Scavengers - Chapter 17

    Sugawara and Daichi’s guns were ready to shot both of you as Nishinoya’s hand and yours were trembling on your own weapons. Being shot by the other clan’s leader wouldn’t have been surprising, but being targeted by your own bosses was perturbing, especially since you knew that they were capable of the worst when somebody got in their way.

« So that’s what you betrayed me for, Sugawara ? For a bunch of teens who turn against the authority as soon as they have a crush on somebody ? »

« One of those teens belongs to you, if I can remind you. » Sugawara smiled.

« Betrayed ? » you softly murmured. « So you used to be… »

« A Nano, yes. A long time ago. »

« A time where you didn’t systematically run away from your problem, abandoning everybody in your trail. » Sawamura groaned.

« For someone who used to say that emotions shouldn’t interfere, you’re pretty letting yours lead you, Daichi. Here you are, still mad at me, leading The Nano because of me. You became their leader just to be opposed to me. »

« I became their leader because I’ve been chosen for this job. Just like you were. We were supposed to lead them together, but you ran away from us ! From me ! You abandoned this whole organisation between my hands ! »

« Don’t act like if I didn’t had any purpose to do so ! Do you want me to remind you how Nano are recruited ?! How special agents are sent through all the Russia to eliminate the parents from promising children just to help themselves to them ! »

Even if their guns were still in place, the leaders’ wraths were now directing to each other. It was incredibly irresponsible from them to not pay attention anymore to the two agents aiming at them, but apparently, the grievances toward each other were stronger than the hate they should have for you.

« What did you just say ? » your timid voice suddenly raised.

Sugawara’s eyes twitched with pain and remorse. He didn’t mean to hurt you, you didn’t have to be involved in his fight with Daichi.

« What happened to our parents ? » you asked again.

« So Daichi never told you ? » Sugawara rumbled. « Of course he didn’t. It would be too hard to keep his agents under his control if they knew the truth. Because yes, it is the truth. You probably grew up in an orphanage, right ? »

« Stop it. » Daichi ordered, but Suga only glared at him.

« Y-Yes… An orphanage in M- » you started.

« Moscow, I know. We went to the same. You were pretty young when you arrived, right ? And I bet that you’ve been told that your parents died in a car accident. This is their favourite excuse. »

« This… Yes, this is exactly what I have been told… »

You lowered your gun, wide eyes staring at the floor as you fell on your knees, empty. It was too much for the same day.

« Sorry, I know how it feels. That’s why I quitted The Nano when I learned the truth. But a certain somebody apparently didn’t do too much to change that. »

This was too much now for Daichi too. Rolling his gun against his palm, he grabbed it by its cannon and used its butt to hurt Kôshi right in the face, so hard that the grey-haired man stumbled and watched with anger few scarlet drops crushing on the floor.

« Don’t act as if you were the angel and me the demon ! » Daichi roared. « We could have change it if you had stayed with me ! If we were two to lead The Nano ! But you left ! »

« What was I supposed to do ? To stay and lead those poor children when I knew what happened to their families acting like if it was nothing ?! »

« And what was I supposed to do on my own ?! One single man can’t do anything against the main organisation in Russia ! You know it ! But you preferred to leave and take the lead of another organisation. It was way more simple for your conscience, right ?! Do you think it was easy for me to bear the responsibility to lead them knowing that they’ve been living in liars during all their childhood ?! Do you even know why I didn’t wanted to leave ?! Because I thought that if those poor children, as you say, unfortunately ended between my hands, then the least that I could do was to not abandon them ! »

Daichi’s face was contrite, fuelled with anger and what you could only described as sorrow.

« Those children had nothing… Nothing but me. » Your boss concluded. « I couldn’t… abandon them like you did. »

Sugawara hand was holding his hurt cheek, his eyes trembling in emotion. This man wasn’t as heartless as you thought he was, finally. But the most surprising was obviously Daichi. You always considered that he was a strict, narrow-minded and emotionless leader. You had no idea that he was bearing, all alone, such a burden, and you now were feeling… grateful ? Yes, this was it. Elena, Tetsurô and you were still rather teens when you arrived here, in Japan, placed under Daichi’s commandment. And you could say that what he just said was true. You probably won’t have survived without a leader, or even worse, if you leader betrayed you. After being an orphan tossed around instructors and supervisors, your leader appeared to be your only point of reference, your only source of stability, of trust. But you couldn’t blame Sugawara either. Daichi had to lie to you during all those years, it wasn’t something everybody could handle.

