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It was a cool autumn's week in the middle of the holidays and the volleyball club of Shiratorizawa had met to practice together a few days ago.
So far everything had went well but on the evening of their fourth day right before evening practice they noticed that Tendou and Ushijima were missing.
“This is unusual,” Semi said thoughtfully, “neither Wakatoshi nor Satori are people who would skip practice.”
“I saw them together earlier, but I don't know where they went,” Goshiki threw in.
Semi looked thoughtful when he put a finger to his chin.
“Maybe something happened to them.”
“You mean like an accident?” Reon asked, his brows furrowed in worry.
“That, or something worse. Something like...”
The whole team looked at Semi, nervously awaiting what he was going to say.
“...a ghost.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Reon asked him, clearly having expected a way different answer.
“Satori told me a story about ghosts that are living here at Shiratorizawa. It says that the ghosts appear to you as someone you like, friends, lovers or family and then tries to devour your soul. If it succeeds, you will become one of them.”
“Are you really believing that, Senpai?” Shirabu asked him with a raised eyebrow.
“Hahaha, of course not. It's just a stupid story.”
“Anyways,” Reon interrupted them, “we should go and search for them. Maybe they're really in trouble and need our help. Let's go.”
They parted and went to search for them, but no matter how loud they called for them, they didn't answer.
That was when Semi and Shirabu, who went into the same direction, heard a loud noise.
“Hello, is there someone?” Semi asked, but when he didn't get an answer, he stumbled back and hid behind Shirabu.
“F-fucking Satori and his stupid ghost stories.”
“Senpai, don't tell me you're actually scared of ghosts...”
“O-of course not!” Semi stuttered back.
'He totally is' Shirabu thought with a sigh and kept searching for Tendou and Ushijima, Semi right behind him.
“You know that ghosts aren't real? Whatever Tendou told you was just a story.”
“But what if it's not? You can never tell. I'd rather be careful than die because I didn't take it serious!”
Shirabu knew that it was useless to argue with him.
“Let's go back. Maybe someone found them by now.”
They were the last ones to come back, but no one had found them. That was when Kawanishi suddenly noticed something.
“Guys, not to scare anyone here, but... did you notice that Goshiki is missing, too, now?”
“What?” Semi asked “wasn't he here like a second ago?”
“He isn't now, as you can see,” Kawanishi shrugged and looked at Semi.
“We need to find them,” Reon spoke up again, “now.”
The volleyball club paired up so that no one would get lost again and Shirabu asked himself which crime he had committed to be paired up with Semi again.
“Listen, Senpai, there is no need to hide behind me.”
“I'm not hiding! I'm just... checking out the surroundings.”
“From behind my back?”
“Exactly.”
Shirabu pinched his nose and wanted to tell him to stop when they heard someone approaching them. Someone who was moaning. And it definitely didn't sound human.
“Uhm, Senpai? What was that?”
No answer.
“Senpai?”
Shirabu turned around and looked at a very pale Semi.
“Senpai, are you oka-?”
And then he saw it.
Shirabu couldn't explain it and the more he thought about it the more he didn't want to be able to explain it.
It was... something. On four legs, as it seemed. The hair or fur or whatever it was was a mess, sticking out weirdly and it looked like it had horns on his head. The dim light of the lamp illuminated the weird figure, as it was slowly dragging itself towards the two boys.
It moaned again and suddenly it was speaking. Forming words which Semi and Shirabu could understand.
“H-help me,” it cried and Shirabu felt how Semi grabbed his shoulders so hard that it started to hurt.
“Help me........ please.... dead.....”
“Shirabu, run!” Semi screamed, throwing something at the thing approaching them before he dashed off into another direction dragging Shirabu with him. They didn't stop until they were far away, gasping for air after that sprint.
“What was that?” Shirabu panted.
“It-it must be the ghost Satori told me about. It came for our souls.”
“I-I'm sorry, Senpai. I'm sorry I doubted you. You were right all along.”
“Don't worry about it. We should rather think about how to get out of here and save the others. I hope it's not too late.”
