Hinata imagines this scenario going down several different ways. In most of the scenes, Kageyama gets pissed, flipping on his side and snarling at Hinata for being a reckless idiot, maybe reaching over and squeezing Hinata's head tightly, like he could force the stupid out of Hinata's brain. Sometimes, he gets dangerously quiet, pulling Hinata tight to his chest, heart thudding in sharp fear for the both of them. Other times, he pulls the plug on their team, leaving Hinata cold in bed once again. Those are the worst ones.

In telling Kageyama, Hinata is going against Kenma's wish for this operation to be a secret—not like he would have been able to keep it secret from Kageyama for too long, though. He doesn't have the back-up of his best friend and local recipient of every Kageyama-rant Hinata has ever gone on. Hinata doesn't have Kenma's analysis on his side, helping him to foresee every outcome (even if doing so prompted Kenma to groan and shove his face between Hinata's shoulder blades where they lay curled together on Kenma's bed). He might have handled it poorly. He might have shattered the peace they had just regained after months of stormy seas.

The truth is, Hinata just doesn't know how Kageyama will react to the news. He's flying blind. And because he's flying blind, Kageyama's response catches him completely off-guard.

The feeling of Kageyama's soul-wrenchingly deep horror and fear pierces Hinata's heart and mind across the Ghost Drift, a sensory overload that drowns out Hinata's rationality and overwhelms it with Kageyama's dread, forcing adrenaline into his veins and spiking his pulse. It's a cloying, metallic taste in his mouth and a ringing in his ears, but Hinata can't even begin to pinpoint the source of the fear resonating across their bond.

"Whoa, whoa, Kageyama!" Hinata cries out, trying to slow the tidal wave of emotion pouring from his partner. He calls for Kageyama to come back to him in his mind, but Kageyama can't hear him. Finally, Hinata takes Kageyama's face in his hands and gives him a good shake, cutting off their mental connection as gently as he can.

"Hey," Hinata says softly when he feels the panic start to die down, lingering murmurs of Hajime-san and Oikawa-san rippling across Hinata's psyche. "You with me, buddy?"

"You can't," Kageyama states numbly, voice dull with shock.

Hinata exhales softly. "I have to. I'm the only one who fits the job description. We won't get another chance like this."

Kageyama's eyes lose their glazed over look and focus on Hinata, quietly intense. "It's not in the job description. Fucking—even the fucking Marshal would never ask you to do something so goddamn crazy. It's a suicide mission, Hinata! You don't even know what will happen, or if you'll get hurt—"

"I do," Hinata whispers. "Kenma did it, before. With a dead one. They're okay."

Kageyama sucks in a breath, eyes wide. "So the rumor's true, then?" Hinata nods, and Kageyama's eyes narrow. "Sounds like Kenma's the local expert on kaiju Drifting. Why don't they just do it themself, then?"

Hinata shifts beside Kageyama, hands falling from his face to smooth the material of his night shirt along his shoulders. "That's not...it's not safe. For them."

"But it is for you." Kageyama snorts in disbelief.

"You wouldn't understand," Hinata snaps. "You haven't seen what I've seen."

Hinata moves to pull his hands away completely and Kageyama catches them in his own hands, running a thumb over Hinata's knuckles. "Sorry. You're right; I don't know a thing about this operation. But I also know that they don't either. Even if Kozume-san did Drift with a dead kaiju, you don't know the damage a live one could do. Hell, how are you even supposed to get a live kaiju without dying?"

Hinata looks away sheepishly. "That...would be where the rest of you come in. The plan hasn't exactly been approved by the Marshal yet, but it would involve in all the teams incapacitating a kaiju in order to perform the Drift."

"Sounds easy," Kageyama growls. "I could do that with one hand tied behind my back."

Hinata pouts. "Look, I know it sounds like bull. I know it sounds absolutely reckless and stupid, but what else are we going to do, Kageyama? We can't just fight kaiju until they outgrow and overpower us."

"But we don't have to sacrifice one of our most brilliant pilots to instigate a counterattack, either," Kageyama mumbles.

Hinata stops pouting and loosens his grip on their connection. Their minds flutter back together, and he feels the entirety of Kageyama's worry—worry for him as a person and a pilot; worry for Omega and the world if Hinata were to be lost; a selfish, guilty worry of what would happen to Kageyama if he lost his one, true, only partner; worry that he would become what Oikawa-san was and Suga-san was fighting...

Hinata knocks his forehead against Kageyama's. "You think too much," he murmurs gently, threading his fingers through Kageyama's in comfort. "I'll be okay."

"You don't think enough," Kageyama grouses. "And you don't know that you'll be okay."

"Who'll do it if not me?" Hinata points out.

"Don't care, 's long as it's not you," Kageyama mumbles, tightening his grip around Hinata's hands and blinking slowly.

"I'm stronger than you think," Hinata assures him.

"No, you're just as strong as I think you are," Kageyama shakes his head, bangs tickling Hinata's nose with the motion. "You're the strongest damn person on this base, but that's a kaiju, and when I think about you trying to meld minds with something purely violent and with a brain bigger than your body, it just doesn't seem possible that you'll survive."

Hinata is quiet for a moment. He pulls their joined hands up to his mouth and runs them across his lips softly, in thought. Kageyama searches across the bond for a reaction, but finds only Hinata's indecisiveness and warmth. "I've seen them," he says slowly. "The Precursors in the Anteverse. I've felt their gaze flay me alive, but I think...I think I can bear it. Just long enough to figure out a weakness, I can do it."

Kageyama doesn't want to know how that's possible, but he sees flashes of the test Drift room and Kenma's two-tone hair, and he knows. "Shouldn't have shown you that," Hinata murmurs distractedly.

"No secrets, right," Kageyama notes. Hinata gives him a look.

"If it's honesty hour," he begins, "then why don't you tell me about that self-loathing worry you've got going on in that big head of yours?"

Kageyama winces, wants to pull away. But Hinata deserves to know. "I won't deny that my stance on this issue is biased. So much of what my life was and people who meant something to me were snatched away by kaiju. To lose you, on top of all that would be...unthinkable."

"You wouldn't turn out like them," Hinata assures him. "You're better."

Kageyama frowns. "It's rude to speak poorly of the ill and deceased."

"I'm not," Hinata argues. "You have a reason to keep going, a motivation. Your worst fear is becoming like them, not losing me. You're stronger than my death."

Than his death. How casually Hinata was able to speak of his own mortality. Kageyama envied him for it. "That may be true, but I wouldn't be able to pilot again. We are the perfect, only pair that can work with Omega. I'm probably too ingrained with your psyche, too, to be able to Drift with another."

"You're so full of shit," Hinata snorts. "Yeah, you'd lose Omega, but you could do it. You were born to be a pilot, same way you were born to be a setter." He gives Kageyama a lopsided smile, and Kageyama's heart aches for this stupid, stupidly brave boy.

"Dumbass," he mutters. Hinata laughs at the lack of heat behind the insult.

"I'm not going to leave you alone, though," Kageyama states, leaving no room for argument. "A Jaeger needs two pilots, and Kozume-san can fuck off if they think I'll be giving them my spot."

"I can't ask that of you," Hinata starts.

"Didn't ask your permission, did I?" Kageyama retorts. "I've had it to here with standing on the sidelines. I'll ride with you to the end, and don't you dare forget that."

Hinata's smile loses its bravado and falls into something fragile and pretty, something honest. "You'd do that for me? Even when you are so afraid?"

"You'd go with or without me. Unfortunately, I can only trust myself with your care and keeping. What would I do if not pilot? Twiddle my thumbs in the Control Room while everyone risks their lives?"

"When you say it like that, I guess it's a no-brainer," Hinata sighs. He curls into Kageyama's chest, signaling the end of their conversation. Kageyama drapes an arm around Hinata's waist loosely and yawns.

"Promise me that if it gets too bad, you'll get out," Kageyama says. "As much as intel may be worth, it's the competent pilots that win the war, and we can't go on without you."

Hinata huffs against his neck. "I'll do my best." It's the best offer Kageyama's going to get.

He closes his eyes on a mess of orange and an ember in his arms. It feels good to be connected like this, physically as well as mentally. Hinata hums agreement across the bond. But before Kageyama can get seriously close to sleep, Hinata presses his lips to Kageyama's ear sleepily and murmurs, "Kageyama? Thank you."

He's not sure if he sleeps better or worse after that.

------------------------------------------

It certainly feels like he's slept worse when he wakes up the next day, missing his early morning routine with Akaashi and Yamaguchi but still feeling like he has been hit by a truck. Hinata is missing, no doubt letting him sleep out of misguided kindness, believing he needed the extra hours. Kageyama sits up, squinting at the light left on in their quarters and feeling like simultaneously like a vampire and a zombie.

His reflection reveals what he already knew to be true—disheveled hair with a few stray tufts sticking out at odd angles, bags under his eyes, and a scowl that would frighten children for months. He brushes his teeth sluggishly as his memory of last night catches up and yes, Hinata was planning on Drifting with a kaiju, it wasn't just some bizarre stress dream of his.

Kageyama considers making breakfast for all of two seconds before he decides that it is too early for all this shit to be happening. Also, staying alone in their quarters sulking and obsessing wasn't going to get Hinata any farther from danger.

Going to see Akaashi was the only choice that made any sense.

Thankfully, the elder Ranger kept their phone on them at all times. Kageyama sent the most ominous text of we need to talk in order to express his urgency, but predictably, Akaashi was already a few steps ahead of him, replying with a timely I think I know what this is about. Meet me on Sugawara's balcony.

Their jacket is open, the edges suspended in air by the breeze that coasted up the base from the ocean to that balcony. Akaashi leans on the railing of the balcony, hands clasped together loosely, gaze focused somewhere out at sea or deep in their thoughts. Kageyama coughs politely and Akaashi blinks, turning around to give Kageyama a faint smile.

"Tobio," they greet, warmth in their voice. Kageyama replies with a nod.

"Akaashi-san, if you don't mind, I'd like to get right to it," Kageyama says politely.

Akaashi nods, as if they were expecting it. "That's fine. I'll tell you what I know."

Kageyama takes a deep breath. "Were you aware that Hinata is part of a plan orchestrated by Kuroo-san and Kozume-san in which he is to Drift with a live kaiju in order to gain intel?"

"I was," Akaashi replies gently, noting the look of shock on Kageyama's face.

"And you never told me?" He says softly.

"It was top-secret until just recently," Akaashi apologizes. "Not even Hinata knew what he was being trained for. I'm sorry; if the situation weren't so delicate I would have told you long ago."

"So Marshal Ukai really doesn't know." Kageyama sounds stumped.

"I'm sure he has his guesses, now," Akaashi confesses. "Tetsurou was forced to inquire about necessary equipment with Nishinoya Yuu—not really the best at keeping secrets. When combined with Tetsurou's atrocious skills in maintaining confidentiality, I'm sure Noya-san has sensed that something is up and informed the already suspicious Marshal."

Kageyama leans on the railing next to Akaashi. "Why not just tell the Marshal? What's with all this damn secrecy?"

"Tetsurou and Kenma's methods are...unconventional, at best, threatening at worst," Akaashi sighs. "They are somewhat notorious for their disregard of collateral damage, be it infrastructure, equipment, or human life—but you knew that already."

Kageyama nods slowly. "I'd heard about them from my senpai. Didn't believe it 'til I saw it, though." His expression darkens. "I have...misgivings...about Hinata being selected as their 'special' candidate for what sounds very much like a suicide mission."

Akaashi flips around and crosses their arms, drumming their fingers on one arm. They don't say anything for a moment, and Kageyama waits patiently for Akaashi to compose their thoughts. They rub beneath their eyes with yet another long sigh, and it's then that Kageyama notices the dark circles under their eyes, too.

"You deserve complete and utter honesty," Akaashi decides. "Koutarou and I...we don't like it either. Hinata is a young pilot full of promise, and on top of that, one of only two pilots so far that have proved they can master the Test Type Jaeger."

"Exactly," Kageyama agrees. "He's too valuable to use in an experiment like this."

"Except, he's also the only viable candidate for the operation, too. He has the strongest mental fortitude out of all the pilots here, and even more than that, he truly wants to give it a try." Akaashi gives Kageyama a stern look. "Make sure that you don't confuse your own desire for him not to go and us forcing him into this position. Hinata is, and always will be, a volunteer."

"I know," Kageyama grumbles. "He was very insistent about it last night."

Akaashi places a hand on Kageyama's shoulder comfortingly. "Listen...I understand how rough this is for you. With a past like yours, putting a partner in a high-risk situation is the last thing you want to do. But it isn't about you," they say gently. "It is about him."

"If it was Bokuto-san..." Kageyama begins.

