Chapter Text
The legend goes that these woods – the woods of Camp Hideaway – were once home to a family. The Hamasaki’s. A family of woodcarvers that were renowned for their craftsmanship. They would be able to make anything you asked of them with perfect details. And the best of them all was the eldest son – Sosuke Hamasaki. A prodigy that studied hard under the supervision of his father.
The family kept the secrets of their woodcarving techniques to themselves and that’s why they would keep themselves isolated from the nearby village. They collected wood from the forests, but they had a policy – always plant new trees to appease forest spirits for what they took from them for their craft. Nobody took this more to heart than Sosuke.
They could’ve stayed happy, but contractors from the city wanted to clear out parts of the forest for new housing. However, Sosuke’s father, Hisashi, refused to sign the contract that would allow them to work in some of the areas near their house. The deforestation companies started to harass the family. Dead animals on their doorsteps, setting fire to their wood that they used for their craft.
Then one day, when they set fire to the stock once more like they usually did, the fire spread too far and the home caught on fire. Hisashi, his wife, and their other son were caught up in the blaze whilst Sosuke escaped. As he watched the house burn something in Sosuke snapped right there. He sat and carved a wooden mask as the ashes flew around him and equipped himself with an axe.
He found the homebase of the deforestation company and he took an axe to them all. A night of full bloodshed. He hacked arms and legs off of bodies, letting these company workers survive for as long as possible before putting them to gruesome end after gruesome end. The police say that first-responders had never seen a crime scene half as gory as what Sosuke left behind him. And they caught a glimpse of him. He stood in the shadows of the trees with his stained wooden mask and an axe covered in crimson blood. It was a warning. Never come to these woods again. And he disappeared - never to be seen again.
Iwaizumi leans back on the log as Oikawa finishes the main bulk of the legend. “It was these exact woods that the story takes place in. Camp Hideaway was built in the one section of the woods that the deforestation company managed to clear out. So, it’s believed that Sosuke Hamasaki watches over us every year to make sure we don’t disrespect the forest. And if we did?” Iwaizumi leans over to Lev and draws a thumb across his neck with a devilish grin.
Lev lets out a ‘meep’ and folds in on himself. Alisa sighs to herself, “I told you that you would hate the story…” She laments.
Lev pouts and straights up, trying to act like the story hasn’t phased him, “As if it’s true though! Something…something like that would be, like…common knowledge!”
“And they called him The Woodsman?” Yamaguchi asks. The name makes Oikawa wince slightly, though the campfire makes it harder to notice.
Suzumeda speaks up next, “That’s right. A protector of all flora and fauna. Mind you, the tale goes that when they finally plucked up the courage to go back into the woods, the house of the Hamasaki’s had disappeared. No trace of the family or the house they once had – no trace of the fire as well. Gives a supernatural spin to the story.” She explains, leaning into Shirofuku’s side. Shirofuku giggles at the idea and lets out a low ‘Ooo~’ to add to Suzumeda’s explanation.
Misaki rolls her eyes at everyone else’s attempts to spook the new councillors. “It’s all so stupid if you think about it for more than, like, five seconds. I mean, there’s no way an incident like that could happen and then there’s no official documentation of it online. Even if police tried to cover it up, it would find a way to come to light eventually.”
“Duh, it is just a legend, after all.” Terushima reminds everyone. “The Woodsman isn’t real. Just a scary story to keep you up at night.” His voice is slightly forced, holding down some other kind of emotion that Yamaguchi can’t seem to put his finger on. He laces his fingers in with Terushima’s and his boyfriend gives him a tired smile.
‘Are you okay?” Yamaguchi mouths, and Terushima just nods with a smile that looks false. Lifeless.
A clap from Oikawa signifies the end of this conversation, “Okayyy~ now that we’ve went over old history, it’s time for part two of the New Moon Ceremony!” He clicks his fingers at Iwaizumi who swats his hand. As Oikawa tries to squawk a complaint, Iwaizumi produces a bowl filled with small little papers inside.
“Alright, all I’m gonna say is that I apologise in advance for the newbies, but as is tradition we have the initiation bowl.” Iwaizumi holds it aloft like a trophy. “You guys get to pick one of the senior councillors that will draw one of the papers and it is their job to complete the prank written on whatever slip of paper they draw.”
“What? We gotta pick our own punishments?!” Lev complains.
“Part of the tradition~” Shirofuku speaks with a drone, “We all went through it – and no you don’t get to know what the prank is beforehand. But you get to know who’s targeting you. That’s your advantage. And there’s a punishment for the councillor if they fail to complete the prank before the end of the week.”
