Chapter Text
Grey clouds circled the sky, the air feeling humid enough for rain. I ran my hands through my hair, which was puffy and more out of control than usual because of the weather. June 21st, the beginning of typhoon season. They were calling for a terrible storm in No. 6, one terrible enough to possibly make the Moondrop cry. It was the perfect birthday present.
As Kenma droned off into the distance about the want to reproduce within humans, I pictured myself floating on top of the clouds, the rain dripping against my body. It was absolutely blissful. Leaves blew around me, brushing up against my cheeks like a sigh. I imagined slowly falling, falling, falling, disappearing into oblivion until eventually-
“Hey! Why are you talking while I’m trying to present?!” I snapped quickly out of my hallucinations to see Kenma, a displeased emotion covering his usually neutral expression as he stared over at the boy who interrupted him. I raised my eyebrows at him, not wanting to interfere. Kenma and I had been best friends for a while now - I knew that it was better to hold back then deal with a cranky Kenma.
“We weren’t, it was probably the wind making the Moondrop howl,” another boy shrugged, although his guilty expression would say otherwise. I didn’t know his name. I didn’t bother to learn most of my classmates names, although I knew I probably should’ve.
“Yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist about it.” The offender added, a smug grin crossing his face. This boy apparently knew just the right points to hit.
“I don’t wear panties, you piece of trash!” Kenma yells in retaliation, his fists clenched with determination. It was rare that I saw Kenma like this, but not impossible. He was feisty when he was angry, that was for sure. I couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape my lips. Another thing I had learned was that Kenma loved to use the word trash a lot - especially in a derogatory form.
“You’re just full of yourself because you got selected for the Elite courses.” The first boy leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs. Then he pressed his fingers to his nose, making his voice nasally. “I wouldn’t be too impressed if I were him, especially when his hair looks like someone vomited all over it..”
Gasps echoed across the room, and then soft laughter and whispers. I audibly gasped, looking over at my best friend. The Elite comment was fine, but the minute someone insults his hair, he goes bezerk. Kenma leaped across the room, rage written across his face as he grabbed the boy who made the comment, knocking the glasses across his face with a clatter and punching him in the face. Kenma was skinny and small, but he had a strong punch. Although I wouldn’t admit it out loud, it was much stronger than my own.
“UWAH! A FIGHT!” I stood up in my chair and began cheering my best friend on. I loved fights! No. 6 was always so boring, and it was nice to see change once in a while, even if fighting is forbidden.
“How fucking dare you!” He said with another punch. I felt slightly bad for the other boy, he wasn’t even making an attempt to fight back. I wondered if I should interfere, but I decided against it as I jumped up and down in excitement, a big grin plastered on my face. I knew the fun couldn’t last, as the door slammed open and two supervisors walked into the room, scowls as big as the tension in the room.
“Kenma, what are you doing?” The woman said, a partial scowl as she made her way over to the fight scene.
“Kenma, let go,” another supervisor followed behind the woman, as they used their combined force to pull Kenma off of the boy. I knew he was sometimes too hot-headed for his own good. I sighed of relief once my best friend had been successfully separated from the other boy. He made it out with only a bloody nose, which would probably bruise up by tomorrow.
I looked out the window once again to find raindrops dripping down the window of the classroom, hard and fast. I smiled. I had a feeling this would be a good birthday.
--
“You weren’t even listening, were you?” Kenma said with a sigh and leaned back into his seat, the boat rocking back and forth with each movement that it makes. The air smelled of steam and freshwater with a strong waft of fish. The chatter amongst the other civilians was interesting, and I couldn’t help but follow along, even though Kenma had just asked me a question. One woman was on her way home from her first day at work since having her baby. I grinned.
