Chapter Text
The winds sweep high and low over the world, and these things remain undisputed. Valleys, rivers, mountains, cliffs, crags, forests. Factions of power and might, song, dance, and rhythm. Every folk had these things. The powers of the world had always clashed, but as their people progressed, they found neater ways to clash, and the borders were settled. Karasuno, Nekoma, Fukurodani, Aoba Johsai, Date Kogyo, Inarizaki, and Shiratorizawa—they were settled, each folk defining their lines across the Vale.
It was a new age, and the factions grew tired of meaningless war. So, it was settled upon that conflicts between factions would be controlled, and any dispute would be hashed out between parties who wished to defend their borders. This was how the teams of today had been agreed upon.
The captains and commanders of each team were formidable in their own rights, using their factions prowess to gain an edge in battle, or to shake their opponents and tear them down.
Captain Daichi Sawamura of Karasuno led the crows' team with persistence and discipline, his black wings were a signature defense, and his supportive skill well-rounded. He kept his murder close, and knew how to make his teammates work together. The crows hold together with companionship and familial-like bonds, their roosts in the cliffs are a place of great community and life, flying up and down the thermals that grace the ravines and crevasses.
Lieutenant Tooru Oikawa of Aoba Johsai commanded his team of sorcerers with scary capability. The sorcerers of the plateaus were wingless, and had no flight capability; drawn by the skies, but utterly unable to soar in them. They envied winged creatures, and held significant animosity for the winged factions. Their winglessness did not make them weak—quite the opposite. Seijoh folk adapted, and found themselves marked with remarkable spellcrafting ability, casting hexes and enhancements to guide their path to utter victory. The head lieutenant Oikawa is well known throughout the realm as a shrewd combatant, and one no one are desperate to cross. His placating smile is a farce, as he enjoys antagonizing the weak, and has a personal grudge against any who think themselves better than him.
Down in Inarizaki's meadows, at the isolated southern edge of the Vale beneath the mountains gaze, the foxes make their home. Kita Shinsuke is the leader of their team of scouts, his diligence and stoicism are both regarded and feared among his kin. The foxes care for their meadows and dens with watchful eyes, keeping their border quite tight compared to factions like Karasuno and Nekoma—simply because no one wants to go there. Inarizaki is located quite out of the way, you would have to be in either Nekoma’s lands, or Aoba Johsai in order to venture there, and combined with that, the foxes are tricky, spinning disorientation upon trespassers.
West of the meadows lies a stretch of dry crags that widen into the mountains’ rain shadow, creating a low arid flatland. This is Nekoma, where the cats make their home in the shadows of the crags. Their home is in a place simply named the Hidden Settlement, a trading center holed up in a ravine on the far west side of the continent beside the sea. The lands of Nekoma are protected by a cat named Kuroo Tetsurou, whose reflexes are unmatched even among the cats. Kuroo’s party moves like clockwork, their defense has no gaps, and they ambush their opponents easily, tearing them down before they even realize the danger. Even winged opponents struggle against them, despite having no wings to counter.
The valleys of Date Kogyo lie north of Nekoma’s crags. Their land is largely untouched in the modern age, simply because of their prowess as a people. The folk of the iron valleys are similar to the folk of Aoba Johsai—they look mostly human, and seem to have no special traits that make them formidable, but as is the case with Seijoh, they are not all that they seem. The folk of Date Kogyo are gifted with short term premonition, capable of anticipating enemy attacks with ease, and their stamina and toughness is unmatched even by the eagles of Shiratorizawa. Their iron defense had labeled them as a faction often considered “not worth infiltration” by bordering factions like Nekoma. Aone Takanobu is the commander of the sentinels, he is a man of few words, despite being one of the younger combative leaders, but should never be underestimated.
Stretching at the northernmost reaches of the world lies Fukuroudani’s great forest, separated from the plateaus by the mountains, and separated from Karasuno by Runoff Bay. The owls’ forest is vast and winding, for any ground-bound race, it's suicide to go in without an expert at navigating the space, only the owls have a natural sense for gliding through the trees, ever silent and unnoticed—except for one owl, far more excitable than the rest. That owl happens to be Bokuto Koutarou, captain of the owl’s combative team. Bokuto was acknowledged as one of the most unusual owls the world had ever seen. His wingspan is massive—like most bigger owls, and his personality was even more boisterous. Bokuto was impulsive, loud, and always left an impression. However, these traits made him no less of a warrior; he was still the captain after all, and his offensive skill was unmatched.
