Author's Note
Finally getting into the actual apocalyptic setting this chapter! Yaaassss!
Last chapter was a lot about Hinata, and now it's from Daichi's (and Suga's) point of view. But again, there's a bit of everybody.
I hope I didn't write these kids too OOC. I'm trying to adapt their personalities to how they'd cope in an apocalyptic world and IDK. I think they wouldn't be able to adapt as well because they're strong and united, but they've also never been so alone (without adults I mean) to face their struggles. So now they're trying to be adults when 2 months ago they were simple kids.
Warning: violence, some graphic imagery towards the very end, off-screen minor character death.
Please enjoy!
"We're not going to make it, are we?"
The question was whispered softly, as if it hadn't even been meant to be verbalized, and yet Suga caught it and turned around. Daichi was leaning on the railing, looking down at the rest of the team who were either loafing around or half-heartedly passing each other a volleyball. The slackness in their movements betrayed the exhaustion that had resulted from their day and the accumulation of all the others before that, and Daichi wondered if playing volleyball in that fashion was lowering their morale rather than boosting it.
None of them had properly indulged in their favourite passtime since, two months ago, the country went to war and the world went to hell. Even bright, energetic Hinata looked too tired for a kid his age, even if all of his visible injuries had healed in the past three weeks he'd spent at the warehouse.
"I feel like we're just pretending to keep it together," he added after a moment's thought, and sighed. "What do we know about survival? Most of us are not even legal yet. We don't have a single adult amongst us to help us through this. The authorities aren't coming for us. We're doing a rush job of patching up all the holes in our fragile plans and I know it's going to come falling apart sooner or later."
Suga thought about these things, too. A lot, in fact. As the third oldest person in their group, he felt responsible for the others, and feared every single day for their safety. But the fear of loss was something he'd learnt to cope with after they'd received Tsukishima amongst them, four days after the destruction of the town. Then, he'd taught himself that fear of loss was not an obstacle, but something to motivate him to work harder.
"We'll be fine," he mumbled in reply, getting up from his chair and slowly walking towards Daichi. The words sounded like lies, but not entirely. That had to count for something, at least. "We've made it this far, haven't we? It's almost been a month since the Forty Fireworks, and we're all still alive. Roughed up, tired, maybe a little bit hopeless, but we're alive." Suga leaned over the railing, his arm just barely touching Daichi's in a silent gesture of comfort. "We're alive, and... we're still together," he added as an afterthought, and a small smile tugged at his lips. It suddenly felt more important not to be alone than not to be dead.
"You've always read the atmosphere so well. You should lead us instead," Daichi murmured, his lips answering Suga's smile with a smile of his own. And yet, his was sad as he watched Nishinoya purposely miss a ball, too exhausted to dive for it. "I'm not fit to lead. One day, I'll make the wrong choice and the consequences might kill you and the guilt might just kill me."
"You've always been our pillar of strength, Dai." Suga waved down at Hinata, who was waving up at them with the tired smile he always seemed to wear these days. "And you've never let us down. I don't think you ever would, no matter what you did."
"Captain!" Hinata yelled. "Suga! Do you want to play a 3 VS 3 with us?"
"I hardly think any of us have energy for something like that, Hinata," Suga laughed, but leaned away from the railing. "How about we relax and just spike some sets?"
"Yeah!" Hinata nodded fervently, and Daichi admired his energy and optimism despite all that had happened. Hinata seemed to have recovered fully from his traumatizing ordeal, even though anyone could guess that he would never forget the nightmarish days he passed by his family's grave, and the Captain wondered if perhaps he, too, could muster that kind of optimism to motivate his team.
His team. His people. His family.
"I'm coming," Suga called down to Hinata, and then turned to pat Daichi's arm comfortingly. "Don't put yourself down. You know everybody looks up to you and believes in you entirely. This isn't pressure put on you. On the contrary, it's a load off your shoulders, because we'll definitely have your back, no matter what."
And he started walking away.
"I suppose I shouldn't disappoint, then," Daichi muttered softly, more to himself than anybody else, and whether Suga heard him or not, he still did turn to read the flickering hope in his eyes.
"We all believe in you. When things go wrong, you always tell us it's going to be fine, and everybody believes you because if our captain said so, then it must be so."
For a second and a half, Daichi believed him entirely.
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Daichi had never ever in his entire 19 year-old life been at a loss of what to do like he was at a loss now.
But then again, never in the span of his 19 year-old life had he had the lives of 9 other people quite literally in the palm of his hands.
He wanted to say that he was too old for this shit, but in reality, he was too young. Too fucking young. All of them were.
"Find the near-sssssshhhh... basemen-shhhh... hide and pray-shhhhhhh-"
"Damn this useless piece of junk!" Nishinoya raged once more, thumping the battery-powered radio that was currently reading off their collective death warrant.
"To all survivi-sshhhhhhhhhh... There is-sssshhhhhhh... no hope-"
"That's enough," Daichi turned the radio off completely, and he'd be lying if he said that his trembling fingers didn't fumble with the knob for a second before all sound filtered out of the gigantic room.
The team hardly even breathed at this point.
"We're all going to die," Nishinoya finally stated as if it was something inevitable. And the fact that nobody answered proved that they believed it, too.
"It's probably some bullshit hipster announcement from some guy thinking he's like in a video game, broadcasting on an AM station during the apocalypse," Tsukishima growled, but there was no bite to his words.
