cried out. 

"Scarin' me." Osamu replied.

"Ya really think a bit of toxic gas is gonna take me out?" Atsumu grinned. 

Osamu half laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. Suna rubbed his shoulders gently.

"I love ya." Atsumu said, leaning his head on his hand, elbow on the table.

"I love ya too." Osamu replied. 

Suna squeezed Osamu again, and the two looked up to see Jackal walk in, he bypassed the table, walking into the kitchen, returning with a crate of beer and a bottle opener, nodding his head upwards, and walked out, turning down the corridor running away from the staircase, that the twins had never been down. 

The trio followed Jackal, stepping through a door he had left open. Inside was a black leather 7 seater L shaped sofa, in front of a diagonally facing cinema screen. Jackal was already sat on the far left of the sofa, cracking the tops off of four bottles of beer on the coffee table. Suna grabbed Osamu's hand, and pulled him to the table, picked up two bottles between the fingers of his spare hand, and sat down on the far right, pulling Osamu down next to him, leaning his back against his chest and handed him a beer. 

Osamu twisted around to place a quick kiss on Suna's cheek, nestling his head in the other's neck. Atsumu grabbed a beer from the table and sat down a short distance from Jackal. Jackal tossed the bottle opener down on the table and reached up, removing his mask. 

"Guess you really do trust them now then Sakusa." Suna commented. 

Sakusa didn't acknowledge Suna's words, he simply raised his beer. 

"To getting to room eight." 

Atsumu saw Osamu and Suna clink their bottles together at the other end of the sofa, Atsumu turned his head to see Sakusa had used his little finger to tilt the end of his bottle towards Atsumu. Atsumu slid along the sofa towards him and bumped the end of his bottle into Sakusa's, then drew it to his mouth and tipped it up. 

Sakusa picked up the remote for the TV and flicked through the movie collection, putting on Mission Impossible. 

"Guess that solves how we do room eight then." Osamu says with a laugh after a while, gesturing Tom Cruise suspended on a rope on the screen. 

"Dibs." Atsumu replied, drawing a laugh from his twin and Suna. 

The evening slipped away with cheesy action movies, several crates of beer and mindless chatter. The four fully relaxed for the first time in months. At some point during the second crate of beer Suna and Osamu had taken to lying down on the sofa, with Osamu wrapped tightly in Suna's arms, and Suna occasionally kissing Osamu's neck. 

Atsumu regretted glancing sideways towards his brother, Suna's hand was in the process of snaking down Osamu's hip inside his boxers. Atsumu very quickly became interested in the movie. 

Atsumu was cracking open his sixth beer about ten minutes later when Suna got off the sofa, took Osamu's hand and dragged him out the room. There was a loud bang outside the closed door, it would appear Suna hadn't wanted to wait until they made it upstairs. Atsumu rolled his eyes and lay back on the sofa, pretending he hadn't heard the sounds of his brother being shoved against a wall. Thankfully the sounds faded within a few minutes.

"Atsumu." 

Atsumu looked towards Sakusa, feeling his breathing slow as he looked into the black eyes. He subconsciously licked his bottom lip as Sakusa put out his arm along the back of the sofa. Atsumu slid along the leather, burying his head into Sakusa's side, and laying an arm across his abs. Atsumu lay there for a few minutes, just feeling Sakusa breath in and out slowly. Sakusa wrapped his arm around Atsumu's waist after a few minutes.

"I told ya." Atsumu's muffled voice came from below Sakusa.

"Told me what?" Sakusa replied.

"I told ya I'd die for ya." Atsumu said with a laugh, sitting up, looking into the black eyes.

"You were dead for less than a minute, it really doesn't fucking count." 

"Still died for ya." Atsumu laughed again.

"Don't." 

"Aww come on, I lived didn't I?" 

With that Sakusa pulled himself from under Atsumu, getting on top of him and pinning him to the sofa, with a hand around his neck.

"I said, don't." 

Sakusa felt Atsumu swallow thickly under his fingers, as the blond opened his mouth and looked up at Sakusa. The look of excitement quickly transitioned into horror in Atsumu's eyes, and Sakusa removed his hand. Atsumu sucked in a breath.

"Fuck, I nearly died today didn't I?"

He placed a hand over his mouth, curling his fingers down and pulling out his bottom lip as he went, his breathing rate increasing. He sat up then, hunching over his legs, his head in his hands. 

Atsumu stayed there, his breathing became ragged and he shock. He heard Sakusa step away to the side of the lounge and return, the sound of glass against wood, and then felt hands placed on either side of his arms. Sakusa handed him a glass of whiskey, which Atsumu knocked back instantly. 

The two sat side by side knocking back whiskey until Atsumu stopped shaking. He sat with his elbow on his knee and forehead pressed into his palm then threw his head back against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. 

He felt Sakusa take the glass from his hand, and heard the sound of glass on wood again. He felt the seat dip as Sakusa sat back down, and then felt the weight of a hand press into the small of his back. Atsumu felt a pressure against the side of one of his thighs, then the other, before the weight of Sakusa on him. Atsumu opened his eyes into the black ones above him, unable to place the emotions on Sakusa's face.

Sakusa's thumb pushed the side of his jaw, turning his neck, then felt Sakusa's lips against his neck. Atsumu let out a soft moan as Sakusa worked his way from his jaw to his collar bone, sucking and biting the skin. Atsumu closed his eyes, breathing Sakusa in. Sakusa wrapped a hand around his throat, pinning him back against the sofa, his other hand running up under Atsumu's top, dragging it up his body. Sakusa pulled him forward, removing his top completely. 

Atsumu opened his eyes again, as Sakusa ran a finger under his chin, pressing inside his jaw bone, getting him to look up. Sakusa turned Atsumu's body then, pulling him until he was lying on the sofa, and sliding back, proceeding to repeatedly bite down across Atsumu's chest and abs, digging his nails in as he went, leaving Atsumu to gasp in a mix of pleasure and pain. 

Sakusa got up off of him, offering a hand to Atsumu, pulling him up. Sakusa hooked a finger around the whiskey bottle neck and lead the way upstairs. Once the bedroom door closed, Sakusa slammed Atsumu against it, wrapping a hand around his throat, then stepped back forcing him to his knees. Atsumu ran a hand up under his Sakusa's shirt, sliding his thumb under the waistband of Sakusa's jogging bottoms. 

Atsumu glanced up at Sakusa, seeing Sakusa raise an eyebrow, as he slid the jogging bottoms down, running a hand over Sakusa's boxers, gently stroking him through the fabric. Sakusa stepped back, out of his jogging bottoms and pulled Atsumu to the bed, pushing him down on the bed as he pulled off his own top and discarded it. 

Sakusa kneeled over him, his knees tucked under Atsumu's armpits. Atsumu pushed himself up onto his elbows and slid Sakusa's boxers down, taking him into his throat. Sakusa ran his hand down the back of Atsumu's head, gripping into his hair, supporting the weight of his head and lent forward, pushing deeper inside him. He let Atsumu set the pace on him, then pulled away after a few minutes.

"Why did ya stop me?" Atsumu asked as Sakusa got off him, and put his legs over the side of the bed. 

Sakusa's answer was to pull out a bottle of lube and a box of condoms from the drawer by his bed. 

"Oh." 

Atsumu answered by sliding his jogging bottoms and boxers off. Somewhere in the back of Sakusa's mind, swimming somewhere in half a bottle of whiskey and too many beers, was a voice of reason telling him that involvement was a bad idea, but right now that voice was far away and he pulled his boxers off. His eyes fell on the tattoo of a fox on Atsumu's left hip bone and he grinned.

He sat between Atsumu's leg, applying lube to his index finger, reaching down to prepare Atsumu. He locked eyes with the golden ones before him as he worked, moving to two fingers, then three. He watched the way Atsumu writhed below him, softly moaning with his eyes closed. The whiskey must be hitting him hard now, because Atsumu looked ethereal below him. Sakusa paused for a moment then, feeling utter clarity for a few seconds. The moment passed, and he shook his head, continuing with his previous actions.

Sakusa ran a thumb over the fox tattoo while he worked his fingers inside the sweating blond. It was only a tiny tattoo, but its location inside the hip bone was so personal and private. Very few people would have seen it. Atsumu started whimpering slightly then, so he removed his hands and rolled a condom down over himself and applied more lube. Sakusa lined himself up and pushed in slowly, watching Atsumu gasp below him. 

Sakusa moved slowly a few times, letting Atsumu expand against him, so he could move freely, then gripped Atsumu's thighs hard, and began to slam into him roughly. He fell into a hard and fast rhyme quickly, one hand reaching up to wrap around Atsumu's neck. Sakusa savoured watching the blond pant below him, listening to him moan and swear; watching his eyes screw up from the pain, and let out moans from the pleasure. 

Sakusa slowed for a few moments, feeling the whiskey surging through him, feeling slightly dizzy. He bent over Atsumu, biting and kissing his neck and collar bone again. Listening to Atsumu whimper and moan. Sakusa suddenly pulled back, realisation of what he was doing came back. This wasn't who he was. He didn't want any emotional involvement. 

Sakusa fucked him relentlessly then, abusing Atsumu's prostate, listening to his moans getting louder and faster, before seeing him climax on his own chest. Sakusa finished a minute later. Panting for a few seconds, then pulled out, discarded the condom and headed to the bathroom to shower. 

When he returned, he kicked Atsumu off the bed, telling him to go shower. Atsumu walked into Sakusa's en-suite, which was covered floor to ceiling in black matte tiles with white grout, and lit with pale blue LED lights. Atsumu showered, pulled on new boxers and returned to the bed. 

Atsumu had been lying in the bed for about ten minutes, he was starting to drift to sleep. Sakusa lay there awake, his head twisted towards Atsumu's back. A sudden feeling of possessiveness swept over him. Sakusa wrapped an arm around Atsumu's waist, pulling them together, and bit down on Atsumu's neck once. As Atsumu drifted to sleep, he heard a muffled whisper.

"I'm glad you broke into my house." 

Chapter Text

Atsumu peeled his eyelids back, thankful of the still dark room. His head was pounding and bile threatened to rise to his throat. He turned his head to see the shape of Sakusa facing away from him, still sound asleep. Atsumu carefully slid back the covers and slipped out of the room, making his way downstairs.

In the kitchen he downed a glass of water, than knocked back a couple of pain killers, and another glass of water. Atsumu then headed to his room, threw his shower on and stepped in, cracking the temperature up until his skin turned red. He stepped out when it became too painful to remain under the scorching water, dried himself and pulled on leggings, running shorts, a t-shirt and windbreaker. He glanced at the clock, it was just before 6. 

Atsumu stuck his headphones in, flicked through to his workout playlist and headed downstairs. Once he was out the door, he stretched out his limbs, thankful that the painkillers were kicking in. Then he ran. 

It had been a long time since he had run for a long distance, most of his work required the maintenance of a high level of athletic ability, which he'd been maintaining in Sakusa's gym, but in terms of running, the most he ever needed was a high speed dash. Long distance running had always been for pleasure. There was a reason his playlist was over three hours long. 

Atsumu had acquired the song collection slowly over time, exploring artists from a wide variety of genres, and some might seem strange to run to, but all of them were about motivation for him, and to some extents, his own vanity, but most importantly, it was a reminder of his dogged determination to continue to rise up, and carry on moving forward. To just keep pressing on. He would never give up or quit until he had made enough to give his brother and himself the life he wanted Osamu to have. 

'Work Bitch' came on as he left the outskirts of the city behind. Atsumu grinned to himself. He couldn't say he was a Britney fan, but the song had been playing on full volume in the flat next to the one the twins had broken into a few years ago, and Atsumu had found himself singing along, before he had received a swift kick to the shins from Osamu to get him to shut the fuck up. 

Atsumu pressed on, as each song came on, it brought back floods of memories for him, of all the situations he and his brother had been in, and then more recently, also situations with Suna, and even Sakusa. Suna had recommended 'The Score' to him a few weeks ago when they had been in the gym, and Atsumu had loved several of their songs since. 

The minutes slipped into hours, and Atsumu found himself out in the middle of no where, surrounded by farm land. The road ahead of him carved upwards and disappeared over the horizon. Atsumu pressed on, continuing his climb to the peak. As he ran over the crest, the land opened up before him, to his left in the distance were mountains, and stretching before him were woods, with a river flowing down from the mountain and disappearing into the trees. To his right the forest broke out into open grasslands. 

Atsumu bent double, pulling the water bottle strapped to his thigh up and tipped his head back. He unzipped the windbreaker and used the base of his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He sat on the side of the road, taking in the view below him, letting his heart rate recover. 

A text message notification pinged in his headphones, Atsumu pulled his phone from the windbreakers pocket.

Samu: Where the fuck are ya? 

Me: Out runnin

Samu: Ya need to get here now.

Me: I'll be back in about two hours

Samu: Jackal wants ya here right fucking now.

Me: *Sends Location Map*

Samu: Fuck. Suna is on his way, stay the fuck there.

With that, Atsumu locked his phone, lent back wondering what the hell 'Samu was so worked out up about. He was distracted from his thoughts as one of his favourite songs came on, and he found himself singing along, looking at the sky 'Hey look ma, I made it'. A tear escaped his eye as he thought back to his ten year old self, watching his mum decline rapidly to a cancer she didn't know she had until it was too late to do anything about. 

Atsumu remembers Osamu clinging to his hand as his mum rasped out so much advice to him. Most of it, Atsumu didn't understand at all, but as they grew up, he finally understood all the life lessons that she had passed onto him. It felt like the last fifteen years disappeared then, that he was back to his child self, orphaned and responsible for his brother. He balled his hands to fists and felt the bite of his nails. He refused to cry. The same thought that kept him going for fifteen years echoed through his head then, 'at least I'll never be alone'.

He heard Suna's arrival before he saw it, the Lotus pulled up next to him, Atsumu hopped up, got in and didn't even have time to finish getting his belt on before Suna pulled an expert three point turn on the narrow road and was heading back to the city. 

"Any idea what Sakusa wants with me?" Atsumu asked. 

"You'll see when you get back, and don't call him that, he'll be pissed." Suna replied. 

"Ah yeah, right, sorry." Atsumu mumbled.

The pair were silent for a few minutes before Suna asked a question that threw Atsumu completely.

"What's going on between you two?" 

"No-nothing. What's going on between ya and Osamu?" Atsumu shot back.

"Well last night I fucked him while he screamed my name." Suna said, grinning evilly . 

It was at this point Atsumu realised how dumb a question it was, and that he really didn't want to hear those words from Suna. The feelings of bile rising in his throat occurred for the second time today and it wasn't even 9 yet. It was going to be a long fucking day. 

--

Atsumu underestimated how bad the day was going to be. He underestimated it by a long shot. By his reckoning, if he lived to 100, he's very unlikely to ever have a day as bad as this one. Suna pulled up into the drive way, and got out, following Atsumu into the house, leaving the Lotus on the drive. Alarm bells started ringing Atsumu's brain as he watched the front door close on the yellow car. Suna never left it out of the garage, on pain of death from Jackal. Strike one. 

Strike two came in the form of Suna telling him he didn't have time to shower, after every mission they'd gone on so far, with the exception of medical emergencies, they had always gone to shower before anything else. Atsumu was already running on a few hours sleep, he was hung over, sore and exhausted. Panic started to seep through him then, what the hell had happened in the last few hours? 

He followed Suna through the house, into a board room, strike three - they weren't in the dining room, where Sakusa and Osamu were already sat. Sakusa sat on the far side of the table, with Osamu sat on the right. Sakusa was in his full suit, including mask, and his eyes were furious. Strike four. Atsumu glanced at Osamu, who's face was set like stone, and didn't even look at Atsumu. Strike five. 

Atsumu couldn't recall a single time that Osamu had not been a source of comfort for him, no matter how many times they had got in trouble, had their lives on the line, they always made eye contact, even when it felt like there was no hope. The final strike came when Suna walked around the left of the table and sat opposite Osamu instead of next to him, they had been inseparable for weeks now. Panic now fully set in.

Atsumu's eyes locked to the black ones opposite him, suddenly feeling very under dressed, realising Suna was in his black roll neck that Atsumu had first seen him in. Even Osamu was wearing a black shirt. Atsumu moved awkwardly into the seat opposite Sakusa and zipped his black windbreaker over the bright blue t-shirt. 

Atsumu eyed the object in front of Sakusa then, a brown A4 envelope. Sakusa raised a gloved hand, and slid it across the table to Atsumu. Atsumu glanced sideways at his brother again, who didn't acknowledge him at all. Atsumu clutched his right hand with his left under the table, willing it to stop shaking as he raised the right to pick up the envelope, it was completely blank. He hesitated for a moment, then tore back the seal, that released easily, seemingly it had been opened multiple times before. 

He reached his hand inside and slid out a single item, thick white paper that was blank, he turned it over, and gasped, dropping it on the table. His eyes darted to the other three in turn, not a single one of them moved. Ice cold dread flooded through him as he gazed down at the paper. 

It was a print out of an image from a CCTV camera. Atsumu recognised it, it was the first room from the Blaker Operation. He recognised the back of Osamu's head just visible in the corner, and Suna's back, kneeling on the floor over Atsumu's own unconscious body. What made his gut churn harshly however, was Sakusa, who was sat back waiting for Suna to finish a set of chest compressions.  Sakusa's and Atsumu's faces were fully visible. 

Atsumu felt his lip tremble then, as he read the words that had been written across the photograph.

'Since when does a Jackal care for a Fox?'

Atsumu tipped his head forward into his palms, elbows pressed into the table surface, he pushed his head forward, his hands cupping around his nose, and then down to his chin, as he locked eyes on Sakusa. He blew out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

It was at this point that Atsumu's cruel brain decided to recall the way the black eyes had looked above him last night, in their drunken stupor, the way Sakusa had felt inside him, hearing the way he moaned. It felt like a life time ago now. Atsumu looked back at the picture in front of him, the words seemed innocent enough, but it was clearly a threat. 

Guilt coursed through his veins, someone knew what Jackal looked like now, someone was threatening him, because he had chosen to save Atsumu's life. 

"There were no finger prints, saliva or anything at all on the envelope or paper, and the CCTV footage for the house gave nothing useful. The item was taped to the door at three this morning. The person was dressed fully in black, all I can get is an approximate height and weight, and the fact they are likely male. It's unlikely they are anything other than a gun for hire however, judging by the way they moved and the weaponry they carried." Suna stated in an even voice, filling Atsumu in. 

Sakusa stood then, and with one last look at Atsumu, walked out the door. Once the door closed, Osamu let out a breath and looked up at Suna. 

"Fuck." Atsumu said, looking at the page again. 

"He should have let me do it." Suna said, gesturing the picture.

"Then it would be your face on there instead." Osamu shot back.

"He should have just let me die." Atsumu added quietly. 

Osamu sucked in a breath that sounded like a hiss. 

"What's done is done. Someone out there knows too much, and on the basis that the photo came from inside a room in the operation, it would make sense for the most likely person to have sent it, be the person who set up the project. Jackal wanted to complete it because if anyone does, they get initiated into the most illusive group of criminals on the planet. It seems they know who we are now, we just have to get through room ten and we'll know who they are."

 Suna's words lingered in the room. 

"Let's get to work." Atsumu said, rising. "Suna, get to work on the rig, work out what you need for the next few rooms. Osamu, help him, and get us a plan together, work out how to beat room eight."

"I have an idea for that one, I also need blue prints to build the next rooms." Suna said.

"Leave the blue prints to me." Atsumu replied, turning and leaving the room.

"Osamu, I'm gonna need to make a harpoon gun." Suna said, grinning. 

--

Atsumu entered the office after Sakusa bade him entry. 

"Gonna need yer brain, Suna needs blueprints for the next rooms." Atsumu started as he walked in the door. 

Sakusa was already changed into his full body suit, attaching a silencer to his pistol. Atsumu's eyes racked over Sakusa's desk, papers littered the surface, but what caught his eye was a small black book, and a thin black case a few inches long and half an inch wide. Sakusa attached his gun to the holster on his back and picked up the roll of blue prints from his desk, handing them over to Atsumu. 

Atsumu watched as Sakusa picked up the small black book and other object, sliding them into barely visible pockets spaced around the suit, all clinging to the long bones of his body, removing the chance of anything intruding on the flexibility of his joints. With that, he rolled his neck, clicked it, picked up a black bag and walked out. Atsumu followed. 

The duo descended the stairs together in silence. At the front door, Sakusa paused. 

"Do you remember our conversation about your limits?" 

"Yeah. Why?"

"How far you willing to go for me?"  

"Whatever it takes. Work wise, or not. My life is yers."

Sakusa nodded then, opening the door. 

"Oh, and Atsumu, I never regret my choices." 

Atsumu stood there, watching the front door shut. He swallowed, wondering if Sakusa had meant saving his life, or last night. Or maybe both? The thoughts continued to bounce around his brain as he shifted his grip on the blue prints and walked towards the basement. Time to get to work. 

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Sakusa left, Atsumu passed by the days helping Suna and Osamu in the basement, and when he wasn't required, he spent it working out. Every morning he had taken to waking up before dawn and running for hours. Each day a different route. By now he had explored most of the city and it's surrounding area. He was rapidly running out of new places to go. He was currently in the basement with Suna and Osamu. 

"Suna can I borrow yer van tomorrow?" 

"Why?" 

"'Cos I wanna run somewhere new."

Suna hasn't bothered to look up from the harpoon gun he was playing with. He finished loading it, raised it up and fired it into the ceiling. A little bit of concrete dust fell to the floor. Suna bent down and tied off the rope. 

"Climb." 

Atsumu stepped forward, clipped his harness to the rope and began to pull himself to the ceiling, when he was up, he attached a cord from the back of his second harness through the hoop and removed himself from Suna's line. With that, he began to release the cable and lowered himself down. As the cord lengthen, he twisted himself upside down, wrapping one of his legs around the rope to hold him in place.

"Feel like I need the Mission Impossible theme on." Atsumu chuckled. 

"Ya really are an idiot." Osamu called from across the room. 

Once Atsumu had lowered himself down to near ground level, he carefully uncurled his leg and straightened himself out so he was lying stomach down, suspended above the floor. He pulled his tools out, released the lock Suna had rigged up and then reversed the full process. 

Osamu came over and removed the harnesses from his brother, and started hanging them back up. As he finished, Suna threw Atsumu a key. 

"Scratch it and I'll kill you. I don't need you for the rest of the day so go do what you like." 

Atsumu grinned and walked out the room. He stripped out of his practice gear and jumped in the shower, it was his 5th time doing the Mission Impossible routine this morning and he was covered in powdered concrete and grease from the ropes. He pulled on his running clothes and stepped outside, pointing the key at the van and pressing the fob to unlock it. To his surprise, the Audi R8 flashed and unlocked. 

He had driven out of the city and run for a few hours. He had parked in a tourist spot at the top of some cliffs overlooking the ocean. He had gone beyond the safety fence, and was stood almost at the edge now, savoring the thrill of being up so high, knowing one wrong move meant death. It was exhilarating. 

After a few minutes he walked back and sat on the back of a wooden bench, staring out into the vast blue expanse in front of him. His was the only car up there, and there was no one in sight. It was the most free he'd felt in years. He was still relishing the isolation when he heard another car turn up. Atsumu would recognise the Tesla anywhere, though he was surprised when he saw Suna get out of the passenger side. 

"Key." Suna said as he approached.

Atsumu fished the R8 fob out of his pocket and threw it towards Suna. With that Suna turned and walked back to his car, got in, and drove off. Atsumu sat watching the Tesla, unable to see inside due to the tinted windows but he knew Sakusa would be sat in the drivers seat. Atsumu was tempted to just stay sat on the bench, but really didn't wanna piss Sakusa off, so he hopped down and walked towards the car. 

"Do ya have a job for me?" Atsumu said as he got in and shut the door. 

Sakusa started the engine and reversed, heading back towards the city.

"Not exactly." 

Sakusa didn't elaborate further, and Atsumu didn't break the silence. Atsumu looked him up and down as he drove, Sakusa was back in his normal black suit. After a twenty minute drive, Sakusa turned off into an underground parking lot, scanned through a door and parked. Atsumu recognised the style as one of Suna's safe houses, but it wasn't one he'd been to before. Sakusa let them in, but immediately bypassed the lounge, heading to the bedroom. 

Atsumu followed, confused, watching Sakusa walk over to a bookcase, he pulled the spine away from the dictionary, revealing a key pad. He typed in the code, and the book case swung forward to disclose a narrow staircase. He gestured Atsumu down it, and pulled it shut behind him. 

At the bottom of the stairs, the room opened out to a narrow shooting range, and a wide variety of guns locked in cases along the wall, as well as boxes of ammo. 

"Something's come up. I have a new target, there's a safe in the penthouse office of a big time stock trader that has one of the rarest diamonds in the world in, and I want it for my collection. The safe is meant to be impossible to get into. I want you to get into it." Sakusa explained.

"Right, but that doesn't explain why we are here?" Atsumu replied.

"I've been hired out to hit two targets inside the building at the same time. Most of the building is a standard office block, but the floor with the safe will be secured, and I need you on the inside to get into the safe." 

"I'm a thief, I don't do guns." 

"Well that's why we are here, so you can learn, if you're up for the job?" 

"Ya want me to break into a safe in a building full of gun totting nut jobs while ya assassinate them all?" 

"Pretty much."

"Right, fuckin' hell, why not. I'm in."

"Suna is gonna need another four weeks at least preparing for attempt three on Blaker, he's training Osamu up in the tech side of things in between as well. It would be good for me to have another person I can rely on that can handle guns, so from now onward, I'll be training you in a bunch of new things that I think you could make use of."

With that, Sakusa picked up a silenced pistol, and flicked the lights on in the shooting range. 

"Stand here, move your right leg forward to here.."

-- 

Four weeks blew by, Sakusa pushed Atsumu to his limits. During the day Sakusa trained him to use a pistol proficiently, Atsumu already had a steady hand due to years of picking locks, and took to it well. He was even better with knife training, able to accurately throw six into the center of a targets chest. Sakusa even pushed him to doing it blind fold, using sound to locate targets. 

Sakusa also trained him in hand to hand combat. This training proved slightly more taxing for Sakusa, as Atsumu enjoyed Sakusa hitting him far too much and was less than willing to fight back. Sakusa solved the problem by drawing out a baseball bat, which triggered an automated response from Atsumu from his previous encounter with one. He reflectively punched Sakusa in the face.

"Fuck, Omi, please don't kill me." Atsumu called out instantly. 

Sakusa got back up and smashed his fist across Atsumu's face in response. Atsumu stayed on the floor, using his hand to wipe the blood off of his nose, his head ringing. 

"What the fuck is 'Omi'?" Sakusa asked. 

"It's half ya firs' name. Figured it might be more secure than calling ya Jackal or Sakusa after that photo showed up." 

"Fine."

With that, Sakusa offered him a hand up, Atsumu made another attempt to wipe the blood off of his face, then just gave up, and brought his fists back up, dropping his foot back to disperse his weight, waiting for Sakusa to strike again. 

At night, the four ate together, updating each other on progress. Atsumu and Sakusa frequented the red room nightly. Sakusa hadn't been out for a kill in weeks, and without that itch being scratched, he was taking it out on Atsumu. 

Sakusa sat watching the bruises blossoming on Atsumu's thighs, ass and back now with satisfaction. In all the hours they had spent together in that room, Atsumu had never once used his safe word. He just took everything Sakusa had wanted to do. 

Atsumu had been beaten, stretched, burned, made to bleed and choked relentlessly and he just took more. He had wanted more. Sakusa had others submit to him over the years, some by force, others willingly, but he had never had someone give over themselves completely in the way that Atsumu did. 

"Atsumu." 

With that, Atsumu pulled himself up to his knees. Sakusa watched him wince in pain as his skin flexed, and smiled. Atsumu crawled forward and unzipped Sakusa's fly. He ran his tongue up and down the shaft, before taking the head into his mouth. He pushed down, choking himself over and over again, gagging repeatedly as the cock hit the back of his throat. 

"Look at me." 

Gold eyes met black, and Atsumu pushed down again and again, til tears ran down his face, he lived for hearing the moans that escaped Sakusa's throat. Sakusa brought the whip down across his back again then, it stung across the bruises. He let out a muffled yelp, and began sucking faster. Sakusa sat forward, running his fingernails across the bruises, probing them, watching Atsumu try and shrink away from the pain. He ran his hands up Atsumu's back, into his hair, then gripped tight and forced him down, listening to gag and struggle, before releasing him.

"Take a deep breath Atsumu."

With that, Sakusa pushed him back down again, forcing him to stay on his cock, counting slowly. Ever since the last attempt at Blaker, Sakusa had been getting Atsumu to practice holding his breath for longer, and Sakusa was thoroughly enjoying the results. 

As the weeks had gone on, they had talked a lot, about their missions, their past works, about themselves in general. Sakusa hadn't mentioned the night they had got drunk, or anything that happened in his room since it happened, and Atsumu hadn't dared bring it back up, but Atsumu wasn't invited back to Sakusa's room since. During all their red room activities, Sakusa had remained clothed, and hadn't interacted with Atsumu sexually other than to use his mouth and throat. 

Atsumu found himself wondering about that night more and more as the weeks past, and knew he wanted more, but he wasn't brave enough to try and suggest it. Sakusa said he never regrets his choices, but that doesn't mean he would want Atsumu again in that way. Atsumu had taken to lying in bed at night, with his thoughts drifting to those black eyes, and the sounds of his moans, stroking himself. He was obsessed. 

Chapter Text

"Do you feel ready?" 

Atsumu looked up from the blue prints spread across the dining table, into the black eyes, nodding. They had been working through a plan for the last two nights, once Sakusa had deemed Atsumu had progressed enough through his training. The duo had ruled out involving Osamu and Suna, leaving them to work on the preparations for their third Blaker attempt. 

"Day after tomorrow then. You can go." 

Sakusa started gathering up the papers littering the table as Atsumu got up and left. He headed down to the basement to seek out his brother and Suna, only to discover it empty. He went back to the kitchen, grabbed a 12 pack of beers and headed to the lounge, finding Suna lying on top of his brother on the sofa. He cleared his throat pointedly, and Suna reluctantly got up. 

"Fuck I need to drink more if I'm gonna walk in on ya doing that shit with my brother." 

"We didn't ask you to come in." Suna shot back

"Didn't put any kinda warning out either did ya? Stick a sock on the door next time or somethin'."

Atsumu cracked the top off of a beer then, and Suna raised his hand, Atsumu tossed the bottle opener at him hard, but Suna still caught it on one hand easily. Osamu chucked, and accept the beer Suna passed him. They sat drinking for a few minutes before Atsumu noticed Suna and Osamu exchange nervous glances, and Osamu nodded. Atsumu's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Um.. Atsumu.." Suna started. 

Atsumu was even more confused now, he'd never heard Suna be so unsure when he spoke before. Suna cleared his throat, then pressed on, calmer than before.

"Atsumu, how do you feel about Jackal?"

Whatever Atsumu had been expecting, it wasn't that. How did he feel about Jackal? One answer came obviously. He knew he was obsessed, he wanted to do everything he could to appease the man. He would give him anything and everything. He lived and breathed for the way he felt when he submitted. He wasn't about to admit to any of that though, especially not to Osamu.

"I.. um..." Atsumu started, Suna quickly cut him off.

"Look it doesn't matter, whatever is going on in your head," Suna paused, "or even your heart. Just know that Jackal doesn't operate as anything other than alone. He might trust you enough to let you see his face, and know his name, but you will never mean anything to him. Do not forget what he is. He's a cold blooded killer, an assassin, a hired gun. And at the bottom line, the only thing he cares about is himself."

"Ya don't get it.." Atsumu started.

"No, you don't get it. He might take your mind, your body, hell he might even take your heart, but you will never get his in return. Ever." 

"I get that..." 

"I've known him a long time, and there was a guy once, who was like you. He opened up, he gave Jackal everything. Ushijima I think his name was? It was like five years ago now. He thought he could get Jackal to open up to him if he gave himself over. He gave over his mind, body, heart, everything. Did everything Jackal wanted. The two of them were inseparable for like a year."

Suna paused to drink another mouthful of beer, Osamu squeezed the hand on Suna's leg, and they glanced at each other again. Atsumu sat, taking in the words Suna just uttered. There had been someone like him before? 

"Wh-what happened to him?" Atsumu rasped. 

"One of Jackals competitors got hold of him, held him to ransom. The guy wanted Jackals full gem collection for Ushijima's return. Jackal and I scouted where he was being held, we might have been able to get him out, but it would have been really high risk. As for Jackal's gem collection. Nothing means more to him than that, nothing will. Ushijima's body was left out the front a week later, Jackal made no other acknowledgement other than to tell me to dissolve it."

"We ain't telling ya how to live yer life brother, but please be careful. I don't wanna lose ya, or see ya lose yaself." Osamu said.

"But he saved my life." Atsumu said.

"That he did, and he's saved mine too, but neither of those times he put his own life on the line. If he had a choice between risking his life, and letting you die, he will let you go."

Atsumu didn't respond, he just placed his half drunk bottle of beer on the table, got up and walked out. 

"Ya think he will listen?" Osamu said. 

"I think he might already be in too deep. I've seen the way he looks at Jackal. He's already agreed to go on this mission with him, there's no backing out of that now. Just have to hope they both make it back alive."

Osamu sucked in a quiet breath at that point, and Suna wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into his chest. 

"Hungry?" 

Osamu nodded, Suna stood and pulled him up. They walked together with the kitchen, carrying the beer crate back with them and returning it to the fridge. Tension hung in the air, Suna didn't turn the radio on this time, and silence lingered between them. Suna sat up on the counter watching Osamu work. 

"Talk to me." Suna said after a while.

"Sorry, just thinking about them two I guess, and, um.. us.. too." Osamu muttered. 

"I'm not like Jackal, 'Samu." 

Osamu flicked his head up at the nickname, a slight smile spread across his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. Suna sighed, pulling Osamu in front of him and wrapping his legs around the others waist, trapping him. Osamu kept his head down, staring at Suna's legs.

"Look, I'm not good at feelings or shit like that. I've never really had a relationship, it's always been one night stands.. my work has always prevented me from getting close to anyone, and anyone I did get close to normally wound up dead." 

He placed his hand under Osamu's chin then, gently lifting his head.

"Don't take it the wrong way, just because I've never had it, doesn't mean I don't want it... that I don't want this. Our line of work is dangerous, and I can't make you any promises, but for now, I'm here, and I'm not planning on going anywhere, okay?" 

Suna dropped his fingers from Osamu's chin as the other nodded. 

"That's not going to cook itself if ya don't let me go ya know?" Osamu said, gesturing the counter. 

"Fuck it, that can wait." 

With that, Suna bent forward and kissed Osamu. They ate eventually. Two hours later.

--

Atsumu had been in his room for an hour since he left the lounge, his kit for the weekend was spread across his bed, he double and triple checked it before packing it back away carefully. He was nearly finished when Sakusa opened the door and walked in. Sakusa said nothing, just sat on the end of Atsumu's bed, watching the blond work.

When Atsumu was done, Sakusa got up and walked to the door and turned back. Atsumu got up and followed him. They walked through the house in silence until Atsumu realised they were outside the red room door. Sakusa looked at him as he went to open the door, but Atsumu shook his head, and walked away. Sakusa followed Atsumu back to his room.

"Whats wrong?" Sakusa asked as he entered.

"Not in the mood." Atsumu replied.

Sakusa stood watching Atsumu as he gathered a clean set of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, Sakusa was still standing there. 

"Do ya need me?" Atsumu asked, lying down on his bed.

"No." 

"So why ya here?" 

"What's wrong?" Sakusa asked again. 

"Nothin'." 

"Nervous about the mission?" 

"No." 

"Do you still want to do it?"

"Yes."

"I won't run it unless I'm confident your head is in it." Sakusa said, annoyance biting into his tone.

"I will be fine for it, ya can count on me."

"Atsumu, tell me what the fuck is wrong with you." Sakusa snapped.

"Do ya even fuckin' care about me?" Atsumu's voice broke slightly as he uttered the words, looking at his hands as they trembled. 

 "Where has this come from?" 

"It don't matter." 

"I see. I always try and ensure that people that work for me are well cared for, and have everything they need to do their work. In return I expect to have people I can rely on to get the tasks I give them done. You've not failed me yet, and I don't expect this weekend for you to start. Don't forget to eat."

With that Sakusa got up and left. Atsumu flopped down on his bed, replaying what Jackal had said in his brain over and over again. The realisation that the black eyed man had avoided his question completely. Suna was correct. Sakusa didn't care about him. He was just a means to an end to get a job done. With that, Atsumu slid under his covers and felt the tears fall. 

--

The time left until their mission dissolved like tissue paper in water. Atsumu had gone up the next morning and run for hours, when he returned, he was set with a new resolve. He worked out, showered, helped his brother and Suna, slept. Sakusa didn't approach him, and he didn't seek him out in return. Atsumu slept in on the morning of the mission, opting to go out on a short run towards lunch time, then slept most of the afternoon away. 

He was awoken from his nap by Osamu knocking on his door, telling him that Sakusa wanted him to start getting ready. Atsumu glanced at the clock, it was nearly 10. Atsumu got off  the bed and pulled his brother into a hug. 

"I love ya." 

"I love ya too, make sure ya get back out safe, ya hear?" Osamu said in reply. 

Atsumu nodded and headed for the shower, as his brother left. Thirty minutes later he was downstairs, waiting by the door for Jackal. He was dressed in a similar kit to that he wore for Blaker, his tools already attached to him. Suna had apparently replicated it for him in the last week, with some additional modifications he would need for the mission.

Osamu and Suna were stood near the entrance to the dining room, Osamu gave his brother a hug, and to Atsumu's surprise, Suna also hugged him. Atsumu gripped Suna suddenly as Suna moved to pull away.

"Look after him." Atsumu whispered, before releasing Suna.

Atsumu saw Suna nod slightly in reply, then wrapped his arm around Osamu's waist, pulling him close. Jackal came down the stairs then, wearing what Atsumu had dubbed his 'Assassination Suit' a few weeks ago, much to Sakusa's disgust. 

Sakusa turned and nodded to Osamu and Suna, and the two disappeared back into the dining room. Sakusa opened the door and walked out, with Atsumu following, they walked into the garage, when Sakusa held up his hand. 

"Two things first." Sakusa said, handing him a box.

Atsumu opened it, to see two bits of equipment. Atsumu pulled out an ear piece, and removed his mask to insert it.  Sakusa stepped forward then and pulled out the other item, and Atsumu looked at it, slightly confused. Sakusa hooked it over his ear, and ran it along his jaw, attaching it to his throat and chin.

"What is it?" Atsumu asked. 

"A Sub-vocalization microphone." 

"A what now?"

"In layman's terms, you'll be able to speak without making a noise. It's hard to get to grips with but you can practice on the way. I would have given it to you sooner but I only managed to get my hands on them today. If you struggle, just whisper things as quietly as possible. Try it now."

'There's no way this is gonna work.'

"Yes there is." Sakusa said.

"Wait what, you heard that?! Ya can hear my thoughts now?" Atsumu exclaimed. 

"No, but close enough." 

'Okay, what was your second point?'

With that, Sakusa turned Atsumu around and pinned him up against the garage wall. 

'Just in case we do have to talk out loud, we shouldn't use actual names, so if you have to, call me Omi, I'll call you Fox.'

With that, Sakusa pressed his thumb into Atsumu's hip bone, right where the fox tattoo was. It was the first time Sakusa had made any acknowledgement to the drunk night they spent together.

'Shit that's hot.'

'You do realise I can hear it when you do that right Atsumu?'

Atsumu was very glad of the full face mask then as he flushed red. 

'Ah yeah, right, sorry.' 

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

'Atsumu, do you ever shut the fuck up?'

'Sorry sorry, I keep forgetting ya can basically hear me thinkin'.' 

'Was that dog really that fucking interesting?' 

Sakusa parked two blocks away, and having now listened to a running commentary of every 'interesting' thing that Atsumu had seen on the way, the latest of which was a German Shepard in someones front garden. He sighed. It was going to be a really long fucking night. 

A lot of entry routes had been discussed over the last few weeks, Osamu had come up with the core fundamentals of the one they were executing now, Sakusa had modified it to work with his personal preferences, and here they were, climbing a fire escape of a building two blocks over. This building and the one between them and their target were connected via a glass walkway to allow travel between the twin offices without staff going to the street. It was simply a case of walking across and they would be next door to their target. 

Most buildings like this one would be most secure on the ground floor, and if the owners were smart, from the basement and roof as well. The top floor was likely to also be highly secure as that's where the safe was. The floor underneath however is likely to be weaker. It was 7 stories up, and physical height being it's only protection was a security flaw that the average person overlooked. 

Sakusa stood on the roof watching the target building for a few minutes. There were no lights on, which was a good sign. He was sweeping over every window on the sixth floor, taking it all in. Then he heard Atsumu's voice in his ear.

'Fourth floor.'

Sakusa looked downwards, and saw what Atsumu was referring to, a flashlight beam was sweeping past one of the windows. Security guard most likely.

'Keep your eyes out, watch for any others, will give us an idea of numbers, watch for the movements, see if you can spot patterns in the rotation.' 

Leaving Atsumu to play watchdog, Sakusa pulled the bag off his back, and withdrew the tools he needed to get across the roof. He then packed out his suit with the tools he would need inside. He fired the grappling hook across the roof, and pulled the rope tight, securing it in place. He and Atsumu were already wearing their harnesses. He tossed the stuff he no longer needed into the bag and hid it in the shadows on the roof, then clipped himself onto the rope and began to pull himself across to the other side. 

'Get over here.' 

Atsumu attached himself and pulled himself across as well. Once Atsumu disconnected, Sakusa attached himself again, and abseiled down, past the seventh floor, and down to his target window on the sixth. He checked the four sides of the window as best as he could for alarms, but he was willing to bet as this was an office block, most of the staff inside didn't even bother locking the windows at night. His assumption was correct, he slid the window open easily and pulled himself in. 

'I counted at least three guards, they seemed to be rotatin' between floors, every few minutes.'

'For now we will avoid them, we have no way of knowing what fail safes are in place if we take one out. Come down.' 

Once Atsumu was inside and the window was shut, the two made their way across the office. There was a central concrete core that housed the elevators and stairs, a walkway had been left around all four sides of the core, with banks of desks and meetings rooms scattered around the outside. A door opened ahead of them, and they both ducked. They paused, waiting, listening for the guard moving further away. 

The pair moved silently, moving past the door the guard had come from. The guard did a sweep of the square, tilted the radio on his shoulder to his face and said '6th clear, check in again in 15', and disappeared out the door. Sakusa moved forward silently, picking up a stapler from the desk as he passed and stuck it in the door frame before the security door closed. 

'Stay here til I call for you, tell me if the guards do anything unexpected.' 

With that Sakusa walked through the door, picking up the stapler, and threw it towards Atsumu. Sakusa located his favourite thing in any building, vents. He had memorised the building plan. It had set him back a quarter of a million to get the blue prints of this place, but the two targets inside would gain him half, and the safe contents would be another half easily enough. Not that Sakusa would ever sell his gem collection. 

Sakusa hadn't told Atsumu who the targets were, the fact they were twin brothers might affect him, so he had kept it to himself. The twins worked so much that  they lived here in the office block most of the time, sharing a small bedroom directly off of their office. The plan went perfectly, he got upstairs, executed both the brothers while they slept, then proceeded to disable the security system and let Atsumu upstairs. 

The layout of the seventh floor was simple. The door opened out onto the main office space, to the left side was the bedroom, and to the right was a bathroom. The safe was on the same wall as the bedroom door. Sakusa had shut the bedroom door to stop Atsumu seeing the bodies, just in case. Atsumu was already on his knees in front of the safe, with Sakusa keeping an eye on the door. 

Their plan was running perfectly.

Until it wasn't.

Sakusa's head snapped up as he heard the sound of the door opening.

'Move.' 

Sakusa saw Atsumu move instantly towards the bedroom door, and didn't have time to tell him not to, there was no where else for Atsumu to go in time. Sakusa pressed himself flush to the wall he was near, waiting for the guard to go past, then shot him in the back of the head, darting forward to stop him hitting the floor loudly. 

'It's clear, you can come back out.'

Sakusa pulled the guards body to the corner of the room and moved a chair over the blood stain. Then realised Atsumu hadn't returned to the safe. He walked across the room, opened the bedroom door. Atsumu was staring at the bodies of the twins. Sakusa put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him out the room, shutting the door. With that, Atsumu once again knelt and began to work on the lock. 

A static voice came over the guards radio a few minutes later, requesting his location. Sakusa glanced at Atsumu then.

'Clocks ticking, can you do it?' 

'Ya saying that shit to me ain't gonna make me get it faster Omi.'

The voice came back over the radio then, instructing the guards to do a full building sweep.

'Fuck, time to leave Atsumu.' 

'I'm nearly in though, get me one minute Omi.'

With that, Sakusa went out the door and checked the stairwell. He heard the sounds of way too many footsteps thundering below.

'Atsumu, forget it, get out here right fucking now. Run!'

The pair made it to the sixth floor as the guards made it to the fifth. Sakusa flung open the window and attached Atsumu's clip to the rope still hanging outside. Atsumu stuck a leg up on the window, and got outside, when the door burst open and at least ten guards filed out. Sakusa opened fire, downing the first four with calculated head shots, the remaining guards took cover rapidly, and began encroaching slowly in a half circle around them. 

Two guards popped up from behind their cover, a bullet barely missing Sakusa, Sakusa missed his first bullet, but downed another guard with the second. He put a bullet in the shoulder of the other, and knew he was out of bullets, he ducked down to reload and heard a silenced pistol behind him. Atsumu downed the guard Sakusa had wounded, and then Sakusa heard a body dropped to his side, then another. Two of the other guards had crept up on his left while he was reloading. 

'Get the fuck up to the roof.'

Sakusa finished reloading, noticing Atsumu had started to climb. Sakusa moved out from his cover then, looking towards where the final two guards had been located. He could see the arm of one sticking out, so put a bullet through the screen, roughly where the guards body would be located. He saw the body fall, and put another two bullets through the screen, hoping to get lucky on the final guard. He aimed at the door lock then, and shot twice more.

'I'm on the roof.'

With that, Sakusa ran to the window, threw his clip on the rope and pulled himself out. Near the top, Atsumu bent over the edge and pulled him up. Atsumu unclipped Sakusa from the rope, and immediately clipped him to the one still running to the other roof top.

'Go.' 