At the center of the Vale, lies the heart of the continent, a mountain range that claws at the sky; the great peaks of Shiratorizawa, where the eagles keep their eyries high above the reach of any other faction. The eagles are proud—prouder than any other, their capital is the Sunspire Citadel, at the height of the world. The commander of their combative team is an eagle of immense status and stature; Ushijima Wakatoshi. His beliefs are solid in his stoic nature, and his existence is a statement to the power of the eagles. Factions like Aoba Johsai are nearly predisposed to despise the eagles.
The age is just beginning, with tensions between factions becoming more prominent, and competition was always a rising staple. In this new age of young warriors and scouts, a new set of fledglings were about to be trained in Karasuno, and would give the once-called "wingless crows" a new chance to rise and claim the sky once more. Daichi Sawamura was the captain of Karasuno, and was prepared to guide the new fledglings in their time at the Grand Roost. The Grand Roost was the heart of the cliffs, where most fledglings came after they learned to fly, it has hearty gusts that can catch even an owl's great wingspan off guard. It is a place of great community among the crows, where meals, nests, and resources were shared and traded. However, the Grand Roost isn't the only roost in the cliffs. The minor roosts dotted around the cliffs are where most of the hatchlings grow up and learn to fly, like the Crown Roost closer to the plateaus, or the Seaside Roost on the coast. A less known roost was the Gorge Roost to the north; it actually was located on a jagged isle not too far off the northern coast, between Karasuno and Runoff Bay, and it was quite a flight from there to the Grand Roost.
It was from this faraway and lesser known roost came a particular crow, Shoyo Hinata, a small crow with a dream of becoming the strongest warrior on the team; their ace. After he could sustain his flight long enough to cross the straits by himself, he set out of the Grand Roost, flying south over the sea winds, and arrived at the marvel of community so much larger than home. Hinata's eyes were wide with wonder, the twilight was casting an almost magical shadow over the cliffs, making the light coming from the fissures seem soft and inviting. He glided down to one of the manmade platforms that bridged between the walls of the ravine, Hinata could see so many different crows, all engaging with each other, trading supplies, and sharing meals they had hunted. That's when a certain crow caught his eye.
A tall, lean crow flew overhead, clearly a certain destination in his mind as he glided effortlessly between the fissures. Hinata took off and followed him, taking note of his appearance, he could see how effortlessly he flew, his wide wingspan catching thermals easily; almost regally. The sleek crow he was following drifted upwards, toward the height of the cliffs, and landed carefully on the edge, overlooking the roost below. Hinata managed to land beside him, touching down as he looked him over again more carefully. His face was stern, like he was harshly analyzing whatever he was glaring at, and his hair and eyes matched the dark muted blue-black of his wings—which when compared to Hinata's vivid orange hair and russet-black wings, looked sleek and almost polished.
"Hey, are you gonna keep staring at me? Or are you gonna tell me why you followed me up here?"
Hinata startled slightly, his feathers puffing defensively as the crow suddenly spoke to him with an edge of annoyance in his voice, "Uh, sorry—I mean, you just looked like you know where you're going, did you also just come from another roost? I'm Shoyo Hinata, by the way."
The crow crossed his arms and looked down at Hinata with what almost looked like disdain, but Hinata couldn't really tell what he was thinking with that look on his face, "Tobio Kageyama, and I came from the Crown Roost by the southern plateaus. I'm looking for the combative team, I'm trying to join up with them."
Hinata's eyes lit up, "Oh you're looking for them too? I came from the Gorge Roost across the strait—you probably don't know where that is, it's located—"
"I know where it is, it's on an island to the far north of here. I've seen it on maps in the Crown Roost," Kageyama interrupted, Hinata's eyebrows raised, he hadn't expected a tiny isolated roost to be recognized by someone from the Crown Roost.
"So, if you're a fledgling like me, what do you plan on doing once you're on the team?" Hinata asked, his wings fidgeting in anticipation.
"I'm going to train for the position of tactician. It's the best role on the team."
