A/N This fic was a request on my Haikyu! Writing Requests forum. The prompt was training camp teams "Haunted House".
After another weekend full of demanding matches, relentless drills, and exhausting practices, it was finally that time again. Karasuno was once again leaving the premises of the training camp in Tokyo. As usual, Nekoma was there to see them off.
Usually, this sendoff finished with a handshake between the captains. This time, however, turned out differently. After shaking Daichi's hand, Kuroo turned towards a retreating blonde and called out, "Tsukki~!"
Tsukishima turned around just in time to see Kuroo throw an envelope towards him before the elder returned to his team. Shrugging, the tall middle blocker bent down and retrieved the envelope that had barely reached him.
On the way back to Miyagi, Hinata was the first to inquire as to the contents of the envelope. "Hey, Tsukishima," the boy called out from across the bus, "What's that envelope you're playing around with?"
Tsukishima glanced down at the envelope that his fingers had been unconsciously worrying and answered monotonously, "I'm not sure. Kuroo-san threw it at me before we left..."
Hinata's reaction was immediate, "EEHHHH?! What do you think it is?"
Tsukishima sighed as Hinata's yell attracted the attention of the rest of the bus. Immediately, some of the other boys joined in the conservation.
Trying to escape the calls of 'maybe it's a love letter~~' from Nishinoya and 'Oooohhhh! What if it is!' from Tanaka, who seconded him, Tsukishima slowly opened it.
Inside of the envelope, there were multiple pieces of paper. Finding it too difficult to just take them out one by one, Tsukishima decided to dump the contents of the envelope onto his lap. Immediately, identical pieces of bright paper floated down to their destination. Curiosity taking over him, Tsukishima raised one of the papers up to his face.
Besides being brightly colored, the paper also had a picture of a black cat on it. Next to the cat, in a speech bubble, it said: Nekoma School Festival. Admit One.
After counting the tickets, Tsukishima concluded that there was enough for the entire team, even with the coach, adviser, and managers included.
While staring at the tickets in his hand, Tsukishima could not help but think, "Why didn't he just give this to Daichi-san..."
After staring at the tickets for a few seconds, Tsukishima finally reacted to Hinata's queries of 'what is it?' by reaching across the bus and handing him one of the tickets. Similarly, he also handed Yamaguchi a ticket, as he had been looking at him curiously this whole time.
A few seconds later, Hinata yelled excitedly, "Lucky!" Once Hinata calmed down, he explained quickly, "I've been wanting to go to this! I tried to get a ticket, but they were all sold out."
At Hinata's remark, Tanaka inquired loudly, "What's it a ticket for? A concert?"
Seeing as Hinata was too excited to properly answer, and that Tsukishima was not about to, Yamaguchi replied softly, "Actually, they're tickets for Nekoma's school festival. It's next weekend."
By this point, most of the other conversations on the bus had quieted down. Another voice joined the conversation, "Nekoma's school festival, eh. I remember finding information on it when I was researching them. It's quite famous."
"That's correct, Sensei," Coach Ukai butted in, "Back when I was a student, it was just as popular. Those cats sure know how to have a good festival."
Immediately after that statement, multiple boys piped up claiming they wanted to go. Tsukishima kept silent for a few minutes at their pleas. It was amusing to hear 'please Tsukishima-kun' repeated multiple times.
Eventually, Tsukishima relented and told the truth, "Oi, quiet down idiots. There's enough tickets for everyone on this bus..."
Once the tickets were handed out, a couple of the boys started complaining about the cruel treatment.
A few days later, Asahi was looking at his ticket speculatively. There was something about this whole situation that was not making any sense to him. "Why did Kuroo-san give the tickets to Tsukishima-kun? Surely it would've made more sense to give them to Daichi-san..." he thought to himself. Lost in thought as he was, Asahi did not hear Sugawara coming up behind him.
When he felt an arm being wrapped around his shoulders, Asahi squeaked in surprise. Not many would dare to sneak up on him due to his appearance, but when they did, he reacted rather badly. Immediately, Asahi started to distance himself from the intruder in his personal space. It was not until Sugawara laughed that he relaxed.
Once Sugawara finished chuckling, he got right to the point, "What was with that expression, Asahi? You looked confused for a while." Sugawara tilted his head in his usual inquisitive manner as he waited for a reply.
Sighing, Asahi decided to tell Sugawara his previous thoughts. When he finished, Sugawara had a thoughtful look on his face. "What do you think it means, Suga-san?"
"...That sure is something interesting that you've noticed, Asahi." Sugawara answered absently. A minute later, his face lit up with a huge smile, and he started singing mischievously, "Kuroo and Tsukki, sitting in a tree..."
