The Trees Have Eyes [Haikyuu!!]

Kinoshita Hisashi

Natsu awoke with a startle that had every muscle in her body crying out in pain. She felt like she had been dipped in wet cement and left to dry. "Ugh..." She groaned, throat parched. "Where..."

"Oh, you're awake."

"Eep!" Her core muscles screamed as she sat up abruptly. "Who's there—?!" Her demand turned into a pained moan as her head began to spin. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Don't strain yourself." The stranger's tone was decidedly judgmental. As her vision cleared, Natsu realised she was looking at the girl from the library—the teenager who had given her and Hitoka a fright. "I'm going to get my cousin and the doctor. Don't do anything stupid."

"Uh, right..." Natsu laid one hand over her forehead. It was warm. The events from last night rushed back to her, and her breathing quickened. Her misadventure in the woods had been nothing short of an utter nightmare—so much so that she wasn't sure if it had really happened or not. But, she reasoned, I ended up in the hospital for a reason, right?

Slowly this time, Natsu pushed herself up again. She sat with her shoulders slouched, uncaring of her poor posture. It was probably late morning from the way the sun was shining through the curtains. Perhaps ten or eleven o'clock. I wonder who that girl was, though. She poured herself a glass of water with the pitcher and cup on her bedside table. Thoughtfully, she took a sip. She really scared the hell outta me back in the library.

Finally, in what seemed like an age, the mysterious girl returned with her cousin in tow. Natsu gaped. "Ennoshita!"

"Thank god you're okay!" exclaimed Ennoshita. "The doctor's on his way right now." He touched Natsu's forehead, ignoring her soft whine. "Good. Your fever's broken. All you needed was a good night's rest."

The doctor came in after Ennoshita's brief remark, repeating almost the same thing. She would be able to get discharged today on the condition of lots of bed rest and water consumption at home. Then he left Natsu to speak with her visitors.

"We were so worried." Ennoshita pulled up two chairs for himself and his younger cousin. "When you came out of the trees... God, Hinata, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." Meekly, Natsu ducked her head. "I didn't mean to scare you." She glanced at the deadpan girl beside him. "Um..."

"Oh, right." Ennoshita clasped a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "This is Yuuna. She's my cousin."

Yuuna lifted a hand. "Hey."

"Oh, um hi. I'm Hinata... Natsu." A thought struck her. "Where's my backpack?!"

"Calm down, Hinata. It's over there, by the corner of the room." Ennoshita went over to bring it to her, setting it on his lap. It'd dried out over the night, and it was evident someone had tried cleaning it as best they could. It didn't look like it could be saved, though, and Ennoshita gave her an apologetic look. "Tanaka came by earlier this morning. He got a buddy of his to fix your phone. It should be working now." He pulled out the drawer on the bedside table, revealing her phone. It looked good as new. Tanaka's friend had done an excellent job.

"Thank you." Natsu meant it. "Sorry to bother you more, but could you take out the stuff from my backpack? I... I need to check something." It was only then that Natsu realised that Ennoshita was wearing his old camera around his neck—the one he had let Natsu borrow.

"Sure thing." Ennoshita took things out one at a time. Everything she had brought with her up to the mountain was still inside, miraculously. The rations were probably spoiled, but Natsu didn't care about them. The only thing she wanted to know was—