Run, Yamaguchi Tadashi, run.
The sloshing of Yamaguchi's soles slipping against the wet, mucky ground was to be heard faintly, amongst the heavy droplets of rain plummeting to the ground in such force that it resembled bucketfuls of water hurled from the clouds above, which ranged from mouse-grey to jet black. Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing Yamaguchi to shudder in paranoia.
Even so, he kept going, as the puddles he stepped on splattered murky water onto his sagging trousers. If he was able to run as far as he could with his aching, frail legs, he would never have to sleep on the filthy wooden floor, taste the mushy sludge served stone cold on a grimy plate, or hear the others make distasteful remarks about his face riddled with imperfections.
Yamaguchi had never liked the way he looked like. His petite eyes, uncertain expression, and most prominent of all, his freckles. For many nights, he choked back tears at the memory of some of the hurtful insults thrown at him. Until one day, he decided to conjure up a plan to escape the orphanage when he knew enough was enough. Would it work? The last time he had snuck out of the room at night... He didn't even want to remember the darkness of the closet he was locked in, without food or water. But he knew he had to escape while he was mentally stable.
That was his reason behind bolting across the streets in the lashing rain and stormy weather. His chest felt tight, with his heart pumping in his throat. He took harsh gasping breaths, eyes wide and teary from the pain building up in his throat, right down to where his heart was. Each step he took, rainwater dropped down from his lengthy bangs, sliding down his freckled face.
He ducked his face down, focusing his gaze on the slippy pavement with the occasional wad of chewing gum or cigarette butt laying around on its own. He didn't know when to stop, so he continued to push himself until he was on the verge of losing his lunch.
Let's stop at that corner, the one with the monochrome plaque stuck to the brick wall.
As Yamaguchi mentally promised himself, he was feeling light-headed. No, it was barely a quarter of a kilometre. He would be able to reach his destination in no time, considering the distance he had covered in the last few.. Minutes? Hours? He didn't know. He pressed on bravely, stumbling with each step, clutching at air. Only a hundred more metres. His heart gave an excited leap of anticipation. Every step pained him, but the knowledge of certain rest gave him hope.
Fifty more metres. Forty, thirty, twenty-
Something dark came into view once he lifted his head. Before he had a chance to figure out what it was, he collided with the darkness head-on. Yamaguchi felt a warm, smooth fabric smack his face, which was soon replaced with the sensation of flying. "What..?" He flew to the ground, landing rather awkwardly. A stinging pain erupted in numerous areas, making him squeeze his eyes shut in agony. He took a look at his hands- scraped raw, some grit dusting his burning palms.
"What the hell are you doing?" Yamaguchi's head snapped up to see that a blond boy was sending him a glacial look, who was wearing a leathery black coat with the collar standing up. "You could have killed yourself. Idiot. You're hurt." He yanked Yamaguchi up from the ground, which made the injured boy wince from the rough contact. Yamaguchi was now directly facing the taller male, who was staring at his knees through his rectangular glasses.
"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry. It's fine." Yamaguchi mumbled, feeling guilty about involving a passerby. He inspected the damage done to his knees, pulling up his damp trousers. His kneecaps were grazed badly, some of the skin scraped off. "You're hurt." The blond stated, matter-of-factly. Yamaguchi's heart was still pumping in his throat from him running like a madman. The pain was starting to bring him back to reality, and he bit his lip to try and divert his attention.
"Come with me." Yamaguchi felt his hand being tugged rather forcefully by the boy that he mentally named Takahiro, since it suited his smug but determined face. "Where are you taking me?" Yamaguchi followed him hesitantly, his legs stinging with each step. Takahiro rolled his eyes at him in a pompous manner, as if he was handling an inferior.
"Somewhere you can get plasters for your knees." Takahiro didn't meet his gaze, as if he was bashful.
"Plaster?" Yamaguchi cocked his head, staring up at Takahiro with his petite, narrow eyes.
"You deaf or something? I said plaster. P-l-a-s-t-e-r. You know, the thing you-"
"I know what a plaster is, Takahiro, but why would you go to the trouble?" Yamaguchi asked inquisitively, accidentally calling the blond the name he had just invented for him.