Sakusa threw himself off the edge and pulled himself over to the other building. He pulled himself off, seeing Atsumu clipping himself on to the rope, as guards broke out onto the roof top.

'Hold on.' 

Atsumu realised about half a second too late what Sakusa planned to do, as he suddenly found himself feeling weightless, and began to fall. Sakusa had put a bullet through the rope just behind his foot. Atsumu had about four seconds of free fall, clinging to the rope, in order to line himself up with a window rather than concrete wall. He threw his elbow up to protect his face from the glass as he smashed through the window on the fourth floor. 

He got up, and ran. He didn't have time to think, just process. He ran through the fire exit door, and down flight after flight of stairs, alarms were ringing in his ears, but he pressed on. He realised the buildings fire exit went into the basement rather than the street. He glanced around, spotting a delivery hatch. He pulled his gun, blew the lock and swung the door back, pulling himself up. 

He glanced around, getting his barings, realising he was around the corner from the building Sakusa would have made it back to. He ran for his life. Sakusa was in the car, engine running, he threw himself in and Sakusa hit gas before the door even closed.

Atsumu felt his hands shaking. He couldn't process what just happened. All of it was reactive. From being in front of the safe, to being in the car. It felt like someone else had done it, that it wasn't him. He looked at the gun in his hands, it suddenly felt like it was made of concrete. He lay it in his lap, and scrunched his hands up, staring at it. 

'You okay?'

Atsumu closed his eyes, and cried. Sakusa didn't say anything else, he placed his hand on Atsumu's knee, squeezed it once, then let go until they got back to the house. Sakusa picked up the gun off Atsumu's lap. There was a light on in the dining room when they got back.  Suna and Osamu came out to the hallway. Atsumu ripped his mask off and threw his arm around Osamu, and burst into tears. Osamu stumbled back half a step, then wrapped his arms around his brother. 

"What the fuck happened?" Suna said, glancing between the twins and Sakusa.

"I'll fill you in, in the morning, go get some sleep." Sakusa said, and with that, he walked up the stairs and disappeared. 

--

Atsumu woke up in his bed, glancing over to see Osamu still asleep on the other side of the bed. Atsumu had choked out words that hadn't made much sense initially to Osamu. Atsumu just kept saying 'twins' over and over, until he calmed down enough to choke out the story. Osamu had just held his brother after that, until Atsumu had fallen asleep. 

A knock at the door woke Osamu, the twins looked up to see Suna. Suna walked across the room and sat on Osamu's side of the bed. He gave a pained look at Atsumu. 

"Jackal wants a meeting in 30."

With that, Suna rubbed Osamu's thigh over the blanket in a comforting way, and walked out. Osamu turned to his brother and pulled him into another hug, then said he was going to go shower. Atsumu dragged himself out of bed, showered and dressed in sweat pants and a hoodie. He bent down to his kit from last night, removing something from one of the pockets, then gathered the kit together and packed it in its bag. Atsumu placed the item he removed into his hoodie pocket and headed downstairs. 

Atsumu sat in the meeting, listening to Sakusa fill in the other two on what happened. When he was done, he dismissed the other two. 

"Atsumu, come with me." 

Sakusa walked away then, climbing the stairs, he opened his office door, instead of sitting at his desk however, he just lent against the front. 

"Say it." 

"What ya mean?" Atsumu replied, confused. 

"Say whatever is on your mind." 

"Nothin' is." 

"Don't make me stick the Sub-vocalizer back on you."

"They were twins." Atsumu muttered.

"Yes." 

Atsumu looked down at his hands then, and felt them shake. As if Sakusa knew what he was thinking, Sakusa picked up the gun off of his desk and turned it over in his hands.

"Your first kill stays with you. Especially in a high pressure environment. The fact yours was hanging from a roof on a rope six stories up having just escaped a building full of people trying to kill you, is going to have been stressful. Take the time you need. I won't ask you to do that line of work again if you don't want to. I do however want to thank you, you probably saved my life last night."

Atsumu remained silent, but nodded. 

"Is there anything else ya want from me?" 

"No, you can go." 

With that, Atsumu walked forward, pulling the item from his pocket and left it on Sakusa's desk. Sakusa turned to pick it up. He opened the box. It was the gem from the safe. He lifted his head, and realised Atsumu had gone. Sakusa walked around his desk, sat down and stared at the gem. He noticed then that a note had fallen from the box. 

The only thing ya care about. 

Sakusa snapped the box shut, and held the note in his hand, before he closed his fist and crushed it into a ball, throwing it in the bin. He picked up the box, walked to his vault, and placed the diamond in the center that he'd left free for it. He stood there for a moment, waiting for the feelings he expected to come, but they didn't. He had wanted this diamond for over a decade, and now it was his. It had been the only thing he really wanted in the last 10 years. He didn't feel any level of joy or accomplishment. He only felt one thing. Empty. His eyes drew back to the bin. He locked his vault and left his office. 

Chapter Text

Atsumu looked up from where he lay when he heard a knock on his door. Osamu walked in carrying a tray, closed the door and sat on his bed, laying the tray down.

"Ya gotta eat." 

Atsumu just turned his back to Osamu.

"'Tsumu, it's been two days, please, eat." 

Silence.

"At least drink somethin'?" 

Silence.

"Will ya talk to me?"

Silence.

"'Tsumu, please." Osamu's voice cracked as he spoke. 

The silence was penetrated by Osamu's sobs. Atsumu felt the bed move, heard movement across a room, a door open and close. He lay there, staring into nothing. Feeling nothing. 

A door opened, closed, movement, pleading, movement, open, close. Repeat. Atsumu lost track of time, or it lost meaning, or maybe it never had meaning? He didn't know what it meant anymore. Osamu had been in and out a lot, he had lost count. Suna had been in as well. On day three he had no recollection of an a few hours. He'd felt a needle in his arm, and then nothing. When he woke up, there was an IV in his arm.

Atsumu looked at his hands, he could see the blood of the guards. Blood he had spilled for a man who he had surrendered his heart, mind and body to. He had broken himself over, let himself bleed, burn, and hurt over. Given everything to. Meant nothing to. Atsumu watched the way his hands shook. 

He felt sick. He lay there, full body violently shaking. He rolled sideways, retching, bringing up stomach acid from his empty stomach. It burned. He cried. He looked up at the clock, it was nearly two thirty in the morning. He had no idea what the day was, he was barely sleeping, he didn't pay attention to anything. 

He wouldn't look at Osamu and his broken pleading voice. He wouldn't look at Suna and his logical words about how much he was hurting his brother. He wouldn't look at Sakusa, because he couldn't, Sakusa hadn't visited him once.

Atsumu grasped at his dry throat, the burning from the acid hurt, his empty stomach hurt, his heart hurt, his head hurt, but it was all a numb kind of pain. He was no longer living, just existing. He only felt one thing. Empty. 

Atsumu sat up there, he pulled up the tape, and removed the IV from his hand with a wince. He planted a foot on the floor, then another, slowly pushing himself to his feet. He trembled, his head swum. He moved slowly and carefully, trying to keep his dizzy head from overwhelming him. He stuffed some clothes into a bag and pulled the cash from his wallet. He threw his wallet on his bed, with his phone and keys. He quietly opened the door and slipped downstairs and out the house. 

Running had been such a good therapy for him, but running in his current state wasn't an option. So he walked. He was weak and exhausted, but he pushed on, one foot in front of another. He tricked his mind into feeling like the movement of stepping forwards was a progression.

He wished he brought his phone now, he wanted his playlist. Then he realised he didn't. It made him think of Osamu, of Suna, of Sakusa. Tears formed again, and he gave into them, he let himself cry. He carried on walking. Hours passed.

It was dawn when he found himself once again on the cliffs that he came to before the mission with Sakusa. He dropped his bag at the fence and climbed over. He sat on the edge of the cliff, and watched the sun rise. He let the tears fall. He watched the sun go from a slither to fully formed, then slowly rise into the sky. It was the first time he felt peace in days, listening to the crash of the waves against the cliff below him. 

Atsumu didn't hear the car approach over his tears. He didn't hear the person approach until they climbed over the fence. He saw the black of his trousers sit down on the cliff edge next to him. Atsumu waited, but he didn't talk. They just sat in silence. Atsumu cried himself out. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sakusa asked.

Atsumu remained silent. 

"Suna told me that he told you about Ushijima." Sakusa said after a few minutes.

Silence.

"I'm not the same person I was when I was twenty. You're not him." 

"I want ya to take this tracker out of me and let me go." Atsumu rasped out. 

Sakusa sat in silence for a few minutes, then sighed.

"I can't take the tracker out of you unless you come back and let Suna dig it out of you, but if you really want to go, then I won't track you again, you have my word. If you ever want to return, you know where to find me." 

Sakusa stood up then and walked back to the barrier. 

"Oh and Atsumu, you really are the best in your field, you're a huge loss to my team. I will take care of your brother."

Guilt washed through Atsumu then. Osamu. He hadn't thought about him at all in this. He had been utterly consumed by the emptiness inside him. He had forgotten. He had forgotten he wasn't alone. Atsumu turned around then, but Sakusa's car had gone. Atsumu however noticed that Sakusa had left a small bag on the ground next to his bag. He picked it up, and moved back behind the fence. He sat down on the same bench he had sat on over a month ago.

Atsumu opened the bag, and pulled out his earbuds. He smiled, and put them in his ears. The second item he pulled out was his phone. He unlocked it, scrolled through his playlist and put on the 'Falling in Reverse' song. He then flicked over to his messages with Osamu.

Me: I love ya. I'm sorry

Samu: I love ya too. I take it Sakusa found ya then? Come home please?

Me: Soon, I promise, give me time.

Atsumu pulled the next object out the bag, a bottle of water. He twisted it open and drank a mouthful. He waited thirty seconds and drank again. Atsumu remembered getting a really bad stomach flu a few years ago, and wasn't able to eat for days. He had drunk water too quickly and ended up throwing it back up. He sat on the bench, pacing himself, until he finished the bottle. 

It was then that Atsumu realised there was a final item in the bag. He pulled it out, and stared at it in disbelief. He knew exactly what it was, but he didn't understand why it was in the bag. He opened the box and saw the diamond he'd given to Sakusa after the mission. There was a folded slip of paper inside. He picked up the paper and snapped the box shut, slid it into the bag and pulled the bag onto his back. 

Atsumu held the folded paper in his hand. His hands shook. He didn't understand, Sakusa had told him that it was something he had wanted for years, why would he hand it over to him? Atsumu unfolded it, and looked at Sakusa's elegant script. 

You're wrong.

Atsumu sat on the bench losing track of time, staring at the note. He watched the clouds drift across the sky. He felt the first drops of rain then, so he flipped his hood up. He sat there until he was soaked, watching the waves crash against the cliffs. He heard the first roll of thunder and the lightening flashed across the sky. Still he sat there. He was soaked, and freezing. 

If he was honest with himself, he knew he couldn't walk away. He had already made the choice when it came to Sakusa long along, regardless of how one sided it was. He had got past the worst of the horror of that night too. He had fired that gun to save the person he loved, and he knew he could do it again. He knew he would do anything for him. The empty feeling inside slowly seeped out of him, replaced by what he thinks has been there for quite a while. He loved Sakusa. 

Atsumu got up from the bench then, turned around to walk towards the road, as he looked up, he saw the Lambo sat waiting for him. He walked over and the passenger door opened. He got in and Sakusa passed him a towel. 

"Ya been here the whole time?" 

"Yes. I just drove around in a loop and waited."

Atsumu pulled the bag off his back and took out the box.

"Why?" 

"Because you're wrong."

Atsumu held it out to Sakusa, who shook his head and started the engine, reversed out and drove home. Osamu was standing outside in the rain when they arrived. He was soaked. He threw his arms around Atsumu and dragged him inside. 

"I made ya tuna onigiri."

Atsumu grinned at his brother. Suna was waiting inside with a couple of towels, he passed one to Atsumu and wrapped the other around Osamu. The three made their way into the kitchen. 

"I made ya umeboshi onigiri as well Sakusa." Osamu yelled over his shoulder. 

The four sat together eating. The look of happiness on Osamu was unyielding. After they finished, Osamu dragged Atsumu upstairs and told him to go shower and come to the lounge. Atsumu made his way back downstairs twenty minutes later, in jogging bottoms and an over-sized hoodie, with the hood up. Osamu dragged him into the middle of the L shape and wrapped an arm around his brother. 

Suna came to join them a few minutes later. Osamu lay down on his side, his head on his brothers lap, with his thighs over Suna. Suna ran his hands across Osamu's thighs and held them tightly. Sakusa came in then, and sat down next to Atsumu. To Atsumu's surprise, he placed an arm around Atsumu's shoulder, and pulled him into a one armed brief hug then sat by his side. Suna dimmed the lights with the remote and stuck on a random movie. 

Thirty minutes or so into the movie, Sakusa shifted slightly, his leg brushed Atsumu's, and shifted away. Atsumu contemplated for a moment, natural readjustment for comfort, or intention? Atsumu slid his slightly over to brush it back, and pulled away. Atsumu felt Sakusa's eyes on him, and glanced sideways at him, a blush creeping across his face. Sakusa shifted himself as if he was getting comfortable, and sat back, close enough for Atsumu to feel the warmth radiating off his arm. 

They continued this dance like two shy teenagers meeting under the bleachers for the whole of the movie and into the next one. Atsumu wanted more, but was scared of the repercussions. In the back of his mind was the words Suna said. Sakusa would never want him, so why was he acting like this? 

Suna had shifted to lay down along side Osamu, his head on Osamu's stomach. Both of them could no longer see anything Atsumu was doing. Atsumu had realised one thing in the last few days. Life was too fucking short. Especially in his line of work. He took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly, calming himself. 

It's not like they hadn't done more before, but this wasn't when they were putting their lives on the line, or when they'd been drinking, it wasn't when they were pumped with adrenaline, or when Sakusa was putting him in his place, due to anger or otherwise. This was just them, sat on a sofa, watching a movie. Atsumu swallowed, took a deep breath again, then moved his hand sideways and took Sakusa's in his, lacing their fingers together. Sakusa didn't throw him off, or let go, he didn't react at all. Atsumu let the breath go. 

Maybe, just maybe, Sakusa really did care. 

Chapter Text

Atsumu lent on his palms watching the snow fall outside his bedroom window. With the falling snow, a quiet calm enveloped the mansion. It was mid December, roughly eleven months on from the twins break in. Their third attempt on Blaker had been a disaster, Suna's device for tampering with the lasers had malfunctioned and they lost far too much time completing it the traditional way. Jackal had called it quits with twenty minutes still on the clock. 

Their fourth attempt was nearly a month ago now, on the 24th of November. Suna had sorted his 'anti laser device' - his words - and they made it back to room eight with fifteen minutes on the clock. Suna had harpooned a rope up to the ceiling, Atsumu had got up to the roof as they had practiced and lowered himself down. He had tripped a fail safe a few minutes in and Sakusa had them pull out. Atsumu had been practicing hanging upside down lock picking daily since.

Tomorrow would be the day they could make attempt five, but to his surprise yesterday, Suna had informed him they were taking a break, and to pack a bag for a few weeks ready for them to leave at noon today. Atsumu had already packed, his bag was downstairs, now he just stood watching the snow fall on the tree that he'd sat in for weeks nearly a year ago to the day, scouting the mansion. 

It was strange to think, when he first entered the place, and found so much horror, now it was his source of comfort, where he felt safe, his home. It was also more than that, his family was here. Osamu obviously, his only living relative, but Suna now too, was basically his brother as well. Osamu and Suna had never said it in as many words, but they belonged to each other. Atsumu was glad Osamu had someone to love, he was glad he was happy. 

Then there's Sakusa. There was always careful and calculated interaction there. The morning after Sakusa had sat holding his hand in the dark watching the movie, and even the following week, it was like it never happened. As the weeks and months brushed by, there were lingering stares, questionable touches, and pointed words, but they were all build on a foundation of sand. One day there, and the next crumbled and gone. 

Some days it hurt, other days it didn't. Atsumu took what he could get, and what he got was little to nothing. The only thing Atsumu had made sure to do was to get Sakusa to take back the diamond, on the pretext he felt uncomfortable with it out the vault where it was secure. Sakusa reluctantly accepted.

Atsumu stood up from the window, stretching his arms over his head, giving a quick glance over his room to make sure he'd not forgotten anything important, and headed to the ground floor. Osamu was lying on the floor by the door looking furious, one hand gripped on Suna's shin, who was laughing his head off. 

"What happened?" Atsumu called from the top of the stairs.

"Your brother fell over his own foot carrying his bag down the stairs." Suna replied through laughter.

Osamu shot him a glare, then lunged forward into Suna's legs, tackling him to the floor. Suna quickly flipped the pair of them over and full body pinned Osamu down, still laughing. Atsumu cleared his throat, and Suna rolled off and sat up. He got to his feet and offered a hand to Osamu, who smacked it away, and got up by himself. Suna was still laughing to himself when he pulled on a leather jacket over his hoodie and opened the front door. 

On the drive, Atsumu could see the back of a black 4x4, with snow chains attached. Suna grabbed a couple of the bags and started loading them into the boot. Sakusa joined them, wearing a thigh length black cashmere overcoat and black scarf, with his normal leather gloves. He carried a black bag, which Suna came and collected for him. Sakusa glanced at Atsumu and headed out the door. 

Atsumu pulled on a black puffer jacket and pale gold scarf and gloves, and stepped out into the cold with his brother, who was wearing identical but in grey. To Atsumu's surprise, Sakusa got into the back of the car behind the drivers seat, Atsumu joined him in the back, leaving Osamu to sit with Suna once the brunette finished locking up. Sakusa simply said he didn't like to drive in snow. The journey was relaxed, despite the heavy snow, Suna had the radio on and was singing away. It seems Osamu had forgiven him for the mockery, as he was now feeding Suna chunks of chocolate as he drove. 

This was the most relaxed Atsumu had ever seen Sakusa. Atsumu used the opportunity to let his eyes sweep across Sakusa's body. Under his overcoat, he wore a thick charcoal coloured roll neck, and black jeans, with black leather ankle boots. Atsumu's eyes were somewhere between Sakusa's thigh and shin when it registered in his brain that Sakusa looked insanely hot. He swallowed, feeling the flush across his cheeks, and shifted awkwardly. His eyes flicked up to Sakusa's face then, and realised Sakusa had been watching him. Atsumu suddenly became very interested in what was going on outside his window for the next hour. 

They left the city behind, driving deep into a forest, Suna turned off road, onto a dirt track and they climbed steadily, before flattening out in a small clearing. A log cabin covered in snow sat before them. The four unloaded their bags from the car and stepped inside. The front door opened straight into an L shaped room, with a kitchen, four seater dining table, a two seater sofa and a couple of large recliner chairs in front of a log burner and a TV. All the furniture was in natural wood, with black, white and pale blue furnishings. 

Suna moved through the room to the door at the back, opening it to a door directly ahead and one to the right, then turned back.

"Err.. how we doing this Sakusa?" 

"You and Osamu will take your normal room."

Suna's confused look remained on his face, but he made no further comment, just opened the door on the right and dumped his bags in. Osamu followed him, the room had a pale blue rug on the floor, and matching blue bedding on the double bed. The rest of the floor and walls were exposed wood. A door stood open to one side revealing a shower room, and another glass door on the other side opened onto decking at the back of the house, overlooking the forest. 

Atsumu and Osamu stood in the tiny hallway, looking into the room, when Sakusa came up and opened the other door. The room was slightly larger, but a mirror of the other, just with black instead of pale blue. Atsumu eyed the double bed in confusion. Sakusa walked in with his bag and Atsumu's and put them down. Right, it was going to be like that then. In the last few months since they held hands, Sakusa hasn't once tried to get Atsumu to go to the red room, or made any kind of movement towards him sexually at all. Now they would share a bed? 

Atsumu hung up his coat and scarf, turned around and walked out to the lounge, sitting in one of the chairs. He scrolled through his phone. He flicked from one app to another for a while, nothing held his attention. He went back towards the bedrooms, the door on the right was closed as he went by, and his room was empty. He saw Sakusa standing out on the decking, staring off into the woods through the glass door. 

Atsumu hauled his bag up onto the bed, pulled out his winter running gear and changed quickly in the bathroom. When he came out, Sakusa was standing in the bedroom again. Their eyes met for a moment, Atsumu pulled his headphones out, stuck his running playlist on and walked out the door. 

It was dark when he finally got back, and he was freezing. Osamu and Suna were in the kitchen, Osamu smiled at him as he passed through the house. Sakusa was no where to be seen. Atsumu showered and pulled on jogging bottoms, a long sleeve t-shirt and a hoodie. He stepped out through the backdoor onto the decking, leaning on the fencing and looked up at the stars. After a few minutes he heard a throat clear to his side, turning he saw Sakusa in a hot tub at the other end of the platform. 

"Join me if you want." 

"Er.. yeah okay." Atsumu replied.

He went back into the house, stripped down, pulled on swimming shorts and flip-flops and grabbed a towel. The walk to the hot tub through the thin layer of snow on the decking was freezing, so he quickly plunged under the water. Seats ran around three corners, leaving the last corner open for the steps in and out. There was a deeper section in the middle, that Atsumu had dropped into. He opened his eyes underwater, to see Sakusa's toned pale body in nothing but tight black shorts. He broke the surface, taking a seat facing out into the forest and sighed, closing his eyes. Silence lingered between them, though it was more just peaceful than  awkward, but neither broke it.

Osamu stuck his head out the door a little while later to tell them food was ready. The four ate together and tidied up. Suna and Osamu disappeared into the bedroom together early on. Atsumu, having slept badly the night before, and tired from his run, got up to shower and got into bed. Sakusa came in sometime later and entered the bathroom, Atsumu lay on his side facing way from the other side of the bed, and pretended to be asleep as Sakusa got into the bed. Atsumu lay there for a while, attempting to regulate his heart beat, before eventually falling asleep. 

The next morning he slipped out of the room to run before dawn. He had been out about an hour now, having done a loop around the forest, it was still dark. Atsumu sat on the ground outside the back of the cabin, his back against a tree, watching the moon. The crunch of footsteps across the frozen ground snapped Atsumu's head back, looking up to see Sakusa with two mugs in one hand and a chunky knit wool blanket over the other arm. 

Sakusa handed the mugs over to Atsumu, spread the blanket out in front of the tree and sat down, he wrapped one side over him, and held his hand out for the coffee. Atsumu hesitated for a moment, then passed the coffee over, and slid along next to Sakusa, wrapping the other half of the blanket over himself as well. They sat there, shoulder to shoulder, with hands wrapped around their mugs. Atsumu waited. 

"I should really have thought this through further." 

Atsumu stiffened. He had never heard Sakusa sound unsure before. Sakusa didn't ask for things, he took them. He didn't hesitate, he knew what he wanted, and he made it happen. But here he was, with an almost childlike insecurity seeping into his voice. 

"Jus' say it." Atsumu said softly. 

Sakusa sighed, lifted his coffee to drink and lent back against the tree. 

"You've probably been wondering why I've distanced myself from you for the last few months, and I wanted to explain some things to you. To start with, Ushijima. I don't know exactly what Suna told you, based upon what he thought was going on. Ushijima used to work for me, in a similar capacity to how you do, apart from the fact he was more of a bodyguard. He would keep me company physically, and he may have cared for me, or even thought he loved me, but there was nothing emotional between us."

Sakusa held up his hand when Atsumu opened his mouth.

 "Just let me talk first. I told you a while ago that I'm not the same person I was back then, but at the core, I am what I am. You and I are both very aware of exactly what I am, and what I'm capable of, of what I've done. I'm not the type of person that anyone can love. My parents were murdered when I was twelve, the target of an assassin. The assassin took me with him, used the fact I was small and flexible to get into places and initially it was just to open windows or doors, but by the time I was fourteen, it was to execute people."

Sakusa swallowed then, taking another sip of coffee.

"I've been killing for nearly fifteen years, and I enjoy it. It's all I've ever known. It's made me rich and given me power. I know full well I'm a cold, calculated monster. I was more than willing to let someone who had given me everything for over a year die, and it didn't even affect me at all. When you got taken the first time, I was just pissed that someone dared fucking challenge me. When you got taken the second time... that was different."

Sakusa turned to look Atsumu in the eyes then. Atsumu swallowed slowly but kept his gaze. 

"Something changed for me that night. I didn't realise it at the time, but looking back now, I can see it. When I saw what had been done to you... I almost regret letting him die so quickly. I guess that in itself should have told me something. I listened to you when you told me to let it go. Then there was the night we got drunk. Ushijima never once stayed in my bed. I don't let people in."

Sakusa closed his eyes then. 

"I backed off over the last few months because I wanted to give you space. From the first day I met you, none of our interaction was remotely close to normal, or healthy. Suna has been in my life for a long time, but we've never been close. I've never been close to anyone at all emotionally. With that being said, I don't want you to work for me anymore."

Sakusa heard Atsumu suck in a breath from his side, he finally opened his eyes again, and looked at the mix of shock and horror on Atsumu's face.

"What?!" Atsumu spluttered out.

"I don't want you to work for me anymore." Sakusa repeated, "I want you to work with me. I want to offer you, all three of you actually, a partnership. I know I'm not an easy person to deal with, and maybe I am beyond hope. I don't think redemption is possible for me anymore, but if you're willing, I would like a shot at maybe actually being... friends?"

The silence that hung between them was deafening for Atsumu. Of all the things he had expected to come out of Sakusa's mouth, not that he had many expectations in the first place because Sakusa was impossible to read, but he never would have expected this. There had always been something unnamed between them, from the stolen glances and lingering touches. None of it had ever really fit into any particular category. Boss. Owner. Capture. Lover. Torturer. Now Friend?

With that, Atsumu burst out laughing. Sakusa sat staring deadpan at him for a few seconds, watching Atsumu laugh, then smirked as well, before breaking out in a full laugh. They laughed until they forgot what they were even laughing about. Eventually they both sobered up. 

"Fuck. I never expected ya to come out with somethin' like that." Atsumu said eventually. 

"Is that a yes?" Sakusa said.

"Yeah, it's a yes, but why? I'd have followed you regardless."

"Two reasons, one, I eventually want to retire from this life, I've always been comfortable alone, before you came along, Suna barely stayed at my place, but I guess I've become used to having people around me. The idea of going back to being alone again.. I found myself not liking the idea of it." 

Sakusa went silent then. Atsumu waited for him to talk again, but the seconds lapsed into minutes. 

"And two?" Atsumu prompted.

Sakusa closed his eyes and drew in a long breath. He let it out slowly before speaking.

"I guess it was just one reason." He said quickly, "We should head in before we freeze." 

With that he stood up and turned around to offer a hand to Atsumu, who gathered the blanket up. The pair made their way back into the house. Osamu was sat on one end of the sofa, Suna had his head on Osamu's lap, with his legs hung over the end. Osamu was feeding him a brownie while Suna giggled. Judging by the state of Suna's eyes, he was taking full advantage of the break from work. 

"How many have ya given him?" Atsumu asked his brother.

Osamu shrugged and giggled in reply.

"How many ya had?!" Atsumu asked then. 

Osamu just giggled again.

"Right, fuck it, I'm going in the hot tub." 

With that Atsumu walked off, and left the two idiots to it. The rest of Christmas eve passed peacefully. They spent most of the evening drinking and playing poker. Atsumu found it less awkward in bed that night with Sakusa, whether it was due to their talk, or the alcohol, he wasn't sure, but he finally felt relaxed. They still slept apart, but it was comfortable at least. 

"Merry Christmas brother." Osamu called out to him the next morning, pulling him into a hug. 

Osamu and Atsumu spent most of the morning in the kitchen cooking together. Atsumu thought about how they had done this together last year, they had very little money last year, having scraped together enough for a tiny turkey and not much else. This year they had everything they could possibly want, Suna and Osamu had gone shopping a few days before and Suna had gone a little crazy. After they ate, they settled into the lounge to watch utterly terrible Christmas movies, then retired to the table for more poker and beer. The twins sat side by side, with Sakusa opposite Atsumu and Suna opposite Osamu.

Sakusa stood from the table after he folded in their third game and returned a few minutes later with three small black boxes. When the game ended, he handed them out to the other three. They all looked slightly confused, opening them to find key fobs. 

"Suna, the Lotus might as well be yours anyway, Osamu, I've seen the way you eye the Tesla, and Atsumu I know the Lambo is your favourite. They are now yours. Also, I have mentioned this to Atsumu already but, simply put, I no longer want you to work for me, I want you to work with me. I am offering you a partnership. I want us to work together, on the Blaker project, and whatever else comes along. You will also always have a home at the mansion." Sakusa listed it off without any level of emotion, but he meant the words.

Suna and Osamu exchanged glances, then Osamu turned to Atsumu. None of them could believe it. They all stumbled out their thanks for the cars and agreed to Sakusa's offer. Sakusa waved away their thanks with a hand and pulled a bottle of whiskey off the bench behind him. Atsumu got up and returned with four glasses. 

"So does this mean you'll stop giving me death threats now?" Suna said grinning at Sakusa after his fifth whiskey.

"Mmmmmm. No." Sakusa replied, slurring slightly, grinning back. "I'm just less likely to act on it."

The twins burst out laughing at the pair. 

The rest of the year slipped by. Heavy snow fell around the cabin, blocking them in. They passed their days eating, drinking and relaxing. Suna moped for a while when he ran out of weed. 

On new years eve, Sakusa announced he had a tradition of always starting the year sober, the others agreed to join him, this is how the four ended up stone cold sober five minutes before the end of the year, in half a foot of snow on the decking behind the cabin. Sakusa stood in the corner, with Atsumu by his side, then Osamu and Suna on the end. 

Atsumu placed his gloved hands on the railing after pulling his scarf up higher around him. He was freezing. Two minutes to go. Osamu placed his hand over Atsumu's right one then and gripped it, already holding Suna's other. To Atsumu's surprise, Sakusa took his other hand. One minute to go. Atsumu squeezed both the hands he was holding. Ten seconds... 

Fireworks exploded in the sky in the distance, and they all said happy new year, before turning to the table behind them and necking a shot each. Suna pulled Osamu away to the other end of the decking then, pushing him into the wall of the cabin and kissing him. Atsumu turned away from them, and found himself an inch away from Sakusa. 

"Happy new year Atsumu." Sakusa said softly. 

Atsumu threw all caution to the wind then, he grabbed the front of Sakusa's coat, pulling him down slightly and planted his lips against Sakusa's. 

Chapter Text

Sakusa pulled away from Atsumu nearly instantly. He watched the look on Atsumu's face change to a mix of shock, horror and fear. 

"Fuck.. I... " Atsumu stuttered.

Atsumu turning away, thankful that Osamu and Suna had disappeared from the platform. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table, walked down the steps and into the forest. 

"Atsumu!" Sakusa yelled after him, with a quick glance to the cabin, he followed Atsumu into the forest. 

Sakusa followed the path that Atsumu had made through the snow, catching up to him within a few minutes due to how hard it was to cut through how deep it was. He found Atsumu lent against a tree, with the bottle tipped back in his mouth. Sakusa reached up and ripped it from his mouth.

"Fucking stop!" Sakusa yelled.

Atsumu went to move away then, but Sakusa grabbed his arm and pushed him back against the tree. 

"I said stop." Sakusa spoke much quieter then. "Please," he added as an afterthought. 

Atsumu sucked in a breath at how soft his voice had been, then turned around and threw up. Sakusa waited for him to finish vomiting, and wipe his mouth. 

"Atsumu..." Sakusa started. 

Atsumu never did find out what the rest of his sentence was, as he was launched face first into the snow by the aftershock of the cabin exploding. 

--

Atsumu pulled himself out of the snow, he was freezing. His head was ringing. It felt like everything was moving slowly. He became aware of the fire a short distance from him, and saw Sakusa's legs just to his right. A wave of nausea passed through him again, he wasn't sure if that was from the explosion or the alcohol, it was a challenge to process anything. He crawled over to Sakusa, finding the black haired man unconscious on the ground in front of a tree, bleeding from the side of his head. 

Atsumu shook Sakusa slightly, and he stirred. His hand went to his head, and pulled away with blood on his hand. Atsumu checked the wound, it didn't appear to be life threatening, just a small cut from the impact of a branch or something similar. Sakusa used the tree to pull himself up, and then offered an arm to Atsumu to pull him up too. The two men moved slowly towards the house, struggling in the deep snow and the aftermath of the explosion. Fear began to overwhelm Atsumu at this point, his brain only had one thought. Osamu. 

He heard the screaming of his name before he saw his brother, Osamu met them at the tree line, Suna was slightly behind. Atsumu sighed in relief. Atsumu collapsed in his brothers arms.

"Oh thank god ya weren't inside, I thought..." Osamu struggled to finish his sentence.

"How come ya weren't inside?" Atsumu replied.

"Suna thought he stashed some weed in the car, we were out the front hunting for it and Suna may have distracted me slightly..." Osamu replied, blushing. 

The four stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the remains of the cabin burn. The deep snow prevented the fire from spreading. Atsumu pulled out his phone.

"No signal up here." 

"Not like it matters anyway, there won't be much left. Suna did you drink anything more than one shot?" Sakusa said.

"No." Suna replied.

"Fuck it, lets go home then." 

With that Sakusa walked around the side of the ruined cabin towards the car. The four got in and Suna started the engine. Sakusa punched the back of Suna's seat, making him jump slightly. 

"Now who the fuck is trying to kill me?" Sakusa hissed out.

"Wait, Suna, stop." Atsumu called out as Suna started to move off. 

Atsumu got out of the car and jogged towards the trees near the front gate, he ripped off the paper that had been nailed to the tree and went back. He got into the car and handed the paper to Sakusa. Sakusa glanced at it and swore again. It was the logo for the twins company Sakusa had been hired to kill a few months ago. Sakusa balled it up and tossed it on the floor.

"Guess that answered that question. Go Suna."

 "Interesting start to the new year at least." Osamu said, laughing.

"Guess so, fuck sake, I really liked that cabin." Sakusa replied.

"Don't worry, I'll build you a new one." Suna said.

"A bigger one this time." Sakusa added.

Atsumu kept quiet during the journey, he twisted himself sideways and lent against the door, his eyes closed. Now the shock of the explosion, and the fear around his brothers safety had passed, his mind returned to the fact he had kissed Sakusa. He concentrated on keeping his breathing steady and pretended to be asleep for the entire trip back, avoiding any interaction between the other three. 

--

Atsumu assumed he really did fall asleep, because he felt himself suddenly lunging slightly to the side and then a tight sensation across his chest. He opened his eyes to see Osamu standing in his open door, feeling the seat belt preventing him from falling out the hole that he had just been asleep against. 

"Fuck ya." Atsumu said grumpily.

He undid his belt and pulled himself out of the car, it was still dark and the other two were no where in sight. 

"I did leave ya to sleep in the car for nearly an hour, but I didn't want ya to screw ya back up."

"What time is it?" Atsumu mumbled sleepily.

"Jus' after 5. Come on, get yer ass in the house and go to bed."

Osamu offered a hand to his brother and pulled him out the car. The two walked towards the house, Osamu locking the car as they went. They stayed silent for the walk up to the second floor. Atsumu grabbed his brothers hand as they got to Atsumu's door.

"'Samu... I fucked up." Atsumu admitted softly.

"Whatya mean ya fucked up?" Osamu replied, looking slightly alarmed.

"I um... " Atsumu hesitated, looking at the floor. "I kissed Sakusa." 

"Ya.... kissed... like, on the lips?!" Osamu's face turned to horror as he stuttered out the words. 

Atsumu flung his hands up in surrender, backing away as Osamu's face changed from horror to anger. 

"I know, I know, I'm a fuckin' idiot."

With that Osamu flung open his brothers door, dragging him inside, and showed just enough restraint to close the door quietly instead of slamming it.

"Are ya trying to get yaself killed?! Have ya forgotten who he is? What he did to ya? What he still can do to ya??" Osamu snapped out the words, in a quiet deadly voice.

"Hey, ya can't talk, yer fuckin' Suna." Atsumu shot back, then grimaced at the look Osamu gave him. 

Osamu shoved his brother up against the wall at that point. His face and voice both etched in pure anger.

"Suna didn't fuckin' sexually assault me for months when we first met. I know perfectly well what Suna has done, but he's open about it. We've talked a lot, and even then, I still don't fully trust him yet. That will take time. Ya don't even fuckin' know Sakusa, how often do ya even talk? Ya just have a fucked up obsession with him. Ya identified with ya capture or some shit all those months ago and now yer broken to his every whim. Snap the fuck outta it." 

Atsumu looked down at the floor then and sighed. 

"Is this a bad time to tell ya that I let him fuck me too?"

Osamu drew back away from him then, walked across the room, sitting on the bed with his hands over his face.

"Can ya be any more stupid?!" Osamu hissed. "Did ya listen to anything Suna told ya? I really thought ya had listened to him, considering ya barely spoke to him in the last few months. Tell me what the fuck happened."

Atsumu walked over and sat next to his brother, looking at the floor, swallowing guiltily. He told Osamu everything, from the night of the drinking through to the kiss a few hours ago. 

"I didn't think it would get like this ya know? I know what ya said, and I know what Suna said and I know ya both right. But fuck 'Samu! I can't get it out of my head. I can't get him out of my head. These last few months when we barely spoke were torture. I don't even know why I feel like this but, fuck I do. What the fuck do ya want me to do? I can't.. won't leave ya, ya won't leave Suna, and we are better off here anyway. I also don't want to leave him." Atsumu's voice broke at the last sentence, and he swiped away a tear that threatened to break from the corner of his eye.

Osamu sighed softly. 

"Okay."

"What ya mean okay? I fuckin' say all that and ya just hit me with 'Okay'?" Atsumu snapped. 

"I mean, okay Atsumu. I can't force ya to forget him, and I sure as shit can't control ya. I don't wanna see ya hurt but if ya gotta do it, then fuck it, do it. Jus' please be careful. Are ya sure this is what ya want?"

Atsumu looked up at his brother then, and nodded slowly. 

"Tell me again what happened after ya kissed him?" Osamu said. 

"I err, kinda ran away? I dunno why I did it ya know, it just kinda happened. I ran, he yelled at me to stop, I stopped, he started to say my name, and boom. The whole fuckin' cabin explodin' weren't exactly the type of aftermath I was expectin' from a kiss, ya know?" Atsumu chuckled at his own joke. 

Osamu sighed again, and punched him lightly on the arm. 

"Ya really are a fuckin' headcase, ya know that?" Osamu said, wrapping his arm around his brother. 

"What happened when we got back?" 

"Sakusa just got out the car and disappeared upstairs, didn't say a word. What ya gonna do about facin' him tomorrow?"

"Don't suppose 'pretend it never happened' is gonna work, do ya?" Atsumu asked weakly. 

"Honestly, and I know I really shouldn't say this, because yer gonna fuckin' overreact, but there's a few things in the way he acts and what little he has said that makes me think that maybe he does care about ya.  Suna gave me a lot of details on Ushijima, and nothin' in that showed any sign of Sakusa giving two shits. Did he really say he was glad ya broke in?"

Atsumu stayed silent, processing for a moment, then just nodded.

"I was expecting ya to go nuts. What gives?" Osamu said.

"I'm scared about tomorrow. Well, today I guess. How he's gonna react. What he's gonna say." 

"Jus' get ya ass in bed and sleep. I know ya won't feel like sleepin' 'cos ya worried, but jus' think about the fact if ya sleep for the next twelve hours, ya ain't gotta face him for another twelve."

 Atsumu just nodded and flopped back on his bed. Osamu got up and dragged his sorry ass brother up the bed until his head was on the pillow.

"Night 'Tsumu. Love ya. It'll be okay, promise."

"Night 'Samu, love ya too, thanks for not kicking my ass even though I deserve it."

Osamu turns back as he opens the door. 

"We can't help who we love 'Tsumu." 

Osamu continues along the corridor back to his own room, and opens it quietly. Suna is lying in bed, but to Osamu's surprise, his eyes are open.

"Took you long enough to get your brother out the car didn't it?" 

"Did ya really stay awake waiting for me?" Osamu said, pulling off his t-shirt and climbing into bed.

"Nope, you're not worth that, just couldn't sleep."

"Asshole." Osamu laughed, punching Suna's arm lightly. "'Tsumu actually ended up telling me about what happened before the explosion, and other stuff over the last few months. Seems he didn't listen to ya." 

"Fill me in."

"Can wait til morning if ya tired?" Osamu replied. 

"It's fucking 6 am 'Samu, it is morning. Just tell me."

Osamu slid down under the covers, and Suna's arm wrapped around him. Osamu lay there, telling Suna everything his brother had said, his finger tracing across Suna's right pec as he spoke. Suna swore a few times during the story, but when Osamu got to the part where Atsumu had thrown Suna into the same category as Sakusa, he interrupted.

"Your brother has a point to be fair."

"What? Yer not like Sakusa." Osamu shot at him.

"I might not have had that kind of sexual involvement with you while you were still a prisoner here, but I'm not innocent in all of this, and I'm sure as shit not innocent outside of that too. I've done some horrific stuff that you don't know about. I am nearly as bad as Sakusa is 'Samu." 

"It doesn't matter to me what yer done, ya still who ya are." 

"I'm still wary because of Ushijima, but at the same time, the last few months, Sakusa has been acting a little differently than I've ever known him. Don't you think maybe that your easy dismissal of all the fucked up shit I've done, is you being just as clouded as your brother? That he might see Sakusa the way you see me?" 

"Ya never hurt me though."

"Doesn't mean I won't in the future, not intentionally, but doesn't mean it couldn't happen. Life is really short in the grand scheme of things. We only get one go at it, and when you do what we do, you have no idea how long you got left. I dunno how Sakusa is gonna react tomorrow, or what's in his head, but fuck it, life is too damn short to hide stuff away and pretend to not feel stuff when you do."

Osamu looked up at Suna as he spoke, and smiled. Then he shifted his head forward and pressed their lips together. Suna dragged Osamu across the bed and slid on top of him, pressing the full lengths of their bodies together, propped up on one elbow. He tilted his head to the side and kissed Osamu aggressively. Suna licked Osamu's lip, and the grey haired boy tiled his head, parting his lips, giving himself over to Suna. 

Their hands snaked over each others bodies, pulling each other impossibly closer. Suna ran his fingers up into Osamu's hair, gripping gently as he continued to kiss the other. Osamu let out a small whimper as Suna's grip tightened. 

After a few minutes Suna pulled away to breathe, loosening his grip slightly. Osamu smiled up at him, licking his bottom lip.

"Ya know what ya said about life being too short to hide away stuff?" Osamu whispered. 

"Yeah?" Suna replied. 

Osamu ran his arms over Suna's waist, locking his eyes on the others. 

"I love ya Sunarin."

Chapter Text

Suna froze above Osamu for a second or two, his brain struggling to process what he'd just heard, after nearly twenty four hours without sleep. He swallowed slowly.

"You...you love me?" Suna whispered. 

Osamu nodded slowly. 

"How?" 

"What ya mean how?" Osamu replied softly, confused. 

"Fuck, sorry, I just.."

Suna got off of Osamu and sat down on the bed on his knees. He put his head in his hands. Osamu swallowed his panic, and sat up, dragging his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything to ya, it was stupid of me. I know ya could never love me, and now I've made it awkward..." 

He paused for a second, then swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, I should leave ya alone." 

"Wait," Suna said quietly, "Say it again." 

"I'm sorry, I should leave ya alone?" Osamu said.

"No.. not that.. the.. the first thing." Suna muttered, his face still in his hands.

"That I love ya?" Osamu said, confused.

"Do you mean it?" Suna said, looking up for the first time.

Osamu, nodded, then muttered, "yes."

"I love you too 'Samu." 

Osamu sucked in a breath and just stared at Suna. 

"I'm sorry for freaking out on you, I just, after this long in this kind of life, I never thought anyone would ever be able to love me. I am a monster. Are you sure you love me?" 

Osamu flipped his legs back onto the bed and crawled forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Suna, trailing kisses all over his shoulder, collar bone and neck. 

"Don't ya ever fuckin' say yer a monster again. Ya and me, we done what we need to do to survive the shit the world threw at us. Sakusa and 'Tsumu are the same. We are a product of what shit was thrown at us, nothin' more. I knew, I knew from the firs' time ya took yer mask off that I was screwed. Then ya broke my damn brain when ya ran your hand up my leg that night. Utterly fucked then. I wanted ya so damn bad, and shit, I thought ya was just messin' with me, I never though ya would be serious, let alone love me." 

"Well you're welcome to have me if you really want me."

"Ya sayin' what I think ya sayin' Rin?" 

Suna reached his hand up to stroke Osamu's face, cupping his cheek gently in his warm palm.

"Will you be my boyfriend 'Samu?"

"Of course I will ya idiot." 

With that, Suna practically growled, and launched himself forward, pinning Osamu to the bed. 

--

Atsumu was still awake. He doesn't think he slept, he doesn't remember. He just felt numb. He couldn't even blame alcohol, he had been totally sober when he kissed Sakusa. He looked at the time, it was just after nine in the morning, if he had slept, it wasn't for long. He felt like he was suffocating. Atsumu dragged himself out of bed, he had to get out of here. 

He stumbled across the room, not even bothering to find a top, and he just walked. He found himself in the lounge again. He looked at the sofa, and it hurt. The memories washed over him one by one, the night they held hands.. the night they got drunk.. Atsumu closed his eyes, and fell to his knees facing the sofa. He felt the tears form. 

Atsumu sat on the floor and cried, he cried himself out, then dragged himself across the floor and onto the sofa. He lay there, his eyes closed, he was exhausted but couldn't sleep. He drifted, not really aware of anything but the leather of the sofa on his back. He focused on it, feeling the way it supported his weight, the warmth reflected from his own body heat. 

He just lay there, breathing in and out, hyper-aware of the way his body was cradled in the leather, focusing on nothing else. He was so deep into his concentration of just breathing that he didn't hear the door open or the footsteps approaching. 

"Atsumu." 

Atsumu bolted upright, his eyes opening, his head darted towards the sound of the voice, his eyes wide and skittish. Atsumu took a moment to attempt to formulate an escape route. He looked every where but at Sakusa.

"I will lock you in here with me if need be."

"No offence Omi but I'd rather ya put a bullet in my head than talk to ya right now." Atsumu spoke to the floor.

"You don't have to talk, you just need to listen."

"Bullet still the better option. Or just hit me if ya want, fuck take me to the basement and do what ya love. I don't care, just don't say it."

"Say what? You have no idea what I'm going to say."

