Hinata had never seen the volleyball team so rushed as everyone panicked to get their stuff together. But, in Daichi's words, 'They had to get to Tokyo as soon as possible.'
For the first time in a while, Hinata felt hope burst in his chest. He forgot what it was like to feel positive emotions. His thoughts ran at a million miles a second as he grabbed his bag out the tent. Hinata's eyes caught on Yamaguchi, who was coughing harshly into his hand.
"Yamaguchi, come on. Did you hear? There's a place where we might be able to stay. Where we can be safe." Hinata smiled, his lips stretching upwards.
"Hinata..." Yamaguchi mumbled, and Hinata felt worry rise in him. "I can't come with you." And just like that, his heart dropped to his stomach.
"What? Why not! We can't just leave you here." Hinata's grip on his bag tightened.
"I'm just dead weight. There's no reason. And... Do you really think they'll let me in a safe zone? When I could turn any second?" Yamaguchi spoke weakly, before bursting into a fit of coughing. Blood spattered from his mouth and onto the tarp flooring of the tent. Hinata took in a heavy breath, and as he was about to retaliate, he stopped. He realized... Yamaguchi was right. No matter how much it hurt.
"We're still taking you." Hinata tried to sound firm, but ultimately fell short. Yamaguchi's bleak eyes stared up at him, and Hinata extended his hand. Slowly, but surely, Yamaguchi took it, and got to his feet. "I'll help you walk." Hinata let Yamaguchi cling to him as they walked towards the entrance in the fence that Daichi had cut open moments before. Hinata helped him into the car, next to the remnants of Ibuki's now dry blood. "Just rest here. I'll get your stuff."
"Wait, Hinata, before you go. I just want to say, thank you for being my friend. And I'm sorry..." Yamaguchi took a trembling breath. "I'm sorry I didn't let Natsu have my pills." Hinata inhaled sharply at the name, glaring at the road. "I'm sorry I'm so pathetic." Hinata could hear the breathy tones, bordering on a sob. He didn't know quite what to say.
"Yamaguchi. It's okay." Hinata murmured, giving his freckled friend a last over the shoulder glance, before bringing bags of stuff out and into the cars.
"Alright, does everyone have all their stuff?" Daichi asked, and when everyone nodded, they all piled into the two cars. This time the compositions were a bit different, Hinata was still in Daichi's car, this time with Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, Tsukishima, Ennoshita, Kageyama, and Suga. Hinata was smack dab between Yamaguchi and Kinoshita, and although he didn't want to sit in the middle, Daichi forced him to because he's the smallest.
"Do you even know how to get to Tokyo?" Suga asked from the shotgun seat, and Daichi glared at him.
"Of course I do, Suga." He huffed in annoyance. And so, the journey to Tokyo began.
It was mostly silent, other than the rain pounding on the roof of the car, and the thunder booming in the background. This time Daichi's car followed Takeda's, until, out of the blue, Takeda stopped in the middle of the road. Suga climbed out of the door, walking up to the driver's seat.
"Why'd you stop?" Hinata heard him ask, feeling his heart start to palpitate. He couldn't hear Takeda's response, but he saw Suga's face drop at whatever he had said. When Suga got back to the van, he was immediately bombarded with questions. "He's out of gas." Suga mumbled, and Daichi slammed a palm against the steering wheel, nearly missing the honking button.
"Shit. Tell him we'll go up ahead and try to look for a gas station, and that we'll bring some gas back if we can. Otherwise we might have to go on foot... I don't want to split up the group." Daichi ran a hand through his cropped hair, obviously stressed by this turn of events. Hinata couldn't exactly blame him. "Who knows what would happen if we did split up..."
Daichi started the car again, driving around Takeda's before telling him the plan, and then driving forwards.
"Do any of you guys know if there's a gas station around here?" Daichi asked, his voice wavering with stress. Nobody said anything. "I'll take that as a no." Daichi sighed as he turned the corner. It was a little strange that they didn't see a single red around. It made Hinata feel uneasy.
"There's a gas station!" Suga's voice rose as he pointed in the direction of dingy looking has station. It would have to do. Daichi's shoulders slumped with relief as he drove the car near the station, and everyone piled out, except for Yamaguchi.
Hinata swallowed, walking inside with a grip on his knife. Just in case.
