Haikyuu Creature Collection

Never 2 (Lev Haiba)

When I'd finally managed to break free from the Collectors, I'd sworn that I would never let anyone touch me like that ever again. I would never fall in love... never kiss anyone... never marry... never have sex... never have another family... I would go through my life, living only for myself. Of course, fate is a complete bitch and really likes to just fuck you over...

In all of my life, I've never met someone who gets on my nerves more than Lev Haiba. Much to my annoyance, I was asked to look after him. Had it been just anyone, I would have told them to just fuck off, but because it was the man that I idolized the most, I had no choice but to do as he had asked me.

Growling in frustration, I kicked a small pebble that was on the sidewalk. Ever since I'd snapped at Lev, he seemed to have been avoiding me. He hadn't been getting close to any humans, so it wasn't like it mattered, but for some reason, it bothered me that we hadn't even spoken since that day.

Unfortunately, fate is a bitch and this was not a time for me to be lost in thought... As I passed by an alleyway, hands shot out and grabbed me, dragging me into the darkened alley.

I managed to break from my captor's hold, only to discover that there are four of them. I don't have to have a strong sense of smell to recognize their scent... the stench of a Collector. While I might be stronger than the average human, my strength had been declining over the past year... but even when I was at my peak, I couldn't fend off more than one at a time.

Of course, I had absolutely no intentions of going without a fight. My strength was strongest when I was transformed, but that would also give me an even more severe disadvantage in the size department. Having no real choice, I let my body shift into my fox form and instantly lunged for one of the men's throats. My only hope was to go straight for the kill and show no mercy... but that also meant that they wouldn't show me any mercy either.

After a few minutes of struggle, I found myself being thrown into the brick wall of the alley. I swore that I heard bones cracking from the impact of my tiny body hitting the solid surface. My body returned to its human-like form as I cried out in pain. My vision was quickly growing blurry... I must have hit my head pretty hard...

The last thing that I saw was something that looked like a silver lion defending my broken body...

I don't know how many hours passed before I managed to regain consciousness, but I woke to find myself in a hospital room. My body ached as I tried to sit up and I quickly discovered the cast on my left wrist... it had to be broken or at the very least it was fractured. My ribs felt pretty broken, but they could only be bruised. I wasn't a doctor, so I wouldn't know and I hadn't really gone through injuries like this before.

When I tried to get out of the hospital bed, I found it blocked a familiar silver-haired idiot who was asleep and leaning on my bed.

Why was he here? That was when I noticed that he, much like myself, was wearing one of those stupid hospital gowns. What could have-

That's when the pieces began to click. As I was losing consciousness, I'd seen a lion. Obviously, lions don't live around these areas, so it had to be a shapeshifter. I was rescued by a shapeshifter and Lev was one. His name meant "lion," so maybe that was the easiest form for him? The final piece what the fact that he was here and seemingly injured. However, I knew that Lev couldn't transform... that was why Aki was teaching him and why I had to look after him in the first place...

Before I had a chance to wake him, the door opened in walked the doctor. He was a man of around forty and had a remarkable resemblance to my hero, Aki. The man was even a werewolf, which I could tell from his scent. The tag on his coat read "Sugiyama," which was a common name, but also Ak's last name.

"I see you're awake," Sugiyama said, moving over to where Lev and I were. "Your friend was quite worried about you. He refused to leave your side even though his injuries were pretty nasty." I felt a stabbing sensation in my heart when I heard that. Even after I'd been so horrible to him... "You're both quite lucky though. From what he was about to tell me, I'm guessing your attackers were Collectors?"

I gave a nod. It was a relief that he knew of them. Most people didn't believe the Collectors actually existed, yet this guy knew so much. "I was careless... I should have paid more attention to my surroundings..." Because of me, Lev had been hurt... We weren't even that close, but I felt horrible knowing that this was all my fault.

"Sometimes these things happen..." the doctor sighed. "I lost my son to them ten years ago... He was only ten years old... but I can take pride in the fact that he was able to protect two younger children. For that, I will always be proud of my boy, even if I can never see him again..."

Lev stayed asleep even as the doctor talked about mine and Lev's injuries and even through the two of us moving him to the other bed in the room. Before leaving us for the moment, he made sure to ask for information to contact our families. As I had none, all I could do was simply have him contact Lev's family.

Lev woke about an hour later, but I didn't say anything to him. How could I? After what he had done for me, even after the way I'd treated him, what could I possibly say to him?

Soon enough, Alisa showed up and so did Aki. In mere moments of meeting, the doctor was able to recognize Aki as the son he'd lost ten years ago. Naturally, that sparked a tearful reunion once his mother and sister were called in. In no time at all, the two families were animatedly talking with each other.

I, on the other hand, was an outsider here. Seeing them all like that... Aki with his family and the love of his life and then Lev and Aki's sister... it hurt. I didn't belong here... It was like they had forgotten that I was even there...

Taking advantage of their distraction, I changed back into my normal clothes and left without even a sound and not leaving behind any sign that I had even been there. The world that they all lived in was one that I didn't have a place in... I could never be a part of where they are... That was a world that I could never ever go to... not anymore...