paint it red // haikyuu x tokyo ghoul

14

the two of us were virtually inconsolable when we returned to anteiku. the cafe had already been closed down, so the only people inside were the staff. all of them were sitting around talking, even the manager. he was rarer to mill about the coffee shop, so i noted it was strange even in my disturbed state. it was like he knew he should have been there.

and then, we stumbled in, injured and fearing for our lives, and we threw the room into a panic.

kageyama stuttered about what happened, while i leaned against suga. he tended to my wounds as i stared blankly into his chest. i couldn't believe that had just happened. what if they recognized us in those photos? what if we were going to be found now? what if they gave us up?

it was like that time flew by us. it wasn't minutes that went past, it felt like not even seconds. i couldn't remember what happened by the time suga had finished. the missing part of my neck hurt more than anything i've felt in my life.

the training i received, although it wasn't much, seemed like it had gone to waste. i couldn't use any of it, i just felt paralyzed with that creature on me. what use was i as a ghoul if i couldn't fight off just one attacker at once? i was pathetically weak.

as i got into bed that night, i felt myself unable to sleep. it hurt whichever way i lied and my head was spinning with worry. the ginger roots of my hair had begun to grow in, making it obvious that my hair was not naturally the pitch black colour i had dyed it. as well, the same was happening to kageyama.

we were becoming less elusive. people had their eyes out for us and a little more than three weeks in, they'd seen us. i expected it would take longer for someone to notice the three of us, but in less than a month? that was a failure.

somehow, hours after i had laid myself down, i managed to get a few hours of sleep before the next morning had began. things were just going downhill, but it couldn't get much worse. i hoped.

--

"the ccg are currently asking for any information from bystanders on a ghoul attack that happened last night in downtown tokyo."

with surprising control, my face remained still as the woman's voice spoke through the television. i cut the sandwich i was making in half, and took that and the coffee out to the customer. i gave a polite smile to the girl and boy who sat together, and i returned behind the bar.

"the photos caught by the ccg are very gruesome, so we cannot show them on air."

i think my entire body shuddered with relief, hearing the woman say that. i began making the next order, still absently listening when i heard something else pop up.

"in tandem with this story, we have another coming from up north. the search for those three missing boys will now continue, after two were spotted in tokyo, at the scene of this most recent ghoul attack. their hair colours have been changed, and it is assumed they are running from something. please contact tokyo police if you see them."

i continued pouring coffee. i tried to avoid the eyes of the customer i brought it out to, only dipping my head slightly in respect.

it was getting kind of hard to hide, now. if only that ghoul hadn't come after us, of all people..

but it was my fault, anyways. maybe the ghoul smelt the guilt and fear riddled all over me. maybe they saw through how weak i was. it had to be one of the two.

--

"so, what are we going to do now?" suga hummed. it was like i hadn't seen him in ages, aside from last night. he'd become kind of elusive, only appearing when he had a shift. sometimes, he didn't even come back to sleep.

"well," the manager hummed. he gazed down into the cup of coffee i made him, as i sat at a table and leaned over it. kageyama sat at the bar with him, and suga was at the other side. "it's clear that theyre onto you, or at least hinata and kageyama. it might be necessary to move the three of you, for all of our safety. do you think they saw either of your kagune?"

it was after hours, so it was just the four of us, alone. the coffee shop was illuminated by only the warm, yellow glow of the lights, and the warm air carried the smell of freshly grounded beans. kageyama nodded his head slowly, gazing down at the shining, freshly cleaned counter.

"they had to have seen hinata's. but in the news report they didn't say that he was dangerous or anything.. so, i'm not sure." i closed my eyes as i listened to them, taking deep breaths as to not work myself up.

"well, the moment they announce him as a ghoul, the three of you are going to have to have this figured out. if you are recognized here, they might figure out that all of us are ghouls. it just makes sense." the manager explained. i heard the clinking of his coffee mug being set down.

he left. i heard the gentle close of the door, and it was silent until suga spoke up a few moments later.

"y'know, i think we need to move again." suga murmured. i opened my eyes and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. move? as in move cities?

"how would you know what we need? you haven't even been here." kageyama muttered. i sat up slightly, and although i didn't do anything to show my agreement with him, i wanted to.

suga sighed, rubbing his forehead as he set down the towel in his hand. "i've been looking for information, okay? that bastard, kanou.. we need to do something about him. we wouldn't even be dreaming of this nightmare situation if he had just left hinata alone."

i bit down on my lower lip; he was right, but what was there to do? if we reported him, they'd question us for sure, which couldn't end well. if we entered the ccg buildings, we would most certainly never be freed again. well, that was what i thought, i guess.

"i have a plan, though." that sparked our interest.

"if hinata is somehow able to find him, through hospital records or something, we can cause a big fuss. probably kill him, if nothing comes up."

it was foreign to hear suga talk in that way, but for some reason his words didn't cause me to feel anything emotionally. it was like it had just become a part of my life, to kill. and, speaking of that, i was getting hungry. it wasn't enough for me to want to eat, though. maybe i'd save it and have a taste of kanou.

"the only way he'd be able to get the records are through the files at his house, though." kageyama hummed. suga looked as if the bleach blonde boy in front of him had just stuck a pin into him and deflated him.

the room fell into a silence for a moment, before i realized that their eyes were suddenly on me.

"i mean.. it's not ideal, but i'll do it if you want."

and that's how we ending up hunched around a table, planning out how we were to manage to get me into my house, and then into the locked file cabinet.

my mother went to work every week day from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon, and natsu went off to school at seven-thirty. if we arrived on the 8 am train, it'd leave me more than enough time to get inside and to the office, where the file cabinet was. as far as i knew, the keys were somewhere in the junk drawer in the kitchen. it was just a matter of finding them in that drawer, and then i would be gone without a trace. finding a simple stack of documents couldn't take more than an hour, especially with how organized my mother was.

"this is crazy." kageyama hummed.

"but it will work." suga insisted. he looked over at me, excitement flaring behind his soft, chocolate brown eyes. "you'll do this?"

i suddenly, now that it was planned out, wasn't so sure about this whole plan. it was very possible for something, anything to go wrong, but that look in his eyes told me i had no choice but to nod my head.

"i'll do it."

sixteen hours, an empty stomach, and one missed train later, i was on the way home between a sleeping kageyama and a reading suga. i had no idea what was about to happen later that day, but if i had i assure you i would've done anything i could to stop it.

an icky feeling tumbled around the pit of my stomach as the train sped along the tracks.

this is a mistake. i can feel it.

--