"Ya gonna talk about last night, well this morning I guess, and I don't wanna hear it okay?"

Sakusa stepped forward then, gripped Atsumu's forearm and pulled him up, dragging him to the nearest wall and backed him into it. 

"You're going to listen." 

"Jus' fuckin' hit me instead." 

Sakusa balled his hand up into a fist and brought it up to his shoulder height, then moved it slowly until his knuckles were flat against the wall to the left of Atsumu's head. Atsumu watched the arm move, his face transitioning into confusion. 

Sakusa took advantage of the fact Atsumu turned his head to one side, to bring his other hand up. As Atsumu turned back forward again, Sakusa cupped Atsumu's cheek with his right hand, then bent forward. He hesitated slightly for a moment, then pressed his lips to Atsumu's briefly before moving back.

"Now will you calm down and listen?" 

Sakusa watched Atsumu's jaw drop and his eyes go wide, his breathing rate increases, panicking.

"I guess not." Sakusa remarked. 

Sakusa dropped both his hands, stepped back from Atsumu and returned to the sofa. 

"When you're ready to listen, find me."

Atsumu turned and ran.

 --

Atsumu made it back to his room, he slammed the door and collapsed on his bed. For the second time today, he sobbed. The adrenaline that coursed through his veins dissipating into pure emotion. He struggled to breathe, his head was churning.

"'Tsumu?"

Osamu stood in his doorway, watching him concerned for a second, then walked towards his bed. Suna stepped forward just inside the door, watching his boyfriend walk over to his brother.

"Sakusa?"

Atsumu nodded slowly, he tried to speak but nothing came out. 

"I fuckin' knew this would happen," Osamu said, his voice turning angry, "did he hurt you?"

Atsumu shook his head violently, reaching out for this brother, his head against Osamu's chest, wrapping his arms around his waist. Osamu patted Atsumu gently in the back. After a few minutes, Atsumu started to talk, he explained Sakusa had come into the lounge saying he wanted to talk, and Atsumu asked to be shot instead. Osamu's fist balled up at that. 

"I'll fuckin' kill him myself if he ever hurts ya again, I don't care if he kills me, he ain't hurting ya again." Osamu hissed out. 

"Leave that to me." Suna said, walking out the room. 

"What... what's he gonna do...?" Atsumu stuttered out. 

"Hopefully batter some sense into him." Osamu replied. 

"No, I don't want him to." 

"Ya really gonna defend him after he hurt ya again?" Osamu shot at him. 

"He... he.. kissed me...and I freaked out and ran away.." Atsumu mumbled. 

Osamu withdrew his hands from Atsumu's back, placing them on Atsumu's shoulders and pulled him upright, looking him in the eye. 

"Are ya really this much of a fuckin' idiot? He did the one thing ya wanted him to do, and you ran the fuck away?"

"When ya say it like that, I do sound like an idiot yeah, but I didn't think. Suna ain't gonna punch him is he?" 

"Sakusa deserves one, but I doubt it, you ready to go sort this shit out?" 

Atsumu nodded. The twins got up and headed downstairs, Osamu opened the lounge door to see Suna and Sakusa sat on the sofa talking, they both looked up as Osamu entered. Osamu realised his brother had frozen in the doorway, grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Osamu shoved Atsumu down on the sofa. Suna got up, taking Osamu's hand. 

"You're both fucking idiots. We don't have time for this. Someone tried to kill us yesterday, another group already threatened us, we have the cabin wreck to deal with, we have Blaker to prep for and you still have a hit list to complete Sakusa. Talk this out, fuck it out for all I care, just get the fuck over it."

Osamu's mouth opened slightly as Suna finished talking. He was expecting Sakusa to snap, but Sakusa just looked at Suna and nodded. With that Suna took Osamu's hand and walked out the door, slamming it behind them.

"Well, they'll be busy for a while, wanna go back to bed?" Suna said, winking at Osamu.

"Yer a little scary at times Rin. But it's damn hot."

Suna laughed and dragged Osamu upstairs.

--

Sakusa and Atsumu sat in silence, the echo of the door slam still sounding softly in Atsumu's ears. They both avoided eye contact with each other. The silence lingered, becoming awkward. 

"This is ridiculous. I am a trained assassin for fucks sake."

Sakusa cleared his throat, paused for a moment then spoke again.

"I kill people. I torture people for information. I take what I want and I don't care. I don't care about things like consequences or people. I don't do, this." 

Sakusa gestured his hands up in general, Atsumu just stared at him as Sakusa rambled away, seemingly talking to himself. Atsumu would have laughed if it wasn't for the churning dread in his gut. He snapped his attention back to Sakusa as the other spoke again.

"For fifteen years, that's all I was. I tolerated Suna because his skill set was useful to me. That was it. Then you break into my home, and destroy it all. I should have put a bullet in the back of your head that night and been done with it. But no, I removed your mask, I found out who you were, and my greed got in the way. I knew I could use you to increase my collection. From that first night, I wanted you, physically at least. You offered me what I wanted so willingly, and I was too weak and stupid to say no or stop." 

Atsumu was struggling to process what he was hearing, he just sat in shock as Sakusa continued.

"Ushijima had offered me the same, sure. There was something I never told you about that story. He made it clear that the only thing he truly wanted was power. He admitted it to me. It was why I was never sorry that he died. He used me as a means to an end, and when I wasn't willing to allow him to continue, his greed caused him to put himself at risk by seeking it elsewhere. He wasn't taken by the people who killed him, he went to them willingly, he double crossed me and attempted to blackmail me. I never told you the truth because I wanted you to keep your distance from me."

Sakusa paused for a moment, rubbing his hand across his cheek, thinking.

"The night we drank, I blame that entirely on alcohol, lack of self control and desire. The night we watched the movie and you took my hand. I think that's the night that really broke me. It was just so normal. You never acted like Ushijima, you never wanted power or wealth, the only thing you've ever wanted was to take care of your brother."

Sakusa closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, then opened them again, looking at Atsumu.

"As I said at the cabin, I backed off then, I had spent too much time already hurting you, and your brother, and fuck Suna as well. It was too late for me a long time ago, for any level of redemption, this is the path I walked. I told you that this path wasn't something I ever chose, it was given to me. I killed the person who put me on it, but now I can't leave it. All that I am is a killer. I could have walked away at that point but I didn't. I don't know how you could see me as anything else than the monster that I am. I won't ask you to forgive me, it's not possible for you to do so after everything, but I am willing to give you anything you ask from from me." 

Atsumu sat in silence as Sakusa spoke. He sat looking at the floor, processing every word the other said.

"Two things," Atsumu said eventually.

Sakusa nodded, "name them, if I'm capable of giving them to you, I will.

"I want ya to tell me how do ya feel about me."

"I see, and two?"

"After ya answer that one." 

"Very well. I don't know Atsumu. I can't tell you what I don't know. Right now all I know is that you were wrong when you said I don't care, and that if anyone ever tried to hurt you, I will very much enjoy making them and anyone they know regret the day they were born." 

"Ya real scary sometimes." 

"I'm an assassin, I don't do talking about this shit, that's the best you're going to get. Two?" 

"I want ya to let me in."

Sakusa sucked in a breath then. His face was unreadable. 

"I offer you anything you want, and that's all you ask for?"

"The only thing I want Omi is ya, and I can't ask ya for that, cos I want it to be cos ya want me too, so all I'm askin' for is for ya to stop this 'I'm unredeemable' like ya are the worst person who ever existed and give ya self a break. Not like ya go around killing people for fun, most of em probably deserved it. Anyway, ya are what ya are, I know what ya are, and I'm here anyway ain't I? Ya don't get to decide who cares for ya, other people do, and I say ya worth caring about."

Atsumu paused for a moment, then continued on when it looked like Sakusa was about to interrupt him.

"Some fucker tried to kill us last night, some other fucker sent a photo of ya face with a threat on it, ya probably got other targets on ya back than just those, we got a fuckin' impossible gauntlet of bullshit ta get through and we could die any day. Don't ya think it's about time ya started livin' while ya alive Omi? God forbid ya let ya self actually be happy."

Atsumu frowned slightly for a moment, before his features returned to neutral, continuing.

"So yeah, that's all I ask of ya, fuck ya don't even have to let me in, just don't shut me out. If somewhere in that black heart of yers ya actually do care for me, then do this for me." Atsumu cleared his throat then,  "though I think that's more than enough feelin' discussion for one day don't ya think? And fuck I dunno the last time I slept or ate. Ya hungry?"

Sakusa smiled then and nodded.

"Good cos I hate cooking, it's Samu's thing. So I take it back, I want three things from ya, I want you to cook me lunch too." 

Sakusa laughed, standing up, he walked over to Atsumu and held out his hand. 

"Shit Omi, ya really going all out with the romantic side ain't ya?" Atsumu said taking his hand. 

"I will fucking kill you." Sakusa shot back. 

Atsumu winked at him, opening the door. "Yeah yeah Omi, whatever ya say."

Chapter Text

~~~

9 Years Ago (Sakusa Age 16)

~~~

Jackal sat on the frozen ground, wearing just shorts and a t-shirt, with his mask and gloves on, despite it being a cold day in late January. It wasn't snowing at least, so for that he was thankful. He sat watching the blood run down his shin, he didn't even feel the pain anymore, after four years, all he felt was numb. The finger print bruises on his arms were a permanent feature now, they overlapped one another from all the times he'd been forcefully held. 

He'd now killed more people than he could remember. It meant nothing to him anymore. The faces all blurred together. He couldn't remember much of his life before twelve, he couldn't remember the place he grew up, or his parents faces. He just remembered the cold dark wet cell he was kept in for the first year with his new father, and the threat of returning to that room terrified him so much he would do anything to prevent it. A year of near complete isolation, listening to the drip, drip, drip of water over and over. It still echoed in his head now.

"Are you okay?"

Jackals head snapped up at the sudden voice, the words seemed strange to him. Are you okay? He assumed his parents would have asked him that many times as a child, or he liked to think so, but he'd never heard the words before. He paused for a moment, thinking. 

"Yes, I'm fine."

"But your leg is bleeding." 

The source of the voice appeared then, coming out the shadows, he looked to be about Jackals own age, his brown hair stuck out in messy tufts at the side of his face, with hooded olive eyes and filthy, torn clothing. The boy was very thin, his face rutted in a frown. 

"I've had worse injuries, this is nothing." Jackal dismissed.

The other boys face twisted slightly in horror then, he stepped further forward. "You sure you're okay?"

Jackal nodded in reply. 

"My names Suna, what's yours?"

"Jackal."

"That's your real name?"

"No, but my father doesn't allow me to use my real name anymore."

"Why not?"

Suna stepped forward again until he was a few paces away from Jackal and sat down, his back again the wall. 

"If you'll tell me your story, I'll tell you mine?" Suna asked softly to the other boy. 

Jackal nodded again. "You go first."

"My story is pretty boring, I don't know who my parents are, they put me up from adoption when I was born. I don't really remember much of the early years, but I was told a family who couldn't have kids took me on. They returned me when I was four because the woman managed to fall pregnant. I remember blips of various foster homes, I don't remember any that I got to stay in longer than a year. Most of them were full of other kids, and none of them were pleasant."

Suna bit the inside of his lip and carried on.

"The last place I was at, there were seven foster kids, one was older, and five younger than me. The dad liked to drink and beat me and my older 'brother', one night I woke up and saw him packing a bag, when I asked him what he was doing, he said he'd had enough and that I could come with him if I wanted to. He and I weren't close, I'd only known him three weeks, but he'd been there over a year."

Suna paused, sighing at the memory. 

"I threw some shit in a bag, and we crept downstairs. The dad was drunk on the sofa, my brother opened the front door and the dad woke up, my brother told me to run, so I ran out the door and hid, he didn't follow. I waited until the dad came out searching for me, and I ran. He didn't find me. I crept back to the house a few hours later, there was an ambulance outside. I saw them carrying a body out. I just knew it was my brother. I've been on the streets since."

Suna stretched out his legs in front of him.

"It's shit, I only knew the guy a few weeks, but he's the first person in 16 years that did anything other than pass me to someone else or hit me, you know? That was about six months ago now. Anyway, your turn."

Jackal sighed, and began to talk, "It started when I was twelve..."

--

"Mum?" Sakusa shook his mother's sleeping form on the bed but she didn't stir. 

" Mum, I had a bad dream." 

No response, Sakusa shock harder. 

" Mum..? Mum..? Mummy...?" Sakusa's voice broke as he gave up shaking her. 

He moved to his fathers side, and that's when he saw the blood on the pillow. 

"Dad?!" Sakusa shouted.  

He felt a hand go over his mouth then, feeling cotton against his face, he wasn't sure what he could smell, but it made him sleepy, then the world faded to black. 

--

"Welcome home Jackal."

Sakusa woke on the floor of a stone room hearing those words, the room was utterly empty apart from a toilet and sink in the corner. The shadow of a man stood in the doorway.

"Jackal?" Sakusa questioned.

"That is your name."

"My name is Sakusa. "

The man strode across the room, and smashed Sakusa across the face with the back of his hand, Sakusa hit the ground hard, his eyes swimming with tears.

"What's your name?" The man said.

"Ja-jackal." Sakusa stuttered out, holding his face as the tears fell.

"I thought so." 

With that, he left. 

--

Sakusa marked another line on the wall using a stone, then he did what he did every day, he counted, 5, 10... 55, 60... 105, 110... 225, 230... 315, 320... He sighed. Nearly a year he had been locked in this room. The man brought him food twice a day, he was allowed out to shower once every two days, but that was the only interaction he had had with another person. He lay there day after day, listening to the sink drip, it was ingrained in his mind. With every drip he whispered the same words under his breath, 'My name is Sakusa'.

--

He had been counting the lines on the wall one night, trying to fall asleep when the man visited again, ordering him to follow. They got in a car, after 20 minutes they arrived at a building. The man picked him up and told him to climb in a window and unlock the door. He hesitated, and received a strike to the face. He scrambled back up, the man shoved him through the window and he unlocked the door with a shaking hand. 

"Wait here." 

Sakusa stood in the dark alleyway alone, terrified, but he did as he was told. Twenty minutes later, the man took him home. 

From that day on, Jackal was removed from his room each day, and the man began training him. Every time he failed to complete a task, he was beaten. This continued for months. He would return to his room at night bloody and bruised.

"You must listen to me Jackal, I am your father, and I am always right. You don't argue, you don't ask questions. You'll work hard, or I'll have to punish you. Failing me is not an option, understand?"

"Yes Father." 

It was habit now for Sakusa, he heard these words every day, and every day he responded the same, or he would be hit. His father stood above him now, holding a crop, waiting for him to fail or slip up slightly so he could hurt him. 

It was just after his fourteenth birthday that things changed for Sakusa. Two things in particular. It seems that Jackal had become too good during his training, and so he no longer received punishment for just failing, but at other points too. It seemed his father just enjoyed hitting him at this point. 

The second change came one night when his father summoned him to a room he'd never been it before. A strange man was on the floor on his knees, his arms tied behind his back, and gagged. 

"Jackal, you are a good boy aren't you? His father asked.

"Yes Father."

"Good, take this."

His father handed him a silenced pistol. He looked down at the heavy object, then at his father who was standing behind the kneeling man. 

"Come here."

Jackal walked over to him, looking up at his father.

"Kill him." 

Jackal sucked in a breath in shock. Then he felt the pain of being hit. He looked at the gun in his hand and then back of the man's head.

"Do it now," his father said, picking up the crop. 

He was hit with the crop, and told to do it, over and over, until he had taken five hits from the crop. He felt the tears fall. A sixth hit put him onto his knees. He swallowed, he couldn't bare the pain anymore. He stood, raised the gun, placing the silencer to the back of the mans head, closed his eyes, and with shaking hands pulled the trigger. He turned away with tears in his eyes, and waited until he was dismissed. 

Like everything else in this place, that became a routine as well. Every few weeks, he would come in and be expected to execute someone. After the fifth body, he didn't hesitate. After the twentieth, he was strangely detached. It's like they weren't even people anymore. This is just who he is now, this is what he was made for. 

By fifteen his father was taking him with him on hits, Jackal was a natural at it, able to get into the smallest of spaces, and because he was so young, no one suspected him of anything. He slipped into places, left bodies and slipped back out. Between jobs, he would be his fathers favourite thing to batter. He grew so used to it, he didn't care anymore, being double joined, he was used to having to pop his joints back in, a few more times extra didn't affect him anymore. 

--

Suna just sat staring at him as Jackal finished talking. 

"I need to go, he will be expecting me. It was good to meet you though Suna."

 "Wait.." Suna called, but Jackal didn't turn. 

Suna hesitated for a few seconds, then got up and followed the other boy.

--

"Did you finish the job?"

"Yes Father." 

"Kneel." 

Jackal felt the crop hit him again and again. Then felt a punch to the side of his face that knocked him to the floor. He sat back up, waiting for the next hit. He was bleeding, his head was ringing, but it didn't even affect him anymore. He was utterly numb. This was all routine.

Then something happened that wasn't routine. 

Jackal felt the spray of blood hit his face and recoiled, closing his eyes, he heard his father's body fall, and registered the sound of the silenced gun go off. He wiped his face and opened his eyes, to see a different figure standing above him, the characteristic tufts of hair sticking out from the side of his face.

"Suna?" Jackal stuttered out, shocked and confused. 

Suna stood there, the silenced pistol still in his right hand, he stepped over the body, offering a hand to Jackal. 

"Are you okay Jackal?" 

"Sakusa." 

Suna smiled and nodded and pulling Sakusa to his feet, "good to meet you Sakusa. You ready for a new life?"

There were those words again. Are you okay? Three words that meant everything to Sakusa now. It meant someone cared. 

~~~

6 Years Ago (Sakusa Age 19/20)

~~~

Jackal stood on the rooftop, watching the target building. He had only bothered to pick up this hit today despite the fact it had been posted on the dark web forum four days ago. No one had completed it yet so it was clearly more of a challenge than the average kill, especially with a payout of a million for a single target.

"Jackal," came a deep voice behind him.

Jackal whipped around, his gun pointing at the speaker, he lowered it slightly a few seconds later.

"Eagle," Sakusa said.

"So you know who I am then."

"Yes, no one else would wear a white mask, now fuck off, I work alone."

"Not on this target you won't. That's why no ones done it."

"You have 30 seconds to explain, or leave, or I'm sticking a bullet in your skull."

With that, Eagle walked towards him, pulled a small black notebook from the pocket of his coat and held it out. Sakusa took it with a gloved hand and flipped open to the page the bookmark was in. It was a collection of neatly written and well structured notes on the target building, all the weaknesses, potential entry points. It was thorough and meticulous work. Sakusa silently approved. The more he read, the more he realised the other was correct. It would take two people.

"Fine. Just note, if you come remotely close to screwing me, I will find everyone person you've ever known and kill them. I assume you'll want a 50/50 take?"

Eagle nodded. "I have an offer for you actually, I'd offer you 75% if you'll use this to assess me. If you deem me good enough to work with, I want to stay working for you."

Sakusa stood and thought for a moment, another quarter million to just tell him at the end he's not good enough and move on?

"Alright fine, deal, come with me. There's someone you need to meet."

--

"Suna," Jackal called out when he arrived back in the apartment, "meet Eagle."

Suna walked out to them, in a black roll neck and jeans, with his mask on, his eyes narrowed.

"Since when do you let anyone in your home other than me?"

"Since that hit is going to require two people on the inside, Eagle has been casing the place for days. We can get the job done tomorrow night though."

"What?" Eagle's deep voice started, "there's no way we can get a plan together in that time."

Jackal sighed. "Suna, let's get to work."

The trio sat together in the lounge of the two bed luxury apartment planning for a few hours, Suna pulling together a list of equipment they would need. It had gone four in the morning when Eagle finally stood, having finished their plans. Jackal got up and walked him back to the front door.

"Meet us tomorrow at midnight on that roof top."

"You can get that lot together in just a day?" Eagle asked.

"Suna is highly resourceful and reliable, so yes." Jackal replied.

With that Eagle nodded once, then departed. Jackal closed the door and walked back into the lounge.

"You sure about this Sakusa?" Suna asked immediately.

"Yes, I'm about half a million short of a mansion that's just come on the market, and I know his reputation, he's good at what he does, but he's got no real connections, if he attempts to screw me, he will regret it."

Suna just nodded in reply. Jackal turned towards the bedrooms, he paused at the doorway and turned back.

"Sleep in the spare room, don't stay up too late, you have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

--

The job went flawlessly, and that infuriated Sakusa. He had a decision to make now. He had recently heard of a challenge created by of the most illusive and notorious network of criminals of this generation. It required four people, and all he had was Suna right now. It would be stupid of him to dismiss Eagle, he was good at what he did. 

--

They had been working together for six months now, Eagle, or rather, Ushijima had opened up pretty easily, he'd made it clear within the first few months of his interest in Jackal, and recently Jackal had opened up, letting Ushijima into his bedroom, and his heart. As time drifted on, the pair became inseparable.

The pair were currently sat in Sakusa's office in the mansion.

"I've found another four potential targets Sakusa." Ushijima said one evening.

"I'm not taking on all four." Sakusa replied.

"Why not?"

"We don't need to, and it would be high risk to try planing and executing four jobs in such a short space of time."

This was the third argument of its type in the last month alone. Ushijima was becoming obsessed, always seeking out new targets, regardless of the risks. He was becoming reckless and demanding. Sakusa was struggling to control him.

Sakusa ran his finger tips across his forehead wearily. He was done with this repetitive conversation.

"I'm not doing it Ushijima."

"Which one?"

"Any of them. I'm done with this conversation, I'm going to bed."

Sakusa walked off towards his bedroom and closed the door. He heard the office door slam. Sakusa sighed. This was dangerous.

--

In the months that followed, the changes in Ushijima and his hunger for power and control became too much. The final straw for Sakusa was Ushijima returning two days late from a solo job he decided to do, with his arm in a sling due to a dislocated shoulder and bruising across half his face and chest. They once again argued about Ushijima's obsession. 

Sakusa felt the blow as his head snapped sideways. He raised his hand to touch his lip, seeing the blood on his fingertips. He placed his hand on his pistol.

"I suggest you get the fuck out of here, right now Ushijima."

Ushijima put his fist through the wall and stormed out. Sakusa went down to the basement to find Suna.

"Suna, I need your help."

Suna looked up from what he was working on. Noticing Sakusa's cut lip, he frowned.

"I wanted to talk to you actually. He's turning out just like your father. This needs to end." 

"I know, I want to test him, it's why I need your help."

Sakusa laid out his plan to Suna, then walked away back to his office, pausing at the basement stairs.

"Suna, if anyone ever asks, Ushijima never meant anything to me. I never want you to talk to me about him again."

Suna nodded, and Sakusa left.

--

Ushijima returned the following day, with the details of another hit. Sakusa immediately refused it.

"You shut me down from everything now Sakusa." Ushijima shouted.

"With good reason Ushijima, you have been taking any job, regardless of risks for months now, and you're making far too many enemies. You've made targets of all three of us. Nohebi have already made multiple threats. I care about you Wakatoshi, you need to stop."

"I met with Daisho."

"What the fuck?" Sakusa's voice was seething with anger now.

"If you won't give me what I want, I'll get it from him."

"Did you ever care about me Ushijima?"

"No, you were a means to an end, and now you're failing to give it to me, I'll get it elsewhere."

"Whatever you do Ushijima, don't tell him about that hit you just found."

Sakusa watched him walk away, he punched his desk with his fist and poured himself a whiskey. That night Ushijima didn't return.

--

Sakusa was sat at his desk three days later when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jackal, it's Eagle. I'm in trouble."

"What happened?"

"Daisho thinks I double crossed him. He wants the gem collection or he will kill me."

"Did you tell them about the hit?"

"No"

"Ushijima, did you betray me?"

"No."

"No one else could see the hit, it was a fake one created by Suna because I needed to see if you double crossing me. I was correct. You told them about the hit, and they worked out it was fake and thought you were screwing them didn't you? So I'll ask again, Ushijima, did you betray me?"

Sakusa heard an exhale on the other side of the phone.

"Yes."

Pause.

"Sakusa, they are going to kill me."

"I'm aware of that, I tried to warn you, goodbye Ushijima."

Sakusa hangs up.

--

Suna stuck his head around the office door, "Ushijima is back."

Sakusa looked up confused, "send him in."

"I can't," Suna looks down at the floor.

"Is he..?"

"They returned his body."

"Dispose of it."

Suna nodded and left. Sakusa laced his fingers together and lent his chin on them, closing his eyes and sighed.

--

A lone figure dressed in black stood at the foot of the mansion garden. Sakusa bent forward and lay a small stone on the floor next to the wall with Ushijima's name and the date of his death on it.

"I don't regret the last year. I told myself I would do anything to protect you, but it turns out I couldn't protect you from yourself. Goodbye my friend."

Sakusa turns back to the house and walks away.

--

Sakusa stood in a warehouse two days later, Daisho's body at his feet. He walked across the room, stepping carefully around the bodies that littered the floor, and tore down the Nohebi banner. He picked up Eagle's mask and walked out the door.

He lay Eagles mask on the shelf behind his desk, his eyes lingered on it for a moment. He touched the corner of his eye, and removed a single tear on his finger. He stared at it, and frowned, bawling his hands up into fists. 

Never again. He swore to himself there and then, he would never let anyone in again. No one could love him, it wasn't possible. He would keep everyone out. He scrolled down the forum, choosing his next target, despite having just killed more people in one day than he ever had, he felt a inferno inside him that he needed to quell. He needed to kill someone, anyone. Sakusa stood, sliding his pistol into its holster and stepped out the door. 

~~~

2 Years Ago (Sakusa Age 23)

~~~

"Hyena, watch the fuck out!" Suna yelled.

The car hit the barrier and smashed through, dipping into the river. The window's were open and water began flooding in immediately. They both moved to unbuckle their belts, Hyena got out and swam to the surface, Suna moved to undo his and pain shot through his back, he couldn't move.

The car was just about to dip below the surface, so he took a deep breath and twisted through the pain, but he couldn't release the belt. Panic shot through him. The water got darker the deeper he sank. He could no longer hold is breath, the bubbles rose around him as he blew out under water. Suna's lungs started to burn the longer he was starved of oxygen, then everything faded to black.

--

Sakusa used his knife to cut the seat belt off of Suna and pulled him up, dragging him to the bank. He checked for a pulse, there was none, and Suna's chest wasn't moving. He performed three sets of CPR before Suna coughed violently, rolling onto his side and brought up water. Sakusa sat with him as he recovered.

"Where the fuck is Hyena?" Sakusa asked after a while.

"I saw him get out when we were going under."

"What happened?"

"The dipshit put it through the barrier when we were escaping."

--

Suna was lying on the sofa late one afternoon a few days later, when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Suna Rintarō?"

"Yes."

"I am calling as you are listed as next of kin for Terushima Yūji...."

After the call was done, Suna got up and went to Sakusa.

"Hyena's dead, he was rushed to hospital after falling down an elevator shaft. Doctors said there was coke and alcohol in his system."

Sakusa nodded.

--

Suna and Sakusa stood at the bottom of the garden, Suna lay a second stone down with Terushima's name and the date.

"You really were a dipshit, but you were a lot of fun." Suna said, and walked away.

