Songs: As It Was - Hozier, Change - Deftones, and Apocalypse Please - Muse
Iwaizumi always knew when he was dreaming. It was just so easy to tell. The world seemed brighter in his dreams.
"That looks amazing!" Oikawa said from the entrance to the art room, slinging his bag down as he walked inside.
"Ya think so? I'm a little conflicted," Iwaizumi said, taking a step back from his canvas. He remembered doing a painting of the cherry blossoms for the student exhibit. They did one every year around spring time, and Hajime always tried to put out his best work for the event.
Tooru got closer, inspecting every brush stroke. "It looks great. You doubt yourself too much, Iwa."
"It has to be perfect. University professors come to this kind of thing, and I want to get noticed," Iwaizumi said, furrowing his brows in frustration.
He should have used a different color for the sky. It looked too dark. "I think I'm gonna redo it. I have all night to get it done," he said mostly to himself.
"What?! Like hell you're redoing it. It's beautiful the way it is. Trust me on this," Oikawa said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Iwa in front of the piece.
Iwaizumi looked over, surprised to see a prideful expression on Tooru's face. "It would be better if I just-" Hajime started.
"I'll stop you right there," Tooru said, holding up a finger. "I'm here to support you and help you see the beauty in your own work because obviously you're blind," he said with a laugh.
Iwaizumi giggled, picking up his painting palette. "Let me just add a few more details and then we can go home. Since you love it so much, I'll keep the original idea."
Tooru huffed in victory. "I knew you couldn't resist me."
Iwa rolled his eyes, picked up his paint brush, and wiped it down Tooru's nose, smearing it with pink paint. "You overestimate yourself," Hajime said, laughing.
"You're not getting away with that!" Tooru yelled, a smile on his face. He reached over, dipping his finger in the green and swiping across Iwa's cheek.
"Hey!" Iwaizumi said through his laughter. The two of them flicking paint at the other, splatters of it getting all over their clothes.
"Stop! I have blue all over me!" Tooru complained, bringing his hands up in surrender.
"Thought you'd give up sooner or later," Hajime said, unable to keep the smile off his face.
Tooru was about to say something else, but unlike Iwaizumi's other dreams, it ended abruptly with a pair of arms shaking him awake.
"Iwa! Time to wake up!" Kuroo said from above him.
Hajime rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up. "Is it time already?"
"Yeah. Wake Tooru up and meet us in the car. We're already running a little late," he explained before slipping back out into the hallway.
Iwaizumi looked at the time. 1:34am. They weren't supposed to meet Nakashi until 3am sharp. Why were they leaving so early?
"Tooru? It's time to go now," Iwa said, turning on the lamp.
Oikawa's eyes opened slowly. "Already?" he said, sitting up.
"Why do you think Nakashi wants to see us?"
Tooru paused, really considering his answer. "I'm guessing it has to do with the bombing from three days ago."
"Probably," Iwa said, pulling on his shoes and his jacket. Even though it had been several days, Iwaizumi still replayed the scene over and over again in his mind. He was grateful to dream of something other than the sound of bombs going off, and he was disappointed that his beautiful dream had to end so soon.
"Are you nervous to meet him? He's got to be ruthless," Oikawa asked.
Iwaizumi had no idea who Nakashi was other than a man with no regard for human life and a taste for blood. "I'm terrified," he admitted.
"I'll be beside you, and I hope that can give you a small bit of comfort at least," Oikawa said as they headed out to the car, the humidity of mid-summer weighing heavily in the air.
"It does," Iwaizumi said, his dark eyes meeting Tooru's. "It always has."
. . .
After over an hour of driving in silence, the six of them pulled up to a warehouse in the middle of an abandoned industrial park. The night was darker than usual with the moon only a sliver in the sky. Rusted metal beams and collapsed factories surrounded the intact warehouse, making it stand out amongst the rubble.
"Kuroo, where are we?" Iwa asked.
He must have made his fear a little too obvious because Tetsuro gave him a look. One of both pity and concern. "Nakashi requested to meet the two of you to officially initiate you into his group like he did the four of us. You've completed the first two requirements. Show you are willing to kill and show you are willing to die. Once you've done that, you earn yourself an audience with him."
"What do we do? I wouldn't know what to say," Oikawa asked, his leg bouncing beside Iwa in the back seat.
Kuroo was about to answer, but Bokuto spoke up first. "You only have to answer the questions he asks you truthfully. He'll know if you're lying, so don't even think about it. After that, you'll have to endure a little pain, but it won't last long. Once it's over, you're officially bonded to us for life. We will be tied by blood," he said, his usual bright self was serious now.
"What kind of questions will he ask us?" Hajime wondered aloud, but Akaashi pointed to the clock.
"We need to go. You'll be fine, Iwa. If we all made it through, you can," Akaashi assured before opening the car door and ushering the others out.
