Spirits In My Head // kagehina AU

Winter

The air was dense, cold as ice as it caresses and numbs the thin skin on my cheeks. My feet drag on, every step heavier than the last. Heavy boots soaked through the leather, crunching up the previously untouched trail of snow beneath my tired steps. I can hear myself breathing, with shallow and heavy inhales of dry, frozen air. I adjust the rifle over my shoulder, using my free hand to pull the hood of my parka farther above my head.

Another voice panted behind me, more rapidly and at a higher pitch. "We should be getting close," I state over my shoulder, glimpsing at the orange curls of hair peeking out from under a knitted winter cap. Shouyo's face was white as the snow surrounding us, yet his ears and cheeks still retained a pink from the winter air. I turn back to face the direction we march towards, listening for the sound of his slowing steps.

I squint at the far distance, noticing a building just past some trees before us. It would not take any more than six minutes to reach it, but the heavy breathing behind me makes me doubt that we would make it. As if on cue, I hear him collapse on the frigid ground without as much as a sound aside from the fall itself. I twist my torso, staring wild-eyed at my friend's body. The only reason I can see him is due to his black coat standing out from the virgin white of the snow below.

I kneel next to him, hand on his shoulder as he struggles to lift his head. "Come on, you bastard. Just a little bit more." I shake his shoulder slightly, but he does not make a move to stand. Only sound he makes is a soft whimper that floats into thin air like a dying flower's petal with the winter breeze. I click my tongue and pull the smaller man up with whatever strength I could conjure up from my tired muscles. He seems much lighter than I remember, I note as I adjust him on my back and continue marching through the snow-covered forest.

His body seems heavier the more distance we cover, but it was the shallow breaths I feel against my shoulder that give me the strength I need to make it to the building.

Twilight caught up by the time I reach the porch of what appeared to be a summer cabin. I reach out to open the door only to find it locked. Maybe a window could be open, or possibly a back door that we could enter through. My mind is racing with possibilities, anything but a locked door, when I heard an echo of soft whispers from within the cabin. Hope.

I knock on the door with any strength I had left. "Help!" I call out. "Please let us in!"

The whispers go silent, and for a minute I ask myself if I had imagined them the entire time. That is, until the door creaked open just an inch, revealing a pair of golden brown eyes above mine, staring down at us from the safety of the cabin.

I glare back at those eyes as they scan Shouyo and I. "Tsukishima, just let them in, will you?" A sweet voice calls from within.

The man seems hesitant. "One of them is injured, what if he was-"

"Tsukishima." The same voice interrupts him. With a last glare in our direction, the taller man opens the door fully, leaving some space to allow me through.

I nod subtly and stumble through the doorway. Tsukishima slams the door shut and locks it after me. There were three other people in the room: a black haired, strong-looking man standing by one of the doorways, a silver haired, much more delicate looking man with graceful features standing in front of the couch, and another person, with brown hair pulled up in a short ponytail and a freckle-covered face sitting on a dining chair that was pulled to the side, leg resting on another chair in front of them.

The silverette approaches me, causing me to take a careful step back. I try to take another when Shouyo's weight leaves my back. My body twists around immediately, coming face to face with the black-haired man from before. I do not even ponder how he got behind me so quickly before I snap. "Don't touch him!" I yell. "Don't you-" A warm hand grips my arm, holding me back. I snap around, pulling my arm back as a pair of hazel eyes stare deep into my own.

My body relaxes, turning my head as I watch the darker man carry my friend's thin body to the couch, laying him down.

"Come on," The silverette puts a hand on my back and leads me toward one of the chairs. "You should take a seat. Tsukishima will get you some water."

"What-!?" The tall man from before spoke from the direction of the entrance. I notice the man next to me turn to glare at the taller man, followed by a sound of shuffling steps as a tall, lanky blonde made his way to what I can only assume was a kitchen.

I blank out for a few moments, and before I knew it I had a glass of water on my hands and a bowl of beans beside me. A pair of hazel eyes scan over me fondly, following a soft sigh.

"What's your name?" The silverette asks me. I blink, looking over at the couch in panic, only to find Hinata sitting up and calmly drinking some warm tea.

"That's Kageyama," He replies, noticing that I clearly had momentarily lost the capability to. His voice was raspy and weak, yet it had an underlining of the energy he used to wield not long ago. When things were better. I blink again. "At least learn to speak, idiot. He asked you five times already."

I shake my head. "You're the idiot. Do you know how heavy you are?"

"Are you calling me fat!?" His voice got louder. There it is. That's the Shouyo I know.

"Hey, there. Calm down." The silverette laughed gently, waving his hand to get our attention.

I narrow my eyes. "Who are you anyway?"

"Woah, who taught you manners?" The darker man spoke up from behind Hinata, leaning on the back of the couch.

The softer man just laughed. "Don't mind. My name is Sugawara, though Suga works just as fine. That is Daichi, by your friend, and Yamaguchi over there." Suga motioned towards the freckled brunette, who waved slightly. "I apologize for Tsukishima's rudeness. He tends to seem rather cold."

I tune him out, observing the interior of the cabin. The floors were of dark wood, covered in scratches and unknown stains. The wallpaper was old and ripped, a soft bone white with a pattern of crows and roses to add some color. The only furniture in the room aside from the chairs and couch was a small coffee table that was pushed against the door like a barricade and a dining table behind Yamaguchi and I. It was simple, and clearly had been unoccupied for a long time before these men had arrived. Darkness swallowed up the room, no light around us whatsoever.

Suga's voice snaps me back to reality once more. "You're spacing out a lot. Maybe you should rest." He stands up. "Dachi volunteered for first watch, so if you need anything, go to him, alright?" I cannot do anything but nod, watching him smile softly before walking into one of the cabin's dark hallways.

"Hey, Tobio," Shouyo whispers from the couch. I turn to face him. "Come here."

Without much of a fight, I get up and make my way towards the couch, taking a seat next to him. He shares a blanket that he was hogging, explaining that Daichi had given it to him during one of my spells when I asked where he got it from. Snuggling his thin body against my torso, he let out a satisfied hum.

"I don't like the cold," He mutters into my parka.

I huff, "You idiot. It's winter, what do you expect?"

I did not get a reply, and not much later I succumbed into sleep's tight embrace as well.