the wolf and the lamb » kageyama x reader

25. Déjà vu

"Sir, something fell out of the envelope," Sugawara murmurs. He stoops by Kageyama's desk and leans forward to pick up the fallen petal, but the king's words make him freeze momentarily.

"Take a look at this."

"My lord?"

"I said, look at this." Kageyama shoves the folded parchment in Sugawara's general direction and the latter accepts it gingerly, taking care not to crease the textured paper.

"Memories of days long ago / I'm reminded of Adam and Eve / Have we met before, or is this deja-vu?/ Can I trust you with everything? / Back then, how could we have predicted / all that was in store for us? What does this mean?"

"That's why I'm telling you to look at it."

The butler glances over at his king, who's assumed a hunched position over his desk; the king is forming a steeple with his fingers, pressing them to his lips as his eyebrows furrow.

"Sugawara, what do you think was up with the 'Adam and Eve' reference?"

"Adam and Eve... they were first creations of God in the bible, right, sir?" Sugawara nods, stroking his chin (and nonexistent beard) in deep thought. "They lived in paradise until a snake convinced Eve to take a bite of an apple from a special tree. God threw them out of the Garden of Eden, since that fruit was off-limits, and cursed their descendants to have lives full of suffering."

"What's the point of mentioning that? Is the sender implying that we visit a paradise? Karasuno may be at peace, but we sure as hell aren't a paradise," Kageyama scoffs. "We have lots of measures to take to ensure that all the citizens are safe and taken care of." The king is about to list off the various policies to help the people but is stopped by Sugawara before he can launch into his tirade.

"What would you define as a paradise? A tropical island? A snowcapped mountain? A medieval castle?"

Images of you flash through Kageyama's mind – back to your parents' home, to the ball where you were kidnapped, to the diplomatic visit to Nekoma and beyond – and he winces. Opens his mouth. Forms a few words. Chokes on the phrases, can't force out the sentiment. The silver-haired butler standing beside him peers closely at the king, purses his lips, but says nothing.

"A... a paradise is wherever your loved one is, right?"

Sugawara cocks his head and hands the paper back to the king. "Yes, I suppose you could say that, sir."

"Who do you think could've sent this letter?"

"Maybe the same sender as the 'I'm still alive' notice, my lord."

"(First Name)... then?" Kageyama whispers your name, the word coming out in a quick, breathless gasp, as if the very sound of it was a forbidden fruit he promised himself to never again consume. Memories of you plague him, like a curse – and just like that, the gears in his head begin turning.

He starts to pace the length of the room, stepping over and weaving around the furniture; muttering to himself, Kageyama increases his speed until he almost trips over a wrinkle in the carpet. He manages to catch himself just in time and turns to stare at Sugawara.

"Where did I first meet (First Name)?"

"H-Her village, sir," the butler stammers, feeling a bit like a bug under a microscope at Kageyama's sudden focus on him. "In Miyagi village."

"What happened that day?"

"Um, I think we arrived and met with the village chief, something along those lines?" Sugawara begins drawing an invisible line through the air above his head, as if trying to retrace his – and by extension, the king's – steps that fateful day. "And then you ducked out and ran off somewhere. I couldn't find you, but you came back shortly and declared that you weren't interested in meeting with anyone that day."