Semi and Shirabu left their hideout cautiously.
“Shirabu, we have a mission. But we shouldn't jeopardise ourselves. Give me your hand.”
Shirabu held out his hand and Semi poured something into his hand.
“Is that-”
“Salt? Yeah.”
“Senpai, are you always carrying salt with you?”
“I didn't, but after Satori told me about that.. ghost I thought that I should be careful. So I'm always salty.”
“You mean you always carry around salt? This comes in handy now.”
“I know, right? Simply throw it at them and try to aim for its face if possible. It hurts the most that way.”
“Alright.”
“Let's go! We have to save the others!”
As quiet as possible Shirabu and Semi went back to where they had last seen the ghost. It had moved a little, dragging itself forwards. Semi and Shirabu parted, one creeping up from the left, the other from the right. Semi was almost at the right spot when the ghost suddenly turned to him, letting out a sob followed by another plea for help.
Semi let out a shrill scream, throwing the salt at the ghost without looking at it before dashing off somewhere. Shirabu immediately abandoned their plan and followed his senpai. His heart beat so fast and he wondered once again what he did to deserve this nightmare.
Semi hid behind a barn, gasping for air and he almost jumped when he heard footsteps.
“It's me, senpai,” Shirabu said quietly and slumped down next to Semi.
“What's going on? Why is this happening?”
Semi leaned back and looked up into the sky. The pale moon was hiding behind clouds, making it almost pitch dark
“I wish I knew, Shirabu. I wish I knew.”
They suddenly both froze when they heard other footsteps coming closer.
Shirabu went back and hid behind Semi. Sweat ran down their faces and Semi's heart was beating so fast he felt like it would jump out in any second.
Yet a relieved sigh escaped his lips when he saw who was standing there.
“Satori! We're he-” he stopped midsentence, remembering what Tendou had told him back then.
“The ghost that roams at night and steals wandering students who stay at Shiratorizawa uses voices and faces of people they knew to lure them”
“N-no. This-this isn't- Satori is..g-gone..”
Tendou turned into their direction and the concern on his face vanished when he saw Shirabu and Semi in the shadows. He took a few steps into their direction.
“Eita! Is everything alright? I heard your scream earlier and I-”
“STAY AWAY, DEMON!” Semi yelled at him and threw some of the salt in his direction.
“He-WHAT THE FUCK? EITA! THAT BURNS! SHIT!”
Semi teared up as he run away from the ghost of the person he loved. He was lost. Satori was gone and there was no way to get him back.
“STOP! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!” they heard the ghost scream.
Semi didn't even notice that he stopped until Shirabu took his hand and dragged him along.
“You can't give up now, senpai! We have to warn the others and get out of here while we can!”
“But...Satori... he's a ghost.”
“We can't be sure yet! Maybe he's something...else. Something that can be turned human again!”
“I KNOW HE'S A GHOST BECAUSE ELSE THE SALT WOULDN'T BURN!” Semi yelled at his underclassman, regretting it when he saw the look on his face.
“Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled.”
“It's alright. Let's keep going. We have to get out ouf here.”
Shirabu squeezed Semi's hand tightly before he kept dragging him forwards again.
They sat down, hiding in the shadows. Semi's heart was pounding so hard, he wondered if Shirabu could hear it. And maybe he did, because he wrapped an arm around Semi's shoulders and pulled him close.
“We're going to get out of here, senpai. Don't worry.”
Semi allowed himself to relax a little, hiding his face into Shirabu's neck. When he sat up again, he snorted.
“Shouldn't it be the other way round? Me comforting you? As I am the older one.”
“This isn't about age, senpai.”
“Shirabu....when did you become this reliable?”
“When you weren't looking.”
“You're still not cute at all though.”
“Good, because I don't want to be cu-.”
“So I finally got you,” an angry voice said next to them and when they looked up, it was Tendou standing there.
His eyes were all red and shiny, and the pale moon finally breaking through the thick clouds illuminated him from behind. This was a sign. Semi was sure of that.
He didn't know what to do – so he just threw more salt at his face.
