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Shouyou had to leave. He had to get out of here.
Could he still run to his family? Where else would he be able to go if he left here? Does he even remember the directions into town?
It's so far away, too. He'll need a vehicle.
It'd be easier to just kill myself. He thought absently as he stared at the large span of woods outside his bedroom window.
A knock on the door echoed in his ears, but he made no move to answer it. If someone was coming here to kill him, he'd just let it happen. Nothing mattered anymore.
It creaked open, then clicked shut. Foot steps he couldn't place with an identity made their way to him.
"Hey," softly spoke Yamaguchi. Shouyou's eyes teared immediately. He hadn't seen Yamaguchi since he had taught Shouyou a card game and calmed him down after he was hounded by Tsukishima, and, a short while after that, Kuroo, which was two weeks ago.
"Yamaguchi..?"
Long, lanky arms wrapped carefully around Shouyou's body and held him in the kindest embrace he's felt in a while.
A shaky sigh left his mouth, and he all but melted into Yamaguchi's hold.
"I don't mean to scare you, Shouyou, but downstairs is a madhouse. We need to get you out of here right now."
Shouyou was speachless. Did the incident with Akaashi and Sakusa have anything to do with what Yamaguchi's talking about?
"Do you trust me, Shouyou?"
Yamaguchi was sweating, he looked anxious. Shouyou nodded reluctantly, but it did nothing to calm Yamaguchi's nerves.
"I'm gonna need you to close your eyes then, okay? And, whatever you do, don't let go of my hand."
The sound of a gun going off downstairs startled Shouyou, who quickly reached out to grip Yamaguchi's hand. He nodded once more.
"This isn't how things were supposed to play out, Shouyou," Yamaguchi spoke softly to the little ginger as he headed toward the door of the bedroom.
"We were supposed to admire your dancing from the confides of this building, but so many ill-mannered people just... can't get along under one roof. There's been a lot going on here, Shouyou, and we were trying so hard to keep you away from it all."
When the door was opened, Shouyou shut his eyes tight. The heavy scent of blood and death was in the air. Shouyou knew that smell all too well.
Yamaguchi's words acted as a grounding tool for Shouyou as shouts and pounding and bangs were heard around the house.
Some of the voices he caught were Kuroo's and Bokuto's, but they were muffled by the wall separating them from whatever room they were in.
Shouyou was too scared to open his eyes after hearing another loud, startling bang. Yamaguchi clutched his hand tighter.
"There's a handful of us that... Well, we want you just as much as everyone else, that's just how we were raised. We grew up on the joy of possessing unique things. You're the ultimate prize, Shouyou. That's why you must be hidden away. Away from us, away from everyone."
The smell of smoke brushed beneath his nostrils. Shouyou's survival instincts began kicking into high gear, but when he opened his eyes, regret immediately washed over him.
Bodies lay unmoving all over the living room floor. There was smoke from the kitchen, and Shouyou turned his head just in time to see Bokuto slam Kuroo against the floor, cock a pistol, and shoot him right in the head.
Shouyou thought they were best friends. He's never seen them fight before. What's going on?
"Sakusa was in control of us all. He made sure we solved things properly, but after... he put you through that despite the majority of us voting on just getting rid of Kane ourselves, everyone just kind of... grew tired of him, I guess. We're almost to the exit, just hang in there."
Shouyou gripped the back of Yamaguchi's shirt tightly with tears stinging his eyes. He thought of Sakusa's warm lips against his hand, of Kuroo's pained expression in the bathroom, of the red hand print on Akaashi's face placed there by his own mother.
All of it burned into his brain with each passing second. A loud, pained cry escaped his lips, and Yamaguchi could only squeeze his eyes shut for a moment and take it in. It was like a baby bird who fell out of its nest or a hungry kitten stuck in the pouring rain on an abandoned street.
Bokuto came over to them and wrapped Shouyou up in a tight hug, but Yamaguchi refused to let go of Shouyou's hand.
"It's okay," he cried softly to the sobbing little ginger in his arms. He had just killed his best friend after finding out that his childhood friend was murdered by him. It's a lot to take in.
"It's okay," he hoarsely whispered again against Shouyou's nape. A soft, comforting kiss was placed there.
"I'm sorry, Shouyou, hang in there. We'll get you somewhere safe."
Bokuto's words hurt Shouyou's heart. He doesn't understand what's happening, what's going on, where everyone is- if they're even still alive.
What happened? Was all this his fault?
The sound of burning, cracking wood from the kitchen told them to hurry out of the house. Outside in the parking lot was Aone, Kageyama, Kita, Kenma, Tanaka, Tendou, Lev, Yamamoto, Matsukawa, and Sugawara.
Sugawara's face was stained with tears as he stared at the gravel with dim eyes. The moonlight shone on them all, exposing their tears, their pained expressions, and their sadness.
"Shouyou, we have to let you go. It's past time," Kenma softly spoke, his voice cracking in sadness.
He looked to Bokuto, who merely shook his head in reply before exploding. A growl bubbled from his throat, and, suddenly, he screamed and shouted and let go of Shouyou to toss the gun in his hand far, far away into the woods.
Kenma pulled the hoodie of his jacket over his face and released a muffled scream. Kita reached over to lay a comforting hand over his shoulder, but he, too, couldn't control his emotions well.
Hanamaki lost his best friends. Tendou lost his. Bokuto, Kenma, Kita, Sugawara, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Lev, Aone, Yamaguchi- There wasn't a single person that left the burning mansion without leaving a piece of themselves behind.
Shouyou came to the crushing realization that, if he hadn't even interacted with these guys, to begin with, none of this would have ever happened.
This is his fault. What was he going to do, though? Run away? Kill himself? No, he didn't want to make this any harder for anyone. He got in one of the two prepared cars and held Bokuto and Kita soothingly as they took comfort in Shouyou's warmth.
Behind them, they left their belongings, their friends' burning bodies, and their temporary home.