Sakusa stood staring at Ushijima's stone for a few minutes, then bent down and placed his hand on it, before rising and walking away. 

~~~

Chapter Text

Sakusa and Atsumu were in the dining room by the time Osamu and Suna showed their faces again. Suna grinned at the pair sat down as he walked through to the kitchen, his hand laced with Osamu's. Atsumu grimaced at the sight and pushed his plate away, suddenly no longer hungry. 

"I'm gonna go catch up on sleep, cya later Omi." 

With that, Atsumu got up and left. Suna stuck his head round the door as Atsumu walked out, he lent against the door frame. 

"You two good now?" 

"Fine," Sakusa replied bluntly. 

"You know Atsumu will just tell 'Samu and he will just tell me anyway. I know you're a grumpy isolated fuck but you said you wanted to be friends at Christmas, so talk." Suna said, the edge of smirk creepy into his lips as he pushed his luck. "Not asking you to start giving me hugs and tucking me in at night." Suna added.

Suna straightened his face immediately, looking at the reaction on Sakusa's face. Suna waited, watching Sakusa process his options. Eventually he spoke. He had meant to just give the gist, but just like in the lounge with Atsumu, he found himself speaking without thinking, just letting words pour out that he'd kept hidden for up to a year. At the end of it, he felt strangely lighter.

Osamu stuck his head out from the kitchen, around Suna's shoulder then, looking directly at Sakusa.

"I ain't saying' I'm happy about how ya treated him at the start, but if my brother wants to put it behind him and move on, then fine, I accept it too. Do ya actually care about him?" 

Sakusa looked into Osamu's eyes and nodded, then seemingly feeling like it wasn't enough added, "yes." 

"Then never fuckin' hurt him again." 

With that Osamu disappeared back into the kitchen. 

"What if he asks me to?" Sakusa said, deadpan. 

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear ya say that." Osamu yelled from the kitchen. 

Sakusa laughed and got up from the table and walked to the door, turning back to Suna.

"How far are we off attempt five?" 

"Give me a few days, you want that over the cabin as a priority?" 

"Might as well, the security here is too good for anyone to get a bomb in here, which reminds me, next cabin, I want the same security. Let's do attempt five, then go deal with the cabin, might as well have the timer on the next attempt counting down if we fail." 

With that, Sakusa left the room.

--

Atsumu woke from his nap and stretched, glancing at the clock he saw it was early afternoon. He walked to his window and opened the curtains, it was lightly snowing again. He watched it falling, the gardens really were beautiful. Out the corner of his eye, he saw a figure in black walking away from the house, down the garden, and disappearing through a gate. He recognised Sakusa's walk. His curiosity piqued, he grabbed his coat and headed downstairs.

 Atsumu unlatched the gate and closed it behind him, he stands on the edge, of what he can only describe as a cliff, about half a story of sheer drop to the next level of the garden. Steps of a cream coloured stone are just visible through the snow, working their way steeply down the path below him. The area is small, about the size of a narrow back garden of a town house in a busy city. Densely packed trees flanked either side, obscuring the rest of the view. 

Sakusa was stood at the far end, just in front of a low stone wall. Beyond the wall, the high security gating around the mansion stood, black, modern and striking in comparison to the run down stone wall. Atsumu stood at the top of the steps, watch Sakusa. His back was to Atsumu, looking down at the ground. Atsumu walked quietly down the steps, his feet crunching softly on the snow as he approached and saw what Sakusa was looking at. 

One stone, cleared of most of its snow, baring Ushijima's name, and a date from five years ago, another pile of snow sat sightly high along side it, which Atsumu assumed contained another stone, its name obscured. Sakusa made no acknowledgement as Atsumu stepped forward slowly to stand along side him. The pair just stood in silence for a while, both staring at the stone. 

"Ya loved him didn't ya?" The words were barely above a whisper, but Sakusa heard them clear as day. 

"I don't know what love is." 

Atsumu stayed silent at that, walking over to the low stone wall, he sat on the ground in the little pocket that had been left clear of snow thanks to the protection of the wall, and lent his back against it, watching Sakusa. After a few minutes, Sakusa joined him. They sat side by side, the echo of another time came back to Sakusa, sat in that alleyway, watching his leg bleeding, Suna coming to sit by him, and Sakusa telling him his story. 

"Do you want to hear how Suna and I met?"

"If ya wanna tell me, then yeah." Atsumu replied, turning his head to face the other. 

"Well, the story starts when I was twelve.." 

--

"Suna saved me that day, I lied to you when I said I was the one to kill my father. I told Suna to never tell anyone differently, I told him not to tell anyone about what happened between Ushijima. I never wanted to remember the truth."

With that, Sakusa carried on, telling Atsumu what really happened between him and Ushijima. All of it this time.

--

"My father told me what he did to me was out of love, that he was making me strong, more resilient, that he wanted me to be able to stand alone in the world and never need anyone. Ushijima told me he loved me, but he only ever loved money and power. They were both so a like."

Sakusa's brow furrowed at the memories.

"I always thought I did love Ushijima, but Suna came to me last month and told me how he felt about your brother, that he thought he loved him. I asked Suna to describe that feeling, and he talked about butterflies. I never felt a moment like that with Ushijima. He was in my heart and it hurt to lose him, but there was never that wow moment like in the movies. I always just assumed that was something made up for Hollywood but Suna had that moment. I’m really happy for him."

Sakusa smiled then. 

"Suna is the only family I have now, and although we were born to different parents, we are brothers. It’s nice to watch my brother fall in love and be so happy."

"Same here Omi, I know 'Samu loves Suna, hell, he probably has for a long time now." 

Atsumu paused for a moment, looking down. He clasped his hands together, thinking for a moment before he continued. 

"I always kinda figured ya had a rough life but fuck, I wasn’t expectin' it to be that fuckin' bad Omi. It all kinda makes a lot more sense now, the way ya act, how ya are. Yer both Jackal and Sakusa."

Atsumu reached out and took Sakusa's hand then. They sat together as snow started to fall lightly around them, Atsumu watched the way the tiny flakes sat in Sakusa's black curls, and he smiled. The sharp contrast between the black and white was striking, it was so fitting, just like the contrast between Sakusa and Jackal, two sides of the same person, torn down the middle by horrific events that he may never recover from, but here he was, trying. That was all Atsumu could ever ask for.

"I killed them all, I wiped out the whole gang that killed Ushijima. I swore then that I wouldn't let anyone in ever again." Sakusa's voice trailed off, getting softer and softer as he spoke, until the last words were barely audible. 

Atsumu squeezed Sakusa's hand softly. 

"I'm not him Omi, I'll never be like him. Only thing I want in life is a place to call home and for 'Samu to be happy. And maybe a little garden to tend, always wanted to grow my own crops, gives 'Samu somethin' home grown to cook with 'cos he loves to cook. That was always the dream for me. Save up enough for me and him to get a little place together, give him the life he deserves."

He laughs then, "guess that plan didn't really work out, but if he's happy, I'm happy.

Atsumu looks lost in thought for a little while then, Sakusa stretching his back out, and getting more conformable against the wall snapped him back out of it.

"Ma told 'Samu and me a bunch of stuff before she died. I really didn't understand most of 'em at the time, but one stuck with me over time, and now I understand it. She said that lust and desire are like fresh cut roses, they look pretty and ya reap the reward instantly, but they wither and die pretty fast."

Atsumu smiled, his mind wandering back to his ma saying the words to him just before she died. 

"She said that love is like a garden. It takes hard work, dedication and time. Ya have to dig the ground and sow the seeds, then ya have to nurture it, but after time and effort, you'll get to reap the rewards. If you really take care of it, there's no reason why you can't keep the garden in bloom forever."

They sat in silence after that, time drifted, but neither moved, save the odd twitch of a finger on their clasped hands. Atsumu used his spare hand to sweep the snow off Sakusa's shoulder, then lent his head against it. To his surprise a few minutes later, he felt Sakusa's head lean against his own. They stayed there, even as it got colder, even as the sun started to sink. 

It wasn't until dusk had truly set in that they finally moved. Without a word, they just stood together, and started to walk back into the house. Something lingered in the air, like the breaking of a thunderstorm in the middle of a hot summers day, no words were spoken, but something passed between them that they both felt in the very cores of their being. 

At the top of the steps, Sakusa turned back to look at the stone one last time. Atsumu let his hand go then, walking a few steps away. He turned back, and looked at Sakusa. 

"Thanks for giving me the second thing I asked for. I forgive ya Omi, for everythin' ya ever done." 

With that, Atsumu walked back to the house, leaving Sakusa standing in the near darkness, watching the stone he could barely see anymore through the dark. Then, for the second time since he was thirteen, he broke down in tears and cried. 

Chapter Text

It took them until the 7th of January for them to be ready for the next Blaker attempt. When they arrived and parked up, the four iris scanners were red, and there was a matte black top spec Range Rover Sport parked in the far space. Sakusa pulled up and parked and they exited the car. A timer was displayed on the outside where the scoreboard normally was, there was less than ten minutes on the clock. 

Sakusa walked over to the black car, and looked at the plate, scoffing. 

N3K0 C4T

He rolled his eyes under his mask and walked back to the other three. 

"Ya know who it is?"

"Yeah, it's.. " Sakusa started, then his eyes flicked to the screen, the timer had just turned red and the counter shot down to thirty seconds. Four males dressed in full black body suits rushed out the door as the counter hit three seconds. The tallest one was dragging the shortest. The shortest one collapsed on the floor, disheveled, a few bits of blond hair stuck out the end of his mask. 

"Ku.." one of the men standing started, before the tallest one snapped a head to him, telling him to shut up. The speaker looked up then, seeing they weren't alone. He walked over to the scoreboard as it lit up, showing their team in second place, having got to room seven. 

"Since when does a dumpster trash mafia have an interest in this kind of thing?" Sakusa sneered, his eyes on the tallest man.

"Jackal," the tallest man taunted, "scared we are catching up?"

  Sakusa's eyes flicked to the scoreboard, "having trouble with a little riddle Cat?"

The taller man shot a look sideways at the next tallest male, then looked back at Jackal. 

"Next time we'll go ahead of you."

"I seriously doubt it, Kuroo." Jackal replied. 

The tallest man stiffened then, "how the fuck did you know that?" he hissed out. 

"Guess my hacker is better than Kenma over there." Jackal smirked.

Kuroo balled his hands into his fists, but the quick flick of the head towards the blond sat on the ground gave away everything. 

"Lets go." Kuroo snapped at the other three. They followed him to his car.

"Run along kitty, let the professionals do their work." Jackal jeers at Kuroo's retreating back. 

"Was that the Nekoma crew?" Atsumu asked. 

"It was at least Kuroo and Kenma." Sakusa replied, as the black car left the parking bay and exited the ramp.

"How did you know it was Kenma? You've never asked me to look up information on them." Suna said.

"Stab in the dark, but Kuroo confirmed it for me. That was nice of him." Sakusa said as he stepped towards the scanners.

"I would place good money on a merger Jackal," Suna said, looking up from his phone, "there's been talks recent of the Owls joining them, and judging by the heights and builds of the two others next to Kuroo, I would say they were Bokuto and Akaashi." 

"Akaashi Keiji?" Osamu asked, frowning behind his mask.

"Yes, why, you know him?" Suna replied. 

"A while ago yes, 'Tsumu and I both did, he's a highly skilled lock picker." 

Osamu glanced sideways then at Atsumu, Osamu's eyes narrowed, and Atsumu looked away. 

"A Nekoma Fukurodani merger makes things more interesting, especially as they made it to room seven. Suna, dig up everything you can on those four when we are back and anyone else associated with the four of them. This could be a problem." 

--

They progressed through to room eight, with nearly twenty minutes on the clock, Sakusa had put them through a test run every day for the last week, their record time so far was in room eight with 20:47 on the clock. 

Atsumu glanced at the timer as he lowered himself. 18:58. He was hanging from the ceiling now, two lines out to Suna and Osamu, holding him steady, just above the lock. He took a deep breath to calm himself, glancing at Sakusa, who's black eyes were locked on him. He swallowed, then focused. 

A few minutes later, they were through into room nine. 17:12. The room was completely blank grey metal tile, with the exception of four tiles near the four corners that had footprints on them. Atsumu frowned, walked over and stood on one of the sets of footprints, the tile began to glow. The rest moved to a respective corner each, Sakusa joined Atsumu on the right side, the others taking the left. When Suna finally stepped on the back left tile, four sheets of metal shot up around Atsumu, that went to the ceiling. 

Each wall had two locks on it, of various designs. This room seemed strangely easy in comparison to the last few, the locks weren't even challenging ones, he could get through most of them in thirty seconds. He pulled out his tools and inserted them into the first lock, and watched it tremor. To his horror, the walls started moving towards him. 

Atsumu had never been particularly claustrophobic and he was used to working under pressure, but he knew that Osamu hated confined spaces. He needed to get out of this cage as fast as possible and get to his brother. Right now, he had the time and space to move freely, so he used that to his advantage to finish the first wall with ease. The walls were still a good few inches from him as he started on the second. 

 His discomfort grew towards the end of the third wall, the wall behind him was now touching him, he shifted forward slightly, struggling to get his tools back out of the lock. He was on the final one when he was starting to feel the walls crushing him, his arms could no longer fit comfortably by his sides, but were squashed up in front of him. He let out a breath when the light went green and all the walls pulled away, sinking back into the floor. 

A central console displayed now with each side facing a cage, with eight replica locks on each side, his side were all green. He could see Osamu and Sakusa still had two left each. He moved immediately to Osamu's side, and saw Suna was on his last. Atsumu crouched, shoving his tools into the replica eighth lock of his brothers cage. Osamu finished his seventh as Atsumu finished the eight, and he watched the cage fall around his brother. 

Suna's released a few seconds later, as Atsumu ran to Sakusa's console. Atsumu hit the floor hard, thrusting his tools into the lock as a beeping sound started from Sakusa's cage, the lock in front of Atsumu started to turn red. Atsumu went into auto pilot, not thinking, just reacting. He forgot how to do anything else than the task in front of him, he let out a breath as it went green, doubled forward, panting in air he had forgotten to take in. The cage released, and he was met with an unpleasant sight. Sakusa had dislocated both of his shoulders in order to fit in the tiny cage. Atsumu's stomach turned as Sakusa put his joints back together. 

The grim horror of the situation momentarily made them forget they were against the clock, Atsumu snapped his head up to the timer as Suna opened the tenth door. 3:12. The room contained a glass cube, half the top was slid back to allow entry, and there were steps up and down both sides. There were ten locks on the two side walls, five locks on either side of the final door, and the floor of the inside of the tank contained fifteen. 

The four observed every detail about the room for a minute, then turned and walked out. That was it, the final room. They now had a month to come up with a plan for the ninth room and practice. Suna was already muttering away to himself, listing off options for how to rig up a test cage safely and ways to assist them inside. 

The four walked back to the parking bays, seeing the scoreboard update with the tenth room failure, they got into their cars, and exited. None of them noticed the man in a white shirt and shades, with short spiky brown hair, taking photos of them, parked in a black car across the street. 

--

Osamu was in Atsumu's room later that afternoon while Suna was working on digging out information on Kuroo and the others. 

"Ya gonna tell Suna 'Samu?"

"What the fuckin' hell am I meant to say 'Tsumu? Are ya going to tell Sakusa?" 

"What do I have to tell Sakusa about? Mine was just work, yers... weren't." 

"It was three fuckin' years ago 'Tsumu. I'm done with this fuckin' conversation."

With that Osamu got up and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Atsumu lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, worry clouding his face. He hoped Osamu knew what he was doing, before this comes back to bite them.   

--

Suna knocked and entered Sakusa's office the following evening. 

"I've dug up everything I can on the four, short of sending someone to monitor them. I will start research into anyone they know soon, but I'm trying to sort out the cabin at the same time."

He had four folders under his arm, he walked over to Sakusa's desk and placed down the first folder, with details of Kuroo. He flipped through a few pages, pulling out a photograph and passed it to Sakusa.

The photo was of a tall man with messy black hair that stuck up from his head and fell over one eye. He was wearing a skin tight black V neck long sleeve tee-shirt, black skin tight jeans and heavy black lace up leather boots. A black leather strapped watch, and a black leather bracelet with silver spikes on clung to his thin wrists. His fingers were covered in silver rings. A lit cigarette hung from his mouth and he let against the back of a black 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle with the top down. A man with blond hair fading into black roots sat in the passenger seat. 

"That's Kenma behind him then." 

Suna handed him the next file, a description of Kenma, but no photo. 

"I couldn't find a clean shot of him anywhere, but he's in the background of Kuroo in a few photos, so we know most of his physical description apart from his face.

Suna dropped a third file on his desk, and Sakusa flipped it open. He didn't recognise the man before him, but he knew the name. Bokuto. Sakusa scoffed at the two tone hair. The only things Sakusa noted from the picture aside from the sharp suit, was a silenced pistol holstered at his hip, and the fact he wore black leather gloves. Interesting. Sakusa opened the fourth file, Akaashi Keiji. Most of the file was blank. Sakusa looked up questioningly to Suna. 

"Only thing I could dig up was this." Suna said, placing down a grainy photograph that looked like it came from an old CCTV camera. 

The photo showed what was clearly Kuroo and Bokuto's side profiles flanking the back of what he assumed was Kenma based upon height, and a fourth figure on his knees in front of a safe. The crouched man had his head turned slightly, clearly speaking to Bokuto. His face was masked, but just visible was a deep blue striking eye. 

"It would seem someone, or I should say, two people, taught Akaashi how to pick locks and hide efficiently." Suna said. 

Sakusa nodded, looking up at Suna.

"Where are the twins?"

Chapter Text

Oikawa was nervous. Oikawa didn't do nervous, it wasn't a personality trait he ever dwelled on. He worked hard, his determination and charm allowed him to work his way up the ranks at his last prefecture. Here he was now, age twenty six, recently transferred to Seijoh, named after the Blue Castle pub next door. This was merely an office style offshoot of the main police station further into the city, but it was Oikawa's new home. 

Seijoh was run by a Detective Chief Inspector Matsukawa, who Oikawa was here to meet now as he opened the door and walked in. It opened up immediately to six L shaped desks, nested against the walls, three on each side, with a walkway between. At the back, up a few steps, on the right,was a glass office with a large desk and a meeting room table and chairs, currently empty. A small kitchenette filled the space on the left, with a door stood off to the side of the kitchen marked as a washroom. 

The two desks immediately on the left of Oikawa were completely empty, the final one had a name plate on it that Oikawa couldn't read from a distance, the back right two were also currently empty but littered with personal effects. A head of pinkish brown hair looked up at him from the first desk on the right as Oikawa shut the door behind him. 

"You must be Oikawa, I'm Inspector Hanamaki, but everyone calls me Makki." Makki said, standing, offering Oikawa a hand.

Oikawa took it, shaking lightly. He wasn't sure what to make of the hair colour but his moderate priced grey suit and white shirt was neat and clean. Makki sat back down as he let go of Oikawa's hand.

"Mattsun, Matsukawa that is," Makki added, for clarification, "is running late, so while you're waiting, grab a free desk and get yourself set up. Coffee?" 

"Please," Oikawa replied, "cream and sugar." 

Makki got up and walked away up the steps into the kitchen area. Oikawa could hear him humming away to himself. Oikawa walked to the front left desk, took off his black suit jacket, placing it on the back of his chair, and rolled the sleeves of his pale teal shirt to his elbows. He set down his black leather shoulder bag, pulling out a small digital notebook, and a ultra thin laptop. He placed his bag in the bottom draw of his desk and sat down, opening the laptop and booting it up.

"Guess they paid better in your last place." Makki commented, setting the coffee down, nodding his head at the expensive gadgets.

"The sales lady insisted on giving me a huge discount," Oikawa replied with a shrug, "thanks for the coffee." 

Makki rolled his eyes at that, and walked back to his desk. Fucking pretty boys. Over the next thirty minutes, several others came in, greeted Makki fondly, and introduced themselves to Oikawa. A tall guy with black hair, Kindaichi, and a slightly shorter male with a long hair and a middle parting, introduced himself as Kunimi. The pair sat in the back row, with a third male with mousy brown hair that sat in the middle desk between Makki and Kindaichi, Yahaba. 

Yahaba was introduced as a Sergeant, the other two at the lowest level of Constable. Oikawa was from a specialist branch that equated to around Makki's level, meaning he technically outranked the other three, but standard protocols didn't really bother him, he never was one to conform to hierarchy as long as he was respected. They were a team now, as long as they focused on that, nothing else mattered. Oikawa always had a knack of coxing the best out of the people around him, regardless of rank or status.

Oikawa was listening to Kindaichi and Kunimi discussing a recent murder, as Yahaba moved around the room dropping mugs of coffee off on their desks. The door opened then and a tall dark haired man with large black eyebrows walked in. He commanded respect and moved in an assertive manor. 

"You must be Oikawa," he said, offering his hand, "Detective Chief Inspector Matsukawa. A pleasure to meet you, your reputation and case closure record is exceptional. We are glad to have you on the team."

Oikawa stood, and shook hands with Matsukawa, waiting. 

"He'll be here in two minutes Mattsun." Makki said suddenly from behind them, looking up from his phone. 

"Alright. Oikawa, your induction will have wait, I need to deal with something first."

Matsukawa swept away from them then, heading up the steps to his office, leaving the door open. He removed his suit jacket and placed it on the coat hook by the door.  Oikawa sat with his new coffee in hand, door watching, wondering who would be arriving. Makki hadn't made any comments about someone else starting, and Matsukawa had told him there were only the five of them who worked out the office. 

His curiosity was answered less than a minute later when the door opened to reveal a man with short brown spiky hair and dark eyes. His face was set passively, and he was wearing a white shirt, with a black leather shoulder gun holster over it, black suit trousers and black shoes. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbow and the top button was undone. Oikawa couldn't help but notice the way his arms packed out his shirt impressively. His eyes swept over Oikawa briefly as he closed the door, and stalked off up to Matsukawa's office without acknowledging anyone, shutting the office door as he entered. 

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, looking towards Makki, who was scrolling through his phone and didn't notice. Who the hell was that guy? None of the others around him reacted at all, so it would appear this was a normal occurrence. Oikawa was distracted from his musings when the Matsukawa's office door opened and Matsukawa walked out, called Oikawa's name, and gestured him to come up. 

Oikawa got up, walked up the steps and walked in. The unknown man was stood by the door as Oikawa entered, he proceeded to close the door after Oikawa. Oikawa nodded thanks and waited for Matsukawa to speak. 

"Oikawa, you were requested to transfer here to join a team of four people, but it will fundamentally be two. Five years ago there was a brutal mass murder, wiping out every member of a notorious gang known as Nohebi. The prime suspect is an assassin known as Eagle who was rumoured to be working with them. No ones heard a whisper from him in the time since, and it's assumed he's gone underground."

Matsukawa looked up then, seeing Oikawa nod in acknowledgement, so he continued. 

"You two will be the primary people in the field on this, with Makki taking lead. The others you can make use for stake outs and the likes if required, run all of those types of requests by Makki. Makki has the full details of everything you will need to know Oikawa. Head out now and ramp up with him." 

Oikawa paused at the dismissal, turning to the unknown man, and offering a hand.

"Junior Detective Oikawa, it's a pleasure to meet you." 

"I'm sure," the other said, shaking his hand briefly, then pulled out his wallet, extracted a business card, and passed it over. "Call me when you've been briefed and have something of use." 

Oikawa looked down at the card in his hand. It was plain white with three words and a phone number printed in a harsh black font. Iwaizumi - Private Investigator. Oikawa frowned at the card, then walked out the door, closing it behind him. Oikawa was used to living a fairly charmed life, from the girls fawning over him throughout high school, to the ease in which he excelled both in athleticism and academics. Everywhere he went, people always fell for his charms. Well, until he met the stone cold rock of a man standing in the office behind him. Oikawa sighed, and walked over to Makki. 

--

Two days later, Oikawa was sat at his desk, pouring over the piles of files Makki had given him. He detested paper. There were another three boxes of files behind him, and not a single one of them were digital yet. He noticed the business card wedged in his keyboard then, he picked it and his phone up and walked out the office into the corridor outside, dialing the number. After three rings, a deep voice answered.

"Iwaizumi. Talk." 

"Iwa, how are you?" Oikawa started, pleasantly. 

Oikawa heard a sharp exhale at the other end of the line, and Oikawa pouted. Great start. 

"Do you have anything useful Oikawa?" 

"How did you know it was me?" Oikawa said, confused.

"Only you, Makki and Mattsun have this number. Any other stupid questions?" 

"Not a very good private investigator if we are the only ones who have your number." Oikawa shot back, annoyed.

"I have my work phone, this phone and my private phone. When I asked if you had any more stupid questions, I didn't actually mean for you to carry on asking them Oikawa. Do you have anything of actually importance or can I hang up now?"

"Wow Iwa, has anyone ever told you that you're really charismatic~!" Oikawa sang out, "Makki has given me four boxes of folders to read, and there are no digital copies. Do you have anything digital you can send me?" 

"No."

Oikawa frowned. What was wrong with this place? 

"Do you want to come by the office to start going through the files?"

"No. Anything else?"

"No, I.."

The sound of the line being disconnected stopped Oikawa talking. He stood, staring at his phone. What the fuck? Oikawa pocketed his phone walked back into the office, sat down, pulled another file towards him and started typing. 

--

Three weeks. Three painfully long and boring weeks, but Oikawa was finally done. He double tapped on an icon on his desktop, and let the algorithm run. Oikawa had written it himself, he had started simple with it a year ago, feeding it a single case file and the correct answers, but over time, developed it to cope with mass amounts of data, flagging any and every similarity between crime scene evidence, including photo recognition. This program was the reason for him having the highest case closure rate for the last two years at his old job. 

He lent back on his chair, watches the results popping up on his screen. He sipped coffee slowly, most of the results weren't strong enough links to be of any interest unless they matched multiple cases, or enough small pieces of evidence came together. The kind of thing that got overlooked by humans but were flagged by a computer that had no emotional range to dismiss it subconsciously as coincidental. 

Oikawa launched himself forwards as as line of red text displayed. He grabbed his phone and dialed Iwa's number. Oikawa spoke before Iwa had finished saying his name, reading out the text that was currently displayed on his screen. Iwa remained silent for a few seconds, then gave Oikawa his personal address and told him to come over. 

Oikawa hung up, flipped his laptop closed, stashed it in his bag and headed out the door to flag down a taxi. If this connection panned out, they may have found a way of tracking down a man who had evaded police reach for over a decade.  

A notorious assassin known as Jackal.

Chapter Text

Time was always a fickle thing. The moment Suna heard the words out of Sakusa's mouth, it felt like time sped up. Where are the twins? Be far away from here, Suna mentally pleaded, be so far away, so he never had to heard the words. Suna had seen it in the look in Osamu's eyes, he'd heard it in the tone of his voice. Osamu knew Akaashi. He knew Akaashi well. Just how close had they been? Did he want to know? Was this going to reawaken something? Suna had finally got to the point where he opened up and let someone in for the first time since his brother had been murdered and he met Sakusa. Was it all about to crumble? 

Suna followed Sakusa down the stairs. With each step, he felt the weight of the dread increasing. He'd told Osamu in the kitchen last year that he couldn't promise him anything, and he guessed in a way, that was still true, none of them were guaranteed tomorrow. His favourite phrase rung  true now more than ever. Yesterday's history, tomorrow's accessory. They never knew how much time they had left. All too soon they made it to the second floor, Sakusa knocked on Atsumu's door and entered. Atsumu was there alone, his face was pulled downwards. 

"What happened?" Sakusa asked. 

"We.. got into a fight." Atsumu replied, looking at the floor. 

"Suna, go get Osamu, bring him to the lounge." 

Suna walked out at the dismissal from Sakusa, and headed along the corridor to his boyfriends room. He needed more time. He knocked on the door and opened it. Osamu was sat on his bed, tears falling silently down his face. Suna felt a tear rip in his heart as he walked across the room and sat next to him. 

"Sakusa wants to know everything you and Atsumu know about Akaashi. He wants you in the lounge." Suna said softly, reaching out to wrap his hand around Osamu's. 

Osamu didn't grip back, he just sat looking at Suna's hand for a few moments. He sighed softly and stood up. 

"Right." 

Suna watched his hand fall away as Osamu stood, then watched Osamu's back as he walked out the room. Suna hung his head. He didn't even know what happened, but Osamu's reactions were speaking louder than words now. He got up and followed, that was all he could do now, follow his heart and find out if it was going to end up broken. 

The three were sat in the lounge in silence when Suna entered. Suna's eyes went to Osamu immediately and wished he hasn't looked. Osamu was glaring at his brother. Sakusa and Suna had seen the twins argue a lot, even physically fight, but this look right now, was like nothing Suna had ever seen. 

"We gotta tell 'em 'Samu..." Atsumu started. 

Osamu didn't react at all, just continued to stare at his brother like he wished the other didn't exist. It sent a chill around the room. Atsumu turned away from his brother and started to talk. He spoke about it clinically, like he was telling someone else's story. They met Akaashi eight years ago when they were all seventeen, they knew each other five years, and three years ago, Akaashi vanished without a trace. Sakusa glanced from Atsumu to Osamu. 

"Now, what aren't you telling us?" Sakusa asked as he finished speaking. 

Atsumu sighed and opened his mouth to speak. Before he uttered a word, Osamu hissed out two words. 

"You promised." 

Atsumu swallowed, looking his brother dead in the eye. 

"I know I did brother, and I love ya and wouldn't ever wanna hurt ya, but this is something that can be used against ya. We thought he was gone, but now he ain't. I don't wanna see ya hurt." 

Atsumu then spoke the words that shattered the room. 

"Osamu and Akaashi were together for the last three years before he disappeared." 

Osamu lunged out of his seat, his left hand grabbing a fist full of Atsumu's hoodie, the right making contact with his jaw. Osamu hit him four times before Sakusa and Suna managed to pull him off his brother.

 "Fuck you!" He screamed, "ya fuckin' swore to me ya would never say anythin' about it ever again and ya fucking betrayed me! Yer not my fuckin' brother."

Sakusa bent Osamu's arms behind his back and dragged him to the door, throwing him out into the corridor. 

"Go calm the fuck down." Sakusa said, turning back to Atsumu and walking away.

Suna stood in the lounge doorway, looking down at Osamu in a heap on the floor in the corridor.

He bent down and placed a hand on Osamu's arm, but Osamu threw him off, pushing himself up and walking away. 

"You still love Akaashi don't you?" Suna called after him. 

"Yes." Osamu replied. 

"Did you ever love me, or was I just a replacement because you lost him?" Suna said, his voice breaking at the end

Osamu just walked away.

--

Atsumu walked up to his brothers room, opening the door gently, the light was off. He sighed.

"He's gone." 

Atsumu flicked on the light to see Suna sat on the floor at the footer of the bed. His eyes were red and swollen, his face pulled down. 

"You knew he loved someone else, and you didn't tell me. I warned you against Sakusa even though he's the only family I had left, and you didn't warn me." 

"I'm sorry..." Atsumu started. 

"Don't. Just get out."

--

Atsumu climbed every stair one at a time, until he reached the gold leaf door. By the time he got there, he was so emotionally broken he just collapsed against the door, too numb to even cry. A moment later, it opened, Sakusa bent down and pulled him to his feet, leading him to his bed. 

Sakusa pulled off Atsumu's top and pulled back the covers, half dragging, half carrying Atsumu into bed and covering him over. Sakusa climbed into bed on his side, and pulled Atsumu into his arms. He lay there, carding his fingers through Atsumu's hair and rubbing his back. Atsumu felt the tears falling. 

"It'll be okay, we'll get through this." Sakusa pressed his lips to Atsumu's forehead, and held him until the blond fell asleep.

--

Suna moved through the house, he had no idea what the time was, he had no destination, he just wanted to move. Time crawled now, the irony was so cruel. He walked past the kitchen, and could hear the echo of Osamu's laugh, he walked towards the front door, remembering the night Osamu had backed him against the door and asked him to stay. The memories came back, one by one, washing over him, tightening their grip on his heart, crushing it.  

He pressed his forehead to the glass of the front door, his eyes closed. His hand caressed against the wood where he once pinned Osamu. Was that all the time they were ever meant to have? Did they build this all for nothing? Was it ruined now? Hundreds of memories of their moments together fluttered through his blinking eyes. He opened his eyes, staring out into the dark grounds. 

The edge of the garage was visible, where his lotus was parked.  His mind wandered back to the day he picked the twins up when Sakusa was testing their loyalty. The night Osamu spent in his bed, all the nights he had since. Suna had let him in completely, and with it, knew way too much to ever forget. 

The way his nose crinkled slightly when he laughed. The way he always had to check everything was off on the oven twice before he left the kitchen. The way he always stood on one foot outside the shower when he tested the temperature. Suna knew the way he thought, the way he tasted, the way he touched. A thousand finger prints lingered over Suna's body. He could remember every one of them, feel them all ghosted across his skin. 

Movement caught his eye then, he looked down. Osamu. He was sat outside the front door, his back leaning against it, facing out into the dark night. His hood was pulled over his head, but Suna knew it was him. Suna sunk onto his knees, turning around, placing his back to the door as well, mirroring his boyfriend. Boyfriend? His brain supplied the word before he considered it. Was he?

Suna let out a sigh. It was the middle of the night in late January. Osamu must be freezing. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled himself up, opening the door and stepping outside. Osamu didn't react at all. Suna bent down and picked Osamu up. Suna was strong, but not strong enough to carry him up two flights of stairs, but he made it into the lounge. Osamu didn't resist, didn't move at all. His eyes were closed, and his face was a perfect mask. Expressionless. 

Suna lay him down on the sofa, and grabbed a blanket from the hallway cupboard, placed it gently over Osamu and tucked it around him, then got up and walked away, switching off the lounge light. He shut the front door, and headed upstairs. He reached the second floor, his room, which he hadn't slept in for so long now, was on the third floor. He walked along the corridor into Osamu's room, and crawled under the covers on Osamu's side of the bed, drawing them up to his chin. Osamu's scent swamped his head, proving comfort despite everything. This was his home. Osamu was his home. 

Time was indeed a fickle thing. He couldn't cling to this scent if Osamu wasn't there to replenish it. Like everything in life, this too would fade with time. With that realisation making his chest ache, Suna closed his eyes and tried to sleep. 

--

"I love ya Sunarin."

Osamu was standing in front of him, only a towel wrapped around his waist. Suna was lying on their bed, having got out the shower fifteen minutes ago, wearing just boxers. 

"Come here baby." Suna called, patting the bed. 

As soon as Osamu was lying down, Suna's hands snaked over him, running from the fabric at his hips, up onto his waist. Suna shifted on top of Osamu, one hand wrapping around the back of his neck, kissing across his collar bone, neck and throat, up to his jaw and onto his lips. He slid his tongue inside Osamu's mouth, feeling the way the other caved to him. 

Suna moved his hand up from Osamu's neck into his hair, carding his fingers up, and gripping lightly. Heat rose between them as Osamu let out a soft moan at the touch. They lay there, kissing deeply, running their hands all over each other for a few minutes before Suna pulled back, shifting onto his knees, his inner thighs pressed against Osamu's. Suna worked kisses down Osamu's neck and collarbone again, then across his pecs. He took one of Osamu's nipples between his teeth, rolling them gently, listening to the gasps above him. 

He ran his nails lightly over Osamu's body as he continued to tease. Osamu's hand came up into his hair, pushing it back, playing with the studs that littered his ear. Suna grinned and shifted further back, eyeing the way the towel now stood away from Osamu's body. Suna ran his hand against the fabric, watching Osamu twisting below him. 

Suna unwrapped the towel, pulling it out from under Osamu, and dumping it on the floor. He nested himself on his knees between Osamu's thighs, running his index finger from Osamu's knee to his inner thigh, and back down again. Osamu let out a hiss of annoyance, causing Suna to grin. He let forward, placing a palm flat on the bed to the side of Osamu's hip to support him, and ran his tongue from base to head of Osamu's cock, locking eyes with Osamu as he did. Osamu's eyes rolled back into his head, and he tipped his head back, closing his eyes. 

Suna took Osamu's head into his mouth then, and gripped the shaft gently with his free hand. He slid his mouth down over his Osamu, using his tongue to taste every inch of him. He felt himself growing harder at the sounds Osamu was making. He shifted his hand up and down slowly, as he dipped his head down further and further. Osamu let out a ragged moan when Suna pushed down so far, his head impacted the back of Suna's throat. Suna repeated the action a few times, before pulling away and sitting back up. 

He left one hand stroking Osamu's shaft lightly, while the other he picked up a bottle of lube and used his thumb to flip open the lid. He heard the little noise of loss from Osamu as he withdrew his hand, squeezing lube onto his index finger, then moved Osamu's legs further apart. Suna rubbed his index and middle finger with his thumb, to spread the lube and warm it up. He ran his finger around Osamu's entrance, before gently sliding a finger in.

Suna heard Osamu's breath hitch at the sensation, and felt his own cock move in response. He slowly worked his fingers into Osamu, savouring the way Osamu twitched and moaned. Suna removed his fingers, opened a condom packet and rolled one down himself, then worked lube over himself, using his hand to warm it. 

He shuffled forward picking up one of Osamu's thighs to shift him slightly, then lined up, pushing in slowly, waiting for Osamu to adjust. When he felt Osamu relax around him, he pressed slightly deeper, until he was fully inside. Suna bent forward, his arms resting either side of Osamu's chest.

"You okay 'Samu?" he called softly. 

Osamu hums positively in response, his eyes still closed. 

"Look at me." 

Osamu opened his eyes, looking up at Suna smiling at him. Osamu's eyes screamed with lust as Suna filled him, it was hard for Suna to keep still inside Osamu, but he needed to know Osamu was okay first. 

"I love you baby. Sure you're okay?" Suna asked again.

"I love ya too Rin, but for the love of god, fuck me already, I need ya." 

Any level of resistance snapped in Suna then, as he pulled his hips away from Osamu and back again, watching the way Osamu's face screwed up in front of him. Suna moved slowly and gently until Osamu's face relaxed again, then increased in speed. Suna used Osamu's hips for purchase as he thrust harder. He knew he hit his mark when Osamu started to moan louder and louder, writhing beneath him, his eyes screwed closed and his face in pure ecstasy.  

"Rin.... Rin... Rin.... "

The words were like a drug to Suna, it was pushing him over the edge. He knew Osamu was close now, as he was almost incoherently saying his name now, Suna moved faster, watching with satisfaction as Osamu spilled over himself. He finished a few seconds later, collapsing most of his weight onto his hands, shaking slightly. He stilled there, panting, raking his eyes over the boy below him, sweating and utterly wrecked. 

Osamu pushed himself up onto his elbows, wrapping a hand around Suna's neck and kissing him passionately on the lips.

Suna woke with a start, panting. His hand went out to the other side of the bed, finding it empty and cold. He sat up, bringing his hand up, running his fingers across his lips. It had felt so real, like Osamu had just been kissing him. The events of the night came back to him slowly, causing the dream to slip away from him like sand in an egg timer. The harder he tried to hold onto it, the faster it fell away. Suna sighed, and lay back down, attempting to go back to sleep.

Chapter Text

"How exactly does this point to Jackal?"

Oikawa was stood in Iwaizumi's dingy studio flat. Nearly everything was a shade of grey, and it would seem he was adverse to technology. The kitchenette lacked a dishwasher, it even lacked a coffee maker. Oikawa wrinkled his nose at the sight. How could anyone survive without fresh coffee? Oikawa's eyes lingered over the double bed. Surprising. Iwaizumi didn't seem like the type to let anyone in. 

Iwaizumi was sat on one end of a two seater sofa, looking at Oikawa's laptop on the coffee table, his expression blank, waiting for answers. Oikawa pulled his brain away from the lack of furniture and character in the depressing flat and started to talk.

 "Well, it all started with a man named Kita Shinsuke who had his identity stolen. He reported around a year ago now. A card with his name was used to purchase groceries about a week before Christmas last year. I pulled the CCTV and two guys in hoods and masks made the purchase. They loaded their stuff into the black of a black van. Plates came back to Kita Shinsuke as well."

"Have you considered that more than one Kita Shinsuke lives in this city?" Iwaizumi interrupted.

"Yeah sure, anyway I searched for the vans route after it left the store, using any CCTV footage I could find. It headed out of the city and down a path that lead to a privately owned plot of land. I went out there, it's around twelve acres of forest. There's a dirt track that looks like cars have been in and out a few times, but looking at planning permission for the land, there's nothing built on it."

"And?" Iwaizumi said, sounding bored, "what does this have to do with Jackal?"

"And who purchases a turkey using a stolen identity and drives it to a forest with nothing in it a week before Christmas?"

 Iwaizumi sighed and pitched the bridge of his nose before speaking. "We don't even know if that's a stolen identity, they could very well have just had the same name. Please tell me you have more to go on than this." 

"Yeah, I looked up that plot of lands history. It used to be a farm that belonged to the great grandmother of Ushijima Wakatoshi, who, as you know is our primary suspect of being Eagle. What if the two people in that van were Eagle and Jackal and we just discovered where they have been hiding out for the last 5 years and are working together?"

"I'm not even going to begin to question the number of random hoops you jumped through to string that piece of fiction together."

"Lets go look at the forest." 

"There is no way you are going to get a search warrant for privately owned land based upon someone's dead great grandmother and a person buying a turkey with a card owned by someone who had their identify stolen."

"Who said anything about search warrants? What's wrong with two friends going for a stroll together and ending up getting lost in someones private land by mistake?" Oikawa said.

Iwaizumi frowned at Oikawa, processing his words. 

"You do know what friends are right? People you talk to in a social capacity, share interests with?" Oikawa added, as Iwaizumi continued to frown at him.  

"Yes I know what friends are, and you would never be one of them." Iwaizumi snapped. 

"Ouch, Iwa, that hurts!" Oikawa said, clutching his heart dramatically. 

"Don't call me that." 

"Doesn't like real coffee, doesn't like affection. Noted." Oikawa said deadpan. 

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Oikawa said, waving his hands in front of him, "just making observations. Anyway you going to get changed and come with me or what? If it doesn't pan out to anything, I will do everything your way from now on. I have a good gut feeling about this though."

"Fine. Once we establish it's nothing, the first thing we are going to do my way, is make a rule that you don't talk unless it's vital." 

Iwaizumi stalked off to the dresser, pulling out a black t-shirt and jeans and a grey hoodie. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later. He crossed the room to the apartment door, pulling on black walking boots and a slate grey coat. Oikawa watched him move, having already repacked his bag and pulled it on. He stood up and walked over to Iwaizumi as the other rolled his shoulders in his coat, and straightened the collar. 

Oikawa moved to his shoes, bending down to slip them on, when he stood, Iwaizumi had backed into the corner next to the door, having no where else to go as Oikawa was now standing between him and the rest of the apartment. Oikawa noticed then the way Iwaizumi's eyes were the same cold grey colour as his jacket. A look passed between them, something Oikawa couldn't quite place, despite how good he was at reading people.

"Move, or I will punch you."

"Oh really now?" Oikawa purred back, but he stepped back anyway. 

Iwaizumi sighed, wrenched open the door and stepped outside. Oikawa grinned as he followed the other out, Matsukawa had said they had to work together, he didn't say anything about not teasing the emotionless monster that was Iwaizumi. Maybe this partnership would be fun after all. 

--

Seven days. Seven cruel, relentless, unyielding, painful days Osamu had been gone. Suna had woken the morning after finding out about Akaashi and Osamu's relationship to find Osamu gone. Sakusa filled Suna in, Osamu had gone up to the office early, requested to be left alone for a few days. Sakusa had set him up with a safe house to stay in. 

Sakusa had disabled Suna's access to the tracking software in his vault. Suna found that out on day five when he attempted to find Osamu himself. By day seven, Suna was losing his mind. He refused to talk to anyone since that first day. He stood outside in the back garden, smoking his second joint when he heard movement to his side, Atsumu. He sighed. 

"He loves ya, ya know that right? He was just angry." 

"You telling me that for my sake or your own?" 

"I'm telling ya, I know my brother and I know he's in love with ya."

"Can you just fuck off?"

"I would, but Sakusa wants us in the dining room." 

"Well tell him he can wait til I've finished this," Suna replied, gesturing his joint, "and if he don't like it, then tell him I fucking quit." 

Atsumu nodded, walking away. 

--

Sakusa, Atsumu and Suna were gathered in the dining room some time later, Sakusa spoke words that were practical and logical. They made sense. They also sounded like they were spoken from far away. He nodded his head at the right times, not really sure what he was agreeing to, he drifted off into a mental void. He stood when Atsumu and Sakusa stood, and followed them out the room.

"Ready to leave?" Atsumu asked. 

"Huh?" Suna replied, confused.

"To go to the cabin... to start sifting through the wreckage?" Atsumu said, attempting to keep his voice from sounding patronising.

"Right, yeah, lets go." 

--

"This is ridiculous."

"Oh where's your sense of adventure Iwa?" Oikawa cooed.

"We could have just walked up the track. Or you know, driven up it?"

"Then we might have been caught by whoever is staying in the secret house here!" Oikawa exclaimed, as if it was obvious.

"You sound like a conspiracy theorist, next you're be telling me that aliens exist." 

"Well.. about that.." Oikawa starts.

"No, just no. I don't wanna fucking hear another word out your mouth."

--

"Damn, this place is a fuckin' ruin." 

"No fucking shit Atsumu, a bomb went off in it." Suna snapped. 

They had arrived at the cabin around ten minutes ago, most of the cabin had been destroyed in the explosion, all four of the walls had been blown out, and the corners and remains of the roof had collapsed in on itself. 

They started carefully pulling the wreck apart, Sakusa wanted it cleared as it was a good stretch of flat land, and would be ideal for building a new cabin on, however Suna also wanted to see if he could establish anything of use about what sort of explosives were used. Bomb makers tended to have defined signatures, and he knew a few people who might be able to identify who made the bomb. 

Suna had found the source of the impact, and for the first time since Osamu left, he pushed the grey haired man out of his head, concentrating entirely on the bomb remains. He lost track of time, listening to the sound of Atsumu shifting debris as he concentrated. An hour of peace is all he got until Atsumu apparently grew bored and started humming. Suna took a deep breath, ignoring him. 

Atsumu pulled out his phone after another twenty minutes and started playing random songs on his phones speaker while he worked. Suna was thankful that Atsumu at least wasn't singing, so he let it slide. He was tired, he was hurting, he hadn't been sleeping, and the last thing he wanted to do was be here, or be near Atsumu. 

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Nothing was helping, he missed Osamu so fucking bad it hurt. Osamu might as well have driven a blade into his heart, it would have been a less painful way to go out, rather than this slow decline into a pit of despair he couldn't escape from.

Atsumu singing was the final straw. It wasn't even the fact he was singing that really destroyed the last tethers of restraint for Suna, it was what Atsumu was singing that was the issue. Post Malone - Die For Me. The memories of accepting the collar for Osamu came flooding back, the first time Suna really knew how he felt about Osamu. When he realised he would happily die for Osamu. Even then, he was probably in love with him.

"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Suna yelled, launching the chunk of disfigured metal he was holding across the wrecked room. 

Suna dropped to his knees, his head dropping into his hands, and he just broke. The music stopped, and he heard steps towards him, felt arms wrap around his back. They sat there for a few minutes, then Suna dropped his hands and buried his head into Atsumu's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Atsumu's waist and clung on. 

 "He'll be back, I'm pretty sure he loves ya more than he loves me at this point." Atsumu whispered. 

--

Iwaizumi and Oikawa exchanged glances, and then set off at speed in the direction the yell had come from, one thing was for certain, they weren't alone in these woods. After a few minutes, they came to the edge of the forest, and saw the wreckage. Oikawa gave Iwaizumi a smug look, which the other blanked. They shifted quietly round the edge of the clearing, staying hidden in the shadows of the densely packed trees, until they spotted two men shifting through the remains. 

Oikawa didn't recognise either of their faces, and judging by Iwaizumi's face, he didn't either. Oikawa pulled out his phone and took some photos of the pair, turning to Iwaizumi having pulled out an old camera, taking a few photos too.

 "As this is enough of a something for you to take pictures, I now feel safe saying I told you so." Oikawa whispered. 

"We have two faces with no ID, a name that may or may not be stolen, a perfectly legal van, and a ruined cabin that never officially existed on a plot of land owned by someone who may or may not have been the great grandmother of someone who may not have been Eagle. Still not seeing anything that gets us to Jackal." Iwaizumi shot back, even when whispering his voice was cold and hard.

"You need to have more faith Iwa." 

Iwaizumi sighed and took another photo. 

"You ever considered upgrading to the 21st century?" Oikawa said, gesturing Iwaizumi's old camera. 

"Nothing I use can be hacked. No evidence ever leaves my person or my flat."

"Apart from when the person who develops your camera roll for you, has them." 

"I develop my own photos."

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Of course you do." 

The pair of them stayed watching the unknown men continuing to work for a while, then eventually pack up, get back into the van and depart. They waited a few minutes, then stepped out of the clearing. Iwaizumi pulled on a pair of gloves from his coat pocket and started to poke around in the remains. There were no remaining personal effects, nothing of any use at all. After an hour, he sighed and called Oikawa over. 

"Find anything?" 

"No."

"Alright, lets go. We have a long walk back to the car."

--

Suna knew he was dreaming again when he heard movement, then felt the bed dip. Any dream with 'Samu in it was a good dream though. 

"'Samu..." he called out sleepily, shifted forwards the middle of the bed. His hands moved against something solid, something warm. 

Suna opened his eyes, Osamu was in front of him. 

"'Samu, I need to stop dreaming about you.. I won't get any rest.." his words are almost incoherent but Osamu understand them. "I miss you baby..."

"Rin.. Rin, yer not dreaming. I'm actually here." 

Suna closed his eyes, trying to process the words. When he opened them again he was far more lucid. 

"'Samu..?" he starts, then realised he doesn't know how to finish the sentence. 

"No." 

"What do you mean 'no'?" 

"The question ya asked before I left, the answer is no. He and I were together for three years, and we were happy, then he disappears and I don't know what's happened, for all I know, he's dead. It ripped me up inside, real fucking bad. A part of me will always cling to a 'what if?' there, but Rin, I care more for ya now than I ever did for him, even after three years. I'm so sorry I hurt ya, I just freaked out so bad after I realised he was alive. I know I hurt ya real bad, I can't undo what I did, but if there is any way ya can forgive me, no matter how long it takes, I'll do anythin'."

Tears began to run down Osamu's face as he spoke. "I know I don't deserve it, after everything I've put ya through this last week, but could we just for tonight, just...pretend we are okay? Could ya just be holding me now? I missed ya so fucking bad. Yer my world."

Suna sighed, opening his arms, Osamu collapsed on him, his breathing becoming ragged as he bawled his eyes out. After a while he calmed down enough for his breathing to steady.

"We'll be okay 'Samu."

"I love ya Rin, I love ya so fucking bad." Osamu choked out. 

"Shh, breathe. It's okay. I'm here." Suna spoke softly, rubbing Osamu's back. 

Discussing everything would wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow would be for talks of trust, of feelings and love, and for repairing the damage done to both their hearts. Right here and now, they just needed to be in each others arms, right now, for this moment they were okay, they were together. The rest could wait.

Chapter Text

Osamu wasn't surprised the next morning when he awoke to find the bed empty. He made three observations about his situation. It wasn't even six am yet, Suna's side of the bed was neatly made and stone cold, and Osamu himself was filthy. He'd turned up last night at gone midnight, having spent the better part of the last day sat in the middle of a muddy forest. The once white sheets were now as covered in dirt as he was. 

He sighed, got up and stripped both himself and his bedding, balling them both up and tossing them into the laundry. Osamu had been amazed to find out that the mansion had three cleaning staff, and that the mansion had a series of staff passage ways and access points hidden away, allowing them to travel about utterly unnoticed. He had since found out that Sakusa had killed the last member of staff he'd physically seen, so it would seem the staff were perfectly motivated to stay as far away from him as possible.

Osamu stood in the shower for nearly an hour, and yet came out feeling just as unclean as when he went in, despite having scrubbed his skin red and raw. He pulled on clothing and headed downstairs, flipping the hood up on his over-sized hoodie as he went. It swallowed him. He walked into the kitchen, his bare feet feeling cold on the tile, and froze. Suna had his back to him, filling the coffee machine with water. 

Suna flicked the machine on, then turned around to collect a mug, his eyes hit Osamu and he froze as well. Awkward silence and tension filled the room. Suna looked like he hadn't slept at all last night, or potentially for days, judging by the bags under his eyes. Osamu swallowed guiltily watching as Suna turned back, sticking the mug under and hit a button, waiting.

"Hi," Osamu ventured, "do ya want breakfast? I'm gonna make pancakes." 

"No, I'm good," Suna replied, picking up his coffee mug and heading out the door, "thanks though."

Osamu sighed, suddenly no longer feeling hungry. He pulled a mug out the cupboard and violently stabbed the button. He grabbed his coffee and headed back upstairs. Osamu sought out Atsumu during the morning, thankfully for Osamu, Atsumu was just glad to have his twin back home, and forgave him for everything. Suna however was another matter. The days passed, January was disappearing fast, and the pair still hadn't spoken beyond strained dinner conversations with all four of them present. 

Osamu spent his days alone while Atsumu and Suna finished clearing the cabin. That hurt more than being alone. On the drive back home on new years day, one of Sakusa's instructions had been for Osamu and Suna to do the clearing, now his twin was doing it in his place. He didn't know if that was Sakusa who had made the change or not, but he strongly suspected it was Suna who had requested to be away from Osamu. 

It was late January when Sakusa called a meeting for the four of them. 

"Suna has finished compiling a list of all potential people who are likely associates to Kuroo. I'm more telling you this Atsumu and Osamu to just give you information on what I'm doing." 

He paused for a moment pulling a black box out of his pocket. 