“RUN!” he yelled at Shirabu before getting up himself. They ran as fast as they could.
“Shirabu, you go and search for the others! Tell them what happened and that they should hide somewhere.”
“But- what about you?”
“I'll distract him! He's after me. Don't worry about me! I'll join you as soon as I can.”
“Senpai I can't-”
“Now!”
Shirabu gritted his teeth before he changed his direction.
After Shirabu was out of his sight, Semi hid behind a wall, shivering when he heard the ghost coming closer.
“Where are you, Eita? I'm going to fucking get you for this!”
Semi felt the tears sting in his eyes again. Why did it have to be him, of all? Why Satori?
He wanted to cry but he knew that he couldn't. It was too risky, with the ghost being that close. He could end up telling him his position and that would be the end for him. And he had promised to join everyone else later.
Everyone who came out of this alive.
–
Reon was strolling over the courtyard, looking for the three missing people when he suddenly found someone lying on the ground.
He ran up to them and his eyes widened when he recognized Goshiki, who had hay sticking in his hair and was covered in salt for some reason. Reon picked him up and checked for his pulse, relaxing a little after he found it, rhytmically and strong. Apparently he had just passed out. Reon lifted him to get him to the gym and he got a little worried when he spotted the big bruise on his forehead. But for now, getting him to the gym was his priority, so he hurried to get him there.
Kawanishi was waiting there for him, as they've split up in case one if the missing boys came back. Yet that didn't seem to be the case.
“I found Goshiki.”
Kawanishi turned to him, raising his eyebrows.
“What happened to him?”
“I don't know. Found him passed out on the ground. There is a big bruise on his forehead though.”
“I'll get a jacket to put under his head.”
“Please do so.”
–
Semi had managed to get rid of the ghost chasing him. He hid behind one of the barns, breathing heavily to get some air into his lungs, when there was suddenly a hand on his shoulder. But before he could scream, there was another one on his mouth, dragging him back.
His heart beat so fast, it felt like it would jump out of his chest in any second.
“Don't scream, Senpai! It's me. Shirabu!”
Semi opened his eyes again and looked into Shirabu's eyes.
When he was sure that Semi wouldn't scream at him, he let go of him.
“For fucks sake, Shirabu, you scared me badly! I though I was going to die! Did you find the others?”
“No one.”
“Fuck! I just hope they're alright! Wait, did you also look in the gym? Maybe they're there?”
“No I didn't! I thought they were all out searching.”
“Hmm, it's worth a shot, don't you think?”
“We don't have any better idea anyways!”
“Let's run to the gym then! We need to find the others!”
“Alright!”
“And whatever happens: Do not stop! LET'S GO!!”
Semi and Shirabu left their hideout and started dashing towards the gym.
“EITA!!”
Shit! He found them.
“FUCK! FASTER, SHIRABU! RUN FASTER!” Semi yelled at him.
They were almost back at the gym, back to safety, when Semi suddenly tripped and fell.
“SENPAI!”
“I TOLD YOU TO NOT STOP! GO ON WITHOUT ME, SHIRABU! SOMEONE HAS TO WARN THE OTHERS!”
“NO SENPAI! I CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!”
“EITAAAAAAAA!!”
“THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME! I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE AROUND WHEN I BECOME ONE OF THEM! SO PLEASE! SAVE YOURSELF AND WARN THE OTHERS!”
“Eita, oh Eita,” a familar voice suddenly said close to him and Semi almost jumped. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck and over his spine and he swallowed dryly before he turned around to face Tendou. Or at least at the thing that looked like him.
“I'll so enjoy making you suffer.”
His red eyes seemed to glow and Semi found himself unable to move.
That was it. That was the end. He would have his soul sucked out here and then become one of them.
Game over.
Semi closed his eyes, hoping that something, anything, would happen. He didn't want to die. Not yet.
That's when he suddenly heard a loud thud, followed by an even louder groan by the ghost.
Semi opened his eyes and found a volleyball lying to his feet.
“SENPAI! COME ON! RUN WHILE HE IS DOWN!”