"He's been our rare source of information so far, and it's all been correct until now." Suga's eyes were on the radio, his eyes dull as he lost himself to his thoughts.
"But he's based in Tokyo. Maybe it doesn't concern us?" Yamaguchi tried meekly, and it was so incredibly obvious that he didn't even believe himself.
"Tokyo isn't that far from here. A nuclear explosion that would affect Tokyo in any way would affect us here, too," Asahi murmured, eyes downcast.
"W-Well, they didn't specify that Tokyo was the target! Maybe they're way off. Maybe the bombing is going to happen somewhere on Hokkaido, even, so we won't even be bothered by it," Yamaguchi tried again, and Daichi dimly noted that it was the most the boy had spoken in days. Shame it had to be about a topic like this.
"We don't know anything, though. Better safe than sorry," Kageyama butted in, strangely level-headed and focused, his gaze scouring the map of Japan that was stuck on the wall next to the command centre with duct tape. "We don't even know what kind of weapon they're planning to use."
"What if it's a huge explosion that'll destroy the entire island?" Hinata blanched suddenly. "We'll sink into the sea if that happens!"
A round of chuckles flitted across the small crowd, but it was uncomfortable, and the tension withstood the small relief brought by the orange-haired boy's antics.
"So... What's the plan, Captain?" Tanaka asked, and all eyes turned to Daichi, who suddenly felt sick from all the attention he was getting. He didn't want the burden of leading these people, who meant so much to him, into the jaws of death.
"I... I think... We should pack up supplies for a few days and hide in the maintenance hallways under the school. At least until we're cleared." His voice was fighting a war against the ball in his throat, but somehow, he managed to choke that out. "We're better safe than sorry, like Kageyama said."
"That doesn't make any sense." Tsukishima objected. "The maintenance hallways aren't meant for use over an hour or so, much less for living in!"
"This entire world isn't meant for living in anymore, Tsukishima," Tanaka grunted. "Dunno if you've looked outside the window lately."
"I know exactly where we stand."
"Guys, please don't fight," Yamaguchi set a hand softly on Tsukishima's arm, only to have it pushed off.
"I'm just trying to say that I went there once to hold the ladder for the janitor while he checked for a leaking pipe and I couldn't stand being in there for fifteen minutes." His lip curled in disgust.
"Tsukishima is right." To everyone's surprise, it was Kageyama who spoke up, although the familiar sight of anger etched into his features was a reassuring constant. "Just this once. Those hallways are dark, tight, mouldy, humid, dusty, full of spider webs, and just generally in really bad shape. We wouldn't be able to survive in there."
"What else are we supposed to do!?" Nishinoya bit back. "Just sit here and wait to die?"
"Well... if that place is as unsanitary as they describe... We'll all get sick and wreck our lungs and it won't help us any more than being, well..." Asahi trailed off quietly, his stomach roiling at the thought of what awaited them on the surface, or below it. Both options were highly unpleasant.
"Alright, so we'll sit here and die," Nishinoya clicked his tongue, glaring at Asahi as if he was the one at fault. "Best plan I've heard yet."
"What is wrong with you?" Tsukishima raised a brow. "You're so stubborn, it's annoying. I'm being logical here-"
"Logical!? That's funny!"
"Suga-senpai!" Hinata suddenly cut through the argument that was slowly escalating. All eyes went to him, and then to Suga, who hadn't spoken at all.
"What is it?" Suga asked as calmly as ever.
"What's your opinion?" Hinata asked, and suddenly his voice hushed, as if he was afraid, and hanging onto the next words with an almost religious fervour.
"Well..." Suga closed his eyes, and everyone was surprised to see him smile softly. "I suppose we'll have to trust our Captain one more time. He's never made any bad decisions before and I don't believe he'll start now, when it matters the most. I trust that we will be safe if our Captain says it will be so."
There was a silence again, and people shifted awkwardly. And slowly, as the tension that was so palpable in the air began to dissipate, Daichi finally breathed a sigh of relief and thanked whatever god still existed out there for Suga's existence.
"Alright, so let's get some basic stuff for a few days down there," he began talking, and was glad to see that all eyes were on him, though there was nothing but defeat in all the gazes upon him. "Suga, bring our most needed medical supplies down there. Kageyama described the place as mouldy and damp, so let's take the environment into consideration."
"Of course. I'll definitely pack some vitamins to boost our immune systems while we're down there," Suga nodded.
"Alright then. Tanaka, take Yamaguchi and pack non-perishable food for all of us for... 3 days."
"Yes, Captain," Tanaka nodded, then motioned to Yamaguchi. "Come on, kouhai! Let's see what we can dig up."
"Alright, so Asahi, start bringing down some of the smaller beddings. I'm thinking sleeping bags and futons. Leave the mattresses."
"Alright," the gentle giant nodded, and vacated to his task.
"Noya, please gather some stuff we'll need down there, like flashlights and batteries, toilet paper, entertainment... Maybe grab some clothes, but not too many."
"Got it, Captain," the smallest team member nodded, determination in his eyes, and left to gather his stuff.
"Hinata, Kageyama, grab a baseball bat or a crowbar and patrol the perimeter. We have a lot of things to get across to the school and we can't have anybody sneaking up on us to steal our supplies."
"Yeah," the infamous duo of Karasuno exclaimed at the same time, visibly serious about their important task, and left to pick their weapon of choice.
"Tsukishima, you and I are going to go get access to those halls," Daichi finished with a sigh, looking at the tall blonde. "Do you know if there are any keys?"
