Chapter Text
For once, the forest isn’t dark and quiet on this night. This night, the air fills with dancing flames that lick the air with embers, smoking billowing through the trees as laughter echoes through the night. Kuroo sits giddily with his friend Bokuto as Bokuto finishes off the song he’s singing on the guitar. Kuroo can’t help himself, “No matter how much you practice, it doesn’t help that singing voice.” He says.
Bokuto squawks and puffs out his reddening cheeks, “Take that back! I sound awesome!”
“The guitar, sure. But do the music world a favour and keep the vocals out of it,” Kuroo says, making sure he emphasises the teasing edge in his tone. Bokuto huffs and puts his guitar down at his side, the sight of the pout makes Kuroo roll his eyes, “I’m messing with you, you sounded great.”
“You don’t have to backtrack now.” Bokuto says pointedly.
Kuroo’s grin drops, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest. He scoots over on the log next to his friend and puts a hand on his shoulder, “Seriously, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
Bokuto doesn’t look at him, keeping his arms firmly crossed over his chest like a sulking child. Kuroo sighs and rubs the back of his neck, now without any other words to offer him. “Look, I’m gonna go get some more firewood. You wanna roll out the sleeping bags?”
“Sure.” Bokuto says curtly. Kuroo mutters an ‘okay’ and goes to explore the area for spare twigs and broken off branches as Bokuto goes to their supplies. Kuroo pulls out his torch as he navigates the dark woods, weaving between the trees as he gathers satisfactory looking loose twigs for their campfire, careful to not let the light of the flames escape his sight.
He gathers most from the ground but finds the odd weak looking branch and snaps it from the tree, leaving behind the jagged end poking out from the trunk. He repeats this until his arms are so full that it almost becomes impossible to carry all the wood at once. Satisfied with his work, he heads back towards the dimming flames.
He tightens his arms around the pile of wood and tries to get his eyes around it to watch his step, though his eyes instantly register that Bokuto isn’t sitting by the fire anymore. “Bokuto?” He says curiously. He sets (dumps) the wood near the fire and feeds the flames as he scans the area. No sign of him.
“Dude, I know you’re upset, but come on!” Kuroo says, his voice growing more impatient. He pulls the torch back out from his pocket and lights up the areas just out of reach of the fire’s light. He steps around to the other side and sees the rucksacks they brought have been opened up, one of the sleeping-bags – Bokuto’s – is missing. Kuroo’s brow furrows. He marches forward, pointing the light of the torch ahead of him until he sees the sleeping back that’s laying over Bokuto.
“Real mature, dude. Hide in the dark,” He starts walking towards the boy, “Are you sleeping already? You didn’t even get my sleeping bag out for me-“ Kuroo halts. Something squelches underneath his shoe. Confused, he turns the flashlight to the ground underneath him and his eyes stare in still horror. Underneath him, mixed in with the fallen leaves, was a dark crimson liquid.
“Bokuto-“ Kuroo presses forward hastily until his flashlight is shining on the exposed head of his unresponsive friend, the blue sleeping bag covering the lower half of his head. Kuroo doesn’t realise he’s holding his breath as he crouches next to the boy. He dryly says Bokuto’s name again, feeling for his shoulder underneath the sleeping bag and shaking him lightly.
No response.
“I’m serious, stop messing around!” Kuroo grabs the sleeping bag and yanks it away. In an instant, his whole body turns weak, and his knees hit the ground. The flashlight is shaking in his grip while Kuroo screams once reality settles in.
Bokuto’s head isn’t attached to his body, blood pooling at the gap between his neck and the rest of his body.
Kuroo scrambles to his feet and tears his eyes away from the corpse, only to be met with an equally terrifying image. An unknown figure stares Kuroo down, with the flames of the campfire acting as a backdrop. They’re holding a still bloody axe, dressed in plaid shirt and black trousers, the style a lumberjack or a woodsman would wear. With the flames behind them, their face isn’t lit up and Kuroo can’t find the strength in his body to raise the flashlight.
The figure readies the axe begins to step forward; that’s all the signal Kuroo needs to sprint into the woods, silently apologising to Bokuto’s body as he passes it in his escape. He stumbles and nearly trips, but at least has the common sense to turn off his flashlight as he runs, relying on the bright moonlight to avoid running directly into any obstacles.
He leaps and bounds over anything in his path, thankful he’s been blessed with some athleticism. He doesn’t dare look back to see if he’s being followed. The air tastes sour on his tongue when he has to stop and catch his breath, threatening to keel over if he doesn’t rest. His whole body is shaking, and he wants to burst into tears, but his adrenaline seems to be preventing his sorrow from taking over.