“Shouyou?” I shuddered at the sudden contact. Kenma’s hand was on my shoulder, shaking it gently.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. Got distracted. Yeah, I was listening.” I nodded enthusiastically, bouncing up and down in my seat as I lied through my teeth. Kenma was either way too smart, or knew me too well, because he gave me a disapproving look before I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t… sorry. I was just wandering around in my own thoughts, y’know? I wonder if the Moondrops gonna’ cry…”
“That would be a good birthday present, huh?” Kenma smiled and began fiddling with his I.D. bracelet, a habit I’d noticed he’d picked up recently. I nodded with a toothy grin.
“Birthdays are so weird, y’know? Like one day you’re eleven and then.... BAM!” I threw my arms up in the air for emphasis. “You’re twelve! I also love the rain, it’s so weird because No. 6 rarely ever rains, but when it does it’s a REALLY big rainfall! I also don’t mind getting wet, rain is amazing. And it just happens to rain on my birthday! The Moondrop may even cry! This is going to be the best birthday EVER!” I jumped onto Kenma’s lap, grabbing both of his shoulders and shaking him back and forth. I couldn’t help but be excited. I got excited over pretty much anything and everything.
Kenma shoved me off of his lap with an annoyed huff. “I turned twelve before you.” I scoffed and playfully shoved him with a laugh. He never failed to remind me that he was almost a year older than me, and was turning thirteen in December.
Our conversations wandered off until we eventually got off the boat in Chronos, the wealthy district where Kenma and his grandma lived. Chronos was a beautiful, well kept district with lots of gardens, scenery and meadows that seemed to go on for miles. Only Elites, like Kenma, could live there.
Kenma’s grandmother was one of the sweetest ladies I knew. She spent all of her time with Kenma, and when he wasn’t around, she knitted and gardened. It was obvious that she spent lots of time gardening, with the Kozume household being the owner of Chrono’s best front and back yard. Amaryllis, cacti, camellias, forget-me-nots, and Ms. Kozume’s absolute favourite, shion, dotted the front yard with an array of beautiful colours. I loved hearing about Ms. Kozume’s garden, it was a nice change from the black and white scenes that I see every day in No. 6.
Ms. Kozume once told me that in an old language called Japanese, there was a language of flowers called Hanakotoba, where each flower represented a deeper meaning. It was fascinating, schools never taught us such things. I asked her what the flowers in her garden represented. With a laugh and a pat on my head, she told me that I was too curious for my own good, and that’d I’d find out on my own eventually.
“Hello Kenma, Shouyou. Happy birthday.” She smiled, not looking up from her knitting needles as we walked into the foyer of his house. I loved that Ms. Kozume called me Shouyou, instead of Hinata. It made me feel at home. “Not exactly the best weather for your birthday, huh?”
I shaked my head rapidly as I took a few steps towards her, Kenma following suit. “Nuh-uh. It’s the perfect weather. I love rain. The Moondrop might even cry if I’m lucky.” She put down her knitting needles and put a long, wrinkly finger on her glasses, pushing them up the bridge of her nose.
“You’re a peculiar boy. That’s probably why you get along with my Kenma so well,” she said with a giggle, earning a scoff from Kenma behind me.
“I’m right here, Nana.” I looked behind to Kenma and grinned. Their relationship with each other amazed me. They teased each other to no end, without anyone getting upset. With anyone else, Kenma would get upset, one way or another, and he’s not exactly the best person at dealing with his emotions.
“I know, I’m just teasing. I baked a birthday cake earlier for you, Shouyou, if you boys want to dig in. It’s in the kitchen.”
My eyes widened at the mention of cake. Kenma’s grandmother was an excellent baker, although not as great as my mom (I would never admit that out loud), she made some of the best cakes. We both dashed into the kitchen quickly. I was about to grab a knife to cut the cake when Kenma stopped me. In his hands was a red lighter, the other hand a candle.
“You have to make a wish first.” He stuck the candle into the cake gently, as I thought of what I could wish for. I didn’t really need to wish for much. I had a loving family with my mom and sister, the bestest best friend anyone could ask for, a roof over my head and enough food to survive. But why did I feel so empty? No. 6 provided me with all the basic necessities, but I still felt like the world I was living in was black and white.
