𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖

lvi - loved one

"Nice place," Crow commented as he glanced around the entryway.

"T-thank you, please make yourself at home," Yachi told him as she discarded her shoes. Following suit, the ravenette set his bag down where the entryway met the flooring and then moved into the main area himself. "My mom usually gets home late and wakes up late, so you don't have to worry about her."

"Okay," Wasn't worrying in the first place, Crow thought to himself as he observed the girl fidgeting in front of him.

"Um, want anything to eat or drink?" Yachi questioned, probably trying to get out of the awkward air surrounding them. Crow shrugged in response.

"I could eat, but I'd really rather just sleep."

"Oh, of course!" She nodded, then turned and trotted towards a door. "Um, is it okay if you sleep in my room? We don't have a spare room, since mom uses the extra bedroom as her office," the first year explained.

"I'm fine with whatever," Crow replied, "You don't have to go out of your way for me, Yachi."

"No, it's okay. But, uh," Her eyes darted around for a moment. "I do need to study for a bit, so I can't turn off the light."

"You think light affects my ability to sleep?" The ravenette snorted, ruffling her hair. "I'm not normal enough for that."

"O-oh," She giggled nervously. "I see.. Then, I'll get the futon set up, please wait for a moment," She bowed quickly, then darted into what he assumed to be her room. He took the opportunity to look around; it was a nice apartment that was clean and organized. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. He also didn't want to pry, but hearing her only mention her mother made him think she didn't have a father in her life.

Well, neither of his parents were in his life anymore, and he was all the better for it.

Eventually, Yachi came back out of her room and gave the all good, so Crow was led in. It was a pretty big room with a desk and several book shelves, and then a bed in the corner. The futon was in front of the bed, perpendicular to it and a few feet away from the book shelf connected to the desk. "Welp, good night," Crow flopped onto the futon, causing the girl to flinch.

"G-good night Crow-sama," She murmured, stepping out of the room to get dinner ready for herself and her mother whenever she decided to show up.

For the first time in a while, Crow allowed himself to sleep peacefully through the night. And then, Saturday morning came. "Morning," Crow greeted from the kitchen, seeing Yachi emerge from her room with sleepy eyes.

"Morning... Wait," Her eyes actually took in what was in front of her. "You didn't have to make breakfast!" She exclaimed, but the ravenette shrugged.

"It's not often I get to cook, but when I do, I do it pretty well. Thanks for letting me stay over last night, thanks to you I got to catch up on the sleep I needed," He smiled at her, offering her a plate.

"..No problem," Yachi finally replied, taking the plate from her guest with a smile. "Thank you for making breakfast, it smells delicious."

"Sure," He peaced at her as he sat down, her doing the same a second later, and then they dug in.

"Mm!" Yachi's eyes widened at the flavor, and then the two exchanged a thumbs up, quickly dissolving in smiles and their food. After they had finished, Yachi did the dishes Crow put away the futon and made the house like he was never there.

"Thanks again for having me over," He said as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, causing Yachi to almost drop one of the plates.

"Y-you're leaving?" She asked, having come over after situating everything so that nothing was in danger of breaking.

"Yeah," Crow nodded. "Don't worry, we'll see each other at practice. Until then," He reached up and ruffled her hair. "Take care of yourself, and don't let anyone push you around," With that, he turned, opened the door, and was gone.

"...Bye," Yachi watched the door close, feeling disappointed in herself for not asking him to stay longer. But then she recalled that Hinata and Kageyama were supposed to come over later for some tutoring, so to take her mind off of things, she got everything ready for their visit.

Meanwhile, Crow was making his way to the cemetery, where Tenma was scheduled to be buried within the hour. There were a lot of crows awaiting at the gate to the land of the buried dead, but Crow didn't spare them a glance as he headed onto the property.

The headstones were all tall, but the area itself was cold. It was as if death was trying to embrace those that had come to visit, especially with the morning fog still rolling above the grass. There were voices coming from up ahead, what Crow assumed to be a sermon was being spoken, and there were some sobs to accompany it.

Tenma had been cremated as per his family's wish, so there was no body to be lowered into the ground. There was only a single urn that remained, which was laid in the Udai grave in front of the tomb stone that read Tenma Udai.

With a few more words, the burial was finished and eventually the people that had gathered dispersed, which allowed Crow to approach the new addition to the graveyard. "Draw all you want in the afterlife," He murmured, placing the last drawing Tenma had given him in front of the incense sticks. Putting his hands together, he bowed to the tombstone.

Straightening, the ravenette glanced up at the sky for a moment, then turned on his heel and made his way out of the graveyard, the hole in his heart pulsing as the laugh of his loved one rode wind behind him.

"Thank you, Crow."