"I would probably try to talk him out of it," Akaashi admits. "But even if Tetsurou and Kenma are unsavory at times, they are ultimately right that the needs and survival of the many outweigh the needs and survival of the few. This is the world we're talking about. The world for a boy."

Kageyama doesn't say anything, but Akaashi reads his response on his face anyway, Kageyama can tell from the gentle pull of their eyebrows and sad smile. "Come on," Akaashi says. "Everything will come to light rather soon. The pieces are in place, and the time for the humans to make the first offensive move draws near. There is no point in veiling the chessboard any longer."

They guide Kageyama away from the railing with a hand between his shoulders. The contact, pleasant as it is, doesn't still the nerves in Kageyama's belly or the dread that lingers at the edges of his thoughts, the instinctual knowledge that somehow, something was going to go terribly wrong.

In the distance, thunder rumbles.

------------------------------------------

"Alright," Marshal Ukai says as Akaashi and Kageyama enter the big meeting room. He has a distinct sense of déjà vu, remembering his ace pilots arriving at the meeting where he and Takeda unveiled Tyrant Omega with the same looks of low-key anxiousness hidden under professionalism that a few of his teams now show, most importantly Bokuto Koutarou and Kozume Kenma. Akaashi, as always, is an impassive wall of secrecy when need be, and Kuroo hasn't stopped smirking since he arrived on base. "That's everyone, then. Let's get this meeting started."

"A certain matter has been brought to my attention by Nishinoya. While I'm sure many of you know what I'm about discuss, others are in the dark, and it's time this whole fiasco was brought to light," Ukai says, crossing his hands behind his back. "A few days back, Kuroo Tetsurou inquired about specialty scientific equipment so rare it isn't even manufactured anymore—a neural spike."

Ukai wishes, above all else, that he had the Ghost Drift with Takeda at this moment in time. As much as it hindered the usefulness of pilots once their partners had fallen in battle, right now, he can't gauge everyone's reaction to this discovery. At his side, Takeda is busily making note of half the room while Ukai watches the others, but he truly doesn't know the extent to which Kuroo and Kenma have infiltrated his base, and it makes him furious. Was Tsukishima in on their plot? Yamaguchi seemed reasonably surprised, as did Hinata, but Kageyama just frowned in thoughtfulness. Could they really be influential enough to break apart teams, divide their loyalties? It was so hard when they were so...

"You caught us, Marshal," Kuroo sighs. "We'll confess everything."

...Secretive.

"Take the floor, Kuroo," Ukai commands through gritted teeth. "And keep in mind that Takeda and I are very seriously considering prosecuting you for insubordination, conspiracy against the state, and perhaps even reopening the investigation into your dishonorable conduct in wartime."

"Thank you, Marshal, sir," Kuroo replies pleasantly, dipping his head. "I'll take that under advisement." At his side, Kenma refuses to meet anyone's eyes.

Ukai may have thought that he had the upper hand at this assembly, but it's clear from the way that Kuroo snaps to attention, his usual slouch disappearing into the military professionalism everyone doubted he had as smoothly as one slides into water. He seems taller, somehow—maybe because with shoulders throw back, chin lifted, and the disappearance of any amusement on his face created an aura of tension and power and authority that had everyone in the room straightening up a little themselves.

"About two years ago," Kuroo begins, "when the first Category Four kaiju appeared on the Pacific front, Kenma and I came to the conclusion that not only was this war never going to end, but it was about to slide swiftly out of our favor in the coming years. So far, we've done a great job of defending earth, but we're only treating the symptoms of the disease—the source of the infection that is the kaiju invasion. The truth is, humankind really isn't advanced enough to survive alien warfare, not at this point in time. We needed a solution. And fast."

Kuroo places a hand on Kenma's shoulder. "In our younger years, Kenma was able to successfully Drift with the second brain of a dead kaiju with very few physical repercussions. It was a stupid decision of our youth, true, but what Kenma gained from that experience was insight into the world of the kaiju that no other human on earth had."

"The Anteverse is not like this world," Kenma says quietly. "There is no true 'separation' of beings, thus proving the theory of the hivemind that some scientists have proposed." They nod at Noya, who nods back enthusiastically. "Because of this, I can predict kaiju attacks fairly easily if I tap into that link, but as a consequence, I am a part of the hivemind, to a lesser extent than the kaiju."

"You're a danger to everyone on this planet," Tsukishima interrupts smoothly. "If you can see one way, then that should mean they can see the other. Am I wrong?"

"It's not as drastic as that," Kenma explains. "After all, I am just a miniscule piece of a puzzle larger than human comprehension. It's much easier for me to find them than it is for them to find me."

"That being said," Kuroo says grimly, "They know about Kenma. If Kenma probes at the link too much, the kaiju tend to aim towards Japan and Tokyo. They want Kenma gone; they just haven't figured out how to get them yet. That's why when we Drift, Kenma must focus solely on protecting their mind and guiding me while I move the Jaeger." There's a stir of discontent among the pilots, and Hinata mouths 'are you okay?' at Kenma, who gives a small nod.

"That's very interesting, of course," Takeda says. "And it's important for those not informed to understand the basis of your oddities, but do not try and distract from the reason for this meeting, which you have been doing quite effectively thus far." Takeda's face doesn't reveal any impatience or hostility, just encouragement to stay on topic, but Kuroo and Kenma can read between the lines.

"We have to move to the offensive," Kuroo says. "And we believe that we can use a connection like Kenma's to get us there."

"Like Kenma's?" Yamaguchi picks up on the choice of words immediately. "Not Kenma's actual connection?"

"Drifting with a kaiju now would most likely make my mind extremely vulnerable to the Precursors," Kenma says. "I don't know what they do to spies, but it wouldn't be any good for humans as a whole."

"Furthermore, we want to perform this Drift with a living kaiju's primary brain," Kuroo elaborates. "What Kenma saw were only flashes, and even now the link is weak. A stronger link and a live view into the Anteverse could be the final step we need to take to eliminate the kaiju and the Precursors. Get in, find a weakness, get out, exploit the weakness. It's that simple."

"It doesn't sound simple at all," Tsukishima argues quietly. "You don't know how fast they will find the spy or what will happen to them after. What if the connection is large enough for them to see all our nukes and specialty Jaegers? What if they develop a counter to our counter? Who the hell would even volunteer for that?"

"I would," Hinata declares, stepping in front of the assembly. The assembled go still. Ukai and Takeda's eyes widen. Hinata? Their Hinata? The single uncalculated variable that mutated too fast to be predictable and continually exceeded expectations? That Hinata?

Tsukishima seems equally as shocked, as does Yamaguchi. "Shouyou...why?" Yamaguchi whispers, looking at his friend with pleading eyes. "It's so dangerous..."

Hinata shrugs one shoulder, giving Yamaguchi that same lopsided smile he had given Kageyama, with just an edge of sadness to it. "I'm the best one for the job."

"It's true," Kuroo adds. "Since we first formulated the idea of Drifting with a live kaiju, Kenma and I have searched for a pilot strong enough to withstand whatever the Precursors plan to throw at them. We haven't found any truly viable candidates besides you and Hinata."

"Me?" Yamaguchi squeaks.

"Your unusual rise to pilothood and the stress Tsukishima put on you in the Drift until recently made you a potentially excellent choice," Kuroo explains. "You're a fighter, Yamaguchi. We needed a fighter."

"However," Akaashi interrupts, moving closer to Yamaguchi and placing a hand on his shoulder, "as I pointed out to you before, a regular connection is more difficult for you to maintain now, I believe you'll agree?" Yamaguchi nods distantly. "Hinata is more suitable because of the strength of his connection with Kageyama. It's abnormally solid, meaning that he could get more information and it is unlikely to break. The only problem would be establishing the link, but Kenma has been training him for that."

"So you were in on all this, too. Akaashi. Bokuto." The Marshal frowns hard, bothered that two of his oldest and most trustworthy pilots would go behind his back. Bokuto and Akaashi bow deeply at the waist.

"We give you our deepest apologies, Marshal Ukai, sir," Bokuto says. "We never intended to keep secrets, but we had been aware of this plan before we returned to the base and were once again under your supervision. At Tetsurou and Kenma's insistence, we kept details confidential—not because we wanted to keep you out of the loop, but because they wanted to finalize the details before presenting a plan as ludicrous as this one. They are trying their hardest to make this plan succeed, because they truly believe that it can work."

"And do you?" Ukai asks.

Bokuto looks up. "Pardon?"

"Do you believe that this operation will be successful?" Ukai repeats. "Do you believe that Kuroo and Kozume are acting with the wellbeing of the entire world in mind?"

Bokuto and Akaashi straighten up. Bokuto meets Kuroo's carefully neutral eyes, then Hinata's resolved ones. He looks at Akaashi, his partner for the rest of time, and then he looks at Ukai again. "Yes," Bokuto says firmly. "Tetsurou and Kenma are many things, and while good people isn't one of those things, they would never act in a way that would put the planet in danger. That is their one and only priority, even at the expense of anything else. They would never put forth a plan they believed would fail."

It's very well said. The corners of Kuroo's eyes crinkle fondly, and the look of adoration on his face breaks his professionalism. Akaashi nods and smiles in approval, brushing their fingers against the palm of Bokuto's hand. The Marshal exchanges glances with Takeda.

"I still don't like it, nor do I like the secrecy that went into its creation," he sighs. "But if Bokuto is on board and Hinata has volunteered, then I'd rather hear the details in full with no secrets between us going forward. In a way, you're right. The other Marshals and government officials have gotten together to discuss our situation, and it isn't pretty. Azumane and Nishinoya will just confirm our fears. If this is a chance, we have to take it." Kenma slumps in relief and Kuroo nods to the Marshal.

"Just one more thing," Ukai says. "Kageyama, how do you feel about all this? This is your partner after all, and I assume that since you two are the only ones who can pilot Omega, you will be integrated deeply into the crux of the operation."

Kuroo and Bokuto stiffen. Akaashi and Kenma look a little wary. Kageyama is the one variable that none of them could really measure. Akaashi knew Kageyama, but he was just as headstrong as Hinata, prone to impulsive changes and motivated solely by his desire to pilot and to keep Hinata safe. Kageyama looks uncomfortable being put on the spot.

"It's not really my decision to make," Kageyama finally decides on. "I won't abandon Hinata to pilot alone or with an incompetent pilot. That's where my involvement ends."

"What a pathetically watery answer from someone so decisive and opinionated," Tsukishima murmurs, fanning the flames and heightening the senior pilots' anxiety.

"Kageyama?" Ukai prompts, this time with a no-nonsense tone.

Kageyama scowls. "No, I don't like it. I think the amount of research done into the pilot's safety is minimal at best, extrapolated from a situation that is entirely different in all except that it involved Drifting with a kaiju. With the anomalies in attacks recently, I think the probability that something will go wring is high, and I think that risking a pilot as invaluable as Hinata is foolish." He exhales through his nose. "However, I do see the merit of the operation. If successful, this could revolutionize and even maybe end the war with no more casualties or destruction of civilization. In the end, I will leave the assessment of risk and benefit to someone else as I am far too biased to give you a rational answer. I hope this satisfies you, Marshal, sir." Kageyama bows deeply.

"Kageyama," Kenma says softly, causing Kageyama to look up. Kenma curls and uncurls their hands into fists, looking uncharacteristically agitated. "I promise you that we want to make this as safe for Shouyou as possible. That's why Kuro asked that two of the scientists from Tokyo come here to help prepare the equipment needed for the operation. This won't be done halfway." Kageyama hears what they don't say, the I don't want Shouyou to get hurt either and straightens up.

"Whoa, wait." Noya, who had been quiet and keeping to himself up until that point, speaks up. "Do you mean...do you mean Mori is coming?"

Kuroo nods. "I asked Yaku to bring a neural spike with him along with any tech he thought you might need to make the custom equipment. Also Lev."

Noya laughs. "That noodle boy? I'm pretty sure he'll knock over half my scientific equipment and accidentally set the rest of it on fire, but he's wicked bright. He'll cut our work in half with his intellect and streamline the designs. Asahi is gonna have a blast..." Noya whips around. "And you." He points at Kenma. "You're coming with me later for an MRI. Like hell I'm letting a perfect specimen like you escape this base without giving me enough samples to entertain me for months."

Kenma steps behind Kuroo. "I prefer Lev," they mutter, and Kuroo laughs.

Ukai gestures at the gathering, looking at Kageyama. "Is this acceptable to you?" He asks quietly. "You're correct that this is Hinata's decision, but I don't take the instinct of a pilot lightly. God knows my old partner saved our asses innumerable times with her instinct."

"It's more than I expected," Kageyama admits. "I can live with it, as long as they don't cut any corners with safety."

Hinata elbows Kageyama gently. "Yaku-san and Noya-san are the best at what they do, Kageyama. They'll get me back home in one piece, guaranteed. I'm okay," he says softer, "I'm more afraid of what will happen if we don't do this than I am of what will happen to me if we do."

