Red Eyes
The ball slammed against his fingertips, causing him to grin widely. It was the final game of the day before dinner, and Kuroo had just scored his team the last point, smirking at the blond standing at the other side of the net; earning him a glare. The captain laughed and followed his team off the court, feeling triumphant in his team's victory. Once everyone had gotten their stuff, they all headed to the cafeteria. Kuroo immediately spotted Bokuto, sporting a plate filled to the brim with food, and took the seat directly across from him. He nodded at Akaashi, who also had a full plate.
Bokuto began to blabber on about his "amazing spikes", and how "they had one the last game by a point because of his final hit", while Kuroo let his eyes roam around the cafeteria, searching for a certain blond. He frowned when he didn't see him. Sitting up straighter, he looked around again, this time more carefully. Still no Tsukishima. Akaashi noticed this and tapped Bokuto on the shoulder, pointing his finger at Kuroo, who was, at the moment, completely oblivious of the two in front of him. The owlish male rose an eyebrow at Kuroo, before asking, "something wrong?" Kuroo blinked a few times before turning his attention back to Bokuto. "Oh. Uh- I was just wondering if you've seen Tsukki anywhere. He doesn't seem to be here," he replied, eyeing the cafeteria again. Bokuto followed his gaze, looking around the room himself, before shrugging his shoulders. "Nope. Haven't seen him."
"I'm going to go look for him," Kuroo replied, getting up from his seat on the bench. Bokuto smirks up at him and wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Out of all of the people Kuroo knows, he just had to choose Bokuto to talk about his crush. Said crush being on the one he's determined to find. Akaashi nudges Bokuto's shoulder, giving him a look of disapproval. The owl slumps his shoulders, a pout on his face. Kuroo rolls his eyes before making his way out of the cafeteria, checking any rooms he passes for the blond.
After fifteen minutes and still no sight of the "megane", Kuroo decides to check the perimeter of the school, and then walk around town. It's against the rules to leave the school grounds, but knowing Tsukishima, he's sure the blond would be most willing to do so, despite how he seems. Once Kuroo had checked the perimeter of the school, he snuck off the property and made his way down the sidewalk leading into a neighborhood. Tsukishima seemed like the kind of person that preferred to walk in the quieter areas, right?
The cold air nipped at the raven-haired boy's skin, causing his teeth to chatter. A soft breeze rustled the few trees around him, creating a slight "wooshing" noise. Other than the hushed sound of the leaves being blown, it was completely silent. Kuroo shivered as though someone was watching him, but he assumed it was just from the cold and the eerie atmosphere of the quiet night.
Despite being completely alone, Kuroo sped up his pace, looking around more cautiously. The feeling of another presence nearby caused him to stop in his tracks and whip his head to look behind him. No one was there. Kuroo's heart started to beat violently in his chest and he broke into a run. He could hear a faint noise behind him, almost as if something was approaching him: quickly. The raven-haired man began sprinting down the street, his heart dropping to his stomach. He turned a corner and found himself at a dead end. Mentally cursing himself, Kuroo turned around.
The sound of footsteps approaching seemed to bring his fears to life. Someone in a hoodie walked around the corner, their face hidden in the dark. Kuroo stepped backwards away from them, every step they took. Eventually, he found himself up against the wall, the person a few feet away from him. A long, glowing, yellow spike seemed to emerge from the stranger's back. It wrapped itself around their torso, stopping at their ankles. The captain's throat grew dry and he found himself unable to say anything.
Slowly, the stranger walked towards Kuroo, their grin glinting maliciously in the light of-whatever it was that was attached to them. A pitiful whimper escaped Kuroo's lips, causing the stranger to grunt out a laugh. Just before they could reach him, however, something knocked them back, sending them flying into a few garbage cans across the alleyway. Another person appeared, jumping down in front of Kuroo. This time, it was someone he recognized.
"T-Tsukki?!" he croaked out, his eyes wide. Tsukishima glanced at him from the corner of his eye, checking to see if the Nekoma captain was unhurt. Luckily, he had made it just in time. Kuroo paled at the sight of the blond's eyes: they were completely black except for the bright red irises. A loud crash caused the both of them to return their attention to the other creature. It had emerged from the pile of garbage, seemingly fuming with anger. Tsukishima lifted his arm up, as if to indicate whatever it was not to touch Kuroo. Then, the stranger lunged at Tsukishima, but was stopped by his tail thing: or so Kuroo had decided to call it.
Tsukishima's started at his lower back, and was much thicker than the other person's. On it were streaks running all across, glowing a faint pink. It resembled a scorpion tail, with large plates spread slightly apart. The spaces between the plates were a dark red, while the plates themselves glowed a lighter shade. Momentarily distracted by the tail, Kuroo failed to notice the stranger lunging towards him, that is, until Tsukishima's tail had grown in length and wrapped itself around their foot. The blond jerked his tail back, sending the attacker flying away from Kuroo. It was obvious who the stronger one of the two was, but the stranger was persistent.
Kuroo watched in horror as the two slashed at each other, each time Tsukishima blocking the other's attacks, whilst leaving large slashes across the other's skin. Blood spewed from their wounds, but they just kept attacking. They were going to die soon. Tsukishima hadn't even moved from his original spot. "S-Stop!" the Nekoma captain had shouted, but it was no use. The attacker fell to their knees, gasping for breath and holding onto a large gash on their stomach. Tsukishima eyed Kuroo once more, before giving the final blow, killing the attacker.
The blond turned to Kuroo, who had sunk to his knees, eyes wide and jaw dropped. He was shivering; out of fear or from the cold, he didn't know. He let out a sigh before stepping towards the captain and raising his kagune. With one swift movement, Kuroo was knocked unconscious. Before taking the raven-haired man back to the school, Tsukishima checked for any kind of wounds, lifting his shirt up and checking his chest and back. Once he had decided Kuroo untouched, he wrapped his kagune around the captain gently, before jumping onto the roof of a house and heading towards the school.
Quietly, Tsukishima entered the building, quickly and stealthily making his way to the Nekoma room. It was nearly curfew, so the blond assumed most of them were already back in the room. He stopped before the door and transformed back to normal; his kagune retreating into his back and his eyes changing back to their normal color. He hoisted Kuroo up on his back, and knocked on the door. A moment later Yaku opened it, his eyebrows raising slightly at the sight of Tsukishima. The shorter blond's eyes then widened once he noticed Kuroo.
"Where did you find him?" was his first question. Yaku allowed Tsukishima entrance, and watched as the tall blond dropped Kuroo down onto his sleeping mat. "Outside. He was asleep on the hill near the gym," he replied, walking back out of the room. He wished Yaku a good night, before heading to the Karasuno room.
That night, Kuroo dreamed of people with monster-like tails and red eyes.