Red Winter - /Haikyuu/

3. Shifting

(C'mon, you already made it this far)

"Hey, Shoyo.. c'mon, sweetie, wake up." The voice of his mother made Hinata's eyes snap open, only to be greeted with a worried look on her face. "Be careful riding to school... Maybe you should take the bus?" He gave her a completely bewildered look as he sat up.

"What do you mean? Wait- why?" Hinata questioned, finding worry seeping into his own voice.

"It's all over the news, sweetie. There's these people taking drugs, well the police think so, that are lashing out." She explained, making the pit of Hinata's stomach tighten. So, Suga was right. Something's off.

"Okay, I will Momma." He rubbed his eyes to rid them of his sleepiness. She left his room so he could get ready. Her words weighed heavy on his mind. Drugs? He sure hoped no one at school had taken them. What if the school had a lockdown? No, he was just overthinking it. Pushing it from his thoughts, he dressed himself, sleepily buttoning his uniform before he sluggishly walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He grabbed a granola bar before getting on his bike and riding off.

The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful, in a way. A singular man was watering his yellow flowers, waving at Hinata, who nodded in response. Hinata's eyes scanned the road for any sign of a druggie.

But nobody was out.

At least until he turned on the next street. A woman, all by herself, stood in the middle of the road, and Hinata dodged her. She looked at him and offered him a shaky smile, before she wobbled off the road. A splotch of something on her shirt made him slightly concerned, but be assumed it was just a stain. He couldn't really make it out since it blurred as he rode past.

Good. No sign of any druggies. Hinata's hair blew back in the wind, his eyes watering with the force. He shuddered slightly as he rode into the school, putting his bike in a bike rack. He went through the day like any other, going to all of his classes.

The school day was over within a flash, and as he went to the locker room to change for practice, he saw Yamaguchi running towards him. His features were obscured with unease. "Uh, Hinata?" Yamaguchi stuttered, almost panting. He must have bolted here. "We aren't having practice today.. Coach got hurt by some random guy who was going crazy on him."

Hinata's brown eyes went wide with shock. "Well, is he okay?" He pressed, his arms sagging as he felt like he was sinking into the ground. Was it one of those druggies his mom told him about?

"I don't know... Suga told me that he had a broken wrist. And they say he might even have rabies." Yamaguchi explained hurriedly.

"Why would he have rabies?" Hinata questioned in shock, blinking rapidly. Tsukishima joined the two, standing beside Yamaguchi.

"The crazy guy bit him or something. He's getting tested for rabies at the hospital... But apparently it's pretty gnarly, like the guy took a chunk out of Coach's skin. Maybe he was a cannibal." Tsuki joked, but he didn't appear so as his face showed just as much interest as ever: which was none. But Hinata had known him for a bit now, so he knew it was a joke.

Yamaguchi shook his head with fear. "A bunch of people are reporting similar incidents... I'm scared. I don't wanna walk home with all this stuff going on." He paused for a second. "Please don't say that." Yamaguchi paled, looking frightened.

"Relax." Tsuki simply said in response.

"Well, I better get home then... Be careful." Hinata said in a hushed voice, his words extremely strange for him. It was not like Hinata to be serious, ever, even recently when he was feeling off. But he knew the two both walked home, and with things this dangerous, they might get hurt by a crazy druggie, cannibal, rabies infected person, or whatever.

Hinata shuffled to his bike, hesitating to get on. He was even more paranoid after hearing all of this. Hinata shook his head a little, watching as all of the students filtered out of the school. He spotted a familiar black headed setter, but right as he recognized Kageyama, a piercing scream made his eyes go wide. It sounded eerily close, sending a shiver on a path up his spine, and causing goosebumps to make an appearance on his skin.

Hinata gulped as he wildly looked around with everyone else who had frozen in shock. Then, multiple screams started again as people began running from the school. Hinata, without second thoughts, ran into the building.

Why? Because he was curious. However, every bone in his body told him to turn back. But what if someone needed help? His eyes searched around the building, looking for the source of the screams, until they snagged on a boy who he recognized as a second year. The boy's back was facing him, but soon he turned around with sluggish movements.

Hinata's mouth dropped as he looked at the boy's face. His eyes were dull, clouded over, and his mouth was dripping with blood.

Another boy was beside that bloody one, laying on the floor with a sea of red forming beneath him. Hinata froze in terror as he watched the sluggish boy drop down, and forcefully take a bit out of the boy's stomach.

Sharp, inhuman nails tore into the boy, pulling out intestines and causing blood to gush out at an insane pace. And, to Hinata's utter horror, the crazy boy started eating the pile of intestines and guts, starting with the lungs. It looked like tomato sauce. Hinata never wanted to have ketchup again.

A hand snatched onto Hinata's hoodie, and he started thrashing around in fear, thinking it was another crazy druggie.

"Calm down, it's just me." Kageyama's voice filled his ears and he relaxed. Hinata's eyes filled with shocked tears at witnessing the horrific act just committed on front of him as Kageyama dragged him away. "We need to get out of here NOW." He spat, shaking. Hinata had seen him lose his cool, but he had never once seen Kageyama look so utterly terrified. Hinata straightened his posture, swallowing, at a loss for any and all words.

Hinata nodded breathlessly, dropping his school bag as nausea erupted in his stomach. Kageyama dropped his hoodie and let Hinata empty all the contents in his stomach. After he was finished throwing up, Hinata wiped his mouth, and, shaking, he nodded again. Kageyama gulped, closing his eyes as he pointed behind Hinata. The boy, or, if you could even call him that anymore, had finished his meal.

The creature stared at the two, before walking towards them in slow, lumbering steps. Both boys were stuck in the spot with fear now. The sluggish steps became quicker and quicker before the creature broke into a sprint. Hinata screamed, the sound surprising and scaring himself with how bloodcurdling it was.

The scream seemed to snap Kageyama out of his daze as he grabbed Hinata's forearm and started running as fast as he could, away from whatever the hell that was.