At this point, Asahi was panicking that someone was going to hear Sugawara and tried to clap a hand over his mouth. Unfortunately, Sugawara swiftly dodged and kept singing, much to Asahi's eventual embarrassment when Daichi showed up unexpectedly.
Hinata opened up his phone as soon as he heard the ping of an incoming text message. Disregarding the fact that he was currently talking to Kageyama, Hinata checked Kenma's response to the question he had asked. When he saw what Kenma had answered, he could not help but yell out, "SO COOL!"
Kageyama's reaction to this unexpected screech was to clap his hands over his ears and scowl at Hinata in irritation. Seeing as the orange-haired kid was not calming down anytime soon, Kageyama steeled himself and asked, "What?" in a voice as monotone as possible.
Not getting the hint to keep his answer as short as possible, Hinata babbled to Kageyama, "Earlier I asked Kenma what his volleyball team was doing for the festival! They have the best part! According to Kenma, they're in charge of the haunted house!"
"So?" Kageyama instantly regretted saying this because of what came out of Hinata's mouth next.
"Let's go together! If you get scared you can jump into my arms at any time!"
The day of the festival, the entire team gathered at the train station as planned. Since this was not an official club event, they were not allowed to take the club's bus.
Although most of the boys were looking forward to the event, Tsukishima could not help but be wary due to the three boys glancing his way every so often. For some reason, Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi had been doing that for the last few days, often with a small smile on their faces, as if they knew something that he did not. It was starting to piss him off at this point. While he could just ask them what they found so amusing, Tsukishima had already promised himself that he would not react to their stares. It would not do to lose his calm persona after all.
Having already decided to ignore their stares, Tsukishima busied himself with listening to music during the train ride. Besides a few notable bumps and turns, the train ride was mostly a blur to him due to how engrossed he was in his music. Therefore, it came as a surprise to him when Yamaguchi started pulling on his arm to get him to leave the train.
Sighing, Tsukishima returned to the world of talking as he reluctantly lowered his headphones at Yamaguchi's pleading look. It seemed as if Yamaguchi had something to say to him.
"Ano," Yamaguchi started with an awkward smile, "Why do our sempais keep looking at you like that...?"
Tsukishima's response of shrugging his shoulders told Yamaguchi all he needed to know. In 'Tsukki speak', shrugging simply meant 'I don't know'.
A comfortable silence fell between the two and lasted the few minutes it took to walk the rest of the way to Nekoma high school. As they neared the gates of the school, everyone in their group remembered to grab their tickets from wherever they had stashed them on their person. In Tsukishima's case, this meant his back pocket. Although it was slightly creased after he sat on it, the ticket passed inspection at the entry booth and received a stamp, rendering it void of further use.
Once he entered the festival, Tsukishima looked around himself with slight awe, managing to forget that Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi had been glancing at him previously. Nekoma high school had been decked out splendidly for the event. Although probably partly due to the change in prefecture, it was much better decorated than Karasuno's own festival had been.
As Tsukishima was about to set out with Yamaguchi to explore the festival, his plan was hijacked as Sugawara started to push him in a random direction. Looking helplessly at his friend, Yamaguchi said that he would go exploring with Ennoshita and Narita instead, and to have fun with Suga-san.
After Sugawara started dragging Tsukishima with him, he began to freak out over his spontaneous decision. To distract himself from the talk he was about to have with Tsukishima about Kuroo's crush on him, Sugawara looked for a place to sit. While doing so, Sugawara noticed that Tsukishima was looking at one of the booths longingly. At closer inspection, the booth was selling different kinds of cake.
Realizing that it would be easier to talk with food, Sugawara gently steered Tsukishima over to the booth and asked him what he wanted. To Sugawara's surprise, as he did not think that Tsukishima had a sweet tooth, he ordered a strawberry shortcake.
After retrieving his cake from the booth, Tsukishima quickly found a place to sit, causing Sugawara to wonder why he himself had not spotted it. The answer soon revealed itself to be that he had overlooked it due to the fact that the table was currently occupied. Normally this would not be a problem, however, the occupants were easily recognizable.
Sugawara soon realized that he was not going to be able to have a private talk with Tsukishima anytime soon, as Bokuto would not stop talking to Tsukishima excitedly.
Akaashi sighed as he took in the situation in front of him. Although Bokuto seemed to have fun talking to Tsukishima, and vice versa, it was painfully obvious that the setter opposite him was planning to talk to Tsukishima about something. Trying to diffuse the awkward situation, Akaashi initiated a conversation with Sugawara.
