[1] HOUSE OF CROWS | Haikyuu!! (Murder of Crows) ✓

HOUSE OF CROWS | 03

The forest was doused in silence. There was an odd hush about the place that unnerved you, that felt lonely. You expected leaves to be rustling, twigs to be snapping and crunching beneath the tread of animals, the soft coo of birds nesting in the trees. But there was only silence, misplaced and unnatural, cloaked over the forest like a cold shadow.

Kuroo and Akaashi were walking in front, while Hinata stuck to your side and Tsukishima shuffled along behind, sighing every few seconds and impatiently batting aside twigs. His shadow felt cold and heavy on your back.

You didn't know if it was because of the trees, or something else, but the air in the forest was thinner than usual, a little harder to swallow. It settled oddly on you, creating sticky moisture on your skin.

There was little conversation between the five of you. Hinata would mumble something to himself every now and then, as if the silence bothered him and he had to break it somehow. Kuroo and Akaashi swapped an occasional comment, but their voices were lost to the shadows before they reached you, and Tsukishima said nothing. You fiddled with your camera as you walked, changing the setting to night mode and peering through the lens to make sure it was working properly. Ahead of you, Kuroo and Akaashi were shadowy figures against the spindly backdrop of trees.

"What exactly am I supposed to be filming?" You asked nobody in particular, almost tripping over a tangle of bracken that snagged viciously at your legs. You kicked it away with a huff.

Kuroo paused and glanced behind him, his eyes glinting like burnt amber, sly and furtive. "You're supposed to be documenting the trip. Try and get some shots of the forest, anything that looks-"

"Is there someone stood over there?"

The question was framed by Akaashi's quiet, indifferent voice, but the words themselves made a sudden coldness touch the base of your neck, misplaced in the humidity of the night. The boy was stood a few steps ahead with his back to the group, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. You exchanged a brief, uncertain glance with Kuroo, something unfamiliar passing across his face, and both went to either side of  Akaashi. The other two crept quietly behind.

"Start filming," Kuroo mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, and you felt your stomach tighten with unease. Flicking the camera to record, you peered over the lens and saw, standing between the trees in the distance, what appeared to be a person. It was not too tall, and no features could be seen. Just a faint, crooked outline, filled in with grey shadow, the curve of a face and the arch of shoulders. The rest was shrouded in darkness.

"What is it?" Hinata, struggling to hide a wobble in his view.

"What do you mean, what is it?" You said gruffly, gritting your teeth against your own unease. "It's probably just an animal."

Kuroo threw you a glance, brows arched. "Shine your torch on it," you said, noticing his torch was pointing down at his feet, rather than ahead. "Then we'll know what it is."

With a grim smile, Kuroo handed the light across to you.

"Who's scared now," you muttered, taking the torch from him and lifting it without hesitation. As soon as the light hit the figure, there was a streak of movement, and then nothing - empty space, a few rattling leaves.

"There was something there!" Hinata blurted, his voice thick.

"Like I said, probably just an animal," you repeated, but your voice also sounded oddly tight at the edges. You passed the torch back to Kuroo, and caught Akaashi's eye over his shoulder. His face was now covered in a light sheen of sweat, his skin darker with the shadows bleeding around his eyes. You quickly looked away.

"Did you get it on film?"

"I got something on film," you answered, re-watching the recording - a glitch in the darkness, movement, then nothing. "Nothing concrete though."

"Well, at least we know we're not alone out here," Kuroo said. "Let's keep moving."

***

Tsukishima was walking beside you now, as Hinata went ahead to walk with the others. He was quiet, but you noticed he was on edge. His eyes kept darting about him, as if he was searching for something in the dark.

"Would you like me to carry the torch for a bit?" You offered, noticing how his hold on it had grown slack, lighting the ground by his feet.

He shrugged wordlessly, passing over the torch. Hands now free, he pulled his jacket tighter around him and folded his arms across his chest. The forest was still warm, but you caught the shiver that ran through him. 

You panned the light overhead in the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of an animal amongst you, but the branches were empty, and nothing stirred. The whole forest was silent, barren. As you flashed the torch to your left, you muttered quietly in surprise, and stopped. "There's a path!" You blurted, waving your torch to illuminate the rough grooves in the earth that broke a path through the trees. 

Kuroo was at your side in an instant, his torch revealing its sharp incline further into the forest. He frowned, glancing down at the compass in his hand. Then he shook it, pursing his lips. "That's odd. The compass is pointing North this way now. I swear it was pointing the other way a moment ago."

You rolled your eyes. "Looks like someone brought us a dodgy compass," you said with a pointed glance at Tsukishima.

"It was working fine last time I checked," he muttered, nudging up his glasses with an irritated crease by his lips, and a touch of unease in the shadows below his eyes. 

"Do you think it leads to the house?" Hinata asked, climbing over a knotted tree root to reach the path. His hair looked aflame in the torchlight.

You exchanged a glance with Kuroo. "Well? Are we gonna follow it or not? There'll be less chance of getting lost if we stick to an actual track," you pointed out.

"[L/N]-San is right. We don't even know if that compass works, and the forest is several miles long. I'd rather not find ourselves going around in circles."

Kuroo finally nodded, stuffing the compass into his pocket and gesturing for you all to follow Hinata, who had already disappeared through the trees, his bright hair no longer visible.

"Hey, Hinata, wait up!" You called impatiently, stumbling as your foot caught on the same protruding tree root. You threw out a hand and grasped at an overhanging branch for support, but quickly withdrew when the bark felt sticky and wet. Wiping a hand down your jeans, you picked up your pace, anxious not to lose sight of the younger boy. "Hinata, you can't wander off you know. It's a big forest and-" Your voice caught when you rounded the corner and still saw no sign of the redhead. You couldn't hear his footfalls either. How far had he walked? "Hinata? Hinata, you dumbass, where are you?"

"What's wrong?" Kuroo asked, coming up beside you. He panned his torch around you, the glare glancing off the dewy leaves and thick bark. But there was still no sign of the other boy.

"It's Hinata," you mumbled. "I can't find him."