Crows Like Shiny Things (Hinakage)

Grey Feathers

I didn't know they could be so... huge.

Kiyoko quietly closed the door behind herself, eyes fixated onto the birdlike creature in front of her. Was it alright?

"Hey..." Kiyoko spoke, rather hesitant to approach. She hadn't seen this kind before, and the wings looked totally different. The same huge size that Hinata and Nishinoya had, if not even bigger... but they were grey.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the white feather. Was it one of theirs? Kiyoko couldn't make out any somewhat brighter feathers, at all. It was just grey.

It didn't move.

"Are you alright?"
Kiyoko was now standing directly in front of the cart it had been chained to, concern lacing her voice. Why wasn't it reacting to her?

The wings were surrounding the body like a cloak, a cocoon almost, blocking any view to the human within.

They were... hiding.

"Hey... you're fine... You're alright. It's okay. I know you're scared. I'm... I'm here to help."
Kiyoko's hand touched the cart and with a huge gust of wind, the wings parted and the human within let out a horrifying almost demonic screech at her.
Flinching, the girl took a step back again. Was it really the same as Nishinoya and Hinata...?

Wild eyes stared her down as the bird struggled against the ropes holding its body down, and Kiyoko had to swallow her nervousity.

Now don't back off, you got this.

She approached again, and once more the bird began to screech and scream at her, almost... defensive. Kiyoko could see the fear within its eyes. But now that it unwrapped itself from its wings, she could take a closer look.

Actually, they did look her age, too. Wild unruly white and black hair, piercing eyes... it was a teenager just like her.

"It's okay. It's okay. Calm down. Calm down."
Kiyoko refused to back down. She could only hope Tanaka was holding the guards off well enough- else she could tell for sure the amount of noise he made was reaching beyond the storage walls, and would certainly alert the people around it.

Kiyokp snatched forward in a swift movement, grabbing his hand, and for just a moment, the bird stilled. She could see the confusion for a split second.
"There there. You're fine. It's okay. I'm going to free you. I'm on your side. Don't move."
Her thumb gently stroke the back of his hand, and the bird began to relax a little. Why wasn't he talking to her? Maybe it was the distrust.

"See... see that's good. Just keep calm, alright? My friend is distracting the guards, we don't have much time."
Kiyoko looked down at his bindings, hesitating. She did bring a pocket knife but wasn't quite sure it would breach the rope so easy. No. She had to give it a try.

The moment she pulled out the knife, the bird freaked once more, yanking his arm away from her. Kiyoko squeaked, looking up at him, and up close he felt even taller than before.
He was looming over her.
It was a little nervewracking.

"Come on, give it back. I will cut the rope. You're fine. I'm not going to hurt you."

The bird didn't move. It was obvious he wasn't going to trust her. Kiyoko let out a soft sigh.
"My name is Kiyoko Shimizu. Can you tell me yours?"
No answer, but the bird didn't seem as on edge as before. Slowly, Kiyoko reached for his hand again- he let her, this time. She held it up while slowly cutting at the rope, biting down onto her lip in frustration. Damn that one wasn't breaking as easy as she had hoped.

Yet suddenly, it snapped.

Kiyoko let out a gasp, then nodded to herself. First one done! She let go, and reached for his other hand.

"Koutarou."
Freezing in her action, Kiyoko looked up. His eyes felt a little calmer as he watched her work, and obviously he was the one who had spoken up.
"Koutarou," he slowly repeated himself.
"Is that your name?" Kiyoko smiled at him. It was good to see he began to trust her, even for just a moment. A nod was the answer.
"Bokuto Koutarou."
"I see."
Another sunny smile.
"It's nice to meet you."

She forced her eyes back down onto her task, continuing to cut away at the rope.
"What were you doing near the village...? It's dangerous."
"I..." he paused for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts, "I heard there is another tribe... of people like me. You know..."
"Ah. I do."
Kiyoko could pierce the rest together with ease. He had seen their village, and assumed it was the other colony. A... very unfortunate misunderstanding.

"But I do know where the people you seek are. We've... been becoming friends, I think. But only the volleyball team knows here... and interacts with the other village. They elders... They're all terrified of them. And you."

Kiyoko took a step back, satisfied. Bokuto began to rub his wrists, grimacing a little. That was more than unpleasant. Taking a look around, the girl exhaled a breath. Alright. Seems like Tanaka was still holding them off.
"Say,-" Kiyoko began, pulling out her feather and holding it out towards him, "You said you're not living with the other colony... do you know someone with white feathers...? I've... been searching for them, for a while."

Bokuto took a look at the feather, frowning to himself. No one that he knew of.
"Nah. We don't have these kinda feathers."
Kiyoko's smile fell and her expression switched to disappointment.
"Ah... I see... Thanks anyway. Let's get you out of here."
She took Bokuto's hand, and he willingly let himself be pulled along towards the entrance. Seemed like everything was clear!

Both stepped outside and after a hushed look around, Kiyoko whispered "It was nice meeting you. Now shoo, go, before they realize you're gone...!"
Bokuto shot her a toothy grin before opening his wings and darting into the air, whirling up a ton of sand in his path. Kiyoko immediately closed up the storage, and snuck off into the bushes.

That was quite a success.

Or... so she thought.

As she lunged into her pocket, she froze up.

Where was the feather? She knew she had it only seconds ago.

Kiyoko frowned, watching the guards return to the storage. Dammit, she couldn't go look there anymore.
Did Bokuto accidently blow it away when he took off...?

She walked off, teeth clenched.

How would she ever find a new feather like this?

***

The next morning, on their way to school, Kiyoko was surprised to find Tanaka waiting for her in front of her house.
"Uhm... good morning..."
"Good morning Kiyoko~! I've got a little something for you. You know, for good work last night~"
She wrinkled her nose. She didn't want to be reminded of that, she hated being sneaky.

But when Tanaka opened his hands, she froze.
"I saw it in the bushes next to the storage. I figured... it was yours."
Kiyoko slowly reached out, taking the pure white feather from his hands. It really was hers. And... Tanaka had found it for her. Just for her.

"Oe oe oe, Kiyoko, you doing fine?!"
She had wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Tanaka was positively blushing to his ears, but Kiyoko didn't care.
"Y-you found it..." she mumbled and Tanaka let out a sheepish laugh.
"Yeah, I did. T'was no b-big deal..."

"I'll pay more attention to it from now on. ...thank you."
She parted, now a little flustered herself. Without looking at each bother, both slowly began the awkward way to school- Tanaka knew just well, that none of his friends would believe that Kiyoko had just given him a hug today.

"I wonder if Bokuto made it home safely..." she thought out loud, and Tanaka perked up.
"Bokuto?"
"Mh-hm. The spirit. Apparantly there's another colony, somewhere out there..."
"Ha... Imagine living your entire life in one place and never actually knowing your neighbors. Crazy, ain't it?"
Both started to giggle a little, and Kiyoko flashed a glance around. In all honesty... she was hoping that Bokuto would come back to visit her.

The least she could do was introduce him to Hinata and Nishinoya.