"Annoying," Kageyama grumbles, ruffling his hair hard enough for Hinata to squeak.

Ukai, sensing the loss of concentration, clears his throat. "Meeting dismissed."

-------------------------------------

It's dark by the time they head out of the base, no streetlamps to line the empty streets. The only light is the full moon, the smattering of stars—too dull and far away to be any comfort—and the yellowy-orange glow of the pub, neon lights declaring that The Iron Wall was open along with announcements of beer on tap. Darting ahead of the other three figures, Hinata skips backwards, tossing his head back and howling at the moon, a feral and free sound breaking off into a laugh when both Tsukishima and Kageyama tell him to shut up.

The night air barely stirs, only fluttering with a soft sigh that makes Kageyama's bangs ruffle. It's a relaxed atmosphere that can't last in their line of work, but the sounds of frogs and crickets kicking up a symphony fool the boys into thinking that just for tonight, the war is off. When Yamaguchi rushes forward to grab Hinata's hands and swing him around in a circle, whooping and laughing, Tsukishima and Kageyama hold their tongues.

Moniwa's bar, unsurprisingly, is full of warmth and homeliness that is enough for Hinata and Yamaguchi to call out "Tadaima!" upon entering, and even Tsukishima and Kageyama mutter a softer version of the greeting. Moniwa is actually out front for once, not hiding in the back, trapped under stacks of paperwork and homework from his university. He gives them amused smiles and a fond sigh, shaking his head.

"I keep telling you, you don't have to say that," he says, dimples in his cheeks despite the mock-annoyance. "This is a bar, not a house."

Hinata claps him on the back hard enough for Moniwa to cough. "Aw, but it's kind of a home away from home, isn't it? There isn't a place around here for forty miles more comfortable and welcoming as The Iron Wall, and you know it!" Yamaguchi nods in agreement.

"Flattery won't get you any free drinks," Moniwa scolds, ruffling their heads and stepping behind the bar. He receives a few groans in response and smiles as he pulls down four glasses. "Just kidding." He winks at the more excitable halves of the piloting duos. As they cheer, he turns his attention to Tsukishima and Kageyama.

"How have you two been?" He greets warmly. "Your partners are the same as ever, but I haven't heard a single peep from the two most reserved pilots."

"Hello Moniwa-san," Kageyama returns the greeting with a dip of his head. "We're...we just need a night out." Moniwa's forehead wrinkles in concern.

"I know it's classified," he sighs, "but you lot are always welcome here, you know? To talk about your problems with a sympathetic bartender or just to get a little drunk. I won't ask any questions and make you uncomfortable."

"We appreciate it," Tsukishima says. "Actually, we have a lot to talk about amongst ourselves, so would you mind if we took the far table?"

"Not at all," Moniwa agrees readily, pouring their beers. "You round up those two and I'll take care of your usual orders."

"Thank you," Kageyama says quietly, pushing away from the bar and grabbing Hinata by the collar of his shirt, cutting him off mid-word. Hinata scrambles in his grip like a wet cat, complete with loud, wordless noises of protest, but is unable to free himself until Kageyama tosses him into the booth and slides in next to him.

"Why can't you take care of me nicely?" Hinata whines, gesturing to how Tsukishima pulls Yamaguchi away with a firm hand at his elbow. He kicks his feet childishly and presses his cheek on the table, pouting at Kageyama. "You're so mean."

Kageyama tilts his head. "Would you prefer I draw you away softly, murmuring something in your ear and guiding you with a hand at the small of your back?" He replies smoothly, voice low. Hinata's ears and the back of his neck burn, and he suddenly can't look at Kageyama at all. Interesting.

"No," Hinata snaps, but it's tempered with embarrassment and not nearly as harsh as he would have liked it to be. "That's so..." He doesn't get to finish his thought as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima slide in.

"Oh, good," Tsukishima notes. "You've finally stopped dancing around each other. It was getting fucking annoying."

"What?" Kageyama and Hinata squeak in unison.

"Please," Tsukishima snorts. "That whole fight you had? The past month or so all you two have been doing is sending longing looks back and forth when you think the other's not looking, as if you're hoping that you can make up. It's really disgusting to watch two idiots pine for each other when it's glaringly obvious you're still so ass-backwards in love you might as well be wearing neon flashing signs."

Hinata gapes. Kageyama's eyes grow wide and panicked.

"K-Kei..." Yamaguchi stutters. "That's a bit blunt, don't you think?" To himself, he mutters, "Though he's completely right."

"I didn't—" Hinata starts, but sputters and isn't able to finish. Kageyama stares at Tsukishima, too paralyzed with fear to look at Hinata.

Tsukishima sighs. "Okay, well I suppose you're still in denial. That's fine—the moment you step into each other's heads for real, it'll all be apparent. You can't hide anything in the Drift." Hinata looks a little sheepish at the mention of Drifting. They're quiet for a moment aside from thank-yous when Moniwa arrives with drinks.

"Um...sorry I never told any of you guys about the whole...you know." Hinata makes a vague hand gesture with one hand and rubs at the condensation on the glass with his other, not meeting anyone's eyes. "It must have come as a big surprise."

"Sure was," Yamaguchi whistles. "You really are certain about this, aren't you, Shouyou?"

"Yeah." Hinata looks at him and nods. "I'm committed to the operation."

"It's kind of cool, if you think about it," Yamaguchi adds hesitantly, offering a small smile. "It's almost like Drifting with Omega was a practice for the real thing, getting in a kaiju's head. You're really brave, Shouyou!"

Hinata laughs and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess it kind of will be similar. I can't imagine it will be that much worse than Drifting with Omega. But it's not bravery or anything. I just want...I want to be like Small Giant and her team. A someone." And I want to be someone Kenma can rely on when they're so lonely in their experience, but that's not something I can say.

"So you'd do it for fame," Tsukishima deduces dryly. "Nice to know the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of someone who's thinking about stardom."

"That's uncalled for," Kageyama protests. "That's not the only reason he's doing it."

"Don't defend his choice," Tsukishima orders. "You don't like it either. You know something is wrong." The tension between the pilots rises. Tsukishima sighs. "Look. I'm not meaning to call you vain. But you should know that what Bokuto-san said is true—Kuroo-san and Kenma-san aren't good people. They will sacrifice whoever they have to in order to protect civilization. Even if you think Kenma-san cares about you, they will always choose the many over the few."

"I know that," Hinata says softly. "I don't care."

Tsukishima makes a noise of frustration. "I'm trying to look out for you, moro—"

"It's not something that can be ignored, though," Yamaguchi interrupts. "What they said...it makes sense. We're just barely holding on. Imagine if the...Precursors? If the Precursors really went all out on us. We wouldn't stand a chance." There's a moment of solemn silence. "I agree with Hinata and Kuroo-san and Kozume-san," Yamaguchi murmurs. "We can't stay in this static state."

No one says anything for a long while. Hinata gulps down his first beer with an edge of desperation that hints at a desire to be tipsy. Kageyama hardly touches his, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi nurse theirs steadily. Tsukishima scowls hard at his drink, and it's only after Hinata hails Moniwa for a second that he speaks up.

"The world is important to save," Tsukishima starts, "but you don't even know if this will work. You're putting yourself in danger for no good reason—don't interrupt me, you know I'm right. There is literally no proof that this is safe for a human to do. Although risks can lead to great gains, if you fail..." Tsukishima looks distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, just think about the consequences on the closest members of your team."

"I already said that I would stand by him," Kageyama says. "I don't retract that statement now."

"Not just you," Tsukishima snaps, irritable. No, wait, there was something else—was Tsukishima embarrassed?

Hinata's eyes widen. "You're—you mean you," he says in awe. "You and Yamaguchi."

"It's nothing that sentimental!" Tsukishima growls, but he's fidgeting and tapping his fingers against his glass. "Our teams have worked together for over a year—it's obvious there'd be a connection between us, no matter how much we don't want it. Fucking—just think a little about what your death would do to our morale and dynamics."

"Tsukishima," Hinata says, jaw dropping. His voice gets tender. "You do care!" Nearly knocking over their glasses, Hinata leans over the table with a laugh and wraps his arms around Tsukishima's neck. Tsukishima swears and shoves at Hinata, but then Yamaguchi gets his arms around Tsukishima's waist and rubs his cheek on Tsukishima's shoulder.

"Aw, Kei!" He grins. "I keep telling everyone you're a real sweetheart underneath it all, but no one ever believes me."

"Kageyama, isn't he precious?" Hinata calls, grinning back at his partner. Kageyama takes in a disgruntled Tsukishima trying his hardest to shove off the other two, face screwed into an unpleasant expression. He takes time to shoot Kageyama a fierce glare.

"Touch me and you're dead," he growls in warning, and Kageyama raises an eyebrow.

"Death by friendship speeches, or...?" Kageyama returns casually, and it's so ridiculously out of character that Hinata lets Tsukishima go so he can fall on the table, cackling, Yamaguchi not far behind him, turning his head away and burying it in Tsukishima's back, his body shaking.

They manage to calm down enough to finish their second round, chatting amiably about things that didn't matter, like how Shimizu-san could still kick all their asses, even after how much they'd grown since they arrived on base, or how Tanaka's attempt to grow out his hair looked terrible. Despite how much the other pilots teased Tsukishima, he had made an acute observation—in the same way that Kuroo, Kenma, Bokuto, and Akaashi had a certain kind of unity that extended beyond just romantic and queerplatonic relationships, the rookie pilots too had a bond between them born from struggle and hard-fought experience.

Yamaguchi runs his finger around the rim of his glass, staring at it with a distant look on his face. "Things are really going to change now, aren't they?" He asks no one in particular, but grabs the attention of the other Rangers.

"Yes," Kageyama agrees. "A big change is coming, whether we like it not." He props his head up with a hand and looks out the window, wishing that the clear skies would stay.

---------------------------------------------

"It's a nice night to go for a walk on the beach," Akaashi observes, padding slowly next to Kenma, hands behind their back. "Slight breeze, almost no waves—hard to believe that there's supposed to be a front moving through any day now." They shoot Kenma an amused smile. "And yet here we are, in the stuffy base while Koutarou and Tetsurou have fun."

"Throwing around a football isn't fun," Kenma mutters. "Besides, I like the Jaegers."

Akaashi looks around the Shatterdome, at the four magnificent golems of steel and titanium and hundred-ton hearts and miles of wires, towering over the two of them as they walked by in relative quiet, the hum of their engines even at rest comforting white noise. "I like them too," Akaashi agrees softly, reserving a special look of fondness for Gamma Raptor. "Have you felt out Scrapper yet?"

"Mm." Kenma gives a noncommittal answer. "I'm not as good at it as you are, Keiji," they reply, giving their companion a pleading look.

Akaashi rolls their eyes fondly. "Yes, alright, I'll look him over. But you have to learn how to do it yourself, you know. After this operation we're sure to go our separate ways."

"Ugh, but it's hard," Kenma protests. "I understand kaiju, not Jaegers," they add under their breath, and Akaashi laughs lightly.

"What about Tetsurou? How is he at it?" Akaashi asks.

Kenma shrugs. "He's getting better. He has a good feeling for the movements, but Scrapper puts a lot of stress on him. Neither of us are really one with our Jaeger. We need him, though—we couldn't pilot in any other Jaeger but Scrapper Nine."

"I guess Tetsurou has been pretty busy," Akaashi muses, pressing the call button for the elevator at Scrapper Nine's station. "What with making the plans and keeping suspicion off you two, all with a smile on his face."

"Kuro works harder than anyone else," Kenma agrees. "No one notices, but...he's definitely working himself to the bone. Azumane kind of reminds me of him."

They step into the elevator and Akaashi nods. "Azumane endangers his health with how hard he works. I hope Tetsurou isn't the same way." Kenma doesn't reply, and Akaashi's expression gets sad. "Well," they murmur, "it's for the cause, after all."

"I don't really know what we'll do after this is all over," Kenma admits. "This is all we've been thinking of for the past few years, all we could talk about. Maybe we'll take a vacation."

The lift shudders to a halt at the top, door squeaking open. Akaashi steps out and raises an eyebrow at Kenma. "Maybe the war will be over after this." They extend a hand and Kenma smiles at the optimism. It was a hope, vain as it was. And it was hope that got all of them through this job.

"How goes the search?" Akaashi asks, punching in the code to let them into Scrapper's frame. "Have you found a Category Two that works yet?" Both of them step through the door, opening with a hiss and pad along the maintenance hallways to Scrapper's core.

Kenma shakes their head. "A few have popped up, but they aren't anywhere near Miyagi. And it's probably a bad idea for me to poke at the link any more than I do now. I doubt the Precursors would send some harmless Category Two after me."

