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Every year, Camp Half-Blood takes in demigods, near and far, be it for temporary safe haven during the school breaks or more permanent residence for those who require more extended periods of guidance and shelter. For all children of the gods, the camp welcomes all. Beyond the gates and past the Mist, there you will find warriors in training, honing their skills in both combat and strategy – whatever it takes to prepare them for what lies ahead. For some, it's rigorous training with the provided weaponry. For others, it’s forging aforementioned weaponry, and then for those who are less… disaster resistant, their time is best spent reviewing, analyzing, and implementing precautionary measures to utilize in the future. Each role holds their importance, regardless of what some prejudices may make others believe. As is their sworn duty to nurture these demigods into heroes like their predecessors, it comes to no surprise that the camp hosts fun “bonding” activities to ensure every camper is valued and may exhibit the talents they’ve honed thus far. Camp Half-Blood is a summer camp after all, right?
It goes without saying, the day capture the flag team captains were announced to start off this summer’s festivities, nothing good would come of it. It was the most anticipated game of the century, considering the two chosen have been feuding since their first meeting. On one end of the bonfire, Iwaizumi Hajime, captain of the red team and head of Ares Cabin, stood before his adversary with his arms crossed as he called out for “heads.” The surrounding campers watch with anticipation as the drachma spins through the air, a chorus of groans and cheers flooding from each side when Chiron calls out the result.
“Tails.”
“Aw, that’s too bad. Better luck next time, Iwa-chan,” his opponent teases, making Hajime’s glare darken. He watches as Oikawa Tooru, captain of the blue team, head of the Athena Cabin, and biggest thorn in his side, turns his back towards the flames and instantly calls out the first cabin he chooses on his team.
“Demeter Cabin, you’re with me.”
Murmurs rise through the crowd as they break apart to allow the members of Cabin 4 to approach him, a mixture of confusion and doubtful grumbling as they make their way through. By no means was Demeter cabin anything to scoff at, overlooking anyone would be a rookie mistake, but typically in war games, priority went towards either speed (Hermes Cabin) or defense (Hephaestus Cabin), so what is Oikawa’s angle? Some eyes fell towards the silver haired boy who broke away from the crowd and padded over to their team captain, a bright grin ever present on his face as he playfully punched Oikawa’s shoulder. Some looked beyond, zeroing in towards the fox-eyed second in command, Kita Shinsuke, who had made his way towards Kenma Kozume, not wasting a second before delving into strategies. Iwaizumi paid no mind to either of them, instead zeroing in on the Demeter Cabin head approaching them.
“Ushijima-san,” he nods curtly.
“Iwaizumi,” olive eyes glance back at him in a stern but nonthreatening manner. “I look forward to engaging in battle once more. It is truly a shame it will not be with both of you, but surely the chosen son of Athena will suffice as a teammate.”
Iwaizumi opens his mouth to retort, but Oikawa interrupts them. “This teammate— No, captain —has a name, Ushiwaka.”
“Yes, of course, Oikawa Tooru. How could I forget?”
“Ugh, you’re annoying as always. Definitely did not miss that.” Oikawa’s nose wrinkles, already loathing the premise of having to work together with Ushiwaka of all people, but having Demeter Dorm was crucial to his plans.
“Worry not, Oikawa. I acknowledge your prowess on the field, and you are a valued friend of my half-siblings. I shall entrust that you are capable enough to devise a win.”
“Of course,” Oikawa’s brow twitches in annoyance, but he manages to plaster a smile. “As long as you know how to follow directions, I can’t possibly see how this could go wrong.”
Chiron clears his throat before their conversation has a chance to escalate and gestures towards Iwaizumi to pick his first team. Naturally, as Ares cabin is already high offensive and strength, it was obvious he’d choose Hephaestus Cabin.
Once more, the crowds parted as another group approached the bonfire. Iwaizumi smiles as Sawamura Daichi makes a beeline towards him and shakes his hand.
“I’m excited to work with you again, Iwaizumi. I’m happy to say the boys and I have been working all of last summer on some new toys, and we can’t wait to break them out.” Their polite smiles morphed into matching mischievous grins.
“We haven’t even started yet, and you’re already spoiling me Daichi. Next, you’re going to tell me a cannon is involved.”
