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Soft footfalls echo in the walls, the sound of careful feet on crumbling stone the only noise that Daichi makes as he goes deeper into the castle. There isn't anyone left here, not after the war and the pillaging army and—
Daichi's foot slips into a hole in the floor he hadn't seen in the near dark. He stumbles forward, the firelight cast by his torch wavering and making the shadows lurking in the shadows dance.
There are ghosts here, they say, unhappy spirits of those who didn't make it out. Nobody should go near the castle ruins, let alone into the castle itself. If the falling crumbling castle didn't get you, the ghosts would.
Daichi had believed them and that is why he is here, making his way through a castle in ruins with only a handmade torch as his guide. His previous misstep makes him careful, watching where he places his feet and avoiding the parts of the castle that have completely fallen away.
He sees the ghosts too, skittering things at the edge of his vision, hiding from his firelight and his footsteps. They are watching him, gathering in the shadows and whispering words that get caught up in the wind before they can reach Daichi's ears.
When he reaches the castle annex, Daichi stops. He stares down into a hollow abyss in the floor, separating this part of the castle from the next. There isn't a way to cross so large a gap and he paces at its broken edge, waving his torch to illuminate both ends of the corridor in hopes of finding a way across.
The wind picks up behind him, ruffling his hair and tugging at his clothes. A whisper reaches his ears, a collective voice of many saying, "Jump. We'll help you across."
His firelight flickers and in that moment, Daichi feels the presence of the many that had been here, inhabitants of the castle that had lived and fallen with it. He wipes a hand across his eyes, catching his breath as he backs up. Then he runs towards the edge of the gap, his muscles straining as he leaps as far as he can.
For a moment, he is suspended in midair, nothing but the gaping abyss beneath him. Then the wind howls, phantom hands settling on him, carrying him across the rest of the way and depositing him on solid stone.
"Thank you," Daichi says, adjusting his grip on his torch. They dance out of range of his firelight but Daichi can hear their whispers around him, incoherent again now that they aren't speaking as one.
He trudges on, making his way through this part of the castle by the light of his torch, trusting his legs to remember the path he had taken so many times before. He goes up the stairs and all the way across the corridor, into the room at the highest and farthest end of the castle.
Daichi knocks out of habit, three sharp raps of his knuckles against splintered wood reverberating through the empty castle, an echo of the past. Then he pushes the door open and steps inside.
Moonlight floods through an open window, illuminating the room so brightly, so vividly that Daichi almost forgets about the war and the crumbling castle it had left in its wake. He knows every inch of this room from the grand collection of books lining the walls, arranged alphabetically and according to the space left on the shelves, to the massive table in the middle of the room, two chairs knocked askew on the floor, to the bed tucked away in a corner, fitted for two.
The whispers that had followed him through the castle fade away and his torch comes to the end of its life, the firelight giving way to the light of the moon. There is a breeze coming through the window, ruffling Daichi's hair and caressing his face.
"Daichi," a lone voice whispers, tickling his ear.
"Kuroo," Daichi says, his voice cracking on that name.
A weight settles over his shoulders, invisible arms pulling him into a hug. Daichi knows this presence even if he can't see it. He would know Kuroo in life and in death.
"I'm sorry I didn't make it in time," Daichi says and his breath hitches, coming in short spurts and wracking his chest. His eyes are wet and he swipes a hand over his face, finding tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I should have been here."
"Shh. Don't be," Kuroo murmurs, his presence settling over Daichi, wrapping him up in all of him. "I'm glad you didn't get caught up in this. Everyone was so happy to see that you survived. Daichi? Daichi, don't cry.”