"Probably in the principal's office, or maybe the security office," Tsukishima pondered out loud. "Although those are pretty far out in the school. I don't think we should be venturing too deep. This school is the biggest place for miles around and it's a possibility that other groups have taken refuge somewhere in there. Let's be discreet and quiet-"
"And bust open the lock?" Daichi finished, and then laughed. "Right. I suppose you're right. Sounds like you've played a lot of zombie apocalypse games in your free time to know all this."
"Enough to know that there's probably something worth surviving for, out there," Tsukishima shrugged, and Daichi held his breath. His eyes went to the violent red scar that drew a jagged line from the side of the blonde's neck into his hairline, and he knew at that moment that the first year knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Captain! We're ready!"
And he turned around, eyes on Hinata and Kageyama with their baseball bats and binoculars, and then surveyed the buzzing scene behind them, and realized that Karasuno was worth surviving for.
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
The hallways were way too tight and mouldy and smelt of humidity accumulated over the years and filled their lungs with dust with every breath. And when Asahi made a noise, they all quickly learnt that he'd found spiders uncomfortably close to him, and that was no comfort at all.
The futons and sleeping bags were opened and lined up on the floor along the small hallway, barely wide enough to accommodate a regular sized person laying in width. Nishinoya and Hinata got lucky for once, but poor Tsukishima and Asahi quickly realized they'd have to sleep in foetal position. Slowly but surely, the team cleaned up the small space as best as they could while Suga passed out some masks for them to wear (they wouldn't keep everything out, but at least dust would keep clear of their lungs!), and by the time night had fallen (hard to tell, really, but Daichi had a digital watch that read 10:38 PM), they were all set up.
"Dinner?" Suga suggested once everybody had picked a spot on the sleeping bags, thin and barely keeping the chill of cold stone off of their bodies.
"What's on the menu?" Tanaka asked, probably smirking under his blue mask.
"I dunno," Suga flashed some light into the box keeping their rations. "How about canned ravioli? One can per two people."
Groans came from everybody, but Suga pulled the cans and spoons out, knowing they were not going to refuse the meal. And, predictably, the cans were passed in silence, popped open with some effort, and then the only thing they could hear was the slow chewing of people who weren't even sure why they were trying anymore.
The night was freezing, and when the team finally silently agreed to huddle up under the thin blankets, everybody also silently agreed that what happened underground stayed underground. The occasional shifting or not-so-occasional cough lulled them all into a restless sleep.
The morning was only announced thanks to Daichi's watch alarm. When the team woke up, it was still pitch black, and only their flashlights oriented them one by one a couple of minutes down the hallway, where they established a corner for all their hygienic needs. After that, they had a small breakfast of plain toast then basically all returned to huddling under the blankets to outwait... whatever they were outwaiting at this point.
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Daichi's watch showed 9:13PM, and the team was going to go absolutely crazy.
"I can't stay here any longer," Tanaka groaned.
"I've never been claustrophobic but this is way too much!" Noya agreed.
"Please stay strong, senpai!" Yamaguchi pleaded with the most upbeat voice he could manage through the roiling sickness in his gut. "Only another day and a half!"
"Kouhai..." The two voices came, as expected, but they were exhausted beyond relief and everybody knew they were just behaving like they usually would have in order to keep a semblance of normalcy. "We'll do our best for you."
They called an early night, but nobody slept. Somewhere in the incredibly suffocating darkness, at some point during the eternally lasting night, Hinata began crying into the pile of clothes he used as a pillow, and all the others pretended they couldn't hear him.
Some people woke up with sore backs from sleeping on the ground. Others woke up with sore jaws from biting on their pillow through the night.
That morning, at 10:28AM, time froze.
Suga was in the middle of telling a story about his middle school days, and nobody was actually listening, but they were glad for the background noise. The occasional clanking of old pipes and the drip-drip-drip of moisture droplets really was the most depressing background noise ever. And it was eventually going to drive them crazy.
One could even say that the loud and terrifying sound of an explosion somewhere on the outside was a welcome change of pace.
But really, it wasn't.
The wooden beams holding up the walls shook and dirt and plaster began falling, more dust raining upon them.
Karasuno forgot to breathe.
"Under the blankets!" Of course, Daichi was the first to recover. Captain's orders were always right. "Cover your heads!"
There was noiseless shuffling as the team members practically threw themselves on the nearest blanket, and it was actually surprising how seamlessly they all agreed on who shared which blanket in the span of a second. Blankets were thrown over their bodies, and the team bore the impact of small pieces of debris and held their breaths for what must have been an eternity. An eternity in which the earth rattled and shook and they all feared at some point that the entire school would collapse over their heads. And perhaps this was the end. Perhaps their efforts were futile. Perhaps they weren't meant to survive in the first place.
And then, it lightened, and it stopped.
The rumbling stopped and everybody was left to listen to the violent thumping of their own hearts in their ears.
After a minute where bits and pieces of debris still crumbled down noisily, Daichi was the first to poke his head out of the blanket, and immediately, his eyes stung from the dust in suspension that had been kicked up around them.
"Stay under!" he ordered, breaking into a violent coughing fit that almost ended up in retching.
"Daichi! Don't hurt yourself!" Asahi's worried world came, muffled by the blankets.
"Captain, you should get back under a blanket until the dust settles," Kageyama's cool voice added on, muffled as well.