As the candle burst into flames, I bent over the cake and tapped a finger to my chin before blowing out the candle. I wished for something to happen. For something to change, for my life to become colourful instead of a dull black and white. Yeah, that seemed like a good wish.
“What did you wish for?” Kenma asked as I plucked the candle out of the cake and began sucking the icing of the bottom of it.
“I can’t tell or else it may not come true!” I reached for the knife across the table and cut into the cake, my tongue sticking out the side in concentration. I cut Kenma a piece, then a piece for myself.
“Oh, come on, Shouyou. You know superstition like that isn’t true.” He grabbed his slice of cake as he rolled his brown eyes.
“You never know, Kenma.” I laughed as we both dug into our slices of cake. It wasn’t as much as superstition as it was that I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t feel my life was perfect. In No. 6, everyone’s life was perfect. It was a true utopia, and anyone who thought otherwise was wrong and I knew I’d be belittled if I admitted that.
After cake, Kenma brought me back into the living room where Ms. Kozume was still happily knitting. My best friend began whispering to her, before he picked up a package and handed it to me. I stared at it confusedly, not sure what to do with it.
“Your gift from Nana and I,” he said, the smallest smile creeping up on the edges of his face. I widened my eyes at the package, which was neatly wrapped with a royal blue paper. It was quite small and almost circle shaped. It made me wonder what was inside.
“You really didn’t have to get me anything, but thanks!” I ripped open the package recklessly to reveal it’s contents. Inside was a hat, matching that of the colour of the wrapping paper. I felt it’s fabric, very soft. It’s seams were careful, and I could tell that whoever made it spent lots of time making sure it was sewed with care.
“Nana made it. I know blue is your favourite colour, so I decided to get you this. I’m sorry if it’s not exactly what you want-”
“I love it!” I exclaimed before Kenma could finish his sentence. His sullen expression automatically perked up as I put the beanie on, admiring it in the mirror that hung up in the living room. I grin at Kenma and pulled the hat over my ears. “Thank you so much!” Before I knew it, I was engulfing the older boy in a large bear hug.
I spent about an hour over at Kenma’s house before I ended up leaving. I didn’t want to make my mom too concerned by staying too long, with an oncoming typhoon and what not. Kenma saw me out the door, and I was just about to leave, my beanie in tow when he called me to wait.
“I… have another present to give you.” He was avoiding eye contact, and a blush was very evident on his face. I smiled, despite my confusion with my best friend’s obvious nervousness. Was he being shy with me? He was never shy with me.
“Okay, what is-” My sentence got cut off by a pair of lips on my cheek. It lasted only for a second before he pulled away. I noticed the tips of his ears, which his pudding hair was tucked behind, were bright red. If it was even possible, his cheeks were rosier, a hand covering half of his face. I didn’t know why he was so embarrassed.
“That was the same gift my mother gave me.” I scrunched up my nose. People kissed each other all the time, right? It was just a sign of gratitude. My mother did it to Natsu and I all of the time.
“It was different!” He claimed, obviously avoiding looking at me. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“How?” He snuck a glimpse up at me for a second before looking back down at the ground and frowned. I shrugged my shoulders up with curiousity..
“It’s-” He was cut off by the sound of a howl, a familiar howl that I knew I had heard before. It was coming from the direction of the city. It was like a conch shell being blown, truly a beautiful sound. It took a while before it clicked.
“The Moondrop is crying!” I exclaimed, looking over in the direction of the city. The Moondrop wasn’t in my direct line of view, but it still made me excited nonetheless. The Moondrop rarely ever cried. In fact, the last time I had heard it cry was five years ago. It sounded like a wolf crying for freedom, it’s howls echoing across all of No. 6. With a smile, I looked over at Kenma. I begun, “It’s so-”
“Beautiful,” He finished, reflecting my smile as we embraced the sound of the Moondrop howling.
--
Rain was beautiful, I had decided that night as I stared out of my window. Just like the ocean, it was so untamed, unlike the domesticated waters of the lakes and ponds in the parks that I would explore with Kenma sometimes. The sound of rain made me want to scream.