"Suna, Konoha seems the most ideal target, judging by the fact he's the only one detailing medical training. He'll have the most reason to have access to Kuroo." 

"Do you want me to collect him?" 

"No need." 

Sakusa threw the black box over to Suna who opened it, looked at the item and nodded. 

"Now?" 

Sakusa nodded. Suna nodded in reply, stood and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Sakusa turned to talk to Atsumu about another job, but his eyes kept catching Osamu shifting restlessly. 

"Go." Sakusa said after a few minutes, without looking up. 

Osamu got up and ran. Suna was half way to the garage, dressed in their normal mission kit, by the time Osamu got to the front door. 

"Rin!" Suna turned, his eyes locked on Osamu's. 

He let out a small sigh. "What's wrong 'Samu?"

"I... I miss ya, and I'm sorry I hurt ya. Please keep yerself safe out there." 

"I always do 'Samu." 

Suna turned to walk away then, Osamu was about to let him go when he decided on a risk. He caught up to Suna and grabbed his arms, making him stop. He stepped up close to Suna and pressed a kiss to his cheek of his mask. 

"Happy birthday Sunarin." 

Suna pulled his mask off, a smile flicked up at the edge of his lips.

"You remembered." 

"Of course I did. Ya mean everythin' to me. I'm sorry I'm such an idiot." 

"You're not an idiot. You know, you're the only person that calls me Sunarin, I like it." 

Suna stepped forward, placing a cupped hand to Osamu's cheek and kissed him once on the lips softly.

"I need to go 'Samu." 

"I know, how long will ya be?" 

"Hard to say, day or two maybe?" 

Osamu tried to keep a straight face but he couldn't help the sinking feeling, his lips pulled down.

"Well talk about this when I get back yeah?" Suna said, smiling. 

"Okay, stay safe." 

"I will baby," Suna froze as he said the word, "sorry, habit." 

"It's okay, I've missed it." 

Suna turned and walked away then, getting into the black van and driving off. Osamu turned back to the house.

--

Oikawa heard his laptop ping an alert and glanced at it, then dialed Iwaizumi's number. 

"The van got picked up on a CCTV camera, wanna come with me to find out where it's headed?"

Oikawa hung up the phone, having made arrangements with Iwaizumi to pick him up as he was nearby. Oikawa grabbed his laptop and headed out the door. A few minutes later, Oikawa was sat in the front seat of Iwaizumi's car, his laptop open on his lap, watching one of the guys from the cabin wreckage filling up the van with gas at a garage about ten minutes away. 

They were about a minute away when the van left the garage. Oikawa was thankful for the amount of people who had set up their own cameras on their properties in the city, not to mention the vast network of government ones. It allowed him to access a huge number of them and made tracking someone's vehicle fairly easy. 

They managed to catch up with the van within a few minutes. Iwaizumi kept his distance, relying on Oikawa's program to keep them on the right path to avoid being spotted. The van turned down a ramp and disappeared. Oikawa took the time to throw a dig at Iwaizumi about being a technophobe. The pair were still arguing a few minutes later when an Audi R8 pulled out of the same ramp, completely unobserved by the bickering duo.

--

Atsumu saw Osamu walking back in the front door as he and Sakusa left the dining room. The three of them paused in the lobby area by the front door, eyeing each other. 

"Atsumu, when you're done, come up." Sakusa said, before walking up the stairs. 

"Ya okay?" Atsumu asked, stepping forward to hug his brother. 

"Mixed. He kissed me, but I still kinda wish I were dead, ya know?" 

Atsumu held on tightly to his brother, stroking his back.

"He will come around, he loves ya, he'll forgive ya." Atsumu said with a smile. 

Osamu let out a sigh, between Suna and Atsumu's actions, he was feeling lighter now, and for the first time in over a week, actually felt like he wanted to eat, rather than forcing himself to do it. 

"I'm gonna go cook okay? I'll message ya when it's ready."

"Alright." Atsumu replied, heading to the base of the stairs. 

When he got to Sakusa's office, he knocked and waited. To his surprise, Sakusa came and opened the door, taking his hand and leading him into the bedroom. Atsumu had been staying with Sakusa every night since Osamu left, always the same, Atsumu would curl up in Sakusa's arms until he fell asleep. Each night they would spend talking. Sakusa did as he said he would, he opened up. That was the norm for night time now, never during the day like this.

"Did ya want me for anything in particular?" Atsumu asked as he sat down on the bed. 

"No," Sakusa said, lying down, "just had some free time." 

Atsumu pulled his legs up from the floor, shifting them underneath himself and crawled across the bed, lying down in Sakusa's arms, his head nested between Sakusa's bicep and ribs. He tilted his head back to look up at Sakusa, who was already looking at him. If Atsumu shifted forward another inch, his lips would be against Sakusa's.

"What's on your mind?" Sakusa asked softly.

"Honestly?" Atsumu replied, a blush started to creep across his face, but he didn't break eye contact. 

"Yes."

"Kissing ya." Atsumu's eyes flicked down as he said the words, dropping his head with it.

Sakusa ran his hand under Atsumu's chin, gently lifting him back up. They locked eyes again for a moment, Atsumu watched Sakusa's as the other's closed, and he moved forward. Atsumu shut his as well, bridging the remaining distance. 

Their lips met, tentatively at first. This was their first kiss that wasn't initiated by one and immediately ended by the other. Sakusa felt the movement in Atsumu's lips as the blond relaxed into it. Sakusa broke their contact, shifting to lying on his side, one hand sliding under Atsumu's neck and around his back, the other on his waist. 

They kissed again, the new angle now allowing them to move more freely, to kiss more passionately. Atsumu moved forwards, their bodies now flush from chest to thigh. He slid one knee forward, slotting his leg between Sakusa's. Sakusa hooked his top leg around Atsumu's, locking him in place. They lay like that, their hands roaming freely over each other, pressing impossibly closer, and continuing to kiss each other. 

Sakusa had always found Atsumu attractive, from the first day over a year ago now when he removed the mask, through to all of the times in the red room, and even just in random moments for no reason at all. All of those however paled into insignificance in comparison to this one. 

He broke their kiss for a moment, shifting back to stare into the golden eyes in front of him. It felt like he was truly seeing Atsumu for the first time, in his utterly raw form. The blond had opened up to him completely, and in return, he had opened up back again as well. The results of the last twenty five days of talking shone in front of Sakusa right now, Atsumu was radiant. 

He felt his eyes soften, he let out a soft, huffed breath of awe. He closed his eyes, and the image of Atsumu looking that way was crystal clear in his minds eye. This was the first time he was thankful for his perfect recall for a reason other than work. Nothing in this world, not even the rarest diamond in his vault, looked quite like the way Atsumu did today.

"Atsumu.." he said softly, reaching up to caress his cheek gently. 

He lent forward again, pressing his lips to the other, and continued to kiss him. After twenty minutes or so, Atsumu's phone message notification sounded, and Atsumu groaned. 

"Guess Osamu's finished cooking." Atsumu said, disappointment coloring his voice.

"Let's go eat then." Sakusa replied with a sigh, uncoiling himself from how embedded he had become in Atsumu. 

As they headed to the door, Sakusa moved to take Atsumu's hand, lacing their fingers together, and they headed downstairs.

--

Suna returned the next evening, heading up to Sakusa's office immediately.

"It done?"

Suna nods.

"Good, you can go."

Sakusa opens his phone, flicking through to the app he was after, seeing five green dots on his map now.

"Come on  Konoha, lead me to your boss." Sakusa said with a smile.

Chapter Text

"Come on Atsumu, you can do better than that."

Sakusa watched Atsumu writhe below him, fighting the restraints as he pushed the plug further into him. Even through a gloved hand, he could feel how cold the metal was. He selected an ice cube from the bowl and held it over the mass of candle wax and red skin that was formerly Atsumu's chest. A muffled moan came through the gag. Sakusa eyed Atsumu's face, sweat running down past the blindfold, his hair was matted to his head. 

Sakusa grinned, when Atsumu had broken into his mansion, he had just seen the other as a means to an end, to get jobs done, to make him richer, without any risks. This however, was a whole realm of pleasure he never even considered. Atsumu was born for this. His pain threshold was higher than anyone he ever met, and there was nothing so far that Atsumu had said no to. Sakusa felt his cock twitch at the thoughts of their previous sessions. 

He placed the ice cube back in the bowl, using the second bowl of hot water to heat the leather of his gloves then ran them across Atsumu's chest while he pushed the ice cold plug further inside. He dried his glove on the towel to his side, then slipped his hand inside his suit jacket, withdrawing his favourite knife, the one he had held against Osamu's hand all those months ago. He pushed the plug fully inside, then removed his gloves, pressing the tip of the blade against his index finger, watching a droplet of blood instantly appear. It was sharp. Perfect.

The blindfold was a blessing now. He wouldn't hurt Atsumu with the blade, he would get the man to do it himself. Sakusa shifted forward, placing the flat of the blade against Atsumu's cheek, causing Atsumu to flinch at the sudden cold contact, jarring himself into the blade. Sakusa watched the blood run down his cheek, onto the blade and smiled at the noise Atsumu made through the gag. 

Sakusa pressed his thumb against the cut, hard enough to push Atsumu's face to the side, listening to Atsumu's muffled hiss at the pain. He really was the perfect sub. All of his little noises shot fire straight through Sakusa's body. 

"You really need to be more careful around knives Atsumu, they are sharp," he called softly, wiping the blood off his cheek.

The shallow cut would clot fast, and heal within a week, leaving no marks. Atsumu's body was littered with dozens of similar marks in various states of healing. Sakusa sat back, carefully removing the plug from Atsumu and returned it to the ice bath, taking the second one from the hot bowl instead. He coated it with warming lube, and pushed it in slowly, watching Atsumu shift against the ropes. 

Atsumu's strength was another thing that made him such a good sub. The way the ropes spread across his muscled body looked so inviting. Atsumu kept himself in great shape, and in a fair fight, Sakusa knew Atsumu could overpower him easily, however like this, Atsumu's physical advantages were meaningless, and Sakusa so did enjoy watching his strong muscles be utterly useless against the ropes bound by his skilled fingers. 

"Don't fight it Atsumu, take it in." Sakusa called up to him as he pushed the plug further in. 

Sakusa felt the resistance lower slightly as Atsumu attempted to do what he was told, despite the burning sensation he was now experiencing. Sakusa loved temperature play. The way the human body reacted to hot and cold stimuli interested him. Watching a human body writhe due to his actions excited him. 

Sakusa had a lot of experience with the limitations of the human body, mostly due to the amount of people he had tortured over the years for information, revenge, or just fun. None of that had given him pleasure in the way Atsumu did however. This was a different sort of torture. Pushing Atsumu's body to it's limits over and over again, and having Atsumu returning each night demanding more. 

He had never had someone give themselves over to him in this way before, not even Ushijima had gone this far. Atsumu was his, and he was never giving him up. He would kill anyone who tried to take him now. Slowly. Painfully. He would redefine the definition of horror for anyone who even attempted it. 

A smile spread across Sakusa's face, he placed two fingers on the end of the plug, which was half way in, and bent forwards over Atsumu, using his free hand to wrap around Atsumu's throat. He gripped hard and pushed the rest of the plug in roughly. Atsumu's gasp was cut off as Sakusa clenched his fingers around the blonds throat harshly. He took both hands away, his face turning to the rest of the instruments on the table, contemplating which to use next. 

--

Sakusa sat back, observing the masterpiece before him. Atsumu was strung up to the free standing metal frame in the red room, his head hung forward, limp, having just been made to finish for the fifth time in the last two hours. His body weight being supported by the ropes stringing him up by his arms and legs. 

The bruising was slowly blooming across his thighs and ass. Dried blood and candle wax covered his chest, and he was covered in sweat and cum. He truly was a work of art. Sakusa left him tied up while he set to work, using a wet cloth and bowl of water to clean Atsumu. Once he was dried off, he applied balm to help sooth the pain. Atsumu was already at max dose on pain killers. 

Atsumu was still out of it when Sakusa had finished cleaning and treating him, so he set to work, releasing one leg at a time slowly, rubbing each thigh to help the circulation as he lowered them to the floor. He left the chest rope in place, repeating the process with his arms. Sakusa placed Atsumu's arms over his shoulders and released the chest ropes, taking his full weight, carrying him over to the bed. 

Sakusa wrapped a black mink blanket around Atsumu's full body and lay him down, pulling him into his arms. Sakusa wasn't sure at point he went from doing nothing at all, to helping Atsumu, and now to this stage of holding him after the did a scene. He lay on the bed, with Atsumu cradled between his legs. He ran his hand up and down Atsumu's back, holding him close.

Sakusa lay there, with Atsumu barely conscious on him, and became aware of one painful fact. He knew at that point he needed to change something. 

 Atsumu had gone from expendable to meaningful. 

Chapter Text

Sakusa stood listening to Suna talk. They had narrowed down the bomb maker to three potential people. One was a man just known as 'Semi'. He had been fairly easy to track down, and after Sakusa had instigated a 'friendly chat' with him, had established that he had no involvement. Sakusa had let him live in exchange for Semi swearing loyalty to Jackal for the rest of his days, which he had profusely nodded to, with blood running down his face. 

The second person Suna mentioned, Sakusa immediately dismissed without any comment or explanation. Suna frowned at the details in front of him, Komori Motoya certainly seemed like the type for hire, but he knew better than to question Sakusa after all this time. If he was certain Komori wasn't involved, he wasn't involved. 

The final person however caused Sakusa concern. His name is Tendo, a known associate of Ushijima, and completely unhinged. He was nearly impossible to locate. Sakusa knew better than to try, and instead focused on a new angle. 

"We aren't likely to find him, so dig into the twins and the company, look for anyone who would want to avenge their deaths. Partners, lovers, family, anyone who could have taken out the hit. I'm less concerned about the starting point and more about Tendo now. I don't know how much he knows, but it's less likely the person taking out the hit knows about the cabin, and far more likely that information came from Tendo himself."

Sakusa looks up at Suna then, his eyes calculating, considering his options. 

"Is the cabin back to foundation level?" 

Suna nodded in reply. "Atsumu dug it over, and compacted it. It just looks like a patch of dirt now. I'm still coming up with some design options for the new build." 

"Alright, take the day, go find out as much as you can about the twins, find out who took out that hit. Leave the Tendo problem to me. I highly doubt it's the last we've seen of him. Tomorrow we will focus on Blaker." 

Suna nodded again. "And the twins?" 

"Leave Atsumu with me, I need him. You can take Osamu with you if you wish." 

"He and I are long overdue a conversation. We will go to Thursday. Anything else?" 

Sakusa shook his head. "Find Atsumu before you leave and send him up," Sakusa paused for a moment, "and keep the new cabin to two rooms."  

"Will do." 

Suna turned and walked away, closing the office door behind him, a smile on his face. Suna found the twins in the kitchen. The pair had been out on a job when Suna returned after placing the tracker in Konoha, and he had left to look into the bomber before they had returned. Suna was a little nervous about speaking to Osamu. 

It had been nearly a month since the last Blaker attempt, the initial shock of the aftermath had worn away, and Suna knew he wasn't prepared to lose Osamu. It was time for them to talk. 

"Atsumu, Sakusa wants you." 

The twins looked up at him, Suna kept his gaze on Atsumu, watching as the blond nodded and got up and walked to the door

"Yer leaving again aren't ya?" Atsumu asked from the doorway, turning.

"Yes. Only for a night though." Suna answered.

"'Samu?" Atsumu replied.

"That's why I'm here," Suna said, turning to Osamu for the first time, "do you want to come with me or stay here?"  

"I'll go with ya," Osamu said immediately, then added, "where are we going?"

"To Thursday for the night, see if I can find more information on who hired the bomb planter." 

"We leaving now?" 

"Give or take ten minutes to get ready, yes. Meet me at the front when you're ready." 

Suna walked past Atsumu and disappeared. Osamu walked forward to hug his brother. 

"Ya okay?" Atsumu asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"I just want him back." Osamu replied. 

"What about Akaashi?" 

"He left me, he might as well be dead." Osamu said bluntly, "I need to go, I love ya."

"I love ya too, stay safe." 

Atsumu turned and walked up the stairs towards Sakusa's office. Osamu watched him go, and his mind shifted to Suna. He stepped forwards, jogging up the stairs to his room, stashing clothing into a bag quickly and went back downstairs, the faster he got down there, the faster he could talk to Suna. 

Suna came down nearly twenty minutes later, and opened the door, walking out towards the garage and opened the door, then unlocked the lotus and stashed his bag in the back. Osamu followed Suna, placed his bag in the back and put on his belt. Suna didn't say anything as they left, the silence lingered until they arrived at the safe house. 

"Work or talk first?" Suna said as he shut the door, walking over to the sofa. 

He sat down. The memory of their first meeting hung in the air. Atsumu half laying on the sofa, his leg bleeding. Suna removing his mask, Osamu seeing him for the first time. Judging by the expression on Osamu's face, he was thinking the same thing. This is where it all started. 

"I love ya," Osamu sat down, picking up Suna's hand, and holding it with both of his, "it was a shock, finding out he was alive, but that, and the last month, made me realise I stopped loving him, and that.. I... I'm in love with ya. I'm sorry I hurt ya Rin." 

Suna let out a soft sigh. He only had one question left. 

"You wanna know why he left you don't you?" 

"I guess, yeah, I just want that little bit of closure I guess. I'll live though, it doesn't matter."

"Sakusa has a tracker on one of the Nekorodani boys, he's going to find Kuroo. You can get your closure." 

"What?! Is that what Sakusa gave ya in the dining room?"

"Yes, I already got it into him. It's only a matter of time now." 

"Even if I do meet him again, nothing changes anything. I'm yers, If ya still want me."

"I do, regardless of everything, I still considered you my boyfriend. I didn't think you felt the same though." 

"Always Rin, I'll always be yers."

Suna moved forward, dragging Osamu down onto him so they were lying together. Osamu let out a soft sigh. 

"I've missed this," Osamu said softly.

"Me too." 

"So what work do we have to do?"

"You don't, I do, I just brought you with me because I missed you and we needed to talk. I need to look into the twins that Sakusa assassinated and work out who requested the bomb maker. Sakusa thinks the bomb maker is an old associate of Ushijima's. Sure feels like Sakusa's past is coming back to haunt him." 

"There anythin' I can do to help ya?"

"I mean... I won't say no to brunch."

Osamu laughs and hit his arm. Suna pushed his foot against a knot in the coffee table and a chunk of wood flipped forward, he pulled out a laptop and opened it up. Osamu eyed him for a moment then got up.

"Fine, I know where my uses lie."  

He wondered off to the kitchen. Things weren't back to normal, not quite yet, but they were a lot closer to where he wanted them to be. He opened the fridge, scanning through the things inside. 

It would seem his boyfriend had planned this because there was bacon, mushrooms, eggs and milk inside that looked recently added. Osamu turned to look at Suna, who was already watching him, a smug smile on his face. 

"Let me guess, ya want bacon and mushrooms with pancakes on the side?"

Suna hummed. "You know, now you mention it, that sounds like a really good idea." 

Suna turned back to his laptop, as Osamu set to work. Osamu flipped on the radio and began singing away to himself as he mixed the pancake batter while frying the mushrooms and bacon. He kept stealing glances at Suna, who was muttering away to himself.

Osamu let out a soft, contented sigh, placing the bacon and mushrooms aside to warm up later, and started cooking the pancakes. He turned as he heard Suna make a triumphant noise, watching him pull out his phone and start to talk.

"Sakusa, the twins have an older brother, traced back an IP from the hit, it was him who hired Tendo. I'll send you over the details," Suna paused to listen, glancing up at Osamu, "no, we won't be back until tomorrow... Alright, cya."

He hung up, typed a message to Sakusa and shut his laptop down, locking it back up in the hidden compartment again. He walked across to the kitchen and poured two glasses of juice, and got out two plates. 

"So, we have the day off..." he said, grinning, "what do you wanna do?" 

Osamu slid the pancakes off the frying pan onto the plates and threw the bacon and mushrooms back in the pan to warm them quickly. 

"As long as I'm with ya, I couldn't care less." 

Suna smiled, pulling knives and forks out the drawer. 

"I can name a few activities we could do..." 

--

Sakusa looked down at his phone, reading the message from Suna, and walked across the room

"Atsumu, how do you fancy coming with me to have a chat with the person who took the hit out that nearly killed your brother?"

Atsumu looked up, he was half way through a terrible action movie when Sakusa had entered the lounge. 

"Assume ya don't mean chat in the way normal people do?" Atsumu said with a soft laugh, "is it dangerous?" 

"Judging by this, the twins older brother has no criminal connections per say, just a lot of money and happens to know the right place to post jobs to find people to do his dirty work."

"Alright, I'm in. Is Osamu okay?"

"Suna didn't mention him, but I didn't tell Suna to take him, he chose to do that on his own so they could talk. I'm sure they will be fine. Get ready to leave and meet me downstairs in thirty minutes." 

Atsumu flicked the TV off, and got up, he paused on his way out of the door to kiss Sakusa on the lips and disappeared. Sakusa stood there, watching him walk away. He brought his fingers up to his lips and touched them gently then withdrew them and looked at his hand. He couldn't place this feeling, but he liked it. He felt his heart flutter. Is this what love felt like? If it is, he would make the suffering of anything or anyone  who tried to take it away, more painful than anything he had ever done. Atsumu was his. 

--

The pair didn't talk as Sakusa drove to the address Suna had provided. Sakusa knew full well that this conversation wasn't going to result in anything useful, he just wanted to tie up a loose end, namely the option for the brother to be able to put out any other hits once he establishes that Tendo failed his first attempt. 

Atsumu was expecting Sakusa to have some sort of plan when he had arrived downstairs, dressed in their normal mission kit, to find Sakusa just standing in his normal suit and mask. Sakusa parked, and simply walked up to the brothers front door and knocked. A man answered the door and stepped back, gesturing Sakusa inside. 

"I did wonder how long it would take you to find me." 

Atsumu followed Sakusa in, sightly confused as to what was going on. The brother hadn't seemed remotely surprised to have Jackal show up at his door, and welcomed him in calmly. The brother walked through to the sitting room once he closed the door, and sat down in the arm chair, gesturing to the couch with his hand.

"I thought I would have had another few days yet, but here we are. You aren't going to find him through me, he made very sure to prevent me from knowing anything about him."

"I'm aware," Sakusa said, sounding bored, "Tendo becomes invisible when he doesn't want to be found. 

The brother sucked in a breath, bringing his hands together and wringing them slightly. 

"You..you know who he is?" 

"Well, I didn't, but you just confirmed it for me, thank you," Sakusa spoke softly, then sat forward, pulling his silenced pistol out from below his jacket, "did you send anyone else or just Tendo?" 

"Just him, I only needed him. He never fails," the brothers voice shook slightly as he watched the gun, but he didn't break eye contact. 

"Shame you won't be around to witness his first failure then. Any last words?" 

"Yeah, I told him to kill everyone you love first."

Sakusa squeezed the trigger and watched the body fall, he stood, placing the gun back in its holster and walked towards the door. 

"Come on." 

"Are ya not concerned by what he said? Tendo has never failed?"

"You're forgetting one thing Atsumu. Neither have I." 

Sakusa turned and walked out the door. 

Chapter Text

Oikawa has walked into a room exactly twice in his life and felt like he had been hit in the face. The first time he had walked into his parents living room when he was twenty and seen his mother in tears with two police officers. His father had been called out to a bank robbery turned hostage situation. His father had volunteered to take the hostages place, all the hostages made  it out alive. One of the bank robbers got too agitated during the negotiations, ended up killing everyone in the room, then himself. Oikawa's father had gone down in history in the police force as a hero. Oikawa had joined the police straight out of college. 

The second time he had felt that punch to the gut was exactly three seconds after opening the doors to the Seijoh office in the first week of February. The atmosphere in the room knocked the breath out of him. Kindaichi had an arm wrapped around Kunimi, who had tear tracks marked down his face, both were huddled in the corner. The only other person in the room was Makki, who was on the phone, his face set in an unreadable mask.

Oikawa shut the door quietly, dumped his things on his desk and waited, resisting the urge to pull out his phone and dial Iwaizumi's number. 

--

"Is it taken care of?" a deep voice from the shadows of the office spoke. 

"The little brunette never saw it coming, we left him out for the piggies to collect," came the reply. 

"Did you do as requested?"

"Yes, exactly as you asked, they will be chasing cats and owls all over town instead."

"Good, now make the arrangements detailed on the paper on my desk, I have a new plan for those who finish Blaker first, ensure these are done before anyone completes the 10th room. Especially if Atsumu is in the first group to complete it. Leave."

The two men in sharp black suits exited the room and shut the door. 

"That went better than expected," the first man said to the taller. 

"I never had any doubts Suga. Get Tanaka and Noya down here, we have work to do. It's time we showed the rest of them why they never should have called us flightless crows."

 "Straight away."

--

Makki hung up the phone, turning to Oikawa. 

"Who?" Oikawa asked immediately.

"Yahaba." 

Oikawa looked at the floor for a moment. He couldn't say he was close to the man, having only spoken to him a few times, but loss of anyone in uniform was always a heavy loss. Especially for someone who is only twenty five. 

"What can I do?" 

"Mattsun and Iwaizumi are on the site now, it was Mattsun on the phone, told me to give you the address and get down there asap. I'm coming with you, I'll fill you in on the way." He looked over his shoulder as he grabbed his jacket, "Kindaichi, you're in charge until I get back, funnel anything related to this directly to Mattsun."

Makki waited for the black haired man to nod before he wrenched open the door and headed out of the office, walking towards his car. 

"About a month and a half ago, Iwaizumi got a lead on a member of the Fukurodani Owls, a guy named Konoha. He's been tailing him on and off. On the 6th of Jan, he followed the guy to an abandoned parking lot, and the guy did, well, nothing and left twenty minutes later. Iwaizumi being who he is, stayed there for twenty four hours, thinking it was some sort of drop."

Makki unlocked his car and got in, waiting for Oikawa to belt up then stuck the car in gear and headed out of town. 

"The next morning, this black car shows up, a guy in a full black body suit and mask gets out, walks over to something on the wall, does something, and a ramp appears out of no where. They drive in. Nearly an hour later, two other cars show up, Iwaizumi ain't a big car fan, but he knew one was a lotus, but he says neither were cheap. He takes photos, and he waits. Eventually after two hours they all leave. The cars plates are registered to perfectly law abiding citizens, there's no building plans about anything below the car park.  He went in the parking lot and looked for what they typed into, and found a key pad. We added a film over the top of it, which records finger print touches."

Makki stops at a red light and glances at Oikawa, then carried on.

"Iwaizumi and Mattsun started surveillance on the parking lot, with the help of Yahaba, Kindaichi and Kunimi, as well as a few others from the main station. It's why Kunimi is in such a state, he was meant to be on the shift last night, he swapped with Yahaba because Yahaba wanted to have tonight off to take his girlfriend on their year anniversary dinner." 

Makki let out a soft sigh and continued. 

"Nothing happened on that site until last night. exactly one month after Konoha showed up for a random twenty minutes. All that I know right now is that Yahaba was found dead in the middle of the road outside the parking lot, with the film we placed on the key pad stuck to his chest. He also had two markings drawn on his hands. One is of a cat, the other an owl. Points nicely to Fukurodani and Nekoma. A little too nicely."

Makki pulls up to the side of the road where a police van has the road blocked off, and gets out, flashing his badge at the office standing at the tape line, and ducks under as the officer raised the tape up.

"We've had a few run ins with the two groups before, or thought we had, they are always extremely careful with everything. There's a camera on the opposite building, that was shot out during last night, Mattsun is attempting to get the footage from before hand now."

Makki walks up to Mattsun and Iwaizumi. 

"I've filled Oikawa in on everything you told me." 

"Someone is trying real hard to make this look like Nekoma and Fukurodani killed Yahaba." Iwaizumi said quietly, rising from the body. 

"What makes you so sure it wasn't them?" Oikawa asked.

"Other than the fact Nekoma is one of the most careful sets of people I've ever seen, we have nearly as little on them as we do on Jackal, and now we get a body decorated in their logo? Only it's not their logo, not completely. It's drawn by someone who has a rough idea of what their logo looks like. I think it's time we had a little chat with Konoha, he's the only thing we've got close to Nekoma, and even that's a stretch." Iwaizumi replied. 

"Oikawa, Iwaizumi, go track down Konoha, bring him in for questioning," Mattsun said, "we'll finish here." 

"Alright, try and clear everything away as soon as you can, it's exactly one month after the last meeting that took place here, we don't want to spook them away if it's something that happens every month. Try and keep it off the news." Iwaizumi said in reply, "come on Oikawa, we got work to do." 

Iwaizumi turned and walked towards his car, Oikawa glanced quickly at Mattsun and Makki and turned to follow Iwaizumi.

He got into the passenger seat in time to hear Iwaizumi slam his fist into the steering wheel. He swallowed. It's the first time he had seen any level of emotion out of the stone faced man. 

"It's not your fau.." Oikawa started.

"Don't, don't fucking say it's not my fault. I put him on that fucking detail." 

Oikawa paused, changing tack.

"Sitting here being angry isn't going to catch his killer. You can't change the past, but what you can do now is ensure that the person who killed him is brought to justice." 

"There's only one justice that his killer deserves, and that's to die. Slowly." Iwaizumi's voice was low, but there was an edge to it that sent a shiver down Oikawa's spine. 

Oikawa knew losing a cop in the line of duty was hard, beyond hard, there was nothing that could make up for that kind of loss, especially in a small knit group, and he knew Iwaizumi was feeling guilt for putting Yahaba in that position, but there was something in his tone, this was more personal than that still. This didn't sound like Iwaizumi wanted justice, it sounded like he was after revenge. 

"Iwaizumi.. what.. what am I missing in this scenario?" he asked softly, his face pulling down with concern. 

"Yahaba swapped shifts with Kunimi." 

"Yeah I know, Yahaba was going to take his girlfriend out for the year anniversary tonight wasn't he?" Oikawa replied softly, sadness seeping into his tone.

"What you don't know is, his girlfriend is my sister. Since our father died, Yahaba asked me for my permission to ask her to marry him. He was going to do it tonight. He should have become my brother-in-law. He made her happy. He should still fucking be here." 

Rage filled Iwaizumi's voice the longer he spoke. Oikawa looked down at his lap, trying to process the information. The silence lingered for a few minutes, before Oikawa finally found words to say that didn't sound absolutely worthless. He felt like sympathy was the last thing Iwaizumi would want right now.

"Lets go bring in Konoha. Let's start getting answers."

Oikawa reached out and lay his hand on Iwaizumi's forearm, and squeezed softly. Iwaizumi looked at it for a few seconds, then nodded. Oikawa retracted his arm as Iwaizumi started the engine. 

"You'll need to be the one to bring him in, I found a bunch of parking ticket violations in his name, it's literally all we have." Iwaizumi still had a bitter tone to his voice, but he sounded calmer as he spoke. 

"Parking tickets? That's... that's all we have on someone who's meant to be running with the owls? That's not going to be enough to hold him for long, we will have twenty four hours at most." 

"I know Oikawa, I am just hoping that on the eve of whatever happens at that parking lot, that it's enough to throw things up in the air. There's a building opposite where I know one of the tenants. We will go up there first thing, and watch it all day, see who shows up and what happens."

--

A ping alerted Sakusa to his phone. He picked it up and unlocked it, looking at the notification and frowned. The four of them were sat in the lounge relaxing on the afternoon before their attempt on Blaker the following morning. 

Sakusa frowned at his phone. Suna and Osamu were too wrapped up in each other to notice anything but Atsumu detected the change immediately. 

"What happened?"

"Konoha is moving out of his normal routine." Sakusa replied, his eyes on his phone. 

Suna sat up then, taking interest. "Where's he headed?"

Sakusa frowned again. "Looks like he's being arrested? He's in the police station anyway." 

Suna flicked over to the news channel, then opened his mouth in shock. It was the end of a news report, but it was the background of where the reporter was standing that was the terrifying part. All four of them knew the car park well, they were due to go there tomorrow morning. The headline 'City cop murdered' scrolled across  the screen again.  

"Nekorodani is behind it?" Osamu asked. 

"How secure is that tracker?" Sakusa asked, turning to Suna. 

"I'm sure the police don't even have any technology to notice it's existence, let alone track it, or trace it back to me." Suna responded.

"For our sake, we better fucking hope so. Still, we have Kuroo's bases rough location now right?"

"Yes we do, it's by the docks." 

"Lets put Blaker on hold a few days. Suna, take Osamu down to the crime scene tomorrow in casuals, just walk past as close as you can get, find out anything you can. See if you can spot anyone watching it, we don't know what is and isn't known right now." 

--

It had been three hours. Oikawa was sat on a tiny balcony next to Iwaizumi, binoculars in hand. He was cold, and he badly wanted coffee. He skimmed over the streets below quickly, keeping an eye on anyone who went into the parking lot. Mattsun had cleared any signs of the police work at 3 AM, having had several men from the main office do a full canvas for any evidence. They had found nothing. 

Movement below them caught Oikawa's eye, and he trained his binoculars downwards.

"Those two, on the pavement, walking by..." Oikawa said suddenly.

Iwaizumi hummed in reply, also looking down with his own. 

"They aren't approaching the car park, or even looking at it, what about them Oikawa?"

"With the exception of a change of hair colour... don't they look like the guys from the cabin to you?" 

Iwaizumi flicked through the folder in front of him, pulling out the stack of photos from the cabin. 

"That's them alright. Though the shorter one was blond before."

They continued to watch the pair as they rounded the corner. Oikawa would have probably missed it if he hadn't of been watching them so closely, he barely dared to blink. The grey haired man turn to look directly at the car park and away again in a heartbeat. 

"The cabin.. these men, Fukurodani, and Nekoma, they are all tied into this car park some how." Oikawa said. 

He knew full well that Iwaizumi would shut down his theories as wild and lacking evidence. It however surprised him when Iwaizumi didn't argue with him, instead he turned to Oikawa and  uttered five words.

"I don't believe in coincidences."

Chapter Text

Iwaizumi was stood in the interrogation room with Oikawa and Konoha, listening to the pair talk. Oikawa had made a few unsuccessful attempts to get Konoha to talk, but he was clearly fully aware that all they had on him was a few parking tickets. They needed a new plan.

"Oikawa, can you get your laptop for me and bring it in here?" Iwaizumi spoke suddenly, interrupting the other pairs circular conversation.

Oikawa paused and glanced at Iwaizumi, then at Konoha, questioning whether it was wise to leave the pair alone together. The room was hooked up with CCTV and the recording equipment was on, on the table in front of them. He swallowed and nodded, getting up and leaving the room. 

Iwaizumi immediately reached his hand into his pocket and flicked on a device he had stolen from Oikawa, that jammed electronics, it wouldn't be enough to cut the camera, however, that doesn't record audio. He didn't need to do anything, he just needed to make a quick point to Konoha. 

"The recording equipment is currently having a technical issue that will be resolved when my partner returns, so I'll make this quick Konoha. Someone who should have been my brother-in-law was murdered last night, and someone drew the logos of Nekoma and Fukurodani on his hands. You and I are both perfectly aware that you run with that group, so lets not waste any time here. Tell me what you know, and your hair won't turn up as evidence on Yahaba's body. Do you know how angry people get when cop killers are on trial?"

Konoha paled as Iwaizumi spoke. 

"I.. I don't know anything," he swallowed, trying to keep calm, "I went to medical school, I take care of difficult to explain wounds from time to time, I don't see faces, I don't know names, I know anything."

"So you admit you are involved with the group?" Iwaizumi fired back.

"Shame your equipment is malfunctioning and you have no evidence of me saying that."

Oikawa opened the door again and walked in, shutting it behind him, his laptop in one hand and a mug in the other. He placed the black coffee in front of Iwaizumi and placed the laptop in front of himself, sitting. Iwaizumi flicked the recording jammer off and spoke. 

"Thanks, show him the photo of the Fukurodani logo," Iwaizumi said, picking up the mug.

Oikawa did as requested, bringing up the drawing on Yahaba's hand and walked around the table, placing the laptop in front of Konoha. Iwaizumi watched his reaction carefully, seeing relief in the features. So it really wasn't their logo. His thoughts were interrupted when Oikawa's laptop started beeping with an alert suddenly.  

"What is it Oikawa?"

Oikawa picked up his laptop and carried it back to his seat, pulling up the notification and frowned. 

"We need to talk, now," Oikawa said, then added "outside."

Iwaizumi stood, turning to Konoha, to start to speak but Oikawa interrupted him. 

"You're free to go Konoha, I'm sure you will pay your parking tickets within 24 hours. I'll walk you out."

Iwaizumi flashed him an annoyed look but said nothing, just opened the door and walked out. Oikawa turned off the equipment and walked with Konoha back to the front. The interview rooms were next to their office. He walked along the corridor back to the office and spoke to Konoha. 

"It would be in yours, and Fukurodani's best interests if you stepped inside the office and listened to what I have to say Konoha. Your life could be in danger." 

Iwaizumi was most definitely not following this conversation anymore. They didn't just bring people into the office, certainly not criminals. Konoha eyed him suspiciously for a moment then nodded. 

"You have two minutes. Though I have no idea what Fukurodani is. I am simply coming because you suggested my life was in danger."

Oikawa opened the office door and walked in, bringing Makki's chair forward and offering it to Konoha, who sat. 

"Someone has embedded a tracking chip in you."

The look of surprise lingered on his face just long enough for Oikawa to realise it wasn't something he was aware of. Iwaizumi turned to Oikawa in surprise as well.

"Working on the basis you were surprised, I am going to assume your employers don't keep you tagged, in which case, someone else has tagged you. Between that and a member of our department being murdered and marked up with fake logos for Fukurodani and Nekoma, I would say that your organisation is being targeted by someone. That same person is likely responsible for Yahaba's death." 

He paused, watching Konoha's face carefully. 

"I'm sure we can come to a mutual understanding to look the other way from your activities, if you assist us in catching the killer. This arrangement is more of a benefit for you than for us as I believe that framing Fukurodani was the main point of all of this."

"I.. need to make a call." Konoha said eventually.

Oikawa nodded, "place it on speaker." 

Konoha pulled out his phone, and placed it on speaker as requested. 

"Hello and welcome to.." a male voice stated.

"No names. Call being monitored." Konoha said immediately, interrupting the speaker.

"I'm sure you'll have a very good explanation for why you are calling?" 

"I need a scan. 3rd party location. I need him."

"Who else is listening to this?"

"A couple of cops."

"You got arrested? You are no longer associated with this organisation. Do not contact us again."

"Wait! We are being framed. Trust me, you need to hear this."

"Hold the line."

There was silence for a few minutes. Then a new voice spoke, much deeper.

"Speak."

Oikawa watched Konoha's face, seeing the recognition there, and something else, fear and respect maybe. This person was clearly more important than the last.

"A cop was murdered yesterday. A drawing of an owl in flight in a circle and a cat sitting were drawn on the cops hands."

Silence lingered on the end of the line. 

"The car park, 1 hour. Bring your new.. friends."

The phone went dead. 

Konoha swallowed slowly and stood.

"How far away is this car park?" Iwaizumi asked. 

"Ten minute drive, it's where.. I saw it on the news." Konoha replied, "you know we are all dead men if you're wrong about this tracker right?"

Oikawa sat at his desk and pulled his laptop towards him and a black object from his desk and threw it towards Konoha. 

"Run that over every part of your body until I say stop. Lets try and find who's tracking you.."

--

Oikawa sat in the back seat of Iwaizumi's car as the trio drove into the car park and parked. He was really hoping that Iwaizumi wasn't going to do anything stupid. They had no idea who they were meeting with, or how high this ran. A black 4 x 4 with blacked out windows sat on the other side of the lot. A lone man wearing a full black body suit and mask got out and approached, Konoha opened the door and the man spoke.

"Leave all your electronics and guns here and come with me. I will return you here after we are finished."

Konoha pulled out his phone, opened the glove box and dumped it inside, along with his watch. Oikawa and Iwaizumi followed suit, though Iwaizumi was less than happy with leaving his gun behind. They climbed out and Iwaizumi locked the car. The man in black pulled out a black device and scanned their bodies, then walked towards his car. 

"Get in the back."

Konoha got in the back and strapped in, and the unknown man injected something into his arm, Konoha's head flopped forward after thirty seconds. 

"Next."

Iwaizumi eyed him suspiciously. 

"You wanna find your cop killer or not? It's nap time or leave." 

 Oikawa glanced sideways at Iwaizumi and got in, waiting. Iwaizumi got in the last seat, and waited for everything to fade to black. 

--

Oikawa opened his eyes and blinked a few times, his shoulders were hurting, and became aware he was tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. His hands were held harshly behind his back. He twitched his fingers and brushed against another hand, with rough skin. Iwaizumi? Oikawa turned his head to the side but the only thing he could see was the solid back of the chair behind him. He moved his fingers away, and then to his surprise felt them brush against him again. He left his fingers where they were and took in the part of the room he could see. 

As far as he could tell, he was in the middle of a warehouse, it was dimly lit, and there were at least three people gathered around a table, that had what looked like Konoha's unconscious body on top of it. He shifted slightly in the chair, trying to see further around the room, scraping it on the floor slightly. 

Two of the men turned, facing Oikawa, the tallest of the group walked over. 

"Tell me what you know," the unknown man said, his voice deep and commanding, as he removed the gag.

Oikawa filled him in on the murder of Yahaba, Konoha being taken in, finding the tracker signal, up to the phone call. 

"Was it you he spoke to on the call."

"The second person he spoke to, yes."

The man turned away then, speaking to another. 

"Bring him in, let him get to work."

Oikawa watched as one of the men walked away and returned with another, short man with a thin frame, carrying a laptop and a case. He sat down with his back to Oikawa and started pulling out tools from the case, set to work, muttering to himself for a while. 

"This isn't going to work," his voice was quiet, timid. 

 The tallest man went over and the pair began to speak too quietly for Oikawa to hear. After a minute of back and forth, the smaller man raised his voice sightly, his tone annoyed. 

"I'm telling you, I can't."

"Having issues getting a freq scanner to keep a consistent read?" Oikawa called out across the room. 

The two men turned, the taller stepped forward towards Oikawa, but the smaller spoke, stopping the other in his tracks.

"I'm losing it at 98."

"Swap to 126 when you hit 96," Oikawa replied.

Oikawa watch the smaller male for a few minutes, then spoke again, "at 137, jump to 62." 

The smaller man turned to him after and said, "next?"

"I don't know, I only had 45 minutes before the meet." 

The shorter man turned to the taller one. 

"I need his help." 

The taller looked towards the rest of his team. 

"Untie him, if he tries anything, kill his friend over there."

Oikawa rubbed his wrists as he was released, and walked across the room to the unconscious man on the table and the smaller one sitting, his eyes roaming over the equipment dotted around. At least half of it was illegal to own. Some of it he recognised as government property. He glanced over at Iwaizumi still tied to his chair, looking straight up at a gun barrel pointed at his forehead held by another of the Nekorodani men. 

"Call me if you find anything," the tall man said, turning and walking away, the rest of his men followed, leaving just the short man, and the one with his gun on Iwaizumi. Oikawa swallowed and set to work.

--

For the first time in his life, Suna entered into Sakusa's office without knocking. He had his laptop bag on his back and he had just sprinted up 5 flights of stairs. He bent over, panting. Atsumu, who had been sat on the front right of Sakusa's desk looked up in surprise. 

"Emergency," was all Suna got out between pants.

"He's in the shower, I'll get him for ya."

Atsumu leapt up and moved swiftly into the bedroom, and through to the bathroom.

"Sakusa, Suna just burst into yer office and yelled emergency." Atsumu called loudly over the shower noise. 

The shower stopped instantly, and Atsumu grabbed a towel, passing it to him. Sakusa came out with it wrapped around his waist, and moved out into the bedroom, still dripping wet. 

"What is it?" Sakusa asked, as he exited the bedroom door and walked towards Suna. 

"Someones trying to back trace the tracker."

"Fuck. I thought you said the police don't have the technology?"

 Atsumu approached then, holding a pair of black sweat pants and boxers. Suna turned his back and continued to speak as Sakusa roughly dried himself and pulled on the clothing.

"They don't Sakusa, but they aren't at the police station, they are a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. I don't think it's the police. Nekorodani might have found it themselves."

"Can they trace it back to here?" 

"A long shot maybe, I set everything up through Sunday," Suna paused then, a look of horror on his face, "there's something at Sunday itself that can trace back here. If anyone gets in there.." he trailed off. 

"Suna, suit up, we leave in 10 minutes." 

Suna nodded and walked out.

"What do ya want me to do?"  

"Keep Osamu busy. I don't want him anywhere near Akaashi for the time being, I'm not risking anything, so you two are both benched for this." 

"Yer going to Nekorodani?" 

"Yes. There are too many moving parts in this that I don't know enough about, but something bigger than us is going on, and I need answers."

Atsumu felt his hand shake slightly. He was uneasy about this, risking his life was one thing, but being benched to wait and find out of Sakusa and Suna made it through this, that was worse.

Sakusa walked to his desk and slid back a panel, pressed his thumb to the surface and pulled out a silver chain with a tiny key hung on it, from a small compartment that opened. He walked over to Atsumu, placing it over his head and hiding it under his top.

"If he and I aren't back in 6 hours, use this key in the lock behind the portrait of the black rose. Follow the instructions."

Atsumu nodded, and swallowed. To his surprise, Sakusa moved forward and kissed him briefly, then turned and walked towards his bedroom. 

"Go find your brother." 

--

Sakusa didn't have a plan. He didn't need one. He realised that evening that he was now playing a much bigger game than he realised, and he was playing without knowing the full set of rules, or who all the players were. He needed answers. Tonight he would either find them, or die. 

He had left everything he'd ever collected in the hands of Atsumu, if he didn't return, Atsumu would enact the liquidation process. Twenty four hours after that, Sakusa Kiyoomi wouldn't exist and in the off chance he was still alive in 6 hours, he had one destination. A back up plan he had build over the years, a new life, clean slate. 

With that in mind, Sakusa walked up to the innocent looking red door on the side of an ordinary looking building, nested between a pizza parlor and a dry cleaners, opened it and walked down the corridor. As it opened out, he was met with three men wearing all black, apart from red face masks, with only slits to see out of.

"On the basis you're on door duty, none of your are important enough to know anything useful. So one of you scurry off and tell your boss that Jackal wants a chat." 

The three men glanced at each other, one of them spoke to another and then walked away. He returned a few minutes later with a short man, dressed in a pristine crimson suit with light brown hair, a slim black and deep red mask over just his eyes.

"What seems to be the problem here?" the light haired man asked.

"Tell your boss that Jackal wants to talk to him, now."

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," the brunette shot back.

"Yes you do, cat. Tell him he's about Konoha, or maybe the owls would care more? Either way, you're not high enough ranking. So run along and get someone more important."

"I see. My name is Yaku, I'll take you to someone now. I'm not going to bother to ask you if you're armed. Follow me. You three are dismissed."

Sakusa waited until the three hired guns moved out of ear shot. 

"I don't give a fuck who you're taking me to, if it's not Kuroo, I'm not interested."

Yaku sucked in a surprised breath, but said nothing, other than to nod. He walked down a few corridors and opened a door, gesturing for them to step inside. 

"Wait in here." 

Sakusa walked across the room and lounged on one of the leather sofas inside, Suna moved to sit at the other end, far less relaxed. Yaku stepped back out into the corridor and shut the door.

"Well this is going better than expected so far." Sakusa commented, his voice sounding bored. 

The door opened a few minutes later and two men walked in, the taller one pointed a silenced pistol at Sakusa's head.

"Do you mind telling me what the fuck you are doing in my establishment Jackal and what the fuck you know about Konoha?" Kuroo's deep voice said.

"Well it would appear either you or someone else has found the tracking chip I played in Konoha, and if it's not you, then I need to do something about it, so did you?"

"What the fuck, that's your tracker?" 

"Yes Kuroo, I just said that, do try and keep up."

Kuroo moved forward and pressed the end of the silencer to Sakusa's forehead. 

"Kuroo," the second man spoke. 

Kuroo stepped back.

"Why are you trying to frame us?" Kuroo shot at Sakusa.

Sakusa frowned behind his mask. 

"What do you mean, frame you?" Sakusa questioned.

"You killed a cop and tried to frame Nekoma and Fukurodani." 

"What the fuck are you talking about? The cop that was killed at the car park? I saw it on the news, we put off Blaker for a few days because of it. I assumed one of your men did it to try and delay us making an attempt, in order for you to get through room 10 first." 

Kuroo lowered his gun then. 

"If it wasn't you, why did you put a tracker in Konoha?"

"To establish your base location." 

Kuroo sat on the couch opposite them then, processing. 

"Two cops picked up Konoha this morning, one of them found your tracker. Konoha contacted the emergency line, and said that someone had murdered one of their cops, and painted the Nekoma and Fukurodani logos on his hands. We met up with the cops, they are with Kenma and Bokuto now trying to trace the tracker."

Suna shifted slightly, his eyes flicking onto the other man in the room.

"Well they might as well stop, I can tell you where the trace goes back to. What I don't understand is, who killed the cop? I assume you thought I was behind it as an attempt to take your organisation out of the contenders list. I have no reason to kill the cop. We were ahead, and we delayed our next run because of it."

Kuroo sat and contemplated for a few minutes. 

"I'm going to take you to Konoha, you're going to get your shit out of him."

"Very well," Sakusa said, standing, "if it's not painfully obvious Kuroo, someone is playing both of us, and I don't know about you, but I strongly fucking dislike being played."

"Lets go."

--

The four walked into the warehouse thirty minutes later to an interesting sight. One cop tied to a chair, the other at the table with a now conscious Konoha, and what Sakusa assumed was Kenma. Another of Kuroo's men stood with a gun pointed at the cop tied up. 

"Well isn't this a fun party," Sakusa said as he walked into the room, "you can stop trying to trace my tracking chip now little kitty, your boss already knows I put it in him." 

The cop on the chair snapped his head towards Sakusa then. Interesting. 

"I didn't kill your cop," Sakusa added, "we were just having a pleasant discussion about the fact the cops murder was used to try and set our two organisations again each other. Someone else is pulling strings."

"Yahaba," the tied cop hissed out. 

Sakusa walked around to the front of Iwaizumi's chair. 

"Yahaba," Sakusa repeated, "it is unfortunate that your colleague was dragged into this mess. I have a great respect for the law enforcement on this city, what's your name?"

"Iwaizumi."

"And yours?" Sakusa said, looking at Oikawa.

"Oikawa."

"Oikawa, I met your father briefly. Good cop, had a lot of respect for him. He had no idea who I was, I acted as a witness for another crime."

Oikawa shifted. "Who are you?"

Sakusa tilted his head to the side, and said, "Jackal."

Oikawa sucked in a breath, "you! You're Jackal?"

"Oh you've heard of me, how sweet. Now, we are properly introduced, lets make this nice and simple. We all have a common goal now. Whoever killed Yahaba is fucking with us. No offence to your wonderful police work, but if you find Yahaba's killer, you'll have to give him a slap on the wrist and he'll be free within 6 months. I have a much more pleasurable end in mind for them. So how about you tell me what you know, and let me eradicate his killer?"      

Oikawa glanced at Iwaizumi, who to his surprise, nodded. 

"Untie me and I'll show you."

"Run away owl." Sakusa said to the gun holder, and bent down to untie Iwaizumi's binds. 

The man glanced at Kuroo, who nodded. 

"Before you start, get your tracker out of Konoha." Kuroo called out.

Sakusa nodded towards Suna, who approached the table, and began to speak to Kenma about equipment he needed.

Iwaizumi stood, pulling a small folder from the inside of his suit jacket and handed it over to Sakusa, who opened it and flipped through it, then walked over and Kuroo and handed it to him. Sakusa stood there, waiting. 

"You know who it is don't you?" Oikawa asked, glancing between the two men. 

Kuroo looked up at Sakusa, handing the folder back, shaking his head. 

"Really Kuroo? Oops, sorry I guess you kept the names hidden from the cops didn't you? My mistake." 

Kuroo pulled out his gun from his hip, but Sakusa already had his drawn from his back, pointed not at Kuroo, but at Kenma. 

"Don't think I'm stupid. I know you value his life over your own."

Iwaizumi walked between the pair of them then, directly into Kuroo's gun barrel's path. 

"I don't give a fuck who either of you are, use your names, don't use your names, I want my brother avenged. If you know who's behind this Jackal, tell me."

Sakusa lowered his gun. 

"Lets make this much easier. Kuroo is the leader of Nekoma, he's the one with a gun currently pointed at your head. Kenma is the short one over there, he's the 2nd in command in Nekoma and is their expert hacker. The taller of the two on the other side is Bokuto, who runs Fukurodani, and the person to his side is his second in command Akaashi. You've met Konoha already. I couldn't give a fuck if the cops rip your organisations apart after this, I just want the person trying to screw me to die, slowly and painfully."

"I'm a private investigator, not a cop, taking down gangs is not my area of expertise, and honestly all I give a shit about is finding who killed Yahaba, and knowing they got what they deserved."

"Iwaizumi.." Oikawa cautioned, "you're walking the line."

Iwaizumi turned, "and I'll cross it if I have to Oikawa. I've made my choice, if you're not with me, then run off back to Mattsun."

Oikawa didn't move. 

Sakusa cleared his throat.  

"Iwaizumi, what was Yahaba doing the night he was murdered?" 

"He was on a stake out on the car park due to activity that was there a month before."

"I see," Jackal replied, "tell me everything."

Iwaizumi and Oikawa filled them in on finding the cabin, seeing Atsumu and Suna, the car park and seeing the two groups come and go, setting up the stake out, finding the key pad and putting the film over it to register finger prints, through to his body being found and the drawings on his hand.

"So Blaker is behind it? It makes no sense for it to be any other group. Something must have alerted them to the key pad being tampered with, and Yahaba was killed because of it, but they used it to try and ensure the two leading groups were at odds with each other. Interesting." Sakusa said.

Kuroo nodded as Sakusa spoke, but Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked blankly between each other. 

"Who's Blaker?" Oikawa asked. 

"We have no idea. It's a challenge set out for people in our lines of work, as an initiation. No ones completed it yet. Once you complete it, you get an introduction. The only way we are going to get to who's behind this, is to complete the challenge. One of our groups has to get there before anyone else does, or we will lose any chance of finding them again. Kuroo, is your team ready to go again?"

"Yes, we delayed due to what happened as well." 

"Alright, lets go again tomorrow, both teams, and meet back here tomorrow. He turned to Suna. 

"Lets go, I want to kill something."

Oikawa cleared his throat pointedly. 

"You can use that on my trial if you ever actually succeed in catching me Oikawa. You should thank me anyway, nearly all the people I kill are criminals."

Sakusa turned and walked towards the exit. Oikawa threw caution to the wind then, and called out. 

"Jackal."

Sakusa turned back towards him.

"Do you know Eagle?"

"Why?" Sakusa asked.

"He's wanted for the murders of an entire gang called Nohebi."

"I'll give you this one for free Oikawa, Eagle's been dead for 5 years, the Nohebi leader Daishou executed him."

Oikawa's eyes widened in surprise. He knew he was pushing his luck now.