"I'm going to try and air out this place," the Captain coughed again, weakly grabbing an extra blanket and standing up. His eyes watered from all the dust and he closed them, painfully feeling small particles burning his eyes and rubbing against his eyelids. Blindly, he shook the blanket several times, hoping he was at least making some difference at all.
But then he was coughing his lungs out, and someone was tugging at his sleeve and he relented, laying down under the blanket of the person who'd grabbed him.
It took him a while to get his eyes open again, and when he did, he saw jackshit in the dark. But then, there was a sigh, and Daichi knew exactly who had pulled him down, and he couldn't help but smile, just a little.
"I told you," Tsukishima murmured, as if it was meant just for him. "There's always something worth surviving for."
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Daichi checked his watch from time to time. Around 11:49AM, he decided that they'd stayed in semi-silence under the suffocating blankets long enough.
"Does anyone have a flashlight on hand?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"I have one," Suga called. "Do you want me to check if the dust has cleared?"
"Please be careful," Daichi replied, and listened to the ruffling of the blanket as Suga slowly took it off his head. There was a click, and a welcome light filtered through the cloth of his blanket.
And Suga took a sharp, audibly panicked breath.
"Suga?" Daichi asked, immediately on high alert.
"I-It's nothing," Suga waved it off in a shaky voice, not mentioning how horrifying the scene looked to him.
Seeing his comrades lined up on the ground, silent. A leg or an arm poking out of the blankets, limp. The lumps under the covers, unmoving. It was as if he'd lined up their bodies, or as if he'd stumbled upon their final attempts to survive.
He didn't mention it and instead used his light to survey the darkness around them. Most of the dust particles had cleared from the air and Suga wasn't coughing his lungs out, so that was a good sign, definitely.
"Okay," he called, readjusting his mask. "You can come out slowly so we don't kick up the settled dust again."
With soft groans, Karasuno's survivors began pushing their blankets off of their heads and taking deep breaths, then coughing to clear out whatever dust they'd inhaled. One by one, more flashlights clicked on, until the light in the small hallway was acceptably bright.
"Is everyone alright?" Tanaka asked, rubbing the kinks out of his neck.
"No injuries?" Daichi shone his flashlight at his team members, one by one taking in their haggard, dirty, terrified expressions.
When nobody answered, Suga nodded.
"Good," he sighed out. "I'm glad. Hinata, can you pass us the bottles of water? It'll do us some good."
"Yeah," the short teen replied softly, and the lights shining on him helped him find the bottles in the box of their (quickly dwindling) food stocks. The water was silently passed around, everybody knowing not to take more than 3 gulps each despite their aching throats, and soon enough, they were back in the silence.
"What happened out there?" Nishinoya finally ventured to ask, voicing a question that people were too afraid to ask.
"Could it... could it have been...?" Asahi began, but trailed off quietly, and nobody needed him to finish to know what he'd meant.
"Probably," Kageyama grimly contributed, lips pinched in a frown. "But since it's over now, we can get out of here, right?"
"No," Daichi replied, though the resulting questioning noises, dripping with confusion and desperation, made him wish he didn't have to be the one to make that call. "We don't know if there is a second one being prepared. And even if there isn't, we have no idea what they used up there. If there's any radiation, we should let it dissipate as much as possible before exposing ourselves."
"Damn," Tsukishima clicked his tongue. "So what you're saying it that we're stuck here anyway?"
"Yeah," Daichi's eyes went to the cold concrete floor in shame and in resolution. "Sorry. At least another day."
At first, there was nothing. And then, soft, quiet sobs punctuated the air. Daichi felt Tsukishima lean away from him, towards where Yamaguchi was, and realized that the gentle first year must have been the one who'd cracked under the pressure. The blonde was now probably holding his best friend and if he was crying at all, it was probably muffled in his hair.
The flashlights turned away from the duo in respect, but then Hinata began sniffling as well, and Kageyama said something akin to "don't cry, stupid", in his own shaking voice.
The lights turned off one by one until there was total darkness, and within its chokehold, the group of teenagers held one another and softly, quietly grieved the uncertainty of their future.
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
There was no appetite after that, and so their supplies lasted a bit longer than expected. However, by the third day and a half in the damp dungeon-like hallway, Daichi feared for his team's mental health, and decided that whether radiation or insanity got to them first, they'd die anyway.
"Okay," he finally announced over lunch, which was a grim, silent event at this point. "After lunch, let's pack up and get out of here. Whatever happens, we can't stay here anymore."
He didn't expect the entire team to drop their food immediately and shuffle to get things organized. There was the sound of bumping and quiet a few cries of pain, but Daichi found himself laughing at the sudden burst of energy that had taken hold of his team. Flashlights turned on and wherever they shone, there was a new air of hope and relief that radiated and made the freezing hallway a fraction of a degree warmer. Just enough to push them forward.
They were packed up in the impressive span of 20 minutes, and ready to go.
"Alright, we all okay?" Daichi asked, feeling his own breath against his cheeks and eager to remove the annoying mask that had become almost a part of him in the past three days.
"Yes, Captain!" Several cries echoed out, the loudest, most welcome noise they'd had in days, and Daichi chuckled.
"Right. Let's go."
Nobody looked back as they began making their way down the hall.
"Now remember that we don't know what's out there," Suga explained as they made their way out. "First, we'll secure the gymnasium, and then we'll take care of ourselves like we deserve. Don't let your guard down until we're back in the gym with the doors locked behind us."
"Oh man, I can't wait for a shower," Noya groaned, and there was a collective, airy laugh that answered his complaint.