So that’s what I did. Opening the window of my balcony, I let the wind and the rain enter my room of my Elite room in Chronos, papers from the homework I had just done flew all around. I put one barefoot outside of the door, and stepped outside. I took a final breath before I charged for my balcony railing, screaming at the top of my lungs. I let every single moment of rage, happiness, and sadness out until my lungs burned.
As I caught my breath, I clenched my fist to my heart, looking one last time at the majestic rain before I stepped back inside and began collecting all of the loose papers back up before I lost track of them and ended up handing in nothing to school on Monday. I set them underneath my bed, making sure they were neatly folded.
I looked over at myself in the mirror. I looked horrible. My hair was out of control, my beanie askew and bags underneath my eyes. Those were the side effects of insomnia, I had found out. Just as I was about to reach up and fix my beanie, I swore I saw a flash of something darting across my room. I pursed my lips and looked around my room bef-
A pair of hands reached for my neck and slammed me up against the wall, the impact shocking me more than anything. I blinked a couple of times and stared at the figure, my back aching from being slammed against the wall.
“Don’t move,” a deep voice warned. I choked up and took in the figure. They couldn’t be much older than I was, but the most striking feature I noticed was their eyes. A beautiful, royal blue colour, one that matched the colour of my beanie. My favourite colour. Jet black hair that was cut off short, minus his bangs. His clothing looked wrecked and he looked super skinny.
My pupils dilated when I noticed the gaping wound on their arm. The person’s gaze remained fix and silent. Panic arose in my chest. I could read their emotions. I didn’t know the intent of this person. It could be murderous for all I knew. They didn’t look strong, but some how, I couldn’t move, even if I struggled. Blood dripped down their arm.
“I could fix that for you,” I gulped, having trouble forming my words. His large pupils shrunk a bit, but his grip on my neck didn’t loosen. “The wound. I can fix it. Stop the bleeding. Do you understand me?”
The intruder looked at me once in the eyes, his royal blues piercing me through my skull. And then his grip loosened. His hands still remained on my neck, as if it were a reminder that he could kill me at any time. I let out a heavy sigh. At least I knew I actually had a chance at saving myself. My askew beanie had long fallen off and now lay on the floor. I didn’t dare attempt picking it up.
The house alarm went off, startling both the intruder and I. Our system of communication was wired all throughout the house, and allowed me to communicate with my mother and sister from the comfort of my own room. Not that I didn’t want to spend time with them. No. 6 officials said that it’s an efficient way of communication.
I tapped the alarm and almost automatically, the chipper voice of my sister Natsu filled the speakers. “Onii-chan, why are you being so loud? I have lots of homework to do!” A tremor of nervousness filled my veins and I shivered from the cold air entering the room.
“Sorry, Natsu. Hey, can you do me a favour and tell Mom that I have lots of work to do tonight and I don’t want to be disturbed, okay?” I lie, a breathy laugh filling the air. Natsu was only eight years old, and was already drowning in the same amount of work as I had. The perks of being an Elite, I guessed.
“Alright! And Mom says to close your window, ‘else you may catch an illness,” she said, matter-of-factly. It never failed to impress me how she managed to sound like an eight year old and an adult at the same time.
“Thanks, Natsu.” I hung up on her before turning my attention back to the boy in front of me. His hand slowly lowered from my neck, his scowl slowly turning into a neutral expression.
--
“What happened?” I asked the boy with the blue eyes as I gathered the supplies to help his wound and spread them all over the floor of the bedroom. I was no expert, but I needed to stop the bleeding with whatever it took. We were both situated on the floor of my bathroom, our legs criss-crossed.
“A bullet wound, and you’re not going to stab me with that, are you?” The boy answered, staggering back with slight fear in his eyes. I held up the needle in my hand and stared at him with a curiousity that of a puppy’s. For someone who fearlessly pinned me up against a wall just moments before, he seemed awfully scared of just a simple needle. I had gotten them all the time.
