Red Winter - /Haikyuu/

22. Just One Last Time

The air was thick with solemnity after the losses the group had suffered. They left the room where Daichi's body lay, instead opting to stay in somebody's office.

"Sugawara..." Kinoshita began, but Suga didn't respond. He didn't even look his way. Hinata sat on the floor, eyes drifting to Yamaguchi's unconscious form every so often. "What are going to do? What about the others we left back at the road? How are we going to get to Tokyo quick enough without a car?" It was question after question. Still, Suga didn't speak. He didn't say a damn thing.

The tension in the room was so heavy it weighed Hinata down. Everybody's eyes were puffy and red from crying, but now everyone's faces remained dry. Some scared, like Kinoshita, and some unreadable like Kageyama.

There was only five of them left.

Sugawara's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the floor with anger.

They all sat like this, in silence, for hours. They had nothing to say to each other. And they had nothing to do. It was too much of a gamble to go outside, now that it was late.

Tsukishima pulled a package out of his pocket, a small pack of gummy worms. He distributed a few to each of them. Hinata stared at the sugary worms, and ate all of them quickly. Maybe he should have saved that. It was all he could eat now that all their supplies were sitting in some van surrounded by reds.

Yamaguchi suddenly shifted from his spot on the floor, making Hinata perk up. Was he finally awake? Or was he...

Yamaguchi sat up, eyes wide as he stared at the stump on his wrist. His lips trembled, and he inhaled breathily before letting it fall.

"Where's Daichi?" He looked around, and Hinata pursed his lips.

"Dead." Tsukishima replied, not even bothering to look up. Yamaguchi started to shake, clutching his forearm, right above his stump. Suga glared even harder at the floor.

"D-Do we... Do we have any, um, painkillers?" Yamaguchi stuttered, wincing. Hinata couldn't even imagine the pain he must have been experiencing.

"No." Kinoshita mumbled softly from his corner of the room, and Yamaguchi whimpered to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, his face as white as a sheet.

"I don't think I can..." Yamaguchi trailed off, muttering to himself, before he tried to get to his feet. He shakily rose to his feet, when his knees buckled and his legs gave out, making him collapse onto the floor. "Can someone please–" his breath hitched, "–help me. I wanna go on the roof." He didn't give an explanation. But Hinata got to his feet, wrapping an arm around him and helping him up.

"I need some help here." Hinata muttered, and Tsukishima got up as well, putting his arm around Yamaguchi's shoulder to steady him.

"The elevator doesn't work. We'll have to go up the stairs." Tsukishima said curtly, and so they started up the stairs, reaching the second floor, the third, and finally, the roof. Yamaguchi was breathing heavily by the time they reached the roof, sweat dripping down his forehead despite the frosty, biting air.

Hinata laid him down on the ceiling, glancing up at the sky. The clouds were gone, leaving a sky full of shining stars, who seemed so unaware of what was happening on Earth.

"I just..." Yamaguchi stopped for a second, beginning to cough blood up all over the concrete. A weak, defeated chuckle left his bloodied lips. "I just wanted to see the stars. Just one last time." Hinata gulped, looking away, trying to find something to occupy his gaze with, anything but Yamaguchi's dying form.

"Don't say that," Hinata's voice broke, and he felt the tears start to sting in his eyes. He didn't want to cry. He wanted to stay calm for him. "This isn't the last time you'll see the stars. You're gonna be fine."