“I mean…”
“Stop, you’re going to make me blush.” Iwaizumi playfully shoves the other cabin head as the other laughs.
The two of them were so preoccupied with bantering with one another, they didn’t notice that Oikawa picked his next cabin. It’s only when he feels a chill run up his spine that Iwaizumi looks back up towards their opponents once more. In the corner of his peripheral vision, he sees that Ushijima had strayed off and joined in the conversation between Kita and Kenma along with Shirabu from the Athena Cabin. He then looks towards Oikawa who was happily preoccupied with Sugawara– about what, he’s not sure. Then his gaze finally fixes on the new presence looming behind the two friends. Cold, calculating teal eyes silently observe him, as if dismantling him layer by layer and glaring into his soul.
Akaashi Keiji.
It takes Iwaizumi another moment to process the meaning behind the other boy’s presence. If Akaashi was there, that meant Oikawa had chosen Aphrodite Cabin as the next cabin to join his team. Again, an unusual choice, maybe even terrible. Sure, the Aphrodite half-bloods shared similar traits to those of the Ares Cabin, from a similar streak of competitiveness along with an unapologetic ruthlessness that could cripple foes for miles, but that only applies if the goal is interesting enough—and that would have to apply to all of them. Otherwise, they don’t bother putting in the effort, especially for a pointless physical activity. Before he can question further, Chiron interrupts him again to pick another Cabin.
The rest of the team selections went without a hitch. Together with Hephaestus Cabin, Iwaizumi was also able to acquire Hermes Cabin along with the non-Olympian children like Kuroo and Bokuto from Nemesis and Nike, respectively. Meanwhile, their opposing team took the participating Apollo cabin members, the remainder choosing to wait on standby at the medical tents. Theoretically, Iwaizumi should be ecstatic. He had the dream team– offense, defense, speed, and wit… but why can’t he shake that sense of unease crawling up his back. It was too convenient that he got his perfect team while Oikawa just chose all of his friend’s cabins. Something was off, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.
It was evening when he managed to corner Oikawa alone outside of the dining pavilion, pulling him into a secluded corner. He doesn’t bother acknowledging the wince as the other boy chides him for being a brute, instead focusing on interrogating the other boy.
“Talk.”
“If this is your way of trying to flirt with me, I’m afraid you’re going to be sorely disappointed. You’re supposed to slam a guy into a wall and pin him after dinner, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa giggled and had the audacity to reach up and tap Iwaizumi on the nose. “ Boop .”
“Stop fucking around. You know exactly what I’m talking about, Birdbrain. The game, the teams– what is your angle?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I just picked who I work with best. If anything, you should be thanking me– you have quite the arsenal this year.” That earns Oikawa another shove against the wooden beam as more rage bubbles in Iwaizumi’s gut.
“Take this seriously! You know Shittykawa, the point of capture the flag is to fight and win, right? You can’t just go off and pick your friends. This isn’t grade school.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Oikawa blinks, taken aback and slightly offended.
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Iwaizumi mocks back.
“Well, it’s not.”
“‘ Well, it’s not.’ Then what is it then? You expect me to believe that you willingly chose to be on a team with not only Ushijima Wakatoshi, who you’ve hated more than me since you first arrived, you chose literal beauty queens and healers over tanks and pickpockets.”
I don’t believe you’re privy to that kind of information Iwa-chan. It would be in poor taste for me to reveal my personal battle tactics to the enemy, you know?”
“So you’re just trying to lose on purpose then?” The grip tightened around the collar of Oikawa’s shirt, the edge of his knuckles pressing against his collarbone as he leaned in closer. “I knew you were a lot of things, but I never took you for a coward, Oikawa.”
At that, Oikawa pushes him off, straightening out and crossing his arms in disapproval. “I’m not going to stand here and let some ungrateful, muscle headed brute manhandle me and accuse me of being a coward just because he’s too narrow minded to comprehend anything outside of combat.”
“Why not? You’re obviously going to lose. Let’s face it, whatever it is you're planning, it’s dumb, and I don’t appreciate a meaningless victory if my opponent is this incompetent.”
Tension grows as both of them stare down at each other, neither willing to be the first to break eye contact and yield. In the end, it was Oikawa who turned his head away.