"Please, showers?" Tanaka huffed. "I can't wait to breathe without having to choke every two seconds."
"I can't wait for the sun," Hinata piped up.
"Yeah, it must be warm outside right now," Yamaguchi agreed cheerfully.
"I can't wait to sleep without having to double over," Tsukishima grunted.
"We can all do without the back pain," Asahi agreed sympathetically.
"Well in any case, at least we won't be sitting around doing nothing anymore," Kageyama added.
"Yeah. And at least we're all still alive," Suga topped off reassuringly.
Daichi's contribution to the conversation was the sound of a door being pushed open, and a light shining on a rusty ladder melded to the wall.
"One by one, wait for the signal to climb before getting on, and be careful of how cold and slippery the metal is." He than turned to him team, not even needing his flashlight to know that their eyes were sparkling in relief. "Let's get out of here, Karasuno."
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Ascending to the surface made them aware of the gradual, but huge difference in temperature between where they were and where they were going. Even before exiting the busted door that would lead them to the outside, they could feel their bodies rewarming.
Daichi's heart sunk, though, as the door only opened a sliver before blocking.
"Shit," he swore, heart thundering as he tried to push. The door creaked and slowly opened another centimetre, but did not budge otherwise.
"What's going on?" Suga asked behind him.
"Can't open the door. I think something crumbled behind it and is now blocking the door," Daichi grunted, pushing hard. "Damn it!"
"Daichi," Asahi softly spoke up, determination brimming in his voice. "Let me try and push."
"Do your best," the captain grunted, letting Asahi take his place by the door.
The ace planted his feet firmly in the ground, and began pushing the door with all of his strength. Slowly, it budged a little more, and debris tumbled in front of the small segment of the door that was open. They could see the school hallway and so the blockage must only have been partial, but it must have been one hell of a blockage if even Asahi couldn't move it.
"Come on, come on!" the long-haired brunette grunted mostly to himself, weakened muscles straining to push the door open. It opened a bit more, but Asahi could feel the debris pushing back. If he let go, the door would close, and he didn't know if it'd open again. And he could feel himself weakening, strength sapped out of him with every breath he huffed out in effort.
"Asahi!" A voice cried out from the back suddenly, and Asahi almost let go.
"Noya?"
"Keep it open. I think I can get through the gap and go clear the rubble outside," Nishinoya volunteered, his tone of voice familiar and comforting. It sounded exactly like when Nishinoya promised to guard their backs during volleyball games. And the libero had never gone back on his promises before.
"Go," Asahi prompted without hesitation, and everybody shuffled to let Nishinoya pass.
"Hinata!"
"Yes, senpai?" the orange-haired kid snapped to attention immediately.
"Come with me! You're tiny enough to fit through, too."
"Yeah," Hinata nodded, determined, and the two smallest of the group. Maybe being small wasn't so bad after all.
Nishinoya and Hinata did fit through with some effort, indeed. It was strange to see them go through, but as soon as they did, the adrenaline that had pushed Asahi further began to evaporate.
"Asahi," Nishinoya called, standing in the sliver of the door that was open still. "You can let go. Keep your strength for later cause we'll probably ask you to push again."
"But-"
"Let go." Nishinoya's voice was quiet and flat. "Trust us to get you out."
There was a slight hesitation to abandon the smallest hope they'd had in so long, but then, Daichi realized that the smallest hope they had in this situation was Nishinoya, followed by Hinata.
"Do as they say," the captain decided. "They'll get us out."
"Okay," Asahi nodded, and looked straight into Noya's eyes before the two nodded to each other. "We'll wait."
The door closed, and there was the slight sound of rubble falling in front of it. It was an ominous sound, and a sudden nausea welled up in everybody's throat at the thought of being locked in here forever.
"Hey." There was a knock on the door from the other side, and everybody jumped at the sound of the libero's voice, muffled by the thick wood. "Don't worry too much. Trust us."
Nobody replied, but the tension definitely lowered down to an acceptable level.
"Well..." Daichi sighed, sliding down to the floor. "You heard him. Sit down. I guess we'll be here for a bit."
The next hour passed with the company of occasional chatter, but mostly the sound of rubble outside. Occasionally, Nishinoya's or Hinata's voice would be heard, but the two seemed to be working in silence mostly.
It was heartening to hear the debris scratch against the door because that meant that the others on the other side were still there. So the team almost took a nap, lulled by the sound of their teammates' hard work.
There was a knock at the door again after a while, startling everyone out of their thoughts.
"Asahi, try pushing a little bit," Nishinoya directed from the other side, and the tall teen stood up, nodding.
"Get away from the door," he warned, and gave the agile libero five seconds before throwing his weight against the door.
To their relief, the door opened, and slightly wider than before. However, again, it struck a piece of rubble, and wouldn't budge.
"Okay," Noya appeared in the now-clear doorway. "There's a large piece of wall here that's blocking the door, and it's the only thing left in the way." The second-year thought for a second, and then looked into the darkness. "If we push and pull at the same time, we could probably clear it. Can we get anybody else through here?"
"Kageyama is rather slim," Suga suggested, turning his eyes to his fellow setter.
"That is, if his head's not too big to fit through the door," Tsukishima added snarkily, and Yamaguchi laughed softly next to him. The others rolled their eyes at his antics, slightly comforted by the familiar display.
"Yeah, because you'd be so much better, four-eyes," the black-haired teen frowned.