"Who is Takahiro?" The boy squinted, lowering his head so that he was at eye level with Yamaguchi. "My name is Tsukishima Kei. Call me that from now on, and not that stupid excuse of a name." Tsukishima growled, obviously annoyed that Yamaguchi had made up a name for him.
Yamaguchi seemed to be in deep thoughts for a few brief seconds, but soon opened his eyes wide and grinned. "Tsukishima Kei... Tsu-ki-shi-ma..." He sounded it out to test out the new name on his tongue, while Tsukishima grumbled that he should know what Yamaguchi is called, since he revealed his name.
"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi, nice to meet you... Tsukki!" Yamaguchi extended a hand out to Tsukishima, managing a shaky smile.
The corner of Tsukishima's mouth twitched in disgruntlement. "What the hell did you just call me?" He growled, clearly unhappy with his nickname. Hell, he even started to doubt if "Takahiro" was that bad of a nickname. He wanted to roll his eyes and give the cheeky kid a smack on the back, but the expression Yamaguchi had prevented him from doing so. He looked like he hadn't been this happy in a long time, and he didn't want to burst his bubble.
Sighing, Tsukishima strode down to the street briskly, holding onto Yamaguchi's hand firmly so that he wouldn't lose him amongst the oncoming crowds of people with warm, thick coats. "Tsukki, where are you taking me?" Tsukishima huffed in response, literally dragging Yamaguchi to a detached house, somewhat large in size, though luxurious was not a suitable way to describe the brick building.
"Be careful around the other kids." Was all Tsukishima warned Yamaguchi as he rapped on the wooden door. Yamaguchi saw some of the hall through the stained glass that he had looked into out of curiosity. A rumbling noise advanced closer to the door, making Yamaguchi take a step back. It was the right thing to do, since the door was hurled open at a dangerous speed less than three seconds later.
"I win, Ryu!" A remarkably short boy with a streak of blond hair amongst his pointy dark hair grinned triumphantly at "Ryu", a cheeky-looking kid with a buzz cut. Both were out of breath from racing to the door like they were being chased by wolves with rabies. "I will not lose to you next time, Noya- hey! Tsukishima brought a guest over!" The buzz cut boy stared at Yamaguchi inquisitively, then pointed to himself and "Noya" to introduce himself. "I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke, and this is my homie, Nishinoya Yuu." Tsukishima rolled his eyes at Tanaka, making a sour expression. "Please, Tanaka, stop trying to show off in front of Yamaguchi. It's cringey, particularly when a twelve-year-old baldy like you does it," With that, he slipped into the kitchen before Tanaka could fight him.
What is happening?! Why did Tsukki leave me with these people? Why am I here in another person's house anyway? Yamaguchi's head was buzzing with thoughts, making him panic. He made a mental note to himself that Tsukki was one of the most irresponsible people he had ever laid his eyes upon, leaving him like that with a stranger- Tanaka was already chasing Tsukishima screaming bloody murder.
Nishinoya shook Yamaguchi's hand vigorously, jumping up and down obnoxiously until the floorboards creaked as he pulled him in. "Y-Yamaguchi Tadashi, nice to meet you." Yamaguchi reluctantly ventured further into the house, taking careful steps through the hallway. Without warning, a generous-looking man in his early twenties was in front of him, Tsukishima gripping his arm tightly. He was wearing a pastel pink apron, with his shirt sleeves rolled up. Yamaguchi assumed that he had been cooking.
"Hello! I'm Sugawara Koushi. The kids here call me Suga, Suga-San or some form of 'mom'. Can I take a look at your knees?" Suga lay a hand on Yamaguchi's shoulder, acting as if he was used to taking care of kids. Yamaguchi obliged, sitting on a stool that was near the oven, turned off as today's dinner was spaghetti carbonara, with Suga's special ingredient included. Nishinoya had secretly whispered to Yamaguchi that the secret ingredient was edamame. He carried on entertaining Yamaguchi while Suga cleaned his knees with cool, rushing tap water until a teenager with some stubble around his chin timidly stepped into the kitchen to eat.