Hinata tilted his head, a tactician? Wasn't that sort of boring? You don't get to do any special attacks, or pull off any flashy rescues.
"Really? I thought you might've wanted to pick something cool like being a combatant, or maybe a defensive role, why tactician?"
"Because it's the best thing there is!" Kageyama aggressively responded, his large wings flaring defensively, making Hinata flinch in basic reaction. "The tactician is the one with the most time studying the battle, the one who calls all the shots—if you're the one who directs the team, it means you get to be the ruler! The tactician is the one who directs the way the battle will end, so of course its the best!"
Hinata thought over Kageyama's words for a bit, before three larger shadows glided down to where they were stood at the edge.
"You two fledglings new to the roost? It's almost past meal time, and the sun's down, why're you standing out in the open like this?" one of them asked. All three of them were somehow shorter than Kageyama, but still strong in build. The one who had spoken had silver hair and a soft face, his wings were dark like most crows, but he had two primary feathers near his wingtips that shimmered like silver stars. The one standing in the middle was very well built, and even had a few scars on his arms likely from previous skirmishes, his hair was a dark brown and his features firm and steady. His wings were a smooth matte black, and he stood with his arms crossed. The last crow stood with a defiant grin on his face, he seemed slightly younger than the other two, but somehow had more scars than the brown-haired crow, his hair was clipped close to his head, but it was clearly a dusty blonde colour. His wings were a dull black, and slightly ruffled, as though they'd been preened the wrong direction.
"Who're you guys? Kageyama asked, raising an eyebrow, the rough-looking one leered forward grinning sharply.
"Heard you fledglings talkin' about joining up with the warriors here—"
"Knock it off, Tanaka, you're making a damn fool of yourself," the brown-haired one interrupted, yanking the one named Tanaka back by his collar with an unimpressed look on his face. The silver-haired one chuckled lightly.
"Don't mind him, he's just a bit of an idiot. We heard you two wish to join? I'm the vice captain, Sugawara Koushi, and that's Daichi Sawamura, our captain—the delinquent here is—"
"Ryuunosuke Tanaka!" he interrupted, jabbing a thumb to his chest enthusiastically as his wings flared proudly, "You two fledglings got names, or are ya just gonna argue about your position?"
"Tobio Kageyama, I came from the crown roost north of the plains." Sugawara's eyebrows raised.
"Oh, that explains your dexterity, I hear they take flight training real serious down there, having to deal with all the technicalities of the sorcerers' wind," Suga commented, Kageyama nodded. Hinata felt talked over, so he interjected, flaring his own wings—which were comparably tiny to Kageyama's large wingspan.
"Hey! I'm here too, y'know! I'm Shoyo Hinata, and I'm going to be the ace combatant on this team!"
Tanaka cackled, throwing his head back in amusement, "Already trying to fly higher than the rest of us, ya little punk? Ha! I like you, you've got hella balls!"
"Of course an unskilled moron like you would want to be in that role—" Kageyama muttered, clearly unimpressed with Hinata, "You look like you relied on the winds of your roost to help you fly, rather than developing any real skill." Hinata turned to glare at Kageyama with the height of genuine offense.
"Excuse me..?! I trained every day in the gorge! I even flew all the way from the isle to the Grand Roost on my own! You think I coasted down the whole way?! Maybe if you came down off that perch of yours you'd—"
"ENOUGH!"
All four by-standing crows froze immediately when Daichi raised his voice, he let off a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.
"Focus, both of you are going to be training here from now on, and I won't tolerate either of you bickering with each other when we could be in a serious situation. Got it?" Daichi scolded firmly, glaring at both of them as their gazes fell to the ground.
"Yes, captain," both of them answered. Sugawara and Tanaka let out the breaths they'd been holding. Everyone was scared once Daichi raised his voice, and no one liked getting on his bad side. Daichi raised his wings ceremoniously as he looked between the two fledglings.
"Both of you are going to work as a team, whether you like it or not. We have two more fledglings that will be joining our team, in a few days, you two will pair together against them, and spar with them. If you can't prove that you can work together, then Kageyama cannot be a tactician." Kageyama flinched, his eyes widening.
"What—?! Captain, y-you can't! I have to be a tactician!" Daichi raised his hand as Kageyama's feathers ruffled in panic.