"In fact, both of you can fit through," Noya smirked. "Get over here. Yamaguchi, you, too."
"How come you get all of our kouhai, Noya?" Tanaka pouted as the three made their way to the door.
"I'll take care of them, Tanaka. You help our senpai out," Noya smirked at his best friend, and pulled the door slightly to let Kageyama, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi squeeze through with some effort.
"Count on me, Noya," Tanaka smirked back to him.
"Right," Noya looked behind him at his kouhai. They were staring at the wall, eyes wide at the sight before them, and Nishinoya gave them a moment because when he and Hinata had seen it at first, they'd had the same reaction.
But then, there was work to do.
"Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, get a grip on that piece of wall. Hinata, you and I will pull on the door. You guys behind push with everything you've got on three, alright?"
"Right!" All voices answered him, and there was movement as everybody got into position. The ones behind the door caught a sight of their younger teammates grabbing what seemed like a huge piece of rubble, and when Hinata and Nishinoya hooked their fingers on the door, they saw their split and bleeding fingers, and a sudden sense of determination to help their kouhai as much as possible overcame them.
"On three!" Nishinoya directed. "One, two... Three!"
The collective groans of effort on every side filled the air, and the door creaked at all the pressure on it. The rubble rumbled as it moved slightly, and it lit new hope in their hearts.
"Just a little more!" Nishinoya encouraged, and the effort doubled in the last stretch.
The piece of wall suddenly moved, and the door swung open. The momentum of the abrupt movement sent everybody stumbling, and cries from different parties arose as Karasuno fell to its knees.
But then it stood, and it laughed in the face of adversity as it always had done in the past.
"We did it!" Hinata was the first to cry out, laying on the floor panting with his bleeding fingers imprinting on the dirty floor. "We're out!"
"Good job, everyone," Daichi grinned, catching his breath. "Let's go back."
He didn't say they should return home, because home had been with them this entire time.
"Alright, let's gather our stuff and get out," the captain directed, stepping out of the dark place and letting his eyes get adjusted to the light once more.
And then, he looked to the wall that had crumbled, and his eyes widened.
"Spooky, isn't it?" Nishinoya mumbled, following his line of sight. "This world will probably never be the same again."
The third-year nodded, speechless.
The wall had crumbled entirely, leaving them with a view to the outside. He could only see the sky from where he stood, but it was enough. It was enough to see the dark clouds covering the afternoon sun, diffusing the rays into an eerie blood red colour. The sky was bleeding.
"I don't like the looks of this," he simply muttered before tearing his eyes away. "Let's get back to the gym as soon as possible."
"We'll escort," Tanaka announced from behind them, tearing his eyes away from the chilling sight as well to throw Noya a baseball bat.
"Thank you," Daichi nodded, and looked back. Whilst most of the teens were moving their things out of the dark entrance to the maintenance hallways, Suga was sitting with Hinata and cleaning up and bandaging his ruined fingers. A quick glance at Noya's hands proved that they were just as bad, but the second-year did not look bothered at all.
"I know," the libero answered his captain's silent inquiry when he saw what his gaze had found, and twirled the bat in his hands to prove he was fine. Dull pain spiked up both of his arms, but he'd ask Suga to help him out after they were all back in the gym and safe.
As safe as they could be.
"Let's go," Tanaka motioned to the pile of rubble that led up to the crumbled part of the wall. Noya nodded and they both began scaling it. It wasn't very high, a little over two metres, and when the two stood at the top, they looked at the gym.
The bloody sky was casting a fiery orange glow on the building that had housed them for a month now, and they noted with sinking hearts that a part of the roof had been blown away, leaving a clean hole on top of the building. Behind the gym, the houses right off of school grounds were smoking from extinguished fires, or were completely destroyed.
They didn't dare look further. They tried to enjoy the moment they had to themselves, together, free under the broken sky. They took a simultaneous, deep breath of warm, dry air, and then jumped down to the ground.
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Daichi was receiving the sleeping bags that Kageyama was throwing down to him from on top of the broken wall and was handing them off to Suga, who was helping Asahi get loaded up with equipment. Their chain system was working very well, with the first years passing them the equipment on the inside, and the third-years getting ready to transport them on the ground.
"Okay, I'm coming down," Kageyama announced when Asahi was loaded enough, and jumped and rolled as he hit the ground in front of Suga. Tsukishima took his place on top of the broken wall and took over the job of lowering their equipment for Suga to be loaded this time.
The equipment was lowered entirely to the ground and the first-years all jumped down to join the rest of the team around the time when Tanaka and Nishinoya came running up to them.
"What's wrong?" Daichi immediately asked, on high alert.
"There's someone," Nishinoya panted softly, whipping sweat out of his dirty face. "At the gym doors."
"What?" Daichi's eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth.
"A girl," Tanaka frowned, breathing heavy. "She's asleep under the awning at the entrance. We saw her from afar and we weren't sure what to do."
"Thank you for coming back and reporting," Daichi nodded, then turned to Suga, whose face was set grimly.
Girl or not, survivors of this world were often merciless, and nobody could be trusted.
Except those that could be.
"Alright..." Daichi took a while to come up with a plan. Behind him, most of the packing had been finished, and the first years had seemingly volunteered to carry their stuff in the time he spent debating. "Asahi, close the pace. Noya, go with him in the back in case this girl has accomplices that want to jump us. Everybody carrying equipment in the middle. Suga, Tanaka, we'll lead up front."
