A/N: Coucou mon petit choux!
Thanks for visiting my story and I hope that you enjoy reading "Love is not Extinct".
For those of you who are new to Love is Not Extinct, A few quick things before you start reading:
- I do not own the characters of Haikyuu! all credit for the character creation goes to Haruichi Furudate. I do have a few OC's in this FanFictions but the majority of the characters are from the anime and/or manga.
- I will try and keep to a consistent posting schedule (depending on my course load for the week) and I hope to post a new chapter every Monday.
- This story is an AU where the characters, though still the same as the original work, do not have the same interactions and history with each other as they do in the original work.
- I will try to make notes with information about terms and honorifics that may be used in this story for your reference. There will be a "chapter" titled: Japanese Terminology, at the end of this story that will have this information for your reference. If you have any questions or find an error in my information, please message me and let's help each other out.
- And of course, I love to hear from readers! Please feel free to make comments and message me if you would like. I write FanFiction as an outlet for my writing when I am unmotivated with my own work or just want to do something fun (usually because I have become obsessed with a particular fandom at the moment and can't get enough of it [*shrug* sorry, no sorry]). With that being said, if you do wish to leave a comment or send me a message, please stay positive. I am happy to take constructive criticism because I want to learn and grow as a writer but please don't be vicious. And I especially ask you not to bully or make fun of anyone else who might comment on my stories as well. Well all come here looking for things to let us escape into another world even if it's just for a short time so please don't ruin that for someone else by doing something stupid.
For those of you who have been following this story already: I am redoing the layout and flow from when I started this story. I want to kind of refocus this story and pull out all the side ships that I have going on and plan to make them their own little mini side stories for you to read but that won't be distracting from the story line here. So I will be updating chapters for the next couple days (The week of 4/11/2021) to fix that and will add in my author's notes on chapters where other related stories are posted and such for those who are interested in the side stories going on behind the scenes of Love is Not Extinct.
And with that, enough said! Let's get to the story. Happy reading and thank you all for your support!
~ Credit for the photo used in my covers goes to Mohini Ochangco from Pixabay ~
Love is Not Extinct
Chapter 01: The Train Station
Tsukishima Kei stood on the platform of the train station feeling his irritation grow by the second. The air in the station was hot and muggy and there were far too many people packed down here, all of them antsy to get home. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath but instantly regretted the decision. The smell of the sweat and fuel made his nose wrinkle with disgust.
He really hated the commute home at this time of day. It was so troublesome.
Finally, he saw the train pulling up and he looked down at his watch with a sigh. 17:18, "About time." He mumbled under his breath as he could hear the squeaking of the trains breaks over the music playing through his headphones. Once the train came to a full stop, the doors opened and people began to shuffle forward, eager to embark.
Tsukishima was focused on his goal: to get onto the train so he could get home sooner and be done with this tedious task. He was so focused in fact that he didn't notice the commotion to his left. He didn't notice the man running and pushing his way through the crowd in his direction as he was being chased by two officers. No, Tsukishima didn't notice any of this until the man shoved his way past him, grabbing the gentleman just in front of Tsukishima who had just stepped onto the train and throwing him backwards, right into Tsukishima.
The tall man hit Tsukishima with a thud, sending them both flying backwards. The impact of his back hitting the concrete knocked the wind out of the blonde while the dark-haired man on top of him hissed a curse as he stumbled to untangle the two of them and roll off Tsukishima.
The world spun around Tsukishima as he slowly sat up. He could feel a hand on his shoulder and a mumbled voice over the music in his ears asking him if he was alright. Tsukishima blinked a few times as he reached up and readjusted his glasses. The blurs around him came into focus just in time for him to see the doors of the train closing and the two officers pounding on the side of the train in vain. Then, just like that, the train started pulling off and Tsukishima was left on the filthy platform floor having no choice but to wait another twenty minutes for the next train.
Why did this have to happen to him? And why today of all days? It was Friday, finally the weekend, and all Tsukishima wanted to do was get home so he could get out of his suit and try to relax and enjoy the start of his weekend. And now this unfortunate turn of events would not only hold him up an extra twenty minutes, but it also made him unable to fulfill an obligation. And that was what stressed him out the most.
How annoying.
Once more Tsukishima felt the light touch of someone grabbing his shoulder and the muffled sound of someone talking. Pulling down his headphones to rest around his neck, he finally looked up at the man who had been tossed into him, who was now kneeling next to him.
"Hey, are you alright?" the man asked. His raven hair covered one of his eyes and his brows were scrunched up with concern. The man's hair also stood up in every direction and Tsukishima honestly couldn't tell if this was his normal style or if the incident had really jostled him up that much.