The group roamed through the store, searching for a canister of gas. Hinata checked behind the counter, ducking down and searching through the shelves, when a panicked scream rang through the air. It sounded like Yamaguchi.
Hinata's blood went cold as he snapped his head up, ignoring the pain that burst in it as he banged his head against the counter.
"Oh my god." He whispered, watching as a whole horde of reds grouped around the van with Yamaguchi inside. Shit.
Hinata held his knife up, his senses clouding, as he maneuvered through the shelves, and the others, and towards the van, until a hand grabbed onto his hood. It was Kageyama, who shook his head at him, and tugged him behind a shelf to hide. Why did he always have to grab his hood?
They began to communicate through their eyes as he glared at Kageyama, who simply glared back venomously. The message was clear; no.
But, to Hinata's surprise, Kageyama gestured towards the shelf across from them. Relief swelled in his heart as he spotted Yamaguchi slumped against the floor, shaking, terrified, and clearly injured, but alive.
"We have to get out of here while the reds are distracted." Hinata whispered, making Kageyama slap a hand over his mouth, as if to say, 'Shut up.'
"How are we going to get away if we can't get to the van? And what about Yamaguchi? He can barely fucking walk." Kageyama's voice was hard as he whispered back, despite forcing Hinata to stay quiet. Hinata rolled his eyes at the curse word.
"Bwh mph, ifw wef-" Hinata mumbled, his words inaudible through Kageyama's hand. Kageyama's eyes went icy before he removed his hand. "We can still make it. While they're... Eating? What are they eating?" Hinata felt dread creep up his spine.
"Yamaguchi's hand." Kageyama's words sent a shiver through his veins, and, slowly, he turned towards the whimpering and shaking Yamaguchi who was clutching his arm like his life depended on it.
A wide pool of blood formed beneath the stump on Yamaguchi's arm that was once where Yamaguchi's hand was. A horrified sound choked in his throat as he stared at the protruding bone, and muscle tissue falling to the floor with no skin to keep it contained. Hinata felt the blood drain from his face, bile rising up his throat.
Without a second thought, Hinata ran. He ran from the gas station, away from the feasting reds, just away. And to his surprise, everyone else ran too. Even Yamaguchi, who was somehow pushing himself with the adrenaline pumping through all of them. They ran until they were far enough, and they all fled inside a tall building.
Hinata leaned his head against the wall, out breath as he scratched at his throat, fingers running over the scar Sergeant had given him.
Yamaguchi collapsed, red blood leaking out and onto the floor.
"Yamaguchi!" Tsukishima yelled, jumping as he hit the floor.
"We have to stop the bleeding..." Sugawara gasped out, tearing off his jacket and pressing it to the stump. Yamaguchi cried out in pain, huffing and yelling and moaning deliriously.
"How did it even happen..." Hinata whispered out, in complete shock.
"Did you not see? Yamaguchi cut his hand off with a knife." Tsukishima's voice trembled. He cut his own hand off?!
"Yamaguchi? There's no way." Hinata shook his head, but Tsukishima insisted.
"I think... I think he realized he couldn't get out of the van and survive. So he thought if he gave them something to distract them, then he could slip away. And it worked." Tsukishima inhaled, clutching his side.
Yamaguchi saved them. Hinata wasn't sure if they would have survived if it wasn't for Yamaguchi cutting his hand off. Maybe Hinata could have killed all of them like before. But in the moment... He was frozen with fear. He didn't have that anger fueling in him like before. Like when he thought of her. Of Natsu.
Yamaguchi sputtered in shock on the floor, shaking. How was he not passing out from the pain?
"He's in shock." Kageyama said, as if he had read Hinata's thoughts. "He's probably too scared, and surprised, to feel anything. Hinata didn't want to look at the bloody, trembling mess on the floor. But he couldn't help but stare in morbid curiosity at the stump wrapped in Suga's jacket.
"Yamaguchi, it's okay, you're alright. You're going to be okay." Sugawara spoke in a gentle voice to soothe the wild boy, but his words had no effect. It seemed Yamaguchi just couldn't hear them.
"Where's Ennoshita?" Kageyama's voice made everyone's attention snap to him.
"What? Is he not here?" Daichi's voice hardened. A sniffling Kinoshita wiped his eyes.
"Ennoshita stayed there to hold the reds off." Kinoshita cried, clenching his hands into fists.