"Do you know who killed Nohebi?"

"Yes, I killed them. Eagle was my friend." 

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me for murdering a room full of people?"

"Because some of their members were involved in a bank robbery that resulted in my fathers murder." 

Sakusa dipped his head forward into a nod. 

"As I said, most of the people I kill are criminals."

He nodded to Kuroo, then walked out the door, not noticing that Suna had his eyes on Akaashi for most of the meeting, his fists clenched.

Chapter Text

Atsumu huffs out a sigh of relief when he hears the front door open four hours after Sakusa left. He had gone to find Osamu like Sakusa had asked him to, and convinced his brother to watch a movie, however an hour into it, Atsumu had grown so restless checking his phone that Osamu had finally snapped and demanded to know what was going on. Atsumu caved immediately and the pair quickly transitioned into the dining room and embarked on a nervous three hour wait, watching the count down on Atsumu's phone until the six hour timer was up. 

 The twins got up and ran to the front door, Osamu immediately threw himself into Sunas open arms, and Suna pulled off his mask to kiss his boyfriend. 

"Get a good nights sleep in, and be in the dining room at 9 tomorrow." Sakusa said to the pair.

Suna nodded and took Osamu by the hand, leading him upstairs and out of sight, starting to fill him in as they walked. 

As soon as the pair were gone, Atsumu stepped forward from the edge of the room and Sakusa removed his mask and opened his arms. Atsumu moved forward and wrapped himself around Sakusa's waist. Sakusa lay one arm around Atsumu's back. 

"You weren't worried about me were you?" 

"Ya left me with a plan to enact should ya not come back, and ya ask me if I'm worried about ya..." Atsumu trials off, annoyance in his voice. 

He pulls the chain up from around his neck and hands it over to Sakusa. 

"Weren't you temped you look inside?" 

"How did ya know I didn't?" 

"I would know Atsumu. Come on." 

Sakusa walked towards the stairs and started to climb. They walked to Sakusa's room, he replaced the key and he went off towards the shower. Atsumu, having showered while waiting for Sakusa and Suna to return, stripped down to his boxers and got into bed. 

Sakusa walked back in fifteen minutes later, clean and wearing just boxers, and joined him in bed. Atsumu rolled onto his side and Sakusa started to fill Atsumu in on everything that had happened. When Sakusa got to the part of meeting Oikawa, Atsumu shifted forward and lay his head on Sakusa's chest, Sakusa wrapped his arm around Atsumu instinctively. 

Atsumu yawned as Sakusa finished the update. 

"Sleep Atsumu, we have to perform tomorrow." 

"Omi.." Atsumu called out, an edge to his voice that Sakusa couldn't place. 

"Yes Atsumu?" 

Atsumu ran his hand down Sakusa's chest, to his hip bone, latching on, his thumb hooking under the waistband of his boxers. 

"Omi.." he called again, his voice strained. 

Ah. 

Sakusa turned his head to face Atsumu, lifting the blonds head up and placing a kiss to Atsumu's lips. Atsumu shifted into his side immediately, pulling Sakusa closer. Sakusa ran his hands down Atsumu's body and the pair melted into each other. 

--

Oikawa and Iwaizumi sat on the balcony, watching the car park when they saw the first group arrive and enter, no clue which group it was.  

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi spoke for the first time since they arrived two hours ago. 

"Yes?" 

"I'm sorry.. about your father. I've heard of him, I didn't realise you were his son. He was one of the finest cops this city has ever had." 

"Thank you. You know, my father turned his focus onto trying to catch Jackal and Eagle in the last year of his life. It's kind of ironic that Jackal was the one to avenge his death." 

"Are you okay with this? You're getting close to crossing a line you can't come back from Oikawa, not even just facing losing your badge, you could go to jail for this." 

"My father always said the same thing to me growing up. 'Use your head, but follow your heart and gut.' My gut is telling me to be careful, but my heart is telling me to carry on. We're doing this for Yahaba. Jackal has been finding and killing people for most of his life if the rumours are true, and he's not able to touch who's behind this, we couldn't even find Jackal, we have no choice."

"You do Oikawa, you can walk away." 

"Iwaizumi, you might not have wanted it, but Matsukawa made you my partner, I'm sticking with you." 

Iwaizumi nudged Oikawa with his elbow.

"You know, I expected you to be over enthusiastic and annoyingly desperate to prove yourself. You've proven me wrong. I'm glad we are partners." 

"Aww, Iwa, are you getting all emotional on me?"

"Shut up Shittykawa. You ruined it."

Oikawa stifled a laugh and turned back to watching the car park.

--

Sakusa parked and got out, determination flowed through him, feeding him like oxygen to a fire. Someone actually had the audacity to try and play him. He flexed and un-flexed his fist as he walked towards the scoreboard. Kuroo's team's score remained the same, he assumed they hadn't attempted it yet, rather than failed in the same place. The four made it through to room nine in good time, nothing had gone wrong yet, and they still had just under twenty minutes on the clock. 

The four walked to the same tiles as last time, Atsumu's eyes were on Sakusa as the walls shot up around them, and then he focused on the locks in front of him, keeping his calm as the walls started to move in on him this time. He finished first once again, moving to the central panel, but all the other three were already on their last locks, having practiced relentlessly in the month between. 

Atsumu moved to the door, waiting until Sakusa completed his final and it opened. He moved immediately, climbing the steps into the glass tank. They had discussed this in their first meeting after their last attempt, and decided that Atsumu should be inside as it had the most locks. Sakusa took the left wall, Osamu the right, and Suna went to the back. As Atsumu hit the floor inside the tank, a metal cover shot across the opening at the top, sealing him inside. 

The other three turned, but nothing happened. Atsumu shrugged and bent down, starting work on the first lock. He let out a cry of alarm as he did so, seeing water bubble up from the vent in the floor. Sakusa turned to face him, realising what was happening. 

"Atsumu!" Osamu cried out, turning as well.

Sakusa eyed Atsumu for a few seconds, then turned back to his locks.

"Work Osamu, fast." 

At Atsumu's sixth lock, he no longer had the ability to stay working without being under water. He transitioned between rising off a crouch to take a breath and going back under water to work. Atsumu was thankful for the extra training he had been put under by Sakusa to hold his breath for longer, as he was through the 8th lock before the tank was half full. He swallowed down fear when he realised that a second vent was opening in the floor, increasing the water intake rate. 

He took another lung full of air and made it through locks nine and ten. None of the others had noticed his problem yet, as they all had their backs to him, working on their own locks. He made it to the top of the tank, and took in his last breath after completing lock twelve, Sakusa and Suna had finished then, and realised the situation in the tank. 

Sakusa hit the side of the glass, placing his hand against it, Atsumu looked up, nodded and dived. He made it through thirteen and fourteen, then expelled the stale air in his lungs. He held his breath and finished the final lock. 

The lights went green in the room and the tank started to empty. Water was rapidly sucked out through the floor. Atsumu took in a lung full of air immediately. When the tank was empty, hot air blew in through the floor, drying him in a few minutes then the metal roof snapped back and he climbed out.

"I don't think I'd have made that if ya didn't train me to hold my breath for so long. I was able to do two locks at a time cos of it."

Sakusa nodded, then turned his attention to the door at the end of the chamber. He opened it and walked into a completely white room, with no other visible doors. Inside stood a man in a black suit, with a black mask covering half his face. He had striking blue eyes and his black hair pulled into a v shape at the front, but other than that he seemed like a perfectly ordinary man, not even a gun was visible on him. 

"Good morning Jackal. My boss offers congratulations to you and your team. I am however here to inform you that the challenge has changed slightly, with a part two. You will be invited to take part in a head to head challenge against the next team to make it through the ten rooms." 

The man held out a phone to him then. 

"You will be contacted on this when the next challenge is ready. Have a good day." 

The man turned then, walking towards a blank wall, which parted when he approached, and slid back into place after he disappeared. 

"Are ya fuckin' kidding me? We go through all that for... nothin'?" Atsumu snapped. 

Sakusa thought for a moment then turned. 

"Come on." 

The four made it back out to the car park, and observed the scoreboard. Their group had moved to a separate section now with the caption 'Second challenge' and a single line below it for another group. 

Sakusa turned as the ramp opened and the same 4x4 from last month drove down. Sakusa moved over to his car, opening it and pulling out his gun, sliding it into the holster at his back. He waited until the four new arrivals were out the vehicle and standing near the scanners when he pulled the pistol and aimed it at Kuroo.

"Cat, I want a word, get in." Sakusa gestured to his car, the doors still open. 

"What the fuck?" Kuroo spat out, but walked forwards anyway and got in. 

Sakusa got in the drivers seat and closed the doors, then smacked a button on his dashboard, disabling any electronic devices nearby. 

"Apologies for the theatrics Kuroo but there is CCTV set up in here and I didn't want to take any chances of our new friends finding out we are anything but enemies. The first two teams that make it through are going to into a head to head. I need your team to make it so I'm going to donate you a little present. Open the glove box."

Kuroo lent forward and opened it, revealing a box. 

"Inside are four spare breathing tubes, gives you 60 seconds of oxygen each, and the silver orb has a switch on the bottom, it will disable the lasers from working in room three. I'm going to text one of my team to leave his equipment as well, collect it on your way in. It contains what you'll need to get through room eight. Room nine is four cubes that get slowly smaller but it's standard lock picking, and room ten, one of your team will need to go inside a glass tank that fills with water. Give Akaashi a couple of the oxygen tubes to get him through it. Good luck."

Sakusa pulled out his phone, shooting a message to Suna, who moved to the edge of the room by the door and deposited his backpack immediately. Kuroo pulled the tubes and ball from the box and slid them into his bag. 

"Thanks Jackal, we'll see you tonight."

Kuroo got out of the car, walked towards the rest of his team, picking up the bag as he went. Atsumu got into the passenger seat, and the pair watched Kuroo's team disappear inside the chamber. 

"Ya gave them the stuff they needed to do it right?"

"Yes." 

"What time are we meeting them?"

"You're not coming to the meet Atsumu."

"I should be there with ya, ya said we were partners now, let me be by ya side."

"I don't want Osamu going near Akaashi." 

"I'll talk to him." 

Sakusa said nothing, just started the engine and left. 

--

Oikawa paced in the warehouse, it was ten minutes past the meeting time. Iwaizumi lounged against the wall, his gun holstered at his side.

"Stop pacing, you're driving me insane."

Oikawa sat, only to immediately stand again when the doors opened and in walked Jackal, followed by three others. A few minutes later Kuroo's four walked in. Kuroo walked over to Jackal and handed him a bag. 

"Thanks. Guess we are going head to head now." Kuroo said.

"You got the same message as us I assume?" Jackal replied.

"You want to fill us in?" Oikawa interrupted. 

"Short version is we both completed the challenge. We met with some creepy dark haired kid who gave us both a burner phone and told us we would be contacted when a head to head challenge would take place. My team vs Kuroo's, and the winners get an initiation I assume."

"That's not what the original challenge was right?" Oikawa asked.

"No, it would appear someones changed the rules. Any other questions?"

Movement came from behind Sakusa then, and he turned around to see one of the twins step forward.

"Yeah, I got a question," Osamu said, reaching up to remove his mask and turning to Akaashi, "why the fuck did ya leave me?"

Chapter Text

The room was deadly silent in the wake of Osamu's words. Oikawa and Iwaizumi exchanged confused glances. Akaashi took a half step back, and Bokuto whipped his head to look at Akaashi. The only significant movement however was Sakusa, who flipped around at Osamu, wrapping his hand around Osamu's throat and shoved him up against the wall. 

"Jackal!" Atsumu shouted out, moving between him and Osamu, his arm on Sakusa's arm.

Suna however moved forward towards the middle of the room, his eyes on Akaashi. Bokuto stepped forward, pulling a silenced pistol from the small of his back, aiming it at Suna's head. 

"Make one more step towards my boyfriend and I'll kill you." Bokuto's voice was low and threatening. 

Sakusa dropped his arm at that, turning around and pulling his own gun at Bokuto. 

"You'll die before you pull the trigger." 

Kuroo pulled his gun on Sakusa then, and silence lingered for a few minutes. Oikawa shifted slightly. Iwaizumi however walked across to the middle of the room, perfectly calm, placing a hand on both Suna and Bokuto's chests, shoving them back away from each other. 

"May I remind you that both teams will need all of their members alive in order to complete the second challenge, and pitting you all against each other is exactly what their goal was in the first place. I don't know what the fuck is going on, but we don't have time for this bullshit."

Sakusa cleared his throat, and Suna stepped back, dropping back into line behind Sakusa again. His eyes still fixed on Akaashi, his hands balled into fists. One by one the men around the room lowered and holstered their guns.

Akaashi took a step forward, his eyes on Kuroo, who nodded, so Akaashi stepped again, past Bokuto, he turned, placing a hand on Bokuto's chest, until the other dropped back to stand beside Kuroo. Akaashi turned his attention to the grey haired man across the room then.

"I'll tell you why Osamu," Akaashi said in a quiet voice, "I had no choice."

Osamu moved forward, as he passed Suna, he brushed Suna's hands briefly with his own, and moved to stand slightly in front of Sakusa, his eyes on Akaashi. Kuroo stepped forward then, placing an arm across Akaashi's chest. 

"I took him prisoner." Kuroo said simply. 

"You what?" Osamu's head whipped to look at Kuroo then. 

Kuroo sighed, he turned to eye Iwaizumi and Oikawa for a moment, contemplating. Oikawa shifted slightly, swallowing. 

"We aren't interested in taking you down Kuroo, just say it so we can get back to the real point of this meeting." Iwaizumi said. 

Kuroo turned back to Osamu. 

"Story time then. Let me take you back three years.." 

--

"Bokuto, if we are ever going to do Blaker, we need a lock picker in the team, and I know the perfect person for it."

"Who?" 

"There are two thieves known as the fox twins, one in particular is of interest to me, Atsumu, go find the pair of them, do not bring back Osamu. I'll text you over details of a hit they are likely to make soon, go there and watch out for them."

Bokuto nodded and headed out the door. He waited just over three hours until two people in black masks appeared outside the grounds. He crept forward, waited until they separated, the followed one and pulled out his gun, pressing it into the small of the man's back.

"Are you Osamu?"

"No.." came a soft voice from below the mask.

"Good answer." 

Bokuto brought the butt of the gun down across the side of the mans head, hitting him hard, and caught him as he fell unconscious. Bokuto carried him to the back of his van, throwing him inside and drove back to the docks.

"Kuroo, I have him."

"Good work Bokuto, bring him in." 

Bokuto dragged the unconscious man forwards and dumped him on the floor. Kuroo stepped forward and undid the mask, removing it. He frowned.

"Bokuto, who the fuck is this?"

Bokuto stared at the unconscious man blankly.

"I.. he said.. he wasn't Osamu.."

Kuroo picked up his glass and threw water on the strangers face, causing him to stir. Kuroo picked up his gun and pointed it at the striking blue eyes now looking at him.

"You have three seconds to tell me your name and what the fuck you were doing with Osamu."

"Ak-Akaashi," the raven haired man stuttered out, pushing himself carefully into a sitting position through his restraints, "I... where is Osamu?"

"More importantly, where the fuck is Atsumu?" Kuroo shot at him. 

"He.. he was on another job, Osamu and I were doing that one together."

Kuroo let out a sigh. 

"Take him to the cage until we figure out what the fuck to do with him."

 Akaashi suddenly moved, his arms springing free of the bindings, but only made a few steps before Kuroo had his gun on him again. 

"You can unpick locks I see... interesting. Bokuto, take him to the cage, and watch him, closely."

Bokuto pulled out his gun, and aimed it at Akaashi.

"Move." 

Akaashi walked along the hallway and into the tiny room, feeling the barrel of the gun on his back. He stepped into the cage and sat on the floor, his eyes on Bokuto. 

"How long are you going to hold me here?" 

"That's up to my boss. No talking."

Akaashi pulled off his gloves then, and shifted his sleeves up, his hand wrapping around the leather strap on his wrist with 'Osamu' stamped on it. 

"He means a lot to you doesn't he?" Bokuto asked. 

"I thought I wasn't allowed to talk?" Akaashi said quietly.

Bokuto stayed silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"You can speak when I ask you questions."

"He's my boyfriend. We've been together a couple of years." 

"Oh."

"I'm never going to see him again am I? Your boss was after Atsumu because he wants a lock picker, and now he knows I am, he's not letting me go until he gets what he wanted Atsumu for is he?" 

Bokuto tilted his head to the side. 

"You got all that from what Kuroo said to you?"

"Ah, so your boss is Kuroo, that would make you Bokuto. The twins told me about you two."

"Ho...how?" Bokuto stammered. 

"I'm good at reading people. You gave me the name Kuroo so, that was easy, he was rumoured to be associated with a hacker known as Kodzuken and an assassin called Bokuto. Kodzuken wouldn't have let slip any information to me, and Kuroo is unlikely to have him on guard duty, plus your pistol is silenced and you wear gloves. It wasn't hard to put together." 

Bokuto sat on the floor then in silence, just staring at Akaashi. Akaashi removed his jacket, folding it up and lying down, with his head on it. He placed his hand over the strap on his wrist, and held it to his chest. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his mind on Osamu.

 --

Akaashi was bored. It had been three days. He'd been allowed out to use the bathroom twice a day, but other than to thank Bokuto for giving him food, he hadn't spoken or moved. 

"If you're going to insist on keeping me in this cage, the least you can do is talk to me." 

Bokuto stayed silent, then got up and left, he returned a few minutes later and pushed a book through the cage bars, and let it drop to the other side. Akaashi picked it up and read the title, he'd heard of it but never read it. 

"This yours?" 

"No, it's one of Kuroo's, he likes to read a lot. I'm more of a movies guy."

"I see, thank you." 

Akaashi sat back on the thin futon he had been given to sleep on, on the first night, and started to read. He finished it in the same day, and Bokuto supplied him with the next book. He finished the fifth book in the series by the end of the week, he shut it quietly. He checked his watch, it was nearly three in the morning. He got up and placed it by the cage door, then walked back to his bed. Bokuto sat up, raising his gun up as he did. 

"I was just putting the book by the door, I didn't mean to wake you Bokuto, I apologise."

Bokuto lowered his gun and checked his watch.

"It's three in the morning.. did you read the entire time I was asleep?" 

"Yes, it's a good series, does Kuroo have the last two books?"

"Yes, I'll get you the next one in the morning, go to sleep."

"What's your favourite movie Bokuto?"

"Legends of the Guardians."

"Isn't that a kids movie?"

"I like owls," said Bokuto with a shrug.

"Me too." Akaashi replied, with a smile.

"I also like.." 

The days slipped by, blending into weeks, Bokuto and Akaashi spent most of their days talking from then onward. On the seventeenth day, Bokuto removed his mask for the first time. Akaashi watched the way his golden eyes lit up when he talked about his favourite things. At night, when Bokuto slept, Akaashi would wrap his hand around the bracelet on his wrist, touching Osamu's name, as he drifted off to sleep. 

The first major change in Akaashi's life came just over a month into his imprisonment. Kuroo approached, wanting him to pick a lock on a safe he had acquired. Akaashi set to work on it, and got in fairly easily. Kuroo was pleased, collected the content and disappeared again. A few weeks later, Kuroo returned again, this time to tell Bokuto to take him out on a job. 

With every week that passed, Akaashi was allowed more freedoms, especially by Bokuto. More and more nights he fell asleep without clinging to the bracelet anymore. 

"Bokuto, how long until Kuroo is done with me?" 

Bokuto looked up, tilting his head to the side. 

"I.. I don't know.. why?" 

 "I want to find Osamu, to.. to say goodbye if Kuroo isn't going to let me go. I'll come back afterwards. Just please, convince him to let me go back to my apartment. I just want to be able to give Osamu closure and tell him I'm okay. It's been nearly six months." 

"I'll see what I can do Akaashi." 

 Two weeks later, Bokuto's alarm went off in the middle of the night, waking Akaashi up. 

"What.. what's going on Bokuto?" 

"Stay quiet. I'm taking you to your apartment." 

"Kuroo said no didn't he?" 

"Yeah, but I'm taking you anyway." 

"Why?" 

"Because I care about you." 

"Thank you Bokuto." 

Akaashi stood quickly, pulling on a hoodie and sweat pants and stepped out the cage. The pair made their way through the compound and out into the night, walking a few streets away, Bokuto unlocked his car.  

"I left it here tonight just in case Kuroo heard it start, get in." 

Akaashi gave Bokuto directions to the tiny flat the three of them used to share, he opened the door with the hidden key and stepped inside. The place was silent and cold looking, abandoned. He moved into the kitchen, Bokuto followed with his gun raised. Akaashi took the piece of paper down that was tacked to the fridge, his name scrawled across the front in Osamu's messy handwriting. He read the note through twice. 

"What is it?" 

"I'm too late, Osamu said he would check the apartment every night at midnight for me for six months. He's gone for good, he'll be impossible to find again. They'll go underground for a while." 

Akaashi folded the note and pulled off his bracelet, he rubbed the leather of the name one last time, then placed both on the counter and turned to the door. 

"Let's go home Bokuto." Akaashi said with a resigned sigh.

--

Bokuto stepped forward, taking Akaashi's hand as Akaashi spoke. 

"I never intended on leaving you Osamu, but at the same time, it was three years ago and I've moved on, and I see you have as well. I'm happy for you."

Suna stepped forward to take Osamu's hand, his head turned to face Akaashi. Bokuto stepped forward defensively. Kuroo moved forward as well. 

"Enough Bokuto, stand down. Osamu, you have your answer, it's time to move on."

Akaashi dropped back to the wall, pulling Bokuto with him. Osamu nodded, replacing his mask and fell back with Suna. 

"I am interested in knowing how you ended up with the twins though Jackal." Kuroo said as the room fell silent again.

"My team are none of your concern Kuroo," Jackal replied. "I'm also not interested in which of us win this contest, I just want to find the person behind this contest, and kill them, very slowly. I don't care what else happens, I want the top dog, and I'll kill anyone who gets in the way of that."

Sakusa turned towards Iwaizumi when he spoke. 

"I'm just here for Yahaba's killer. If that's the same person, then by all means, do what you wish, I just want to know they are dead." 

Oikawa sucked in a breath beside him, and reached out to place his hand on Iwaizumi's forearm, who shook it off immediately. Iwaizumi turned to Oikawa.

"I meant what I said, and I'm seeing this through to the end, no matter how many lines I cross."

Kuroo let out a laugh then.

"You know what, I like you," he said, turning to face Iwaizumi, "not afraid to get your hands dirty to get what you want, you're in the wrong line of work."

Iwaizumi ignored him, and pulled out two of his business cards, offering them to Kuroo and Jackal. 

"My number, though I'm sure your teams will be able to track me down easily enough if you want to talk to me. Keep us in the loop when you get contacted by them for the next challenge." 

Kuroo took the card with a nod, pocketing it. Sakusa took the card, eyeing it for a moment then handed it to Suna. 

"Is that everything? I'd like to go have a word with my team." Jackal said.

Iwaizumi and  Kuroo nodded. Sakusa turned and walked out the door back to his car, the rest of the team following behind him. Atsumu reached out and grabbed Osamu's hand as they went, squeezing it.

Chapter Text

Bokuto closed the door after the other six had departed, and walked back to Akaashi, Kuroo and Kenma.

"What was that about Kuroo?" Akaashi said. 

"I didn't want you telling him the truth. We need those four on good terms with us if we are going to pull this plan off. Once we win the second challenge, we can have our new friends deal with Jackal and his team, and it won't be a problem anymore."

Akaashi nodded. 

"I hope Osamu bought it, you fluffed over my meeting of Bokuto quite a lot, it didn't sound exactly like me." 

"Yeah well, you try making up six months of bullshit with thirty seconds notice and see how you get on," Kuroo walked towards the door, "come on, lets go home." 

"I just hope this hole you're leading us into pays off Kuroo," Akaashi said with a resigned sigh.

Outside the door, Iwaizumi and Oikawa lent against the door. At the sound of footsteps approaching, the pair shifted around the corner silently and waited for the four to get into their vehicle and drive away. 

"Think we should warn Jackal?" Oikawa asked.

"Look, we now know about Osamu and Atsumu, the person we saw before at the cabin, and the person we saw at the car park, it wasn't a dye job, they have to be the twins. The other face, is either the 3rd guy, or it's Jackal. My money is on, it's the third guy. Lets start searching for those three, facial recognition on any and every camera we can get access to. Lets start digging."

"I still have the frequency of the signal they had in that Konoha guy, I recon I could back trace it given enough time. I don't think anyone's going to be paying any particular interest in it anymore."

"Tell me Oikawa, are you doing this to find him to warn him, or to find him to take him down?"

"Right now, to warn him, but.. it doesn't stop us from digging out as much dirt as we can right? Once Yahaba is avenged, anything from then on is fair game." 

"Alright, we'll just need to keep your name clean so you can take Jackal down after this is all over."

--

Sakusa was silent for the entire journey back to the mansion. When they arrived, he unlocked the front door and walked straight to the dining room. Atsumu pulled off his mask and glanced at Osamu, then followed Sakusa. The four sat, removing their masks one by one. 

"Sakusa, don't," Atsumu said softly.

"Don't what Atsumu?" Sakusa said, turning to look at him instead of Osamu.

"I know what yer going to say, and don't. He needed closure."

"Are you done?"

Atsumu fell silent, dipping his head.

"Are you okay Osamu?" Sakusa said, turning to him.

Osamu frowned, confused, but nodded. 

"Very well. I needed to keep up appearances for their sake, I am not annoyed, although your mask removal did give away more than needed. Anyway I have somewhere I need to be tomorrow, Atsumu you're coming with me. We will be back tomorrow afternoon. I'll leave the burner phone with you Suna, if it rings, tell me immediately. Come Atsumu."

Sakusa stood and walked out, Atsumu followed.

"Pack an overnight bag and meet me back here in twenty minutes."

--

"You know, after all these years of observing him, I still have no idea what the fuck goes through his head. I was expecting him to lose his shit at you for removing your mask 'Samu."

Osamu looked up towards the door Sakusa and Atsumu just departed, then at Suna, and grimaced.

"What's that look for?" Suna said confused.

"I don't buy it. That story Kuroo told. Something he said don't sit right with what I know about Akaashi. When those two are gone, how do ya fancy coming with me to do some diggin'? I don't wanna say anything to Sakusa until I know for sure." 

Suna eyed him for a moment, then nodded. 

--

The pair were quiet for the drive, all five hours of it. Atsumu eventually got bored of his playlist as the songs started to repeat and spent the rest of the journey napping. Sakusa shook him awake when they arrived. Atsumu opened his eyes to a dim lit car park, with some of the most expensive cars he'd ever seen.

He got out and followed Sakusa to a matte black elevator, that had only two buttons inside, they rose to the reception area which looked how Atsumu imagined a top security vault lobby would look. The staff wore masks and the room was dimly lit in a deep red lighting. Sakusa adjusted his mask and stepped forward, placing a silver card from his wallet on the table. The staff member scanned it and returned it along with a key card and a piece of paper, then gestured to the side, where a second elevator opened. Sakusa collected the items and walked towards the door, Atsumu following. When they were in and the doors closed, Sakusa spoke at last.

"The most anonymous hotel in the world. It's compulsory to wear a mask, there are no cameras inside. The elevator is called by the staff member to take you directly to your room. You cannot go anywhere else."

Atsumu nodded as the elevator door opened to a single matte black door. Sakusa swiped the key card and entered the number from the paper in the key pad. He then entered the code of his choosing twice to update it. He opened the door and discarded the key and paper on the table and placed his bag down on the side.

The place was almost a studio flat, with a king sized bed, a couch and arm chair, coffee table, small kitchenette and dining table and chairs. Two doors stood open to the side, one a walk in wardrobe and the other a bathroom with separate shower. The room practically dripped in expense, in a gold and crimson theme. Atsumu wouldn't have been surprised if the gold leaf decoration was in fact just pure gold. Atsumu placed his bag down, removing his mask and shoes. 

"So what's the job?" Atsumu said, turning to Sakusa. 

"For tonight, nothing, we have the night off, you can just relax. There should be beer in the fridge." 

Sakusa removed his mask and shoes as well, opening his bag, he changed out of his suit into just sweats and lay on the couch. Atsumu opened a couple of beers and brought them over to the coffee table.  

"Thanks," Sakusa said, sitting up and taking a swig. 

Atsumu moved across the room and changed, then returned and sat. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Atsumu broke it.

"What are we doing?"

"What do you mean Atsumu?"

Atsumu contemplated for a moment before changing direction slightly from his original question. 

"What are we doing here? What's the job?"

"You already asked me that. I told you."

"Alright fine," Atsumu snapped slightly, "what are we doing?"

Sakusa swallowed slowly and took another sip of beer. 

"Atsumu, I've made a lot of enemies over the years, and admittedly, I've killed most of them, but something tells me what's behind the closed doors at Blaker is far more personal than anything I've ever been involved in. I have a gut feeling that someone doesn't intend for me to come out of this alive."

Atsumu shook his head.

"Ya ain't gonna die, I won't let ya, but just in case, and I've said this before but I'll say it again, don't ya think ya should live while ya alive Omi?"

Atsumu moved forwards and placed his hand on Sakusa's waist, kissing him gently. 

"If anything goes wrong during the second challenge or after, get yourself and Osamu out and run. I refuse to have your blood on my hands."

"Ya came along way from 'yer expendable' Kiyoomi." 

Sakusa went silent, eyeing him for a moment, then kissed him.

"Ya know, I won't leave ya though, I don't care, we are in this together." 

"Atsumu, no, swear to me you'll get out."

Atsumu went silent for a few moments, looking at the floor, he looked up at Sakusa again, his eyes full of pain. 

"But I..I love ya, I can't just leave ya," he broke eye contact as he spoke, looking down. 

Sakusa placed his hand under Atsumu's chin, "I know you do, that's the exact reason why I ask you to swear it. If you truly do love me, you'll do it."

Atsumu nodded slowly, "I promise you Sakusa, I will." 

Sakusa moved towards the fridge, opening it to find it filled as per his requests.

"Lets go eat something and get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow."

--

"So where are we going?" Suna enquired, unlocking the car. 

It was late, the pair had waited until nightfall before leaving. Osamu had said nothing further on the subject earlier, refusing to explain where he wanted to go or what he was looking for. 

"I wanna go back to the apartment that we shared. I wanna see if the note is there, if Akaashi really did leave the bracelet I gave him."

Suna nodded, getting in, and the pair set off. They arrived at an abandoned block of apartments, the front door was boarded up with a hazard notification on the front. 

"Some of the lower floors were exposed to some sort of toxic chemical, they shut the building off until the issue was resolved. Two companies have been in a legal battle over responsibility for years now, they evicted all the tenants and blocked it off. Atsumu and I lived in one of the top floor apartments for years. The electricity and gas got turned off but they left the water on, we rigged up a couple of solar panels to the roof and a few batteries, was enough to run the fridge, cook once a day. We showered at a local gym for free and just got a little cold in winter."

"Bit of a different life you lead now then, with Sakusa." 

"Just a tad, it's part of the reason why we stayed with him, our next place after this one wasn't much better."

Osamu shifted an industrial bin forward and climbed up, pulling himself up onto the external fire escape and started to climb to the top. It felt like it was barely any time ago that he was here, he pulled a loose rung from the railing and used it to pry open a window. He climbed in, directly into a small lounge area, dust covered the drab looking room. Osamu walked straight to the kitchen, looking at the work surface, there was nothing. 

He searched the whole of the kitchen, the small dining area, then the lounge, when he finally found it. The note, screwed up in a ball, on the floor between the couch and foot rest. He picked it up and opened it. It was the note he left Akaashi. He looked around the room then, having been so focused on his search, he hadn't realised Suna had disappeared.

"Suna? I found it. Where are ya?"

Suna appeared from the only internal door then, having gone into the tiny hallway where the two bedrooms and bathroom were situated. 

"Were there four of you living here Osamu?" Suna asked as he stepped out. 

Osamu walked towards him, distracted from the note for a moment. He opened the first bedroom door to a pale blue room with twin mattresses haphazardly placed on the floor and a single chair with a pile of clothes on.

"This was mine and Akaashi's room." 

He walked in, sifting through the clothes, finding a blue hoodie, he picked it up and walked back out, opening the other bedroom door, to a red themed room. Two twin mattresses were shoved against opposite walls, two separate piles of clothing at the foot of both beds.

"There were four of us for a long time. Shortly after I started caring more for Akaashi, he and I started partnering a lot, so Atsumu ended up finding another guy to partner for break-ins. They were really close friends for a long time. The guy said he was leaving a few weeks after Akaashi disappeared, and we never saw him again."

"Fair enough," Suna replied, then spotted the paper in Osamu's hand, "did you get your answer?"

"Note was screwed up in a ball, on the floor and no bracelet. Tells me Kuroo's story is at least in part bullshit. Unless someone broke in here afterwards, screwed up the note and stole the bracelet, which I find harder to believe." 

"What do you want to do?" Suna asked.

"Lets just get back, we'll tell Sakusa when he's back tomorrow, and we'll see what he thinks of the whole thing. I'm just not trusting any of that group."

An unknown notification sound chimed in the quiet room then. Suna fished out the burner phone and opened the message. He read it silently, then looked up at Osamu. He pulled out his own phone as he spoke, sending the details to Sakusa. 

"Time and date for the challenge, it's in a couple of weeks. Just says location information to follow. Come on, let's go home."

-- 

"You wanted to see me Kuroo?"

Kuroo looked up to see Akaashi enter his office, waiting until the black haired man closed the door.

"Yes I did, have a seat," Kuroo said, gesturing the chairs in front of his desk.

"What do you need Kuroo?" Akaashi said, remaining standing by the door.

Kuroo eyed him for a moment then nodded.

"Are you still able to contact that old friend of yours?"

Akaashi nodded, "I think so yes, why?"

"Reach out to him, tell him I have a job for him, and I will triple his normal fee if he rejects any jobs the twins offer him."

Akaashi nodded, opening the door, and left. He lent against the wall and closed his eyes. He swallowed down the guilt and walked back towards his and Bokuto's room to place a call to a number he'd not dialed in years.

Chapter Text

Atsumu woke up the next morning, turning to see Sakusa's sleeping form next to him, and smiled. It was the only time lately he saw Sakusa actually look relaxed. He moved over, kissing his forehead. 

"I love ya," he whispered, and got out of bed, heading to the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge.

"Don't even think about cooking breakfast, you will destroy it." Sakusa called to him, his voice muffled by the pillow. 

Atsumu let out a sigh, and walked towards the bathroom, starting the shower. Sakusa pulled himself out of bed and pulled on sweats, moving towards the kitchenette. He had finished making pancake batter and was cooking the first, when Atsumu returned, wrapped in just a towel. 

"Going to tell me why ya brought me here yet? What we stealing?" 

"No." Sakusa replied bluntly, plating up a pancake. 

The pair ate breakfast in silence after that, Sakusa disappeared off into the shower, then dressed in jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and black boots. Atsumu, eyed him for a moment, confused, then watched him pack his bag. 

"We leaving?" Atsumu asked. 

"Yes." 

"Ya gonna say anything more than one word answers to me today?" 

"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you what we are doing  until we are there, so don't bother to ask." 

Atsumu turned away, swapping to dark jeans instead of sweats and a baby blue top. He didn't know what he was getting himself into, so he decided to just copy Sakusa's outfit and hope for the best. He mimicked Sakusa pulling on a mask and gloves and they departed from the hotel. Sakusa drove a few blocked away and parked. 

To Atsumu's surprise, Sakusa pulled off his mask and gloves, stashing them in the glove box. Atsumu raised an eyebrow, it was the first time he'd seen Sakusa take his mask off in public. Atsumu removed his mask and gloves also. The pair got out, Atsumu followed Sakusa down the road and round the corner, then spotted an advert in a bus stop for a rare emerald that was being displayed at the museum close by for a few weeks. 

"So that's what we are here for? Checking out the security." Atsumu said, nodding at the poster. 

"Nope, I didn't even know that was here." Sakusa replied, then opened the door to a coffee shop and walked in. 

Sakusa walked up to the counter and ordered a black coffee, turning to Atsumu. 

"Err.. hi, a latte please," Atsumu said to the barista.

"Eat in or take away?" she asked, smiling. 

"In," Sakusa replied, taking out his card.

"Very well, take a seat and I'll bring them over for you in a moment." She replied, typing in the amount on the til.

Sakusa scanned his card, then turned and walked to the booths in the back, sitting the furthest from anyone else. Atsumu was now beyond following what was going on. 

"So, why are we here?" 

"For coffee." Sakusa replied, simply. 

"I don't mean here, I mean why are we here." 

"I wanted to take you out for coffee where I wouldn't be recognised." 

Something clicked slowly in Atsumu's brain.

"Is.. is this a date?" he asked, surprised. 

Sakusa remained silent as the waitress walked over and placed down their drinks.

"Three hundred or so miles, and even then, I'm not entirely sure I'm fully away from Jackal, but I wanted to give you one day without him."

Atsumu nodded slowly, picking up his latte and holding it in his fingertips, thinking.

"So yes then, it is."

"If that's how you want to label it, then yes, this is a date." Sakusa said with a small sigh. 

 "Guess I better make the most of it then Omi." 

"You and me both Atsu." Sakusa replied, with a smile. 

--

Kuroo looked up at the knock on his office door.

"Enter." 

"He's here," Akaashi said as he opened the door. 

"Bring him in."

 Kuroo adjusted his mask as Akaashi entered, with a brunette man wearing a white suit, with a gold mask. 

"This is my old associate, Weasel." Akaashi said, gesturing the man.

"You, Akaashi and the fox twins used to work together correct?" Kuroo asked. 

"We did, yes."

"And you're an explosives expert?"

"I am."

"I have a commission for you. I am aware of your fees, I will pay you triple if you don't accept any jobs from the twins."

"I haven't been in contact with the twins for years, that won't be an issue. These are the details I will require."

Weasel moved forward, pulling a business card from his pocket and handing it over. 

"Why do you need to know the target?" Kuroo asked, looking up as he read the list of questions. 

"There are certain groups I am aligned with, I will not go against them, no matter your fee."

"I see, are the twins part of that alignment?"

"You are targeting the fox twins?"

"Yes, is that a problem Weasel?"

"No. What did they do to you?" 

"Nothing in particular. They work for the person I want to take out."

"I see, and who would that be?"

"Jackal."

"I see."

"Problem?" Kuroo questioned. 

 "No, just get me the answers to the questions on that card, and have Akaashi send them to me." 

Kuroo nodded as Weasel turned to leave. 

"Wait, Akaashi told me you never told him your name, why?"

"My name is none of your concern, answer the questions, and I expect fifty percent payment up front." 

Kuroo nodded. 

"You can show him out Akaashi."

Akaashi nodded, opening the door and allowing Weasel out first, then closing the door behind him.

Kuroo picked up his phone and dialed a number, it rang until voice mail.

"Tsukishima, it's Kuroo, I am going to be needing your services, call me when you get this."

Kuroo hung up the phone and dialed another number, it also went to voice mail.

"Tell him that Nekoma requires the Russian's expertise."

--

"Are you sure Oikawa?" 

"Positive, Iwa, this is the address the tracker leads back to." 

"Well we aren't getting inside anytime soon, the security is top notch." 

"I'll chalk this up to another one for my technology over your stone age." Oikawa replied, pulling out a black box from his pocket and sticking it on the side of the key pad, "and now we wait."

Iwaizumi eyed the thing, suspiciously. Oikawa looked up and him and smiled. 

"Most people who want to keep things secure will be highly careful when it comes to entering pins, doing things like wearing gloves, making the buttons out of material that quickly dissipates heat, having shields around it. They mostly overlook the internal workings. Every time you press a button, it wears the mechanism to push it back up, the black box is scanning the internals of the key pad to assess which buttons have been pressed most." 

Oikawa looked up as the box pinged, then attached it to his laptop, downloading the results. 

"It would seem the code uses 1 and 9 twice each, and also contains a 0, 2, 5 and 6. People like to use things that are nice and easy to remember, most common of which is date of birth. The fact there's a 1 and two nines tell me it might well be his full date of birth. It can't be 1990 as the month wouldn't fit. I'm willing to bet they are around our age, so I would say 1995 or 1996."

Oikawa typed into his laptop a few things and displayed a list. 

26 01 1995

12 06 1995

21 06 1995

25 01 1996

12 05 1996

21 05 1996

"You feeling lucky Iwa?" Oikawa asked, entering the first code, nothing happened, "not that one."

"There is no way you are going to get this," Iwa said, watching him carry on, typing the second attempt in.

Oikawa swallowed as the key pad went amber. 

"I'd say we have one shot left." Iwaizumi said, moving closer to the key pad. 

Iwaizumi touched each of the buttons in turn, not pressing them down but lightly moving them, then frowned slightly, looking at the list of options.

"It's the 4th one," he said, glancing at Oikawa.  

"How do you know?" Oikawa said, looking at him confused. 

"The two key rocks downwards slightly, like someone drags their finger downwards to move quickly to the next button, which is the five. The only combination on your list that has a two and five together is the 25th of Jan."

Oikawa eyed him for a moment then placed his finger carefully on the two key, feeling it did indeed rock downwards slightly more than it should. He typed in the code and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, opening them at the sound of something moving next to him, and turning to see the garage door opening. The pair stepped in, and Oikawa smiled at Iwaizumi. 

"Hey Iwa, we found the black van," he said, nodding to the black van parked in one of the parking spaces.

 Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi, only to see the man walking towards the only other door in the room, and typed in the pin. The door didn't open. 

"Damn, was hoping it would be the same pin." 

Oikawa let out a sigh, and walked over, sticking the box on the keypad once again and let the scan start.

--

Suna looked up at the laptop making noise, and pulled it towards him. 

"What the fuck?"

Osamu paused the movie and sat up.

"What's wrong Rin?"

"Someones inside the garage of Sunday."

"Sakusa?"

"The person failed the garage door pin twice and got it on the third attempt, then failed once on the main door. Sakusa is the only other person who knows the pin."

Suna pulled out his phone and dialed Sakusa's number, explaining what happened, after a brief conversation, he hung up. 

"Sakusa is on his way back but he is still a few hours away. Someone else is inside Sunday."

Suna pulled his laptop towards him and pulled up his security software, searching through for the tab for Sunday and clicked on a button. 

"Whoever's in there is in for a really shit night, followed by an even worse morning when Sakusa goes in."

Osamu grinned and settled back down, his head on Suna's thigh, and pressed play on the movie again.

--

The beeping sound alerted Oikawa to something being wrong a few seconds before the metal sheeting moved across the garage door and the single door. 

"Fuck," Iwaizumi said, moving to tap on the metal sheet, "we must have triggered something, somewhere."

"Hopefully it wasn't automated." Oikawa said, sitting down against one of the walls, "who know's how long we will be trapped in here if it was."

"Judging by what I've already seen, I would say they are fully aware of someone being in here. I don't think it's likely Jackal will kill us, we just need to tell them we were tracking them to tell them what we overheard the Nekoma lot saying." 

Iwaizumi walked over and sat down, checking his watch. 

"It's nearly three, even if they live outside the city, someone should be here in the next few hours, we'll be fine.   

--

"So someones inside Sunday?" Sakusa asked as he walked into the lounge the moment he got home.

"Inside the garage, I've triggered the security for it, unless they came in with a blow torch, they will be stuck inside until tomorrow." Suna replied. 

"Very well, I'll deal with them in the morning." 

Sakusa and Atsumu sat, and listened to Osamu fill them in on what he and Suna had found the night before. 

"Well I had no intention of trusting them anyway, but I want to proceed even more carefully now." Sakusa said when Osamu finished, "we will be going into this fairly blindly, so any and every technological advantage you can come up with from what we've learnt Suna, we are going to need it."

Suna nodded in reply. 

"Sakusa, I had an idea for the," Osamu started, then cut off as the doorbell rang. 

Sakusa frowned, turning towards the direction of the front door. 

"The only three living people who know where I live are sat in this room," he said, standing and walking over to one of the cupboards, tapping in a code and opened up the cabinet to display a collection of guns. He pulled gloves and mask out a drawer and picked up a silenced pistol, walking towards the front door. Suna got up and pulled on gloves as well, picking up the sniper rifle and lay on the floor against the wall of the lounge, where he could see down the corridor and to the front door. 

Sakusa opened the front door and stepped to the side, to provide Suna with a clear shot, holding the pistol at the man's head height. He smiled.

"Long time no see Kiyo," the brunette said, "now tell me, is pointing a gun at me a nice way to greet your dear cousin?"

"What the fuck are you doing here Komori?"

"I've missed you too, can I come in? It's cold out here."

Sakusa didn't respond, but stepped back away from the door. Suna removed his eye from the scope, standing and placed the gun back on the shelf, discarding the gloves and walked back to the couch. 

"No idea, but Sakusa lowered his gun so that's enough for me." 

Chapter Text

Sakusa entered the lounge with Komori in tow, and sat back down on the couch next to Atsumu. Komori sat, finally taking in the others sat on the couch.

"This is Atsumu, Osamu and Suna," Sakusa said gesturing each in turn, "and this is Komori, my cousin." 

"You have a cousin?" Suna said, turning to Sakusa, surprised, "I thought all your family was dead." 

"I tracked down my parents graves after you killed him and there were flowers on the grave that looked fairly new, and an older set that looked about a month old, I kept visiting every few days until I worked out the pattern and slowly narrowed down the time until I found the person who laid them, which was Komori. After questioning him, he said he was laying them for his mothers sister and her husband who had been killed."

"And you never told me?" Suna asked. 

"Never felt like it was relevant." Sakusa replied, then turned back to Komori, "why are you here?" 

"To tell you Kuroo hired me to kill you." 

"I'm not surprised, but how does he know you?"

"I used to work with Akaashi." 

A sharp intake of breath came from both the twins, their faces turning puzzled, then recognition registered in Atsumu's eyes. Komori opened his bag and pulled out a gold mask, throwing it on the table. Atsumu smiled, then laughed at the noise his brother made. 

"Long time no see Weasel." Atsumu said.

Suna glanced between Atsumu and Komori confused, and even Sakusa looked surprised. 

"What's going on?" Suna said.

Osamu lent forward, picking up the gold mask. 

"Ya know when we went looking for the bracelet and ya saw our old place Suna? The fourth member, Atsumu's partner, was Weasel." 

"Partner?" Sakusa questioned, looking from Komori to Atsumu.

"To have each others back during break ins, just friends." Atsumu said quickly.

Komori frowned at that statement. "Are you two..?" 

Sakusa eyed him for a moment. "That's not your concern." 

"That's a yes then," Komori replied, a look of satisfied glee on his face, "about time you stopped being such a cold hearted asshole." 

Sakusa made an angry noise. "Don't think I won't kill you just because you're my last living family member. Now fill me in on what Kuroo is planning and get out of my home." 

Komori rolled his eyes. 

"Charming. Basically he wants me to create a set of bombs to blow up some warehouse related to some challenge. His team have been contacted with the when and where of something taking place. The only thing Kuroo has said to me is I'm not allowed to accept any jobs off the twins. He overlooked any potential allegiance had to any other member of your team. Sucks to be him."

Sakusa hummed, thinking. 

"Detail out everything Komori, I want to try and work out what Kuroo has planned. If he knows more about the challenge than we do, it would seem he either knows someone on the inside, or they have a deal with someone on the inside. Either way, this feels more like the whole thing has been to target me from the moment I removed my mask inside the challenge." 

"What ya thinking Sakusa?" Osamu asked. 

"We will see how much we can gather from what he's asked Komori for, and then make subtle changes to the plan to work more in our favour without tipping off Kuroo, between that and having Komori as back up, we will have slightly more chance of surviving whatever they have planned for us."

Atsumu frowned slightly as he thought.

"If ya think it's going to be a trap, why not just enact yer backup plan and walk away?" he asked. 

"Because I want to kill every single one of those fuckers." Sakusa said bluntly, "Komori, get writing, stay the night if you wish, Osamu, work with him, try and work out what Kuroo is planning. Suna, we'll go visit Sunday in the morning. I'm going to bed."

Sakusa got up and walked out the room, a few minutes later, Atsumu followed suit, climbing the stairs to Sakusa's room, he heard the shower on as he entered, and decided on something higher risk than usual, but if his days with Sakusa were numbered, he was going to make the most of them.

Atsumu entered the bathroom, stripped off his clothing and opened the shower door. Sakusa turned to him as he stepped in and shut the door, wrapping his arm around Sakusa's waist. Sakusa frowned for a moment, then relaxed his face, carrying on rinsing his hair. When he was done, Atsumu pulled him into a kiss. 

"Atsumu, I want you to tell me how you and Komori met later."

Atsumu nodded, then moved to kiss Sakusa's neck, only to get shoved against the shower wall by his throat and his shoulder bitten. 

"Angry are ya?" Atsumu said, grinning. 

Sakusa just growled in reply and bit him again.

--

Sakusa stood waiting by the front door for Suna to come downstairs, he was dressed in his full body suit, silenced pistol at his back, it was still dark outside due to the early hour. Sakusa looked up as he heard movement on the stairs, seeing Suna walking down carrying his laptop bag, dressed in a standard mission kit. The duo went outside and got in the lotus, Suna driving to Sunday and parking outside the ramp. They got out and moved down slowly, Suna entered the code and disabled the security while Sakusa lay down on the floor in the shadows of the ramp, aiming his gun at the feet of anyone who became visible as the garage door rose up. 

Sakusa spotted two figures across the car park and recognised them immediate, Oikawa was fast asleep with his head on Iwaizumi's shoulder, and a tired looking Iwaizumi who appeared to have just woken up. Sakusa pulled himself to his feet and walked in, holding the pistol at his side. Suna came in behind them, leaving the garage door open.

"Mine telling me why you're attempting to break into one of my properties?" Sakusa asked.

"Good morning to you too Jackal." Oikawa said sarcastically, sitting up and yawning, "we were attempting to track you down, we have information for you." 

Oikawa glanced at Iwaizumi, who nodded at the brunette. 

"We overheard Kuroo talking to Akaashi after the meeting, everything he told you about Akaashi and Bokuto meeting was a lie." Oikawa said, standing. 

"Yes, we know." Sakusa replied.

Oikawa glanced at Iwaizumi, surprised. 

"Anything else?" Sakusa pressed.

Oikawa frowned, and shook his head.

"Then get out of my garage." Sakusa said bluntly.

Iwaizumi got up and walked towards the door, Oikawa followed, then turned back at the garage door. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if Kuroo is double crossing you." 

"I know for a fact he is." Sakusa replied. 

"How the hell do you get information so fast?" 

"Kuroo attempted to use someone he didn't realised had loyalty to me, to set up his plan." 

"You're not going with your original plan anymore are you Jackal?"

"No." 

Iwaizumi turned back at this point. 

"If you find who killed my brother, kill him, and tell me when he's dead." 

"I intend to kill all of them, if you find their bodies, you'll know he was avenged." Sakusa replied.

"Maybe you were right when we first met." Oikawa said.

"How's that?"

"When you said most of the people you kill are criminals, maybe you are doing more good than bad." 

"Never thought I'd hear a cop say that." Jackal replied. 

Iwaizumi turned and walked away then, Oikawa moved to follow him, turning back to say a final few words over his shoulder. 

"I will find out who you are one day Jackal."

"The only way you'll ever find out is if I tell you Oikawa. Don't come back here if you don't want to die." 

Sakusa watched them leave, then turned back to Suna.

"Strip this place apart, remove any links to the mansion, then hit the kill switch."

Suna nodded. "I suppose you want the lotus?" 

Sakusa nodded, holding his hand out for the key, grabbing it out the air as Suna threw it. 

"I have a few things to do, people to find, I'll meet you back at the mansion tonight. Assume the cops will try and follow one of us, so lead them on a goose chase before you head back home."

Suna nodded again, and watched Sakusa walk out, then closed the garage door and started stripping Sunday apart. 

--

Oikawa lay on Iwaizumi's couch while he waited for the other to shower, flicking through the TV channels, then flicked back down to the news channel as something caught his eye. Fire brigades and an ambulance outside a large fire in the city. What had caught Oikawa's eye however, was not the fire, but the building next to the fire, a greengrocers. A shop Oikawa knew well, as it was located next to the garage door that he and Iwaizumi had entered earlier, Sakusa's property. 

Oikawa sat up, watching the building burn, a reporter standing on screen stating a gas explosion, a freak accident, that thankfully no one was killed in, as the building appeared to be abandoned. 

Iwaizumi returned then wearing only sweats, drying his hair on a towel. He paused at the look on Oikawa's face. Oikawa nodded at the TV. 

"Guess Jackal really wanted to hide something in that building, which means we were on to something. He's not stupid, they would have cleared everything of importance first, but I'll get Kindaichi and Kunimi on it in the morning sifting through, just in case."

Iwaizumi nodded, sitting on the couch, watching the news report. Oikawa pulled his bag to him, rifling through papers inside until he pulled one out.

"I thought you hated paperwork and kept everything digital?" Iwaizumi shot at him.

"I've been taking a leaf out of your book for these, can't get hacked if it's in my bag. Anyway, I have a feeling that one of the things they were trying to hide was this."

Oikawa handed the paper over to Iwaizumi, who looked at the heavily redacted paper and frowned, confused.

"What's this?" 

"That is, a very small part of an adoption paper from around twenty years ago. I stumbled across it on a part of the web that I shouldn't have been on, but the best way to keep up with the criminals who work in cyber space is to get into their world. I'm not going to get into the technicality of it with you, it took a few months, but I eventually linked one of the people accessing the document to same location as what's now burning in front of us."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier."

"Because three pieces of separate information meant nothing until now. The paper is for an adoption of two twin boys. It was accessed by someone from the Jackal group, and the paper contained one significantly important word. Miya."  

"Miya? As in Miya Mazoku? The dead mafia boss?" Iwaizumi said, eyes widened. 

"Yes, the one who had twin boys, and then was shot and killed before they were even born. What if the twins work with Jackal are the Miya twins? I can't think of any other reason why they would have accessed the file."

"Who else accessed it?"

"I don't know, there was only one other person, but before I could trace it, the file itself disappeared, as far as I'm aware, I'm the only person with a remaining copy, and there's no way of removing the redaction from a printed copy."

"If you can't get anything more from it, we should burn that copy, we don't know how dangerous or valuable that information is, but in the wrong hands, it could be disastrous."

Oikawa nodded, taking the paper and pulling a lighter from his pocket. He walked over to the  sink and lit the corner of the paper on fire, holding it as it burned slowly, then dropped it into the sink, washing the ashes away. 

He returned to the couch and sat. 

"Now what? That was our only lead to get back in this." Iwaizumi said.

"We still have facial recognition." Oikawa replied.

"Do you really think any of them will go out in public without masks now?"

"What about the van? It was in the garage this morning, so they still had it then, I'll get Kindaichi to check the wreckage tomorrow, if it's not in there, then they still have it."

"No guarantee they will use it though."  

"True, guess first thing tomorrow we start pulling everything again, reviewing it all, finding what we missed."

--

Sakusa got into bed that evening, waiting for Atsumu to return from the shower. He looked up as Atsumu entered the room and got into bed. 

"Atsumu, tell me your past, about how you met Komori and Akaashi." 

Atsumu nodded, moving over to lay against Sakusa's side, his head on the black haired mans chest. Sakusa wrapped his arm around the blond as he started to talk. 

Chapter Text