Scrapper's core look much like Strike's as far as set-up and location of each part of the Jaeger is concerned. The only major difference is the fact that there is a second network of hallways designed for maintenance access if Scrapper was damaged and unable to revert from its four-legged mode. As a result of that mode, the individual parts of the Jaeger were also bolted down tighter than any other model, a feature that was mostly beneficial, until something needed to be replaced. Akaashi keys in a different code to wake up the engines from standby and leans against a railing while they whir to life around the two pilots.

"So what are we going to do when we actually find a suitable candidate for this experiment?" Akaashi asks. "It's not exactly going to sit still while Hinata and Tobio shove a spike in its skull."

Kenma purses their lips. "That's the most dangerous part," they admit. "That's why Kuro and I wanted four teams. We need to incapacitate the kaiju without killing it, and at the same time keep it from hurting Omega while the process occurs. Shouyou is going to be very vulnerable while he Drifts with it, and Omega will be completely unable to move or respond to attack during the Drifting."

Akaashi grimaces. "Sounds like a recipe for disaster."

Kenma can't even argue.

Akaashi sighs and gestures with a nod towards Scrapper's core. "C'mon. Let's take a look." Kenma follows behind a little dejectedly.

They don't go anywhere near the core out of caution, but Kenma looks through the window in awe and Akaashi presses their ear to the glass, closing their eyes and trying to listen to the sounds of the core. They nod after a moment. "It's not bad. A little strained and loud from stress, but that's probably because you two push him hard. Needs a few tune-ups, but nothing major. If you could get the temperature down some too, that would be excellent."

"Have you done this for all the other Jaegers, too?" Kenma asks in amazement.

"We take care of our own, obviously," Akaashi replies. "Bokuto looked after Gold Strike with Tsukishima recently, and now we're checking in on Scrapper Nine. Neither of us can get close to Tyrant Omega because of how protective Nishinoya and the Marshal are, but that's probably for the best—he's more organism than machine, anyway."

"I hope that Omega will help Hinata," Kenma admits quietly. "If he's so present, he might be able to protect Hinata's mind from them."

Akaashi takes Kenma's hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing them gently. "I hope so, too," they murmur. Kenma leans into their side, and Akaashi allows them to stand there for a few minutes in contemplative silence and prayers for the future.

----------------------------

Two weeks later and Kenma isn't even sure if they'll make it to the date of the kaiju's predicted attack. They haven't even found a suitable kaiju yet, but the conditions in Asahi's lab were undesirable at best.

"Look, Ryuu, I know you're an engineer and all, but trust me when I say that I know how to use this equipment better than you."

"Really? Then why are you trying to plug the auxiliary cable into the main port?"

"Because the main cable is wonky and corroded like I said before, if you'd actually listened to me—"

"Oh, so now I'm not listening to you? I told you, Yuu, the auxiliary cable can't hold that much power; it'll short out and blow the whole machine!"

"It's worked fine for everything else. Next thing I know you'll be telling me that pulling electricity from the base's generators instead of the floor's generators was a bad idea."

"That is a bad idea!"

"We're going to die," Kenma mutters to themself, shivering. "They're going to blow up this base and we're all going to die. It won't even be a kaiju. We're dead."

Asahi shoots Kenma a sympathetic look from his desk. "Amazingly enough, you just get used to it. But if you'd like, as soon as you finish checking over that sheet, you can go. I'll be able to do the rest with the equation you've given me." Asahi tries his hardest to look cheerful, but Kenma can see the circles under his eyes and frowns.

"You stay up too late and worry Nishinoya; that's why he's so agitated," Kenma mumbles. "He'd be a lot more careful if you took care of yourself and didn't overwork so often."

Asahi blinks in surprise. "Seriously?"

Before Kenma can reply, there's a sharp crack of electricity from the other side of the bay, and the lights flicker. Both Kenma and Asahi flinch at the sound and glance behind them nervously. Tanaka and Noya are both staring at a thick cable, lying on the floor in a puddle of what is not clear enough to be water, but definitely clear enough to be that liquid Noya suspended kaiju parts in.

"Don't touch it!" Tanaka snaps.

Noya throws up his hands. "Did it look like I was going to? I'm not that stupid, Ryuu!"

Tanaka gives him a look that tells the mathematician and pilot Noya was responsible for the accident. "It would be better for everyone's health if he was less careless," Kenma grumbles, turning back to his sheet with renewed vigor. Asahi rubs the back of his neck as he looks over his partner, who was in about as bad shape as Asahi was. Messy hair not kept in the obsessive stylized state Noya always insisted on keeping it as, scratchy stubble on his chin and jaw, bloodshot eyes...yeah, okay, so Asahi saw Kenma's point.

It wasn't like the machine was anything essential to the operation. The whole purpose of putting it together was to see if Noya could make a neural bridge between 'Kyouken'—the piece of a kaiju brain that still functioned—and Hinata. Noya's idea was that if Hinata practiced Drifting with a kaiju just a little bit, he might be able to handle it better when he tried the primary brain of a living kaiju.

A sweet thought, but Kenma knew from his own experience that a tiny chunk of the whole couldn't prepare Hinata for the painful onslaught of thousands and thousands of minds entering his own, piercing his subconscious and then turning hostile because he was not one of them, not one of them, spy—

Well. It was the thought that counted.

Not that Noya had much success in even crafting the machine when he was so exhausted from worrying about Asahi and worrying about the operation and worrying over the machine. Too much worry and coffee and not enough sleep and water, if anyone asked Kenma (no one did, but they were grateful for that). The bottom line was that Noya was fretting, and he would continue to fret until he had a project to work on that he could throw himself into completely.

"Yo, what's that piece of shit? Don't tell me you've seriously hit a road block in a project, Yuu."

Yaku always did have impeccable timing, Kenma thinks.

Noya's head whips around while the other three look up more slowly. There, leaning against the doorway with a coat thrown over his shoulder and a shit-eating grin on his face, Yaku slouched. But the causal posture did nothing to hide the way his eyes glowed upon seeing Noya, the way he smiled so hard it had to hurt.

"Mori!" Noya shouts, dropping the wrench in his hands and racing over to his old friend, throwing his arms around Yaku's neck and legs around his waist, tackling Yaku hard enough to send them both hurtling to the floor. They both end up in a pile giggling and grinning the maniacal smiles of mad scientists. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Yaku laughs. "We got in through the back." Noya makes a muffled sound of joy and buries his face in Yaku's shoulder.

"Ah, well," Asahi huffs happily. "He'll be okay now. There's no way Morisuke won't take care of him."

"You still better look after yourself," Kenma says sharply. "There's no way I can find this kaiju on my own." Asahi is touched by the insistence in Kenma's voice, but there's an odd nervousness in the way Kenma's eyes dart around the room and a tightly wound tension in his shoulders.

But what was—

"Kenma-san!" Asahi nearly falls out of his chair as a giant hurtles through the doorway to their science bay, eyes fixed on Kenma. He's well over six feet tall, lanky and thin, with a shock of grey hair and piercing green eyes fixated on his prize the way a cat might stare down a bird.

"Shit," Kenma hisses, and for a second time Asahi nearly falls out of his chair, hearing Kenma curse.

The giant throws himself over Kenma, managing to cover almost the entirety of the pilot despite the fact that Kenma was in no way small. The giant simply dwarfed Kenma under the length of his limbs and the warmth of his affection, rubbing his cheek against Kenma's head happily. "I missed you so much, Kenma-san! None of the other pilots in Tokyo are as fun to visit as you and Kuroo-san are!" He looks up suddenly, sharp eyes darting around the room with a hungry edge that could cut. "Where is he?"

"Get off me, Lev," Kenma grumbles, attempting to worm his way out of Lev's hold. Asahi has to blink at the funny way Kenma pronounces the boy's name—clearly it wasn't Japanese in origin. "Scrapper is in the Shatterdome with the rest of the Jaegers. You'll be excited—that weird one is also there."

Lev releases Kenma to clap his hands together excitedly. "Seriously? The one that looks like a kaiju?"

"Yes," Kenma says. "And in fact, his creator is the one who tackled Yaku."

Lev turns around to lay eyes on Noya, now helping Yaku to his feet and chatting amiably. Lev tilts his head to the side. Loudly, he says, "Wow. The weird Jaeger's creator sure is tiny. Even tinier than Yaku-san!" Turning back around to Kenma, he frowns. "Why are all the genius scientists such shrimps?"

"Guess that means since you're so damn tall and skinny you'll never be a genius," Yaku calls across the bay, glaring holes into Lev's back. "Get over here and introduce yourself, beanpole!" His gaze softens considerably when he meets Kenma's eyes. "I'm sorry that he's such a nuisance, Kenma. I swear I'm trying to train him."

"Yaku-sannnnn," Lev whines, but lopes back to his superior's side. Yaku jabs him in the side and he yelps.

"Anyway," Noya says brightly, gesturing to the bay. "This is my lab! It's been a bit upgraded since you were last here."

"Bigger space, but less high-class," Yaku observes. Noya pouts and he grins. "Just ribbing you. It's pretty damn big and high-tech for a secondary base. Must have been a pain getting Marshal Ukai to allocate enough of the budget to your lab to get all this stuff."

"Well, that's most likely due to Asahi, if I'm completely honest," Noya admits. "Helps to have the best living mathematician as a lab buddy." Noya grins at Asahi's embarrassment.

"I'm Azumane Asahi," Asahi introduces himself, walking over. "I'm sorry; I don't believe we formally met when you were here last."

"Yaku Morisuke," Yaku returns with a nod. "It's a pleasure. Good to see you as well, Tanaka!" He calls, and Tanaka waves a wrench in greeting.

"Don't mind me, Yaku!" He calls back. "Just putting this mess Yuu made back together."

"I'd also like to introduce my intern, Haiba Lev," Yaku says, patting Lev on the arm. "He's a real pain with no filter on his mouth, but he's the damn smartest kid in the Eastern Hemisphere and I'm happy to have him as an assistant."

"Nice to meet you!" Lev greets Asahi cheerfully, bowing shallowly. "I'm Lev, and my goal is to become a way better scientist than you or Yaku-san or Noya-san will ever be!"

He wasn't lying about the no-filter, Asahi thinks, but he's not offended. "We could use some of that self-confidence around here," he says. "What we're trying to do, no one on this earth has ever done, so we need all the help we can get."

"I'm looking forward to it," Lev chirps. "I was mentioned in Yaku-san and Noya-san's publication on nerve suits, but this is the first time I'm going to get to be a co-author. I promise to work my very hardest!"

He's a good kid, Asahi concludes, and a glance at Noya confirms his thoughts. Just...a little excitable. No wonder Kenma's eager to pass him off on someone else.

"Well!" Yaku claps his hands together. "Now that introductions are done, I'd like to jump straight to work."

"Oh thank god," Tanaka groans. "We can put this damned project to rest. Kyouken is staring at me, I swear..."

"Did you bring it?" Noya asks, eyes sparkling. Yaku puts his hands on his hips.

"Of course! I've got Tetsurou and Bokuto dragging the neural spike in right now—secretively, of course. This is still all on the down-low."

Noya actually look like he might be in tears. "It's so good to have someone reliable around again, Mori..." he wails.

"Oi, is that an implication that I'm not reliable?" Tanaka calls again. "Come over here and say that to my face, Yuu!" Yaku laughs.

"I'm glad this is such a lively place," he says. "Tokyo has its perks and the best tech in Japan, but it's too stiff. How am I supposed to think creatively and outside the box with limitations all over the place? And curfew? God, it's like humanity isn't more important than beauty sleep."

"Don't be expecting very much of that," Noya says on a more serious note. "We have to update the Jaegers, both nerve suit sets, recalibrate everything, and then design and create a piece of technology that has never been conceptualized by mankind, all before Asahi and Kozume find us a kaiju."

"Sounds like we have our work cut out for us," Lev says thoughtfully. "When do we begin?"

Yaku gives Lev a fond look. "Couldn't have put it better myself, beanpole. I want you to look over the nerve suits and assess functionality and some of our proposed upgrades—Yuu, you got any? ...Okay, and also Yuu's potential upgrades. Yuu, Tanaka, and I will look over the Jaegers."

Yaku nods politely at Asahi. "Do you mind if we borrow Kenma to round up the boys to test their suits?"

"Not at all," Asahi replies. "They were just about to head out anyway."

Kenma nods. "I don't mind. I told Kuro already," they say, tapping their temple. Yaku looks genuinely pleased to see Kenma.

"It's really, really good to see you again, Kenma," Yaku says gently. "You're the single pilot I've met who hasn't driven me up the wall. You better let me fuss over you some."

Kenma returns the smile. "If you insist, Yaku-san."

