Chapter Text
Yall remember the plan? Yeah, well that’s no more since Hinatas dumbass arrived too late and there are no busses going in the direction that they need it to go. Basically, they either have to do the entire thing on foot or they wait until tomorrow, tomorrow being Sunday. After a lot of name calling and bickering the team decided that they are still going to go to the castle today because IF something happens, they don’t want to play pretend on Monday and have at least a day to breathe. Also, because a couple of boys, no name calling here (Hinata, Noya and Tanaka) didn’t do their homework as planned so they have to do it tomorrow. Basically, this entire thing isn’t going as planned at all and they were quite close on cancelling the whole thing but looking at the weather app it’s supposed to rain the entire week starting with Tuesday and who knows how it’ll look like after.
No one is pleased with this and after going over the entire thing again for like 30 minutes they decide to head out. Thank God they met up early and its about 14:42 so if there aren’t any complications they should arrive at least at 17 (14 is 2pm and 17 is 5pm)
"That’s so fucking stupid actually, why aren’t there any buses available?? " Everyone is asking that question, but I guess Sugawara managed to also put it into words and say it out loud.
"There are buses going but since the next town in that direction is about 2,5 hours away, even with bus, they only ride early in the morning and around 20. " (8pm) To be fair the first thing Nishinoya mentioned about the castle was that it hasn’t been visited in a while, so no one really had any business even going that way unless for work. But who the fuck starts their work after 9? Still just because Ennoshita pointed out the obvious doesn’t mean they like the answer.
"At least it’s not hot out so we aren’t sweating our asses off. " Tanaka tried to lighten the mood but with the entire team and it did at least make them a little grateful but nevertheless no one was really looking forward to an almost 2-hour hike.
"I mean at least we can sing karaoke! "
"If you start singing, I swear to god I’m going to turn around and walk back home. " Tsukishima managed to stop Hinata from singing, but not going lie that might help pass the time. After some small talk here and there and only 45 minutes going by from the 2-hour journey people are starting to get bored. Nishinoya managed to talk Daichi into a race with him and Hinata, Tsukishima was listening to music, sharing his headphones with Yamaguchi, some were daydreaming, and others were just laughing about Daichi getting beat by Hinata (that being Sugawara and Asahi).
All and all even though it was long and they didn’t even put 50% behind them its not half as bad. They can really be grateful that they’re athletes because if not, this entire “adventure” probably would have taken a lot longer.
After they hit the 1-hour mark and walking at the side of the road they arrived at the side of the forest. They basically walked along the road and now have to walk into the woods on a little path that should lead to the gates of the old kingdom. If Noya and Tanaka did their research right. Everyone decided this would be an appropriate time to take a small break to drink and to just sit down and rest.
"Not gonna lie I thought this was going to be wayy worse than it actually was. " With water bottle in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other, Noya wanted to have a little conversation with everyone.
"Same actually, it’s still quite an inconvenience, I would have preferred to ride the bus for the first hour of this. " Kinoshita was the one who continued since the others were either drinking or not in the mood to talk.
"True actually, but I do think having to ask the bus driver to drop us off in the middle of nowhere, at the ass of a forest and any form of civilization being an hour away he might have questioned us on why. "
"Bro might have thought we wanted to burn the forest down or sum, or maybe even smoke. "
"That’s fucking stupid, why would we want to go into a forest to smoke? It’s in general easier to smoke at home. " Question of the day; how did Tanaka go from burning something down to smoking? We’ll never know the answer to that because Daichi has an announcement.
"Okay everyone we’re going to go into the forest very soon and we’re going to do this like in kindergarten, everyone is going to have a partner, and no one is going anywhere on their own. If you do want to explore something your partner is going to have to go with you and everyone else is going to wait for them to come back. "
There is a reason why Daichi is captain, and this is why. Also, for anyone wondering they’re not taking the main path since it would be “way too obvious” as Tanaka put it so they’re going to enter at one of the side gates of the place.
The pairs were:
Daichi and Sugawara at the front.
Nishinoya and Tanaka right behind them.
Kinoshita, Narita and Ennoshita were a trio since you can’t divide 11 by 2 and they’re in general closer together then they are with the rest.
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were obviously together as well.
And Hinata with Asahi at the complete back making sure that everyone stayed in line and that no one, or nothing was following them.
This is the time where nervousness is really kicking in. The forest was really pretty but had a weird vibe to it that no one could really explain. The air was damp but refreshing and soothing in a weird way. The path that they were walking on wasn’t spacious but also not small, it was perfect for 2 people walking next to each other and still having some room for themselves. Most of the talking was just pointing stuff out like plants and small animals. They even saw a squirrel.