Iwaizumi stood outside the warehouse door beside Tooru, his hands quivering and his heart beating loudly in his ears. "I can barely keep from shaking," Hajime said with a nervous laughter.
"Don't worry. Just do what you're told and you should be okay. We have to put our masks on now, but we'll still be right beside you," Kenma said, placing a comforting hand on both their shoulders as the large door opened.
Iwaizumi didn't know what he'd expected to see on the other side, but it sure wasn't this. The place was lit with countless candles stacked along the walls, flames flickering sporadically as the door shut loudly behind them. Hajime wasn't good with numbers, but he figured about fifty people lined the walls, their faces hidden by black ski-masks. He felt naked in front them, wanting a mask of his own to hide from their terrible eyes.
A single chair sat alone in the middle of the room in front of a man on a pedestal. The man stood tall and straight, his honey-colored eyes bearing into Iwaizumi as if judging him.
Hajime looked behind him, but Kenma, Kuroo, and the others had disappeared into the crowd of hooded men, their bodies indistinguishable from all the others. Even with his panic rising, Iwaizumi focused on the man in front of him as he took off his mask.
"Today is a very sacred day. The royal blood within us spoiled, only for it to be cleansed with brotherhood and devotion to something beyond ourselves," the man, presumably Nakashi, said, his voice clear and deep. He looked to be about thirty, a faint hint of wrinkles stretching across his face as he spoke. His hair was jet black, his skin a sickly pale. He had defined features, and his eyes were cold as ice.
He took a long pause, closing his eyes and breathing heavily through his nose. "Tetsuro has brought us two boys to cleanse of their godforsaken sins. They have proven themselves worthy of our protection and the life beyond this. Oikawa Tooru, please take a seat before me," he said, gesturing to the empty wooden chair in front of him.
Tooru took a deep breath before leaving his place beside Iwaizumi, his hands clenched in fists at his side.
"Drink this and let the world's true form show itself to you," Nakashi said, motioning for a man to hand Tooru a glass of bluish liquid.
Oikawa stared and swirled it around in the glass. "What is it?" he dared to ask.
"I can't go revealing all my tricks now can I?" Nakashi said coldly, a haunting smile spreading across his face. "Drink it."
At that, Oikawa downed it one go, the blue liquid staining his lips.
"While we wait, may I ask you why you're here?" Nakashi questioned.
Tooru started to pale slightly, his eyes dilating. "I'm here to avenge my family's death," he said, his words slurring.
"Good. Now, tell me your darkest secret, Tooru. The one you keep hidden deep in the scariest part of your mind," Nakashi asked, his smile making Iwaizumi's blood run cold.
Oikawa's breathing started to become erratic. "What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes fogging over with a drug-ish haze.
"You know exactly what I mean!" Nakashi yelled, making Iwaizumi jump.
Tooru looked as though he could cry. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do!" Nakashi yelled again, his angry voice echoing through the warehouse.
"I want the people who killed my family to die horrible deaths. I want them to suffer like I do," Oikawa continued, a steady stream of tears beginning to fall from his eyes.
Hajime's heart ached at Oikawa's words. He remembered the night his family had died, Tooru's cries of anguish drowned out by the sirens. He remembered how angry the flames had looked, the smoke hanging in a suffocating blanket over them, and in that moment, he couldn't blame Tooru for hating whoever had done it. Tooru's rage was eating him alive, and Iwaizumi knew that it wouldn't be long before it devoured him completely.
"We're on the right track. Give me more. There must be something darker," he prodded, his devilish smile returning.
"There is nothing else," Oikawa said pleadingly, handing his head.
Nakashi shook his head. "No, Tooru. There is something else. I can see it behind your eyes."
"Please-"
"No begging!" Nakashi shouted, stomping his foot.
Oikawa screamed, the sound surprised Iwaizumi. He took a step towards Tooru, his body longing to hold him. He hated seeing him in pain like this. Hajime would take it all away if he could.
"Don't you dare move," Nakashi said, stopping Hajime in his tracks. The abrupt change in his demeanor disturbed Iwaizumi to his core. One minute he was a furious, screaming tyrant, and the next he was smiling that demented smile of his.
Tooru was still screaming in pain, clutching his head. The pure agony in his desperate cries caused Hajime to shake.
"Does it have something to do with Iwaizumi?" Nakashi prodded, his yellow eyes locking with Hajime's.
At the mention of his name, Tooru stopped screaming. "Yes," he admitted, whimpering in pain.
"Yes, and?" he asked, his manic eyes wide with anticipation.
Oikawa's shoulders shook. "I lied to him."
Nakashi smiled darkly again. "And what way is that?"