If the buzz and hype of energy up to that point had been centered around the pilots, the arrival of the two scientists definitely shifted the balance of power back to the scientists. All the new and exciting things were happening in the K-Science bay or in the Shatterdome. Pilot training regimens were shelved if they interfered with a test Noya wanted to run on their health. A Ranger might even have been pulled from a meeting with the Marshal if Yaku or Lev needed them. Kenma might as well have changed his occupation from 'Jaeger pilot' to 'mathematician's assistant' with how much time he spent in Asahi's lab.

In the Shatterdome, Noya or Yaku were always present. While regular touch-ups usually just involved the oversight of the head mechanic, upgrades required the presence of the head mechanic and a scientist who would be helping to design new parts. In and out, in and out—the team traced every hallway, examined every set of engines and wires that made each Jaeger run in order to maximize efficiency and precision in preparation for the battle. Tanaka caved and finally brought a sleeping bag into the Shatterdome, resigned to the fact that he would never be able to leave.

Saeko, too, often found herself hailed to the Shatterdome to examine simulations of Conn-Pod upgrades designed to make the connection faster and smoother. Although hesitant at first in an area quite obviously not her field, she eventually started pitching her own idea which were then modified and absorbed into the machine that was the twin brain of Yaku and Noya.

Asahi, usually the one who needed to be chased to bed, found himself in charge of making sure that Yaku and Noya actually did sleep at least three hours a night, despite their protests that they were fine. The threat of sleeping pills secretively dropped in coffee to force a long afternoon nap was constantly dangling over their heads should they not comply with Asahi's orders. Asahi didn't have much trouble getting Noya to sleep, curling around him and using the warmth and safety of their bed to lull him to sleep, a blissful smile on his face now that he was working.

(Lev, on the other hand, had trouble convincing Yaku to go to bed, and the promise of snuggles was not nearly as welcome. Asahi found it very interesting that Lev eagerly jumped at the chance to wrap his gangly limbs around Yaku and snuffle gently in his hair. He found it even more interesting that despite his protests, Yaku looked most at peace wrapped in Lev's arms or spooning him in protest of his height, head pressed tightly against Lev's back and a thoughtfully distant look in his eyes.)

If there had been any doubt that Lev wasn't up to par with the other scientists, that doubt was quickly erased given how professionally Lev handled the nerve suit situation. A key mind behind their creation, Lev skillfully navigated the intricacies of the suit, talking with technicians to see if there was ever any trouble putting on the suits and examining their material thoroughly under a microscope. Despite the fact that he often seemed childishly excited by science, Kenma, and Yaku, when it came down to the hard science, he took on a mood shift that gave Asahi whiplash to witness.

When interviewing pilots and techs about the suits, the jovial atmosphere around Lev disappeared, replaced by staunch but not cold professionalism. His questions were easy to understand even for non-scientists and highly specific. He was patient when techs took a while to recall information and prepared with follow-up questions if one of the pilots gave him a noncommittal answer. He appeared less and less like an intern and more and more like a full-fledged scientist like Yaku and Noya.

Asahi caught him once, muttering to himself and chewing on the end of his pen, unaware of the world around but for a scrap of fabric under the lens of Noya's most powerful light microscope. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, and the slump in his shoulders broke Asahi's heart, just a little. Before he could say anything though, Yaku strode in, way past his assigned bedtime that night. He didn't look angry or annoyed, just worried.

"Hey," he said so softly Asahi felt like he was intruding on something deeply personal. "It's pretty late, Lev. Why don't you come to bed?"

Lev's eyes strayed back to the microscope. "Yaku-san...I'm so close though, I swear. I just can't figure out this one protein, but I know what it is, I just can't—" His shoulders slump farther. "You and Noya-san...you guys have actually started designing parts, but I can't get this one single thing right. I can't even stay up late! I get so tired..."

"Let me see what you've got so far," Yaku says, holding a hand out. Lev doesn't even hesitate, just hands the file folder over and chews on his pen some more, somehow looking smaller than Yaku in that moment.

Yaku reads over the file with a poker face that gives nothing away. When he reaches the end of the summarized findings, he lets out a low whistle. "That's a hell of a lot of info. You just need that one protein and you'll be able to start putting designs together, huh? Not that far behind us after all."

Lev looks up, looks hopeful. Yaku's smile is pure and proud and warm. "Want me to let you in on a little secret?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Lev nods, bewildered.

Yaku grins. "The reason me and Yuu are so short is because we never sleep. See, gravity compressed our spines during our formative years when we were working on our theses, and as a result, we're pretty damn small."

Lev sighs, looking unimpressed. "Yaku-san, I know that's not true. Besides the fact that you and Noya-san would have completed most of your growth prior to university—even given your accelerated track—height is a mixture of genes, diet, environment, and other factors. Just because you stood or sat up a lot doesn't mean you're going to be short."

Yaku's smile widens. "Too damn smart for your own good, that's what you are. If you were shorter, I'd give you a noogie for sure. Come on, you giant, walking noodle—you're still young. You need your sleep, unlike us grumpy old men."

Asahi smiled for the rest of the night as echoes of "But Yaku-san, you're not even ten years older than me yet" rang back down the hallway and into his bay.

But it wasn't just the nerve suits and Lev's intelligence that made him stand out to the other members of the base—it was his interesting choice of relationships.

Excluding the questionably taboo crush Lev undoubtedly had on Yaku, he also chose to make close acquaintances with Kenma—someone who resisted his advances of friendship whole-heartedly—and Hinata. Asahi isn't sure if he's surprised or not that Lev gravitated towards the shortest member of the kaiju response team besides the girls and Noya.

Either way, Lev had an unfortunate affinity for setting off short people, as his first reaction upon seeing Hinata dressed in his nerve suit was to make an ah of understanding and say "Oh! So that's why we needed such a tiny design for a nerve suit!"

Predictably, Hinata didn't take the comment well, bristling and snarling in a surprised Lev's face. But also predictably, once they found common ground, the animosity between them dissolved and they quickly took to comparing heroes (Hinata's being the team of Small Giant and Lev's being Noya and Yaku). But even more interesting was that both Hinata and Lev were 'prodigies' in their respective fields seeking to overcome their heroes and be the absolute best. Hinata might not have known a lick about science or Lev about the Ghost Drift, but they were able to communicate due to sheer enthusiasm.

Hinata was the only one Lev completely dropped his professionalism around. Even when taking care of Kenma's suit, Lev only regressed to cheerful politeness, but with Hinata he joked and messed around and ultimately depressurized. As a result, Hinata didn't feel as inclined to be professional back at him, and complained about how the suit fit or about abnormalities that actually helped Lev to make changes that would improve Hinata's performance in Omega. Besides, Lev was thrilled to talk to one of the pilots of 'the weird Jaeger,' and Hinata was always happy to boast about how great Omega was.

The symbiotic relationship between Miyagi and Tokyo seemed to be a pattern. Asahi and Kenma proved that they were incredibly comfortable being paired together to search for the kaiju, as they both preferred the quiet and being left alone. They also like the same type of coffee, which meant that Kenma clung to Asahi like a lifeline for caffeine, begging to be set free from the 'nasty black tar' that Kuroo liked to drink.

Yaku and Noya, too, while powerful on their own, became exponentially more productive when put together. They worked the techs and mechanics to the point of exhaustion with their pace, but after only a week, they had fully examined all four Jaegers and were ready to jump to designing custom parts and assessing their reports. Tanaka and his crew had only the weekend to recover (mostly through sleeping) before Yaku and Noya sent out a notice with a report of issues that needed to be fixed. It was about that time when Lev finished examining the suits as well.

Individually, the two teams came up with Jaeger and suit designs, Lev with only a little assistance from Yaku and full approval from both the senior scientists. With designs in place, they sent them away to the industrial district of Japan under urgent orders from Marshal Ukai and took to tackling the hardest element of the plan—coming up with equipment that would allow Hinata to Drift with a kaiju without dying.

And in speeding through the easier elements, Yaku and Noya encountered their first speedbump.

"I don't get it," Yaku says in disbelief. "There is no way we can't find a way to fit this in the Conn-Pod. It's a glorified neural bridge, for Christ's sake!"

Noya groans and stares at the pile of paper balls, wadded up with every failed drawing. "Maybe in five years when our tech gets smaller, we could have done it," Noya moans. "But what we're trying to do in such a short period of time requires a ton of heavy equipment; there's no getting around it."

"Can we enlarge the Conn-Pod?" Yaku asks, although he already knows the answer.

"No," Noya replies glumly. "If it was an external connection, maybe. But everything in Omega is internal because of his synthetic muscle and nerves."

"This is miserable," Yaku sighs.

Lev walks in, carrying a bag of donuts. He shoves one in his mouth before speaking. "Hi Yaku-san, Noya-san."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, it's disgusting," Yaku grumbles. "Also, you have powder all around your mouth."

Lev pays Yaku's snappiness no mind, but eyes the pile of scrapped designs with interest. "Are you guys having trouble?" He asks, swallowing.

"The trouble is that we're trying to put a three-tier Drifting system—mind you, that has never been created before—into a tiny, cramped space that cannot be modified. It's physically impossible," Noya sighs.

"Let me see your latest design," Lev says, holding a powder-covered hand out. Yaku makes a face, but Noya just hands it over.

"We're about to scrap that one, too," Noya explains tiredly.

Lev eats another donut and makes a thoughtful noise. "Why the hell are you using a horizontal model?"

"The Conn-Pod of Tyrant Omega is shorter than traditional designs," Yaku says. "A vertical model is preferable, of course, but there's just not enough vertical space."

"Well I knew that," Lev sighs. "I'm just wondering why you're shoving it in the back with all the other modems and hard drives that are vertical models. A horizontal model is obviously not going to fit."

"Well then, what's your grand idea, boy genius?" Yaku snaps, this time with annoyance.

"What's wrong with putting it up front?" Lev asks. "There's a space that would fit a vertical model perfectly between the two pilots."

"Yeah, but they need that to—" Noya pauses. What did they need that space for? If they put the machine there, the pilots wouldn't be able to see each other, but was that really necessary for piloting?

"Oh my god," Yaku says slowly, coming to the same realization as Noya. "Oh my god."

"I'm sketching—Mori, go find the blueprints, they're in that drawer—oh my god, this might actually work," Noya says excitedly.

Yaku sits straight up, looks Lev in the eyes, then grabs his face and pulls him down so that he can kiss him hard, just once, pulling away and almost laughing with joy. "Lev, you are a genius." Lev just kind of nods distractedly because Yaku has a little bit of powdered donut on his lip and Yaku-san kissed me he kissed me oh my god he actually—

(Bokuto says it best, later on, after Yaku and Noya hail him and Kuroo, and in a flurry of excited words order them on errands to find the Marshal and Tanaka and Saeko and Kageyama and Hinata just in case. They send the two of them to the post and to the mechanics and with packages or papers, and by the end of it all Kuroo and Bokuto just collapse on Kuroo's couch, Kuroo flopped on Bokuto's stomach.

"They really just ran us around like dogs," Kuroo says in disbelief. "Us. You know, star pilots and heroes of the earth? Reduced to messenger boys."

Bokuto grins then, fluffing Kuroo's hair fondly, while Kuroo digs his chin into Bokuto's chest at the indignity. Bokuto laughs. "Okay, yeah, so it's a little degrading—"

"I came up with this plan," Kuroo grumbles once more, just to be a little shit.

Bokuto shushes him with a finger to his lips. "Still, it's just a little bit exciting, don't you think? Feels like something really big is about to happen." Kuroo's eyes sparkle in agreement, the smile quirking at the edge of his mouth the only other tell of how pleased he is. But then he nibbles the tip of Bokuto's finger, and they forget about serious business pretty quickly.

'Something big's about to happen,' Kuroo thinks. Yes, that sounds about right. And for the first time, I think we might actually be able to win this war.)

----------------------------------

Hinata finds, that as with all things from Tokyo, the scientists aren't anything like he expects.

He's sitting on the top of a desk on Noya's side of the science bay, watching in mild amusement as Yaku manages Kuroo and Kenma before they go on a test run with the upgrades to their nerve suits and Jaeger. Yaku reminds Hinata a bit of Koushi in that his care for his pilots is so abundantly clear and always at the forefront of his actions. He dotes on Kenma constantly, making sure that they're getting enough to eat and enough sleep and ensuring that Lev and Kuroo don't bother them too much. It's not that they're particularly close—on the contrary, Kenma seems to have abundant respect for Yaku.

On the flip side, however, Yaku is rough with Lev and Kuroo, demanding work from both of them, but the fact that they comply with his wishes says something about their respect for him, too. Yaku expects the highest quality of work from Lev and cooperation and professionalism from Kuroo, but under that harshness, there's a layer of care embedded into his personality. When they truly do a good job, he makes sure to lay on the praise, and when nothing serious is going on, he's joking and playful with them.

