Chapter Text
‘I thought you had the key.’
‘I swear you said you had it.’
‘Why would I say that?’
‘Because-'
'So, to clarify,’ cut in Asahi. 'Neither of you has a key?’
'No!’ said Suga and Daichi in unison.
The group groaned.
It was late Saturday morning, the whole team waiting, yawning, outside the gymnasium. They’d arranged to have extra practice over the weekend, despite Coach Ukai being absent with family business out of town. Takeda had promised they could have access on Saturday but now it seems he was absent too, and had forgot to pass on the gymnasium keys to any of the twelve boys who had made the effort of crawling out of bed that morning.
'So what now?’ asked Noya, frowning. Hinata and Kageyama stood close next to him, the latter holding the volleyball in his hand so tightly his fingertips were making visible indents in its skin. Behind them, Tanaka yawned loudly.
Daichi sighed and folded his arms. ‘Looks like the gym is unavailable. I suppose we could just practice outside somewhere, though?’
‘Or we could go home and sleep?’ suggested Ennoshita.
‘I like that option,' muttered Tsukki.
Suga yawned. ‘I could do with stopping by the library, actually.’
'So we’re not having practice today?’ asked Hinata as everyone started off in different directions. It seemed to him that a break in their routine, one day where he didn’t get to play volleyball with the team, was a brand new concept, and he didn’t approve.
‘Don’t worry, Shouyou! We’ll find somewhere to practice!’ said Noya, slapping Kageyama on the back as he spoke. ‘Right, guys?’ He turned to see only Tanaka and Asahi waiting still. Ennoshita and the other second years were already turning the corner out of sight. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi weren’t far behind them, Tsukki’s headphones already in position to block out the shouts he expected from his loud, commanding upperclassman. Suga was off, too, in the opposite direction, with Daichi trailing behind, looking torn between following to the library or being a harsher captain and forcing the boys to at least practice a little.
He didn’t, in the end. It was just the five of them - Noya, Hinata, Kageyama, Asahi and a sleepy Tanaka - sharing one volleyball in the field behind the school. From the library Daichi could see them flailing around, but there was no point watching them when he had to study.
On the ground, it wasn’t very effective.
‘How much longer will we be doing this?’ asked Asahi. Hinata had accidentally sent the ball flying again, and Kageyama was in the middle of yelling at him, again.
Even Noya looked bored now, and they’d only been out there half an hour. Tanaka had woken up a little and was back on the field, preparing to break up another fight between the first years if need be.
Noya’s eyes widened suddenly, and a grin broke out across his face. ‘I know what we could do instead,’ he sang.
Asahi looked to him out of the corner of his eyes, wary. ‘…What?'
‘Hey, Ryuu!’ Noya yelled, jumping over to the three on the field. Asahi followed behind, arms still folded sceptically. ‘Ryuu, remember that thing I told you about the other day?’
Tanaka squinted, thinking back over a hundred possible things Noya could have mentioned. Some that popped into his head seemed so bizarre he wasn’t sure if he’d dreamt them or the words had actually come from Noya’s mouth. ‘…Er, yeah?’
’The abandoned house, Ryuu!’ Noya said in a hushed tone, which wasn’t needed when the five of them were stood so close together in an empty field.
‘What about it?’
‘We should go investigate, like we said!’
‘Abandoned house?’ asked Hinata, eyes wide and bright. ‘Like a haunted house?'
‘Dumbass,’ muttered Kageyama. ’There’s no such thing.’
‘Correct, Shouyou!’ said Noya, ignoring Kageyama entirely and wrapping an arm around Hinata’s neck. ‘It’s amazing. I came past it last week but didn’t have time to investigate properly. There’s a gap in the fence around the back where you can get into the garden easy!’
‘You can’t be serious…’ Asahi sighed, but it seemed Noya was totally serious, and the other three were all fascinated already.
‘Is it in ruins?'
‘Are there ghosts?!'
'How far away is it?'
Noya looked pleased with himself.
The house was nearby, hidden behind trees and an old, abandoned factory, which students of the school already told horror stories about. Nobody, to Noya’s knowledge, knew of the hidden treasure behind it - a grey, gothic house in the middle of a huge, gated garden. Now he could investigate with the others.
‘I sent everyone else the address,’ Noya declared as he pushed past the broken bars, emerging under a tangle of overgrown branches and plants, keeping the sharp barbs away with his jacket sleeve pulled up to his hand. ‘In case they want to join us!’
’They probably won’t bother,’ said Kageyama, pushing away a prickly branch that Noya swatted backward.
The ground was uneven; cracked and littered with fallen leaves and rubbish, which made the short trip from the black iron fence to the open air a lot more awkward. Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama emerged with a few minor scratches from thorns, but Noya had twigs and strings of spiderwebs in his hair, and long strands of Asahi’s hair had been dragged loose by the branches.
