Falling. He was falling. Kei didn't know why or how he was falling, but he knew that he was. He was falling and the ground wasn't coming any closer. The darkness surrounded him, making it impossible to see where he was. The only sound was wind rushing by him. If he didn't know better, he might have thought he was stationary.

But no.

He was falling.

The darkness turned to light, and then to memories. It was almost like watching an old-timey movie, each memory on a frame, flashing by as he fell. Most of them were of Akiteru and Tadashi, both separate and together. Some with his mom and embarrassing family dinners. There was that one memory, when he refused to do show&tell at his school and got yelled at by his teacher. When he first met Tadashi, their volleyball career together. When he learned how to drive. His 7th birthday, when Akiteru bought him a stuffed dinosaur. He had pretended to be embarrassed, but he loved it.

Was he dead? Was his life passing right before his eyes? He didn't remember dying. Everyone from Karasuno had been safe after their most recent Ghost raid. Not a scratch. Did Kei die and forget that he died?

Then the memories changed.

They became recent memories, after Z-Day.

His brother died. Ghosts attacked. He ran away with Tadashi. They met a bunch of people. They nearly get killed by Ghosts but are saved by Karasuno. Kei, against what he wanted to do, stayed with Karasuno. They fought to eradicate the Ghosts, one District at a time. A month passed.

His memories weren't memories anymore. Now they were the future. Worst case scenario. Premonitions.

The Ghosts come back full-fledged and determined. The Defense Divisions are killed off one by one, dwindling to insanely low numbers. People are dying left and right, their organs ripped out and lying on the ground. Blood is splattered everywhere. It's a horror movie, but it's real.

Oh.

It's a nightmare.

Everyone Kei had come to think of as friends were dying in front of him. Suga, Daichi, Hinata. Even Kageyama was on the ground, writhing in pain. Kei looked down at his hands. Blood. His hands were blood-stained. When he looked up, there was a mirror. He was paler than he ever had been in his life. His eyes were sunken and his face was skinny enough to show the bones. He looked like death.

He was death.

Kei was a Ghost, and he had killed everyone. Karasuno lay below him, all dead and dying. Frantic, Kei glanced around. Where was Tadashi? Where was - He felt a sudden weight in his arms. Slowly, carefully, he looked down. He screamed, a blood-curtling, emotional scream.

Tadashi was in his arms, his throat slashed just like Hikaru. He was bleeding from a hundred other cuts and gashes on the rest of his body. Yet, somehow, he was still alive. His breathing was short, choking on each breath he took, more blood spilling from his throat by the second. Tadashi looked up at Kei, smiling softly, the most loving smile Kei had ever seen.

Kei didn't even know he was crying until Tadashi reached up, with the last of his strength, to wipe his tears away. Tadashi sat up, trying so hard, struggling just to move an extremity. He opened his mouth to speak, but it wasn't him. It was his voice, but at the same time, it wasn't him.

"It's all your fault, Kei. All of us are dead and it's all your fault."

This isn't Tadashi. It can't be.

"You're right, Kei. I'm not Tadashi," the phantom in his arms snarled. The appearance changed from Tadashi to a faceless demon. "Your Tadashi died long ago."

"That's not possible," Kei told the demon. This was a dream, a nightmare, he knew what was real and what wasn't. He had gone to bed the night before after a productive day with Karasuno. He was alive. Karasuno was alive. Tadashi was alive and well. "This is a nightmare! This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't -"

"It will be."

Kei woke up in a cold-sweat, glancing around nervously. He reached blindly next to himself, searching for Tadashi. Once he felt the familiar lump next to him, he could finally breathe. He took a few moments for himself to calm himself down, evening out his breathing.

"Did you have a nightmare, Kei?" Tadashi asked sleepily, peeking out from under his sleeping bag. Kei nodded jerkily. Tadashi opened his arms and Kei fit perfectly in them, cuddling up to the human heater. There was a quiet humming, and fingers carded through his hair gently. "It's been awhile since you've had a nightmare."

Kei breathed in through his mouth, out through his nose. Tadashi playing with his hair made him sleepy. "Yeah, I guess. A couple weeks, maybe."

"I think it's been closer to a month," Tadashi mumbled, still half-asleep. His eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly. Kei thought he had fallen asleep until he spoke again. "Yeah … the last time you had a nightmare was a couple nights after we joined Karasuno."

"Well, what can I say, these idiots must have cured my nightmares."

Tadashi snorted and shuffled down, curling up closer against Kei. He buried his feet under Kei's legs and Kei had to clamp his mouth shut in order to not yelp. His feet were freezing! Now he knew how Tadashi was always so warm: his body took the warmth from his feet.

