"So... This is it." Yaku mutters.
Gym 4-A is no gym —it's a haunted territory.
No one, not even hardworking janitors, dare to step foot in it. The lone, abandoned gym sits right at the corner of the campus, exerting a dark, goosebump-inducing aura to those who pass by it.
"We're - we're really gonna do this, Captain?" Taketora's face looks a little pale. " This is all bescause stupid basketball team took our damn gym..."
It is the early morning after the incident, and Kuroo looks somewhat worn (a little sleepless, understandably). He manages a lazy smile and raises a eyebrow.
"You belive in that stuff, Taketora?"
"Of course I do!!" He says defensively. "Someone died in there."
"It's mostly just runors..." Yaku mutters, unsure of himself as he recalls what the past upperclassmen had told him. "But the story was that the archery club practices here on rainy days... And one day it was storming really hard..."
"During their practice, someone got stabbed in the stomach in a freak accident. Pronounced dead at the hospital."
Everyone looks at the doors of the gym with a grim face. Kuroo couldn't help but feel unsettled now, but he shakes it off.
"Come on now," Kuroo comes up to the door and reahes for the door handle. "We won't be champions if we can't practice."
As soon as Kuroo opens the door, a cloud of dust rushes past them and two large rats quickly scuttled out of the gym. Taketora screamed.
We're off to a great start.
Kuroo entered slowly into the dark gym, holding in his breath as he pats the wall blindly for the light. He flicked the switch.
In plain display, lays a gym that has been untouched for half a decade — the floors are matte with dust, corners infested with ants. The walls are filthy, stained, and covered with cobwebs. It reeks of rat pee.
With hesitation, all the members stepped inside the gym.
"We... have to clean all this?" Nobuyuki is dispirited. "I don't think I brought enough cleaning supplies..."
"Cleaning? I'll pass." Kenma has his hand pinching his nose, utterly disgusted.
Kuroo whips around and crosses his arms. "Not allowed. This is a team effort! Everyone will clean."
"Then how come Jun is not here?! Why does he get to skip out? You're playing favorites now?!" Taketora says indignantly.
"What? No." Kuroo says defensively. "Jun couldn't come today. Or maybe tomorrow. Or ever...He quit the team as of yesterday."
It is suddenly quiet.
"O-Oh..." Taketora scratches the back of his head. "That's a bummer."
-*-
The idea of Jun leaving the club sounds about right. Yeah. Kuroo is certain that the incident from last night probably scared her away. He understands and feels bad from last nights events— but now he is faced with new problems.
1. His verbal contract with Jun is gone. She will have to take gym class and report that she was given a wrong uniform. What will happen to Kuroo then? He may face suspension for his negligence, especially under their ruthless counselor.
2. This gym is impossible to salvage. It's horribly disgusting, and the whole team has been cleaning all morning with little improvements. It's as if the filth as permanently seeped into the fibers of the wood.
And so, with this, Kuroo has a lot to deal with right now. He sweeps the floor with a dirty dishrag, his arms aching dully. Though he is overwhelmed, he keeps it all to himself, only wearing a slight frown on his face.
"Sorry I'm late," A voice chimed in. "I had to go get some supplies for today."
When Kuroo looks at the entrance of the musty gym, he couldn't believe his eyes. Jun stands there with multiple grocery bags full of sponges, detergents, sprays — you name it. She looks....normal. Determined, even. She wears a headband around her head, ready to tackle the dirt and stains.
"Jun! I thought you left!" Yaku slings an arm over her, as if he's meeting a good old friend.
Jun's eyes met with Kuroo's before she feigned confusion. "Leave for what?"
Yaku waves his hands dismissively. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here to help!"
"LOOK AT ALL THESE...!" Taketora excitedly rumages through the bags of high power cleaning supplies. "JUN! YOU ARE A HERO! THE MANLIEST OF MEN!"
"Truly," Kuroo's lopsided grin greeted Jun. "Truly the manliest of men."
Kuroo rumages through the goods that Jun brought with her. To him, they looked like gold — all-purpose cleaners, bleach, abrasive sponges — you name it.
Jun rolls up her sleeves. "I made sure to get cleaners that contained butoxyethanol."
"Bu...Buto -whata-what?" Taketora sputtered, squinting at the labels of the cleaners.
"It's a powerful solvent." Jun and Kuroo said in unison.
The other team members gave each other a face—a face that communicated a common, universally understood message: Oh, they're both nerds."
Kuroo and Jun shared a glance before Kuroo turns around, clearing his throat.
"Butoxyethanol," Kuroo says "is found in high quality cleaners. Not good for the body though. You can get narcosis if you inhale too much of it."
"and severe kidney damage," Jun adds.
Taketora hands the cleaners back to Kuroo, a grave, pale look on his his face. "I'll pass. I'll just dust and pick up the garbage..."
-*-
Now, because of the exhange from earlier, it was only Kuroo and Jun stuck with the chores that involved the chemicals. Both of them scrubbed and scrubbed, until they can see the color of the wood underneath the dirt.
By the end of the day, the gym looked much more decent than it was before. Hell, it looks so much different now. The floors are wiped clean, free of stains or odors, no dust or cobwebs lurked in the corners, nothing unpleasant. Now, it's starting to look like like a gym. All Kuroo needs to do is to set up the net and they are done.
Everyone left the gym with content, happy faces, ready to head home and start the real training tomorrow.
Kuroo, Kenma, and Jun walked home in tandem. (As if Kuroo would let Jun go home alone anymore.) As Kenma parted from the other two, Kuroo shoves his hands in his pockets and looked around him nonchalantly.
"Thanks for helping us out," Kuroo finally says after some silence. "You really saved my ass today."
Jun shrugs. She's just returning the favor. "It's no big deal..." Kuroo notices that Jun's voice faltered for a second, as if she's thrown off by Kuroo's statement.
"Oh but it's a big deal," he insists.
Jun doesn't have to look at him that he's smirking— she can hear it dripping along the syllables of his words.
"You went shopping for cleaners, even paid attention to the ingredients. Do you perhaps... care about me~?"
"No." She says flatly. She frowns deeply at the idea.
"Oho?" Kuroo seems very amused by such a plain answer. Something indignant, an unspoken and faint vulnerability, in Jun's expression gave a certain satisfaction in Kuroo. He enjoys teasing her.
"But you care about the team. Admit it."
She stays quiet for while, keeping her eyes on the pavement. Kuroo interprets Jun's silence as a dignified way of saying yes, and he smiles in smugly to himself all the way home.