It appears obvious to Hinata that Yaku is the caretaker of the Tokyo base.

"Yaku-san is really something, isn't he?" Hinata says to Lev, who hops up on the desk next to Hinata to observe the proceedings of Yaku tugging and prodding at Kuroo and Kenma's suit with a look of pure concentration on his face.

"Yeah, he's a really good disciplinarian," Lev scowls, rubbing his side sorely where Yaku had jabbed him.

"It's funny," Hinata says. "Daichi-san and Suga-san were really the ones who looked after the pilots, but your scientist is the one who cares for them."

Lev snorts. "Well, yeah, but that's only 'cause the rest of the pilots in Tokyo are power-hungry or hate Kuroo-san and Kenma-san. The only one who could keep the peace is Yaku-san. On top of doing all his work, he's also always there for the pilots." Lev gives Hinata a half-smile. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to surpass him in that capacity."

Hinata watches as Kuroo dodges Yaku's hand mischievously and Yaku smacks him on the head with his clipboard. But there's a gentleness to the blow and a returning playfulness in Yaku's eyes that tells Hinata there isn't even a trace of animosity between scientist and pilots. "They really love each other, don't they?" He asks softly.

Lev nods. "Yup. Tokyo is way more cohesive than Miyagi overall. Even if our pilots don't always get along, we've never had any incidents of Drift failing between established pilots or conflict between teams during a drop. That's because Yaku runs us on a strict no in-fighting policy and reports straight to Marshal Nekomata if he sees it. We're more disciplined than you are, have more experience than you, and have better resources. Most importantly, we're connected across all our departments. From the scientists to the techs to the pilots—there's a connection and respect for each other that's missing from Miyagi."

Hinata blinks.

Lev takes that to mean he's upset. "Don't worry too much about it though—it's expected. You were probably on your way to becoming a primary base like us when Sawamura-san and Sugawara-san were around, but now on top of little experience, you have no leadership. Your leadership is borrowed from Tokyo's senior pilots and the wanderers. It's why we're stronger."

"So what you're telling me," Hinata starts slowly. "Is that if we had a single, strong pair who took over leadership, we would be great?"

"Mm...more or less," Lev shrugs. "You'd also have to connect more with your helpers—you know, the people behind the scenes? But yeah, that's a good place to start. Why?"

"I want to become the best pilot on this base. And in the world. And in history," Hinata says determinedly. "But I need to start somewhere."

Before Lev can point out that no one would follow an experience-poor rookie who hasn't proved himself, and besides, shouldn't Hinata be worried about his next mission rather than world domination? there's a wild yell from the other side of the lab. Everyone jumps.

Asahi does tumble from his chair and hit the floor, but he's back on his feet in a heartbeat, waving a printout in Kenma's direction. "Kenma!" He shouts. "Kenma, this is the one!"

Kenma snatches the paper from his hand and skims it briefly, but they're nodding before they even finish reading. "Yes," they agree. "Yes, this is the one."

"How soon?" Yaku asks, turning back to Kuroo's nerve suit with renewed urgency.

"Three weeks," Kenma replies softly, and Yaku swears loudly.

"Fuck, that's cutting it dangerously close," he growls. "We have most of the Drifting apparatus constructed, but there are a few essential parts that we haven't designed or produced. Where the hell is Yuu?"

"I just contacted him," Asahi says. "He's on his way as fast as possible."

Lev is at Yaku's side in a heartbeat. "What do you need me to do?" He asks.

"Yuu and I are doing the final, physical connections. You take care of the bindings and ventilation," Yaku orders without looking up. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

He only looks up once more, and that's to fix his eyes on the nearest makeshift busboy—Hinata. "You. Go tell the Marshal about what's going on. We need to kick into high-speed preparations stat."

----------------------------------

The energy at the base takes on a frenzied edge once the so-called 'perfect kaiju' is located. It's a bit strange for those not in on the classified plan—the pilots and scientists are even more on edge than when a Category Four is on-schedule to roll around or when an anomaly shows up out of the blue. But for those in the know, the rush is chaos and hell.

Noya, Yaku, and Lev don't sleep. They can't afford any more than the hour nap here or there, but even then, the waste of time leaves them anxious and ill-rested when they try. Asahi, too, doesn't sleep much with all the movement and thinking going on in his lab keeping him up. He makes himself useful through energy drink and coffee runs and delivering updates to the Marshal and pilots while the scientists lock themselves away from any and all distractions.

They get the final designs sent out in five days—record-breaking speed. Marshal Ukai includes a classified letter explaining the urgency of the parts and the operation being carried out, and the parts are fully manufactured and sent back in another five days. Assembly and attachment of the Drifting apparatus begins the same day.

Amongst the frenzy to get everything finished and tested before the deadline, the pilots end up just as stressed as the scientists. Sleeping doesn't come easy even to Tsukishima ad Yamaguchi, the least involved in the project. Nightmares of death and mutilation frequently haunt their dreams, and it's not strange to see a haggard Ranger or two wandering the halls in the dead of night.

But despite the craze, a single pilot manages to stay calm and composed, tortured by nightmares but never a slave to them, restless but productive. Focused.

Somewhere in the middle of the five day struggle to get the Drifting equipment plans sent away for production, Hinata approaches Yaku and Noya when they are alone, Lev off on a mission to drag Tanaka back to the bay. He's quiet in his approach, none of the wild energy and rush that the scientists and most everyone at the base had come to associate him with. He's delicate with his steps and purposeful in his stance when he approaches them, and it's then that Noya truly feels for the first time that something in this plan is going to go wrong.

"Hinata?" He asks, stopping what he's doing, much to Yaku's confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I have a request to make, regarding the project you're working on," Hinata announces, uncharacteristically polite.

"Um...yeah, of course, we'll hear you out," Noya says. Yaku looks up.

"The focus of the kaiju I'm going to Drift with," Hinata says, unsmiling. "I want it to be completely focused on me, one hundred percent."

"Focused?" Noya sounds confused.

"Yes," Hinata says. "I don't want the kaiju to be in anyone's mind but my own—not Kageyama's, and not Omega's. They can share the weight of the Drift, but I don't ever want the Precursors to know they exist."

Noya scratches the back of his neck. "I see where you're coming from, but I just don't know if we can do that. I don't have any idea how to divvy up something like that." Noya can't meet Hinata's eyes, but it doesn't matter that he's clearly hiding something—Hinata has already noticed the way Yaku hasn't said a word and gone quietly back to work.

"He can," Hinata states. "Yaku-san did it for Kuroo-san and Kenma. He can do it for me, too."

"He can't, Hinata," Noya sighs. "That was the foreign scientists who did all of that."

"Yes, he can," Hinata says a little firmer. "Kenma told me."

Well, Noya thinks, now we're fucked.

Yaku exhales softly. "Kenma is right. Yes, I know how to do it, but you must know that it comes at a price and a much greater risk, which is why I didn't even consider doing it. You know that black hole in Kenma's mind?" Hinata does, but he looks shocked that Yaku knew about it. "That's a side effect of bearing their gaze by yourself. Yours will be much larger, possibly omnipresent. You might always hear them or see them or feel them. If you become a danger because of that hole, and the Marshal may decide to terminate you."

"I can accept those risks," Hinata says.

"No, dammit, Hinata! You can't!" Noya snarls. "Are you even listening to Mori? You will go crazy from them. Why the hell do you even want to do this?"

"This is my mission," Hinata snarls back. "I took this on because I was willing to do it. I'm not going to scar Kageyama with an experience he never asked for or wanted. I'm not going to risk damaging Omega's mind when he's so incredibly unique and powerful. Don't you get it? This is the way with least risks."

I am the one who brought Kageyama this suffering. I'm the one making him worry. I want to become stronger, yes...but never at his expense. When we've just reached happiness, I refuse to take that away from him. He will not become a victim of my selfishness and Kuroo-san and Kenma's deception.

"Please," Hinata whispers. "Please, can you this for me, just once?"

Noya doesn't know what exactly it is that gets him to agree. Maybe it was how sincere Hinata was from the very beginning, approaching them so out of character, with such weight to his words and his stance. Maybe it's the intensity of his desire to protect the person and entity closest to him. Maybe it was that look of deep sadness and acceptance that Noya had seen back at the meeting when Hinata announced that he volunteered, so slight that one could miss it, just the tiniest sunshower that foretold of a monsoon to come.

-------------------------------------------

And then, the night before the predicted attack. Thanks to Kenma's insight and Asahi's equation, the prediction only varied by an hour at most, and the pilots could rest easy knowing there wouldn't be an attack until tomorrow evening.

Yeah, right.

Tsukishima doesn't think he's ever been as tightly wound as he is now, hurrying past the Shatterdome with a sense of urgency. In the hangar, Yaku and Noya are running last minute tests of Omega's new equipment. And in his animal-like claws, the neural spike sits ominously, like a dagger in the hands of some clumsy, primitive being. It makes Tsukishima feel ill just thinking about it.

"He's an idiot," Tsukishima says softly.

At his side and puffing to keep up, Yamaguchi rolls his eyes. "That again? Kei, it'll be okay, really."

Tsukishima swears that just for a moment he can hear the sounds of a drill or blowtorch fusing the unwieldy and tall apparatus to Omega's insides, weighing him down and dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. Tsukishima had seen it only once, black as ink with flickering lights running along its sides, whirring steadily and waiting to bring Hinata to his doom.

"I can literally hear you being a drama queen about all this," Yamaguchi sighs, stopping Tsukishima before he walks past their room because he's too deep in thought. "You're poetic as hell in your misery, but you project an awful lot when you're anxious."

Tsukishima is embarrassed to find their connection buzzing and alive between them, feeding Yamaguchi his worried thoughts and feeding him gentle chastisement and Yamaguchi's own nervousness. "Do you want to talk about it?" Yamaguchi asks, offering Tsukishima a supportive smile. "It'd be bad to keep it all inside."

"It's bad luck to talk about an operation the night before it goes down," Tsukishima returns automatically, but he follows Yamaguchi into their quarters and then their bedroom without bothering to brush his teeth.

Yamaguchi tosses an amused look behind him. "Tsukishima Kei? Superstitious? Now I've really heard it all."

Tsukishima flushes despite himself. "Shut it, you," he grumbles, kicking off his shoes and practically falling into bed. A moment later, Yamaguchi joins him, snuggling up close. Tsukishima huffs gently and pulls Yamaguchi into his arms, looping them around Yamaguchi's waist. He pulls Yamaguchi extra close to him, enough to tuck his head over Yamaguchi's shoulder and for Yamaguchi to giggle at the feeling of breath tickling his neck.

"Honestly, Kei. It's going to be okay," Yamaguchi assures him, still feeling Tsukishima's anxiety in his unusual neediness physically. "Our teams are the best of the best. We've slain kaiju ever since Bokuto-san and Akaashi arrived and pulled our team together. You heard the plan—all we have to do is incapacitate the kaiju, no big deal."

"Tyrant Omega will be helpless," Tsukishima argues. "He won't be able to move at all while Hinata is Drifting with the kaiju." Tsukishima doesn't say it out loud, but they still remember it, the too-still frame of Apocalypto Alpha and the kaiju circling her, taunting. A Jaeger that couldn't move was a dead Jaeger.

"It won't be like before," Yamaguchi says quietly. "For one thing, we have experienced teams instead of two rookie teams dragging the main down. And we have four this time, not three."

"But only three can—"

"Hinata is strong," Yamaguchi interrupts. "Like, really strong. I've talked to him a lot, you know? He's not going to crumple."

"Is he stronger than a kaiju?" Tsukishima asks softly.

Yamaguchi hums, giving the rhetorical question actual thought. He thinks of Hinata's battle to get to be a pilot, fighting for what he wants against every single barrier, be it physical, mental, or Kageyama. He overcame a sync score that would have dropped him from the program. He overpowered the best cadet at the base and managed to Drift with him despite their obvious differences. He survived two separate fights with his partner that could have torn their connection apart. He Drifted in the bastard child of a kaiju and Jaeger and excelled. He excelled enough to become the stronger half of their duo, arguably the strongest of the rookies. And despite what had happened to their senpai and the horrors Kenma had shown him, Hinata was alive and kicking, still just as wild and full of energy and optimistic as ever.

"Yeah," Yamaguchi says. "I think he is."

"You have too much faith in our companions," Tsukishima grumbles, but Yamaguchi can tell he's been warmed and comforted just a little, remembering that after all Hinata had been through, a kaiju was just a damn kaiju. It didn't deserve to win in a battle of the minds like Hinata did.

"And you're a rotten cynic," Yamaguchi says cheerfully, flicking Tsukishima's nose. Tsukishima growls at the indignity, but Yamaguchi just laughs, flipping around to face him. They hold each other's gaze for a moment, and then Tsukishima leans in to kiss Yamaguchi gently.

