Chapter 1
The continuous thudding of ball against wall echoed deep throughout the building as the sun set slowly across the horizon. The team had been forced into their rooms, eventually giving up all attempts to defy their coach. Following Endou's lead, they had all started to train in their rooms, much to the annoyance of Fudou, whose room had annoyingly been placed next to Endou's. All he wanted to do was lie back and take it easy for once, but any chance of that had been wiped clear, and his world seemed to consist of a constant, annoying thud...thud...thud of the ball as it smashed against the wall. He was reaching his limit, close to ripping out his perfect hair, when the thudding died down. It seemed like Endou had stopped for the night, and the others would do soon after. Finally, Fudou could get some decent sleep without losing his hair.
Unknown to Fudou was that the reason Endou stopped, in the light of the setting sun, was completely different to any reason Fudou could think of.
The sudden silence coming from Endou's room was rather unsettling for Gouenji. Endou was the last person Gouenji would have thought to stop so early in the night. Maybe something was wrong? Not wanting to invade his privacy, which some others had no problem doing, he decided to keep tabs on his door, and if either he heard the sound of ball hitting wall, or door opening up, he would leave him alone. That was when his own door slid open, and a panting Kidou stumbled in. He may have had goggles to protect his eyes from preying visitors, but his posture was one of fear, his hands screwed up into fists, and his head hung low as he tried to catch his breath. He wasted no time in getting to the point.
"Gouenji!"
"What is it no..."
"Endou's gone!"
The forest, the trees, the shelter from his friends, is what he desired the most. Running on left over adrenalin, he made his way jaggedly towards familiar ground. When had this pitch ever been so bloody long? Pain shot through his body, and he could taste blood in his mouth, a weirdly familiar metallic taste. He could feel his bones shifting underneath his skin, puncturing vessels and reaching towards his heart, as if trying to encase it in misery. He screamed out in agony, his legs giving way, as he sunk to the floor, unable to stop the pain, just watch as his life blood flowed out of his body. His skin turned white, and hair started to force its way out of every place it could find. He was reduced to whimpering, his throat chords changing the sound into a deep growl. He reached out with a mutated hand, determined to reach the comfort of the wild.