Because of a rather restless sleep last night, Jun slept like a rock the entire day once they arrived back at camp. It's an especially hot, sweltering day... but corpse-like slumber sends a message to Kuroo that she slept well.
In fact, she slept a little too well. It's no surprise that she finally woke up in a time when normal people would finally go to sleep — 10 p.m.
But what struck Jun is that their room is empty — just empty futons spread around the floor. It would be fine to assume that they're all awake, and yet... It's also suspiciously quiet. The lights are turned off, and everything is dim except for the dull glow of the moonlight outside, seeping through the windows of the room. It suddenly feels cold in the room.
It feels as if... as if someone's watching her.
Cautiously, Jun rises up from her futon, eyeing her surroundings.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Jun never believed in ghosts. Or rather— she never bothered giving them a thought. Thinking about the possibility of their existence makes her feel uneasy, to say in the least. They're just stories — she convinces herself — just make-believe.
But the feeling of being watched creeps slowly on her is certainly not fake.
She grabs her glasses and places it on. As Jun turns her head to a corner — she sees a vague shadowy figure. She squints at it, trying to make out its shape, and then—
She hears the floor creak.
Jun shoots from her futon and sprints out of the room. She darts down the hallway, but her rapid steps aren't the only ones she can hear — the shadowy figure follows her, footsteps heavy and fast.
She takes a sharp turn and hides inside another classroom. Crouching right behind small shelves, she slaps a hand on her mouth.
The footsteps finally slowed down nearby.
Oh?
The runner huffs his breath and makes a frustrated groan.
"Guh! He's faster than I thought!" A familiar voice huffed. Is that... is that Bokuto?
Jun hears set of footsteps approach — but she recognizes that the voice belonged to none other than Kuroo.
"Y'know, now that I think about it... We never told Jun about this game." He shrugs. "He'll find out eventually."
And with that, the two captains hurry out of the area.
A game...?
No one warned her about some game where people rabidly chase you around in the dark. Jun gets up and, glances around the dim room aimlessly. Nothing unusual.
Exasperated and bitter, she sighs and leans her head back on the wall with a soft thud — and the sound of a paper crumpling.
Jun looks to the paper that fell — it's a flyer.
MURDER TIME
Objective: stab the victim indicated on the handle of your plastic knife.
The knife of the victim will transfer to the murderer, and they must stab the next indicated person on the knife.
Repeat as needed until only one player remains.
This year's prize: Mizuno Gift card
Mizuno? Like that shoe brand? Jun vaguely remembers Taketora rave about it the other day...
"I swear I just heard Bokuto-san's voice this way," A voice said softly.
"Are ya sure?"
"He's pretty loud, Tanaka."
Jun peeks out from the doorway and notices that it's one of Karasuno's members. He had that distinct light hair and beauty mark — Jun's not sure what his name is exactly...
Jun hears a loud slap and a weak "ow!" in response. Tanaka is hunched over in pain.
Sugawara laughs. "Come on! Why are you looking so glum for!?"
"Suga-san," Tanaka says grimly, "I know it's just a game, but... Coach looked like he wanted to break our necks."
Sugawara darkly remembers it—Ukai lost a bet to Nekomata in a game of cards... In turn, he had to buy the Mizuno giftcard himself. A very tempting prize for the game required someone's sacrifice.
Suga reflects thoughtfully before shaking his head. "If I possibly have to give sports shoes to a rival team member, I would be pretty riled up too."
Jun's footing clumsily steps on the paper, falling down with a loud thud. Suga and Tanaka turned around.
-*-
Lo and behold, Jun finds herself dragged to a classroom.
It seems that all of Karasuno is here, along with another hostage in the corner— Akaashi. He seems apathetic as always, sitting quietly on the floor by a corner. He greets Jun with a quiet wave.
Hinata gapes excitedly in her direction. "Uwoh! You guys caught Amemori-kun! Nice one, Tanaka-senpai!"
