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

HOUSE OF CROWS | 09

"His eyes," you gasped as Kuroo pulled you down the hallway after him, your head still spinning from the fall. "Where were his eyes?"

You choked out another soft gasp when you heard Hinata stagger out of the room behind you with another guttural moan. You didn't want to look at him. You didn't want to see his face. "What if he needs help, Kuroo? We can't just run and leave him here."

"I think he's beyond help now," Kuroo said breathlessly as you reached the stairs, stumbling down them blindly as darkness coalesced around your feet. Your camera thumped painfully against your chest. "That isn't Hinata anymore."

Tsukishima's voice floated up a second later, asking what was happening.

"No time to explain. We need to get out of here," Kuroo answered, digging his fingers tighter around your arm as the four of you raced down the stairs. Did he not trust you to keep running?

Akaashi must have looked behind him, because you heard him utter a curse. "Is that-"

"No," Kuroo interrupted, his voice hard. "It's not Hinata."

"You don't know that!" You argued as he pushed you through the front door, and you stumbled into the night. A cold sweat crept along the back of your neck. "He needs help! We can't leave him in there." You spun around, knocking Kuroo's arm away from you as he slammed the door shut behind him.

His face was tight, beaded with perspiration, and he paused to wipe it away with the back of his sleeve. 

"What the hell is going on?" Tsukishima growled. There was dirt on his glasses, but he made no attempt to rub it off. His eyes shone like golden fire.

"Hinata," you said, your voice ragged with fatigue. "He was up there, but his eyes... his eyes were gone, and he was acting strange but..."

"Something in the house must have gotten to him," Kuroo picked up as you trailed off, looking over his shoulder. The boy was nowhere in sight. He hadn't followed you out after Kuroo had slammed the door shut. "We really should leave before he comes after us."

"Are you listening to yourself?" You hissed, gritting your teeth. "We can't just leave him in there. Do you really think I believe your stupid stories about this place being haunted?"

"Then where are his eyes? How did he suddenly disappear? Why did he run after you like he wanted to hurt you?" Your mouth opened and closed uselessly, having no answers to his questions. No explanation for any of it. Kuroo's face softened around the edges. "Hinata's not who you think he is anymore, [L/N]."

You turned away, squeezing your lips into a tight line. "But he's just a kid. He's probably in that house, alone and afraid, and you want to just leave him there? I didn't think you were the kind of person to leave a friend behind." You lowered your voice for the last part, but everyone heard anyway.

Kuroo sighed, and tugged gently on your sleeve to make you face him. He caught your eye, and you found it difficult to look away. "I know you're scared for him. I know you don't think it's right to leave him behind when he could be hurt. We don't want to either. But... there's something wrong with this place. Things happen here, bad things that can't be explained. If we stay, someone else is going to get hurt." 

You closed your eyes and saw Hinata's face, two black hollows where his eyes were supposed to be. The way he had lunged for you. The hungry smile he wore. The growl that came from his throat, more animal than human. Maybe Kuroo was right. Maybe there was something wrong with him, with the house.

"As soon as we're out of the forest, and have signal on our phones, we'll call for help and someone can go back and get him."

"What if it's too late by then?" You asked quietly, already knowing what he was going to say.

"I think we're too late already."

You dragged your eyes away from his to look at the house again. Nothing stirred. Surely he would have come after you if he needed help. Surely he would have said something.

"There was something wrong with that house," Tsukishima said suddenly, his voice clipped but not unkind. "I'd rather leave it behind."

You released a long, shaky breath, and nodded. "Okay. We'll come back for him. We'll find help, and come back for him."

Kuroo gave you a thin smile, squeezing your shoulder. "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get help."

As you all turned to leave, you thought you saw a flurry of movement in one of the upstairs windows. But it was just a curtain, black as ink, fluttering like a crow's wing.