Semi struggled to get up at first, but then ran quickly towards Shirabu.
“I told you I won't leave you behind!”
“Shirabu...I-”
“You would have done the same! And now quick, before he gets up again.”
The ghost was still standing in place and held his nose. Quiet whining noises came from him, but Semi wouldn't fall for that.
No matter how human these noises sounded.
Kawanishi turned his head towards the door and raised an eyebrow when Shirabu and Semi came in, both breathless from running.
“You guys look like hell.”
Since Semi was still a little out of breath from the sprint, Shirabu turned to Kawanishi to tell him about everything, when suddenly his eyes fell upon something on the ground. Or rather, someone.
“NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM! HE'S ONE OF THEM!”
Shirabu grabbed the confused Kawanishi by his arm and pulled him behind him, readying himself for throwing salt at the ghost the moment he stirred.
“That's just Goshiki.” Kawanishi said, unaffected by Shirabu's panic. “You guys should calm down. Breathe a little.”
“No! That's what they want us to do! Relax and drop our guard! Believe that they're our friends and then suck out our souls!!”
Kawanishi sighed heavily before he moved past Shirabu and crouched down next to Goshiki.
“Then tell me: do ghosts get bruises?” He carefully exposed Goshiki's forehead, where a big bruise had formed.
“That's just-”
Goshiki stirred in his sleep before he suddenly opened his eyes, scaring Shirabu and Semi so much that they started so scream. The poor first grader was scared to death when they suddenly did so and started to scream along, clutching to what was next to him – Kawanishi.
The latter didn't expect that and, since he was still crouching, lost his balance so he fell into Goshiki's lap.
“HE'S GOT KAWANISHI!” Shirabu's face got pale when he looked at Kawanishi, who suddenly looked afraid. His thoughts were racing. He had to save him. He had to save Kawanishi.
“P-Please.. help me!”
Kawanishi had never been one to show many emotions. But in that second he looked so scared. Filled with fear. Shirabu's heart ached upon that view.
He couldn't lose him
Not him.
He needed to think of something, but his mind was blank. What could he do??
He still stared at Kawanishi who started to look desperate.
“Shirabu... p-please.. I need your.. help..I-”
Suddenly Kawanishi's eyes rolled back and his body went limp in Goshiki's arms.
“No. No this can't be. Kawanishi, say something. KAWANISHI!”
But Kawanishi didn't move.
“NO!!!”
Shirabu resisted when Semi put a hand on his shoulder and tried to drag him away.
“NO! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM! LET ME GO!”
“HE IS GONE, SHIRABU.”
Shirabu stopped fighting when he heard these words.
“I am sorry. I couldn't help him. Let- let's go.”
Shirabu followed him wordlessly.
–
Outside the gym they ran into Reon.
“Senpai!”
“What happened? Shirabu, are you okay? You look like you're about to faint.”
Semi put a hand on the younger one's shoulder and answered for him.
“They got Kawanishi. It's probably just us three now. At least Yamagata is safe. He went home earlier, right?”
Reon nodded hesitantly.
“He did. He didn't feel that well. But what do you mean 'they got Kawanishi'? Isn't he in the gym?”
“Well.. he is.. but-” Reon looked at Shirabu and noticed how he digged his nails into his palm.
“Anyways, we should get going and find a good place to hide.”
“Wha-”
Reon didn't even get to say another word and just got dragged with them
They didn't come far, though, as someone suddenly threw himself at Reon.
“TENDOU!” Semi's heart started to beat faster.
“LET GO OF HIM!”
Shirabu just stared at this scene, shocked about what he saw.
Semi bit his lip. Either he risked it and tried to save Reon, which could possibly get them all into trouble, or he ditched him and focussed on keeping Shirabu safe.
Shirabu...
He looked at the younger setter who still hadn't moved at all and kept staring at Tendou.
Oh, fuck it!
“I'M SORRY REON, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!”
And with that he grabbed Shirabu's hand before he dragged him with him.
–
“I can't believe they actually ditched me.”
“Huh?”
