survival ~ haikyuu zombie au

156 ~ Love is Strange

When the truck pulled into the small complex of factory buildings and ally ways Conny was thankful that Atsumu got out of the truck to deal with the gate. She didn't like the idea of seeing Suna... she didn't think she would be able to handle it if she did see the boy again, no one would be able to hold her back.

"Come on" Atsumu said as he opened her door and helped her climb out. Her hockey stick was in his hand but he quickly handed it to her the second she was on the ground. "Are you okay with stayin in the same room as earlier?" he questioned as they began to walk.

"Yeah that's okay" Conny said nodding. She honestly didn't care where she stayed as long as she could have some privacy when she needed to be alone.

"There is clothes in here so ya can change, the shower is just down the hall to the left" Atsumu explained as they made it to Connys room.

"Okay. I'll shower. Then can I meet you again when I am done?" Conny questioned. Atsumu tried to hide the shock on his face at her question, he was surprised she wanted to spend any time around him at all.

"Yeah, I'll be in the room beside yers. Just knock" he replied. Conny nodded before Atsumu left her alone in the room. 

She looked around the room trying not to cling to the fact that she once dreaded the idea of having a room there and now openly welcomed it. Was she the one who changed or Atsumu? Perhaps neither of them changed all that much but the circumstances changed.

Conny slowly unpacked the few items she owned into the bedside drawer. Everything she placed inside the drawer held great value to her. She then placed her stick in the corner of the room, the only thing she decided to hold onto was Kageyamas knife keeping it safely tucked away on her person. It wasn't that she thought she would need it anytime soon, but more that she refused to part with it.

She then found some clean clothes and left for the shower. She took a little longer in the shower than she should have but it had been so long since she had the luxury of running water she couldn't help herself.

When she got out she looked at the clean clothes seriously considering putting them on but when she picked up the shirt she quickly changed her mind putting her old one back on.

Conny then wandered down the hall to Atsumus room only having to knock once before he quickly opened the door. 

"Can we go eat?" she asked. It was only then that she realized that majority of her time around the boy had been spent eating.

Atsumu nodded before raising an eyebrow at her shirt. "You know wearing the same dirty clothes kinda defeats the purpose of showering" he said.

Conny shrugged. "I like this shirt" she said defensively.

"You can still have the shirt back, at least let me wash it fer ya though" Atsumu insisted. He didn't understand why she would choose to wear the same dirty clothes when there was a large variety of clothes to choose from in her room.

"I don't want to wash it" Conny said quickly not even taking a moment to consider his offer.

"Yer gonna get bugs that way" Atsumu replied.

"I'm not changing my damn shirt!" Conny finally yelled in a burst of frustration. She knew her attachment to the article of clothing was stupid but she still couldn't help it.

Atsumus expression suddenly softened as he realized her reasoning. "I'm sorry Conny" he whispered noticing how she was suddenly getting emotional over it her eyes nearly tearing. "Does it... still smell like him?" he asked not trying to overstep.

Conny broke into tears as she shook her head. "Not anymore" she whispered. 

"Come here, I've got you" Atsumu whispered as he pulled the girl into a tight hug. It was so strange for him to be hugging someone but he didn't care as long as it brought her comfort... even just a little. As he held her he rested his chin on her head letting her silently sob into his chest. He knew she was breaking down but he didn't care. He would simply pretend he didn't know for her sake.

As she cried Atsumu realized that he loved this girl, not in a romantic way but in a way that made him want to protect her and make her happy. He loved the way she would get sudden spurts of excitement and would get so happy over the smallest things like food. He realized that when she was around he felt as if Osamu were still there. He knew they had a rocky start but he wanted to be around her for longer, he wanted her to choose him. He wanted her to stay. 

"Can we go eat?" Conny asked breaking the hug to look up to him quickly trying to wipe away her tears and pretend she had never been crying to begin with.

Atsumu nodded instantly. "Of course, if that's what you wanna do then let's go get food. I'm sure I can find some seafood for ya" he said ignoring the tears stained on her face.

Conny seemed to perk up a little at the mention of seafood. She had been eating out of old soup cans and packaged goods for so long that she couldn't help but look forward to the Inarizaki food.

"This way" Atsumu said gesturing for her to leave first. Conny began to walk already knowing the direction as she moved towards the cafeteria. Atsumu quickly fell in stride with the girl walking beside her.

When the two made their way into the cafeteria they got some food and found a seat at a small table in the corner of the room. 

Like the previous time they ate together Conny couldn't stop herself from immediately stuffing her face with food. "Please don't choke on that" Atsumu said with a chuckle at the girls enthusiasm over the food. "Have you not been eating a lot?" he added the question with a hint of concern.

Conny shook her head. "I have been eating just not a ton and it doesn't taste nearly as good" she mumbled with a mouthful of food.

"Well there's a lotta food here so eat up" Atsumu insisted. Conny nodded in response, too distracted by her food to actually say anything. Atsumu couldn't help but smile at the girl watching her. He didn't know if he was being selfish by not telling her that her group was gone, but he told himself that he was doing it for her so she didn't have to go through the pain of loss again.

Conny looked back up to Atsumu who had been staring at her with a small smile for a while. "What? Is there food on my face?" she asked with wide eyes.

Atsumu quickly shook his head no as he averted his eyes to stare at the ground instead in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to stare at her, she just reminded him so much of how his life used to be... how he wished his life still was.

Atsumu glanced back up to look at Conny once again but he almost immediately noticed Oikawa standing in the doorway to the cafeteria watching them. "I uh gotta take care of somethin. You finish up and can go to yer room or wherever ya wanna go. I'll see ya later" Atsumu said quickly knowing that Oikawa had something important to tell him.

A look of concern crossed Connys face. "Okay" she agreed hesitantly. She got an uneasy feeling in her stomach as Atsumu stood and left her alone. A feeling that reminded her that he wanted to take over the prison and that whatever he needed to go take care of probably pertained to that task.

After Atsumu had left Connys appetite slowly diminished. She was now worried about Kimi and Kai and everyone else back at the prison still. Inarizaki clearly had no problem with killing so what if Atsumu planned on just killing them to get what he wanted? Although she did remember him saying he never wanted Kageyama to die. Maybe he was going to take it without killing anyone. Then again was she really okay with him taking the prison away from her group?