"Thank you, Tadashi," he murmurs when he pulls away just far enough to rest their foreheads together. "Somehow, you never tire of dealing with me."

"It's a tough job, but someone has to do it," Yamaguchi says with a grin, and kisses Tsukishima again, giving him playful pecks on his cheeks and nose and forehead. Across the Drift, his presence warms and mingles with Tsukishima's to form a blanket of security around them. Yamaguchi's love is stronger than Tsukishima's fear, and he lets it go, just for a moment, to bask in the glory of his partner and remember that together, they can do anything.

---------------------------------

"You don't have to do this, you know," Kageyama says through a mouthful of toothpaste, eyeing Hinata in the mirror next to him. Hinata rolls his eyes theatrically and spits out his mouthwash.

"Why do people keep saying that?" He grumbles, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "I'm not going to change my mind. Almost everyone has said the same thing, even Kenma! Way to make a guy doubt his own resolve."

Kageyama sighs but doesn't say anything else. Hinata's aura is one of commitment and tiredness. All he wants to do is sleep, and Kageyama isn't cruel enough to deny him that. Hinata runs a hand over his jaw to feel the stubble, his mind a gentle hum of thoughtfulness over whether or not he should shave tomorrow. His brow crinkles, and Kageyama feels the irrational urge to smooth it out.

He is quite unfortunately in love with Hinata Shouyou.

But fortune doesn't abandon him completely—Hinata is too invested in his self-examination to take note of Kageyama's moment of weakness and mental expression of undying fondness for him. It's not fair, Kageyama thinks, that someone so courageous and strong and reliable should drop into his life and screw him up completely. He would have been quite content to live with a partner he only tolerated, but no; he was stuck with one that forced him to feel and to work and to make himself the best he could possibly be, not for himself, but for that someone.

And now, Hinata was going off to a different kind of war within their war, all on his own. It made Kageyama ill thinking about Hinata having to fight on his own when Kageyama was only feet away and helpless. All Kageyama can do is let his eyes trace over the muscles in Hinata's arms, the edge to his jaw, his mess of orange hair, and pray that everything that made Hinata Hinata was strong enough to take down a kaiju.

"I can literally feel you checking out my ass," Hinata sighs. "I don't blame you, because it sure is a fine piece of work, but you're like, angsting over my ass, and that's kind of weird."

Kageyama violently chokes on his own spit. Thankfully, their connection isn't blown wide, just narrow enough to permit emotions to jump between them, but still. "I wasn't staring at your ass," Kageyama vehemently denies.

"Oh? That's a shame then. Who else is going to appreciate it if you don't?" Kageyama doesn't even know how to interpret that. Is Hinata hitting on him? Is he simply being an annoying idiot? Is Kageyama just overthinking things like usual? Fucking Hinata always kept him on his toes.

Hinata stops examining himself in the mirror and rolls his eyes when he sees Kageyama is still struggling to come up with a reply that isn't incriminating of his feelings. "Come on, you giant nerd loser," Hinata sighs, taking Kageyama by the wrist and pulling him to their bedroom.

"Calling me a 'giant nerd loser' actually makes you sound like more of a loser than me," Kageyama says. "Who even says that?"

"What, never heard of pet names?" Hinata replies innocently, and Kageyama sputters weakly. Hinata must feel the turmoil of his emotions because his eyes suddenly can't meet Kageyama's and the smile falls from his face. "Sorry, I know I'm giving you mixed signals. I'm just...a bit wound up and I can't really tell what you're thinking."

Kageyama pulls off his shirt and tosses it to the side, watching Hinata's eyes run up his chest before he looks away again and makes a strangled noise. Kageyama raises an eyebrow. "There. Now we're both giving off mixed signals," he deadpans, changing into his sleeping boxers but not bothering with a shirt.

Hinata looks at him again and has a laugh surprised out of him. "I've missed you," he says warmly, changing too.

"I've never left you," Kageyama says, but Hinata shakes his head.

"I know that, but...I missed the ease of our conversations and the teasing. I...I'm really fond of you, Kageyama. Grossly fond." Hinata has this dumb, happy smile on his face and Kageyama feels a swelling of something he's not going to examine too closely when their bond is widening.

"Ask me to dinner before you propose, Jesus," Kageyama says with mock exasperation and earns another laugh for his teasing.

"Who said anything about marriage?" Hinata giggles. "I was just planning on taking you to bed and then dumping you." He flops backwards on their beds, pushed together again, and looks up at Kageyama. He probably doesn't mean to, but Hinata's eyes are half-lidded and his arms are tucked neatly beneath his head. His bare chest is so inviting that Kageyama's stomach flips and sends a ripple across the bond, which is returned by Hinata almost immediately when he feels Kageyama's eyes on him so intently.

It's a giant clusterfuck of feelings that Kageyama is just too damn tired to unravel.

He collapses next to Hinata, face shoved into a pillow an arm draped over Hinata's chest. Hinata runs absentminded fingers through Kageyama's hair and sighs. The levity from their conversation fades a little on his side of the Ghost Drift, and Kageyama tilts his head to the side.

"Anxious about tomorrow?" He asks quietly.

"Mm, a little," Hinata agrees. "Kenma says I have to be fast, but I don't even know if I'll find anything worthwhile from the Anteverse. What if this is all for nothing?"

"If that's your biggest fear," Kageyama huffs, "then you'll be just fine."

"I'm serious!" Hinata whines. "It's a big deal. Everyone has sunk so much time and energy and money into this plan. Now it's up to me to make it all worth the effort. That's a lot of pressure."

"Moron," Kageyama sighs. "It'll be worth it as long as you make it home safe."

"Sap," Hinata says with a grin, flipping on his side to look at Kageyama. The grin softens though when he sees the sincerity on Kageyama's face. "I won't die, Kageyama," he says gently. "I swear it. The kaiju are strong, but my willpower is stronger. I have too much to live for." He leans closer, breath fluttering across Kageyama's face, and presses a long kiss to his forehead. Kageyama's heart aches.

"I'll bring you home," he murmurs. "I swear that, too."

"I know you will," Hinata says. "I trust you."

--------------------------------------------------------

The evening of the following day, the Marshal approaches Hinata after he slips into his nerve suit, making final adjustments while Kageyama goes on ahead.

"You know, Hinata," the Marshal starts, "you can quit at any time, even now. No one would blame you for doing so." Hinata almost wants to sigh out loud. That makes everyone, then.

"I appreciate the thought, sir," he replies, tugging the kneeguard into place. "But I'm good."

Ukai looks like he wants to say something else, but hesitates a bit. "Kuroo and Kozume most likely manipulated you into feeling this way, Hinata. They played on your sympathy and curiosity and loyalty in order to assure that you would take this job."

"Oh, I'm well aware that they have," Hinata says grimly. "Kenma all but admitted it to me. But even though manipulation and deception went into my part of the plan, I understand why they did it and why it's so important that I don't say no. I don't hold it against them."

Ukai scratches the back of his neck uncertainly. "You really are the most unique pilot I've ever come across," he sighs. "Alright, I won't give you the whole spiel. You're a good kid, Hinata." He turns and walks out of the room without another word and Hinata has to grin. Despite his status as a superior, to Hinata, the Marshal sometimes reminded him of a kid trying to fill his dad's (or in this case, grandfather's) shoes. It was somewhat of a relief that Ukai wasn't a stiff-lipped, overly professional kind of guy.

When he hops into the Conn-Pod, Hinata nearly has a heart attack when he looks to his right and sees a wall of black instead of Kageyama.

"Calm," Kageyama orders gently, reassuring him through their bond. "I'm right here; it's just the Drifting apparatus."

"Why'd they put it here?" Hinata grumbles, but feels his heart rate begin to decline again. "Well, whatever. Let's get this done and over with so it can be removed." Almost as soon as he finishes speaking, the alarm goes off officially to announce a kaiju signature heading their way, and the Jaegers roar to life.

Alright! Who's ready to kick some kaiju ass? Bokuto whoops across the com. I am pumped.

There's no need for that excessive volume, Koutarou, Akaashi sighs.

Still, it is pretty exciting, isn't it? Kuroo adds. Tsukishima's trademark snort of distaste crackles through only a moment later.

Let's get going already, then, Hinata says. That kaiju isn't just going to wait for us to get him.

The little guy said it best! Bokuto crows. Let's do this shit!

And for god's sake, please stick to the plan we outlined, Saeko adds with a sigh. You kids are too excitable for an old lady like me.

Yes, Saeko-neesan, the pilots vow in unison.

Hinata almost feels bad for the Category Two as it wades through the ocean towards them. It's pretty scrawny and lacking specialized weapons as far as kaiju went. It roars when it sees the four Jaegers, and Hinata might be imagining it, but it seems to hesitate in approaching them. The Jaegers, however, have no such reservations. Gold Strike fires off a few rounds into its side, just to get it bleeding and angry. And he succeeds. The kaiju forgets any uncertainty it might have felt and charges them.

Gamma Raptor, the heaviest of the Jaegers, rushes the kaiju, firing off rounds of its own while the plasma blades of her 'claws' power-up, glowing an eerie blue in the dying light of the sun. The kaiju goes to headbutt Gamma, which is a mistake as she drives her claws into its neck and drags them down its body while also pushing it away from her. The kaiju rears back and frees itself from the claws, hemorrhaging kaiju blue and circling away in a vain attempt to recover.

Strike gives it no chance to do so, continually firing rounds into its back, even going as far as to wound its back leg enough to cripple it. The kaiju snarls in pain, limping towards them, still infuriated, but significantly weakened by its injuries.

I almost feel bad for it, Yamaguchi admits what most of them are thinking.

Don't be, Kuroo and Tsukishima say at the same time.

It would do the same to you, given the chance, Kuroo says gently.

You know that to be true, Tsukishima agrees. Remember AA.

Although it might not have been his intention, by mentioning the fallen Jaeger, Tsukishima hardens all their resolves to incapacitate the kaiju, even if that meant more or less torturing it until it couldn't move. This is most likely the last of the Category Twos, Kenma adds. The kaiju will never be this weak again.

Scrapper Nine circles around the kaiju from behind. It's clearly not happy at being trapped between two enemies, snapping angrily and growling, but it can't get away fast enough, and with a burst of speed, Scrapper charges, ocean spray flying. Scrapper isn't really designed for leaping, but by pressing off the ocean floor with all four paws, he gets enough air to sail over top of the kaiju and land squarely on its back, the weight of the Jaeger immediately shoving it underwater. The kaiju make a strangled cry as it goes down, head sinking below the surface, but Scrapper immobilizes it, standing on each one of the kaiju's legs. Its tail thrashes wildly, and that's the first appendage Gamma Raptor removes.

The claws on one hand fuse together to form a plasma blade. Alright, ready for phase one, Akaashi says calmly. Scrapper, we're going to remove its tail first since it has a blade, just in case. It's likely not to be happy about all this, so hold it steady and be prepared for thrashing.

Roger that, Kenma acknowledges.

The kaiju's screams can't be heard when Gamma cuts off its tail, but it does lurch under the water, shifting Scrapper but not throwing him off. Scrapper digs his paws a little harder into the limbs of the kaiju. Easy now, Kuroo murmurs, concentrated.

Tyrant Omega and Gold Strike observe anxiously from a moderately safe distance, Strike still crouched with his sniper rifle out, ready to take down the kaiju in one or two shots should it endanger either of the engaged teams. The first limb removal goes much less smoothly. Gamma swiftly chops of its good hind leg, but the kaiju thrashes with the desperation of a trapped animal and throws Scrapper off. Strike and Omega tense, but the kaiju doesn't charge them, just flees from its attackers weakly. Strike fires a single shot to its foreleg, stopping it in its tracks long enough for Scrapper to secure it again. Gamma doesn't screw around this time, slicing off both foreleg and back leg in one stroke, then moving to the other side to finish the job. The kaiju doesn't even protest, chest barely heaving with breath.

Phase one complete, Bokuto says grimly. Though I don't feel any sense of victory in brutalizing that thing.

Good work Gamma, Scrapper, Saeko commends from Mission Control. I know it's ugly work, but it's over now. Scrapper, you keep it pinned just in case. Omega, you're up.

Kageyama and Hinata approach the fallen kaiju, a sea of oily blue swirling around their legs as they wade slowly towards it. The kaiju looks up at them and growls faintly, but clearly not a threat. "You ready?" Kageyama asks Hinata, not really sure if he's ready himself.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Hinata replies, swallowing nervously. Kageyama does his best to comfort Hinata through the Drift as they align the neural spike over the kaiju's skull.

There, Noya's voice reaches them over the com. That's the weakest part of the superior region of its skull.

Hinata looks to Kageyama for final visual confirmation and is greeted by the black of the new equipment. Right, he thinks faintly. I'm alone in this.