"Right," the collective acknowledgement rang out, and people moved into position quickly. Daichi did not even need to look back to make sure that everyone was following before leading them forward.
The gym was not far away, a five minute walk, but they were out in the open and everyone's heart beat fast as they tried to spot possible dangers around them. Thankfully, nothing happened during the walk, and soon, Daichi could see the girl that the scouts had reported.
She had long matted brown hair and was wearing some dirty sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She was curled up on herself by the foot of the stairs to the gym and wasn't moving.
"Okay, stop," Daichi whispered when they were close enough. "Everyone stay here. Tanaka, with me."
"Sure." Tanaka's buzz-cut hair had grown a little bit, but his face still looked tough enough to intimidate. Coupled with the baseball bat, he'd definitely cut it in terms of psychological warfare.
The two broke away from the group and carefully approached the girl. She did not seem aware of their approach and stayed still.
"Miss," Daichi carefully called out. "Miss, wake up."
The girl didn't acknowledge them in any way.
"Oi! You're trespassing!" Tanaka added, ready to swing his bat if she suddenly became aggressive.
"Hey," Daichi frowned, and they stopped a metre away from her. "Hey, can you hear us?"
"Hey Miss!" Tanaka called out, extending his bat to poke her shoulder roughly. "We don't wanna hurt a pretty lady, so wake up and let's talk!"
But she did not respond. Even when Tanaka repeatedly tapped her shoulders and then her side with his bat.
Daichi's blood ran cold.
"Suga!" he called, turning to the group.
His trusty vice-captain did not even hesitate before he and Yamaguchi were running towards them, the latter carrying their first aid kit.
"What's up?" Suga asked, face set seriously as he arrived.
"Can you check if she's unconscious?" the captain requested, and the silver-haired teen nodded.
He got on his knees behind the girl and carefully set a hand on her back. She didn't respond. His other hand went to her neck, where he searched for a pulse point.
A moment later, he turned back to Daichi. The rest of the team had arrived behind them as well, looking anxious at the sudden development.
"So?"
"I... I don't think..." Suga's voice went dry, because no amount of books memorized in the span of a month could prepare him for his first fatality.
Too scared to look at his team, he turned back to the girl and took her arm, gently turning her over on her back.
Her bent knees stayed bent and her crisped arms stayed crisped. Suga noted how she was incredibly stiff and nothing but dead weight. Couple with the lack of breathing and pulse, there was no mistaking it.
But then biggest giveaway was her face, and Suga had never been so terrified in his entire life.
He yelped in surprise and fell on his butt at the sight of it, heart thundering and eyes burning. He closed them because when he volunteered to be their medic, he didn't volunteer for this, and as if Daichi had read his thoughts, a second later there were strong arms around him shielding him from the traumatizing sight.
She'd died with her eyes wide open, mouth open in a soundless scream. One of the eye sockets was empty, blood coating the entire right side of her face, dried with pieces of hair and dirt congealed on it. Many of her teeth were missing, and her nose was crooked. Her throat and jaw were bruised in several places and her ears were slit where someone had probably ripped her earrings right off her ears. She must have died while trying to seek shelter in the gym.
That in itself had many terrifying connotations, but nothing was as terrifying as her appearance.
Thankfully, before the first-years had a chance to see everything that Suga had seen, Tanaka had quickly knelt in front of the girl to stand in their line of sight, and Noya and Asahi had come to stand in front of the group, even if their own faces were screwed up in disgust and horror. But they'd moved just a little too slowly. The first-years hadn't seen everything, but they'd seen enough. And the shock was clear on every single one of their faces.
Tanaka had his eyes shut and was trembling silently.
"I'm okay," Suga announced shakily after a moment, and Daichi carefully removed his arms.
"Sure?" he whispered. "It's... pretty gruesome."
"We have to move her," Suga breathed out, getting up shakily. "She'll decompose and get us all sick." Nevermind the fact that they would never keep their sanity intact if they left the mutilated body on their doorstep.
"What do we do?" Tanaka's voice was strained, and Suga admired his courage. He gently put a hand on his shoulder and knelt next to him, taking a moment to take in the distress in his expression.
"Can I have a blanket?" Suga asked, and Kageyama snapped into action, shakily handing Noya one of the thinner blankets they had. Noya stepped forward to give it to Suga, who smiled sadly at him and opened up the blanket. As soon as the body was covered, everyone let go of the breath they'd been holding.
"Okay, Asahi, lead everyone inside the gym. Once you're all there, drop your things and grab a weapon, then sweep the entire gym to make sure nobody infiltrated while we were gone," Daichi ordered, patting Tanaka's shoulder to get him to stand up. "Go with them."
"B-But, the b-body-"
"Suga and I will carry it away," the captain assured him. "Just make sure there's nobody in there. Search every nook and cranny of the building."
"Yes Captain," the second-year nodded and joined the group that silently went into the gym.
Once the gym doors clanked shut behind them, Suga turned to Daichi.
"Sorry. I... I shouldn't have turned her."
"We would've seen her face somehow at some point, so don't worry," Daichi spoke softly.
"But... The first years-"
"-are not children," Daichi finished the sentence, and yet his heart clenched at the lie. They were kids, all of them were still kids expected to experience things that would rob seasoned adults of their sanity, and yet they were here and they were strong and they were going to make it.
"I wish this all didn't have to happen," Suga murmured, and then sniffled, wiping his eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can look at them suffering like this."