Kuroo throws a hand to cover his mouth and nose to quieten his breathing, though he can’t silence the drumbeats of his heart that sits heavily with the guilt of abandoning his friend’s body. What else was he supposed to do though? Who the hell did he just see? Did someone live in the woods? No, that’s insane. What the actual fuck kind of nightmare is he stuck in right now?
His lungs start to cool and his breathing steadies, though with it, his stomach tightens, and he feels the suppressed emotions starting to surface. His eyes starts to water and thick sobs scratch at the back of his throat despite his best efforts to keep silent. The image burns in front of him. The horrific expression plastered on his friend’s face. The blood on the leaves and the underside of the sleeping bag.
Then the realisation hits him. Bokuto’s dead. That fact settles in.
“Fuck!” He whisper-shouts into his hands, his back slipping down the trunk of the tree until he’s sitting in the dirt. He stays there, sobbing into his palms, his face becoming streaked with the lines of tears on his cheeks. His friend’s corpse is sitting by the campfire in the dirt. The end of his friend’s life.
Kuroo forces himself onto shaky feet and resumes his escape from the woods, however when he steps away from his hiding spot a glint in the moonlight catches his eye before metal drives itself into his stomach. Kuroo lets out a blood-curdling scream, filling the empty woods with his horrified voice. He can see the faint outline of the axe’s blade and the handle that leads to the faint outline of the stranger. The killer, Kuroo corrects.
His voice croaks when his eyes meet the killer’s. The attacker takes the axe out of Kuroo’s stomach and the boy collapses to the ground, hands pressing painfully against his wound. He whimpers and sniffles and looks up at the indifferent figure looming ominously over him. “Pl…please help me-“ Kuroo starts, only to be cut off by the attacker grabbing Kuroo by his shirt collar and hauling him to his feet.
Kuroo, too weak to fight back, tries to plead with the attacker only to have his words fail to garner any reaction. The stranger uses all their strength to lift Kuroo off the ground and begins to run forwards. Kuroo tries to scream and squirm out of their clutches, but his body fails to manage anything damaging before he feel something enter his back and push through to the front of his chest.
To stunned to vocalise anything, Kuroo’s downcast gaze is met with a tree branch that had been protruding from the tree he was hiding behind that is now sticking out of his chest. Kuroo face, filled with shock, looked straight ahead at the face in front of his, hidden behind the darkness of the woods, the moon not enough to even give him closure on who would do this. Possibly even why.
He wants to reach out, but his arm won’t move. He wants to speak, but his voice is too weak. He wants one flash of light to reveal all the answers. Have any of it make sense, but his eyelids are growing heavier and heavier. As his eyes fall, his mind wanders. It wanders to Bokuto, alone somewhere in the woods. It wanders to their families back home who are expecting them back in a few days.
And then it wanders to the attacker and who it could be. And just like that, Kuroo stops thinking, failing to find an answer.
________
“Tadashi~!!” The boy’s mother calls from downstairs, “Remember you need to have breakfast~!!”
Yamaguchi Tadashi rolls onto the opposite of his bed with a protesting groan. The sunlight gently slips between his curtains and lights up his bedroom enough for his eyes to adjust to the light before he sits up with a stretch and rubs the sleep from his eyes. He swings his legs out from underneath his covers and his door swings open, his mother gleefully skipping in. Though the joy turns sour when she sees the state of her son.
“Tadashi, you were meant to be up already. Yuuji-chan will be here soon, and you haven’t even showered!” She reprimands him.
Yamaguchi blinks through his sleepiness and pats at his bedhead then looks down at his clock. His eyes blow wide open when he sees how little time he has left and bounces up from his bed, now fully alert. “Why didn’t you check on me sooner?!” He asks his mother.
His mother rolls her eyes and side-steps out of the way as her son darts out his room and towards the bathroom in a panic, “Remember to pack your toothbrush once you’ve brushed your teeth!” She calls out. Yamaguchi yells something back, but his voice is drowned by the running shower water. Mrs Yamaguchi tuts with disapproval and sweeps up the laundry on his bedroom floor whilst he’s in the shower.
Yamaguchi’s shower doesn’t even last five minutes by the time he speeds through washing himself and his hair thoroughly enough for him to be satisfied with his current time restraints. He slips back down the hallway into his room and tries to dry off as quickly as he can. He steals a glance at his clock. Five minutes before Terushima’s due to arrive. Okay, he can salvage this.
He rips his drawers open and pulls out a random pair of underwear and comfortable sweatpants for the long car journey and another random t-shirt and throws them on and races down the stairs, nearly losing his footing on the final few and skids into the kitchen, making his mother jump.
“Tadashi, don’t run like that, it’s dangerous,” She reprimands him, then takes in his appearance, “You’ve done well for getting up less than ten minutes ago.”
