Monochromatic: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 25.5: Buckets

Fukui didn't answer her question.

Shizuka must've taken the hint that Fukui doesn't feel comfortable with personal questions. Perhaps the change in subject is still uncharted territory for her - she's not one for talking about her own self often, after all. However, she did not regret what she said. Much to Fukui's surprise, Shizuka is good at reading people's feelings.

Shizuka finished wiping the blackboard with one last sweep. She headed to the built-in compartment on the blackboard to stow the rugs awa. The cabinet breathed out white dust, and she frowned.

"Fukui-san," Kazuki said, "we're out of chalkboard cleaners..."

"huh," Fukui said, "that's weird. I swear a couple weeks ago there was still half a dozen bottles left..."

Fukui glances at the little metal closet much like a wardrobe in the corner of the classroom, "maybe they kept them there."

She heads over there and placed her hand on the handle firmly - but then she remembers, "oh! The classroom next door probably has ones with a better brand. Maybe they'll let us borrow it."

Shizuka nodded and headed over to the other classroom, but she shortly came back with an apologetic smile to Fukui, "they said they're running out of cleaners too..."

Fukui deflates, "ah, is that so..."

So then Fukui watched everything unravel in front of her. Shizuka reassured that she can manage digging into the closet for a bottle to spritz onto the board. The closet is always so cluttered and dusty, which was why it's a bit bothersome when retrieving something from it.

Of course, both of them did not expect it to be this cluttered.

As soon as Shizuka opens the door, a towering stack of metal buckets - a good two feet taller than Fukui- wobbled and crashes down harshly with a loud BANG!

Fukui found herself slumped over Shizuka's, shocked and mouth agape at what had just occured. Her head hurts a bit from the impact of it to the floor. It was then she realized that - that Fukui tackled her away from the buckets' crashing force. But even so, she would've suffered worse injuries if those buckets actually fell directly on her.

She groaned, "wh- what just...?"

"I honestly don't know, Shizuka-san." Fukui said, concerned, "are you alright? Does anywhere hurt?"

"Uh - er - no..." She said, "my head hurts a little, but it should go away soon... Fukui-san, you have a bruise right on your arm..."

Fukui spared a glance at both of her forearms, and sure enough, a small splotch of purple skin brewed. She sighed, and got up, and helped Shizuka up as well.

What confused Fukui the most was that all the cleaning equipment at school campus are labeled with their assigned classroom with a faded permanent marker. She crouched down and studied the mess of buckets - some are of gardening tools like hand shovels and a rusty watering can. She frowned.

"These aren't even ours..." She said slowly, "even that watering can isn't ours... It says it belongs to Class One."

"They probably confused it with our classroom or something," Shizuka assumes, "our rooms look pretty much the same, after all."

"Ah... But..." Fukui squinted, lifting one bucket by the handle with the label 1-4, "I don't think first years would confuse our classroom with theirs... They're all the way down on the first floor..."

"We should probably return them..." Shizuka said.

Holding the buckets and materials by the handle, Fukui and Shizuka started rounds, starting with the first year classrooms on the first floor. When they reached their destination, they were greeted by Kunimi and Kindaichi.