𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒! ➛ haikyuu! ✔

𝖊𝖕𝖎𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊 ⇢ꜱᴋʏꜰᴀʟʟ

after we lost kei, the leader was at an impasse. the game was over. bored again. he turned to me, lifting his dark eyes from the newspaper — reading, once again, the newspaper that showed akaashi's body, floating freely in a random river. when his orbs met mine, i could sense his lack of interest. i immediately rushed to the bookcase (still sneezing here and there) and brought one for him.

his reaction didn't surprise me. after all, i'd known kuroo long enough to know that a mere book wouldn't satisfy him in the midst of so much boredom. so i left the book on the table without even handing it to him. he went back to reading the paper, fists clenching with each word. i knew he would be irritated with the way they wrote the story, but we couldn't blame the journalists for the lack of information. "adolescent body found in river" didn't seem like a convincing enough headline for all the uproar it had caused.

to the right of the bookcase was a lighter. quickly, i walked to the table and hid the object, placing myself in front of it. i was sure this would bring ideas to the leader. as much as i wanted him to get rid of the encumbering boredom, i didn't think it was the best of ideas to simply burn the house to the ground. suddenly, kuroo's face appeared through the paper, the pages leaving only his eyes to stare at me as warmly as ever. he placed the newspaper beside himself, his lips forming a straight line. impossible to read, as usual.

my instinct would be to let out a little smirk in response to his stoic expression. however, for some reason, my facial muscles felt frozen. fear? could not be. i've never been afraid of tetsurou before.

he got up from the table and walked over to me, his steps as smooth as ever. it was his turn to let a light laugh escape his rosy lips. for a split second, i wondered what it would be like to let them trail across my skin, but i made that vile thought dissipate like smoke. i couldn't let my personal feelings interfere with my relationship with the leader.

his expression had changed. exchanging the cold eyes for the predator's, the straight line for the not-so-sincere smile. he looked at me like i was his prey. i thought he might disappear right then and there. he didn't bother me. at least i was able to live a happy, calm life around someone i loved. i closed my eyes, waiting for the final strike, but his hands stopped farther away from my body than i thought. they hovered over the lighter, and i could feel an icy wind rush through my body.

"go," said the leader. "if you don't want to see this, run away. i don't need you anymore."

my legs were shaking. since when? i hadn't realized where and when they'd started to shake. anyway, they couldn't support my own weight. i did not know what to do. run? tetsurou's slender fingers ran like snakes over the metal object, igniting a small flame every two strides. with my vision already blurred, i tried to stop him. his sure reflexes knocked my hand back with such force that i wondered if i had lived with a superhuman all this time.

"i told you. go. if you don't want to witness this, go. you are no longer needed here." i couldn't direct his gaze to me, and i could feel the disgust coming from the person i'd most admired for so many years.

i didn't know how to act, what to say, whether to stop him or not. my options were right before my eyes: stay or run, the leader's voice echoed through my mind. i did not know what to do. there was no way out. with a sudden movement, he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt.

"i told you to go away! or do you really want to see everything on fire? everything you loved the most? all that was left of his dull and pathetic life? go! i don't want you here anymore."

he let go of me and my legs finally gave way to the pressure. i dropped to my knees, the air became thin. black. my vision was completely blocked — whether by panic or a blow i no longer knew. i tried to touch the ground to get my bearings but only found something like jelly. i no longer had a sense of time. i could have been in that state for seconds or years. all i could hear were kuroo's footsteps, one by one, clicking against the dusty old wooden floor. the wood i had once cleaned.

i wouldn't let it all be in vain. i screamed for help, but my voice failed. rough, hoarse, irrelevant. his footsteps grew farther and farther away, along with my discarded pleas. dizzy and breathless, i decided to settle the situation into my own hands. bracing myself with one hand on the floor and the other on my knee, i tried to get to my feet. once again, i was helpless. there was nothing i could do that would save everything we had built so far. to slake kuroo's desire, our room would burn down to nothing but ash. you are dust, and to dust you will return.

i heard a final call, a last word before our little sacred space crumbled. one word was enough, as my fate was already sealed. there was no escape. however, that word was my ticket to the heavens above. with a last breath, i could hear, even from a distance, kuroo let those much-desired lyrics escape his lips.

"kenma."

ナイフとカラスの間

ナイフとカラスの間 ── 𝖎𝖓 𝖇𝖊𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖐𝖓𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖗𝖔𝖜𝖘

@𝘈-𝘈𝘔𝘈𝘌𝘑𝘐𝘒𝘐 ;; august 19th, 2021