"The tactician is a position that directly affects the actions of the attackers. They are the one who gives commands to the rest of the team, directing attacks, and forming strategy on the fly. You cannot be a tactician if your mindset is arrogant—you'll only lead your team to ruin," Daichi explained patiently, "I don't plan on preventing you from joining our ranks, but if you can't prove to me that you can work as a team, I cannot allow you to be a tactician in my time as captain."
Kageyama clenched his fists at his sides, he knew he couldn't argue with the captain—especially when he looked through him like that. He let out a breath, looking down at his boots, then looked up and turned his gaze to the side defiantly.
"Fine, I'll work with him. Just—don't expect me to do it happily."
Daichi snorted and chuckled in amusement at Kageyama's defiant attitude, "You're a stubborn one, huh?" Sugawara's expression softened, and he smiled quietly.
"Well then, it's getting dark, and you two flew here yourselves so, you'll be needing a nest for tonight, right?" he offered pleasantly, gesturing further down the ravine with a wing as the silver coloured edge was caught in the moonlight, supposedly where the fledgling nests were located. The two nodded, and followed as the group flew off towards them.
They flew to the edge of the ravine, to where they could see it open up to the rest of the world. The peaks of the mountains were visible in the distance even in the dim light of the new moon, as if the sun shone on it constantly regardless of the day or night. Daichi led the group down into the ravine, where the base of it opened into a small, hidden alcove carved into the cliff. The fledglings were instructed to make themselves at home inside. Hinata ducked in, and found it was bigger and homelier than he had been expecting. The walls and corners were lined with moss and lichen, creating a softer and warmer atmosphere. The wind only entered gently, and warmed as it entered the nest, making it an ideal place for sleeping; Hinata felt the exhaustion from his flight setting into his bones the moment he entered. Kageyama found a place in one corner of the cave, and sat down on a small mass of moss, pressed down and softened for sleeping on. He found it comfortable, and claimed it as his space. Hinata chose one that was annoyingly close to the mat Kageyama had picked, but tried to shut out his presence regardless.
After settling in, and doing a quick preening of their wings (with a little help from Suga), they were called out to the cliff outside to meet the other two fledglings. Hinata and Kageyama got up from their nesting mats and ducked outside into the wind again. Outside, Daichi, Sugawara, and two new figures were waiting for them. Hinata flinched when he saw how tall one of them was, even with his wings folded they dwarfed him easily, which made Hinata's feathers puff instinctively.
"These are our other two fledglings that will be joining the team," Daichi said, gesturing briefly with a wing. Both were tall, but the blond one was practically a giant standing next to Hinata—he must've been around a foot taller. He had a relaxed look on his face, almost disinterested, and one of his hands rested on his hip as he looked down at the other two fledglings, squinting a little, his wings were furled in a relaxed position, brushing against the ground, they shimmered a dusty greyish charcoal colour in the low light. The other was slightly shorter than Kageyama, but still rather tall given the competition, his hair was dark, and shimmered almost green in the dim light of nearly-snuffed torches nearby. His wings were a matte black, similar to Daichi's, and he kept them half unfurled. His expression was similar to the taller one's, but less relaxed, almost like he was imitating the expression.
Hinata puffed out his feathers and stepped forward towards them, "I'm Shoyo Hinata! And I'm going to be the ace warrior on this team!" Daichi chuckled at the little ginger's enthusiasm.
"You're pretty set on that, aren't you?"
The tall crow tilted his head lazily at Hinata, looking down with even less interest, "Kei Tsukishima. You look like a rogue breeze would knock you off the cliff."
The other crow snickered at Tsukishima's comment, "Ah, and I'm Tadashi Yamaguchi, we're from the Seaside Roost east of here. Tsukki's a really great flier—"
"Shut up, Tadashi."
"Sorry, Tsukki."
Sugawara chuckled warmly, "Well, it's gotten pretty late, pick your places inside the nest and get settled in, we'll have the juveniles wake you guys for some morning training so you can get an idea of how things work here in the Grand Roost." The four nodded and ducked back into the alcove, Hinata and Kageyama returning to their mats, while Tsukishima and Yamaguchi picked their spots in another corner, settling down and taking refuge in the warm, cozy space. Sugawara made sure they were all settled before slipping out and flying up to his own nest.