Tanaka puffs his chest and laughs boisterously. "As expected of your senpai! We caught a good one!"
Caught a good one? His triumphant look prompts Jun to picture Tanaka in the beach, holding out a flopping fish with a proud smile on his face.
Jun's face twists into exasperation. "I feel like a tuna..."
She glances at the exits and finds that Ennoshita guards one of them. The other exit is barricaded by their Yamaguchi.
"Victory is upon us!" Nishinoya boasts. "There's something really cool and awesome about winning this game, don't ya think?!"
"Of course!!!" Hinata agrees eagerly.
"Hinata, don't encourage him." Sugawara says.
Nishinoya strikes a dramatic pose— the one where he places a hand on his chin, eyes closed in thought. He hums loudly, nodding his head in agreement with none other than himself.
"Yes...Like young brave men, we fight when the sun goes down and the stars are out."
"But the sun is a star." Akaashi says plainly.
"The sun isn't a star," Tanaka corrects. "It's a sun!"
Tsukishima snickers. Jun feels a strange mix of amusement and mild concern for Tanaka.
Kageyama grumbles under his breath, his nose scrunched up. Conflicted and confused.
Everyone's banter halts to a stop when Suga held up a finger to his lips, making a hushed sound. Daichi has a phone in his hand, a grim and serious look plastered on his face.
"Kuroo," Daishi glances briefly in Jun's direction. "We have one of your men."
"Oho?" A voice buzzed on the other end. "Could it be a trap? Very sneaky, Daichi."
Daichi holds out his phone to Jun and looks at her expectantly. Jun hesitates to speak— eyeing Daichi with skepticism. Left with no choice, Jun sighs—
"Jun?"
Jun leans closer to the phone. "How did you know it's me?"
"I know that sigh from miles away," Kuroo says. Jun can hear the grin through his tone. Jun feels somewhat flattered and also creeped out.
"It's very sad sigh," Kuroo adds "and exhausted."
"Thanks."
"Do you wanna be saved?" Kuroo asks, almost teasingly. "Just say the word."
Jun looks up at Daichi, and he nods with an urgent look on his face. But Jun didn't like Kuroo's sneer about "saving" her... it's just a silly game. It's getting too far with all the dramatic hostages, all just for a pair of sports shoes.
"Sure."
"Whoa— seriously?" Kuroo says, taken aback by her answer.
Jun looks bitterly at the exits. Even the windows are guarded by Asahi. "I mean, I'm trapped here. And I'd rather be somewhere else. So yeah."
"...Alright. I'll be there." The call ends.
-*-
"Okay team," Daichi says, "take your positions."
Karasuno had a plan laid out. It's simple: Tanaka hides sneakily behind one of the shelves, near the entrance. He holds a plastic knife, tucked underneath his arm. Jun and Daichi stand at the entrance, luring Kuroo in.
The members of Karasuno awaited for Kuroo's arrival in silence. Then, footsteps echoed faintly at the end of the hallway. Daichi squints his eyes to focus on the approaching figure raising his hand to signal his team and—
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Daichi and Suga flinch at the ear-shattering noise, plugging their ears immediately. Others were not so lucky— Hinata jumped in surprise and fell over on his back, Tanaka nearly had a heart attack, screaming in such a high pitch that can be confused with an old woman's voice. Asahi is unconscious on the floor.
The noise holds out to its breath, all while Daichi desperately shouts commands at his team — but there's too much chaos.
Jun covers her ears and glances to find the source of the noise noise— An airhorn, held none other by Kenma.
He stands outside the windows of the classroom, ears plugged and with a blank face, torturously squeezing the nozzle on the airhorn.
Kuroo slides the window open and slips through it, and sure enough, Bokuto follows shortly. They're still out for Jun.
Jun looks around, and she briefly picks something off the floor before fleeing the classroom.
Bokuto huffs. Both Bokuto and Kuroo sprint down the hall of the school.