"So... What brings Karasuno to Nekoma's school festival?"
Although he had not been trying to learn what Suga-san wanted to tell Tsukishima-kun, it was clear by Suga-san's reaction that it was related to the reason they were attending.
After waiting for a minute, during which Sugawara glanced at Tsukishima periodically, Akaashi received his answer, "Kuroo-san gave us tickets."
For some reason, Akaashi felt that Suga-san was not telling the whole truth about the matter. To show his doubt, he inquisitively raised an eyebrow, and waited patiently for Sugawara to reconsider his answer.
Another few seconds passed before Sugawara leaned in to whisper in Akaashi's ear, at the hope of the others not hearing, "That is, Kuroo-san gave Tsukishima-kun the tickets..."
Akaashi immediately understood what the other was implying. Truth be told, he himself knew it to be true. While Kuroo himself had not told him, he had told Kenma, and Kenma had told Akaashi. Akaashi was even sure that Tsukishima had similar feelings towards Kuroo, although he was not sure if the younger realized it.
"So that's what you wanted to talk to Tsukishima-kun about..." Akaashi whispered back, "I know he seems emotionally constipated, but that's just his way to protect himself. Give them some time and they'll sort this out."
Although Suga-san winced at the term Akaashi used to describe Tsukishima-kun, he still nodded in agreement to Akaashi's words. It was then that they noticed that the constant stream of chatter beside them had stopped.
Bokuto briefly stopped talking as he noticed that Akaashi and the gray-haired setter from Karasuno were whispering with each other. Noticing a chance when he saw one, Bokuto slowly stood up from the table and motioned for Tsukki to follow him.
Once they were a suitable distance away from the others, Bokuto shot a glance at the empty plate clutched between his friend's hands. It amused him to no end that Tsukki liked strawberry shortcake. In spite of this, it was important that Tsukki had a proper diet. One with less cake and more meat. On that note, he was currently looking for his favorite food stand.
As Bokuto guided Tsukishima towards the stand, he told Tsukishima to order what he wanted. In response to this, Tsukishima answered something along the lines of 'I just ate'.
As a result, Bokuto just ended up ordering enough ribs for the both of them, and told Tsukishima to eat up. As if on cue, both Daichi and Kuroo managed to appear with plates heaped with rice balls and vegetables accordingly.
While Tsukishima just gaped at them in surprise, the three of them managed to load up Tsukishima's plate with a good amount of food.
Once Tsukki regained his wits, he abruptly stood up and left.
The calls of both Bokuto and Kuroo followed him, "Tsukki! Don't leave!"
Ignoring the cries behind him, Tsukishima stormed off. It was annoying to have to deal with three captains at the same time, especially when they teamed up on him.
As it was, this day was not going the way he wanted it to. Originally, his plan was to spend the day with Yamaguchi, and maybe talk to Kuroo-san a little. While Suga-san dragging him off was unexpected, he still got strawberry shortcake from it so he was satisfied with it. In addition to that, it was nice to catch up with Bokuto-san. However, the three captains trying to get him to stuff himself was too much. At this point, all he wanted to do was to find Yamaguchi and wait out the rest of the festival in peace.
Alas, it was not to be so. A few minutes of wandering the festival later, Tsukishima happened across Yamaguchi. For some reason, he was talking to Oikawa Tooru, Aoba Johsai's captain. Tsukishima quickly turned around and headed in a random direction. If he had to describe Oikawa, he would use the word annoying. Tsukishima found him intolerable.
As a result, Tsukishima found himself outside the haunted house attraction a few minutes later.
Yaku noticed as Karasuno's number 11 entered the haunted house. He was the second person from Karasuno's team that had arrived at the haunted house so far.
Earlier on, Karasuno's captain, Daichi, had gone in. However, he had left shortly after with Kuroo-san, who was supposed to be on duty. To make matters more confusing, it seemed as if Kuroo-san was texting Bokuto-san while talking to Daichi-san. What the three were up to, Yaku had no idea.
"Whatever it might be," Yaku thought, "They are probably done with it by now." Kuroo-san had just returned.
The first thing Tsukishima noticed about the haunted house was its location. The building it was in was doubtlessly the gym. Vaguely, Tsukishima remembered Hinata rambling about how Nekoma's volleyball team was in charge of the haunted house this year. At the time he had not paid any attention to the claim, but seeing Nekoma's libero outside reminded him of it. Briefly, Tsukishima wondered what costume Kuroo-san would be wearing.