Weirdly enough the walk didn’t feel like an hour, it felt way faster than that. They had to walk up some hills and they even found a lake.
"Ohhhh this means were halfway done right? " Hinata going off path went over to the lake to have a closer look at it, and Asahi being his partner he followed.
Obviously, everyone followed to check out the lake but Tsukishima was a bit skeptical about this so he stayed on the path, he didn’t want any other issue coming up and them not being able to find the path again would be his living nightmare. Naturally, Yamaguchi stayed behind since he was Tsukkis partner, and they started to have a little convo about the forest.
"Hinata mentioned that we’re almost there, how do you think the village will look like? "
"Probably pretty old and overgrown with plants and what not, I doubt a gardener comes by to clean the stuff up. " Yamaguchi snorted at the thought of someone coming by every so often to clean up an old village. He can’t even imagine how annoying it must be to make this entire gurney.
"Aren’t you guys going to check out the lake? Its pretty big considering we’re in a forest. " Daichi and Sugawara made their way back to the path where Tsukki and yams were standing, Sugawara had his phone in hand, he’s been taking pictures ever since they entered the forest.
"I don’t think I want to but is Yamaguchi does he could go back with one of you guys. "
As Daichi and Tsukishima had their conversation, Sugawara was showing Yamaguchi some of the pictures he took. Including the lake. The lake was indeed pretty big for it to be in a forest. There also was a small island in the middle of it with more trees, it was beautiful.
After making sure it was okay with Tsukki, Yamaguchi went to the lake with Sugawara while their partners stayed behind.
"Is the lake really that pretty? " Tsukishima was the first to break the silence and he looked over to Daichi who was sitting on a branch.
"It really is actually, there is a thin mist over it to the point where it looks ominous but not scary. You should really check it out. "
"But you said it yourself that we shouldn’t leave anyone one their own. "
"I know and I didn’t say I was going to make an exception; I’m just suggesting that once one group comes back you go over there and have a look for yourself. "
"I mean if you insist. "
There was a comfortable silence amongst the two and it didn’t take long for our trio to make their way back.
"Did you guys enjoy the view? "
"Absolutely it’s really pretty. " Kinoshita started to talk about the lake to Daichi and Narita and Tsukishima walked over to Ennoshita to ask if it was okay with him if they could walk over and have a look. Of course he agreed. Daichi wasn’t lying, it really was mesmerizing, there were even some ducks swimming and if he wasn’t completely out of it, he even saw a pair of swans at the far back. Yamaguchi and Sugawara sat down on a branch with Asahi while the other 3 were getting a bit too comfortable and were very close to the water.
Tsukishima and Ennoshita went over to the 3 that were sitting on the branch and sat down next to them.
After a bit of sight seeing and a close call on Hinata almost falling into the water they decided it was for the best that they continue. It was nearing 17 and since it was early/mid-September the sun was going to set in about 2 hours or so at around 19 (7pm).
The last 30 minutes were pretty calm as well, there wasn’t any major stuff that was worth taking a closer look at, so they were able to arrive on time.
Standing In front of the locked wooden gate that might be blocked for a reason some of them started to have doubts about this. Not Hinata though, he jogged back and with full speed ran towards the gate and jumped up to leap over it.
"Okay what the fuck Hinata. "
"What? Someone had to get over to open it from the other side, right? " He said that while looking around to see if he could find anything to let the others in. The gate wasn’t locked by chains but by a wooden plank all he had to do was to lift it up. But Asahi was right, he wasn’t the strongest and the plank was too heavy for him to lift it up completely
"Guys I think we ran into our first issue… I can’t lift up the plank that’s locking the gate. "
"What do you mean first?? Our first issue was the fucking bus. "
"Yeah, okay but I still have no idea how to open this thing without breaking my arm. "
"Wait a sec Hinata we’re going to boost Tanaka up the wall so that he can help you okay? " Daichi and Asahi made a little step with their hands so that they could lift Tanaka over the wall, it took a hot minute, but he eventually made it over. He had a quick look around the area first. After making sure that genuinely no one was around he motioned with his head that they should get to work.
Hinata grabbed onto one side and Tanaka on the other they quietly counted to 3 and they lifted the plank together off the gate and let it fall to the ground. Tanaka opened the gate in a dramatic fashion with his head held high and his nose in the air.
"Come in my good sirs. " He stepped out of the way like a butler to let the others in. Daichi rolled his eyes but was the first to enter and the rest of the team followed. The gate was closed behind them.