“If you can’t see what I’m trying to do, that’s your own issue.” His voice drops eerily low, and Iwaizumi has to strain his ears to hear him. “It’ll be all the sweeter when we take that flag from your grubby little fort. Anything else you want to say, say it on the battlefield– you’ve already wasted enough of my time when you should be getting ready for war.” He slips past Iwaizumi, purposely knocking his shoulder into the other’s.
“O-oi, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.” His usual sing-song voice fills the air. Iwaizumi’s stomach drops as he turns back and calls out to him, unease increasing tenfold at this new, unfamiliar side to Oikawa.
Why is this happening to him?
Iwaizumi’s body aches in protest as he dives towards the ground to narrowly dodge another explosion, a puft of ominous smoke clouding into the air. He thought about whether he should just lay there and pretend to be paralyzed for the rest of the game, but his pride refused to let him give up. Still… Sugawara Koushi was terrifying.
Iwaizumi’s team had been running for what felt like hours trying to put some distance between them and the silver haired menace, but the latter kept finding them and throwing gods knows what. He narrowly managed to escape, but at what cost? One camper incapacitated his entire squad—and Iwaizumi knew exactly who to blame.
He cranes his neck and glares wearily at his walkie talkie. Iwaizumi doesn’t need to see him to know his teammate on the other line is probably fidgeting sheepishly in guilt. He just clicks the receiver and doesn’t bother using the usual military protocol before addressing his friend.
“Daichi, report....” -click-
<<Um, hi Iwa?>> -click-
“Don’t ‘Iwa’ me. How did you forget to tell me about the bombs you built for Sugawara!” he screamed, throwing his arms up in disbelief, stealth and disclosure be damned.
<<Okay, first of all, they were smoke bombs. Plus, that was years ago!>> the line shrieks in feedback when Daichi protests. <<You know he’s always had issues controlling his powers, so I made him some to help get rid of the excess flowers.>>
“Why does he have so many though?”
<<Dude, it was a lot of flowers. You weren’t there when he covered the entire camp in dandelions.>>
“That doesn’t explain why they explode?!”
<<I don’t know! It’s just supposed to release a mild pesticide!>>
“Does this sound like a mild pesticide to you?” He raised his walkie talkie in the air and held down the receiver as another bang permeated the air. “These things have already knocked out a few guys. If not from the impact, whatever they’ve been filled with is making them drop down like flies.”
<<Well, gee Iwa, as much as I would love to drop everything and run to help you.>> Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the sarcasm dripping from Daichi’s voice. <<I’ve got my hands tie with–oh, I don't know– holding the fort while we’re under attack!>>
“What do you mean we’re under attack?” Iwaizumi blanches.
<<I don’t know. We just are and we’re getting swamped here!>>
“How?!”
<<If I could tell you, I would, but I’m being straight with you Iwa. I checked all of the alarms, and none of the traps were set off.>>
It’s just not possible. All of the Hephaestus and Hermes campers spent the last week setting traps along our side of the forest, including but not limited to tiger pit trapdoors, deadfalls, tripwire mechanisms in the trees to shoot spears, giant fly traps, plus something Tendou had a bit too lovingly referred to as “Arachne’s Portal of Fun.” They even had a child of Hecate warp the Mist to hide everything! There’s absolutely no way that many of the Blue Team campers made it past all of the traps.
“Check again. There’s got to be a mistake and your alarms probably malfunctioned, or something.”
Iwaizumi tunes out Daichi’s adamant protests. He knows that it is unlikely for Daichi of all people to make a mistake on anything related to programming and builds. However, pretending that there could be an issue in the program is better than acknowledging the possibility that the blue team actually avoided all of their hidden traps. He’d rather not entertain that thought at all.
No matter, their opponents were advancing at a much more rapid pace than they were, not to mention his squad is completely obsolete thanks to a singular maniac, and that won’t do.
Iwaizumi cuts Daichi off mid-rant and tells him he’ll get back to him momentarily and hastily switches channels, paging his other squad.
“Trick 5, War 4, do you copy? Over.”
<<Ack—heyo, IwaIwa, what’s up?… oh, right, over.>>
“Progress report on the Hermes dispatch to the North wing, break. Any sight of the blue team’s flag, over.”
Iwaizumi waits as more static and a few grunted curse words filter through the receiver, making his dread grow with anticipation.
