Keep me in distant sight

Chapter 4.1 : Can't you hear me calling

No.

No.

No, no, no, no, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

What's going on?

What happened, over there?

What could have possibly happened for things to end up this way?

It's-

"Hey, sit down, Kokkun"

Kōtarō feels hands on their shoulders, pushing them along until they can sit on the nearest surface available. All around them, their teammates are silent and solemn, looking at Kotarō out of the corners of their eyes with their heads bowed. Thankfully, Atsumu is leading Kotarō away, finding a secluded place where they can just... try to exist and come back to their body. They know more than they hear that Kiyoomi is trailing after them, a nillian of few words but a solid pillar when you need them. They're thankful that their friends are taking charge of the situation because Kotarō cannot even face the words written all over their legs.

"Can ya call-"

"On it." Kiyoomi replies, hoping to the ceiling to make their call.

"What's going on Atsu." Kōtarō mumbles as they let themself fold in half, their head between their knees.

"I can only read what he says in our language, Kokkun. When Tetsukun come, ya will need to read it out fer us."

"If they want to!" Their captain interjects.

"Yeah, yeah, 'course. Until then, stay here, 'kay? We'll help ya make sense of it. Promise."

Kōtarō nods. It's not like they can actually get up and continue their training. They're crashing. Hard. Like they used to a long time ago, when they were younger and stupider, when everything was too much and they couldn't function properly. It's been a while since they had a crash - especially since they had started talking with Akaashi, who had given them some tips his kind uses to stop the free-fall.

Oh by the Sisters, Akaashi.

His last message must have started to appear on their skin deep into the Black Night but a shortage of light had prevented Kotarō from seeing said message until the problem was solved and they were deep into their training - it didn't help that Akaashi had been mute for a while, thus Kōtarō had thrown themself into their training even harder than before. They weren't expecting this kind of news. They had stupidly assumed that Akaashi was busy, that he would come back when he was free. They're ashamed to say they didn't pay enough attention.

Due to the Blue Night, they are all wearing longer clothes to further protect them from the cold, hence why they haven't see his message before accidentally losing a part of their clothes because of a dumb mistake in the air. By Na, they're happy to have ended up almost naked before their teammates.

There are words. Everywhere. This time, Akaashi didn't take any precaution and wrote everywhere he could reach on his own legs. His message sprawls across thighs and joints (Kotarō doesn't have what Akaashi or Kenma calls a knee, per say), his writing is far messier than what Kōtarō is used to. And the words, the words...

Kōtarō scrunches their eyes, tightens their grip around themself and allows just one little sound of distress, a high-pitched whistle, to pass through their lips. Not even a second later, Atsumu's wings cover them as the other sit next to them. Their friend stays quiet; Kotarō's team moves away from them, giving them space.

The distinct sharp and long flap of Kiyoomi's wings resonates throughout the room when they finally land in front of them.

"Your friend will be here in a few. They were actually in Tial for once."