The second thing he noticed was the sound, or the lack thereof. There was no ghostly music playing in the background, a usual staple of haunted houses everywhere. "At least they're doing it differently..." He thought, before a sudden noise startled him.
The voice seemed to echo from around him, but Tsukishima figured that it was due to being broadcasted from speakers set around the room. Creepily enough, it seemed as if the voice was narrating his every move.
"He steps to the right! And he steps to the left! He's walking down the corridor."
"Isn't that Kuroo-san?"
"Another foolish human has entered my domain..." the voice started again. Oddly enough, it sounded just like Darth Vader did on Star Wars to Tsukishima this time. Normally he would not notice this right away, but the Karasuno volleyball team had recently watched the movie. It was weird how the voice just changed.
As Tsukishima journeyed further on, he noticed that the lighting was dimmer and dimmer. Eventually, there was barely enough light to see by. If it got any darker, Tsukishima would be in trouble.
Or not. Apparently the voice wanted him to be able to clear the maze...
"Hahaha..." the voice laughed as Tsukishima walked face first into a wall, "The foolish human is blinded by my power!"
"..." Tsukishima facepalmed at the voice's words.
"Ahem. Anyways," the voice intoned, "Go to the right if you want to leave my domain. Hey! Are you ignoring me?"
Tsukishima had decided to go left as soon as the voice said right. He wanted to see what would happen if he went the wrong direction, plus he wanted to annoy whoever was behind the voice.
"Hmph. Very well. Minions, chase him out!"
Tsukishima smirked at the response he gained, but wondered if it would not be much different regardless of which direction he went. It was a haunted house after all.
"OOOOOoooooOOOOOOhhhHHHH."
Tsukishima blinked as he heard what could only be described as someone's poor attempt at a ghostly wail. A glow-in-the-dark sheet was coming towards him. If there was anything nice to say about it, it was that it was very animated.
As if to add to the effect, the voice chipped in, "Go, my minion! Strike fear in the hearts of those that defy me!"
Once the 'ghost' was within a few feet of him, Tsukishima noticed its abnormal height. "Lev...?" He muttered.
Lev blinked as he was identified, and took a closer look at the person he was ordered to 'haunt' by Kenma. It was Tsukishima. Although he was tempted to greet his fellow middle-blocker, Kenma had warned him about being overly friendly to people in the haunted house. It would not do to reveal his true identity so soon.
"Lev? WhOOOoooo is that?" Lev inquired ghost-like.
He was rewarded by a short laugh from Tsukishima and the answer, "I know it's you..."
Frantically, Lev denied the claim, "NoooOOOOOOooooo. I am just a ghOOOOoooooOOOsssSSt."
Lev was soon shut up by Tsukishima's next remark, "Lev, your feet are showing... Plus, who else is that tall?!"
Mutely, Lev trailed behind Tsukishima.
Overall, the haunted house was proving amusing to Tsukishima. Although Tsukishima often tried to go in the opposite direction of what the voice said, the 'ghost', Lev, was proving difficult in that he physically stopped him from going in the wrong direction. He was being herded somewhere.
A couple of minutes after that realization, another voice joined the fray. This time, it spoke in a deadpan tone. Since there were no voice modifiers this time, Tsukishima could clearly identify the voice as Kuroo-san's.
"Braaaiiiinnnnsss. Braaaiiiinnnnsss."
However, before he could turn around to face the voice, a pair of arms encircled him, and Kuroo-san whispered, "I got you~"
"Oi," Tsukishima started, "Let go of me Kuroo-san."
Kuroo released Tsukki and pouted as the younger boy looked at him.
Tsukki was studying him, no doubt taking in his wonderful costume. Kuroo was dressed up as a zombie, complete with graying skin-tones and missing chunks of flesh. The best part of his costume, in his opinion, however, were the cat ears on top of his head. They were the same ash-gray as the rest of his assemble and had been carefully mutilated to give off a better sense of age.
Suddenly, Tsukki giggled and Kuroo knew the cat ears had worked as he said, "You really are a cat, Kuroo-san."
"Why thank you, Tsukki. I'm glad you came."
Lev narrowed his eyes as his captain started talking to Tsukishima. As Lev well knew, they were not supposed to hold conversations with their guests! Intent on reminding Kuroo-san, Lev poked him in the side.
He was ignored.
A few hours later, Hinata and Kageyama finally entered the haunted house. As the lights dimmed, a voice called out to them, "And so two idiots entered the haunted house, never to be seen again..."
In the distance, maniacal laughing could be heard, oddly reminiscent of a hyena catching its prey.
"Oi, Tsukki! It's my turn for the microphone."
The End
If you're interested, please check out the forum and make your own requests!