“Thank you.” Yamaguchi nods, going for the breakfast on the countertop.
“Though you forgot socks, and those sweatpants are backwards.” She points out, gesturing with a spatula. Yamaguchi feels at the waistband of his sweatpants and finds the string on the back, much to his chagrin. He groans and quickly takes them off to correct his mistake, his mother crying out with, “Oh, in the kitchen, Tadashi?!”
“I’m in a rush, so-!”
“Um,” Yamaguchi halts and he and his mother turn to look at the boy standing in the kitchen’s doorway, completely dumfounded at the scene of Yamaguchi half-bent over and in the middle of pulling up his sweatpants. Terushima Yuuji scratches his cheek awkwardly, “Sorry, um…Yamaguchi said I could just come in. I, uh…I did call out…I’ll just-“
“No! No!” Yamaguchi says quickly, pulling his sweatpants up almost a little too high and a little too quickly for his comfort. He smooths out his t-shirt and smiles sheepishly, “Sorry, I overslept a little so, um…it’s been hectic.”
“Someone seems to have forgotten to set his alarm,” His mother says then shakes her head, “Since he hasn’t eaten yet, would you like to join us for breakfast, Yuuji-chan?”
“Of course, I’d love to,” Terushima accepts immediately. Mrs Yamaguchi gestures for the boys to sit at the table and she begins working on another portion. The two move to sit, and Terushima passes behind Yamaguchi, he leans in and plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, earning a toothy grin from Yamaguchi, “And good morning to you.” He purrs.
Without turning, Mrs Yamaguchi curtly says, “Behave.” Which makes Terushima wince and obediently take his seat at the table. Yamaguchi stifles a laugh and slips into the seat across from him. Soon, Yamaguchi’s mother dishes up breakfast and three enjoy their meal together, Mrs Yamaguchi slyly telling the two boys to stop playing footsie under the table despite not having any way of knowing if they are or aren’t.
They are and stop out of fear of her deadly perception. “So, are you boys excited for camp? I’m sorry Tadashi couldn’t go last year, but I just couldn’t let him go with that kind of a fever.”
Terushima shakes his head, “No, I get it. He’s getting to come this year, plus I have a year of counsellor experience over him, so he can do all the crappy jobs I had to do last year.” He grins, pointing his chopsticks cheekily at Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi sticks his tongue out at him, “Like you have the authority.” He challenges.
“Just keep safe, okay? Don’t stray far from the campsite during your free-time and don’t go into the woods at night-“
“Mom, trust us. There’s tons of other camp councillors with more experience that’ll make sure I don’t do something stupid, and the faculty there as well. We’ll be okay.”
Yamaguchi’s mother purses her lips, “I know. It’s just the first time you’ll be the one looking after campers rather than being one of said campers being looked after. You grow up too fast, Tadashi. It feels like you only started high school and then you’re going to be going to college soon…”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s exhausting.” Terushima says.
“You’re studying beauty and hairdressing.” Yamaguchi deadpans.
“Yeah. Still exhausting.” Terushima deadpans back. Yamaguchi giggles and rolls his eyes. There was worry when Terushima moved out of their neighbourhood to live closer to his college campus, but thankfully the two have found ways of making it work so far- though it’s only the first term that’s now finished -they both have made the effort to visit and message as often as possible.
And when Terushima (after some heavy convincing on Yamaguchi’s part) agreed to be camp councillor again at Camp Hideaway, he was over the moon (Terushima always joked the camp’s name sounded like a sex-vacation hotspot). He had been stubborn about at first, until he eventually messaged Yamaguchi one day finally giving in to the request. Then it was all he could talk about to his mother and his friends in school. A summer he could spend with his boyfriend whilst finally having all the cool responsibilities those camp councillors he admired had? Sign him up!
_____________
“Okay. That’s the car packed up, I’m not sure how the signal will be when we get there so I might need to use the payphone once we arrive, but either way I’ll call you.” Yamaguchi promises.
His mother nods and plants a kiss in his hair then ruffles Terushima’s, “You take care on the drive. Don’t go crazy on the forest roads!” She warns.
“We won’t, promise!” Yamaguchi says, climbing into the passenger side of Terushima’s pick-up truck. Well, it was technically Terushima’s dad’s car, but he got permission to borrow it. Terushima gets behind the wheel and the two are waved off by Yamaguchi’s mother, slowly making her a small speck in the side-mirror.
He finally lets out an exhale and sinks into his seat, Terushima glances to his passenger curiously. Yamaguchi sits up and says, “She’s been helicoptering me the past week to make sure I don’t forget anything. She made me re-pack my stuff five times.”