Idiot, Kageyama sighs in his mind. You're never alone in a Jaeger. Especially not this one. Around them, Omega hums in anticipation of their next orders, and Hinata feels a shred of relief that Omega, at least, seems unbothered by all the happenings around them.

"Here goes," Hinata says softly, and then together, they drive the neural spike into the skull of the kaiju with a sickening crunch. They wince in unison.

"Is it working, Noya-san?" Kageyama asks.

Yup, appears to be online just like how we predicted, Noya confirms, sounding satisfied with his work. No abnormalities. Omega, you're good to go whenever you're ready. Remember, Kageyama, all you and Omega have to do is bear the weight of the neural load while Hinata fishes around for information.

Hinata's hand twitches over the new controls for the Drifting apparatus, but for the first time since he had agreed to do it, Hinata hesitates. He bites his lip. He's not...afraid...not as much as he had thought he would be, at least. The kaiju can barely manage to heave in breaths through its gills or lungs; it's clearly no match for Hinata, healthy and strong and backed by his two closest companions, but still, something is eating at him.

You alright? Kageyama probes gently.

Yeah, just... Hinata pauses. This kaiju is no problem on its own, but...I just have never faced the Anteverse without Kenma here. I don't know how they are going to react to me on my own. Kageyama is quiet—he doesn't have an answer for Hinata.

"Well, I'm not getting any younger," Hinata says cheerfully, disguising his worry with energy and enthusiasm. He taps in the code to activate the the Drifting apparatus and his fingers only shake a little. From behind him, the machine shifts and inserts a new cable into his helmet with a click. Hinata closes his eyes as a fourth link opens between the three of them, empty for the moment but heavy with the promise of something to come. Hinata's finger hovers over the button to initiate the neural bridge, and in one final committed smash of his hand, he activates it.

The machine hums to life, whirring excitedly as the transfer occurs. Hinata feels the hole in their connection filling up, while at the same time a new hole is torn in his mind. He winces at the pain, but it's not unbearable. He can see, just a little, through the whole. He feels pain, an inborn sense of duty, the faint calling of millions of voices from somewhere far away, unexpected intelligence, and then—

Not today, intruder.

Everything swiftly goes to hell.

The slow build of pressure among the three of them freefalls, sending the burden of not just the kaiju's mind, but every being connected to the hivemind hurtling onto Kageyama and Omega. Kageyama swears and howls in pain, unable to think or feel Hinata, where is Hinata? He can't move, can't fight—he's Atlas under the weight of the Earth, unable to comprehend anything but the pressure blowing his brains out and the warning sirens blaring in the Conn-Pod and thick, mucus-like substance pouring from his nose oh god it's blood, he's hemorrhaging from the weight—

Where is Hinata?

Omega shoves at the weight with all the strength of his synthetic kaiju mind, but it's like the fact that their minds are so similar enrages the kaiju because the pressure only increases, a slow-boiling rage that isn't Kageyama's bleeding into his mind despite Omega's desperate, screaming attempt to protect him.

Where is Hinata?

Kageyama can't feel the source of the kaiju, can't see the Anteverse at all. He doesn't understand why, since he should be able to see everything Hinata can see, but he can't feel Hinata, can't feel a trace of his mind or pain, or anything from his left side. He tries to plead with Omega to try and protect Hinata, but Omega won't listen, won't stop fighting the kaiju's mind from crushing them like ants beneath a boot. It was almost like Omega wasn't worried about Hinata, or didn't need to worry about Hinata...

The cold wash of dread over Kageyama's spine clears his mind under the pressure.

Where is Hinata?

Where is Hinata?

And why the fuck won't those sirens shut the hell up?

Only...only Omega and every other Jaeger in production wasn't equipped with sirens. They had alarms, but none of that blaring, tortured wailing that grated against Kageyama's ears even when he couldn't think clearly.

Oh, but hadn't this happened before? That same kind of twisted wailing.

Hinata was screaming.

FOR FUCK'S SAKE! Noya roars across the com. KILL THE KAIJU AND CUT HINATA OFF FROM KAGEYAMA BEFORE THE PRECURSORS FIND HIM, TOO!

Saeko slams the button to manually cut off the Drift between pilots at the same time Gamma drives her blade through the skull of the kaiju, snapping off the neural spike. Kageyama falls out of the Drift violently, coming to in the Conn-Pod too swiftly to be safe. He tears off his helmet and heaves, throwing up all over the floor of the Conn-Pod at the whiplash from pressure to nothing. He falls out of the command platform, collapsing on shaking hands and knees and why was Hinata still screaming?

Kageyama whips his head around and forces the nausea and dizziness down to see Hinata clawing at his helmet desperately, thrashing while still attached to the Drifting apparatus. Kageyama stumbles on his hands and knees towards Hinata, panicking over the fact that he can't even feel the Ghost Drift between them, can't tell how much pain Hinata is in and he has to save him.

Kageyama climbs to his feet and rips Hinata's helmet off, freeing him from the machine. Hinata's screams turn into sickly moans that sound so like Koushi, Kageyama's legs give out and they both collapse on the floor, Hinata trembling and spasming in Kageyama's arms. He doesn't know what to do with his hands and his vision is going blurry but Hinata won't lie still, sobbing and quaking with the weight of something Kageyama can't even comprehend.

"H-Hinat-ta," Kageyama stutters out in a whisper, teeth chattering. He reaches out a hand to brush away some hair from Hinata's temple and Hinata violently jumps away from the touch, managing to hurl the upper half of his body away from Kageyama, hyperventilating.

"Don't touch me!" He screeches, pawing weakly at the ground and shoving himself away from Kageyama. Kageyama can't even pursue, eyes wide. He looks from the blood on his hand to the bloody trail running down Hinata's neck from both his ears and the twin trails down his chin and wet on his lip from his nose. His eyes are feral and bloodshot, not a single shred of recognition in them when he looks at Kageyama.

"Hinata," Kageyama whispers desperately, mind clearing a little. "What happened?"

"I saw," Hinata moans. "I saw everything."

----------------------------------------

The moment the kaiju dies, all communication with Omega goes down. The Jaeger itself shuts down without any input by Mission Control or the pilots themselves, and the rest of the team is left completely in the dark.

What the fuck just happened?! Tsukishima yells. Is anyone getting readings from Hinata and Kageyama?

We're trying to page them, Bokuto says desperately. There's not—there's nothing—

Keep trying, Tsukishima snarls. Saeko, anything?

Shit, Saeko swears. I'm getting something. Two life signs—oh god, they're both breathing—one is hyper-panicked and stressed, the other...fuck, the other is very faint and fading fast, oh god call Ennoshita and his nurses right now!

"Fuck," Kenma whispers, clutching their head. "Fuck, Kuro, there's more—"

Can we do anything to help? Akaashi says anxiously.

"More?" Kuroo feels the blood drain from his face. "More what? More kaiju?"

There's...there's no way to do so without harming Omega's frame... Saeko says weakly.

Oh, for the love of all that is holy, Noya snarls. Tear him apart if you have to! Just get the pilots out of there! That's a direct fucking order!

Kenma gasps in pain, doubling over. "The fucking—the feedback from the kaiju is hitting me, too, shit, Kuro, they're going to see me—"

Roger that, Bokuto says grimly, and then Gamma Raptor steps towards Omega and uses a plasma claw to cut off the spines on Omega's head, clearing a space for the medical helicopter to land.

"Kenma!" Kuroo shouts. "Tell me, now! Are there more kaiju?"

We're two minutes out, Ennoshita says grimly. Kinoshita and Narita have prepared everything, so we're ready for whatever we face down there.

"No," Kenma snarls. "No there are not more fucking kaiju, this is exponentially worse if you would just listen to me—"

"What the actual fuck could be worse than having another kaiju attack us right now?" Kuroo returns the snarl, curling his lip.

Ennoshita is out of the helicopter before it even touches down. Narita is right behind him, running ahead to lift open the hatch while Ennoshita practically throws himself into the Conn-Pod, worried by the rapidly fading life signature from one of the pilots. He doesn't know what to expect, but he's prepared for anything.

He had just hoped it wouldn't be this.

Kageyama snarls like an animal when he sees Ennoshita. "Get the fuck away from us!" He roars, tightening his grip around Hinata, who he had pulled into his arms. They were curled in the corner of the Conn-Pod, blood splattered all over the floor from Hinata. Hinata is limp in his arms, tears wet on his cheeks, but lips still moving in a quiet chant.

Ennoshita takes a cautious step forward, palms up in an attempt to appease Kageyama. It doesn't work. Kageyama growls even louder, lashing out with a kick that stops Ennoshita in his tracks. "Take another step and I'll kill you," Kageyama spits.

"I'm a doctor," Ennoshita says softly. "I need to help him, Kageyama. Hinata is dying."

"Fuck off," Kageyama growls. "He's fine. He's going to be fine."

Behind Ennoshita, Narita and Kinoshita drop in. Ennoshita's brow creases and he bites his lip. "I'm sorry, Kageyama," he whispers, "but you're going to kill him by protecting him. Please don't fight." To Kinoshita and Narita, Ennoshita says, "Please secure Kageyama while I take care of the patient."

Kageyama curls his lip and bares his teeth, but before anyone can move, Hinata lets out a soft whine. Kageyama's animalistic expression falls away to concern and he focuses back in on Hinata, gripping him tightly but carefully. "Hinata?" He calls, as broken-sounding and soft as a child's.

"Can't feel," Hinata whimpers. "Can't feel them."

"Who?" Kageyama asks gently. "Who can't you feel?"

Hinata lets out a truly broke sob that shakes his tiny form. "Can't feel anything." He tries to lift himself off Kageyama and fails, arms giving out. Ennoshita feels his blood run cold, and behind him, Kinoshita swears and Narita gasps and covers his mouth.

"What is it?" Kageyama pleads. "Let me help you."

"Can't feel my legs," Hinata finally sobs. "I'm trying—" He makes a strained face and then wails when nothing happens.

Kageyama is still. He looks like a perfect statue of shock, cradling a broken Hinata who starts to cry in earnest weakly, and Ennoshita shakes himself because Hinata was really going to die pretty soon if he didn't get to a hospital. Kinoshita and Narita move towards Kageyama, but he doesn't see them, can't see anything but Hinata. They pry Hinata from Kageyama's grip and he watches them, just lets them, his eyes distant.

Ennoshita brings the stretcher forward, and Narita scoops up Hinata into his arms delicately and lies him out on the stretcher, Kinoshita strapping him in while Ennoshita looks him over. Kageyama snaps back to his senses when Ennoshita asks Hinata a few questions to keep him awake.

"What are you doing," he whispers. "He's fine, he can walk—"

Hinata hears him and then he starts to panic a little, breathing uneven and chest rising too rapidly to be healthy. "Can't," he whimpers. "I can't move them, I can't feel anything—"

"Don't touch me!" Kageyama snarls when Narita offers to help him to his feet. Kageyama stumbles upright and watches Ennoshita and Kinoshita wheel Hinata away to the hatch.

"Kageyama," Hinata says suddenly. "Where is he, where is he, let me see him!"

"For fuck's sake," Ennoshita growls. "Kageyama! Snap out of it and get over here and help me! Hinata fucking needs you right now; you don't have time to go into shock!" Kageyama jerks and shakes his head to clear it.

"Right," he whispers, and follows the medics out of the Conn-Pod, taking his place in the medical helicopter next to Hinata and holds his hand while Ennoshita starts treatment on Hinata and the nurses ask him questions he can't focus on. Neither Kageyama nor Hinata stop crying, tears dripping down their faces without acknowledgement, the first drops of rain of the storm, no longer brewing but beginning its reign.

------------------------------------------

"What's worse than another kaiju attacking us right now?" Kenma whispers. "You're asking me what's worse?"

Kuroo can't get any read off of Kenma. They have slammed the Ghost Drift shut, even blocked out Kuroo from the Drift within the Jaeger, and he is left bewildered. "Yes," he snaps. "I want to know what has your panties in such a twist that you think a kaiju attack when we're down a Jaeger isn't the worst thing to happen to us right now."

"Oh god, Kuro, what have we done?" Kenma moans. "What have we done?"

"I can't see in your mind," Kuroo says desperately. "Kenma, what's going on?"

"They saw," they hiss. "The Precursors saw everything—me, Hinata, all our weapons and plans—fucking everything. That kaiju—that kaiju committed suicide, tearing its mind apart to hurt Hinata. And you know what the worst part is?" Kenma laughs humorlessly.

"All we've seen and all we've fought? That's nothing. It's nothing compared to what they had in store for us from the very beginning, Kuro. They were waiting us out, wiping out most our defenses with the small fry, but now we've angered them. The 'general' is coming, Kuro. What have we done?"