Nishinoya's eyes lit up as he saw the shy teen, who hid behind the door as soon as he saw Yamaguchi. "Asahi-san! We have a new member here, so stop cowering and come out to greet him! He's called Tadashi." Yamaguchi silently thanked Nishinoya for saving him from an awkward introduction moment. Asahi, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He mumbled a hello, his face flushed right to his ears. "I-eh, I'm Azumane Asahi. I'm fourteen years old." His eyes swam from left to right, causing him to earn a rather harsh slap on the back from Nishinoya. "You have to act like the mini-boss, Asahi-san! You're the oldest out of us!" Nishinoya was probably only trying to share some of his endless energy, but it caused Asahi's face to drain in colour with each slap.
Within a few minutes, Suga had stuck plasters onto Yamaguchi's knees and given him a pat on the head for "being such a brave boy", while praising Tsukishima for being so generous to a stranger. "I just bumped into him, Suga-san. It's not like it wasn't my fault." Tsukishima mumbled, clearly feeling bashful over the compliment Suga gave him. "But you helped me get better, Tsukki! You're kind, after all!" Yamaguchi grinned at him, momentarily forgetting how painful his kneecaps were. Tsukishima muttered something under his breath, blushing like mad. "He's right, Kei. You helped someone you don't even know because you were kind. Kindness is one of the most beautiful and important trait anyone can have. Even if you don't display it often, so long you have it within you, you're one hundred percent a person that will bring much joy." Yamaguchi felt that Tsukishima understood what Suga had just told him, because his head was bowed deeper with each word that came out of Suga's mouth.
"There's Ennoshita Chikara under the table."
"That's Narita Kazuhito behind the curtains."
"Last but not least, Kinoshita Hisashi beside the door."
The three mentioned above burst into fist of giggles as they wriggled out of their hiding places, obviously thinking that they had done something hilarious for Yamaguchi. Ennoshita looked rather shy as well, but the other two were soon talking to Yamaguchi, explaining how things were run in the orphanage. They seemed to think that Yamaguchi was joining them, and so did Suga. "Tadashi, I hope you like carbonara. It's today's dinner." Suga laid out the plates of carbonara onto the table, giving Yamaguchi a sweet, angelic smile. Yamaguchi gulped down his saliva rising in his mouth. It looked so delicious and ready to eat. But he was only a guest. He had almost forgotten, because everyone seemed so welcoming. He sat in silence as everyone dug into their food, Suga gently scolding Nishinoya and Tanaka who were having a food eating contest. Kinoshita was taking cover behind Narita's back to avoid the food flying in all sorts of directions because of said two individuals.
"Aren't you going to eat, Yamaguchi?" Tsukishima pushed Yamaguchi's plate closer to him. Yamaguchi presumed that no one would be angry if he ate, since there was a plate right in front of him. It was hard not to think about the time his plate had been pushed off the ground when he was in his orphanage. He hesitantly took the fork with a polka-dot design on it to eat some of the pasta. He swirled around the fork on his plate, lifting the pasta into his mouth to taste it.
Wow, it was so much better than the food he had eaten within the past year. The mozzarella melted in his mouth, the pasta didn't have a rubbery texture and the bacon was crisped to perfection. "Isn't Suga-san's food tasty as hell?" Nishinoya yelled across the table to Yamaguchi, earning a warning not to use that kind of language from Suga and a "Shut your mouth" from Tsukishima. "Oh yeah, where's Hinata, Kageyama and Daichi?" Tanaka asked Suga. He was already done wolfing down his food, miraculously not leaving a mess on his face or shirt. Unfortunately, the mess that was supposed to end up in those places were transferred onto the table. Suga averted his eyes, not wanting to answer that question. "Upstairs. You shouldn't disturb them, they're... Very busy at the moment." Everyone knew that Suga had made that up on the spot.
Before Suga could protest, Nishinoya was stomping up the stairs shouting that they were all rude to not eat Suga's magnificent cooking. Tsukishima gave an empty laugh, holding a smug grin. "Come, Yamaguchi. This'll be fun." Before Yamaguchi could even think about how rude it would be to go upstairs with Suga's permission, Tsukishima had slyly linked his arm around Yamaguchi's and brought him up to the hall upstairs. There was a faint sobbing coming from a room down the right, along with someone else with a squeaky voice and an adult. "Is Hinata crying again? The Rolling Thunder-" Nishinoya shouted, but Tsukishima cut him off.