“Not stab, prick. It’s anesthesia, to numb the pain for when I sew your wound.”
“Wait, sew? Do you even have any experience with this?”
“Of course not, I’m not a Doctor. But I know how to sew, my mom taught me.”
“Yeah. Because sewing clothes is just like sewing human flesh.” The boy rolled his eyes with a smirk, his voice obviously full of sarcasm. I cocked my eyebrow at him, disapproving of his tone.
“Would you rather have someone with little experience or no experience at all? If we don’t stop the bleeding soon, you could die.”
Apparently he had no comment to that, as he allowed me to gently grab his arm and examine the wound. Wait, what kind of wound did he say it was? A bullet wound? “How’d you get a bullet wound in No. 6? Guns are strictly for use only by members of the Hunting Club. Did they accidentally shoot you?”
The boy remained silent to that, and reluctantly allowed me to press the needle into his skin around his wound. He didn’t even flinch when it dug into his arm. He was probably so used to the pain by now that a simple needle wouldn’t hurt.
“You’re weird, you know that?” He said after I warned him about the rubbing alcohol stinging his wound as I cleaned it off.
“How so?” It definitely wasn’t the first time I had heard that.
“You’re helping a complete stranger out and you haven’t even asked for my name.” Huh, I thought, pressing a finger to my chin, I really haven’t.
“You haven’t asked for my name either, though,” I pointed out as I gathered the supplies from the first aid kit to begin sewing the wound. I figured that his arm would’ve numbed by now, which also made me think of the question he ignored from before. He examined my every move, as if he were being cautious about my actions towards him.
“It’s Hinata, right?” He asked, his blue eyes glinting with curiousity. I matched his gaze, slightly shocked at his ability to know my name. “Hinata, that means sunflower facing the sun. Heh, that kind of reminds me of your hair.”
“Huh?” I had no idea what that meant. My name meant something? And what did my hair have to do with anything?
“Nevermind. I guess No. 6 doesn’t have a strong literary complex. Figures, probably give them too much freedom.” The boy laughed as I glared at him confusedly. “My name’s Kageyama.”
“First name?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Liar. I can see it on your face.”
“We’re not close enough for you to call me it.”
“I never said I had to call you by your first name,” I said, crossing my arms. “Besides, I’d say we’re pretty close. I’m basically saving your life.”
This apparently amused Kageyama, his name just learned moments before. He chuckled, a hand on his injured arm. I stared at him blankly, blinking a couple of times to emphasise my point. “Fine, my name is Tobio. But if you call me by that, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“Alright, fine. Let’s get your arm patched up before you bleed out.”
I took the sewing needle carefully in my fingers and took a deep breath in and out, remembering what my mom taught me years ago about sewing. Taking Kageyama’s arm in my hands, I steady my shaking hands and begin sewing his wound together. He flinched when the sewing needle hit his skin, but he didn’t whine in pain. Good, the anesthesia worked.
“Does it hurt?” I asked anyway. Kageyama shook his head in response, and I sighed in relief. I knew I had to be at my most steady and careful, and I couldn’t make any mistake. It wasn’t like I was sewing a piece of fabric together. This was an actual, live person and it could cost his live if I made the tiniest of mistake. I didn’t know if that was an exaggeration or not, but at the moment, that’s the only thought that was etched in my brain.
I finished the stitches and pumped my hands up with success. “Tada! No more bleeding.” I dabbed at the wound with a cloth a couple of times to clean off the dried blood and smiled, pride filling my heart. “You never answered my question from before.”
I had noticed that Kageyama almost never smiled and had a permanent scowl written upon his face. The boy wasn’t cute or attractive, in fact, the only beautiful thing about him was his eyes. I thought maybe he could be cute if it weren’t for his resting bitch face and if he gained a little more weight. It was obvious Kageyama didn’t eat enough, his cheekbones were very visible and he had dark bags under his eyes. I wondered what he had gone through to end up in such a rough shape.
“Some people hunt animals, others hunt humans.” He answered sullenly, looking away from me and instead at a bookcase resting by my walls. “I just happened to be the unfortunate victim.”