« I remember you saying that the threat had to come from the outside. That only The Crows could fight against the main gang in Russia. So tell me, Suga… What did you do during all those years ? »

A pained sparkle was enlightening Daichi’s dark pupil as he spoke, all his bottled up feelings finally exploding.

« You betrayed me in order to take The Crows’ lead to have a more powerful army, an army able to take the main gang down, but nothing changed ! You did nothing ! »

« It’s not as simple as you think ! »

Sugawara’s pale fingers left his reddened cheek, falling along his body.

Still shocked from what you heard earlier, you were kneeling on the floor, eyes damp and head low, your brain processing again and again what Sugawara taught you.
So, you weren’t an orphan because of an accident ? Your parents have been… murdered ? Murdered in cold blood by the organisation you’ve been serving all this time ? Sugawara’s point suddenly appeared way more justified than Daichi’s. How could you stay now that you knew the truth ? How could you serve yours parents’ killers ?

Your shoulders started to shudder under your suppressed sobs, teeth biting hard on your lower lip to keep you from making any sound. If that’s what happened to your parents, so it was also the case for Tetsurô’s… For Elena’s… The whole thing was starting to make you sick.
Tears started to roll down your cheeks in the purest silence, but a shadow slowly engulfed you, and you soon felt the warmth of a chest against your cheek. Kneeling in front of you, Nishinoya’s hands dropped his weapon and held you against him.

« Yuu… » you started.

« Shush. » He commanded. « Don’t think you’re all forgiven or anything, I’m still mad at you but… seeing the circumstances, I just thought that I would really be an asshole if I didn’t give you a truce. »

This moment was bittersweet, and he wasn’t going to forget everything just because of few tears, you knew he was too upright for this. But you were actually too thankful and needy to mind, and you contented yourself with wrapping your arms around his torso and burying your crying face into the crook of his neck.

« You know, when I quitted… » Sugawara murmured to Daichi, both of them totally ignoring you now. « My point was to take to lead of The Crows to use them against The Nano, against the main gang in Russia, the one who pulls the strings from Moscow… But I gave up as soon as I started to command them because… I thought that… If I use The Crows just to fulfil my own will, then I wouldn’t be any better than the monsters that made orphans out of us. In the end, I didn’t do anything against this system either… My betrayal… ended pointless. »

He brought a hand over his face, turning around the wall as he felt the need to repose his forehead against it. All weapons were discarded on the floor now, and the silence was starting to fill the corridor again, only to be broken few seconds later by the same person who always fucked everything up.

« Honey ! I’m here don’t worry !!! » Elena suddenly screamed, bursting into the place.

« E-Elena ?! » you screamed in surprise, slightly pushing Noya away. « What are you doing here ?! Didn’t Tetsu tell you to stay at home ? »

« Yes he did, but I couldn’t stand the idea of letting you doing god knows what all alone ! I asked Kenma to localise your cellphone but he directly told me where you were… Useless to say that I vomited a little when I understood that it was The Nest and- SURPRISE ATTACK ! »

She suddenly turned around, throwing a metallic ball full of tear gas at Suga and Daichi’s feet. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

« It’s broken ? » the little blond asked herself.

« Elena… You forgot to take the pin out of it again… » you murmured, inured.

« Fuck…Anyway, I’ll hold them back ! Take your Prince Charming and run away ! »

She launched herself at Sugawara, trying to flatten his legs, but it just looked like a kid fighting her dad. Totally done with her shit, The Crows’ leader took a small taser out of his pocket and gave Elena’s right side a little impulsion, just strong enough to make her squirm backwards.

« A taser, obviously ! » Daichi exclaimed. « I’ve been thinking about dozen of methods to calm her down, but I never thought about the taser… »

« He’s really considering tasing her anytime she gets on his nerves, isn’t he ? » you thought. « She’s gonna end up being the first human power station. »

A huge explosion made everybody bend over instinctively, and you felt Yuu retracting himself over your body, protecting you.  You heard debris crushing on the outside walls, but not a single scream followed.

« What the hell is happening now ?! » Daichi groaned, rising his gun again in a defensive posture.