"You comfy now?" Kei teased.

Tadashi smiled at him and buried his face into the pillow.

They were quiet, curled up against each other, breathing in sync. Kei had never felt so close to his best friend, his one love, his reason for living. He felt like they were one person, sleeping, breathing, eating, and living together. Kei briefly wondered when he had thought of them as one person. Maybe he always had. He didn't think much more after that; instead, he fell asleep, curled up with Tadashi.

The days at Karasuno went by as routinely as it was possible to in an apocalyptic world. Kei woke up with Tadashi and they ate breakfast together with the rest of the defense group. They went to different districts, herding the Ghosts to one place, and killed them all. Some days it was harder than others.

"Behind you!" Tadashi screamed, pointing at a straggling Ghost behind him. Kei whipped around, gun in hand, but the Ghost was already there. A gunshot. The Ghost fell dead in front of him, and Kei had blood splattered all over his face.

Kei looked up at the rooftop. Kageyama was smirking the most annoying smirk, and Kei rolled his eyes. Figures he'd be saved by the person he hated the most. He gave Kageyama the finger and proceeded to kill more Ghosts than anyone combined.

Most of the time, though, it was easy.

They lured the Ghosts to one place, and took care of them. Nishinoya and Tanaka had dibs on the first attack, always having explosions and other ridiculous ideas. Hinata and Kageyama went around for the stragglers while Ennoshita and Suga took Ghosts out at a steady pace.

Once all of the Ghosts were dead, they would take their arrows back and clean them off for later use. Karasuno would then scout the District for any living people or lone Ghosts, making sure the District was clear. The more Districts that were clear, the better off the entire Sector was. A Sector was only Ghost-free if all Districts were rid of all Ghost raids and double checked by Coach Ukai and his team.

After the main scouting was complete, the team searched the area for any usable items or food. The majority of supplies went back to their base, the gymnasium, but some of it went into individual's backpacks. After all, some Districts that Karasuno eradicates are too far away to go there and back in one day.

Kei had gotten used to sleeping in sleeping bags months ago.

That was how every day seemed to go. Wake up, eat, kill some Ghosts, eat, and go back to bed. It was routine, and it was nice. Routine was definitely a nice change to all the running and fighting to survive Kei and Tadashi previously had to endure.

One day, during a particularly aggressive Ghost raid, Kei found himself grudgingly becoming friendly with Karasuno.

"Why the fuck are there so many Ghosts here?" Tanaka yelled, barrelling into half of the Defense group. They had been surrounded by Ghosts out of nowhere. "Looks like your information was wrong, Daichi!"

Daichi's face was grim. Yes, his informant had been wrong. But it wasn't like they had never been in such a situation before. They'd been cornered, and they'd gotten out safely several times. It was no different, except now their group was split in half. Their group consisted of Kei, Tadashi, Daichi, Tanaka, and Kageyama, most of whom weren't skilled in close-range combat.

Kei stepped in front of Tadashi, and at the same time, held his arm out in front of Karasuno. He'd never let them get Tadashi. Never. Taking a step forward, he reloaded his gun and held the lead Ghost's gaze. No one moved for what seemed like a long time. Even the Ghosts had paused, waiting for something.

Then, Kei smirked.

He darted forward, taking down one, two, five, ten, Ghosts at once. Laughing the whole time, he killed any Ghost that got too close to his Tadashi. Arrows began to whizz past him, expertly aimed to avoid him but hit the Ghosts. Kei heard Tadashi's voice, loud and clear, full of well-learned leadership.

"What are you guys doing? Help him out!"

Kei heard more gunshots, slow but accurate. That must be Kageyama. He heard obnoxious laughter and small explosions. Tanaka, and his hand-made grenades. What an idiot, testing them out here. Kei couldn't help himself: he smiled. An idiot is exactly what they all needed to be if they were to survive being surrounded by an aggressive raid. Kei saw arrows with green ribbons attached littering the area, and knew Tadashi had his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he even saw their captain fighting Ghosts. Kei had no idea that Daichi was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but apparently he was. He took down several Ghosts with his bare hands. Crack, crack, crack, went their necks and skulls.

No wonder he was the captain.

He was terrifying.

A mere two and a half minutes later, the entire raid was on the ground, dead. Kei was bent over, dry heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Daichi was breathing hard, and Tanaka was still laughing like an evil scientist.

They all gathered around Kei, clapping him on the back and complimenting him. Tadashi hugged him tightly. If it hadn't been for Kei's recklessness, they might have all died. Kind of contradictory, but they did what they had to to survive.

Kageyama stood next to Kei awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

"Naf… Knife… Nice."