Yamaguchi turns to Terushima, “Did you manage to survive your prank last year?”
Before Terushima can answer, Tanaka lets out a cackle, “Yeah, right! Last year, Iwaizumi-“
Terushima cuts in a with a series of incoherent sounds, “Can we please not?!” He pleads, his face flushing a deep scarlet. The other councillors that were present last year all snicker at whatever it is. Yamaguchi makes a mental note to find out what it is later on.
“Okay then, let’s start with Lev-chan. Who do you wanna pick?” Suzumeda asks. Lev hesitates but eventually answers with Oikawa. Oikawa giggles and dips his hand into the bowl and delicately unravels the piece of paper he takes out. When he sees the words written on it, he flashes it to Iwaizumi and the other boy rolls his eyes at Oikawa taking pleasure in whatever it is he’s been asked to do.
As Lev tries to get a hint for what to look out for, Tsukishima goes next and picks Shirofuku who seems to have an indifferent response to whatever she’s been asked to do, and Kuguri just nods towards Tanaka instead of saying anyone’s name. Tanaka cackles at the sight of his paper and warns Kuguri that he’s not gonna go easy on him, though Kuguri seems unphased.
Then the bowl is finally presented to Yamaguchi. Iwaizumi shakes it towards him, “Who you gonna pick then?” Yamaguchi looks at the councillors left. He wasn’t sure if he could pick the three already chosen. Suzumeda was likely going to help Shirofuku out with her prank – same with Iwaizumi and Oikawa. So it was really between Misaki Hana and Terushima.
“I’ll…pick Terushima then.” He says, unlinking his arm from his boyfriend and giving him a playful smile. Terushima seems caught off guard, and the rest of the circle (minus Tsukishima and Kuguri) all let out teasing ‘ooooh’s.
“You sure? You’re gonna have to be on your toes around me for the week.” Terushima says, getting into the playful spirit of the game.
“I’m sure. Give me your worst.” Yamaguchi responds, tone challenging him. Terushima smirks and draws the paper slip out of the bowl and reads the words on it. Alisa leans over his shoulder and gasps dramatically at whatever is written on it – whether this is a genuine reaction or just a scare tactic, Yamaguchi can’t be sure but when Terushima pockets the slip he just winks at Yamaguchi.
Misaki stands up suddenly, “Well, I think that should be us for the night then!”
Lev cocks an eyebrow, “What, really? I thought there was a trail run as well?” Some of the other councillors pause and stare blankly at Lev, the boy shrinks back as if he said something out of line. “It’s just…something Alisa told me about.”
Misaki puts her hands on her hips and glances at Oikawa who just slightly shakes his head at her, “We kind of scrapped that whole part last year. The forest is super dangerous at night. We don’t…want anyone getting injured or anything, y’know? Everything else is just good fun.” She explains.
Lev seems to accept the answer but surprisingly Kuguri speaks up, “Why not still do it?”
“Really, man. It ain’t worth the danger.” Iwaizumi insists.
“I wanna do it.” Kuguri pushes.
Oikawa whips around, “Well we’re not doing it! Get over it!” He yells and the campfire circle goes quiet. He takes a breath, “Sorry. I was driving Iwa-chan and I for a really long time and I’m getting cranky. We just don’t feel secure enough to act as guides for the forest when it’s this dark. Now…can we all agree to just call it a night?”
Everyone quietly agrees and Oikawa stands up and exits the campfire circle. “Great. I’m gonna go back to my cabin then…” And he leaves briskly as Iwaizumi goes to catch up with him, apologising to everyone as he goes.
One-by-one everybody starts to leave until it’s just down to Yamaguchi, Terushima, Tsukishima, and Misaki. Misaki massages her temple to rid herself of the developing headache. “Sorry about this, guys. Way to sour the mood, right?” She laughs, but it comes out terribly bitter-sounding. “I’m gonna turn in for the night. Don’t worry about the campfire, it’ll burn out by itself…I’ll, um. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She says, walking away with heavy steps.
As Terushima and Yamaguchi get ready to leave, Tsukishima stands and tries to speak, “Yamaguchi-“
“Back up, man.” Terushima steps in between the two. Tsukishima glares down at Terushima, but the shorter boy is clearly not intimidated by Tsukishima’s attempts. “I don’t know what you think you’re gonna get outta following us around, but I’m telling you right now if you don’t leave us alone? I’ll kick your ass.” And he lightly shoves Tsukishima’s chest as a warning.