Footsteps were soon reaching your ears, hard soles pummelling the metallic stairs in a growing drum roll. Voices were accompanying it, too muffled to be distinguished or identified.

« Okay ! Everybody  ! Stop what you’re doing !!! The prettiest agent ever is here to explain everything ! »

You felt your stomach tempting a back flip at the sight of Oikawa Tooru. Following closely, Tsukishima Kei made his entrance too, a frown haunting his features. But the most surprising of all was the third man that the blond man was helping to walk, not that he was wounded or blind, but his arms were tied behind his back and a bag had been put on his head.

« Oikawa ? Tsukishima ?! » the two leaders exclaimed together.

« What’s this fuckery ? » you heard Yuu growled, and you didn’t know if it was for the events’ turn or the two bosses’ sudden synchronisation. He finally realized that he was still holding you and, averting his eyes from you, he stood up a straight and instituted a good distance between the two of you. He wasn’t lying earlier, he was still mad at you.

« Heh ?! What… What the hell happened to you ?! » Elena screamed, pointing at the two double agents who were, indeed, looking awful.

Both of them had their faces covered in scratches and mud, and their clothes were torn to bits, as if they just faced an apocalypse on their own. Their hair were a mess, and Tsukishima’s new glasses were all scratched. One of its arms was even completely twisted.

« It’s a long story… But I’m glad that nobody died yet because it would have been an awful waste due to an ever awfuller misunderstanding. » Oikawa said.

« A misunderstanding ? » everybody echoed.

« Yep ! The Nano and The Crows… Both of them have been manipulated by a third organisation. Somebody had a great time sowing discord and rising The Nano and The Crows up against each other. »

Immersed in Oikawa’s speech, nobody noticed the new footsteps coming over here, and everybody tensed at the sounds of the door being so rudely opened that it crushed against the wall.

« Noya-san !!! Is everything alright ?! »

« Ryû !! » Noya sang, happy to see his friend in an almost good shape. His hip was still bleeding, but Nishinoya could say by his steady legs and averted eyes that Tanaka found some painkillers. « Everything’s alright, Ryû ! Don’t push yourself ! »

« Yeah yeah… I was going away when I saw Tsukishima and this guy running inside, I thought it was more careful to follow them… God dammit, it’s such a fucking mess outside !!! You guys have no idea ! »

Daichi et Sugawara’s hearts suddenly stopped. Their troops were probably still fighting in the streets ! If Oikawa and Tsukishima were right, if they were really being manipulated, they had to do something to stop it ! But they barely had the time to give a hint of a walk that Tooru was blocking their way, rising his hands in a calming sign.

« It’s okay, it’s okay… All fights stopped already. We took care of it ! » he blinked with amusement.

« Narcoleptic bombs, » Tsukishima explained blandly. « They’re all sleeping outside. And since a certain somebody didn’t listen to me, they doubly got it. The guys are going to sleep for at least six fucking hours. »

« It’s not my fault ! » Oikawa screamed. « You were too evasive with your instructions ! »

« « Don’t throw yours, mine has its pin out of it already. » I hardly see how it’s evasive. »

« Party pooper, » the brown-haired man mumbled.

« Excuse-me to interrupt but… Who’s this ? » you asked, pointing at the third man on his knees behind them, his face sill hidden in this ugly bag. 

« Ah yeah, he’s so talkative I almost forgot about him… » Oikawa said with a sweet and yet forbidding voice. « Let me introduce you the man behind pretty all The Crows and Nano’s encounters for at least the last year. »

His hand, gifted with long and slim fingers, roughly grabbed the ersatz of a hood, finally revealing his face in broad daylight.
The foreign man had brown thick eyebrows and green almond-shaped eyes, fringed by short black locks. His face was manly, his chin proud and his shoulders broad. Even in his situation, he was looking over this new crowd unimpressed and cold, as if he was thinking that he could dominate all of you if he wanted to. A black tattoo beginning on his right pectoral was spreading on his neck, and, narrowing your eyes, you could distinguish that it was an eagle.

« The tattoo in the neck ! » Nishinoya thought. « Like Hinata said ! So… This man is the one who saved Hinata from Kageyama ! »

Glancing at Tanaka, he saw him nodding at him, letting him know that he noticed the black inking too.

« Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you Ushijima Wakatoshi, leader of The White Swans. »