Terushima snickers, “God, I missed her. I still remember when I first met her, she wouldn’t even let me sit on the same couch as you.”
“Please don’t bring that up. It’s still embarrassing to think about.” Yamaguchi sighs.
“It’s fine though, I’m more happy to see you again. And this summer’s gonna be awesome. Me, you, the other councillors, and dumb underage drinking.” Terushima says like a promise.
“The councillors get drunk?”
“Oh, Tadashi…so much for you to learn.” He chuckles.
_____________
“Hey, Tadashi! We’re almost there!” Terushima says loud enough to wake up the sleeping boy in the seat next to him. Yamaguchi’s eyes struggle to open for a few moments, occasionally getting attacked by the sunlight that manages to pass through the maze of tree branches above the car as they drive through the forest path.
He manages to get his vision to adjust just in time to see the upcoming sign that reads ‘Camp Hideaway’ in bold jaunty letters, as if painted by a five-year-old that’s never held a brush before.
Oh, how he’s missed this place.
A few more minutes of weaving down the bends of the forest road takes them into a small clearing where a few other cars have been parked. Terushima rolls into a space and turns off the engine, “Okay, make sure you don’t forget anything.” He says, jumping out. Yamaguchi follows closely behind and gets out, making sure not to hit the car next to him, then grabs his bags from the back of the pick-up.
“I didn’t know this parking lot existed?”
“Just for councillors. Separate road from where the buses drop campers off.” Terushima explains. He extends a hand and Yamaguchi smiles and interlocks their fingers as they make their way towards the campgrounds together.
He recognises the sights in an instant as they follow the path. The off-path that leads up to the cabin-grounds, the large lake and pier at the bottom of the hill. Further down, they pass the mess hall and an activities field where a few other councillors that have already arrived seem to be busy at work.
Terushima makes a face when one of the councillors spots the pair and signals the others of their presence. The one leading then, a boy with a shaved head that Yamaguchi doesn’t recognise from previous years calls out, “Yo, CK! About damn time!”
“CK?” Yamaguchi repeats curiously.
Terushima shrugs and chuckles nervously as he goes to the boy and bumps shoulders with him as a greeting, “Tanaka, amazed that you of all people would get here on time.”
“He wasn’t. You’re just late, like last year.” Says an older girl with a short brown bob. She has an accusing expression directed at Terushima, with hands placed on her hips, she’s clearly waiting for some kind of excuse.
“Sorry~ Hana-chan, the traffic was just awful,” Terushima sticks his tongue out playfully at her, earning an exhausted eye-roll from ‘Hana-chan’. The boy, Tanaka, turns to Yamaguchi, as do the two girls by his side. Terushima realises his cue and returns to his side, “Uh, this is Yamaguchi. He’s gonna be one of the new councillors this year.”
“Oooh~ So this is the mysterious Yamaguchi you couldn’t shut up about last year?” Tanaka teases, poking a finger into Terushima’s side.
Terushima’s face dusts with embarrassment and he shoves a hand in the boy’s face, “This is Tanaka Ryuunousuke. He was a new councillor last year, same as me.” Which explains why Yamaguchi doesn’t recognise him.
Terushima then turns to the two girls present, “And you’ve probably seen them in the past. These two are Misaki Hana and Suzumeda Kaori.”
Yamaguchi’s eyes widen when he recognises a name, “Oh, Suzumeda-san! You were my councillor two years back.” She had much shorter hair back then he remembers, the now tightly pulled back ponytail threw him off, but it’s definitely the same girl.
Suzumeda thankfully also appears to recognise Yamaguchi, “Oh yeah! Aw, you guys were my first ever cabin. Be honest, is Teru-kun treating you right? If he isn’t then you can leave it to Hana-chan to smack into next week.”
“What the hell’s with this reception?!” Terushima complains.
“Your reputation precedes you.” Misaki says lamely. Her gaze only turns sharp whenever she looks at Terushima, her face softens instantly when she turns her attention to Yamaguchi, “Obviously we trust Terushima-kun enough, but if he ever gets too clingy don’t feel like you can’t hang out with the rest of us. Like Tanaka-kun said; it would be nice to get to know the person that managed to tame this guy.” She elbows Terushima in the side, eliciting a yelp from him.
Yamaguchi smiles, barely containing his giggles watching the sibling-like bickering between Misaki and Terushima. Suzumeda sidles up to Yamaguchi’s side and whispers in his ear, “If you wanna sneak away and explore yourself then now’s your only chance. I’ll give you a tour.” She winks. Yamaguchi glances at the trio of a spectating Tanaka, laughing loudly as Misaki starts pinching and pulling at Terushima’s face.