“Yuuji, let’s just go.” Yamaguchi tugs on his boyfriend’s arm, not even looking at Tsukishima as he drags Terushima away. Tsukishima stands still watching the two leave and, through his frustrations, throws a piece of wood into the campfire, making it flare up.
_____________
“Wanna tell me what that was about?” Iwaizumi throws open Oikawa’s cabin door when he tries to slam it in his face so that he can’t follow him. “Toru.” Silence, aside from the creak of Oikawa’s bed when he slams his rucksack down on the top of it and starts going through his drawers. “Toru.” Iwaizumi goes up and places a hand on Oikawa’s shoulder but his boyfriend shrugs it off.
“Don’t.” Oikawa warns, finger pointed with unnecessary threats. “This whole thing is bullshit, I’m not spending my summer looking over my fucking shoulder because one of those assholes out of there has decided they’re gonna mess with us.”
“Okay, I get that, but you have to think rationally here. You just blew up in front of all the new councillors and Alisa. You keep doing stuff like that then they’re gonna know something’s up. Why are you unpacking your drawers?” Iwaizumi asks.
Between attempts to shove everything down into his backpack, Oikawa answers, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m leaving. I’m not putting up with this.” He zips up his bag and drags his suitcase out from under the bed. “If you wanna stay here while being scared the whole time, be my guest. But I am leaving to enjoy my summer.”
Iwaizumi steps him front of his, arms out and palms splayed like halting a rampaging animal. “Okay, Toru, you need to breathe. I know you’re scared, but-“ Iwaizumi wraps one of Oikawa’s hands inside his own and holds it against his own chest, right over his heart. “-I am right here. And we don’t know what might happen is we go against that paper so we have to be careful with what we do. It’s not just us in danger, it is near-enough everyone.”
Oikawa chews the inside of his cheek, something he only does when he’s really weighing up the pros and cons of a choice. But Iwaizumi also knows that in the end Oikawa never budges on these kinds of tough decisions. “Will you at least wait until everyone goes to bed? I’m sure Director Ukai will come around at some point so until then will you just think about it? Then we can talk about it more.”
After some drawn out silence, Oikawa relents. “Fine. Wait, like, ten minutes after Ukai does his rounds and meet me at the firepit. We’ll talk there.”
That’s just code for ‘we’re leaving, but I’ll pretend to think about’. Iwaizumi wants to get angry, but in this instance? He really just can’t bring himself to do it. He kisses Oikawa’s knuckle and just says, “Deal.” Oikawa smiles at his boyfriend and Iwaizumi continues, cupping Oikawa’s cheek, “It’s all gonna work out. I promise.”
_____________
In the director’s office, Takeda and Ukai sit at their desks on opposite sides of the room, working their way through the necessary paperwork. The office wasn’t anything special despite all the renovations that the camp had undergone. The overhead light was just as old as it’s always been, yet the bulb still shows no sign of dimming. The desks still creak whenever one of them shifts how they’re leaning on them.
And the paperwork was just as endless as always. Ukai pushes back from his desk, takes a long draw of his cigarette and puffs the smoke out the open window next to him. “You think those kids are done for the night yet?”
Takeda cranes his neck to look out the window by his own desk where he can see the campfire pit. “It doesn’t look like anyone is left, but I’m not entirely sure.” Ukai hums at Takeda’s words and presses his cigarette into the ashtray.
He runs a hand through his hair and scratches the back of his head, “I’m gonna make sure it’s lights out over at the cabins. You make sure to turn in soon for the night as well.”
“I’ll work a little longer, have a good sleep, Director Ukai.” Takeda bows to him politely, but Ukai doesn’t offer him a response and leaves the office. Takeda presses his lips into a thin line and turns back to his paperwork. He had the chance to work with the elder Ukai for years prior to the younger Ukai taking over, and adapting to the younger’s style of managing the camp was…not as easy as he expected.
Not because Ukai himself seemed difficult or anything, he was rather relaxed if a bit apathetic towards the whole thing. No, it was because it felt like Takeda has to take on more of the workload because Ukai truly didn’t understand just how much was required of him as the director. But he wasn’t one to complain, and no matter what he still just wanted to make sure that the campers were going to be safe for the duration of their stay.
So, the paperwork would be completed. Easy as that.
A few minutes after Ukai’s departure, Takeda’s momentum was thrown off by the faint whirring of an engine somewhere nearby. He looks up from the paperwork to try and place the familiar mechanical sounds. The wood-chipper? At this time? Maybe Ukai is cleaning up the campfire pit? But the engine runs for a little too long and Takeda doesn’t actually hear the crunch of wood getting thrown inside it. He puts his pen down and gets up from his desk to investigate, snatching a flashlight from nearby the door.