‘Wow!’ breathed Hinata upon seeing the abandoned house - which he kept referring to as haunted. It was a spectacular disaster; three storeys of worn paint and shattered windows, as wide as the gymnasium. This was the back of the house, where a patio area was still somewhat recognisable - ornate metal furniture, white paint peeled away, allowing rust to settle beneath, sat on a square of chessboard tiles, with tall columns guarding each corner. To the left of the patio area, litter lined a path to the house like flowerbeds; brash colours of food wrappers amongst the shining cans and glittering glass shards. An actual flowerbed, long dead, flanked an old greenhouse on the far left, one now grey with dust and smashed in several places. It seemed more damaged than the house, which had little obvious damage to it, but gave the overall suggestion that it would collapse if you stepped in the wrong spot. If the wind blew too strongly, the house might sway.
‘OK,’ beamed Noya, eyes sparkling with excitement. ‘Who’s going in first?’
‘It was your idea, so…’ said Tanaka, holding out his hand in an after you gesture.
‘Me?! Why don’t you go in first? Has Hinata’s talk of haunted houses scared you?’
Tanaka puffed out his chest. ‘Course not! I just… er… think Asahi had better lead the way,’ he babbled. ‘He’s the biggest.’
‘Yeah, he can scare away any monsters!’ said Hinata, nodding like mad.
’Thanks…’ muttered Asahi. ‘If only Kiyoko could see you now.’
Tanaka and Noya straightened up like they’d been shocked. Asahi knew what he was doing, mentioning Kiyoko, knowing it’d get a reaction from her two biggest fans. They exchanged a look and gulped, torn between wanting to look brave for their beloved Kiyoko, or entering the rickety old house.
Their attention was taken away by Kageyama shouting then. ‘Hey - what are you - HEY!’
There was a crash, and then Kageyama held Hinata’s bright hair in his hands, pulling tight in opposite directions. ‘What did you do that for?’ he hissed.
'Now we - OUCH - need to go inside,’ Hinata said with difficulty. Asahi, Tanaka and Noya looked toward the house where, on the second storey, a window had been freshly smashed by the volleyball Hinata had snuck from Kageyama. ‘You’re not scared, Kageyama,’ muttered Hinata, once Kageyama had been persuaded to let go of his hair. Asahi stood between them. ‘You can go inside and get it, right? We’ll come with you if you go first.’
Noya and Tanaka brightened and looked to Kageyama with pleading grins, and Kageyama looked away. He caught Asahi’s eye, but he simply shrugged. Kageyama huffed and, after a silent minute, he turned and walked up the path, ignoring the eerie feeling he got from being closer to the old house.
He could feel the others walking close behind him, feel someone’s breathing on his back, and it was all he could do to stop himself from turning around and yelling - he didn’t want to be accused of being scared; he wasn’t scared, just… wary, cautious. The back door already being open a crack didn’t help the spooky feeling he was getting.
He recalled hundreds of images of creepy houses, old warehouses or flats that had been broken into, all with doors slightly ajar that creaked as they were pushed gently - as this one did - leading to a dark, mysterious world full of screams and blood.
It was actually light inside when Kageyama opened the door. The windows were large and let in a lot of the late morning light, which still managed to burst through the canopy of trees. All in all, it wasn’t as scary as Hinata had been making out; there was plenty of light, no spooky shadows, and what old house doesn’t creak when you walk?
The first room was long, a dining room, with a long mahogany table in the centre and a large cabinet on its face on the far left, crockery smashed to pieces around it. The table still had a cloth on it, dusty and smeared with dirt. Kageyama stepped forward, the others close behind stepping with him, and he placed a hand on the closest chair. Tiny clouds of dust jumped up at his touch. He watched it settle again, silently, barely breathing.
‘Well,’ said Tanaka loudly, making Kageyama jump. His hand shook the chair as he jumped, the noise it made on the floorboards masking any yelps that might have escaped. Asahi had jumped half a metre away from the others, leaning on another chair. Noya was clutching at his chest, a hand on Tanaka’s shoulder, and Hinata was squashed close beside them, part of Kageyama’s jacket held tightly in his grasp. Kageyama quickly shook him off. ‘I don’t see what you were all so scared of,’ Tanaka said, hands on his hips, bravely walking around the table to the right. He leant to the side, getting a better view through the door leading to the next room. 'Reckon it’s time to explore,' he grinned, eyes flashing with excitement.
Noya and Hinata were all for that. Noya whooped and raced off after Tanaka, who bolted into the next room without a care for what lay beyond. The floor creaked around them, and the next room had less light, but there was nothing vaguely terrifying about the place.
Asahi looked around at Kageyama, then decided he’d better follow the others, who could already be heard across the building, screaming and shouting.
Hinata turned to Kageyama, ‘Well? Come on! Race ya! First one to find the volleyball wins!’
He sprinted off and, as is natural now, Kageyama was hot on his heels.