Beginning of the End

Volleyball Journal

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter has depictions of a panic attack, I'll put a line break to where it starts. Please proceed with caution.

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"Thank you for flying with us and welcome to Japan," The speaker went off and passengers started to clap for a successful landing.

A woman in her early twenties glanced on the window as airport runway staff scrambled around the plane to ready the necessary equipment to unload passengers and luggage in the plane. She had short black hair that reaches just up to the nape of her neck and bangs pulled back by a clip. She had gray-blue, almond-shaped eyes.

After a while, a flight attendant announced that they are allowed to start leaving, the woman stood up and stood on tiptoes to get her bag on the overhead compartment. As she exited the plane, a pair of flight attendants were bidding the exiting passengers a goodbye, she returned the greeting with a nod and a polite smile.

She walked across the airport, feeling good that she was finally home after a long while. She gathered her luggage and went through security and she was soon out of the airport. She already booked a taxi that would take her home to her little brother, all the while clutching a box of signed volleyball shoes.

"Where to, miss?" The taxi driver asked as he climbed on the driver's seat after putting Miwa's luggage on the trunk.

"To Ichi-ni-san Crow Street, Karasuno please."

The taxi driver nodded and Miwa leaned back on the seat. It had already been almost a year since she last saw her brother and she was very excited to see him again. Miwa works as an apprentice to a famous makeup and hair artist that was based in Italy.

She finally had time off and Miwa wants to spend her break with her brother. She has a lot of catching up to do to make up for the time she was away. The circumstances when she last saw her brother were not so good and they have been very busy and distraught in planning their grandfather's funeral to do some actual bonding.

But this time, Miwa was determined to make the most of her break and she will make sure that it would be the best one yet. However, there was something that was bothering her. Tobio had not been replying to her messages or answering her calls for quite a while now and it worries her.

She's worried that something might have happened and Tobio won't tell her. This had been weighing on her mind for quite some time now that when her mentor offered for her to go on a vacation, she agreed. But, if it turns out that the reason why Tobio had not been talking to her was that he had been busy with volleyball, she will have a long, nice talk lecture with her brother.

...

Miwa thought up different scenarios and what-ifs but when she stepped out of the taxi, she was absolutely floored.

"Are you sure you gave me the right address, miss? This place looked like it had not been lived on for quite some time now," The taxi driver asked as he unloaded Miwa's luggage from the trunk.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure this was the right place..." Miwa replied as she scanned the state of the place she and her brother grew up in.

Weeds were growing on the cracks of the stone pathway to the house, the grass on the front yard had also grown so much it was probably up to her knees now, dead leaves and small trash was also scattered around, Miwa couldn't also see anything beyond the window due to how dusty it had been. Overall, the place looks unmaintained and abandoned just from the outside, Miwa wonders what it would be like inside.

Miwa pushed the gates and winced at the scratchy sound it produced. She hesitantly entered the place while lugging her bags behind her.

"Are you sure you'd be safe, miss? The place looks dangerous," The taxi driver asked one more time.