Kei didn't know if he would ever get that stupid sentence out of his head. What type of person doesn't know how to compliment someone? You don't know how to compliment people, either, a voice inside his head told him.

He told it to shut up.

"Hi," a feminine voice brought Kei out of his own mind. He looked up to see Kiyoko standing above him, holding a bunch of fabric in her hands. "This is for you."

He just stared at her.

"It's a new pair of clothes for you. I noticed yours were becoming a bit ratty," Kiyoko explained, a small smile on her face. He took the clothes from her and held them against himself. She grinned, nodding. "I hope you like floral patterns. I made them from curtains."

"Thanks," he said, completely genuine.

That was how time passed. Kei tolerated the people at Karasuno, and they got rid of Ghosts. Time had passed so quickly, he had barely realized when Christmas passed. Karasuno didn't bother celebrating, but instead prepared for a giant party for New Year's. They didn't have the time or energy to do presents, but they definitely could party for the dawn of a New Year.

Yachi and Kinoshita had been working on the feast for days. They had went around asking everyone their favorite food, and writing it down on a list. During the day, everyone had begun to relax for the first time in a long time. Karasuno was spread out across the gym, lazily chatting with people in their small groups.

It almost felt normal.

But not quite.

That night after everyone had eaten their favorite food, (Tadashi with his gross soggy french fries, and Kei with his strawberry shortcake), Karasuno gathered around a campfire they set up outside. Ghosts hadn't been near them in weeks, and the districts immediately surrounding their base had been eradicated. Just in case, though, they kept their weapons outside and had a rotating guard.

Suga brought out the marshmallows and graham crackers he had been hoarding for a special occasion. Everyone sat in groups, chatting happily among themselves, sometimes calling out what time is it, and is it new year's yet? They roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, stuffing themselves with the food they didn't even need.

"Alright everybody," Daichi announced, standing up and clapping his hands once for everyone's attention. Karasuno quieted down and faced their captain. "Tonight's New Year's. A New Year is ahead of us in just about fifteen minutes. It doesn't matter what the year brings. We came together for a righteous cause, we learned, we grew. As much pain the past year has brought us, I can honestly say I'm glad I was able to meet all of you."

A couple people sniffed, but Kei was humble enough not to scoff. He wasn't that much of an asshole. Suga looked to be on the verge of tears, and Asahi had his head buried in his hands. Daichi paused, looking away for a moment to compose himself.

"We've all survived up until this point. We have seen family members, friends, lovers, acquaintances die in front of us. But we have not died. We will not die. We will not forget those we have lost," Daichi continued his speech. He looked mournfully at Suga with soft eyes, and smiled. Continuing to gaze at Suga softly, he said, "We have reasons to fight for. People to fight for. Life may never be the same. We've lost people we love, but we've also gained people that we love."

Yachi was full out bawling, shoving her face into Kiyoko's neck. Suga was crying softly but held Daichi's gaze, unafraid to show his tears. Everyone around Kei had some sort of tears in their eyes. Tadashi slipped a hand into his own, and squeezed softly.

"We found people we had never met before. We found people that were willing to fight for those they cared about. We came together, and we fight together. We're a family," Daichi finished, choking up at his last few words. Suga stood up and pulled him into a hug.

Kei looked over at his best friend and wasn't surprised to see him crying, too. He didn't care. He didn't make fun of him, or teasingly tell him to shut up. Not in such a heart-wrenching moment. Kei wrapped an arm around Tadashi and pulled him into a comforting side hug.

Daichi was right. They all had people they would fight for. Kei did, too. He had Tadashi to protect. He even had Karasuno to protect, as much as it hurt him to admit it. They had found a group of misfit boys and girls, all trying to survive and be with another. They all could have hurt and stole from each other, but became a family, instead.

Feeling unusually emotional, and completely out of character, Kei cleared his throat. Just loud enough for everyone to hear him, he added, "May the New Year bring us happiness."

The group stared at him in silence. Some with confusion, some marveled that Kei had said 'us,' or had said anything at all. Karasuno looked around, and broke into grins. Kei pointedly ignored everyone, and instead pressed a kiss to Tadashi's forehead.

"May the New Year bring us happiness," everyone repeated back to him. Karasuno broke into hoops and hollers, smiling and laughing once again. Tanaka hit Kei on the back hard, grinning and teasing him.

The group dissolved into their own conversations again, slowly counting down until New Year's. There wasn't anything to tell them exactly when New Year's was, just whenever Daichi started counting down from 60. Everyone joined in, getting louder by the second. By the time they hit 10, everyone was screaming the numbers.