<<Ah, yeah… about that… hypothetically, how mad would it be if I said a bunch of them are pinned to a tree somewhere?>>
“What?”
<<Look, I won’t lie, Semi Semi’s always been a scary shot, but add him and the Miya Twins, we were way out of our league. We didn’t see them coming.>>
“Oh for the love of—who’s left?”
<<Just Me and Yuu, Hiro got a nasty skewer to the shoulder and last I saw of Mori and Sho, they were getting pelted by the twins.>>
Iwaizumi grimaces, not liking those odds. Sure, Tendou had a formidable danger sense while Nishinoya had dexterity and stamina for days, but he doubts that would be enough against the apparent army of archers at the ready against them.
“Head to the rendezvous point. We need to regroup and see who we have left.”
<<Roger! See— Woah ! Seriously?! Anywhossle, see you in a few IwaIwa, hopefully.>>
Iwaizumi pinches the space between his brows and mumbles to himself. “Yeah, hopefully.”
Quickly, he switches channels again, this time connecting himself to Futakuchi.
“Mist 6, War 4, copy. Do you read me? Over.”
<<Yeah, no, I’m not doing you stupid code thing. I’m here, what do you want, Iwaizumi?>>
Iwaizumi glares at the receiver, mentally noting to scold the brat later. “I’m checking in with you because apparently the blue team got past your Mist and avoided all the traps. You didn’t, I don’t know, stop it, did you?”
<<… That’s not how Mist works, moron.>>
“Listen here you—“
<<Alright, whatever. You’re wasting time yelling at me. No, I didn’t do anything, and as far as I’m aware, everything is still intact. Maybe the traps just didn’t go off because they were poorly assembled.>>
“If that’s true, I’ll let you be the one to tell the cabin of fire resistant blacksmiths and the cabin of pranksters that their traps were ‘poorly assembled’ .” Iwaizumi retorts dryly.
<<Oof, yeah, no thanks. Are we done here? I’m kind of busy trying not to, y’know, get captured and thrown in jail.>>
“Fine, yeah, whatever, dismissed.”
He takes a moment to check his surroundings for any other presences or threats before treading off to the clearing by the territory border to meet up with Tendou. Once clear, he returns to his channel with Daichi.
“Corvid 1, War 4, copy, over.” He waits a beat, pressing the receiver again. “Corvid 1, do you copy, over.”
More silence follows.
“Daichi, respond. What’s going on?”
<<Apologies Iwaizumi-san,” he’s body stiffens at the cold, calculating voice crackles through. “but Daichi-san is unable to attend to your call at the moment. Shall I take a message?>>
“A-Akaashi… where’s Daichi?”
<<As I mentioned previously, he’s preoccupied. I take that things are not going well on your end based on the desperation of your tone?>>
“You, when I get my hands on–”
<<Shouldn’t you be attempting to retrieve my team’s flag instead of making empty threats? Not that it matters. We’re about to cross the border in a matter of minutes.>>
Not a moment later, a flash of red races through the trees and he sees Ushijima sprinting through the clearing with the flag trailing behind him. With the last of his energy, Iwaizumi breaks out in a sprint towards Ushijima, screaming out his name as he tries to close the gap.
He can do this. Ushijima might be big and strong, but Iwaizumi has always been faster. He can catch up, use the momentum to jump him and take him out. He will get their flag back, regroup with whoever is left, scrap together a new plan, and win the game.
Iwaizumi’s body collides into Ushijima, effectively knocking over. He takes the opportunity to slam the flat of his arm guard into his face, smirking at the satisfying crunch under the back of his hand, and then again.
“Hand…over… our… flag!” Iwaizumi swings again for another hit, but his hand gets caught. He tries with his other hand, but when that gets caught as well, he immediately goes for a headbutt. The recoil makes Ushijima let go, and both of them collapse onto the ground. Iwaizumi recovers first and instantly dives towards the flag– but it’s not there . His body whips towards the other camper, and he instantly grabs the front of Ushijima’s shirt.
“WHERE IS IT?” Ushijima looks back towards him unamused, blood seeping down from his broken nose and an already darkening bruise forming over his creased forehead. He shakes the front of his shirt again, watching the larger boy’s head bobble back and forth as he continues to scream in his face. “Where the hell is our flag, Ushijima?!”
