Red Winter - /Haikyuu/

28. Red Winter (Finale)

(This is the final chapter. But I am doing bonus chapters about some characters that haven't appeared yet, and some that have ;) so stay tuned for those!

But seriously. Thank you for sticking with me on this ride, and for reading Red Winter. It was fun while it lasted :,) )

Sugawara was dead. Hinata could barely fathom it. And Tsukishima, too. But Suga is what had hit him the hardest. Suga had been there for him, since the start. He was always there to comfort him, be his shoulder he could cry on, someone he could rely on. And now he was dead.

Sergeant is what had killed him. Hinata had seen the terrible wounds on Suga's body. Whatever the boy had went through must have been awful.

Hinata hated to think about him, knowing it did nothing but drag him further into his own inner turmoil. Suga was his family, he was their leader. And he was a good person. But he was gone, now. There was nothing Hinata could do about it.

It was too late, like always.

And now it was just him and Kageyama, who was off by their campsite, cooking their catch for the day. Hinata would have been disgusted by picking apart the animals, but he was so hungry it didn't matter. It didn't change the memories from resurfacing, though, whenever he stared into the dead eyes of an animal.

The cracking of twigs made Hinata lift his head quickly, peering up from his spot in the river. It was dark, the moon absent from the sky, blocked by clouds. Hinata had went in the river to clean off after killing a bunch of reds, so his clothes resided on the river bank.

Hinata waded around, towards a big boulder, and he looked out into the woods. Sure enough, the flashlights of the soldiers Sergeant had sent out flashed in his eyes.

Hinata cursed to himself, squeezing his eyes shut, just cowering behind the rock. He hoped desperately they wouldn't find him or see his clothes, not knowing if he could face Sergeant again. He wasn't sure he was brave enough.

The voices of the soldiers faded as they walked away, and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't spot him.

He was safe.

Hinata swam towards the shore, climbing out onto the muddy banks. He was dripping wet and shivering, but he just wanted to get dressed and get back to the safety of his camp. Hinata slipped his shirt on, pulling his pants up and throwing on his jacket. He zipped his boots up and ran for it, towards the camp.

"Hey, Hinata." Kageyama addressed quietly, his eyes lit with the crackling fire.

"I saw Sergeant's people, when I was cleaning up." Hinata muttered, taking a seat on the ground covered in leaves. Kageyama swallowed, glaring at the ground as he poked at the cooking fish over the fire.

"You did? Well, then we better leave after we eat dinner. It's gonna be dangerous travelling at night." Kageyama took the piece of wood off the fire, and Hinata felt his mouth start to water at the scent of food.

"Yeah, but we shouldn't stay here over night. Too risky," Hinata said as Kageyama took a bite out of the fish. Kageyama nodded in agreement, though, and Hinata picked off a piece of the fish's flesh. His eyes caught on the fish's eyes, void of life. Hinata licked his lips, looking away as he shoved the greasy meat into his mouth. He relished in the taste; it was absolutely delicious, even with the lack of spices.

It was almost a luxury out there in the apocalypse.

The two of them finished the fish together, but it wasn't much. Despite that, Hinata's hunger was eased just a bit. "Alright, let's pack up now Hinata." Kageyama said, his voice soft. Hinata nodded, and the two got what little possessions they had left, huddling together for warmth as they put out the fire and left the campsite behind.