"No, you dope. You should know. It's Kageyama." He opened up the door gently, stepping in. Nishinoya followed shortly, before Yamaguchi, who immediately regret coming upstairs. It was an incredibly awkward moment, with a dark-haired boy wrapped in a soft baby blue blanket, sobbing like there was no tomorrow. "Kageyama, it's okay! I'm here to protect you!" An orange puff squeaked, clinging onto Kageyama. Upon closer inspection, the orange puff was a rather short boy. The tallest out of the three, an adult, was whispering into Kageyama's ear while laying a comforting hand onto his raven hair. "That orange one is Hinata, he squeaks a lot and loves to wind up Kageyama, the one that's crying his eyes out. He's irritating, to be honest. Both of them are idiots, so don't expect much from them." Tsukishima gave Yamaguchi a brief introduction of the two, no more than nine years old. "Hey, Kei and Yuu, what business have you got here?" The adult- Yamaguchi assumed he was another carer- asked gently but his voice had a sharp edge to it.
"Daichi-san, we have a newcomer. I thought he should say hi to you guys." Tsukishima didn't even flinch when the carer's face was inches away from his, as opposed to Nishinoya who scuttled back a few steps. "Oh, hello! I'm Sawamura Daichi, welcome to the orphanage!" Daichi gave Yamaguchi a warm welcome, letting Yamaguchi take his time to form his first impression of him. "He's nice, but don't make him mad. It won't be pretty." Nishinoya hissed into Yamaguchi's ear, clearly serious. Yamaguchi nodded, despite not fully understanding why he was being welcomed already. He had only come here because Tsukishima wanted to treat his knees.
Yamaguchi's gaze shifted to the bawling Kageyama, who showed no signs of stopping his crying. "What's wrong, Kageyama?" Yamaguchi trodden over to Kageyama to wipe his tears with his sleeve. His only response was a choked sob, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. "He doesn't like the thunderstorm." Hinata explained, rubbing circles on Kageyama's shivering back. "Come on, Kageyama, Suga-san's pasta will make you better." Yamaguchi didn't know if he was helping, but he didn't like watching Kageyama crying. "Suga-san made pasta? Why didn't you tell me, Noya-san?" Hinata leapt to his feet, tugging Kageyama's blanket. Unfortunately for them, Kageyama was tightly wrapped in that blanket and Hinata yanking it made him collapse to the ground, along with Hinata himself.
Tsukishima almost choked laughing, while Kageyama screamed "Hinata boke" at the top of his lungs and Hinata screeched that he was "sorry, Kageyama-kun, please don't hit me!" Tsukishima warned Yamaguchi that Daichi was going to blow soon if they kept it up, and that they should take cover before they face his wrath. Needless to say, Kageyama and Hinata kept it up and effectively earned an eight-minute time-out in the corner while holding hands.
"Tadashi, where were you before you came here?" Suga lifted Yamaguchi onto his lap, creating an atmosphere that made Yamaguchi want to spit everything out and cry into Suga's shirt. "You can tell me everything, Tadashi. I'll keep it a secret." That did it. Yamaguchi explained everything to Suga, who listened with a pained expression. About how he was treated in the orphanage, how he had escaped, and how Tsukishima had helped him. "I'm sorry about all this happening to you. You're safe here, okay?" Suga rocked Yamaguchi in his arms, patting his back in a soothing rhythm. "Suga-san, I'm really grateful for all this. Can I stay here forever? It's so warm, and cozy, and, and.." Yamaguchi hiccuped, tensing slightly. "Of course, Tadashi. Stay with us all you like. Welcome to the Karasuno Orphanage." Yamaguchi soon fell asleep in Suga's arms, comfortable as can be. He thought about how delicious the carbonara was, how accepting everyone was, and how cool Tsukishima was. He was calm, composed, and didn't get angry when he crashed into him. Tsukishima was a bit of a jerk to Hinata and Kageyama, but Yamaguchi had seen his soft side. He knew that there was a pure, generous heart inside the tough outer shell of Tsukishima.
Suga carried Yamaguchi into the children's bedroom, laying him down on the bed beside Nishinoya and Tsukishima. "Goodnight, Tadashi, sleep well." He smiled, determined to make Yamaguchi smile every day from now on. He had to discuss the issues that had come up while talking to Yamaguchi with Daichi, as usual. It was usually him that coaxed the words out of even the most unwilling children.
That was how Yamaguchi's first evening at Karasuno Orphanage ended up like.