“I never… had it…”
“Then who–” An air horn blares through the surrounding speakers, signaling the end of the game. “ –No… No, no, no– How? No!”
Iwaizumi’s head whips up and searches around the border, frantically searching for someone, anyone, but all he saw were trees and dirt. He kept switching between Ushijima and the emptiness in disbelief. He saw it– he knows he did. Ushijima had the flag! There’s no way it would disappear!
And then like magic, a new figure appears, showing shiny, coffee hair and toffee eyes. In one hand held a familiar looking baseball cap that Iwaizumi had heard about time and time again but never believed the owner’s claims, and in the other, a bundle of shimmery fabric.
With a mix of horror and defeat, Iwaizumi helplessly watches his team flag unfurl in the hands of Oikawa Tooru as the color transitions from red to blue.
“I win.”
Oikawa wasn’t happy about his win.
Okay, not to brag, but he knew his team was going to win. He had been planning his strategy over the past year, long before he even knew he was chosen as one of the captains. Obviously, when he found out he was up against Iwaizumi, he knew it was going to be an iconic battle royale, a real brains versus brawns, and his biggest rival would definitely make him earn his win– except he didn’t . Oikawa barely paid attention to the congratulations ceremony or the celebratory cheers of his teammates. It was easy– too easy. It was almost as if…
He marches towards the medical tents, dramatically throwing back the entrance flap before stomping up to Iwaizumi and back handing him in his stupid face.
“Ow– what the hell!”
“How dare you, Iwaizumi Hajime!” Oikawa seethed. “You had the audacity to lecture me about not taking things seriously– which again, was extremely ignorant of you, so fuck you for that too– but you were the one who didn’t take me seriously enough to actually strategize against us despite me giving you the perfect team!”
Oikawa reaches up again to smack him, but is stopped by the attending Apollo cabin healer, Semi. “Careful, Tooru. I already patched him up and gave him the recommended dose of ambrosia. I don’t need you giving him a concussion.”
Ugh, fine. Whatever.” He rolls his eyes, but returns his attention to Iwaizumi, rage and disappointment still radiating off of him. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
It takes him a moment to recover from the slap and another for Oikawa’s words to sink in. “What do you mean you ‘gave’ me the perfect team?”
“Is that seriously the only part you heard?” the brown haired teen scoffs and places his hands on his hips.
“No, but that’s the part that doesn’t make sense. If my team was so perfect, why didn’t you take them for yourself.”
“Ugh, you’re so dumb.” he rolls his eyes, and Iwaizumi has to bite back the urge to insult him back. Instead, he lets the brunette shove him to the side and watch Oikawa sit himself on the edge of the bed. “Even if I did pick Hephaestus Cabin or Hermes Cabin first, I could only pick one of them while you would get the other.”
“So? That’s how it’s always been. Ares Cabin for Offense, Hephaestus for Defense, and Hermes for Speed.”
“With that logic, I would automatically be at a disadvantage seeing as you’d be getting two to my one.”
“It still doesn’t make sense why you would allow me to get both dorms. Wouldn’t it make more sense to split them up?”
“No, they’d just get in the way.”
Iwaizumi blinked back at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Okay, Iwa-chan, I’m going to break it down for you really simply so even a boar-headed brute like you can understand, capisce?” Iwaizumi opens his mouth to protest but is interrupted by a finger being shoved in his face. “Do you or do you not want me to explain? I don’t have to waste my time telling you anything if you’re not going to listen.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Thought so,” a smirk crosses his face before his lips stretch into a thoughtful line. “Let’s see… to put it simply, the Hephaestus Cabin is too stiff, Hermes Cabin has difficulty following orders, and the solo Cabins are unpredictable.”
He waits for Iwaizumi to process his words and hopefully come to his own conclusions, but instead his brow furrows. “I don’t get it.”
“Okay, let me put it this way– if memory serves correctly, Dai-chan was the one who led all the builds?” Nods. “And I take it a majority of his inventions revolved around a single purpose of either trapping our team or increasing your firepower? It never occurred to any of the cabin members to make anything multi-purpose?”
Iwaizumi sat there, stumped. “I mean… maybe. I never asked.”
“And why didn’t you?”
“I…” I didn’t think I needed to. “Daichi said he had it covered.”
