love beyond species《tsukkiyama》

06: データ

データ: data

Yamaguchi Tadashi trudged home from Tsukkishima's house, clearly disappointed on how their "talk" went. Hell, Tsukki didn't even talk! As he left the Tsukkishima household, he only walked for a few minutes before it started pouring down rain. Great. It was the one day he had forgotten his umbrella at home too.

"I'm home!" he said groggily, kicking off his damp shoes and stepping into his house, droplets of water dripping onto the welcome mat.

"Tadashi! You're soaked!" his mom said,  getting up and rushing to the bathroom to get a towel as soon as she laid eyes on him. He forgot the parents were home today.

"Why didn't you bring an umbrella?" his dad said, setting his newspaper down to look at his son with both a confused and disappointed expression.

"I just... I forgot," said Tadashi, taking the towel from his mother and rubbing it on his head.

"We don't want you catching a cold, sweetie," she said. Tadashi kissed her forehead and left to go up to his room.

He sat down on his purple bean bag with a plop, running a hand through his wet hair. The scene with Tsukkishima kept replaying in his head. He still remembered when the two were little, and when he stood up for him.

Tadashi was shoved down onto the rough wood chips of the playground. Two of the older boys had smirks on their faces, crossing their arms and looming over him.

"Your freckles are ugly!"

"You wimp!"

Tadashi was close to tears, they were threatening to fall out. Out of nowhere, the sound of feet scratching on the wood chips brought the older boy's eyes away from young Tadashi. They see Tsukkishima, who was already tall at a young age.

"Pathetic," was all he said, walking away. The older boys stopped bullying Yamaguchi, and  Tadashi stayed by Tsukki's side ever since.

Tadashi let out a frustrated sigh, punching his fist into the wall. Why was Tsukki acting this way so suddenly? Tadashi's heart sped up whenever he thought of the blonde. His thoughts were disrupted by his phone, which was ringing in his soaked schoolbag. He rushed to answer it, not even bothering to check the caller ID. 

"Tadashi here," he said while dumping out the damp papers out of his bag.

"Tadashi, it's Daichi. We have new information to identify parasytes," he said, in a rushed and excited tone.

"Oh! Daichi-sa- um Agent Sawamura! P-please tell me!" he stuttered, fumbling around for his notepad and a pencil.

"As we have told you before, the parasyte's eyes are usually not lively and dead-looking. They also have a dull personality and they also ignore what's happening around them, unless it's life-threatening," he said, refreshing the freckled boy's memory," This isn't the most reliable way to detect parasites, though, since some people may just occupy that demeanor."

"Mhmm," Tadashi hummed, remembering their conversation from earlier.

"Scientists have now learned that parasyte cells can detach from each other and survive, even if it is only for a short amount of time. We now call this the parasyte test. All you do is simply pull out a strand of someone's hair. If the hair squirms around and then lies limp, that person, is in fact, a parasyte."

"Wow!" Yamaguchi marveled, jotting all these things down in his notepad.

"This test will be revealed to the public tomorrow. We may have an increase in human deaths, but now everyone will be much more careful around others."

"T-Thank you for sharing this information!" Yamaguchi said.

"It's my job," was all Daichi said in reply, and then he hung up.

Yamaguchi surveyed his notes, his face scrunching up in realization.

"These traits...." could it be? Was Tsukkishima Kei- Yamaguchi's best friend, his crush, middle blocker of Karasuno High, a parasyte? Tadashi felt a sharp pain in his heart. He clutched his chest and choked out a sob. It couldn't be. The stark change in attitude, the dull look in his eyes- it had to be a coincidence, right? 

He decided that there was only one way to find out.

Yamaguchi devised a thought-out plan, knowing exactly what he would do. It was pretty much like his first undercover mission. He would tell Asahi and Daichii about it at volleyball practice tomorrow. Tadashi's mind raced and he read over his plan numerous times, making sure everything was perfect. He folded up the paper and stuck it in his uniform pocket.

"This won't be true. I know it. It can't possibly be," he muttered, laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, a single tear rolling down the side of his face.

Dream Tadashi sat atop a hill, staring up at the starry sky above him. Dream Tsukkishima lay next to him. All Dream Tadashi could think about plucking a hair from Dream Tsukkishima's hair. Just to make sure. Right as he tried to discretely reach over, Dream Tsukkishima caught him, grabbing him by the wrist and surprising the freckled male.

'You think I am a parasyte?' he snapped, his face contorting into a look of betrayal.

'N-No, I was just-'

'You did! I can't believe you would think that!'

Dream Tsukkishima dropped Dream Tadashi's wrist and faded away into the sky. Dream Tadashi was left alone, tears streaming from his hazel orbs and the grass disappeared around him, leaving him to fall endlessly, into a deep, dark abyss.

Two tall shadowed figures appeared behind him, each placing an arm on Dream Tadashi's shoulders. 

'It was your job.'

w: 926