Chapter Text
“Travel safely!” Matsukawa waves goodbye to the rest of the team, getting on board a coach destined to take his class to a weekend trip at a science and space museum. Class 1 usually gets the worst trips, or none at all, so Matsukawa had snapped up the opportunity to attend one.
Since the coach leaves at just gone 5, the volleyball team is still around to wave him off. It’s touching, really, though he can see Oikawa is fucking bitter. Still happy for Matsukawa, but a tad jealous.
“I’ll get you something, Oikawa, don’t worry!” Just like that, there’s a sparkle in his grin again and his eyes light up.
“Be careful Mattsun, we’ll miss you!” He laughs as takes the last step onto the coach, shooting back one last comment before he goes to his seat and can only wave wordlessly.
“It’s just one night! What could go wrong?” The coach has seatbelts, so Matsukawa sensibly buckles up and waves goodbye as the engine rumbles and the vehicle pulls out of the school grounds.
He pulls across the curtain that all the fancy coaches have and pulls down both armrests so he can slouch comfortably.
Whilst most classmates sit with their closest friends, Matsukawa chooses to sit along. His classmates respect his decision and leave him be, not pestering him at any point during the journey. Henceforth, he naps most of the way.
“Matsukawa-san… Matsukawa-san, wake up!” He grumbles back into life, only to met with the teachers disappointed and slightly frustrated expression.
“Everyone’s waiting for you, hurry up!” She turns around and leaves him to groggily follow after, yawning widely and wincing at the sunlight as he steps off the coach. A few of his classmates giggle or welcome him back to the land of the living, and he only smirks and waves nonchalantly.
He’s on good terms with all but one of his classmates, and whilst he can’t call every single one of them friends, he’s one of the most liked in their year group. The teacher claps her hands to draw attention to herself and even if class 1 is rowdy, they’re still respectful because their homeroom teacher treats them like any other student, not just ‘the dumb kids’.
“Alright, I want everyone lined up in groups of four! Then I want half of you over here; starting at the interactive tour, and the other half by the coach; you’ll be starting at the planetarium!” Almost immediately, there’s a flurry of students getting into groups of fours as they head towards whatever they prefer.
Matsukawa notes that the planetarium has the most volunteers - he’s pretty sure Oikawa would immediately bounce over there too - so he heads towards the interactive side. On the way, he teams up with three classmates.
A couple that are probably going to be looking at the stars in each others eyes more than in the planetarium, and… Ah. The one guy in Matsukawa’s class who doesn’t like him. Matsukawa doesn’t know why, but the guy is constantly sending him sneers and glares or making snide comments whenever Matsukawa struggles in class.
“Looks like I’m stuck with you.” Matsukawa rolls his eyes at the spite in this guy - Taro’s - voice. So it begins. He doesn’t respond, because honestly, he doesn’t want this situation to escalate. He’s here to have fun - maybe learn - and enjoy himself. Not get into arguments.
“Alright! Interactive side, you’re with me! Planetarium side, you’re with Aki-sensei!” The two groups cheer, and the planetarium side heads off one way, whilst the Interactive side go the other. This museum is unique for having two entrances and exits, allowing visitors to choose where they begin.
Their teacher signs them in as half of the school tour group, and addresses them all very seriously in the centre of the room, before they can split off.
“Stay in your groups! I’m absolutely serious, I don’t want a single one of you going off alone! This is for your safety, more than anything else!” The students echo back a unanimous okay, but as soon as they’re in the building, they fracture and splinter amongst the displays and run off to what they want.
Matsukawa snickers as he watches his teacher pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation, before casually strolling off to look around.
Honestly, it’s interesting, but it’s not that interesting. Shit’s bubbling over there, something just turned into a goo over there, and over that way, there’s a bunch of mirrors. Joy. He sighs, having thought this would be better.
Maybe the planetarium would save him from the sheer boredom of the trip?
He strolls over to the staircase leading up to a huge telescope that pokes out the top of the museum. It’s the only way to access the planetarium, via the steps on the other side. Matsukawa heads up at a steady jog, one hand on the railing that’s at chest height for the average Japanese citizen.
Matsukawa, of course, is 16.5 centimeters taller than the average Japanese citizen. He walks closer to the wall than the rail, not wanting to risk falling over. He’s almost at the top of the curved stairway when, with his eyes fixed on watching the interactive section below, he walks straight into someone.
“Oof. Oh, I’m sorry-”
“What the fuck is your problem?!” Matsukawa’s day is really not going well, and knowing he just bumped into Taro, who clearly hates him, makes it a little bit worse.
“Look, I’m sorry, man. I just wasn’t looking where I was going.” Taro throws his arms with with a snort, as if Matsukawa had insulted him instead. Matsukawa takes a step back, nearing the railing without meaning to.
“Too damn right! You’re always ’not looking’, like some oblivious dolt!”
“Wha-?! I just apologised and stepped out of your way!”
“We can’t all be dreamers, Matsukawa-san! Maybe you should try focusing for once, instead of having your own head stuck in the clouds! Or up your own ass!” Matsukawa’s eyebrows lift with surprise.
Where is this coming from? Even if he’s a little bit of a daydreamer, and an asshole to his established friends when they’re in the mood for teasing, he’s never overstepped his boundaries! Especially not toward Taro, who he’s barely spoken to!
“Well, I’m sorry for whatever I’ve done to make you feel this way! Look, all I’m tryna do is get up the stairs, so why don’t we politely walk past each other and pretend this never happened?” Matsukawa’s lower back is pressed against the railings. He’s already unbalanced, but holding in place. As Taro walks past, he sneers in Matsukawa’s face, making him reflexly lean back.
And then Matsukawa is falling. He’s falling and tumbling and he only just catches a glimpse of Taro’s horrified face before something hits him- No, he hits something, and pain floods through from the base of his spine, an agonising fire that roars across all his limbs and he blacks out before he even hits the ground.