He looks at Suzumeda, “Yeah. Sounds fun.”
_________
As Suzumeda babbles away while she leads Yamaguchi around the familiar campsite, Yamaguchi takes in how much the camp seems to have been updated in the time he has been away. The buildings lodges look redone, the old dingy councillor cabin that was used for the staff meetings has been torn down and is now a much newer, warmer appearing location with a large glass window on one side that looks out onto the lake.
The pier of the lake also looks like it’s been torn away and rebuilt with fresher wood. No longer were they rotted holes or broken boards that Yamaguchi could have leapt over with his eyes closed. It was for the best, but still a little bittersweet. He asks Suzumeda about all the new repairs, “It’s because of the new management.”
“New management? You mean Mr Ukai isn’t the camp director anymore?” Yamaguchi deflates. Ukai was in his grey years, but he was far from any kind of bad state. The idea that he would retire was both shocking and saddening.
Suzumeda makes an unsure face, “In a sense. It’s his grandson that’s taken over. Apparently, he’s been trying to convince Mr Ukai to retire for years. It’s just that…well, the new Mr Ukai doesn’t always act like he loves being camp director.”
“Oh, I see…is Mr Takeda still the camp doctor at least?”
“Duh, they’re not getting rid of him unless he kicks the bucket.” The two share a laugh.
“That’s not a cute thing to joke about, Kaori-chan.” The voice at suddenly addresses the two makes Suzumeda jump. She and Yamaguchi spin around and find themselves confronted with a girl with reddish-brown hair, a cheeky grin on her face. She’s flanked by two boys, the shorter of the two seems to have a permanent glare on his face, whilst the other seems to carry a carefree air as he smiles politely down at Yamaguchi.
“It was just a little quip, Yukippe…” Suzumeda defends.
‘Yukippe’ hums and glances back at the taller of the two boys, “What do you think, Oikawa-kun?”
Oikawa mimics Yukippe’s hum, “I think Kaori-chan’s quite silly talking about the potential death of our beloved doctor. Maybe we should report it to our reliable director- Ow!” Oikawa squeals when the shorter boys knocks him on the back of the head with the base of his palm. His demeanour quickly shifts, his expression turns into a pout, and he glowers down at the other boy, “Iwa-chan! That was painful, you know! You’re setting a bad impression.”
“I’m the one setting a bad first impression? You two are the ones teasing Suzumeda in front of the new councillor.” Iwa-chan looks at Suzumeda and with a completely serious face says, “Break up with her and I’ll break up with him.”
“What-“
Suzumeda shrugs nonchalantly, “Works for me.”
“Kaori-chan-“
The four seem to continue their four-way squabble for a bit before clocking on that they’ve almost entirely forgotten about Yamaguchi who has been saying nothing the whole time. Yukippe looks sheepish and holds her hand out, “We were joking around. Sorry about that. I’m Shirofuku Yukie.”
The shorter boy behind her speak, “Name’s Iwaizumi Hajime. This one’s Oikawa. Though you can choose to ignore him if you want.”
“The rest of us tend to.” Suzumeda adds.
“Hey!” Oikawa squawks.
“I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. It’s nice to meet you.” Yamaguchi bows awkwardly. When he sees the caught-off expression, he feels himself heat up. Was that too formal? Oh god, he hates how many introductions he’s having to make.
Oikawa’s mouth shapes into an ‘O’ “So, you’re the infamous Tadashi-chan! Yuuji-chan wouldn’t shut up about how great you were – well, are - for the entirety of camp last year. Everything was all ‘Yamaguchi-this’ and ‘Yamaguchi-that’.”
Iwaizumi groans, “Don’t remind me. He wouldn’t talk about anything else.”
“Guys.” Suzumeda gives them a look and nods to Yamaguchi, “Do we need sensitivity training…again?” Iwaizumi and Oikawa both turn their gazes away from Suzumeda’s pointed stare. She sighs and rubs her forehead, “Yamaguchi-kun, why don’t you head on up to the cabin area? Your assigned cabin should have your name on the front, just under the cabin number.”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Yamaguchi mumbles. He says his goodbyes to Shirofuku, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa before scurrying away. The four all happily wave him off until he’s out of an earshot. Then their stares grow pensive, lasering the back of Yamaguchi’s head.
“…why did Terushima bring him?” Shirofuku asks.
“I don’t know. But I’m finding out.” Suzumeda says.
_____
A Jeep pulls up in the councillor car park, slotting itself in between Terushima’s car and the camp director’s car, nearly scraping the former. The passenger jumps of out of the vehicle after carefully cracking the door open. He takes in a deep breath and lets out an excited sigh, “Man, it’s bringing back so many memories already! What about you?” The grey-haired boy asks.