“Dai-chan is too simple minded, not at all creative,” Oikawa shrugged. “I think you experienced that first hand with your little tumble with Kou-chan– you can thank Kenma for that little upgrade by the way. He and Kou-chan found out about that fun little effect when they were attempting to refill some of his pesticide modules.”
Iwaizumi winces at the memory, but he acknowledges the point being made. “Okay, I can see how that could have been a problem you didn’t want to deal with, but what about Hermes Cabin. You said they aren’t cooperative.”
“I said they have difficulty following orders.” Oikawa tsked. “It’s a known fact that they have short attention spans.”
“We’re demigods, a good percentage of us have ADHD, Stupidkawa.”
“ADHD doesn’t even begin to describe what they have,” he responds instantly, his tone indicating the years of trauma faced under the whims of these aforementioned deviants. “But that’s not what I’m trying to get at. The Hermes kids sort of… act before they think. Like, I don’t need to read Shirabu’s detailed report to know that Chibi-chan was the first to get pinned down by the archers because he didn’t check for traps. Not to mention, you probably had them all traveling together rather than solo, so veteran players like Yaku-chan and Ten-chan had to watch out for the little guys rather than fending for themselves.”
“Watching out for your comrades is a good thing.” Iwaizumi retorts, not seeing how helping out their teammates could ever be seen as a bad thing. That’s the point of being in a team.
“In a game, yes, but not in war. Every pawn needs to be able to hold their own to a certain extent. Yes, you have allies there to cover your blindspots, but at the end of the day, it is not their responsibility to carry you if you can’t get back up.”
“That’s cruel, even for you.”
“I’m right though, aren't I?”
“So you tricked me then, is that it?” Iwaizumi clenches his fists against the sheets of cot he was propped on, feeling himself getting heated again. He hated the idea of getting played by Oikawa. “You said you gave me the perfect team, but then you go off about their shortcomings. So what is it then?”
“You need to listen better, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa pouts. “They were the perfect team for you, not me. If you just thought about it a little more, you could have easily overwhelmed us.”
“I thought I could.”
“Well, you obviously didn’t.” Iwaizumi tries to protest again, but one skeptical look instantly makes him second guess himself. “Humor me. Based on what you saw this morning and what I’ve told you, why do you think I picked the dorms that I did?”
Iwaizumi pauses for a moment, reviewing today’s events from his perspective, and comes to a few conclusions.
“You picked the Apollo Cabin for long-range defense. Despite their affiliation for archery, they flew under my radar because only a part of them were participating which you used to your advantage.”
“We wanted to focus more on stealth and mobility. A smaller team is easier to manage and choreograph, so why make more work for Ken-chan and Shirabu?” Oikawa adds cheerfully. “It also helped that Atsu-chan and Osa-chan are extremely competitive and in sync with each other. Tenacity and petty sibling fights are great motivators, you know?”
“Yeah, apparently they shot down the entire Hermes dispatch. Makki’s pissed that he’s going to be in a cast for the summer.”
“He’ll get over it. What else did you find out?”
“You also had Sugawara stay behind to defend the flag because of his… accessories. Was he the sole reason for you choosing the Demeter team?”
Oikawa shakes his head. “That was one of the reasons. Like I said, he and Kenma found out about the explosive properties of Daichi’s gift by chance, but I classified them as a limited resource and didn’t know how long they would last if Kou-chan missed any of you guys.”
“Trust me, he took down plenty of us.” Iwaizumi chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But if that wasn’t the only reason, why did you choose them?”
“I needed Ushiwaka as a red herring.”
“You what?” Iwaizumi sputters as his eyes bulge, not expecting to hear that as a reason. Oikawa looks at him with an exasperated look.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I really hate the guy.”
“Yeah, everyone in camp knows that.”
“Exactly, which is why everyone’s focus was on him during the bonfire. I hate to admit it, but he was the strongest player we had, so it was obvious he had a target on his back, so…” he trails off from his explanation, looking expectedly at Iwaizumi to finish it.
“If everyone focused on Ushijima, no one would notice anyone else around him…” he responds slowly, then realization and embarrassment dawns on him when he recalls how he instantly tackled the aforementioned boy and mauled him with little resistance. “... including me.”