~~~

15 Years Ago (Twins  Age 10)

~~~

"Come closer boys."

Atsumu and Osamu shifted closer to their mother, holding one hand each.

"Remember what I told ya, grow your garden, nurture it and it will bloom." 

Tears ran down Osamu's face as his mother croaked out the words. 

"I love ya both, take care of each other." 

"We love ya too ma." Atsumu said, clinging to her hand with both of his tiny ones.

Osamu watched her eyes closed, and felt her grip loosen, he was now clinging to someone who no longer held on back. He eyed around the room, looking at the gun shot marks in the walls. 

"We ain't safe here anymore brother, we need to get out now."

"We can't leave ma." Atsumu cried out. 

"She's gone 'Tsumu, we got nothing left here now. We should change our names too, Ma wouldn't say who our dad was, but those men came looking for something, I don't want them finding us. Pack a bag, we gotta run, now."

Atsumu nodded slowly, and moved off to their room to pack a bag. Osamu went to the kitchen, pulling as much food out of cupboards and into a bag, as his tiny body could lift, then dragged it to the bedroom and threw some clothes in another bag. 

"I don't want to not be called Atsumu," his twin said as he entered the room. 

"Fine, but never say the word Miya again. We should change our appearance too, dye our hair, in a few years we should grow up enough to not be recognised by whoever came after ma."

Atsumu nodded, and took half the food out of his brothers bag, placing it in his own, then pulled it onto his back. 

"Ma had money hidden in her room too, we should take that." 

Osamu nodded as his brother went into their mothers room and took the money she had hidden in her drawer. 

"Let's go, before someone notices the door's broken in and calls the cops." 

As Osamu spoke, the sound of sirens could be heard. The boys looked at each other and moved to the back of the house, opening the kitchen window and climbed out, running down the garden and out the back gate. The twins took one final glance back at their home, their mother, and the end of their childhoods.

--

 The twins huddled closer to each other, trying to stay warm. They'd hidden in an alleyway for the first few weeks, and although they were cold at night, they had at least been left alone. Slowly though, the food they had taken from their mothers house had run out, and they now needed to find more. 

The twins began begging on the side of the road initially, but as soon as a woman pulled out her phone and started talking to child services, the boys turned and ran. The boys started learning to pickpocket and shoplift. It became routine for them, stealing enough to stay alive. 

~~~

11 Years Ago (Twins Age 14)

~~~

Atsumu knew he was in serious trouble a few seconds after the man he was attempted to steal from grabbed his wrist. He'd been caught a lot, especially in the start, but most people see a kid doing it, they just shove him away or yell at him. This guy was different. He whipped around, still holding Atsumu by his wrist and dragged him away from the main high street to a side road. Atsumu looked round wildly for Osamu for help, but failed to spot him. 

The man dragged him down the side alley and threw him against the brick wall. Blond strands of hair fell in Atsumu's eyes as he fell, the dye job as a result of him stealing neat bleach from a cleaning cupboard. He had doused his hair in it and washing it off in a puddle of rain water, resulting in a mass of destroyed hair on his head, but it at least served its purpose, he looked a lot less like his twin now. 

Atsumu regained his ability to breath slowly, having been knocked against the wall hard, he pulled himself up, swallowing, looking at the man standing above him. Now Atsumu could get a good look at him, he could see the man wasn't much older than himself, maybe seventeen or eighteen. 

"How old are you kid?" 

"Fou..fourteen." Atsumu muttered out. 

"Relax kid, I aint gonna hurt you. You living on the streets?" 

Atsumu nodded slowly.

"Come with me kid, I'll give you a place to stay, and teach you a better way to survive than trying to pickpocket."

Atsumu hesitated, turning back to look at the marketplace. 

"What? You got a better offer?" 

"My.. my brother is out there." 

The guy frowned slightly. 

"So now I gotta feed two of you? You better learn fast kid or you're out the door, go find your brother and meet me back here. You got 5 minutes or I'm gone."

Atsumu nodded, then headed back out to the marketplace, spotting his brother watching the chef cooking at one of them.

"Working hard I see." Atsumu said.

"I lost ya, so I thought I'd make myself visible so ya could find me." Osamu said, not taking his eyes off the chef. 

The chef looked over at them. 

"You kids hungry?" 

Osamu nodded.

"Here, I accidentally burnt one earlier, you can have it free." 

The chef held out the tart that was burn on one side. Osamu smiled and thanked the man. Atsumu told his brother what had happened to him briefly as they ate the food between them. Osamu was cautious about going to the alley, scared of what will happen to them.

"I don't think much could be worse than being on the streets any longer," Atsumu argued back. 

Osamu nodded after that and they walked to the alley together. The man looked up from the ground as they came back, flicked his cigarette butt to the floor and climbed onto the dumpster behind him and up onto the fire escape. The twins followed him to the top floor, and up onto the roof. Two large greenhouses stood on the roof, one was full of plants, the other contained a nest of blankets, and some personal effects. The twins followed the man inside the first greenhouse. 

"I grow a bunch of vegetables and other things in here, what I don't eat, I sell in the market below. I rigged up a watering system from buckets that collect them outside."

He exited the greenhouse and moved to the second, letting them inside. 

"I rigged up a make shift shower, there's a couple of working solar panels, though the only supply of water is rain water. It collects on the roof, on hot days the water gets pretty warm. When you turn the tap, it drains whats on the roof down the shower head. Have to keep cleaning the roof or the water gets filthy. The battery gets enough juice in summer to be able to cook on the stove top. On dry days in spring and autumn I normally make a camp fire. In winter, I'm just grateful I'm not outside."

The twins nodded as they listened.

"Who owns these?" Osamu asked.

"The people who own in the building below us, they own the whole building and rent it out, no one had used them for years by the looks of them when I found them. I cleaned them up last year, started working on them. You two stay with me for a while, I'll teach you how to pick locks. Breaking into places and stealing shit is much easier way of making money and getting food. As long as you earn your keep, you can stay with me." 

The twins nodded again.

"Right, sit," the guy said, pulling out a leather pouch and removing the tools inside, then picked up a lock, "the concept is pretty simple.." 

~~~

9 Years Ago (Twins, Komori, Sakusa, Age 16)

~~~

"Shouldn't he have been back by now? It's been a few days."

Atsumu looked up from the lock he was practicing on at his brother. Light from the solar powered lamp cast deep shadows across the greenhouse.

"I dunno, he didn't say where he was going, maybe he ain't coming back, anyway I'm gonna get some sleep, I'm going to try and break into that church tomorrow."

Osamu shook his head, sighing and lay down. Atsumu switched off the lamp and went to sleep. 

--

Sakusa watched a brunette teen laying flowers on his parents grave, having narrowed down the time of when he did it. He approached cautiously. 

"Why are you laying flowers on that grave?"

"They are for my aunt and her husband. They were murdered a few years ago."

Sakusa eyed the other bunch of flowers in the brunettes hand.

"Who are they for?"

"My mother, she died last year." 

Sakusa said nothing, just continued to watch the brunette. 

"Why are you asking me these things?" He asked, turning to face Sakusa. 

"Because that is my parents grave." 

Komori sucked in a breath at that. 

"My mother said their son went missing, they pronounced him dead a year later when no trace of him was found." 

"My parents killer took me with him. I escaped, hes dead now. They never told me I had a cousin." 

"Well you do, my names Komori. You must be Sakusa." 

Sakusa nodded. 

"I need to go, my friend is waiting, meet me back here in a month." Sakusa said, turning and walking away. 

Sakusa stood at the edge of the graveyard, watching the brunette walk towards another exit. As Sakusa was turning, he noticed a blond haired boy walk across the graveyard from the other side, and heard towards the church.

"Jackal!" Sakusa turned to see Suna approaching him, "you ready to go?"

Sakusa nodded and walked away, his eyes on the blond.

Komori pulled on his mask as he left the graveyard, then heard a noise behind him, turning back he saw a blond boy huddled in front of the church door. Komori approached him slowly, realising the blond was attempting to pick the lock. He crept forward silently until he was behind the blond.

"Don't you know that's illegal?"

Atsumu jumped violently and dropped his tools. Komori let out a laugh. 

"You know, it's really bad practice to leave your finger prints all over the crime scene, and not even wear a mask. What if there are cameras?"

Atsumu turned to him and shrugged, then bent and picked up his tools. Komori stepped forward, using a cloth to wipe down the lock, then threw gloves from his pocket at the blond.

"I'm Weasel by the way. Don't tell me your real name, I don't wanna hear it, give me a code name."

Atsumu turned, watching a fox slink out of the undergrowth and shoot across the graveyard. 

"Fox," he said, turning back to the lock.

"Well Fox, first thing we need to do is get you a mask." 

~~~

8 Years Ago (Twins, Komori, Akaashi, Age 17, Kuroo, Age 18)

~~~

"Kuroo? You wanted to see me?"

"Yes Akaashi, I have a job for you."

"What is it boss?" 

"Kenma came across a document online that gave me some very interesting information about twin brothers your age, I have an idea of where they are going to be very soon, I want you to gain their trust, work with them, live with them. Report back to me every few months with what you found out."  

"Months?" Akaashi exclaimed. 

"Yes, just remember I took you off the streets a few weeks ago, you're alive because of me, go pretend you still live on the streets, give them a sob story for all I care, just get inside their group. The question I want you to ask them is going to take a hell of a lot of trust."

Akaashi nodded slowly. 

"What question?"

"I'll tell you that in time, just go to the address on this paper and find them."

Kuroo stood, holding a sheet of paper in front of him. Akaashi took it and read the address, then lay the paper down, with a final look at Kuroo, he left. 

--

"Ya okay?" 

Akaashi looked up, he was soaked, the heavens had opened while he was sat in an alley beside a building, adding to the look of helplessness he was trying to portray. He shook his head slowly to a guy in a black mask. 

"It's okay, I ain't gonna hurt ya, ya need a place to stay?"

Akaashi stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. 

Atsumu held out his hand and Akaashi pulled himself up. 

"My names Akaashi." 

"Atsumu. Wait here a minute okay?"

 Akaashi nodded, and Atsumu disappeared down the alleyway, returning a few minutes later with two other people, both wearing masks and carrying bags over their shoulders. 

"Ya serious 'Tsumu?" 

"He ain't got anywhere to go and he's soaked."

"Fine, come on." 

Atsumu turned back to Akaashi. 

"That's Osamu, my brother, and the other guys Weasel." 

Akaashi nodded, with a small smile, and followed the twins back to greenhouse on the roof.  

--

Days stretched into weeks, then to months, and Akaashi got used to life with the trio. Every few months he met with Kuroo, and asked for the question, was told the same thing every time. Not yet. Not yet Akaashi. Keep gaining their trust. Akaashi is lying on the ground in the greenhouse, Osamu next to him when Weasel opens the door. 

"I've found a two bed apartment for us to live in, it's abandoned. Water is still running but powers off, we can rig up the solar panels on the roof, should give us enough to run the fridge. Building is abandoned due to some contamination on the lower floors." 

Atsumu sits up from the back, nodding to Weasel in appreciation. They gathered their stuff in silence, packing as much as they could, stashing the rest out of sight to collect later. It took a few days to get the solar panels up and running and the batteries to function correctly, but Akaashi and Osamu figured it out between them eventually. 

They settled into their new home together,  Akaashi and Osamu took to cooking together most evenings while Weasel and Atsumu trained together. One evening, shortly after the twins turned nineteen, Osamu plucked up the courage to utter words that he had no idea would change his life for years to come.

"Keiji... I like ya."

~~~

4 Years Ago ( Twins, Komori, Akaashi, Sakusa,  Age 21/22, Kuroo, Bokuto Age 22/23)

~~~

Akaashi was lying with his head on Osamu's lap, Osamu was carding his fingers thought Akaashi's hair.

"Would ya get a room?" Atsumu said, climbing back in the window, wrinkling his nose up in disgust and removed his mask.

"We had one til ya came back." Osamu shot back.

Akaashi grinned and sat up. 

"How did it go?"

"Well," Weasel replied, not removing his mask as ever, as he shut the window, "got in and out without any issues, how was yours?" 

"Easy enough, it's on the table. I cooked for ya both earlier, it's in the fridge." Osamu replied. 

Atsumu moved immediate to the fridge and let out a groan of pleasure, eyeing the onigiri. He fished one out and took a huge bite. 

"Yer disgusting." Osamu shot at him, watching his twin chew. 

"'m hun'ry," Atsumu got out around the rice. 

Osamu shook his head and took Akaashi's hand, pulling him to their bedroom and kicked the door shut. 

--

Akaashi lay awake, looking at Osamu's sleeping form, a sad smile on his face. He got up, grabbing a hoodie and sweats from the floor, and exited the room. He pulled them and shoes on, and slipped out the window. 

Kuroo looked up from the papers he was reading when Akaashi walked into his office. 

"Wasn't expecting your report for another few weeks."

"I can't do this anymore Kuroo." 

"What the fuck do you mean Akaashi?" 

"I.. I love him. I can't betray him." 

Kuroo eyed him for a moment, weighing up his options. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. A few moments later, the door opened and Bokuto walked in.

"Akaashi?" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Bo..Bokuto? What are you going here?"

"I work for Kuroo, what are you going here?" 

"I.. same." 

Kuroo stood then, causing the pair to face him. 

"Akaashi dropped out of high school at the start of his third year, after his parents kicked him out. I found him a few weeks later and took him in."

"Third.. year..?" Bokuto said, confusion seeping into his voice, "that was years ago." 

"I'm aware, he's been on a special mission for me since then."

"I thought you didn't love me anymore..." Bokuto started, turning to Akaashi, "you said we would work things out when I went to college.. but you never answered any of my messages again, the school didn't know where you were..." 

Akaashi's hand moved across his wrist, covering the leather bracelet with Osamu's name stamped across it.

"I came out to my parents, my dad got violent, he smashed my phone, I ran. I was took scared to find anyone from school in case he found me there. I was on the streets a few weeks until Kuroo found me and took me in." 

Kuroo fixed him with a cunning smile. 

"Akaashi was just telling me why he couldn't carry on with my assignment." 

"I.." Akaashi swallowed, turning to look at Bokuto, feeling his heart flutter, "I... just want out Kuroo, I want to come home."

"I can see that. As long as your loyalty is still to me, I'll have Bokuto pull you out when you're next on a mission. You'll disappear, and never contact any of them again, do not tell them you're leaving, do you understand?" 

Akaashi nodded slowly, swallowing guiltily

"You can both go, I'm sure you want to catch up."

Kuroo watched the pair leave, and sat down in his chair, pulling his paperwork back towards him. He swallowed. He needed another way of finding out if the twins were indeed the ones on the adoption certificate. He had been so close with Akaashi, but if he left him in there, there wasn't much doubt Akaashi would have switched sides. He and Bokuto had been inseparable for years before Akaashi's last year of high school, there was no one on this planet that Akaashi would do more for than Bokuto. Osamu would be forgotten before long. Kuroo set down his papers and flicked off his desk light, moving towards his bedroom, a new plan forming in his mind.

Kuroo picked up his phone and dialed his brothers number. 

--

Komori stood in a dark alley, his mask removed, waiting, finally hearing footsteps approaching. 

"Komori."

"Sakusa."

"I need your help." 

"With what?" 

"I need your help, you with me or not?" 

"I'm in, lets go." 

Komori took one final glance towards the window where the twins were and followed Sakusa. 

--

"I think we need to move." Atsumu said one evening a few nights later.

"What the hell ya on about?" Osamu shot back, "they are gonna come back."

"Akaashi and Weasel both disappeared without a trace and we ain't heard from either of them in days. It ain't safe here anymore." 

Osamu let out a sigh. He knew something was up when Atsumu was the one being more cautious than him. He nodded slowly. 

"In the morning, we'll look for a new place." 

Atsumu nodded to him as his brother got up and walked off to his and Akaashi's room. Atsumu lay on the couch watching the window, the same as he had for the previous week, waiting for it to open, to see the flash of brunette hair or gold mask. It never came. 

The only thing that did come was the sound of his brothers tears. Same as every night since Akaashi disappeared. Atsumu commented on it on the first morning, and Osamu bit his head off so hard, he never raised it again, so Atsumu did what he did every other night. Watching the window. Pretended his brother wasn't crying. Waiting. 

Two days later they found a new place.