The driver door opens up and out steps the older sister of the boy, her sunglasses rest perfectly upon the top of her silver-blonde hair and she takes in the sight of the surrounding area. Familiar enough to bring on nostalgia but different enough that made her excited to be back. “I’m more excited to see everybody again. It’ll be so many people’s final years as a councillor.”
“But it’s more important that it’s my first year, right?” The boy asks.
“Of course! You’re going to be amazing.” She says.
In the distance, the sister sees Misaki Hana running up the dirt path towards the pair, her arms waving wildly to capture their attention. “Alisa-chan~!” She calls out. Alisa giddily starts running towards Misaki and the two meet in the middle with a hug and a laugh.
“Oh my gosh, it’s been too long- oh my god look how tall you got.” Misaki says.
Alisa giggles, “I grew another few centimetres, I know. Look at you! You cut your hair; it looks so pretty!” She compliments, her fingers filtering through Misaki’s short bob.
Misaki’s eyes widen momentarily and her hand plays with the same patch of hair Alisa touched, “Yeah, I wanted to try something a little different for me. I was worried it would look weird, but I’m pretty happy how it turned out.” She giggles and the two stare at each other for a few awkward moments.
The brother, who has been silently waiting behind Alisa clears his throat. Alisa jumps, remembering his existence, “Oh, of course! Misaki-chan, this is my brother Lev. Lev, this is Misaki Hana. She’s my friend that I told you about.”
“Nice to meet you, Misaki-san!” Lev greets cheerfully.
Misaki exhales on a drawn out ‘ahhhh’ “Lev-san, yes I remember. Are you excited to be a councillor?”
“Absolutely! Alisa has sung this place’s praises every year.”
Alisa sighs, “I’m sorry I couldn’t work this year. I have a dissertation I need to start planning for before university starts back otherwise I absolutely would’ve came back-“
“No, no. Don’t even worry about it! We appreciate that Lev-san volunteered in your place. Why don’t you stay for a bit though and say hello to the others? Lev-san can head over to the cabins and settle in for now; get to know the layout of the campsite.” Misaki suggests.
Alisa looks between Misaki and Lev, unsure of what to do. Lev nudges her shoulder, “Why not? You’re not gonna see me for a month so you might as well take the chance to say hello to everyone.” When Alisa still seems hesitant, Lev begins to push her towards the campgrounds, “Come on! I need to go and get stuff set up or whatever it is camp councillors do!”
As Lev and Alisa bicker ahead of her, Misaki stares on at the pair of them, her jaw tight and her expression tense.
_____
The wooden frame of the bed groaned under the weight of Yamaguchi’s bags. Despite all the refurbishment done on the campsite, it seems like some of the beds were still awaiting replacements. And of course it’s his cabin that got those beds. Must be some kind of a joke among the older councillors.
Still, he can’t argue when being in these cabins brings back so much nostalgia. The memories of himself and Terushima mucking about for the full summer. Sneaking out at night after Terushima convinced him it would be funny to prank the other cabins. Sharing a first kiss on the docks…
Yeah, he’d never complain about getting the chance to come back to this place.
Yaamaguchi starts to load up the draws with his clothes when the door to the cabin swings open at a speed fast enough to make a slamming noise against the back wall. Yamaguchi near jumps out of his skin and whips his head to the front door to see an older man with bright blond hair that’s scraped back and held in place with a headband.
He drops a cigarette onto the floor and stamps it out. “You’re Yamaguchi Tadashi?”
Immediately, Yamaguchi stands at attention, “Y, Yessir!” He salutes, though he’s not entirely sure why he does that. It seems to amuse the man before him. Yamaguchi awkwardly brings his hand back down to his side and shuffles his feet.
The man smirks and sticks out his hand, “I’m the new camp director – Ukai. Just call me ‘Ukai-san’. Don’t wanna any weird titles, got it?”
Oh, shit. Technically his boss for the month.
Yamaguchi throws his (definitely not sweaty) hand and shakes Ukai’s. “Yes! Of course, Mr. Ukai-san!” He says in a panic. Again, it seems to amuse Ukai. He lets out a chuckle that makes Yamaguchi’s face heat with embarrassment.
“Just thought I’d come and see one of my new councillors.”
“Oh, I’m not the only new one?” Yamaguchi seems surprised. As far as he knew (according to Terushima – not the most reliable source), he was supposed to be the only new councillor.
Ukai scratches the back of his head, “We had a couple councillors…pull out at the last minute. So, we’ve had to scrounge up three others than yourself. Be sure to get along with them. One of them has already arrived, so be sure to introduce yourself to him. Actually-“ Ukai sticks his head out of the cabin and shouts out to someone, “Hey! Kiddo, get your ass over here!”