I audibly gasped and moved closer to Kageyama, invading his personal space. He didn’t seem to mind, as he just ignored me. “But that’s against the law, that’s attempted murder! What happened? Why were they shooting at you?”
This made him back away slightly, leaning his weight against his good arm. “Dumbass, we just met. You really think I’m going to tell you all the juicy details?” I huffed and crossed my arms, my eyebrows crinkled together in exasperation.
“Fine. But you should really go shower, you smell like B.O.” I plugged my nose and waved in front of my face. His eyes widened as he slowly picked himself up off of the floor. I followed suit, and leaned against the door frame of the bathroom. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you clothes. Um, they might be a bit small though… I’ll get you the biggest clothes I have.”
The height difference between Kageyama and I was large. I hadn’t even hit 150 centimetres yet and I guessed Kageyama was already around 170 centimetres. Although his build wasn’t much bigger than mine, being as skinny as he was. I searched around my closet for the largest article of clothing I owned.
After searching for a while, I found an oversized white shirt and black sweater that I rarely ever wore. I even forgot that it was in my closet. It might’ve been a bit snug on Kageyama, but I was sure that he wouldn’t complain about getting out of the blood and dirt stained clothing. I fished out a pair of grey sweatpants from my wardrobe, along with a towel, and set them out for Kageyama to wear.
Why was I helping Kageyama out? I could’ve easily reported him as an intruder to the No. 6 government, and went on with my black-and-white life. For some reason, I was drawn to the boy with the royal blue eyes who came through my window. I didn’t even know him, but yet I felt so obligated to help him. Then, a thought popped into my head.
This was my wish coming true.
Kageyama was the change in my life that would make it colourful.
I shook my head at my thoughts. I needed to stop being so pretentious. I was just helping him because he looked vulnerable and he could’ve died at any minute. I wondered if he was hungry… maybe I should’ve gotten something for him to eat.
I carefully opened the door to my room and walked into our living room area, where my mother was sitting cross-legged while drinking some tea. Natsu sat right beside her on the floor, scribbling in a notebook with what I assumed was her coursework.
“Onii-chan! Are you still working?” I nodded with a fake smile. Something ached inside of me, feeling guilty that I was flat-out lying to my little sister.
“I left you some dinner on the table, you can bring it up to your room, since I know you’ve been working so hard,” my mother said with a smile as her brown eyes identical to mine scrunched up at the sides. “Also, there’s a message from the government. Read it and reply.”
I muttered an okay and headed into the kitchen, where I had found my dinner already set down on the table and ready for me to eat. There was still steam pouring from the top, so I wondered how long ago Natsu and Mom had eaten. There was a bowl of soup and a glass of water, along with a cherry cake for dessert. My stomach grumbled, but then I reminded myself that this was for Kageyama, since he probably hasn’t eaten in a while. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction to my mom’s cake. It was the most delicious thing in the whole wide world.
I brought the tray back upstairs to my room. As I walked by, my mother wished me good luck on my work. I wondered if she could tell that I was lying. If I did say so myself, I was a pretty good liar.
But why was I so afraid of my family finding out about Kageyama? I doubt they’d judge me for taking in an injured, vulnerable boy who was probably my age… I shook my head at my thoughts. No, I couldn’t tell them. Who knows how’d they’d react, what they’d think? They were my family, and I trusted them, but they probably wouldn’t trust Kageyama.
Did I even trust Kageyama? I wasn’t sure. He somehow drew me in with a trustworthy vibe, as if I could place my whole life in his hands and he would support me until I died.
When I walked into my room, I noticed the air smelled strongly of mint, and I knew Kageyama was fresh out of the shower. I felt around the room for my light switch, which earned me a scolding from the taller boy. He insisted I keep the lights off.
“I can’t see, though…” I muttered as I felt around the wall for my bed.
“You can’t navigate through your own room when it’s dark?” Kageyama chuckled, as I heard bed springs pop and a sigh come from the other boy.