Oikawa laughs at his horrified expression and pats him on the back. “Don’t beat yourself over it. You already beat Ushiwaka plenty.”
Iwaizumi covers his face in mortification. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that I fell for such an obvious trap or the fact I forgot about your stupid invisibility hat when you snuck away.”
“Details, details. It was a loss, regardless.”
“You’re really shitty, you know that?” he glares at the other boy who grins at him teasingly.
“Only for you Iwa.” He winks. “Now, last one. You got two cabins down, just one more.”
Iwaizumi ponders as he thinks about the last cabin on Oikawa’s team. He draws a blank however, unsure exactly how Aphrodite cabin fits in any of his devious plans. Seeing that the other was struggling, Oikawa eventually gave him a hint.
“Pop quiz, what’s an ability that some Aphrodite children are known to possess?” and then it clicks.
“Akaashi is a charms–?!” Oikawa slaps a hand over his mouth, muffling the rest of the word.
“Shhhh, not so loud.” He looks over his shoulder, his tense shoulders relaxing when he sees that they’re the only ones in the infirmary. “Yes– Maybe…well, sort of? He doesn’t think he is, but Kou-chan and I have our suspicions.”
“Okay? So how does him maybe being one relate to him being essential to the team. Did he ask one of my guys to pass him the flag?” Iwaizumi questions mockingly, but there’s a small hitch in when he sees Oikawa staring back at him with an unimpressed look. “They– he didn’t, did he?”
“No, that would be lazy. Do I seriously look like the kind of guy who would suggest something as low as that?”
“Yes,” Iwaizumi responds instantly, wincing at the slap that soon follows.
“Iwa-chan, mean!” Oikawa whines, balling up his fists and repeatedly beating against the growing sore spot on Iwaizumi’s arm. “I would never be so underhanded. What kind of person do you take me for?”
“Okay, okay, I get it– ow ! Stop hitting me!” he bats around the other’s hands and glares at him. “Are you going to tell me what really happened or not?”
Oikawa sits back with a huff.
“Fine. As I was saying, we’ve been suspecting that Keiji-kun was someone with this affinity, so we figured he would be the best person to scout for traps and locate where you were hanging the flag because the Mist doesn’t work on him.”
Iwaizumi resisted the urge to smack himself. It was so obvious in hindsight. Generally speaking, the Mist is an advanced form of glamour, so powerful that even demigods can fall for it if they’re not paying attention. However, those with the ability to charmspeak aren’t affected by other forms of charmspeak and glamour. Akaashi was practically immune to Futakuchi’s tricks, probably.
“Wait, hang on. You said it wasn’t confirmed though. So you sent him out, alone, because of a hunch? What would happen if you were wrong?” He looks down at his clenched fists, a heavy weight of guilt settling in his stomach. “He could have gotten hurt.”
“No he wouldn’t.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?! You don’t know half the things we set up out there. If he couldn’t see anything and triggered any of them blindly, then–”
“Iwaizumi Hajime, do you honestly think Keiji-kun is stupid enough to carelessly walk through perceivably empty enemy lines?” Oikawa scoffs. “I didn’t send Keiji-chan as a scout because of a hunch. He was assigned to do recon because he’s smart and capable.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t–erm, was? I mean, I know he’s not that helpless…” He might have accidentally implied it, but Iwaizumi knew that the younger boy could hold his own. “I’m just saying.”
“ Helpless ?” Oikawa bristles at that. “In case you forgot, Futakuchi hid everything, like an amateur.” He jabs a finger into Iwaizumi’s chest. “An empty clearing was the first thing we noticed when we swept the area, so everyone was on high alert. Sure, I don’t know if Keiji-chan was able to see something or dispel the Mist, but none of that matters when he was the one who observed the unusual shadows, which, by the way, is how the rest of us got through.”
Iwaizumi sits up, not caring that he was so close to Oikawa until their noses brushed.
“You guys got lucky,” he growls.
“We weren’t lucky, your team was sloppy.”
“You tricked me.”
“I outsmarted you.” Oikawa then pushes him back down, cutting him off before he can argue further. “Just admit it, Iwa-chan. You lost because you had a physically stronger team and expected to muscle your way into an easy win. You didn’t consider the other team’s skill set or make any counter measures against any of us. You even got mad and accused me of messing around, but you were the one that didn’t take me seriously!”