Yamaguchi frowns at the lack of hesitance to be yelling obscenities to the staff here but nothing prepares him for who walks into his cabin. A tall slender boy with short blond hair and thin rimmed glasses – and that piercing glare that he’d recognise a mile off.
“Good. This is-“
“Tsukishima-san.” Yamaguchi bows, his fists balled up at his sides, fingernails digging into his skin. “I didn’t realise you’d be here as well.”
“You know each other. Good, that makes things easier.” Ukai says, unaware of how tense the air has become. “I’ll leave you to it. Gotta see if those other two have made it yet.” And with that, Ukai exits, leaving Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi in a stand-off.
“I thought you hated this camp.” Yamaguchi remarks.
“I heard through the grapevine you were going to be working the summer. Decided it was worth the chance to talk to you again after so long.” Tsukishima replies matter-of-factly. Then the air gets tense again until Tsukishima says, “Yamaguchi, I-“
“I have a lot to do right now, so if you could leave me to it, that would be great.” Yamaguchi says, turning his back to the boy and resumes to putting his stuff away.
Tsukishima’s brows furrows, “Would you at least give me a second to talk about-“
“Terushima will be here soon.” Yamaguchi suddenly says and Tsukishima goes quiet. Yamaguchi takes a breath to compose himself, “So, if you could leave that would be great.” Tsukishima lingers, just to see if Yamaguchi may change his mind and give him a second. When that offer doesn’t come, Tsukishima leaves.
Yamaguchi crumples to the floor, his hands over his face. Anything but this. Not Tsukishima. He could die right now, and it would be a mercy.
What a long summer he’s in for.
_________
The shed door locks behind Misaki before she turns to Tanaka and Terushima. “Alright. Alisa-chan’s busy talking to the others. What’s this about?” She asks. Tanaka has an unusually solemn expression on his face, but Terushima seems just as confused as she does. “Tanaka-kun?”
Tanaka chews the inside of his cheek and looks between Misaki and Terushima before pulling out his phone from his pocket. Misaki grabs his wrist, “What the hell! We’re supposed to give our phones over to Takeda-kun!” Tanaka grunts and snatches his wrist free.
“I gave them a shitty old phone that I still had lying around. Look, this is important!” Tanaka brings up a news article and hands it to Terushima. Misaki looks over Terushima’s shoulder as they read the article.
”Missing Teens Found Dead in Deep Forest”
After being reported missing two weeks prior due to not returning from their forest excursions the search teams finally managed to find the Tokyo teens, Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou-
“What the fuck?” Terushima whispers. Misaki remains quiet. Terushima’s eyes switch over to Tanaka, “What the fuck?! What the hell is this?!”
Tanaka takes his phone back before Misaki can finish reading the rest of the article, “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
Misaki steps back, her face like stone. Bokuto and Kuroo – her two friends at camp last year. Dead. She quietly puts two and two together and starts to chew on her nail. “The letters, I’m guessing.”
Terushima and Tanaka aren’t surprised at her words. Terushima lips thin. Tanaka’s scowl deepens. Misaki pulls the envelope from her pocket and unfolds the paper and presents it to the boys. “Does it say the same as yours?”
I know what you all conspired to do.
If you do not come to camp this year, I will expose you all for what you did.
-The Woodsman
Tanaka nods. “Yeah. Pretty much what mine said as well.”
“You don’t think someone squealed, do you…?” Terushima murmurs his question. Tanaka clicks his tongue.
“Don’t be stupid! Who would?!”
“I’m worried,” Misaki says, “First these letters and now Kuroo-kun and Bokuto-kun are dead?”
‘Is it related?’ she wants to ask but doesn’t. The boys seems to be wondering the same thing. Tanaka shakes his head, “Everybody else got that letter too, it seems…but, like…we have a bunch of new councillors here. And we have Director Ukai. I sure as hell ain’t gonna let some jackass scare me!”
“Then why come back?” Terushima asks. Tanaka chokes on hearing the question.
“Well…I mean…I’m not scared of the same thing happening to us. We did as we were told – maybe Kuroo-kun and Bokuto-kun didn’t. Maybe that’s why they’re…”
“Fuck.” Terushima says with a click of his tongue. There’s a heavy silence in the shed before Misaki speaks again.
“We should put this aside right now. There are people that aren’t involved in this and they’re gonna get suspicious if we don’t reappear soon for New Moon Campfire.” Misaki says. Terushima and Tanaka agree and they all exit the shed, more pensive than before.
__________
The dusk begins to fade and night starts to settle in. The campfire roars and the eleven councillors (plus Alisa) all sit around on logs. Iwaizumi sits with his guitar by his side. Tsukishima has taken a seat on the opposite side of the fire from Yamaguchi and Terushima – the latter staring at Tsukishima with intense venom.