He pushes the door and steps out into the darkness, using his limited sight given by the flashlight to navigate around to the back of the building where the whirring of the wood-chipper is coming from. When the machine comes into sight, Takeda flashes his torch around the area but nobody is around. He dry-swallows his fears and tiptoes over to the machine and flicks its switch, slowing the whirls of its ending until it halts completely.
And it’s silent.
The wind whistles through the trees of the nearby forest edge and it dawns on Takeda just how overwhelming that forests darkness is. The simple presence is enough to make someone’s hair stand on its ends.
His focus breaks when he hears shoes crunching on the grass but when he turns towards the noise he feels the weight of something heavy slam into his stomach before a wet and hot pain spreads completely through his torso. It’s not even seconds later that a rusty taste fills his mouth and he coughs out a liquid he can’t see on account that his torch has fallen from his hand.
The light only illuminates a pair of black converses and up to the knees of his attacker but he doesn’t need a light to know that he’s been attacked with the wood-axe. Takeda tries to cry out for help but he only produces a low moan of pain, wet from the blood in his mouth. The attacker pushes the axe deeper into Takeda’s stomach and pivots their stance, leveraging their weight to start lifting Takeda into the air by the axe.
Takeda’s hands scramble down the axe handle, bloody and sticky as he tries to reach for the attacker but is thwarted when the attacker throws Takeda in a downwards arc, landing the body inside the powered-off woodchipper. Takeda groans and coughs, his back slamming on the blades of the woodchipper.
He hears a hand slam over the power button of the woodchipper and the engine staring to whir up again. Takeda lets out a gargled cry and attempts to crawl out from the woodchipper but despite his hands gripping the edge, his own blood that’s stained the inside of the machine makes his foot slip down towards the mashing blades.
Fighting hard against the slope of the woodchipper’s chamber and his own weaning strength, Takeda does his best to pull himself out to safety. Up. Higher. Keep pushing. He gets one arm over the rim and pulls himself higher. The other arm is over the edge and just as his head reaches the fresh air, his hair is grabbed by the attacked.
Before Takeda can even plead for forgiveness, the figure throws Takeda back down the chute towards the blades. His head lands first and the blade latch on and sink into their prey. Takeda doesn’t even have time to process any pain – its almost instant really. His body is pulled in and churned by the inner mechanisms of the woodchipper before being spit and sprayed out the other end. Blood and viscera stain the wood chips and grass on the ground of the other side until the attacker can see no other traces of Takeda’s body inside the machine when they shine his flashlight down the chute.
Before shutting off the machine, they take pieces of timber from a nearby stack and start chucking them into the woodchipper, decorating the area around the exit of the machine with more chips and shavings until it becomes much more difficult to see any of the blood on the ground. Then, when satisfied, they shut off the machine and slink into the night.
________________
There’s a thump as the suitcase falls off Oikawa’s bed. He groans and just kicks it back to its spot underneath for the time being. No point in trying to leave before Ukai makes his appearance for the night.
Oikawa’s made up his mind – he’s definitely leaving tonight. He’s not spending his summer getting pushed around like this, he won’t live a life dictated by someone else. Even if that means that he might have to leave Iwaizumi here in order to do that. He wants to believe that Iwaizumi would stick with him. That he would see things from his perspective.
But Iwaizumi was his own person too, with his own ideas of what was best and yes that did mean that they would clash in their beliefs of what was the right course of action. But surely he would understand more than ever how important it was to stick together and get out of here as soon as they could?
Just as Oikawa is about to climb into bed to feign sleep against Ukai, he nears paper slip under his door. He looks down at the folded piece – unremarkable, on lined white paper. But its existence is charged and it puts Oikawa’s body on edge. In an act of defiance, he throws his front door open and steps out onto the porch of his cabin and scans the area.
It’s dark – the semi-circle of the eleven cabins only illuminated by the one streetlamp that was installed years ago and always seems to be in danger of going out completely. There’s nobody. Not even the sounds of footsteps retreating or signs anybody had been near his door at all.
As if it were the works of a ghost.
Oikawa rolls his shoulders back and retreats inside his cabin, making sure the door is locked properly before doing the same with the windows. Then, and only then, does he finally entertain the slip of paper folded neatly on the floor. He unfolds it, his fingers moving gingerly and reads the single sentence left for him in scrawled writing.
Do the trail walk unless you wish to see something bad happen to Iwaizumi
-The Woodsman