A River Runs Through Us - Haikyuu [IwaOi]

The River

Iwaizumi caught him before he could hit the ground. He peeled Oikawa's hands back, his entire shirt soaked through with blood, slashed through like a sacrifice. Fear loomed so large in Iwaizumi, it threatened to tear its own hole through his chest. Oikawa coughed, his eyes glassy, and a thin line of blood ran from lips. 

"There- there was a soldier. He- he went for your back, and I thought- I thought I could stop him, I- I don't know. Pretty stupid of me, huh?" 

Laughter spilled from him, his breath rattling, and he surrendered to another fit of coughing. Even know, he was beautiful. Iwaizumi picked him up, cradling him in his arms, "You're not stupid, we're just, we're just too young to have to know all of these things. Hold tight to me, we're going to get help."

Iwaizumi looked around wildly, his own arms becoming wet with blood, with the life that was escaping him. Oikawa curled against his chest as Iwaizumi began to move through the woods with little regard to his surroundings, his feet striking the earth. Each step forward felt like he was carving a path into the landscape, an inescapable march. 

Ahead of him, nestled between the trees and the river, was that old shrine. In all the times Iwaizumi had seen it before, it had appeared abandoned, but now a light flickered from within. 

"Hello? Is anyone there?" 

Oikawa tugged feebly on him, looking at the shrine, looking beyond into a wide and fearsome nothingness, "Iwa-chan... do not.. do not go there. Please."

Iwaizumi paid him no mind, running a hand over his forehead, entering the gate. The glow from within seemed brighter, like an artificial sun. He felt something cold around his ankles and he heard the rushing of water. 

"Please. We need help-" 

Iwaizumi swallowed down the half screams that scraped from his throat and headed closer to the source of the light. Oikawa placed a hand against him, "Haijme, stop- look at me-" 

The urgency in his voice froze him in his tracks, and Iwaizumi kneeled down. He realized that the ground was covered in water, clear, crisp, barely an inch in depth. He could hear it flowing, but he could not see the source. Oikawa placed a hand on his face, drawing him back. He trailed his fingers over his cheek, the harsh bone of his jaw. Iwaizumi looked at him in the brightness, the soft muscle of his arms that appeared and disappeared with the motion. He took his hands between his palms, securely. 

Oikawa gazed up at him. Simple, unadorned, glorious. Under the strange light, he looked like he was made of a thousands suns, spilling out. 

There was the smile, that reason for being. 

Even though Iwaizumi was terrified, he could not help but return it. Oikawa sighed, satisfied. He shuddered again, stretching against the pain. He opened his mouth to speak, but Iwaizumi cut him off. 

"Shhh, I think there's someone up there, just hang on, ok, Toruu-" 

"Iwa-chan?" 

"Yes." 

"Swear to me-" 

The water was at his knees now. There was a subtle shift, the murmur of splashing. It was desperately cold, and his breath crystalized before him. Oikawa grew very still. He looked up to see a woman standing over them. She stared down at the two men with eyes darker than any night, impassive, quizical. Her hair reached her waist. It was untied, flowing loose over her shoulders, even though there was no wind. She appeared to be young, but when she spoke her voice sounded impossibly old, the rasping of a distant grandmother.