Other than the councillors, one final figure joins the group – a bespeckled man with wiry black hair and a nervous demeanour. Takeda Ittetsu. The camp doctor that’s worked at Camp Hideaway for longer than any of the councillors can remember. He smiles and introduces himself to the new members before continuing on, “It’s nice for you all to join us for the summer! I’m sure it’ll be a great time. We open up camp in a week’s time, but first we’re here to carry on our yearly tradition of the New Moon Campfire!”
From Yamaguchi’s understanding it seems like New Moon Campfire is like an icebreaker event for all the councillors to get to know each other or introduce themselves for the first time. Takeda explains for a bit more that they should always remember to be kind as they’ll all be working closely with each other for the next month or so and it’s best to get along.
“With all that said, Ukai-san and I have agreed it’s best that the senior councillors lead this activity. So, if you need me I’ll be with Ukai-san in the staff cabin! Tonight, there’s no curfew! Just make sure to put out the fire before heading to your cabins.” And with that, Takeda bids everyone a goodnight before leaving.
Everyone takes their time introducing or reintroducing themselves to the group. Yamaguchi sits and listens patiently, taking note of Lev – one of the two people he doesn’t know. Then it lands on the second person Yamaguchi hasn’t ever seen before. A rather apathetic looking boy with light spiky hair. He seems to take a moment to realise it’s his turn to introduce himself. “Kuguri Naoyasu.”
Everyone stares at him, expecting a little more. “So, um…Kuguri-kun? What made you wanna come to the camp to work as a councillor? Do you, uh…like working with kids?” Suzumeda asks.
Kuguri shrugs, “Not really. I just got recommended this place by a friend of mine. Said I was looking for a summer job.”
“Oh.” Suzumeda sinks into her seat, so Shirofuku chimes in.
“I’m sure you’ll have a good time. We seniors will make sure to look after you so don’t be afraid to ask anything you want! Nothing’s off the table!” She says.
“I mean there’s definitely things that are off the table.” Iwaizumi says.
Kuguri just nods and stares at the flicking fire in front of him. Shirofuku and Suzumeda exchange a look and leave him to his own business. Probably shy, they both decide. After a little bit more time is spent on introductions and idle chatter, Oikawa stands up with a flashlight illuminating his face. “Now, for the first stage of New Moon Campfire’s ceremony! It’s time to tell the tale of Camp Hideaway’s urban legends!”
Iwaizumi grabs Oikawa and pulls him back onto the log, earning a squawk from Oikawa about how Iwaizumi nearly pulled down his shorts. Yamaguchi leans into Terushima and whispers, “There’s stages of this?”
Terushima grins, “Don’t worry. It’s like an…initiation for the new councillors. I went through it last year.” Yamaguchi seems worried for a moment but Terushima grins and nudges him teasingly, “What’s wrong? Scared of a few ghost stories?”
Yamaguchi seems to rise to the challenge and nudges Terushima back, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You get scared at movies more often than I do.” Terushima looks ready to push back but catches the intense glare the two are getting from Tsukishima from across the campfire.
Terushima huffs, “You’ll be fine. But that asshole’s undies might become this year’s new flag if he keeps looking at me like that.”
“Just ignore him.” Yamaguchi says.
“Okay!” Oikawa claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention, “As the self-appointed narrator of the stories, I’ll open it up to the floor! Which story shall we start with this year?”
Almost immediately, Lev’s hand shoots up. Oikawa’s eyes widen with pleased surprise, and he gestures for Lev to speak. “I wanna hear the full story of The Woodsman!”
The councillors tense at the request. Alisa frowns, “No, Lev. You’ll definitely get nightmares from The Woodsman.”
“What’s ‘The Woodsman’?” Yamaguchi asks.
Terushima stammers his answers, “Just…an urban legend that we tell at the New Moon Campfire ceremony. But…to be honest, the story’s kinda shitty. Right?” He looks to Misaki who agrees with him.
“If it’s shitty, I don’t see the issue.” Tsukishima says. “After all, might be better for those who are faint of heart.”
“Exactly! Not everything is that scary, Alisa.” Lev argues.
Even Kuguri speaks up, “I love a bad scary story.”
Oikawa fidgets with the flashlight a bit, looking at Iwaizumi for guidance. Iwaizumi’s face doesn’t shift but Oikawa’s learned how to read the look in his eyes. If all the newbies are asking for the story, it’ll look weird to turn it down. Oikawa sighs, “Alright. Then…I’ll tell you the legend of Camp Hideaway’s demon – The Woodsman.”