"They're all settled in," he spoke calmly, walking into the small cavern. Daichi was overlooking a report he'd received.
"Ah, thank you, Suga." Sugawara walked over to Daichi, taking a seat on his moss mat beside him as he peered over what he was reading, "Just looking over these statistics, Ennoshita was recording some of the unusual winds coming in from the southwest."
Sugawara hummed thoughtfully, "That's the corner where the cliffs, mountains, and plateaus all meet, right? Could just be an anomaly with the snowmelt from the peaks. It is early summer, it's about the right time."
"Hmm, yeah, you're probably right, I just don't have good feelings about those sorcerers down in the plains—always meddling with Nature's forces."
"Hey, they haven't been causing us trouble for nearly six seasons now, right? Their new head Lieutenant has been too busy with his grudge against the eagles. We'll be okay," Suga encouraged, his wing brushing against Daichi's gently, making him sigh with a smile.
"You're being nicer than usual, where's that usual snark, huh?" Suga chuckled, nudging Daichi's shoulder.
"Just thinking of the team, is all. I am the vice captain after all, letting you take all the work—especially with new fledglings under our care—would be pretty cruel of me. And I don't think you want to rely on Asahi for any kind of discipline, right?" Sugawara joked, tilting his head in the direction of another very-asleep mound in the other corner of the nest. Daichi chuckled, rolling up the paper in his hand. He set it aside and laid down on his back, curling his wings comfortably around himself.
"We'll definitely have our hands and wings full with these new fledglings, that's for sure..." he commented sleepily, letting his eyes close. Sugawara laid on his side next to him, feeling himself sink into the mossy bed as a cozy sleep took over.
When dawn broke over the horizon, a crow stood stationed on the border, a previous warrior of Karasuno, who never quite forgot what it was like to be a member of the team. Keishin Ukai stood guard over the border overlooking the nook between the plateaus and the mountains, keeping watch just in case any offensive parties got any ideas about Karasuno's cliffs. It was this morning that another crew flew down to this outpost of his to speak with him, Ukai had been up all night, and was nearly ready to relieve himself so one of his comrades could take over for him, when a voice called out behind him, startling him severely.
"Sir!"
"AH—! ... Sensei! Don't startle me like that while I'm working!"
Ittetsu Takeda stood with his wings folded neatly on the ledge just above where Ukai was stationed. He glided down holding his hands up placatingly, "Sorry there—! I didn't mean to distract you from work, it had just been a while since we talked." Ukai sighed, his previous tension dissolving into mild annoyance.
"You're here to ask me again? You really don't give up, huh, Takeda?"
The teacher smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head guiltily, "No, sir, it's really the only thing I'm good at."
"Well, I have to say that my answer hasn't changed, so I'm sorry, but you've flown down here for not much at all." Ukai crossed his arms, his gaze falling back to the splitting border below the cliffs. That invisible line was one he had carefully memorized, ever since his time as a scout for Karasuno.
"Even if the new fledglings are impressively promising?" Takeda asked, his tone slighting with intrigue. "We have a new set of fledglings who are all ready and eager to fly, one even wants to become the ace already according to Sawamura. If they're going to become great warriors, then they need a proper instructor, not just an experienced captain. I'm just a teacher, and I don't have any experience in real combat—but you show your capability by guarding this border every other day yourself! I can't think of anyone more qualified."
Ukai let off a breath, his wings adjusting as Takeda spoke, "You just want me to be the instructor for the namesake, don't you?"
Takeda shifted, "I can't say that that isn't part of it, but you used to be a tactician for Karasuno's combative team, right? I think that this is a great chance to help these kids become greater than their opponents, and you wouldn't be hurting anyone by leaving this post either—you have your personal team to cover for you."
"I can't say yes to a position like that. I wouldn't be cut out for it," Ukai replied firmly, giving Takeda a stern expression. The teacher looked down with a twinge of disappointment, then offered a formal bow.
"I'll leave now, please think it over one more time—"
With that he stepped back and took off once more, heading back towards the Grand Roost. Ukai sighed a final time, he knew he'd be back not too long from now once more—he'd lost count of how many times that poor teacher had come to beg him to become the team's instructor, and he didn't know how long he would continue to beg him to either.
"Damn that Takeda, givin' me a real headache..."