"But-"
"He knew he would die. But he said that he was already bitten, and was going to die anyways. So he stayed back." Kinoshita's eyes were downcast.
"But Yamaguchi's hand-" Hinata started, but was cut off.
"Reds have short attention spans. Although some would have stayed to... To eat Yamaguchi's hand, some others would have ran after us. So he must have stayed back so they could eat him as well. It's an awful way to go out, but I have to applaud him for the amount of bravery it must have taken. The amount of strength." Tsukishima breathed in heavily, and Kinoshita gulped and looked away.
Hinata felt sick knowing he was only standing due to Ennoshita's death.
"Let's get away from the entrance." Daichi said, his voice dark and thick with emotion. Hinata nodded.
"You guys... Yamaguchi can't walk. Somebody help me carry him away." Sugawara requested from his spot on the floor. Tsukishima volunteered, and the two lifted up the pale Yamaguchi, who was still making incoherent sounds. The others followed suit, finding a room full of cubicles and laying Yamaguchi out on three swivel chairs. The papers on the ground splotched with Yamaguchi's blood.
"I think he's out cold." Tsukishima gestured to now limp Yamaguchi, his eyes closed.
"He must have passed out from blood loss." Sugawara muttered, and Hinata stared at Yamaguchi with a queasy feeling in his stomach. Would he be alright after an injury like that? Would he even be able to defend himself with one hand?
But then, Hinata realized. It didn't matter anyways. Yamaguchi was probably going to die soon, with his condition this morning.
Daichi spoke,
"Let's just rest-"
CRASH!
A loud sound made Hinata duck, watching it shock as the door came hurtling open. Three figures stood there, and to Hinata's surprise, he recognized every one of them.
"Tendou, fire." A deep, gruff voice said, and he knew that was Ushijima. "You too Goshiki."
"Yes sir!" Was the last sentence spoken before they raised their guns.
"Wait! It's us! Karasuno!" Hinata yelped as Daichi moved in front of them.
"I'll protect you guys." Daichi whispered.
Hinata's words didn't stop them as Tendou open fired first. Hinata watched in terror as the bullet flew through the air, and into Daichi's head. A clean shot, all the way through. Hinata screamed, scrambling away as Daichi's body fell to the floor, blood falling from the bullet hole in his head. Goshiki aimed, pointed, and began to press on the trigger when Hinata started to cry.
"Please, stop. Don't hurt us." Hinata wiped his eyes, his hands falling on Daichi's now dead form.
"T-Then give us your supplies!" Tendou barked, his face hard but his eyes filled with despair.
"We don't have any. We had to abandon them." Hinata's voice went flat.
"Don't make any sudden movements. Stay right there. If I even see any of you twitch, we'll kill all of you." Ushijima's didn't waver once as he glared at them, before the trio walked away, leaving Karasuno in complete shock.
Sugawara fell to the floor, a hand over his mouth as he stared wide eyed at Daichi's body. His closest friend. No, his brother, whether they were blood related or not. They were family. And now he was dead.
It seemed everything was going wrong.
Nobody said a thing, the room silent, until Hinata burst into tears, making the others all start to cry. Even Tsukishima. Sugawara was a good leader, yes, but he couldn't keep everyone as calm and motivated as Daichi did.
And now he was gone.
Like Asahi, Yachi, Narita, Ennoshita, and Natsu.
Like Yamaguchi would probably be soon.
Hinata's sobs racked his body, and he hunched over Daichi's body, hugging him desperately as if it would bring him back.
Then, Hinata felt Daichi's body twitch beneath him. Hinata recoiled, whimpering, as he stared at Daichi. He was dead, right?
Daichi's fingers began to stretch out, reaching out the air. Fear struck through him, like a snake.
Daichi's eyes opened, and his once brown eyes were clouded with gray. No, that was impossible. Daichi wasn't infected, so how? How was he a red?
"What..." Hinata whispered, his hand feeling for the knife he had dropped in the panic earlier. "But..." Hinata didn't finish his sentence. But before Hinata could do anything, Sugawara took the knife from him and drove it through Daichi's skull right as his muscled arm reached out to Hinata hungrily.
Daichi's body fell limp for the second time, and Hinata watched in wonder as his grayed eyes turned dead.
It was official. Daichi was gone.