Chapter 11 | Ghost of Fukurodani

——————————CHAPTER 11 Ghost of Fukurodani——————————

You ran as fast as you could, your heart thumping in fear and nervousness. You glanced back, seeing a huge monster still chasing you. Then amidst the vast and empty white space, you found a closet. You hid, trembling quietly inside... and then your body froze. You couldn't speak or move no matter how much you tried. Slowly, the door opened, and the monster was there.

You forcefully tilted your body to the side, successfully waking yourself up. You repeatedly shook your head to fight the sleepiness, knowing once you fall asleep, you'd only get back to the constant dream and sleep paralysis you always had.

Taking a deep breath, you stretched your arms and sat up, looking around at the dimly lit room. For a moment you thought you were still locked in the storage room, but then you noticed you were on a futon, and there were windows displaying the night outside.

You leaned down, searching for wherever your glasses were. The darkness and your poor vision made it troublesome, but you were still able to find it beside your pillow. Putting it on, you were finally able to see clearer, and your vision have adjusted to the darkness.

There were other people sleeping in the room, that's what you noticed. Although you can't recognize some of them, you were able to clearly identify who was the one sleeping next to you.

Her shoulder-length black hair spread around the pillow as she laid sideways, looking as beautiful as she had always been even when asleep. You looked at the prominent mole near her chin, and then to her long eyelashes before looking away with a sad smile.

You remembered all the times you two spent together, the friendship you had for two years. She was your bestfriend. Was.

Checking the time on the phone beside her which was probably hers, it was a few minutes before 4 AM. You've recalled the important things that happened so far, making you decide to leave before they wake up. Looking around, you quietly searched the room for your things, but it wasn't there.

'Maybe in Nekoma's team's room...' You wondered before silently exiting the Managers' designated room.

With your head hung low and back slouched a little forward, you sleepily walked along the dark and empty hallway, your messy long hair hanging over the sides of face. You weren't sure which room, so you decided to check each to find which one.

You checked the first one, sliding the door just a bit to take a peek. You noticed light from a phone from inside, as well as a person turning to your direction, but he didn't look familiar, and it didn't seem to be Nekoma's room. You closed the door again, doing the same to every room. Most of them were empty, but you already checked four occupied ones inculding the Teachers' room. Only Nekoma and Karasuno were the remaining ones, and as you walked towards the next room, you suddenly bumped into something... or someone.

You glanced your eyes up, meeting a pair of round golden ones who looked at you in horror. His face contorted as if having a constipation as a yelp erupted from his throat.

"Oh, sorry." You apologized, referring to accidentally hitting him. He had white hair with black streaks that were messily down, but you still recognized him to be Bokuto, as Kuroo had introduced. Glancing behind him, you didn't see the guy with messy black hair that usually accompanied him.

"G-G-Ghost!" He exclaimed with a scared expression as he looked at you, making you confused for a second.

"I'm not a ghost." You stated, straightening your back and looked back at him. You adjusted your glasses, "I'm (L/N)... from Nekoma."

With that, his eyes lit up in recognition, and the previously terrified expression disappeared. He pointed at you, "Oh, you! So you're alive!"

"Uh, yeah... unfortunately." You slouched once again as you glanced at the door of the classroom just a little behind him. "I'm kind of in a hurry, so I'll get going." You muttered.

"Hmm..." Bokuto moved aside, looking at you curiously as you walked past him. He watched you as you checked the room, then sighing when you closed it again. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Turning to him, you wondered what he was still doing there, but answered anyway. "I'm looking for Nekoma's room. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course! It's near the end of the hall." He answered cheerfully. "Why?"

"Nothing." You mumbled, then turning again as you continued to walk to the end of the hall. However, before you were out of his sight, you heard him say something.

"You know..."

"In volleyball, you don't fight alone. You can't serve, receive, toss, block, or spike alone... If you reject your teammates, you won't be able to win. You're a hundred times stronger with your team than by yourself." He stated with a large grin, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he watched you pause for a moment. When you finally found Nekoma's room, you quietly entered, careful not to wake anyone up.