Tsukishima grunted in response as he reached up, rubbing the back of his head. Thankfully, it seemed that he hadn't hit the back of his head too hard. One small miracle for the day. The dark-haired man stood up and reached out his hand for Tsukishima.
"Here. Let me help you."
"I'm fine." Tsukishima said waving his hand to reject the man's hand. He didn't need or want anyone's pity; the incident itself was enough of an annoyance for him to deal with. With another grunt Tsukishima stood up gathering his bag and dusting himself off as one of the officers approached him and the stranger standing next to him.
"Hey, are you two alright? Do you need medical attention?"
Tsukishima's eyes flicked over to the officer with disinterest and forced himself not to roll his eyes or blame the officer like he wanted to. He knew it wasn't really the man's fault, though he wished the officer had taken greater care at doing his job so this situation could have been avoided.
"No, I'm fine but thanks officer…" the dark-haired man paused his sentence for just a split second, his eyes flicking down to the nameplate on the officer's uniform. "…Koganegawa-keibuho. But I'm not sure about Grumpy-dono over here. He is the one who hit the ground. He kind of cushioned my fall, honestly."
The raven-haired man looked over at Tsukishima with a crooked grin which Tsukishima returned with a glare before looking back at the officer with a sigh.
Officer Koganegawa looked up at Tsukishima with concern as he reached for his radio. Tsukishima held up his hand to stop him. "No, I am fine. I didn't fall that hard and I do not need any medical assistance."
The officer watched him concerned for a moment before he smiled and nodded, making his bleached hair bounce and the oddly styled dark patch in front sway back and forth in its upright position. Tsukishima raised a judgmental eyebrow at the ostentatious fashion choice. "Alright then. Just let me know if you change your mind." Then the officer turned in the direction of his large, white-haired partner who was currently trying to keep the mob of stranded passengers at bay. "Aone-sama! Hold down the fort. I'm going to call the captain and tell him what happened."
The tall officer met eyes with his partner and nodded without saying a word, then he looked down at the crowd of people. Lifting his arms, officer Aone used his height and intimidating features to get the crowd to step back and stop pushing each other without uttering a single word.
Next to Tsukishima the dark-haired man chuckled. "He's like a wall of iron, isn't he?" He turned his head to look at Tsukishima to find him already turning away, choosing to ignore him.
Going over to where it was less crowded Tsukishima found an empty bench against the back wall and sat down. He pulled out his phone and sent out a text.
[17:29] Tsukishima Kei: Hey there was a delay at the train station. I'm going to be about 30 minutes late.
Tsukishima leaned his head back closing his eyes with a sigh. He tried hard not to let the irritation bubble over inside him. These types of things are bound to happen. It was a short delay, not the end of the world. He looked back down as his phone vibrated indicating his friend's quick response.
[17:30] Yamaguchi Tadashi: Dang that sucks LOL Sorry Tsuki. Don't worry about it we will see you when you get here
The intercom on the train platform dinged, signaling an announcement was about to be made. The crowd quieted slightly as a woman's voice began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry for the current delay. Due to an unforeseen incident all trains have been stopped until the issue can be resolved. We don't expect this to take long and we appreciate your patience. Thank you for choosing to ride with us today."
The intercom clicked off followed by the increased murmuring of customers now stranded on the platform. And all of them whose destination was too far to walk and who didn't want to spend the money on a cab, like him, were now at the mercy of the unknown timetable of the train schedule. Tsukishima balled his hands in fists on his knees.
How irritating.
[17:33] Tsukishima Kei: Apparently I spoke too soon. They have stopped all the trains so I am not sure when I will be able to get there
[17:33] Yamaguchi Tadashi: Yikes!
[17:34] Yamaguchi Tadashi: Why dont we just meet at your place then. Haru and I can hang out there and that way you dont have to go out of your way and can just come straight home
Tsukishima was still bothered by this whole situation, but Yamaguchi's solution did relieve some of his stress. He would have to repay him for using up his free time to help out. He just hoped that he wouldn't be stuck here too much longer.
[17:37] Tsukishima Kei: Thanks.
Tsukishima's attention was drawn away from his phone by the presence of someone taking a seat next to him on the bench. He looked over to see the same man who had been thrown into him pulling off his coat and getting comfortable. He wore a red button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top few buttons undone. The shirt was not tucked into his dark jeans. A very casual outfit for someone coming home from work; Tsukishima figured he must not work in a business office.
When the man noticed Tsukishima looking at him his impish grin returned. "Well hello again gumpy-dono."
And with that simple comment Tsukishima decided that it was best to just ignore him. Turning forward, he reached up to put his headphones on once again.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the man said, reaching out and putting his hand on Tsukishima's shoulder. When he was sure he had Tsukishima's attention again he smiled. This time the smile was more friendly and less mischievous, but Tsukishima didn't trust that. "I'm sorry, I was just teasing. Trying to start up a conversation, you know?"