After a while, the hall splits into two, one path leading outside, the other leads to more classrooms. Kuroo and Bokuto slowed down to a stop. They lost her.
"Let's split up," Bokuto says.
Kuroo is tasked to look outside. He searches carefully— behind the bushes, underneath trees, in the secluded corners behind vendimg machines. Nothing. It's silent, except for the gently rustle of leaves against the summer breeze.
Luckily, Kuroo remember one more spot — a spot that Jun especially liked. It's in a secluded place, where there's a steep, sloped hill and a shady tree at the bottom. Jun often laid there, treating if the grassy slope as a makeshift recliner.
And sure enough, he finds Jun there, out in plain sight. She has her back against him, standing at the top of the slope. Kuroo notices that she's staring at the skies, content and relaxed.
Kuroo makes sure to approach her stealthily from behind.
Bokuto would surely be pouty if Kuroo was the one who found her. Kuroo's now just within arms reach of Jun, the end goal is almost tangible—
"Saving me, really?" She repeats Kuroo's words from before. "That's probably the corniest thing you've ever said."
She turns around and— Oh? She points a plastic knife at him. Kuroo immediately raises his hands in surrender, eyes fixed bitterly at his name written on the knife. He looks back up at Jun to see her with a satisfied smirk.
Kuroo cracks a small, uneasy smile.
"Is it weird that I'm turned on right now?"
And just like that, in a stellar choice of words, Kuroo somehow finds a way to replace her smile with an unamused frown. She inches the knife closer to him.
Kuroo laughs nervously. "To be fair, I knew you didn't need my saving."
It just adds a dramatic flair to save Jun. Kuroo likes to make a big show of himself, after all. Still, this wasn't the ending he expected.
Jun retracts the plastic knife slightly at Kuroo's comment.
"But seriously," Kuroo adds, smiling knowingly. "I know when you do."
Jun stares at him with confusion.
"AHAAAAAA!"
Out of nowhere, Bokuto charges towards Jun, arm outstretched with a the plastic knife.
Bokuto jabs at Jun with the plastic knife, poking her stomach. It didn't hurt of course— but Bokuto's stab did give a small shove. Her body recoils backwards slightly and her foot slips from the edge of the hill.
Suddenly, she feels herself fall backwards, feeling weightless for a split second and—
Kuroo's hand grasps Jun's firmly—but it's a little too late. Jun pulls Kuroo down with him in her fall. They rolled down until they reached the bottom.
Kuroo lands with his face planted on the grass. He flops to his back, throwing an arm over his head and taking a deep breath.
At least the grass feels soft underneath him. Jun lays beside him, within arms reach.
"Ow."
Kuroo wheezes out. He sounds like a deflated balloon that just huffed its last breath.
To his surprise, Jun laughs, unconstrained and genuine. She laughed until tears started beading around her eyes.
"The look on your face," She wheezes out, "when you were about to fall... you looked so scared. The hill is not that high, Kuroo."
Usually, Kuroo would argue. But he swears he saw stars around Jun, or maybe it was just in her eyes. Now calm, she wipes her eyes dry with the back of her hand. He gazes at her for a brief, lovely moment. She meets his gaze.
"Are you okay?" Kuroo asks lamely.
"Yeah. You?"
Kuroo grins. "Better than ever."
Jun rises up from the grass, looking uphill. Bokuto urgently slides down the slope and tackles Kuroo and Jun to a hug, apologizing profusely for accidentally hurting them. Not sure how to respond, Jun awkwardly pats Bokuto's back.
By the time the sun rose up, Bokuto had forgotten about the shoving incident — he won the game and that was all that's swimming in his idle mind. He's in a state of pure, gloating euphoria. Akaashi says it's gonna take a while before he comes back to normal.
On the other hand, Kuroo couldn't stop thinking about her laugh. And Jun, for her own amusement, keeps thinking about Kuroo's scared face right before he fell.
After all, he fell really hard.