“I’m not nocturnal, I guess,” I found my bed and sat down, heat radiating from the boy who was lying down on the bed next to me. Wind slammed against the window, signs that the storm was picking up soon. The bed springs popped again under the weight of both of us, which considering we were both growing boys, wasn’t a lot of weight. “I brought some food, I figured you were hungry.”
We looked at each other, and I swore I saw something sparkle in his eyes, something like gratitude or joy. For a moment, I even thought I saw his scowl twitch up into a smile. It disappeared after a few seconds, although his scowl didn’t return. It was more of a neutral expression. It made him look… cute, I guess you could say.
He gruffly thanked me before he dug into the food and devoured almost all of it in two minutes, a loud burp erupting from his mouth before he finished. I giggled, joy filling my insides for some reason. I definitely didn’t regret helping him out, even if he did seem like a douche pants at first.
My I.D. bracelet beeped, reminding me that I had a message from the government to read. The message my mother reminded me of. While Kageyama was finishing my mom’s cherry cake, I opened the message from No. 6, a blue hologram appearing in front of my eyes. The technology always amazed me when I saw it, and the mechanisms always confused my brain. Maybe I should ask Natsu sometime - she’d probably know.
“A VC escaped during a transfer to the Correctional Facility around five pm tonight. He is believed to be heading towards the Chronos area, so residents must be sure to lock their windows and doors,” a monotonous voice echoed, a map of Chronos filling the screen. What I heard next almost shocked me more than anything. “He is around 170 centimetres and 90 pounds, appearing very young. He has blue eyes and black hair and is believed to have a bullet wound in his left arm. If any citizen sights the VC, you are obligated to report it to any No. 6 official.”
I looked over at Kageyama, who was peering over my shoulder at the hologram as it died down into a black space. He matched the description entirely, from his appearance to the bullet wound on his shoulder.
“Are you going to kick me out now?” The blue-eyed boy asked, his voice cracking a bit. He stared me into the eyes, making me feel extremely guilty at his premises. “Gonna’ report me to the officials?”
I bit my lip in confusion. He was a VC. I was harbouring a VC. A prisoner. I could get into major trouble for this. He looked so innocent, though. Like a boy who had seen things a boy our age shouldn’t have seen. Sure, he may’ve been snarky and sarcastic, but he looked so innocent. There was no way I could report him to the officials without a guilty conscious, even if I were to get into trouble. I gulped and shook my head. “No.”
“Why not? You’re basically a criminal in the eyes of No. 6 now. Harbouring a VC is an extreme offense. Possibly even treason.”
“I don’t care. Besides… how much bad could you’ve done to be wanted by the government of No. 6? You’re young and about as skinny as a twig!” I stood up to prove my point, arms moving with enthusiasm. Before I knew it a pair of hands were on me, knocking the breath out of me. They pinned me up against the wall before roughly throwing me against the floor. A pair of legs straddled me, chills ran up and down my spine. I was trapped, couldn’t move even if I struggled. For some reason, I wasn’t scared.
A cold metal object ran up and down my neck. I gulped.
“If this were a knife, you’d already be dead,” Kageyama’s voice echoed, his breath hot against my neck.
“Wow,” I said in between breaths, “How did you do that?”
I couldn’t see Kageyama, but I guessed his facial expression was pretty confused. He slowly stepped off of me, allowing me to get up and brush off my jeans. The amount of force that Kageyama had surprised me. Such a small boy (aside from his height) yet he had so much strength…
Kageyama laughed. He actually laughed. A hand to his stomach, he was full out dying of laughter. “You’re scary when you laugh. Stop.” I scolded, my arms crossed. I pursed my lips with disapprovement. When Kageyama finally got a grip of himself, he sat himself on the bed, his scary smile still on his face. Now I knew why he didn’t smile that much.
“I pin you down on the ground to the point where you couldn’t even move, and the first thing you ask is how I did it? I’m a crow, that’s why.” He let out a soft chuckle. A crow? I had no idea what he meant by that, but I didn’t question it. “Dumbass nerd.”