Including Kei. Well, he wasn't screaming. But at least he was participating. Finally, after the count down, everyone jumped up into a group hug, yelling, "Happy New Year's!"

After celebrating, everyone continues to talk quietly among different groups. Yachi and Kiyoko were the first to leave, wandering inside holding hands. As the night wore on, people got up to go inside. Maybe from the cold, maybe they were tired. Suga and Daichi left, holding hands. Nishinoya was trying to seem cool, but ended up falling asleep. Asahi and Tanaka carried him inside.

One by one, everyone left, leaving Tadashi, Hinata, Kageyama, and Kei outside in the cold. Their small group of four sat in a circle next to the dying campfire. Kageyama had fallen asleep on Hinata's shoulder ages ago, but seemed comfortable enough that no one wanted to move him. Tadashi yawned, slowly drifting into sleep, fitted snugly against Kei's neck and shoulders. That left just Hinata and Kei awake.

Kei stared out into the dark, half because he wasn't focused, and half to be some sort of guard. Hinata had been the most recent rotating guard, a set of knives within his grasp. There wasn't an immediate threat, and Kei wasn't really worried.

"Hey," Hinata said, bringing Kei out of his own thoughts. Kei turned his head slightly towards him, indicating he was listening. Hinata hummed, looking sadly out at the dark forest. "Did you lose anyone?"

Kei scoffed quietly, careful not to wake Tadashi up. He rolled his eyes, for good measure. "Of course I did, idiot. Everyone's lost someone."

When Hinata didn't respond, just kept staring out into the forest, Kei sighed. He shuffled around to get comfortable, mumbling, "Yeah. I lost my brother and my parents. My brother sacrificed himself to save me. What about you?"

"I lost my two best friends, Izumi and Kouji. They were my entire life, except for my family, of course. My mom and sister are fine. They're hunkered down somewhere with my grandpa. They didn't want me to leave, but I wanted to help…" Hinata trailed off, sighing sadly to himself. He didn't continue for a long time. Kei thought he had fallen asleep. "I saw them die, you know."

"Who?"

"Izumi and Kouji," He clarified. Hinata picked at his nails, inhaling a sharp breath. Kei assumed he pulled at a hangnail too hard, but didn't have it in him to make a joke. "I saw them both die. Izumi had been a religious drinker of that coffee. He turned almost immediately. I remember Kouji had cried, he had cried when Izumi paled. I was just … I was just standing there."

Hinata choked up, looking away from Kei. Kei didn't say anything, he didn't push for the details. He may not have been a close friend, but he refused to hurt anyone anymore than they had already been hurt. Hinata wasn't a bad guy, either. Just … annoying, maybe.

"Izumi turned into a Ghost so quickly, Kouji and I weren't able to run. Not that we would have been able to. I was so scared. So scared … I didn't know it at the time, but Kouji had been in love with Izumi. He knew it, and he told me that he didn't want to live without Izumi. That asshole, he was so self-righteous. He always had to do the right thing," Hinata continued his story. He stared at Kageyama wistfully, and brought a hand up to card through his hair. Kei thought the PDA was disgusting, but kept it to himself. Hinata smiled bitterly. "You know what he did? That bastard, he threw himself at Izumi. They fell to the ground, Kouji screaming at me to run away. I did, but not before I saw them kill each other. Izumi ripped Kouji's throat out with his own teeth, and Kouji snapped his neck. They died at the same time, killing each other. I can't … I can't unsee that."

"I know," Kei said simply. He looked away, giving Hinata privacy to cry the unshed tears so obviously in his eyes. Everyone had lost someone. Even the always happy, irritating shrimp of a person had lost people he cared about. Suddenly, Kei realized he didn't hate Karasuno as much as he thought. Maybe he even liked them. Maybe they were his new family.

A few moments into the sniffling, Kei heard shuffling. Kageyama had woken up and was holding Hinata so gently, gazing at him so softly, it hurt Kei to watch. They whispered quiet nothings to each other. Kei felt like he was intruding in a personal moment, and he hated it. He scooped Tadashi up into his arms, as much as he could, and went inside. The walk wasn't far. He made it inside to their spot and collapsed, holding Tadashi as close to his body as possible.

"Hey, Kei. It's alright, you're okay," Tadashi told him, blinking himself awake. He smiled comfortingly at Kei, rubbing small circles into his back.

"I miss Akiteru."

"I know, Kei, I know."

Kei cried quietly into Tadashi's chest for a long time. They held each other the rest of the night, determined not to let go. Tadashi kissed his best friend's temple softly after they had both stopped crying. Kei fell asleep like that, curled up in Tadashi's arms, and slept the best he had in months.