Goshiki still clung to Kawanishi, though one of his hands was covering half of his face.
“Are you okay, Goshiki?”
“No. I mean yes. I mean. I- I have a headache.”
“I guessed that. Here take that.”
He handed him some painkillers and a bottle of water he had gotten for him before Semi and Shirabu had appeared.
“You have a big bruise on your forehead.”
“What? Ouch. Where did I- oh. Yeah. I ran into a post because-”
Goshiki stopped himself and looked at his senpai in terror.
“The captain. And Tendou. I- I found them. They-”
He teared up but quickly wiped his tears away.
“They were dead.”
Kawanishi was unimpressed.
“Dead?”
“YES!! Please just. Come with me. I will show you where I found them.”
–
“Oh shit! It's you Reon. Sorry.”
“Did you seriously fight me without knowing it's me?”
“I thought it was Eita.”
“How did you make such a mistake? Are you oka-aaaaay, what happened to your face? What happened to your eyes?”
“I can barely see anything okay. Because that fucker Eita threw salt at my eyes!”
“He did wha-? Okay. Okay. Just.. let's first.. get back to the gym and clean off that blood from your face. You can tell me everything there.”
“So... I'm all ears.”
Reon got some warm water in a bucket and he used his spare shirt to clean off the blood.
“My nose looks like this because Shirabu served a fucking volleyball into my face.”
He hissed when Reon wiped the blood off around his nose.
“Don't move.” Reon ordered him. “At least it doesn't look like it's broken.”
“Hmpf! Like that does make it any better!”
“Do you know why they did that? I mean, they must have a reason.”
Tendou muttered something under his breath before he got quiet and Reon gave him some time to think about it.
He washed the blood out of his shirt before he wiped Tendou's face one more time.
“Done. For your eyes I'd advice you wash them with clear water. That should help.”
“Thanks. And to be honest I have no fucking idea why they did that. I didn't even do anything! The first time I just approached them and they just started screaming and Eita threw that damn salt into my eyes. And he keeps saying stuff like 'this isn't Satori' and 'he is gone'.” He imitated Semi's voice.
“What is that even supposed to mean?”
Reon thought about it.
'This isn't Satori'. That he threw salt at him and seemed to be geniunely afraid of him.
How Tendou looked like with his red eyes and his bloody face.
Semi being paranoid about ghosts and paranormal things.
'Satori told me a story about some ghosts that live here at Shiratorizawa.'
That must be it!
“I think this was partially your fault.” Reon simply said.
“What? Wow, thank you Reon. And here I thought someone would be on my side.” Tendou pouted.
He was clearly the victim here! Though he did wonder why Semi would react like that.
Maybe Reon knew something he didn't..
“Why do you think that it's my fault?”
“You told him about the 'ghosts' that are at Shiratorizawa, right?”
“Uh? Ah yeah. Right I told him that. I told him it turned into- oh.”
Tendou suddenly became all quiet again and Reon let out a sigh.
He was so tired.
–
“Please believe me, senpai! It was around here. Just let me find the right- oh, here it is!”
Goshiki and Kawanishi had reached the barn. The horses inside didn't seem bothered by their presence since none of them made a sound.
Kawanishi didn't say anything when he felt Goshiki grabbing the hem of his shirt.
“T-there. In the back.”
Goshiki hid behind Kawanishi, but when they reached the back, the spot was empty.
“This.. this is impossible. I swear it! I saw them here! Please believe me, Senpai!”
“Aren't you sure you didn't just see things because of what Semi said earlier?”
“No! I know I saw them!”
“Let's keep searching for them. They must be somewhere around here then.”
–
Meanwhile Tendou and Reon searched for the two setters and it didn't take them too long to find them.
“Before you guys run again, listen to us. We're not ghosts,” Reon said with a calm voice.
Semi looked at Shirabu and they both started running.
"I'M NOT GONNA FALL FOR THAT!" Semi yelled as he tripped over his own legs and fell to the ground.
Without thinking about it twice, Tendou dashed forwards and threw himself on Semi to keep him there.
“SENPAI!”