Loud snores filled the room, but you were thankful that they all seemed to be asleep. Bokuto's words echoed in your mind, and you understood what he was talking about. Glancing around, you were relieved to find your bag at the corner of the room along with their stuff. You carefully made your way there and gathered your things.

As soon as you got everything, you walked towards the door, making sure not to make much sound as you opened the door slightly wider.

"(Y/N)?" You froze, recognizing Kuroo's voice from behind. But you didn't turn around, you just stayed there with your hand on the handle.

Kuroo remained lying down on his futon as he looked at you. "You're leaving us too?" He asked, not bothering to hide the pain laced on his voice.

You found it hard to respond, a lump suddenly blocking your throat. Your heart ached at his words, and although that wasn't his intention, you felt how it troubled him. Taking a deep breath, you mustered your courage to speak, "No, Kuroo. I'm just heading home for now."

His eyes were now downcast as he hugged a pillow. Turning around to the other side, his back now faced your figure. "Take care." He muttered. He was anxious, scared of seeing you leave. Maybe he was just overreacting, but after hearing from Sawamura parts of what happened before, he was scared that you'd do the same to him, that you'll leave and run away from him too.

"Thanks." You mumbled before slipping out of the room, closing the door behind you with a hurtful expression.

You were guilty, realizing even more how much your selfish actions affected people. It hurts, but they were probably hurting even more. Even until you reached home, your heart was aching. You were being drowned with regrets.

You spent the rest of the weekend drawing illustrations, awaiting Kuroo and Kenma to return. You weren't sure if they were mad at you, but you felt like they were. Your overthinking caused you to believe that even they have hated you now. Kuroo had never sent you a text, and you didn't have the courage to send him one either.

And because of that, you just wanted to run away again.

Checking the time, it was already evening, and they'd probably be home any minute now. You started to feel anxious and decided to ease yourself by taking a hot bath. While you were relaxing in the bath tub, you heard the door open, as well as Kenma's voice unenthusiastically yelling that he was home, followed by Kuroo's voice saying he was intruding.

The house was empty since your cousin's parents were at work. You were the only one there, and it made Kuroo even more afraid that you actually disappeared when they didn't see you in your room. He even decided to check on you first before dropping his own things down at his house. But then seeing your laptop and other stuff were there, he relaxed a bit.

Now you were embarrassed to look at them, specially when you remembered that you cried in front of him. You two haven't addressed anything that happened during that weekend, so it felt heavy in your heart. As you got out of the bath and got dressed in a large sweater and shorts as your regular house clothes, you nervously walked back to your room, taking deep breaths before opening the door.

As soon as you did so, the two turned to your direction, and Kuroo's eyes immediately lit up. He smiled, making your heart leap when he walked towards you and placed a hand on top of your head. "Were you feeling lonely without me?"

Seeing him act like he usually does made you relax. You've been holding your breath, and now you sighed in relief before playfully scoffing. "You wish."

Kuroo chuckled, letting you walk past him and towards your bed. Before you sat down, however, he pulled you back and wrapped his arms around you from behind, surprising you and making your heart race while your face hated up. "W-What?" You stuttered.

You didn't move and just stayed there. Kuroo bent down and rested his head on your shoulder. "Hmm... Recharging." He mumbled, tightening his embrace even more.

"T-The f-fuck...?" You weakly snapped.

Kenma pretended that he wasn't seeing anything as he climbed on his bed, sitting with cross legs as he faced the wall, immediately starting up a game.

You two stayed in that position for a few more seconds before he moved away, smirking playfully when you covered your face and refused to look at him. You crawled towards your bed, avoiding his gaze as your face continued to flush.

"I don't feel tired anymore!" You heard him exclaim, watching him from your peripheral vision as he stretched. "I'm going home now." He announced.

Kenma nodded without looking at him. "Take care." He uttered.

You just nodded at Kuroo as he smiled at you, not saying anything when he left. And as soon as he did, you clutched on your chest, feeling your rapid heartbeat as if it was about to explode.

——————————To Be Continued——————————