"Alright this is it, we’re officially here. " Sugawara exclaimed while looking at the old houses and small sheds in what looked like a small neighborhood.
"How big do you guys think this place it? "
Before anyone could answer that question Hinata made a loud noise and pointed into the distance.
"LOOK AT THAT, THAT’S FUCKING HUGE!!! " Everyone turned their heads at the same time to see what he was pointing at. The castle ladies and gentlemen. It was massive and looked intimidating but beautiful at the same time. The sky started to turn orange and it gave the castle a lovely light to shine in. With the mist around the entire area, it reminded them of Castle Dimitrescu (from resident evil 8). The color was a beautiful black and grey with quest a few towers and a big stone wall surrounding it and protecting the entire place.
"Wow…."
"And we’re exploring that, I doubt we’ll get back home before midnight, god that’s massive. "
After a couple of seconds of just staring at that massive castle they decided to explore the village side of things before entering royal territory.
It was your usual village. Quiet a few houses with neighborhoods and a huge market connecting in the middle of it. They kinda wondered why no one had visited this place in so long but after remembering the ghost stories it kinda makes sense. Though they haven’t encountered anything unusual, and they didn’t have a weird feeling so far, maybe there aren’t any ghosts here after all?
It took them quite a while to explore the village, about 40 minutes, but that’s because they couldn’t enter most of the houses and the ones that they were able to enter were small and easy to get through. By the time they finished with that it was starting to get pink and orange outside, they didn’t really want to be outside in the dark, so they made their way towards the castle.
It was hard to describe the feeling they felt, it wasn’t fear, nervousness or panic. It was dread. It’s close to fear but they were slowly starting to regret this entire thing. Yamaguchi, being the curious boy he is did his own research that he shared with the team. He read that door close, objects are getting thrown, footsteps are being heard, people are getting touched/caressed, and a figure could also be seen from time to time.
For short there was a chance some freaky shit could happen and them being so close to all of this made them uneasy. Weirdly enough they weren’t that scared though. Maybe the air was calming them down, there was a slight wind getting blown into their face.
"Who the fuck want to open this door? " They’ve been standing in front of the main entrance of the castle for the past 5 minutes in silence. No one really wanted to open anything, who knows what is behind that shit?
"I think Tanaka should do it. " Ennoshita spoke up after another second of silence.
"WHO THE FUCK?? WHY ME?? "
"Wasn’t it your idea to come here? "
"It was also Noyas. "
"HEY LEAVE ME ALONE! "
"Everyone who thinks that Tanaka should open the gate raise their hand. " And like moths flying to a lamp everyones hand flew into the air, Nishinoya even put both of his hands up. Kinda felt like he voted for Tanaka as well.
"Okay what the fuck? " Ryu wasn’t happy with this, not in the slightest. Tho he did somewhat understand why everyone wanted him to do it but still this is a dick move in his opinion.
Everyone stayed back and Tanaka was facing the massive gate from the castle, he breathed in and out a couple of times before saying “*fuck it*” and just pushing the doors open. He stumbled forward a bit, but he was inside. With awe on his face, he looked around the place, it was huge and absolutely beautiful. There was a gorgeous red carpet on the floor with massive chandeliers on the ceiling, there were furnishings that looked like they cost more than his house. Bis strong Armors were standing there as decorations with sword in hand. It was scarily beautiful.
Tanaka took a few more steps into the castle doing a full 360° turn to look around, he was amazed. After seeing that Tanaka wasn’t jumped by ghosts the rest of the team made their way inside and looked around themselves.
The entire place left them speechless. Aside from dust everything seemed in top condition. Nothing was broken, no wall, ceiling or floor looked damaged, the windows seemed to be in good condition, and oddly enough the carpet also looked clean.
"This is… man I can’t even put this into words. " Kinoshita trailed off with his words but he was so far the only one that managed to say anything.
"It’s kinda giving me the creeps over how well the place looks, I mean looking at the village this is clean and well maintained. "
"Now that you mentioned it yeah it is weird, Ohhhh maybe the ghosts take care of the place. " After answering what Tsukishima said Hinata started to walk further into the castle looking everywhere when they suddenly heard a loud BANG.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! "
"JESUS. "
After a lot of cursing and looking around Daichi managed to find the source of the loud noise.
"Guys... I think the door just locked on us... " He said that slowly as if wishing he was wrong but after a lot of pulls and pushes from him the door wouldn’t budge.
"IT WHAT?! " Everyone started to panic, Tanaka and Asahi had a go at the door but It really wouldn’t open, with horror in their eyes Tanaka and Nishinoya looked at each other.
"This wasn’t part of the plan. " one of them whispered.