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, looking up at him unconvinced. "Do you usually insult people to start up conversations?"
"I wasn't trying to insult you. And yes, usually a joke works. But, never mind, let's just start over." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sleek black business card. "My name is Kuroo Tetsuro. It's nice to meet you."
Tsukishima held back a sigh and took the card looking down at it. The company logo was in the top left-hand corner of the card in blocky orange and red letters that read: 'inSport! Magazine.' Underneath this was his name, position – Pro-Sports Journalist – and contact information. This explained his outfit and attitude in Tsukishima's mind.
Reluctantly Tsukishima put Kuroo's card into his bag and pulled out his own business card, handing it to the man. He didn't really want to give out his information to this stranger, but it was a social obligation to return the favor when someone gave their card to you.
Kuroo took the card with a smug grin and he looked down, reading it out loud for some reason Tsukishima couldn't understand. "The Aoba Johsai Museum of Art and History. The famous Seijoh museum, huh? Nice. Tsukishima Kei, Paleontologist. Whoa! Impressive." Kuroo looked back at the blonde pocketing his card. "So, you must travel a lot and visit old historical sights for work, right?"
"No." Tsukishima replied flatly, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
"No?" Kuroo echoed with a question. "Then what is it what you do?"
Tsukishima fought the urge to just get up and walk away, but he responded without looking over at the other man or even opening his eyes. "I am an on-call paleontology principle investigator. I do research, analysis, and write reports."
"I'm sure that's interesting work." Kuroo continued, either ignoring the fact that Tsukishima clearly wasn't interested in making conversation or completely oblivious to it. "I spend about half of my time travelling around the country with my job and the perks of getting into all those sports events for free is awesome. But that also comes with the chore of research, writing, and reviewing articles to meet deadlines. But I can't complain."
"It sure sounds like complaining. Also, I don't recall asking."
Kuroo chuckled, unphased. "You, my friend, have quite a sharp tongue."
Tsukishima cracked one eye open, turning his head to the side to glance at the raven-haired man. "When did we become friends?"
"I'd like to be."
"Why?" Tsukishima sighed. Such a bothersome man.
"Because you seem interesting." Kuroo pulled out his phone, reading a text and replying before standing up. "I like to have a variety of types of people in my friend group. It makes life so much more fun. My friend is here to pick me up. Do you want a rided so you don't have to wait for the train?"
Tsukishima reached up putting his headphones back over his ears. "No," he replied. It was tempting. He wanted to get home and be done with this stupid commute, but he wasn't stupid or reckless enough to get a ride from a complete stranger.
Kuroo shrugged as he put his jacket back on. "Alright then. Suit yourself." He began to walk away with a wave. "Talk to you later."
"I sure hope not." Tsukishima mumbled under his breath as he turned on his music, trying to block out the world.
In the end it was a full hour before Tsukishima was finally able to board the train and head home. It was about halfway through his ride home when the first text came.
[18:47] Unknown Number: Hey this is Kuroo! Hope you have been able to board the train by now
Tsukishima chose to ignore the text. He didn't really want to continue to deal with this man. He figured if he continued to not respond to him the guy would give up on trying to be friends. Instead he opened his messages to text Yamaguchi.
[18:48] Tsukishima Kei: Hey, I am about 20 minutes away from home.
It wasn't long begore his phone vibrated with his friends reply.
[18:53] Yamaguchi Tadashi: Great! We have just been hanging out watching TV I raided your cabinets to make dinner I hope you dont mind
Tsukishima smirked as he replied
[18:53] Tsukishima Kei: A little late to be asking for permission don't you think?
[18:55] Yamaguchi Tadashi: Sorry Tsukki
[18:56] Tsukishima Kei: It's fine. I was just teasing. I don't care.
Tsukishima frowned, remembering the strange sports magazine journalist who had said the same thing to him earlier. But why did that matter? Yamaguchi was a long-time friend. Teasing and joking with him was normal. But with someone you just meet? No, that was definitely not normal. And what was with the sudden desire for Kuroo to add Tsukishima to his list of friends?
As if sensing his thoughts, Tsukishima's phone vibrated once more.
[18:59] Unknown Number: Have you always wanted to work in a museum?
[19:00] Unknown Number: That just seems like they type of things people usually want for a long time.
[19:03] Unknown Number: Do you like dinosaurs?
Tsukishima glared at his phone in annoyance. How infuriating. This guy was really persistent. Ignoring the texts once again he put the phone in his pocket and got off the train, turning to head down the street towards his apartment building.