My Precious Cargo ⚔ Volume 2 (An AtsuKage ff) ✔

XV

Tobio headed deeper into the charred village, the sight a hundred times worse now that he knew who was responsible for all of the devastation. He tried to recall conversations his father had with the council about coming to Atsumu's homeland and destroying it, yet nothing came to mind. How... This... He struggled for breath with each collapsed home and broken store, wrapped in shrubs as if the earth was trying to reclaim itself.

After stumbling through what must have the main village area, where most of the community had lived- where his friends had lived- he came across a large field, the expanse ongoing far beyond his view. At first he though the ground was littered with more debris or weaponry, but a loud crunch under his foot made him look down. Immediately he felt bile rise up in his throat and he had to clamp a hand over his mouth to hold it down. It wasn't brick, it wasn't sword, it was bones. 

A field of bones like one giant grave lay ahead of him, and he saw flashes of mothers and children crying and screaming as they tried to escape the invaders. How his father's soldiers tore them all down, stabbing and shooting until the land became a graveyard. Tears welled up in his eyes and his shoulders shook. He did not allow himself to cry. How dare he allow it when he wasn't the one who had to suffer, not the ones who had their lives and loved ones torn away in the face of fear! Fear that these innocent people were hiding a proposed army to take down his father.

His knees buckled, and the crunching sound echoed once more making him wince, recoiling into himself as it finally sunk in that his father's terror shadowed over many lives not just his own, that it reached out to many homelands not just the prison he called home...

He didn't know how long he spent staring at the valley of bones, but it was long enough for his chest to go numb, irresponsive to the stray tears falling down his cheeks. He felt rather than heard people approach from behind, the sickening crunches making his body tense when they came closer. He didn't flinch at the hands covering his own, or when a person knelt down next to him. 

"Tobio?" Atsumu called out, voice barely louder than a whisper. "Hey, Tobio, are you okay?"

The pirate frowned at how unresponsive Tobio was, just staring at the sight that still made him sick, the one he couldn't allow himself to look at right now. The Prince was cold, the way his shoulders were shaking made Atsumu become more concerned, but he didn't seem fazed at the wind that broke through his shirt. 

"Tobio?" Atsumu called out again, hands wrapping around his love's. "Tobio, please say something. Let me know yer okay. Can you do that for me, baby?"

At long last Tobio looked over to him, seeming to look through him for a moment before his eyes settled on Atsumu's. He tried to speak but his voice broke and all he could let out was a shaky breath, eyes shining as they welled up with tears again. The sight made the Captain frustrated: firstly, because he couldn't do anything to help Tobio, and second, that Tobio had to see the disaster his father had caused to so many people when he was helpless and unknowing.

Deciding that it was time to go, Atsumu carefully wrapped an arm around the Prince and helped him stand up, hugging him close until he was able to stand on his own two feet. The rest of the crew were waiting further away or had already gone back to the ship, not liking having to stay and wallow in their nightmares for too long.

"Let's go." he whispered, not removing his arm from Tobio's waist as they walked away from the sorrowful sight.

Going as fast as they could they reached the ship and boarded the deck, Suna immediately taking Tobio into his arms making the younger boy start crying all over again. Suna wanted to crack a funny joke or tease somebody, but he couldn't. Not now, at least.

"It's okay. It's okay. We're okay." was all he could say, repeatedly assuring Tobio that they were all fine and safe.

After the cries had died down a little, the two sat on the steps together whilst Atsumu went over to the wheel in preparation to leave Inarizaki. They were slow in taking off, the memories wallowing their spirits and strength, unable to take one last looks towards their homeland even though it was now nothing more than memory.

Dinner was a sombre affair. Osamu had cooked some meats but they hardly ate anything, too occupied in their own thoughts despite being physically close to each other. They ended up sitting around on the deck, the sounds of the waves a constant that anchored them to the present. But it was Tobio's voice that broke the silence.

"Why don't you hate me?" he asked, voice hoarse from all the crying.

They knew that he wasn't asking that question simply because of the events of the day, but of how easily they let him into their lives. They could have made him their prisoner, sold him on for a high bidding, or killed him in revenge for his father's actions. They could have sneered, scorned, said that he deserved all he had experienced, yet they didn't. They welcomed him, made him part of their crew, shared chores and clothes and food. They laughed with him not at him, and let him express himself freely. 

"Why?" the Prince repeated, this time a more demanding tone it.

"Why would we?" Atsumu asked, looking across to Tobio who was still being held close by Suna.

"Why would you? My father killed your homeland, I betrayed you, he threw you in prison-"

"You said yerself that you had no choice. All of those things are by your father's will Tobio, not yours." Osamu emphasised. "We won't hate you for things that you had no control over. And that... that horror you saw today, wasn't yer fault at all."

"But-"

"You've had to survive your whole life, so have we. It's not through our own faults that we are who we are today." Kita continued. 

"We're kindred spirits in that way, ey?" Suna added, offering a small smile that made Tobio look down, fists clenched.

"I'm sorry." the Prince whispered. 

"We've told you-"

"I know! I know you've told me not to apologise, but I will do it anyways. I'm sorry for everything that my father has done to you. I'm sorry that your home and your families were taken away and that I'm here everyday as constant reminder of that. I'm sorry that I had to make you suffer more because of him and I'm sorry that I can't forgive myself the way you all forgive me!"

It seemed to them like Tobio had been holding all of this in for awhile, because he slumped into Suna looking exhausted. The pirate held him close, his own tears reflecting Tobio's, and the sight was just too much to bear. Atsumu was the first one to move over, taking Tobio into his own arms whilst Kita followed and hugged Suna. Suna was also one of the youngest crew members, and he saw a lot of his family die before his eyes, so today was particularly hard for him and he simply couldn't play his usual carefree role. 

"It's okay." Atsumu assured, speaking to every single person in his crew. "We don't need the memories, as long as we have each other we'll be okay."