“SHIRABU, RUN!”
“I CAN'T LEAVE YOU BEHIND!”
“CARRY ON THE SETTER LEGACY!”
“BUT-”
They suddenly heard a scream. Without looking back, Shirabu broke into a sprint to get away. Tears stung in his eyes as he kept running. But he couldn't stop, too close were those footsteps he heard behind him.
He had just wiped away the tears when he suddenly ran into someone. Someone big.
“Shirabu? Why are you running at this kind of time? Shouldn't you be asleep already?”
“U-Ushijima?”
“Stop already!” Reon yelled from behind and Shirabu wanted to start running again.
“Don't run!” Ushijima demanded.
Shirabu stopped in his movements and looked at Ushijima.
“But if I don't then-”
Ushijima's eyes seemed to search for something in the dark. And it looked like he found it, because he suddenly sighed relieved.
“GOD, finally.” Reon stopped behind Shirabu and his eyes widened a bit when he spotted Shiratorizawa's captain.
“Wakatoshi?”
Ushijima let out a grunt and blinked at Reon.
“I'm feeling like I missed something. Why is Shirabu running from you?”
“Apparently he thinks I'm a ghost, when I am in fact not.” He looked at Shirabu when he said the last part. Then he looked back to Ushijima.
“We thought something happened to you and Tendou so we went to search for you?”
“Tendou? Ah right, he was with me.”
“Where have you even been?”
–
“Let go of me!”
“Then stop resisting!”
“Never! I won't go down without a fight!”
“I'M NOT A FUCKING GHOST!”
“THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY, TOO!”
With that Semi grabbed Tendou by his arms and rammed his knee in his stomach.
No noise left Tendou's mouth, but the pained expression he had on his face made Semi stop.
“Tendou?”
“Fucking what?”
“You're..... not actually a ghost, are you?”
“You don't fucking say. For real. Why the fuck would you think I'm a fucking ghost?”
“Didn't you tell me that one story about-”
“That's a fucking story for fucks sake.”
He didn't yell at him, but Semi flinched anyways. Tendou let go of him and held his stomach where Semi's knee had hit him. He wasn't looking at him.
“Holy shit, I threw salt at you.”
“.. at my eyes, Semi. Even twice.”
Semi swallowed. Tendou was really mad at him. Else he wouldn't have used his last name.
“Satori, I'm-”
“Shirabu served a fucking volleyball into my face. Have you seen my nose?”
“I-”
“You refused to listen to me and rammed your fucking knee into my stomach.”
“I was just- I was scared. I'm sorry, Satori.”
Silence.
“Please, say at least some-”
“I'm sorry for scaring you with that story.”
“Huh? Okay.”
“But that doesn't mean I forgive you that easily. You have to treat me to lunch. Two times! One time for the salt, and one time for the knee.”
“That's fine with me.”
Semi got up and helped Tendou to his feet.
“Let's go and find the others!”
–
“Hmm? Isn't that the captain? And.. Shirabu and Reon if I see correctly.”
“WHAT? But he's... oh my god, senpai. Did he become a zombie?”
“We'll see.”
“E-EH?! SENPAI NO!”
“Senpai yes!”
Goshiki was trembling and he reached out for Kawanishi's shirt again when he followed him. Because while he was afraid of Ushijima being a zombie, he was more afraid of being left alone.
“Kawanishi, is that you?? Where have you been? You and Goshiki weren't there anymore when I found Tendou,” Reon asked him
Shirabu flinched at the name, and his eyes became wide when he saw Kawanishi standing there. The same as always. Neither was he harmed, nor did he look like he got his soul sucked out.
“Yeah. We went on a little walk. Goshiki needed some fresh air.”
“I see.”
“You said you found Tendou?” Goshiki let go of Kawanishi's shirt and took a step forward.
Everyone looked normal. No zombie, no ghost. That was a good sign.
“Yeah, he's back there with Semi. They should join us in any minute.”
“Just a second though.”
Shirabu had calmed his racing heart and now furrowed his eyebrows.