~~~

3 Years Ago ( Akaashi,  Age 23, Bokuto Age 24)

~~~

"I'll be quick Kou, just want to grab a few items I left here when I lived here." 

Akaashi climbed in the window, moving quickly towards the bedroom. He paused at the doorway, seeing Bokuto climbing inside. 

"Wait here, I'll be two mins." 

Bokuto moved around the room while he waited, spotting the note on the fridge. He read it. It stated that they had moved but Osamu would return every night at midnight for six months as a way of Keiji finding them again. It went on to a heart felt message from Osamu about how much he cares for and loves Akaashi, and all their time together. Bokuto crumples the note in his fist and throws it across the room, watching it fall between the couch and chair. 

He looked up as Akaashi came back out, holding a small bag of stuff. 

"Ready?" he asked Bokuto. 

Bokuto nodded, moving to the window, climbing out and making his way down the fire escape. Akaashi paused, leaving the bracelet he got from Osamu on the counter top, then moved quickly to follow Bokuto. 

--

Bokuto returned to the apartment a day later, climbed in and viewed the bedroom, with the twin mattresses pushed together. He frowned. He returned to the kitchen and spotted the bracelet. Bokuto picked it up and climbed back out, making his way down to the ground again. At the bottom he dumped the bracelet in the skip and walked back home. 

"I went back to your old place, there was a note from someone called Osamu, he said he would return back each night at midnight to check if you'd returned. You missed him by a few weeks." 

Akaashi nodded. 

"Seems like overkill for a friend."

Akaashi turned away, shrugging, then walked off, at the end of the hallway he turned back.

"You know my heart is yours Kou."

Chapter Text

The day slipped away, Komori provided all the details he knew about the bombs and the places he was instructed to position them. When details finally came through on the burner phone with the location however, the five sat around the dining table confused. It wasn't anywhere near where Komori was setting up. 

"Has Kuroo been lied to by the creators of Blaker?" Suna asked out loud after Sakusa read the location message out. 

"Or you're walking into a trap." Komori added.

"Think we already knew that one,"  Sakusa replied, "Komori, shift the bombs over slightly, I want the impact to hit this wall. Then I want you waiting around the corner with the van, when the bombs go off, drive up to here, and wait." 

Sakusa sat back down as he finished gesturing the map. 

"What about the final challenge itself?" Atsumu asked.

"Nothing else we can do about it, we just have to react to what's thrown at us. I don't feel like this was ever about the challenge. Enjoy the last two days of freedom."

Sakusa stood then and walked towards the door. 

"Atsumu," he called from the doorway as he left. 

Atsumu glanced at his brother and got up, following Sakusa up the stairs to his room. Sakusa opened his mouth to speak but Atsumu cut him off.

"Don't ya say it, don't ya start talking like this is the end. I don't wanna hear it."

"Very well, what do you want me to say?"

"Nothin' at all." 

Atsumu stepped forward and kissed him.

--

Sakusa and Atsumu stood in Sakusa's bedroom, dressing together for the final challenge. Sakusa sat on the bed, lacing his boots. He sat back, watching Atsumu pull on his shirt and let out a soft sigh. Atsumu came over and stood between Sakusa's legs, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

"Which room was it?"

Sakusa frowned at him, lost. 

"What?"

"Which room did ya first find me in, when I broke in?"

"Why?"

"I wanna go back to it."

Sakusa's face remained pulled into a confused frown, but stood, grabbing his bag and mask and headed out the door. Atsumu pulled his bag onto his back, mask in hand and followed. Sakusa made his way down to the first floor and opened a door, stepping in. Memories flooded back for Atsumu as he stepped in. 

Sakusa moved behind him, placing a finger between his shoulder blades and felt Atsumu shiver at the memory of the gun silencer. Sakusa grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into the wall the same way he had that first night, wrapping his hand around his throat lightly, then kissed him. 

"Why did you want to come back here?" Sakusa asked. 

"This is where it all began, where I met ya."

"I've seen you before. When you told me how you and Komori met, that was the day I met him, I was in the graveyard that day, so was Suna." 

Atsumu sucked in a breath at that. 

"If I'd have trusted Suna with knowledge of my cousin, I probably would have met you that day. I wonder how different life would have been for me. I may have never ended up how you met me." 

Atsumu thought for a moment, his hand snaking around Sakusa's waist. 

"Ya keep talking like this is the beginning of the end, but it ain't, it's just the end of the beginning, ya'll see." 

Sakusa nodded, then checked his watch. 

"It's time."

Atsumu picked his bag up again and followed Sakusa out the door, seeing the other three already standing by the door. Suna moved forward and hugged Sakusa, who actually hugged him back, as they moved apart, Suna opened the door and stepped out, the 4x4 and black van stood on the drive way. 

Komori nodded to the other four, got in the van and drove off, Suna kissed Osamu's lips and pulled on his mask, as the twins grabbed each other and held in a vice like grip. Unspoken words passed between them, then Osamu moved to the passenger seat. Atsumu and Sakusa left the house last, Sakusa pulled the door shut, and got in behind Suna. The memory of their drive at Christmas echoed in Atsumu's mind. 

Wordlessly they pulled on their masks and Suna drove to the address they'd been given. Sakusa pulled the burner phone and his tools out his bag, attaching them to his suit. Suna parked and they got out, the same man from the end of the first challenge stood at the doorway in a sharp black suit. 

"Good morning, welcome to the second part of the challenge. Ahead of you, you will find a maze. The second place team are being set up at a similar location with an identical maze, you will be released at the same time, the first team to have all it's members make it to the center and back out wins. Good luck."

His hand went to his ear, listening in an earpiece. 

"Any questions?"

Sakusa shook his head, stepping forward and looking at the doorway, four different entrances stood before them, the walls made of the same sheet metal as the previous challenges. 

Kageyama listened in his earpiece again.

"You may start in three... two... one. Go."

He stepped back and watched the four. Atsumu moved into the left side as Osamu stepped into the right one, they both turned back to face each other, about to argue, when grilled slammed across their faces, trapping them into the passages. 

"Fuck," Sakusa got out, glancing at Suna, "one each?"  

Suna moved into the one closes to Osamu and the grate shut on him as well. Sakusa stepped into his.

"Atsumu, remember your promise to me." 

Atsumu reached his hand through the bar but couldn't even fit half his hand out, he withdrew. 

"I remember."

Sakusa watched him, as he turned and moved down his passageway, only to come across a locked door immediately. He grinned and pulled his tools out. 

--

The man looked up at the knock on his door. 

"Kageyama just reported, Atsumu went into the left hand side, Jackal into the one next to his." 

"Very well, thank you, continue with the plan Suga. Make sure he doesn't make it out."

--

Atsumu made it through lock after lock, with it finally opening up to a small square room, that he could only assume was the middle. In the center stood a pillar with eight tokens in it. As he stepped inside, a sheet of metal snapped closed over the way he had come in. Atsumu reached out and pulled the token with his name on it. He moved his hand up to the one with Jackal on it and pulled, but it didn't move. 

A scraping sound could be heard behind him then, and a new section of wall opened, he stepped in and watched it close behind him, setting off down his new path. 

Sakusa made it to the middle to see the pillar with several holes in, he pulled the token with Jackal on it, seeing Osamu, Kenma and Bokuto's still there. He swallowed, his mind on Atsumu. He'd so far not come across anything remotely challenging, and the ease of it was making him nervous. After another thirty minutes of getting through some basic locks and simple challenges, he came face to face with the blue eyed man from earlier. 

"Where's the rest of my team?" He asked immediately. 

"The exits are all on different sides." Kageyama replied. 

"Was that the whole challenge?" Sakusa questioned, the simplicity of it was unnerving him. 

"No, that was just to assess people individually, for the final challenge." 

Sakusa eyed him like he wanted to punch him. 

"Now what?" 

"If you move around the building to the right, you can collect your team as you go. You'll be contacted after, for the new location to go to."

Sakusa watched Kageyama walk away and disappear through another door, metal slid across after him and Sakusa was left alone. He did as instructed, moving to the right and round the corner. He spotted one of his team in black, judging by height it was one of the twins. 

"Atsu?"

"No," Osamu replied, "what's goin' on? Some silver haired guy told me to stand here and wait." 

"I was told to collect my team and move to a new location, this was apparently some sort of test."

The pair moved around the third corner, to see Suna leaning against the wall, he approached the pair and hugged Osamu. Sakusa eyed the pair and moved towards the next corner, faster. Osamu filled Suna in on the way. Sakusa rounded the corner and saw nothing. He ran towards the exposed metal in the doorway, it was completely solid. Osamu came up behind him. 

"Where is he?" Osamu said, "he must have made it out before me, I was last to get my token." 

Suna noticed the paper on the floor, pinned under a stone, he moved the stone and picked up the note, holding it out to Sakusa. Sakusa ripped the paper open and read, then dread swept through him. He'd been so sure that the people were behind Blaker were after him, he hadn't stopped to consider the rest of his team. He'd made one fatal error with that. He swallowed and his hand shook, releasing the paper. It fluttered to the floor. 

Osamu and Suna stepped forward, reading the words written in the same script as the CCTV photo they had received. Osamu let out a cry, Suna placing a hand on his shoulder. 

You collect gems, I collect people. Thank you for your donation.

--

Atsumu was confused. He kept moving through, lock after lock, it was taking much longer to get back out than to get in. He swallowed, starting to get nervous. He eventually unlocked a door that opened into a tiny box of a room, that had a hole in the floor. He walked over to it and the door closed behind him. He looked around for the challenge, there were no locks, nothing. 

He started to panic, but thought of Sakusa and calmed himself. That was until the floor started to move and the hole got larger. He moved forward, looking down and seeing nothing but black. The sides were pure sheet metal, nothing to hold onto. His mind went to the attachments Suna had added to his and Osamu's suit to anchor them to the wall, but Suna had  never added them to Atsumu's. Atsumu swallowed, and threw himself down the hole. 

"Hello Atsumu." 

Atsumu turned, standing from his crouch, towards a man with dark brown hair, standing in the edge of the shadows, flaking him on either side were two men in masks holding guns. 

"Come along, you're the star of the final challenge." 

Atsumu moved towards them, feeling his hands shake. 

--

Sakusa ran back to the 4x4, Suna got in the drivers seat, and floored it back to the mansion. Sakusa ran all five flights of stairs and opened his safe, pulling out the laptop and found Atsumu's tracking dot, located nearby where they'd just completed the challenge. His eyes swept to another green dot across town.

"Isn't that where Komori is setting up the bombs?" Suna said from his side, pointing at the second green dot.

"Yes it is, I put a tracker in him too." 

Sakusa looked up when he heard a ping on the burner phone, quickly followed by another, he pulled it out and read the first message.

Unknown: If you want him back Jackal, come alone and unarmed to the following address.

Chapter Text

Sakusa stood and locked the laptop back in the safe, then removed his jacket and gloves. He pocketed his phone, the burner phone and picked up the car keys Suna had dumped on the table and walked towards the door. 

"Where are you going?" Suna called after him. 

"To get Atsumu back." Sakusa replied simply. 

"You can't go alone. You'll be killed." Suna shot back at him. 

Sakusa turned his eyes to Osamu, they grey haired man stood watching him for a moment and swallowed, his eyes full of pain. Osamu came forward to take Suna's hand and squeezed it.

"He knows Suna, he knows."

Suna turned to him. 

"You're willing to let him die to get your brother back?"

Osamu pulled his mask off, tears falling from his face. 

"I don't know if I'll even get him back, but I know better than to argue with Sakusa." 

Suna pulled off his mask, his face angry. 

"We need a plan," he started as he turned back, then realised the doorway was empty. 

Suna took off out of Sakusa's office and down the stairs, but the man had vanished. He ran to the ground floor, the door was open and the 4x4 gone. 

"Fuck." 

Suna ran back upstairs and pulled out his laptop, trying to connect to the computer in the vault. Osamu caught up with him then, out of breath. 

"Fuck. Sakusa removed my access when you disappeared and he didn't want me going after you. Did you see the address on the phone?" 

Osamu shook his head. 

"We know it was close to the challenge location though right?"

Suna nodded and took off back upstairs, he grabbed Sakusa's pistol off his desk and turned to Osamu. 

"Maybe you should wait here." 

Osamu shook his head. 

"My brothers been fuckin' kidnapped and ya want me to wait here?"

Suna sighed and grabbed his other hand, pulling him downstairs and grabbed the key for the lotus. They got in and Suna hit the gas, hoping they weren't too late. 

--

"Sit." 

Atsumu eyed the chair and sat, a red haired man tied his arms behind his back and his feet to the front legs. The brunette man ran a gloved finger down the side of Atsumu's face, and smiled at him. 

"Let's hope Jackal really does care about you, or you're going to be of no use to us." 

"I don't know about that Daichi, I can have a lot of fun with him." Tendo replied

The garage door opened and in walked a man with black hair. The brunette let out a sigh.

"About time you got here Kuroo. Where's your team?"

"They are coming in now."

Kuroo stepped aside for the other three to enter and walked over to the brunette. 

"Have you sent the message to Jackal yet Daichi?" 

"Yes brother, he should be on his way, else, this ones going to get hurt."

Kuroo glanced at him. 

"Hurt? I thought we were just killing him if Jackal didn't show." 

"Yes we will, eventually."

Kuroo's eyes moved to the side, seeing Akaashi shift uncomfortably. 

--

Sakusa parked and got out, pocketing the key. He walked towards the warehouse and stopped at the garage door. No matter how much thinking he'd done on the way, he had only thought about one thing. Getting Atsumu out alive, no matter the cost. He had dreamed of leaving a legacy behind him when he finally lucked out and bit the bullet, but this was a different kind of legacy to anything he ever imagined. He was going to return his twin brother back to Osamu, so the other three could carry on together. 

He bent down and walked inside, guns trained on him immediately from the Blaker crew, though he noted the guns in the hands of Bokuto and Kuroo didn't move against him. Daichi stepped forward.

"Glad to have you with us Jackal. Come now, there's no need for a mask anymore is there? We are all friends here." 

Sakusa turned his eyes to Atsumu bound, the blonds back was to him. He pulled off his mask and threw it aside. Tendo tilted his head to the side, grinning, then aimed his gun a little lower and shot Sakusa in the leg, who buckled immediately to his knees, and cried out in pain. 

"Enough." Daichi yelled, rounding on Tendo. 

"That was for Eagle," came Tendo's sing-song voice from under his mask. 

Sakusa ripped the bottom of his tee-shirt off and bound it around the wound. 

"I didn't fucking kill him you moron." Sakusa snapped out, remaining kneeling, "you got what you wanted, let Atsumu go." 

"I would.. but.. you see, there's someone on his way here who wants to see both of you." 

Sakusa stayed on the floor, ensuring the material was tied tightly over his wound so he wouldn't bleed out. 

The garage door opened again and a brunette man in a gold mask walked in. Sakusa kept his expression neutral, but there was a brief moment where Komori's eyes flicked to Sakusa's leg and Atsumu in the chair.  

Kuroo stepped forward. 

"Is it done?"

"Yeah, set up as you asked for Kuroo." Komori replied. 

"Very well, you can go, I'll call you later when I need you again. 

Komori nodded, as he moved back, he subtly pointed to the nearby wall, his hand covered from the men behind him, but Sakusa saw it. 

--

Suna pulled up next to the final challenge and took out his phone, opening the map. 

"Can you remember where Atsumu's dot had been?" 

Osamu moved forward and looked at the map. 

"It was somewhere over here." 

Osamu pointed, it could be one of six warehouses. Suna sighed and took off, running towards the first one, searching for signs of the 4x4 or Sakusa. 

--

Komori knelt down outside the warehouse, fiddled with a few wires, and removed some of the explosives from the bomb, he didn't want to kill anyone, just cause a distraction to get Sakusa out. 

--

Sakusa stayed on his knees, his leg was burning with pain, but he stayed kneeling anyway. 

"You made two grave error in your plans." 

Daichi looked up at him, questioningly. 

"And what's that?"

"Family is more important than my life, and I've never feared death."

"Your family is dead and I have no intention of killing you."

"I stand corrected," Sakusa replied, "you made three grave errors."

Daichi's face faltered for a moment, before regaining composure.

"You made one grave error Jackal, in thinking this was about you." 

Sakusa swallowed slowly, his eyes on Atsumu for a moment. Whatever came next however was lost as the bomb went off and Sakusa dived sideways, the side of the building and part of the roof collapsing. 

Through the smoke and rubble, Sakusa could just made out  Kuroo and his team unharmed on the far side. A chunk of the roof had fallen between Atsumu and the men holding him hostage, he had fallen sideways and the chair lay broken. Atsumu was using a chunk of broken metal to shed through the ropes.

He made his way over to Sakusa as shouts started to be heard through the ringing in his ears. Sakusa was in a bad shape, half pinned by his bad leg under rubble from the roof. Sakusa touched his hand to the wound, removing it to see the blood on his fingers.

"Jackal," Atsumu called as he got over. 

Sakusa looked up at him, reached out and took his hand, gripping it strongly, pressing his thumb down on Atsumu's hand.

"Atsumu, you made me a promise, you swore to me you'd get out. Do it, now." 

Atsumu shook his head, tears forming in his eyes, he moved towards the block on concrete pinning Sakusa down and tried to lift it, failing. 

"Keep your promise to me, get out now."

Shouts could be heard clearer now as Atsumu gave one last look at Sakusa and turned, running towards the exit. 

Osamu almost didn't recognise his brother as the dirt and ash covered blond ran out, he was bruised, bloody and looked terrified. Suna pointed his gun at the hole Atsumu ran out of, but no one followed.

"Jackal?" Suna asked. 

Atsumu's only reply was to shake his head and continue running. Osamu turned around and followed, Suna carried on watching the door. 

"Rin.. 'Tsumu wouldn't have left him if there was any chance at all." 

Suna blinked back tears and turned to his boyfriend, together they ran back to the car and got in, driving away. Atsumu fell apart inside the car, shaking and crying his eyes out. Suna was crying silently as he drove. Osamu clung to Suna's hand, willing himself to not break so he could be strong for the other two.

--

The smoke cleared, and Sakusa looked up to see Tendo's face, grinning at him manically. 

 "Stand down Tendo. You two, get him out of there, fix his leg up, I don't want him dying before the party starts. We need to prepare for Atsumu's rescue mission."

A guy with a shaved head and a shorter one with a blond streak moved forward, lifting the concrete off of Sakusa's leg. They carried him into a small room with a table in the middle and lay him on it. Konoha came in a few minutes later, and set to work cleaning Sakusa's wound. 

"The bullet went through, and it's clean, you'll be fine. I'll give you something for the pain." 

Sakusa nodded,  waiting as Konoha injected him. 

"I gave you a little more than needed as Tendo has a vendetta to settle." 

"Thanks," Sakusa replied. 

Konoha finished fixing his leg up, and helped Sakusa stand. Daichi and Kuroo came in, followed by Bokuto. Daichi turned to the other two. 

"Get him in the truck, move to the back up site," Daichi said, then turned to Sakusa, "you better hope Atsumu comes back, or life won't be fun for you."

"He's not coming back."

"My men will find him and bring him here."

Sakusa just looked at Daichi and smiled in reply. 

"You'll never get your hands on him in time." 

 Daichi raised his gun and struck Sakusa across the face with it, knocking him out.

Chapter Text

Atsumu had been practically howling after he got in the car. He was being pinned in the passenger seat by Osamu, trying to get back to Sakusa when the adrenaline rush had worn off and he realised what he'd done. Suna had pulled over a few blocks away and stuck a needle in his neck, Atsumu was now slumped in Osamu's arms, as they drove back to the mansion. 

The pair carried Atsumu in and lay him on the couch. He was bruised, bloody and covered in dust and filth. Osamu ran his hands over his jaw, stressed. 

"How long 'til he wakes up?"

"Should be any time soon, I only gave him a tiny dose." Suna replied. 

A few minutes later, Atsumu started to come around, groggy and confused. He made a few inaudible noises then jolted up.

"Omi!"

He looked around, confused. 

"We have to go back, we have to find him!" 

Atsumu looked at Suna, pleadingly, then whipped his head towards the doorway to the hall, as there was a knock at the front door. Suna moved out into the hall, and recognised the gold mask through the glass in the door, he opened the door to Komori. 

"They've taken him to the warehouse I set the bombs up in, I need to get back there, they will be expecting me. You going after him? I'll do what I can from the inside." Komori poured out in a hurry.

Suna nodded, with that Komori turned and jogged back down the drive to the van and drive off. Suna turned and walked back to the lounge. Inside, Osamu was pinning his brother to the couch. Suna shut the lounge door and walked over. 

"Atsumu, you need to calm the fuck down, we are going to go after him, but we need you to get your head together, we will get him back. You're filthy, go take a shower while Osamu and I discuss our options."

Atsumu calmed a little at the words, he looked down at his palms, covered in Sakusa's blood, he started shaking. 

"We need to get him back." 

"We will, go shower, and come back, we'll have a plan by then." Suna shot at him. 

Atsumu turned his hands over in his lap, barely listening. Then he saw it, through the grime and dirt, Sakusa had given him the answer. He leapt up with a yell that made both the others jump and ran out the room. 

"'Tsumu, what is it?" Osamu called, running after the blond. 

Atsumu took the stairs two at a time. 

"Omi's back up plan, behind the black rose portrait." Atsumu called in reply as he sprinted up the stairs.

"I thought of that, we don't have access." Suna replied, panting as he followed Atsumu.

Atsumu threw himself into Sakusa's office and knelt behind the desk searching for the panel. He started jamming his finger nails into any raised surface trying to find it. Suna looked at him bewildered. 

"Atsumu, the scanner only opens for his print, he wouldn't have given you access."

Osamu suddenly gasped, nudging Suna and pointing at Atsumu's hand. There between the dirt and blood, was a thumb print in blood. Sakusa had used his own blood to give Atsumu his thumb print for the scanner. Suna shot around the desk and knelt down helping Atsumu. They eventually found the right panel and ripped it off. Atsumu swallowed, and flipped his hand over, scanning the thumb print. The hidden compartment opened and Atsumu pulled out the chain and key. 

 Atsumu pulled himself up and ran to the black rose portrait, he flipped it forward and inserted the key, turning it and opened the safe. The room went red and alarms started in the whole mansion. A count down for thirty minutes started, and the gem vault door opened. Tubing came down from the ceiling and began collecting the gems, packing them into a small black case. Osamu and Suna watched it for a few minutes, Atsumu however had picked up the package inside the safe. On top was a letter, Atsumu started to read.

~~

Dear Atsumu,

If you're reading this, I'm dead, or soon to be dead. If it's the latter, do not come back for me, keep your promise, there's only one reason why I would put my life on the line now, and if you're reading this, it means I did just that. You're safe, that's all that matters.

First, to business. The process to destroy the mansion will have automatically started, and will release the gem vault. The displays are set up with vacuum tubing that will pull the collection out into a travel bag, it will take a few minutes to complete. After that you will have a little under thirty minutes to get out before the building becomes rubble.

If Suna made it, he was aware of some of the plan, he knows where the airport is, if he didn't, there's a folder inside the safe with instructions. It also contains passports under different names for you and your brother should you end up with your names flagged due to betrayal by the cops.

I own an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I made final arrangements the night before we went into the second challenge for Komori to fly you should Suna not make it, his number is with the airport details. The island is perfectly self sufficient for at least a year for four people, you can finally start that garden your mother mentioned. Stay there for the rest of your days, it's the life you always wanted to give your brother. I'm glad I could be the one to give it to you.

I can't even pin point the day I fell in love with you, I certainly loved you the day you told me you loved me, I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I've spent so long living that way, and you were right, I should live while I'm alive. I finally did start living with you, before that, I was just existing. I think I've been waiting for you for a long time. Thank you for showing me just how good life could be. 

Go to the island with your brother, lay low for a year, then reach out to Komori, he can start selling the gem collection as and when you need to, to pay for supplies, I also opened a bank account in your name, it has a few million in it, to let you get anything you need for the trip. If everything goes badly with Blaker, change your looks as much as you can, use your new names and get out of the city as fast as possible. 

I'm going to sign off here, but please know, I would have been honoured to have spent a life time with you. 

I love you Atsu, I always will. My life is yours.

Kiyoomi. 

~~

Atsumu fell to his knees while reading, tears running down his face. 

"He loves me," Atsumu choked out. 

Osamu came forward and took the letter, while Suna picked up the gem bags. Osamu skimmed through the letter and picked up the pack, with passports and details of the airport, island and bank. He collected them all together and stuffed them into the bag with the gems. 

"Suna, take them downstairs, we have to pack as much stuff as we can in the next twenty minutes and get out, then we can come up with a plan for Sakusa." Osamu said. 

Atsumu stood up, wiping his face. 

"Ya two pack, load up the 4x4, get as much as ya can, then meet me by the car park of the first challenge." 

"Why, what are ya going to do?" Osamu said, confused.

"I'm going to get us some help." 

"What? From who?"

Atsumu didn't answer, he ran for the front door. He paused long enough in the hall to rip open a mission kit bag, shedding his top, replacing it with a clean one, and pulled on mask and gloves, then got in his car and drove. Someone might have called him crazy for attempting what he was about to do, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

He parked and got out, then walked towards the office block that he knew housed the Seijoh police station, and walked in. A pinked haired man looked up at him with his mouth open as Atsumu shut the door behind him. Makki pulled out his gun and aimed it at Atsumu. 

"Where's Oikawa?" Atsumu asked. 

"Who are you?" Makki shot back. 

Atsumu turned to him. 

"If you cared about Yahaba, find Oikawa now." 

Makki didn't move, his gun still pointed at Atsumu, but his face faltered a little, confusion spread across it. A tall man with spiked black hair however moved from the back, he got up and walked up the steps, opening Mattsun's office and started talking. Mattsun immediately picked up his phone and spoke to someone. 

Kindaichi and Mattsun came out and walked down the steps. 

"Who are you?" Mattsun asked. 

"Where's Oikawa?" Atsumu shot back.

"He's on his way." 

Atsumu strolled across the room and sat in Oikawa's chair, waiting. Makki lowered his gun. Ten minutes later the door opened and Oikawa walked in, followed by Iwaizumi. 

"What's so urgent...?" Oikawa asked as he came in, then his eyes fell on Atsumu, "oh, hello. You're one of the twins right? What brings you here?"

Atsumu nodded, then stood. 

"Blaker didn't go to plan. We were betrayed, they took Jackal, we need your help."

Oikawa's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but not as much as Mattsun and the others around the room. 

"Oikawa, what's he on about? What's Blaker? You don't mean the assassin Jackal do you? Oikawa, do you know who he is?" Mattsun listed off a series of questions, getting more annoyed the longer he spoke.

"I'm sorry Mattsun, but right now, none of that matters." 

Mattsun stood up straighter then, looking down at Oikawa. 

"What the fuck do you mean it doesn't matter? Have you been harbouring a criminal? This could mean your badge Oikawa."

Oikawa glanced at Iwaizumi, who spoke up at last. 

"We've been in contact with Jackal, helping him track down Yahaba's killer. Jackal is also the person who wiped out the gang that killed Oikawa's father. We owe him Mattsun." Iwaizumi looked at Atsumu then before continuing, "what do you need?"  

"The final challenge was a trap, they kidnapped me in order to bait Jackal out. He surrendered himself to save me, the building blew up and I got out, he is still with them, and Yahaba's killer is with them too. We could use a few extra guns outside to help get us out." 

Iwaizumi stood and nodded. Mattsun rounded on him.

"This is illegal, you know you can't come back from this, I should arrest you all right now for even talking about it."

"Go ahead Mattsun, then go explain to my sister that her fiance's killer is walking free because of you." Iwaizumi squared his shoulders as he spoke, although he was shorter than Mattsun, he was bigger built and had a dominating stature. 

Mattsun backed down then, he turned to Oikawa. 

"If you two do anything to break the law, I won't be able to protect you, the full force of the law will come after you, and these," He glanced Atsumu up and down, "criminals, you'll be trialed as one of them."

Oikawa nodded. 

"I understand Mattsun, it's been a pleasure to work with you sir." 

Oikawa grabbed a few things from his desk, then stood up, strapping his gun into the belt at his thigh. Iwaizumi was already standing by the door, two guns in his chest harness. Kindaichi and Kunimi both wished them good luck, and Makki nodded to them as they walked towards the door. 

"You have twenty four hours, before I started an investigation into this Oikawa, that's the only grace I'm giving you, you are a damn fine detective, I hope you make the right choices." 

Oikawa nodded, and walked out the door, Iwaizumi and Atsumu in tow. They headed outside, to where Atsumu's car stood. 

"And they say crime doesn't pay." Iwaizumi muttered under his breath. 

"Meet me at the car park we first met at." Atsumu said, getting in his car.

Atsumu watched Oikawa and Iwaizumi walk towards their car, then set off, hoping that two extra men would be enough to help even the odds, the guy who held him captive had had at least eight men, including Kuroo's team, they were heavily armed and held a hostage. If Oikawa and Iwaizumi came through, with Komori, they had seven. 

He drove through the streets, silently praying that it would be enough to get Sakusa back to him alive.

Chapter Text

Blood dripped down the side of Sakusa's face. His vision was blurred and his head swum.  Tendo's laughter rung out in the room. Kuroo shifted uncomfortably, moving to block Kenma from view. 

"I thought he wanted both alive and unharmed?" Kuroo said as Tendo hit Sakusa again.

Tendo hummed in reply, "alive, no one said unharmed," he sang out. 

"Enough Tendo, he still needs to speak." Kuroo fired back. 

"I don't follow your orders, I only follow him."

Tendo raised his fist again, Kuroo strode across the room and caught his wrist. Tendo punched Kuroo across the face instead, and had Akaashi and Bokuto immediately pull guns on him. Tendo took a few steps back from Kuroo and Sakusa as the doors opened and Daichi walked in, flanked by Suga, Noya, Tanaka and Kageyama. Daichi eyed Sakusa's face and smirked. Kuroo eyed Sakusa also, remaining where he was.

"Not looking your best there Jackal. Tell me something, in all the time you had the twins with you, did you ever wonder what their surname was?"

Sakusa looked up at him with difficulty, his one working eye on Daichi, raising his eyebrow in surprise, at the realisation he hadn't.  Daichi stepped forward and smashed Sakusa across the face with his fist. Kuroo cleared his throat.

"This isn't what I signed up for brother..." Kuroo started.

"Silence. You dare question me? Question our father?" Daichi said coldly, turning to Kuroo, who backed down and moved back towards his men. 

The garage door opened then, and Atsumu walked in, wearing his normal mission suit, without a mask, holding a silenced pistol. All of Daichi's men drew their guns immediately, Kuroo, and his did as well, after a moments hesitation. Atsumu stepped forward, pointing his gun at Daichi. 

"Let him go, or I'll kill ya." Atsumu said, his voice quivering slightly.

"You'll.. kill all ten of us? By yourself?" Daichi scoffed, "only you're not by yourself are you? Come out Osamu and Suna, come stand with him, or I'll kill him." 

Daichi aimed his gun at Atsumu. Osamu and Suna stepped out of the shadows. 

"That's better, the family is back together." Daichi sneered.

"Why the fuck are ya doing this? What did Jackal ever do to ya?" Atsumu snapped at him.

A greying man in a black suit stepped out of the shadows then and looked at Atsumu. 

"Now now, no son of mine should be using such language Atsumu." 

"They aren't your sons, father, they are a disappointment to you, you said that yourself." Daichi shot at him. 

Osamu's eyes widened in horror, as he recognised the yellow eyes he had spent years looking at in the form of his brother. Miya Mazoku stood before them, very much alive. 

"Ya and Kuroo have served me well as my sons, after I lost my own boys, but now it's time for them to rejoin the family. Come here Atsumu." 

"Yer not my father." Atsumu spat at him. 

Osamu stepped forward then, his voice shaking. "Ma.. ma said ya died."

"She lied to ya, and I killed her for it." Mazoku replied.

"Liar! Ma died of cancer." Osamu fired back at him, fear and doubt suddenly clouding his voice. 

"Such a shame her treatment went so badly wrong so fast... of course..ya'd have been too young to remember that. I had her chemo tampered with so it would fail to do anything. I went to collect ya after she died but ya'd run away. I've spent over a decade looking for ya, and I find this.. filth has ya."

Mazoku stepped forward and punched Sakusa in the face. Atsumu howled with rage and lunged at him, immediately having several guns aimed at him, as Daichi stepped forward and threw him to the floor. Osamu was however still processing his fathers words. 

"Ya... ya killed ma?"

Mazoku smiled then, his lips in a cold, thin line. 

"She tried to take my sons from me. Tried to get you adopted into her boyfriends name, so she could hide you. Took him weeks to die."

Osamu swore at him, stepping forward to take Atsumu's arm, puling him up. Tendo walked towards Mazoku. 

"You promised me, I took out the cop for you, I want my payment." 

Mazoku hummed at nodded at Noya and Tanaka, who grabbed Suna and pulled him forward, shoving him to his knees in front of Sakusa and Tendo. Tendo aimed his gun at Suna's head.

"I told the twins brother I'd kill everyone you love first Jackal, and I intend to keep that promise." 

"Who says you'll be alive to get that far." Iwaizumi's voice rang out, as he stepped out the shadows, his gun aimed at Tendo. 

"Who the fuck are you?" Tendo shot at him.

"You killed the cop?" Iwaizumi replied.

"Yeah so? Little piggies can all die." 

Gun fire rang through the warehouse as several shots were fired at once, and five people hit the floor. Atsumu whips his head around, trying to process what happened, Suna was lying on the floor, Akaashi on top of him, and a bullet hole in the wall behind where his head had just been, Tendo's now smoking gun lying in his still hand, as the blood flowed from the bullet hole in his head, a grin still etched on his un-moving face. 

Iwaizumi was on the ground, bending over Oikawa, who was bleeding heavily from his arm, having knocked Iwa out the way of a bullet fired from Tanaka's gun. Mazoku stepped around Tendo's body, his hand raised at Tanaka.  He looked down at Akaashi and frowned at him, drawing his gun, aiming it at Akaashi. Bokuto moved across the room, standing in front of Akaashi. 

The mobile phones in the twins and Suna's pockets all started to vibrate at once, Atsumu dived across Sakusa and tipped his chair to the floor, Osamu dived next to them, sheltering his head, and Suna dived at Akaashi and Bokuto, shoving them to the far wall. Mazoku has a few seconds of confusion registered on his face before the warehouse exploded and the entire right wall and half the roof disappeared. Fire and rubble spread across the room, as it filled with smoke.

Kuroo got struck in the head with falling rubble and collapsed on top of Kenma. Through the smoke Atsumu could make out bodies all around him, some moving, others not. He heard a scream, looking up to see Tanaka holding Noya's lifeless body. He lets out another yell of rage and picked up a machine gun, opening fire through the fog, spraying bullets everywhere. He gets around half a clip out before he drops down dead, a bullet hole through his skull. 

Atsumu whipped his head around, no one in his team is even standing, he had no idea where the bullet came from, he crawled to Sakusa, finding Osamu already cutting the bindings on the chair, and the pair start to pull him towards the door. Kageyama's body lying a few feet from them un-moving, Suga, Daichi, and Mazoku were all missing. 

Atsumu, with help from Osamu, start dragging Sakusa towards the door when he saw Daichi on his knees in the smoke, crawling, his head bleeding badly. He pulled Sakusa's gun from the holster on his back, having lost his own in the explosion, and put a bullet through Daichi's head. A satisfied smile on his lips.

Komori came into the hole in the wall then, wrapping his arms around Sakusa and dragging him out with Atsumu. They got to the van in time to see Suna and Akaashi dragging out a heavily bleeding, unconscious Bokuto, his leg torn open badly down the thigh. 

Fire burned high in the warehouse now, and Mazoku came staggering out the hole, bending over coughing. Sakusa pulled himself to his feet from the back of the van, despite being barely able to stand, he took his gun from Atsumu's hand and staggered forward, aiming it at Mazoku's head. 

"See you in hell." Sakusa said simply, firing a bullet into Mazoku's head and watching his body drop and collapsed forward, Komori pulled him up again.

A second body dropped next to Mazoku's then, Suga's body, with his neck split wide up, blood flowing onto the ground. Sakusa looked up, barely able to focus, his vision swum, as he stared at a giant of a man he didn't recognise. 

"Lev, stand down," Akaashi's voice came from behind them, "go back to Tsukki."

The man nodded and wiped the blood from his knife, putting it back in its holster and disappeared out of sight. 

"Lev and Tsukki work for Kur.." Akaashi froze, "Kuroo... he's not made it out." 

Sakusa and Atsumu glanced between them, and Akaashi launched himself out the back of the van, then turned back to Suna, covered in Bokuto's blood, trying to stabilize him.

"Please.. save him." Akaashi called, as he ran towards the heavily burning building.

Osamu shot one look at Suna, their eyes met, and Osamu gave him a pleading look. Suna just nodded. Osamu flew out the back of the van and went after Akaashi.

"Go." Sakusa croaked out to Atsumu, transferring his weight over to Komori, as his cousin dragged him to the back of the van.

Atsumu could barely see his brother by the time he got into the warehouse, he saw Osamu dragging Kenma's form towards the door, Akaashi further in, struggling with Kuroo. Atsumu moved forward, picking Kenma up and carried him out, leaving Osamu to help Akaashi. The trio got out, collapsing just as the rest of the building did.

Iwaizumi dragged a bleeding Oikawa around the corner then from the other side of the warehouse.

Sakusa eyed them for a moment, vision blurred.

"Cops are on the way, you need to get out of here now, I hope you got a plan." Iwaizumi said.

"Come with us." Sakusa said, "you'll never explain this away."

Iwaizumi nodded, pulling Oikawa forward, shoving him in the back of the van. Bokuto was being patched up the best Suna could at the back right, Akaashi holding his hand. Kuroo and Kenma, still unconscious had been slumped next to them on the left. Sakusa sat on the van floor next to Bokuto's feet, with Oikawa opposite him. Osamu wrapped a bandage around Oikawa's arm to try and stem the bleeding.

"Did you figure it out?" Sakusa asked Atsumu.

Atsumu nodded.

"Lets go then."

Atsumu swung the van door shut in reply, it was going to be an uncomfortable journey for the lot in the back. Komori got in the drivers seat, Atsumu turned to Iwaizumi.

"Come on, unless you're gonna tell me you got something better to do with ya life?"

Iwaizumi thought for a moment, then followed Atsumu to the front and got in. Komori hit the gas the moment the door closed and drove to the location Atsumu had given him the details for. Suna was struggling in the back, the van was not equip to deal with Bokuto's level of injury, and the man was bleeding out in front of him. 

"Jackal.. he ain't gonna make the trip."

Sirens were closing in on them now, the window to get to the airport and escape was closing fast. Sakusa looked around the back of the van, at Oikawa and Bokuto bleeding, to Kuroo and Kenma unconscious from smoke inhalation. He swallowed, glancing at Atsumu, thinking fast.

Chapter Text

"Drive to the docks Weasel." Sakusa called out. 

Akaashi looked up at him. 

"You taking Bokuto to our HQ?"

"I'm taking him to Konoha." 

"Every cop in the city is going to be heading to that explosion right now, they are going to shut down the damn city, we don't have time Jackal." Komori fired at him. 

"You have an escape plan don't you Jackal?" Akaashi said, pulling out his phone. 

Jackal nodded. 

"Just give me a location, I'll get Konoha there." 

Jackal sighed and gave him the location. 

"Betray me, and Bokuto dying will be the least of your issues." 

Akaashi nodded and placed the call. 

--

Komori pulled up at the airport twenty minutes later. Airport was a stretch, it was a roughly tarmacked surface and a large make shift hanger.

"Weasel, get the plane ready to fly, Atsumu, Osamu, help him with anything he needs." 

The three nodded and moved off immediately, Iwaizumi watched them move and looked at Oikawa, who was still holding his bleeding arm. 

"Go help them." 

Iwaizumi nodded and moved off. Akaashi had leapt from the van the second it stopped moving, running to a small black car that Konoha lent against. The pair grabbed a folding table and his medical bags from the back and got Bokuto out on it with Suna's help. They set to work immediately. Sakusa moved around to the front seat and grabbed the gem bag, pulling it onto his back and removing two silenced pistols from it. 

A groan sounded from the back of the van then, Sakusa moved around and looked into the eyes of a barely standing Kuroo. 

"Wha..what happened..?" Kuroo asked, stumbling sideways. 

Sakusa pulled a pistol on him and aimed it at his head. 

"More importantly, who's side are you on?" 

Kuroo turned and saw Kenma still unconscious on the floor, he fell to his knees, checking for a pulse. 

"His," Kuroo said slowly, nodding at Kenma, "always his, Akaashi, and Bo's," he looked up at Sakusa, "I take it the rest are dead?" 

Sakusa nodded in reply, then sat down on the edge of the van, adrenaline finally wearing off. 

"He took me in, gave me an older brother, raised me as a son, but something.. something about that challenge wasn't sitting right with me, he wouldn't tell me what was going on, so I had Akaashi reach out to his old associate, Weasel and set up some small explosives to go off as a distraction if I needed to get my team out of there. I guess you and he know each other, because the bomb locations were moved, and increased, I was really close to one of them." 

"Weasel is my cousin." Sakusa said simply. 

"Damn, was so worried about him betraying me to the twins, I never considered he could know you or Suna. I had a few other friends on the outside of Nekorodani, a Russian assassin who really likes knives, and a sniper who took out Tanaka during the fight. You're lucky Suna pulled Akaashi and Bokuto down, or Tsukki would have likely fired on your team too." 

Sakusa shrugged in reply. 

"You want to come with us Kuroo?" 

"To where?" 

"Island in the middle of no where, retirement."

Kuroo paused for a moment, looking at Kenma's unconscious form. 

"Yeah.. we will. Thank you. I owe you a life debt, four in fact."  

Sakusa stood up then, leaning on the side of the van, and watched the twins and Iwaizumi pushing the plane out, looking towards Oikawa, who was being bandaged by Akaashi, and on to Bokuto on the table with Suna and Konoha bent over him. 

"Ready to fly in twenty Jackal." Komori called over. 

Sakusa nodded to him. 

"That enough time?" Sakusa said to Suna, approaching the trio. 

"It's.. I'm performing fairly major surgery in the middle of a fucking field, if he doesn't get an infection and die, it will be a miracle. I can work with twenty minutes though. He should survive a flight for an hour or two." Konoha replied.

Sakusa looked across the field then, his eyes fell on the blond he'd not taken the time to say a direct word to, in what felt like days now. He swallowed, and turned away. There would be time for that later, time to have his say on Atsumu's broken promise. He scowled and pulled a wipe from the medical bag, staring to clean the dried blood from his face. 

--

Sirens pierced the air a few minutes later, and Jackal swore. 

"How the fuck?" 

"Maybe it's not coming to here?" Suna replied.

"There's nothing else out here. I own 12 acres for a fucking reason."

Oikawa turned pale. He reached slowly into his pocket, his hands shaking and withdrew his phone. 

"It's Mattsun, he's tracking my phone, or Iwa's. He told us he would give us time.. he clearly lied." 

Sakusa scowled and climbed into the van, pulling two black boxes forward, he masked up and pulled out two silenced pistols, slotting them into his suit. 

"Arm up. Get the others." 

Kuroo stepped forward immediately, picking up a sub machine gun, and turned, walking towards the hanger. 

"Suna, get on the roof." 

Suna nodded, picking up his sniper rifle and putting it onto his back. 

"Wait..." Oikawa called, "let me and Iwa try and talk our way out of this. Get everyone inside the hanger, lock up the back of the van, and give us the keys." 

"It's worth a shot ain't it Jackal? We don't know how many is coming, Osamu's never fired a gun, I doubt Kenma has, Bokuto is down.. our numbers of fighters are really low. If they bring the whole force.. we can't win..." Suna said.

Sakusa stepped forward and grabbed Oikawa by the front of his top. 

"Do not fuck this up, or Suna will target you and Iwaizumi first." 

Oikawa nodded, and Sakusa released him. 

"Suna, get on the roof, don't get spotted." 

Suna nodded and moved off.

"Get Bokuto and the crates inside, now."

They moved off, Sakusa locked up the back of the van and threw the keys at Iwaizumi, then walked into the hanger, the twins and Kuroo pushed the door shut and they waited. 

"If you're not keeping Bokuto alive, and you've fired a gun before, arm up."

Kuroo stood to the side, gun in hand, and swept Kenma behind his back. Akaashi picked up a silenced pistol, as did Atsumu. Konoha stayed working on Bokuto, Komori assisting him. Osamu moved over, picking up a pistol as well. Atsumu eyed him, and opened his mouth, but Osamu shot him down with a look. Atsumu sighed and turned away. 

--

A single cop car came up, Mattsun, Makki, Kindaichi and Kunimi got out. 

"What are you doing here Oikawa?" Mattsun said, approaching.

"Just following a lead boss, it came up empty." 

Mattsun nodded slowly, thinking. 

"Strange, the pair of you have been here a long time for nothing. Who's van is that?" 

"Mine." Iwaizumi said, holding up the keys.

The evening sun was setting low in the sky, the light caught and reflected on the end of Suna's scope.

"SHOOTER." Makki yelled, diving at Mattsun and tackling him to the floor behind their car. 

Kindaichi and Kunimi ducked down too, a few seconds later, Oikawa and Iwaizumi followed suit. Mattsun pulled his radio up to his mouth. 

"Wait." Oikawa said, moving forward, and holding the radio away from him.

"What the hell is going on Oikawa?"

--

Atsumu looked up when he heard someone shout 'shooter', and locked eyes with Sakusa. His eyes glanced towards a boom box on one of the shelves and he smirked, pulling out his phone and connected it, as Sakusa moved towards the hanger doors. Osamu and Atsumu flanked him. Kuroo stepped forward to Atsumu's other side, with Kenma next to him, Akaashi and Komori, picking up a gun on the way, came to flank the other side. 

Sakusa rolled his eyes as Atsumu hit play, playing 'Sleeping Wolf - New Kings'  and stepped out of the hanger, walking forward in a V formation. Mattsun looked up quickly then ducked again. 

"I counted at least six, plus the sniper, not good odds, but if we drop a few on the ground, it might help even the odds." 

Iwaizumi shook his head, he got up and walked over to the seven men, Oikawa stood as well.

"Oikawa, you're under arrest, do not move." Mattsun said to him. 

Oikawa looked at him. 

"The man in the middle is the reason Yahaba was avenged, the reason why my father was avenged." He got up and moved towards them as well. 

Kindaichi and Kunimi holstered their guns and stood, their arms raised. 

"I think.. it's worth hearing what they have to say Mattsun.. for Yahaba." 

Mattsun nodded in reply, holstering his gun and got up, walking forward. He glanced between the seven, then watched as one one the far right walked away, jogging back into the hanger, the smallest man in the group also disappeared back inside. 

"Name?" Sakusa asked, looking at Mattsun.

"Matsukawa." 

"Jackal. I'll give you a choice Matsukawa, you can let us go, and we will never return. I take with me the leadership of Nekoma, Fukurodani, the Fox twins, and one of the best bomb specialists in Japan. Karasuno and Miya Mazoku are gone, we killed them all, as is the assassin Tendo. Eagle was already dead. Tendo was the one who killed your cop, I can't take credit for that one, that was all Iwaizumi."

Mattsun glanced from Sakusa to Iwaizumi at that. 

 "How long until you're ready to go?" 

"About ten minutes." 

"What about those two?" Mattsun said, nodding to Oikawa and Iwaizumi, "if you two stay, you face jail."

"They've earned a spot with my team if they want it." Jackal said. 

"If any of you criminals ever step foot in Japan again, you'll be arrested. Iwaizumi and Oikawa, you need to stay away for ten years at least, after that.. I'm sure enough evidence will have aged for a trial to fail..."

Iwaizumi nodded, turning to Kindaichi, "tell my sister?"

"And my mother." Oikawa added, looking at Mattsun. 

The men nodded. Oikawa stepped forward and handed his gun, phone and badge to Mattsun. Mattsun pulled his radio forward and spoke. Iwaizumi handed his phone to Kindaichi.

"Have evidence that Oikawa and Iwaizumi have been kidnapped, need units to mobilise on the west side of the city, by the memorial. We roll out in 30 minutes." 

Mattsun set his radio down. 

"If you're not gone in 30 minutes, every cop in the city will be here."

"Thank you sir, it's been a pleasure." Oikawa said, shaking Mattsun's hand. 

Iwaizumi stepped forward and shook his hand as well. The four cops got in their car and drove away. 

"I want this plane in the air in ten minutes." Sakusa said, moving back towards the hanger, Kuroo and the twins set off in a sprint. 

--

Mattsun arrived at the airport 37 minutes later to find the plane gone, and the hanger empty, they thoroughly searched the area, and found nothing. Mattsun turned and walked towards Makki. 

"You're on the Oikawa and Iwaizumi missing persons case, run it for a year, then close it as a cold case. What happened here today gets buried, we never speak of it again to anyone." 

The end.

Chapter Text

The small two bedroom beach hut became a temporary medical center. The initial twenty four hours after landing on the island was a chaotic fury of treating wounds, getting fresh water and setting up the basics to survive. Sakusa had had Komori stock the small warehouse in the middle of the island with enough supplies for four people for a year, and now they had tripled that number. 

Komori, Akaashi and Kuroo had taken the plane to another neighbouring country, and stocked up with as much as the plane could take, including refueling, and the remaining, that were able to help, had started to build another two beach huts from the supplies on the island. Within two weeks, life started to settle a little for the twelve of them, and they finally stopped falling into bed exhausted, only to wake early and continue working. Konoha had deemed Bokuto stable, and would make a full recovery.

On the first evening they had a night off, Sakusa found Atsumu on the sand, watching the water wash over the beach, nearing sunset. 

"Atsumu." 

Atsumu looked up and smiled, Sakusa had stopped wearing his mask since everyone had seen his face.

"Jackal." 

Sakusa sat down next to him. 

"You broke your promise to me." 

Atsumu swallowed. 

"I know.. I.. couldn't.. life wasn't worth living without ya, I'm sorry."

Sakusa put his arm around him. 

"We've come a long way since we met over a year ago now, never thought I'd see the day where someone put their life on the line for me. I guess I never thought I'd find someone worth putting my life on the line for. I'm glad that I did. I love you Atsumu."

Atsumu felt his heard explode, finally hearing the words he'd be waiting what felt like a life time to hear. He lent in close to Sakusa and whispered his reply.

"I love ya too, Kiyoomi." 

Sakusa glanced over his shoulder, but saw no one there. He smiled. Atsumu returned his voice to normal volume. 

"Jackal.. what are we?" 

"What we will always be, together." 

--

Jackal opened the front door to the middle beach hut, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had been sharing a room, with Komori and Konoha sharing the other, leaving Kuroo's team in the last beach hut on the end. Oikawa looked up from where he and Iwaizumi were building a dining table. 

"Jackal." 

"You get one call between the two of you, contact whoever you want to, do not tell them anything about the island, who's with you or anything else of importance, it's to say goodbye, got it?" 

The two men nodded and followed Jackal to his laptop. 

"Enter the number here, you have 5 minutes."

"I don't even know any of my families numbers off the top of my head." Oikawa said, frowning. 

"Kindaichi would have given my phone to my sister, I'm willing to bet she will keep it charged in case someone tries to contact me." Iwaizumi replied. 

He started typing the number of his own phone and after three rings it answered.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered. 

"Hey sis." Iwaizumi said. 

"Hajime??!" She practically screamed, "I've been so worried, first Shigeru is killed.. then you go missing. Where are you? Are you safe?" 

"I'm safe okay, Oikawa and I both are, but you gotta listen. The person who killed Shigeru.. I... I killed him sis, I can't come back home for a long time. At least ten years, or Ill go to jail. I'm so sorry, but I promise you, I'm fine, I'll be fine. The cops will declare me and Oikawa dead, but don't believe them okay? Agree with them, make it look like you believe I'm dead. I can't tell you where I am because if they think you know anything, they will bring you in for questioning. Got it?"

Muffled crying was heard through the phone, then the sound of sniffing, when she spoke again, a calm resolve came over her voice.

"I understand, thank you, you were a good friend to Shigeru. He was so happy that you and he were going to be brothers."

"I was too. When the cops talk to you, can you ask them for Oikawa's mothers information, say you want to talk to her, share your grief, do whatever you need to do, but get in contact with her and his sister, tell them both too, but keep it away from the cops and anyone else." 

"I.. I will. I love you Hajime."

"I love you too sis, I'll be back in about ten years, I promise."

"Tell my family I love them." Oikawa added.

"I will." 

Iwaizumi hung up the call, tears in his eyes. Oikawa reached out and put his hand on Iwaizumi's forearm. 

"We will see them again."

Iwaizumi nodded, smiling at Oikawa. 

"Thanks Jackal." 

Sakusa nodded and stood, watching the pair walk away. 

--

"Osamu!"

Osamu turned to see Akaashi jogging towards him and Suna. 

"Hi." Osamu offered, somewhat awkwardly, this is the first time they'd been alone since they arrived.

"I.. just wanted to say thank you, and sorry. You, both of you, helped save Bokuto's life. I can never repay that, but I can apologise. In the warehouse, Kuroo lied to you, I wasn't kidnapped, I left by choice. I have loved Bokuto since we were kids, we got separated and I thought I'd never see him again."

Akaashi paused, glancing between the pair of them. 

Kuroo sent me undercover with you to find out if you were the Miya twins, I was on a job, I wasn't meant to develop feelings, but I did. It was all real, I promise you that much, I loved you dearly, and you'll always have a place in my heart, but Bo is my soul mate. I hope you can understand that, I'm so sorry I hurt you."

Osamu looked at Suna and smiled, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, I understand soul mates, I found mine. I'm glad you're with yours. I forgive ya Keiji."

Akaashi stepped forward and hugged Suna.

"Bo and I, owe you our lives. Thank you Suna."

Suna startled a little at the hug, but hugged him back. Osamu wrapped his arms around the pair then too. 

"How is Bokuto doing?" Osamu asked.

"He's going to be fine, Konoha is taking care of him with Weasel."

Osamu smiled at that.

"I'm glad."

"I'm going to head back to him, thank you for listening."

Suna took Osamu's hand again and walked along to the beach with him. 

"Osamu, there's something I wanna know."

Osamu swallowed, a look of panic passing over his face.

"Anything, ya know I'll always be honest with ya."

Suna dropped down on one knee. 

"My beautiful soul mate, will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in Osamu's eyes and he threw his arms around Suna's neck.

"Yes, of course I will."  

--

Atsumu stood watching Sakusa digging a line of dirt out in a shallow strip. He watched him, confused for a good few minutes before approaching.

"What are ya doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing Atsumu?"   

"Diggin'." 

"So why did you ask?"

"I meant more.. why are ya doing it?"

"Your ma gave you good advise, I'm acting on it." Sakusa said, standing and leaning on the spade.

"Yer... making a garden?"

"Yes, I had Komori collect seeds and tools when he went to get supplies. It's planting time for carrots and onions. We won't have to make as many supply runs if we grow a lot of our own food."

Atsumu beamed at him and moved forward to hug him, then picked up a fork. 

"Where do ya want me?" 

Sakusa smiled and pointed at a patch of un-dug dirt. 

"'Tsumu!" 

Atsumu looked up to see his brother running towards him, Suna being dragged along behind by their linked hands.

"What? What's wrong? Ya okay?" Atsumu asked, confused. 

"Suna asked me to marry him!" 

Atsumu's face spread into a grin, and pulled his brother into a hug. 

"I'm real happy for ya both.. I assume ya said yes."

"Of course I did ya scrub." 

"I'm not a scrub, ya are."

Suna rolled his eyes, looking at Sakusa. 

"I'll have Komori bring back some rings when he goes on his next supply run. I want to build a chicken coop." Sakusa said, stepping away from where Atsumu was attempting to get Osamu in a headlock.

~~

1 Year Later

~~

Kuroo glanced around at the eleven men in front of him. 

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today.." 

"Kuroo, you are not a priest." 

"Shut up Kenma you're ruining the moment. As I was saying, we are gathered here today to..err.. line."

 "..to join this man.." Kenma supplied.

"Right.. to join this man and... this man in matrimony." 

"Holy matrimony." Kenma added.

"It ain't holy, I'm not a priest." Kuroo added, sarcastically. 

"Is it too late to have Akaashi do this instead?" Suna muttered to Osamu.

"Quiet please, there's a wedding in progress." Kuroo shot at them. 

Kuroo looked at Kenma, who rolled his eyes. 

"They say their vows now. They wrote their own.. so you just need to just shut up Kuroo."

Kuroo scowled at Kenma, then nodded. 

"Suna, your vows?"

Suna cleared his throat, taking both of Osamu's hands in his own.

"My life has changed a lot over the last two years. From the first moment I properly laid eyes on you after that mission gone wrong, when I was putting your brothers leg back together, I removed my mask, and you thought I was going to kill you. To the night where I thought I'd lost you, we've been through a hell of a journey. A journey that had more pitfalls, near death experiences and trauma than I would have liked, but none the less, it got us to where we are today. I couldn't think of a better person to have by my side for the rest of my life. I love you." 

Osamu's eyes filled with tears, he glanced around the room, seeing Akaashi, Atsumu, Oikawa, Konoha and Kenma the same. 

"I know what ya mean, I started out as a captive. I knew I was screwed the first time I saw yer face. I'd never seen someone so beautiful before. Ya melted my heart the second I saw ya, and I couldn't care less what ya'd done, I wanted ya. I fell in love with ya so fast, and ya complete me. Ya understand me on a level that no one ever has, and I have a twin, so that's saying something. It amazes me, ya amaze me, each and every day. I love ya."

Kuroo watched them for a moment, then smiled. 

"Suna Rintaro, do you take Miya Osamu to be your not so lawful wedded husband?" 

"I do."

Osamu slid a ring on Suna's finger.

"Miya Osamu, do you take Suna Rintaro to be your not so lawful wedded husband?"

"I do."

Suna slid the ring on Osamu's finger.

"I now pronounce you, with no legal rights outside of this island what-so-ever, husbands. You may kiss."

Suna lent forward and kissed Osamu.

"The Miya name lives on." Sakusa said, approaching, "congratulations both of you." 

"Thanks. You can't call me Suna anymore."  

"I guess Rin it is. Welcome to the world Miya Rintaro."

--

Komori approached Sakusa a few days later. 

"Konoha wants to leave, he's technically a law abiding citizen, and he knows nothing, alright if I take him with me on the next supply run, he said he'll make his way home from wherever I drop him off. The cops never saw him, so he'll be safe."

Sakusa nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine." 

"After this supply run, I'm not going to head back to the mainland and go on my way, I'll come do supply runs a couple of times a year, or you got my number if you need anything else in between, but the island life ain't for me."

Sakusa embraced his cousin. 

"I understand. Stay safe."

Chapter Text

~~

2 Years Later 

~~

The island had grown a lot in the two years since Rin and Osamu married. Komori and Konoha had safely left, Keiji married Bokuto, and the gardens Sakusa had started building were in full bloom. It was the height of summer, a few stray chickens roamed around in front of him, as he repainted the stones with Terushima and Ushijima's names on them. He set them back down and stretched his back out with a smile. 

Long gone were the suits, masks and gloves, Sakusa walked across the garden in beige shorts, sandals and a cream t-shirt, his body now tanned healthily by the long hours in the sun. He had taken to shaving the sides of his head short to keep cool, but kept the top long as Atsumu whined for 6 weeks when he had his hair cut short all over before. ("But the pretty curls...")

Atsumu walked over, carrying two glasses of iced lemonade. Kenma, Rin and Keiji had rigged up solar panels and batteries, with Komori's help during his last visit a few months back, and their electricity problems were pretty much resolved, apart from in winter now. Bokuto, Kuroo and Iwaizumi were working on getting a water wheel up and running, to help the stop gap, but with the long summers and extra batteries, this winter should be a lot better than the last. 

Throughout spring and summer, and a long way into autumn, they mostly cooked outside, in winter, most of their cooking and heating came from gas tanks stocked up by Komori's bi-annual visits, so really it was only the fridge and lights they needed to keep working through the winter. 

Sakusa took a glass with a thanks, and watched as Atsumu sat down. 

"Atsu?"

Atsumu hummed in reply, looking up at him. 

"Marry me?" 

Atsumu beamed at him and nodded.

--

The ceremony was a simple affair, just the four of them, no one else could know Sakusa's name, and Atsumu hadn't wanted to do vows without their real names. Osamu and Suna had taken to reading in turn, and rings had been exchanged. 

"Before you continue Suna, I would like to say something to Atsumu." Sakusa said.

Suna nodded and stepped back.

"Atsu, there's not much I can say to you now that I've not already said over the last few years. One thing I can say however, is all those years ago, I never thought you'd be anything more than a way for me to get rich, but you proved me so very wrong, made me fall in love with you. I never thought I would ever be anything but a killer, but you've made me grow, and bloom. I love you, my perfect husband." 

A single tear built, and fell from Atsumu's eye, and Sakusa stepped forward to wipe it away.

"I pronounce you husbands, you may kiss." Suna said.

Sakusa stepped forward and pulled Atsumu into a sweet kiss. 

"And then there were four." Osamu said.

Atsumu looked up at Sakusa then.

"How do ya feel Miya Kiyoomi?" 

Kiyoomi grinned at him.

"Alive."

--

Kuroo approached Kiyoomi a few months later. 

"Miya." 

Kiyoomi looked up at him.

"I love the fact I finally know your name." Kuroo added.

"You literally know my new surname thanks to my husband."

"Still your name." Kuroo shot back. 

"What do you want Kuroo?" 

"When will Weasel be back for his next supply drop?"

"In a few weeks, why?"

"We want to leave, it's been a few years now, things will have settled, we aren't going back home. Bo has family overseas, we are going to go form a new life." 

Kiyoomi nodded. 

"I'll get in touch with him to drop you off somewhere." 

Kuroo nodded.

~~

7 Years Later

~~

Iwaizumi lay on the beach, watching the sunset. 

"I wonder if my sister has missed me."

Oikawa hummed in reply. 

"Probably not, you're a grumpy asshole." 

Iwaizumi punched his arm.

"Few weeks and I'll never have to see your face again."

"You'll miss me." Oikawa teased. 

Iwaizumi lay there for a few minutes. 

"Can't believe it's been ten years." 

Oikawa hummed in reply again, closing his eyes and laying back on the beach. Silver highlights flecked in his brown hair now, it was a few weeks until his thirty sixth birthday. Iwaizumi's hair had started receding a few years ago, and he'd taken to shaving it completely. Oikawa had taken to 'polishing' it at every opportunity to annoy him. 

"You're right." Iwaizumi said after a while. 

Oikawa opened his eyes and looked over at him. 

"What?"

"I am going to miss you."

"You don't have to miss me, we are friends right?"

"We've spent every day together for the better part of ten years, I think we are a little more than just friends Shittykawa." 

"Always with the abusive names. So mean."

Iwaizumi lent over and pulled him into a brief kiss.

"Only took you ten years." Oikawa hummed. 

"Shut up." Iwaizumi shot back, kissing him again.

--

Iwaizumi and Oikawa stood on the makeshift runway with the four Miya's, waiting for Komori to refuel the plane. Kiyoomi extended a hand to each of them in turn. 

"Guess this is goodbye forever Jackal." Oikawa said, a sad smile on his face.

"Sakusa Kiyoomi." Kiyoomi replied. 

"I told you I'd find out your name one day."

"And I told you, the only way you'd find out, would be if I told you." Kiyoomi shot back, grinning. 

"Your secrets safe with me." 

They stood watching the pair board, and waved them off, turning back towards the beach huts. They had take the third one down years ago, now they would take the second down and store as much from it as they could. They had many years on the island yet to come. 

"Back to where we started." Atsumu said quietly, as the four walked back to their home.

Chapter Text

~~

Many, many years later

~~

Komori had stopped flying the plane over to the island nearly a decade ago, replaced by one of his sons. He visited every few years until ill health in his seventies robbed him of his ability to travel. Postcards came via them from Kuroo and Iwaizumi giving updates on their lives over the years, and Kiyoomi had taken to writing updates back again. 

Iwaizumi and Oikawa had married a few years after returning, they had their identities changed by Mattsun and started a quiet life, building a log cabin in the plot of land that Kiyoomi had owned. 

Kiyoomi shuffled through the house, his curls now completely white, his finger wrinkled around his wedding ring, a permanent feature for over forty years now. It had just past his eighty fifth birthday, and he was bringing tea to Osamu and Rin's room, where Osamu was now bed ridden. He set the tray down and squeezed Atsumu's shoulder. 

Two days later, Osamu passed away. 

Kiyoomi's hand shook as he painted Osamu's name and set it in the garden. It joined the stones of Ushijima, Terushima, Kenma, who had passed ten years before, and Oikawa, who had passed last year. The sound of shuffling feet caused him to look up and see his loving husband approaching. 

"I love you Kiyo, but.. I'm too tired to carry on." Atsumu said softly, patting the stone in Kiyoomi's hands. 

Less than a day later, Kiyoomi sat in the garden, painting the stone for Atsumu, the stone covered in tears, and his hand shook as he did so. Rin came out and held his hand with his own, steadying it. 

"Just you and me now boss." Rin whispered, squeezing his hand.

Kiyoomi lay his hand on top of Rin's. They sat in silence together for a while before returning to the house. 

 --

Kiyoomi knew he was losing Rin come the following winter, it started with a cough but quickly developed into full blown pneumonia. The weather turned harshly and within a day he was gone. 

Kiyoomi sat inside the house, painting another stone. He set down the stone for Rin, and the picked up and painted another with his own name. He painted the same date as Rin's death, and picked up the gun next to him. 

He ran his calloused hands over the gun, admiring it. It had been the same gun he had held to Atsumu's back the first night they met all those years ago, and it would be the same one that would reunite him with him now too. 

"Here's to the next life together Atsu."

Kiyoomi put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - Jackals first outfit, and the whole inspiration from this book came from a piece of art by Asanlim:

https://www.deviantart.com/asanlim/art/sakuatsu-860374076

Chapter 5-8 - Loose general kind of 'building a team' vibe came from a TV series 'Hustle' about a guy who put together a team based upon skills, that hustle people out of money. 

Chapter 9 - The naming of the safe houses came from a TV series called 'White Collar', one of the criminals named all his safe houses after days of the week and it's something that stuck with me over the years as a totally cool idea.

Chapter 10 - Blaker was never originally meant to be anything other than another than a reference to another mission when I first mentioned it, but it ended up taking over most of the book. I researched a lot into game shows like The Crystal Maze to get inspirations for the rooms. 

Chapter 11 - Queen references came in as I happened to be listening to the song at the time, and the line Jackal sings is what made me think of him when I heard the song. 

Chapter 15 - ABBA, similar to Queen above, both light hearted fun, and also a key point to show Sakusa's humanity

Chapter 16 - The glass door closing and trapping someone inside has been done 200 million times before, but the one that got to me most, was again in White Collar, when it happens to the lead character, it got to me. Double trauma on this one as it's both the love of Sakusa's life, and Osamu's twin brother who is trapped. This was one of the major turning points for Sakusa and realising how much he loved Atsumu.

Chapter 17 - Mission Impossible reference - I just had to.

Chapter 18 - The playlist is referenced a lot throughout the series: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Yqt56qeClD1L4JOj78Xaz?si=d80f8ad773db47c9

Chapter 21 - The tower block is actually a block in London, near Bank station, and there are two offices near by that are linked by a walkway, almost as per the descriptions in the book.

Chapter 22 - This chapter was nearly entirely drawn from my personal experiences with mental health and eating disorders.

Chapter 23 - I actually wrote the Christmas chapter on Easter Sunday, also had some lovely artwork done for this chapter by bentomi7 on twitter

Chapter 26 - This is a pivotal chapter, showing the back story of why Sakusa is like he is, and an explanation for how Sakusa wouldn't have seen the way he was treating Atsumu as bad, compared to his captivity, he was being kind to the twins. There is an excellent book series called Throne of Glass, that's centered around a girl who is taken in by the king of the assassins and trained to be an assassin. It's a fantastic fantasy series in an almost king Arthur type setting.

Chapter 27 - The garden, and all references to it are related to something that stuck with me through my breakdown and recovery. Two quotes: "the happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts." and another about how you must tend to your brain as if it were a garden, you shouldn't expect it to bloom if you do not till the grown and sow the seeds. 

Chapter 29 - I saw a fan art one day a while back of Iwa in a white shirt with a chest gun holster and I just thought 'yes I need this'. I've always loved the sort of, CSI, NCIS investigation type thing, and I wanted to play with an 'old world meets new' with Oikawa loving technology and Iwa being old school detective. There were a few ideas I had on this, including a nice 'I told you so' by Iwa because Suna  hacks into Oikawa's computer and deletes his files, but I never found a moment to fit that in. 

Chapter 30 - Inspired by NF - Time and Seafret - Atlantis. 

Chapter 31 - The 'can we just pretend for the night' is inspired by one of my favourite scenes from Buffy the vampires slayer - post Willow and Tara break up, the 'can we just skip it, can you just be kissing me now?' line. It was such a beautiful moment.

Chapter 32 - The Script - Never Seen Anything

Chapter 35 - My inner NCIS nerd is showing with the "I don't believe in coincidences" quote.

Chapter 41/42 - It was never really fully explained in the story, so ill add it here. The adoption papers were for the Miya twins to the man that their mother had been dating, to try and remove the 'Miya' from their names. The twins were too young to understand at the time, but their father shot their would be adoptive father, and their mother died of cancer when they were kids, thanks to their father messing with her treatment (chapter 46).

Chapter 42 - In my head, the man who helped them when they were 14 was Ukai. He was never named, and never returned. 

Chapter 44 - Sakusa proving Suna wrong, when Suna told Atsumu that Sakusa would never risk his life for him. 

Chapter 47 - The Hanger scene also came from White Collar, they make an escape attempt via plane, I can't actually remember what happens in the show, but I've seen a lot of movies with cool hanger walkouts and I wanted one. Plus 'New Kings' is such a good song. 

Chapter 48 - 'The Miya four' is something that comes up a lot for me, as Atsumu is a bottom and there's a fair few people who argue they would take the tops name, however the twins had been, running from their own name for most of their lives. They dropped it out of fear, I like to think it was more of power play by Sakusa for them to all take the name. They wiped the previous generation off the map, and now they own it. As none of them had children (as far as we know), the name will die with them and cleanly. - I intentionally left the mention of kids out because I may well do a second generation book at some point.  

Chapter 48-50 - Had to have my stones collection references back in again. Plus I loved the idea of super old Kiyoomi carrying a tea tray to Atsumu and pottering in his garden. Atsumu changed his entire world, and with it, became his entire world. 

Chapter Text

This might be a slightly cruel teaser but… the jackal, the fox twins and Suna will return in 2025 (along with a few familiar faces)… 

I am in the process of writing a crime/police style fic based upon the characters of the game League of Legends, which will heavily feature 5 other fandoms, including the major characters from this fic. 

Edit: Initial details can be found here: https://ao3-rd-18.onrender.com/works/62522326/chapters/160016995