Iwaizumi grits his teeth, not wanting to admit defeat, but Oikawa was right. He had been thinking of their capture the flag match as a game instead of a battle simulation. He didn’t see the blue team as a threat, and he horribly misjudged them just because of their godly parents. He settled on winning the battle rather than winning the war, and that was his downfall.
Worst of all, he underestimated Oikawa.
“Tooru, I didn’t mean to–”
“Don’t you ‘Tooru’ me. Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for that comment you made about me being a coward and trying to lose on purpose. I know you hate me and all, but I didn’t think you thought so little of me.” His voice waivers in the second half, showing the slightest bit of vulnerability.
“I don’t… hate you.”
“Don’t lie. You made it very clear you didn’t want anything to do with me during my claiming.” Iwaizumi felt like he got punched in the gut. He really was the worst.
“I don’t– it wasn’t because…” his mind swirled, trying to find the right words to say.
What was he supposed to say though? That he was threatened because Athena and Ares were always at odds with each other over who was the true god of war? That he felt lonely watching how easily Oikawa integrated into his actual cabin and lashed out? That at the sudden realization that the brunette didn’t need him at all, he felt… insignificant? They all sounded like pathetic excuses, and he knew better than to tell Oikawa anything but the truth.
“I’m an idiot.” He mumbles, running a rough hand through his sweat-matted hair. “I reacted poorly. I shouldn’t have jump to conclusions, and I’m nothing more than a stupid–”
“You’re not stupid.” Oikawa's soft voice interrupts.
“Tooru, just let me have this.”
“No,” Oikawa presses a finger against Iwaizumi’s lips and shushes him. “You’re a brute. You’re impulsive, brash, easy to provoke, not to mention disappointingly ignorant, but we can work on that last part. You are arguably the most stubborn, pig-headed camper on this side of the island and you make a lot of dumb decisions– but you are not stupid.”
Iwaizumi’s face grows hot and he blames it on the nectar still running through his system. With an unusually gentleness, he grabs Oikawa’s wrist and moves it from his mouth.
“Aren’t dumb and stupid the same thing?” he asks lamely. The flick on the forehead he gets in response definitely doesn’t surprise him and for the first time today, he lets out a chuckle.
“Dummy,” is all Oikawa mumbles under his breath, but a ghost of a genuine smile crosses his face.
Not a moment later, Semi suddenly reappears to check on Iwaizumi’s condition. Once he was cleared, no sudden cracks or signs of exploding present, the Apollo Cabin Head ushers him to his feet and tells him to hit the showers. He also shoos Oikawa out, even scolds him to go eat something as the pavilion closes in 20 minutes. Before they knew it, both of them were effectively kicked out of the tent. They share a look and Iwaizumi can't help the burst of laughter that bubbles out when Oikawa’s stomach instantly growls.
“It’s not that funny!” Oikawa’s face goes pink and he tries to swipe at him, which only makes him laugh more.
“I’m sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you over the lions roaring in your stomach.” Iwaizumi chortles, pointing at the other boy’s noisy stomach. “Seriously, I think I heard an echo.”
“Mean, Iwa-chan, mean! Stinky, meanie Iwa-chan!”
They keep bantering back and forth until Semi pops his head back out, telling them to shut up and take care of themselves. Not needing to be told twice, they decide to call it a night and split off.
“Seriously, you’re going to miss dinner if you don’t hurry up.”
“Okay, fine. I know when I’m not wanted.” Oikawa fakes a sigh and turns his body towards the pavilion. He peers over his shoulder and waves. “Bye, bye Iwa-chan. Don’t miss me too much!”
The dork even blows him a kiss and winks at him, but Iwaizumi had too long of a day to bother acknowledging the flutter in his stomach from it. Instead, he hits the showers, eats a protein bar, and flops straight into bed.
Sleep soon claims him but he does not dream of battle or myths of glory. Instead, his mind plays a story of a soldier, a throne of scrolls and olive branches, and a wise prince to whom he swears his loyalty to. It reminds him of something his mother once told him, that even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes. He always figured that was her way of telling him to think first before jumping, but he never put too much thought into it. However, something tells him this will not be the last time he bows to Oikawa Tooru, and he can’t seem to find himself minding one bit.