"I told him that I didn't want to be with him. But in truth, I fantasize about him. About kissing him. About having sex with him. I long for it, but I can never tell him because I'm terrified I'll hurt him. I don't want him to know. He can't know," Tooru pleaded, silent tears falling.
"There you go. Anything else you want to get off your chest while you're here?" Nakashi asked, a look of triumph on his face.
Tooru shook his head before slumping forward, his body convulsing.
"Lay him down until he wakes up. It's the other one's turn," Nakashi said, shifting his attention to Iwaizumi.
Hajime was frozen, Tooru's words replaying over and over in his mind. Had he really meant that? Was that the deepest secret he kept closest to his chest? All this time and Hajime never knew.
Throughout their lives, Oikawa had always been a constant for him. His presence was one of the only things that made Hajime feel safe. Why had he never said anything? After living with the pain of rejection for so long...with the fear of losing Tooru for good...Hajime felt a sort of relief in that moment. Tooru had lived with that same pain too.
Without protest, Iwaizumi drank the liquid. It tasted almost like water, but not quite. A hint of something foreign lingering in his mouth after he swallowed. Immediately, his vision started to blur and his hands shook. He looked up at Nakashi, his yellow eyes staring right through him.
"Now to you Iwaizumi Hajime. What's your deepest, darkest secret? The one you'd never tell anyone," he asked, tilting his head.
"I don't have any secrets."
"Everyone has secrets," he said coolly.
"I'm here because of Tooru," Iwaizumi said, but he knew that Nakashi didn't want to hear what he already knew.
"We both know that's not what I want," he said, pausing for Iwaizumi's actual answer.
With every passing moment, Iwaizumi's head began to pound almost as if his skull were caving in on itself.
"Even though I'm in love with Tooru, I can't help but hate him for what he's made me," Hajime said, the words spilling out like water. He tried to hold them back, but he couldn't as the drug pulled and pulled at him, the truth he never wanted to admit coming to the light.
"Go on, Iwaizumi. Don't stop there," Nakashi said, his voice sounding millions of miles away.
There was nothing he could do to stop it. The words just kept flowing, the agony of it making him feel utterly helpless. "He made me a killer. If it hadn't been for him, I would've been an artist. I would have been able to see my mom again, but I gave it all up for him just to lie to me!" Iwaizumi hadn't realized he was screaming until he heard his voice echo loudly off the warehouse walls.
The guilt was instant. He hadn't meant it, right? He would have never said that. He loved Tooru more than anything. That's why he had given it all up. To stay with Tooru. He refused to recognize his own words, his voice not sounding like his own.
Nakashi said something else, but Hajime didn't hear it. The pain was blaring in his ears like a whirlwind and black ate at the edge of his vision. He wanted it all to be over. He would have rather died in that moment than endure anymore of it.
. . .
He must have passed out, because when he opened his eyes, the agony had ceased. He stared straight up at the ceiling, remembering where he was. The warehouse. He shot up, gasping for breath.
"Time for the next stage," Nakashi said, motioning to someone behind him.
Two hooded figures helped Iwaizumi and Tooru to their feet, their hands like stone gripping their wrists.
Iwaizumi searched for Kuroo in the crowd, desperate to see something familiar and safe. The masked faces were endless, Tetsuro's kind eyes lost in the crowd. Hajime stared at the ground and squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if he'd ever wake up from this unending nightmare.
"Now that you've cleansed your minds, you must cleanse your bodies. Come closer," he said as two men wheeled around a fire in a barrel, a metal prod sticking out from the top.
"With this mark, you will become clean," he said, lifting his hands up to the sky.
A hooded man lifted out the metal prod, revealing a hot crown brand at the end. Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa, terror in his eyes.
"Take off your shirts. May your bodies be returned to their sinless state," he said.
The two of them obeyed. Oikawa was first, his back to the fire. He looked into Iwaizumi's eyes, his face solid as stone at first.
The hot metal seared into his skin, making a sizzling sound at the contact. Tooru screamed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He walked forward, revealing the newly branded upside down crown on his upper back.
Iwaizumi walked up next, staring at Oikawa to ground himself. He braced for the pain, not expecting it to be as agonizing as it was. He cried out, not quite recognizing himself. The burning was white hot and blinding, but only for a second. After that, it remained a constant stinging. He would never forget the sound of his own skin charring away.
"And as your final sacrifice, cleanse your hearts. Stand over the fire and let your spoiled blood flow clean," Nakashi said, handing them both sharpened blades.
Iwaizumi held the knife to his hand, watching as blood bloomed from the cut he made on his palm. Tooru did the same before holding it over the blazing fire, his blood dripping down in a steady stream.
Hajime's blood fell into the flames and boiled against the wood at the bottom, and when Nakashi was satisfied, he called for them to stop.
"And with that, you both are clean. Royal blood within us spoiled. Let us cleanse the world of it's sins," Nakashi said, his eyes to the sky.