haunting my heart || Haikyuu!!

1. Kuroo vs. very dangerous, (kind of hot), onion-stealing ghost

Kuroo Tetsurou prides himself on being, predominantly, a man of science.

So when his best friend Bokuto texts him, in all caps, to inform him that his new, suspiciously cheap house that he's recently moved into is LIKE, 100% HAUNTED BRO, FOR REAL!!!!, what else can he do than shake his head at Bo's overacting imagination? Someone else might have been startled to receive such a message, but Kuroo is experienced enough in dealing with Bokuto that it barely registers as something out of the ordinary. Choosing to be the rational person between the two of them, Kuroo calmly replies that ghosts don't actually exists, that there is no need to panic, and also that Bokuto should really stop watching scary movies before bed.

Bokuto's response to that is a string of increasingly distraught emojis. Kuroo feels for him, he truly does, but he has classes at eight the next morning and a shift at his part-time job in the afternoon, and it's already after ten, so he really can't make the hour-long drive to Bokuto's new house just to reassure him the place can't possibly be haunted because ghosts aren't real, bro, even if he wanted to. 

Still, he is a weak man, so when Bokuto asks if he could then please at least come stay with him for the weekend, Kuroo agrees without much arguing.

***

Surprisingly, Kuroo doesn't hear anything else about the supposed ghost for the rest of the week. In fact, he barely gets any messages from Bokuto at all. Which is, possibly, more worrying than any paranormal activity – usually, Bokuto sends him about ten different texts an hour, including small updates about his day, links to funny videos, photos of cool bugs he's seen or just strings of incoherent emojis.

It's not like he doesn't hear from him at all though, so at least Kuroo's relatively sure his best friend hasn't been eaten by the murderous, blood-thirsty ghost supposedly haunting his house. Unless, of course, the ghost managed to steal Bokuto's phone and is now impersonating him to stave off any suspicion, but that, he figures, seems rather unlikely.

The point is, his phone not vibrating with a new message every few minutes is weird and unusual, and it bothers Kuroo more than he would like to admit. He wonders if Bokuto is mad at him for dismissing his fears so easily, but he's pretty sure that's not it. Bokuto is perhaps the kindest, friendliest, most pure-hearted person Kuroo has ever met. He isn't even sure if Bo is capable of holding a grudge – and certainly not about something this insignificant.

But something must be up. Kuroo just isn't sure what.

So, when he eventually finds himself on Bokuto's doorstep on Friday evening, a six-pack of beer in one hand and a bag of their favourite take-out in the other, he's a bit apprehensive to knock, unsure how he's going to be received. There is some indescribable tension in the air, a sort of charged aura buzzing around the premises and hugging the walls, that sends an involuntary shiver down Kuroo's spine. 

Bokuto's new house is visibly old – not dilapidated or anything, but not exactly in top shape either. The porch steps creak loudly under Kuroo's feet, the wood itself darkened with age. The exterior is wooden as well, discoloured in various places, with thick wines climbing up the walls and curling around the edge of the roof. The time-worn shutters hang off the windows somewhat sadly, swinging on their rusted hinges in tune with the wind. The roof is still reddish in places, although most of the paint has long peeled off, leaving behind the grotesque impression of being covered in bloodstains. The yard is overgrown with high, yellowed grass Bokuto seemingly hasn't had time – or energy – to get rid of yet. Kuroo suspects it will stay that way for quite a while.  

All in all, it's quite obvious why the house wasn't very expensive and it clearly had nothing to do with ghosts.

Finally, he knocks and it takes Bokuto less than thirty seconds to swing the door open and throw his arms around Kuroo in an impressively tight bear hug.