“You knew that Goshiki was no ghost, right? Then why did you act like you were afraid when he grabbed you?”
“Of course I knew.” Kawanishi's lips turned slightly into what looked like a smile. “I told you that it's just Goshiki. And I acted like that simply to scare you.” He made a victory sign.
“I'm gonna kill y-”
“Isn't that Tendou and Semi?” Ushijima nodded at the two silhouettes approaching them.
Semi scratched his cheek when they got to his teammates.
“Hey there guys. Looks like I've interpreted too much in this. Ghosts don't exist, after all.”
“Wow, clap for Eita,” Tendou said sarcastically and earned an angry look from him.
“It only took you four hours to realize that.”
“Shirabu wasn't much better,” Kawanishi threw in.
“Well, and who told me the story?” Semi asked Tendou, his hands on his hips.
“And who acted like he was about to die?” Shirabu stared at Kawanishi angrily.
“Enough.” Reon rubbed his temples. “Stop fighting. It's almost midnight and we should all go to bed. Though I think I should take another look at Tendou's nose and Goshiki's forehead first.”
On their way back Shirabu remembered something.
“Who of you screamed a while ago? Like, that was really loud and kinda scary.”
“That.. would've been me,” Goshiki admitted and he felt his cheeks getting red.
“He got scared because of an animal crossing our path.”
The team chuckled a little at that.
“Well, at least it wasn't anything serious,” Semi said with a sigh.
“Why did you two go missing in the first place?”, he addressed Ushijima and Tendou.
“Tendou found puppies in the barn and while we played with them, they fell asleep on us so we couldn't move and eventually we fell asleep as well.”
The whole team was silent before they collectively sighed.
They should've expected something like that.
–
He kept looking at his wrist watch and started to wonder. The club members should be long back by now. It was late already and they should be sleeping by now. Why weren't they here?
They messed up his whole plan!
But then he suddenly heard voices approaching. Finally! His time had come.
“You two are filthy and gross,” he heard Kawanishi saying. “Couldn't that have waited until you're back home?”
“You are mistaken! I tripped and fell on Satori!” Semi tried to argue.
“Goshiki, Shirabu. We're leaving. These old men are too gross for you two.”
“Hey! Wait no! Kawanishi! It's not what it looked like!” He yelled after them.
“Actually,” he heard Tendou saying, “it was exactly what it looked like.”
“SATORI! I swear to God I'm gonna kill you.”
“But only after you treated me to lunch!”
An exasperated sigh escaped Semi before he followed Kawanishi and the others to their room.
He was happy that they were finally going to bed, because the closet he was hiding it was starting to get a little stuffy.
He waited until it became quiet, and then almost silently opened the door of his hideout. A few deep breaths to steady himself, before he made his way to the room everyone was sleeping in.
He put the cloth he had brought with him over his head and made sure that everything looked authentic, before he slowly opened the door, just a little bit, and started whispering the names of the members of the volleyball club.
“Did you hear that?” he could hear Semi whisper.
“Didn't hear anything. Now sleep already,” Tendou answered him with a yawn.
He repeated everything.
“C'mon, someone is whispering our names.”
“You're imagining things. Again.”
“Satori, I know what I hea- what are you doing? Keep your arm by yourself,” Semi angrily whispered at him and it made it hard to not just start laughing.
“I'm wrapping it around you so even if there is anything, I'll protect you from it.”
“Can the married couple please shut up now? There are children here” Kawanishi muttered.
When everything got quiet again, he opened the door completely and went to the captain.
As always, Ushijima was sleeping directly by the door, so he could get up first in the morning and go for a run.
Just as he leaned over him, Ushijima opened his eyes. It took Ushijima a while to realize that he was staring at a ghost.
“Dear Mister Ghost,” he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. “The team had enough of ghosts today so would you please bother us another time? We have practice tomorrow so I need everyone well rested.”
Silence.
He didn't know what to say to that so he just got up and left.
As he closed the door, he could hear the captain saying a “Thank you.”
Now, this was not what Yamagata had in mind when he planned to play a prank on Ushijima.
His captain won this once again.