"Suga..." Again, his vice-captain's kindhearted nature struck him like a punch to the gut, and Daichi found himself taking one of Suga's hands in his own. The gesture was not romantic and it was not unnecessary. It was warm and it was comforting, and it was all too simply human.
"Sorry, Dai. I'm being a little dramatic, huh?" Suga laughed, grinning at the black-haired teen despite his puffy red eyes.
"You're being human," Daichi replied, and squeezed his hand one more time before letting it go. "In this world, it's the best we could hope for."
Sugawara laughed, and nodded.
"Right. Let's get this over with. Where do we put her?"
...-...-...-...-...-...-...
Once the gym was cleared for use, the guys immediately grabbed a clean change of clothes and a towel and had all but sprinted towards the showers. The water was freezing due to the electricity shortage, but running water was all they needed because at this point, since anything that rid them of the 4-day old grime covering their bodies was welcome. The soap bar was passed around and by the time it got to the stall at the end, it was almost reduced to nothing.
After the shower, everyone set out to restock all of their equipment in the right place and do some chores. Clothes needed cleaning, the part of the roof that had crumbled had to be swept away into a corner of the gym, and best of all, dinner had to be cooked.
Asahi volunteered this time and used their remaining supply of fresh vegetables (hoping they weren't spoiled in the three and a half days they spent away) to cook them all a warm vegetable soup that settled in everyone upset stomach like a cool balm on a large burn or a comforting hand on a teary face.
Though they were exhausted from a long set of days and so many (mostly unpleasant) adventures, the fact that the roof had caved in still remained, and they couldn't leave themselves exposed to the elements (especially since they didn't know what to expect anymore following the radiation of the blast).
Daichi tried to find their trusty radio announcer on the radio, but after 15 minutes, gave up, and wondered if the guy was dead.
In any case, it was easy enough to find some tarp that the school used to set up a passage between the school and the gym during the heavy snowy season, and cheer banners for the school's various sports teams were brought out as well.
The operation was done under the dying hues of the bleeding evening sky, with the team's most agile members climbing to the roof and nailing the tarp as best as they could to cover the hole. They then used the cloth banners of the sports teams to reinforce the edges of the tarp and folded and nailed those, too, to prevent infiltration.
And when they were done, the team of roof-climbers gathered their equipment and began preparing to go down when Hinata stopped them and held up one of the banners with a huge grin. His following suggestion was debated for a moment, and then accepted. Nishinoya led the operation and the sound of nails being hammered into the roof lasted just a while longer.
The people overseeing the operation from the ground watched it unfold, and a weight was lifted off of their chests as the final banner was hammered in.
The roof team came down to join the ground team and they all looked up at their rough patch job. The fixed roof would already paint a huge target on their building, giving it away as being inhabited, and so the black banner fluttering in the gentle fall breeze, next to the patched-up hole, would not change a thing in terms of visibility.
In terms of morale, though, it worked wonders. And when, that night, several people woke up in cold sweat, haunted by their recent experiences, they sought out some form of human contact and returned to sleep, knowing that they'd be alright. Their teammates were still alive and well, and though the world had gone to hell, they still had everything they needed right there. And when the wind ruffled the tarp noisily, they did not care, because the words that had once been an emblem of their unity and of their strength were still out there, for them, and for the world to see.
"Fly, Karasuno!"
Author's Note
Hinata's a huge sap and nailed the volleyball team's banner to the outside of the building. It sounded cute to me IDK.
So the nuclear weapon thing... It's fictional. I did some minimal research on nuclear weapons and plutonium-based fission bombs (atomic bombs) would not have covered both Tokyo and the prefecture where Karasuno is situated. So let's just pretend this nuclear bomb was a wide-range weapon that literally razed the entire island of Honshu (the main Japanese island). You saw how destructive it was, but we'll explore what it did elsewhere as the team moves. But I won't spoil anything about that! Anyway, so it's a radioactive-element based bomb because it had radiation aftereffects that will be described later in the fic. And it's probable that all living organisms that were not at least 6 feet under the ground at the time of the explosion were killed, or at least seriously affected by the radiation (or the blast, if the organism is closer to ground zero).
So now you know how the girl died ^u^ She wasn't an important character, but she is an important example. There is a lot of information about future developments hidden on her, and the Karasuno boys probably should have looked her body over a little more to pick out clues that could save their lives O: But then again, these kids are like. 18 years old. Autopsying is way out of their league.
Yeah sorry about the ages. I'm so confused, tryin'a figure out how old people are. In terms of third-years, I think it's Daichi, Asahi and Koushi, and they're all 18 in this story. This takes place in, like... September-ish. And the war began two months before, so in July. The Forty Fireworks happened in August.
This chapter was mostly Daichi and Suga-oriented, but Noya and Tsukki were important, too. I'm really looking forward to giving people the spotlight one by one. Next chapter I'll probably get on Tsukki's story, because I think it'll go real good with what I've got planned for these boys.
Family!Karasuno is incredible. I love the bits and pieces out of them. And okay, I might include some shipping later on, but it definitely won't be the centerpiece of the story. Anyway in a situation like this, I don't really feel like there is any atmosphere for romance. But anyway. Later. The pairings will be the typical ones, except maybe AsaNoya because I'm super neutral about that pairing so IDK if I'll be able to write them? BUT RYUUNOYA BROMANCE WILL HAPPEN FO SHO. I love them.
Anyway! That's that for this chapter. I love this AU so much ahhh. Please be nice and leave me some comments about what you liked/disliked/would like to see! ;u;