“Jerk!” I shouted at him, my face creeping up with a smile. I leaped at him, and apparently he was taken aback with surprise, because he didn’t react very fast. I tackled him onto the bed and wrestled with him. I was no match for him, and I knew it, because he almost instantly had me pinned against the bed too. I looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back, and this time, it wasn’t a scary smile. Cute. The first word that came to my mind was cute.
“I’m tired,” he said with a yawn, all of the sudden, as he collapsed onto the spot on the bed next to me. His hand still gripped my arm, not strongly, but just with enough pressure that it sent butterflies to my stomach. I slipped my arm up and inch, to test it. Then, I slipped it up all the way to his hand. I intertwined our fingers and squeezed.I was taken aback when he squeezed back. Our fingers fit perfectly. I smiled, colour rising to my cheeks at the contact. Kageyama was still smiling, his beautiful eyes closed. He looked like he was about to fall asleep at any time.
His hand was awfully hot. I wasn’t sure if it was the nervousness rising in my stomach that made me imagine it… I leaned over to Kageyama and pressed my lips to his forehead, then rested my cheek against his forehead. It was burning hot. I felt his eyelashes flutter open against my cheek.
“You have a fever,” I told him as I scooted off of him, our bodies flush next to each other, his hand still warm in mine. He looked at me, the royal blue of his irises piercing a hole into the boring brown of my own.
“Just let me sleep,” he grumbled, his eyes fluttering shut again. I poked him in the stomach.
“You can’t, you’ll exhaust yourself,” I retorted, poking him in the stomach again. He groaned before letting go of my hand and turning onto his side. His eyes opened once more. Kageyama said nothing, just stared at me, taking in my features. Then he pulled me in, his arms wrapped around my middle with a sigh. He tucked his head into the space between my neck and my shoulderblades. Kageyama smelled like cinnamon.
“Thank you, Hinata…” He said through a sigh before his breaths finally evened, falling into a deep lull of sleep.
It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, either. But every single thought that echoed through my mind had to do with Kageyama until I fell asleep. My sleep was dreamless and peaceful as I was huddled in the warmth of Kageyama, his arms around me giving me an amazing sensation that I couldn’t even describe.
---
I woke up feeling cold and empty.
The arms that were around me the night before were gone, no traces that Kageyama was here in the first place. Not even a simple goodbye, or a note. He just completely disappeared from my life. I couldn’t even fathom it.
My bed still smelled strongly of cinnamon, of Kageyama’s scent. Anger, sadness ran through my veins. I wanted Kageyama to stay with me. I liked him a lot. But what did I expect? He was wanted by the No. 6 government, he couldn’t stay in one place for too long.
I paced my room a bunch of times, hoping that Kageyama was just having a shower or something, and that he’d be back in five minutes. Five minutes later, I’d still be in my room, and my mother would still be wondering why I wasn’t coming down for breakfast.
I eventually went down and had breakfast, but I didn’t stay to chat like I usually did. I ate, went back upstairs and moped some more.
When I went into the bathroom, it still smelled like Kageyama, mixed with sweat and blood. I cleaned up the mess that we had made last night, when I stitched up his arm. The first-aid kit from the night before was gone. Kageyama must’ve taken it with him, wherever he went.
Maybe I should go out to take my mind off of it. Maybe I should go to see Kenma, he’d definitely make my horrible day (so far) better. Yeah, I’d go see Kenma. I looked around my room for the beanie that had fallen off my head when Kageyama pinned me against the wall. It wasn’t near the mirror, where it should’ve been. It wasn’t in the bathroom, or near my bed.
“Dammit, I must’ve lost it already…” I muttered as I looked under my bed for the fifth time that morning. I had a terrible habit for losing things almost as soon as I got them.
Just as I was about to head out the door to Kenma’s house, I heard my mom’s voice calling me.
“Shouyou, could you come down here, please? There are some people that want to talk to you.”
I looked around, nervously. I guess my repercussions were coming.