Kageyama stretched his back, yawning. It was almost lunchtime and they still had not found any significant information about Atlantis except for a few minor stitches and lines.

"Found anything yet, Kuroo?"
"No, these books are either hypotheses or intuitions, nothing of solid evidence for us to begin with. Even we can come up with these ideas," Kuroo lightly tossed a book aside. This was predictable but he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Hey, what's this?"

In Kageyama's hand was an old tattered book. The title was unreadable, and Kageyama could barely make out the drawings of a magnificent city on the worned and yellowed covers.

"This is a very old book. Why is it here? Judging by its condition I think it should be in the restricted section," Kageyama carefully set the book down on the table. Grabbing a magnifying glass, he tried to decipher the title.

Kuroo sat down, observing the old book. It was obviously out of place. The paperback made Kuroo wondered how it could remain intact for such a long time.
"Did you find out anything?", Kuroo asked when he saw Kageyama stopped.
"To be honest, I can only make out one-fourth of the title, but it seems like the book is connected to Atlantis."

Silence fell. The two scientists felt uneasy. They were researching about Atlantis and suddenly an old book related to Atlantis showed up out of nowhere. Definitely not a good sign.

"Do you think it's a trap?", Kageyama asked, doubt laced his words.
"Only one way to find out. We scientists tend to doubt everything anyway so it doesn't matter if we believe what is written or not."
"True."

Kuroo opened the book.

Neat lines and strong, narrow cursive filled the pages, but the words written had almost faded completely. Kuroo could see a few words here and there, "Atlantis", "powerful", "allegiance", "sunken".

"Can you make out anything from this? I can give it a try," Kageyama asked, trying to look at the pages from the side.
"I can only see 4 words. I suppose I'll leave it to you then," Kuroo gently pushed the book to Kageyama, his mind wondered about "allegiance".

Kageyama immersed in the book, observant about any detail that could easily slip through his grasp.

After what felt like an eternity, Kageyama broke his gaze away from the book. He was silent. He seemed to be deep in thought. Kuroo patiently waited for Kageyama to speak.

"This book is a diary of sorts. Believe it or not, it supposedly records the rise and fall of Atlantis," Kageyama pointed at one of the paragraphs. "Atlantis was a powerful nation, its technology had advanced further than any other countries at that time. Some said Atlantean technology had surpassed the standards of the century."

Kageyama pointed to another paragraph. "Atlanteans created transport device that emited strange sounds and smell from different kinds of metal. They also created a system to transport objects, and people, to higher grounds, saving a lot of time and labour."
"That sounds like the motorcycle to me," said Kuroo. "The system could have been the train, I think."

Kageyama gave no comment and continued. "Apart from technology, the Atlanteans were also well-versed in many other aspects like agriculture and education. Atlantis grew rapidly but steadily, focusing on all aspects needed for a stable nation."

They both stayed silent for a second, awed by the unbelievable growth of an ancient nation.

"As the nation expanded, so did its greed. Atlantis thought it was the superior amongst the nations, and wanted to help the other nations in exchange for their lands. The nations didn't compel to the offer so Atlantis declared war."

Kageyama cleared his throat. "Because Atlantis was so powerful with their refined war machines and weapons, the other nations asked the gods for help. The gods, not wanting to prolong the war, had sunken Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again. But the citizens of the other nations still feared the peculiar machines of Atlantis, and so they left many records and writings about Atlantis to their descendants, hoping they will stop Atlantis if it ever regain its power once more."

Kageyama skimmed the last few pages. "And this is one of those records. There are something written during the period after the fall of Alantis but I can't read it. The words were scribbled in a hurry and the writer wasn't putting enough force so the ink evaporated quickly." Kageyama squinted his eyes, "I can only read a few."

He grabbed a piece of paper nearby and wrote down three words: "angry", "gods", "punishment".

Kageyama stared at the words. Atlantis was gone, so this so-called "punishment" couldn't have been directed at it. Then it must have been...
"The other nations," Kuroo and Kageyama both spoke at the same time.

They smirked at each other. They had this habit of talking together for a while now.

"So let me get this straight," Kuroo said, absent-mindedly flipping through the pages of the random book. He was used to outlining the crucial information, it was easier to keep track of everything. "Atlantis had developed technology, got greedy, and then was sunken to the ocean for its crime?"
"Yes."
"And then the other nations did something to piss off the gods and they also got punished, although not as severe."
"Correct, but I wouldn't wanna use quote unquote piss off here," Kageyama glared at Kuroo, but Kuroo just waved it off.

"So do you think this record is dependable, Tobio?", asked Kuroo, smirking.
"First name basis now, are we?", Kageyama scoffed. "He turned the used paper over and drew three circles. "We got three articles: this, Plato's dialogues - Timaeus and Critias - and Tokuma's records. So far, two out of three wrote the same scenario," he crossed out two of the circles. "Because we cannot have any more fundamental information about what had happened, so I think we can trust this. But," Kageyama put a line through all three circles, "we still need to be open to other suggestions."
"Understood," Kuroo nodded his head in acknowledgement. Trust Kageyama to give the best advice and directions.

"So what do we do now?"
"Why ask me? You're the one who's always plotting," Kageyama looked through the book again for clues. That the book mysteriously appeared after they had practically raided the library was no coincidence. He just hoped they hadn't got themselves into other people's evil schemes.

"I think this is enough researching for today. We have a meeting with the Department tomorrow morning and the crew the day after. So we should get home and rest a bit. As for this peculiar book," he picked it up and put it in Kageyama's bag after he pulled out the volley ball, "I'll entrust it to you, dear friend."

Kageyama stared at his friend's hands as they patted the bag. "Why me?", his voice sounded so monotone.
"Because, dear friend, I doubt the library even have this book at all, it'll take ages to do the paperwork to take this book with us. Best to sneak it out before anyone notices," Kuroo almost sang the last few words. Almost. "I don't have a bag, so you'll be keeping an eye on this precious little secret of ours." Ah, he almost sang again. It would annoyed Kageyama so much. It's a good thing though.

"Fine," Kageyama grumbled. "But you're gonna keep the ball for me and keep it clean. Capisce?"
"Not a single speck of dust shall be seen," Kuroo gave his friend a mock-salute.
"Yeah yeah, put your hand down, everyone's going to think we're messing around or something," Kageyama swatted Kuroo's hand away.
"You're no fun," Kuroo pouted.
"Yeah, and you're a troublemaker."

~~~

Late in the evening, a cloaked man entered a mansion. He gazed consciously at the looming building in front of him. He did not like being here, it always made his stomach churn.

He was led into the living room. A big old fireplace stood proudly in the middle of the room, its fire crackling with life, dancing on the burning hickory wood.

"You're finally here, brother," a man appeared from the shadows of room, smiling brightly. The cloaked man stared at the warm smile, feeling a chill running up his spine. "Why don't you take off your hood, we are not in public."
The cloaked man slowly pulled his hood down, eyes still fixed on the other man. He felt like he had taken down his defense in front of the hunter.
"Please take a seat, don't act like we're strangers, brother," the other man sat down on the single chair, legs crossed. The cloaked man simply seated himself on the sofa nearby.

"So, how did it go?"