Kuroo takes a deep breath as he looks around his new room. Just like Caitlyn told him, his room has a desk, a one-person bed, and a closet. He finishes unpacking, and by now the sun has already set. He sits in silence for a few seconds, allowing himself to take in this new atmosphere.
A building twice, maybe even thrice, the size of his home. This is the first time since his brother's death that Kuroo isn't living with Payne, which is also the first time he met him.
Kuroo's eyes dim as he reminisces about his home village, but only for a moment. He takes a deep breath and smiles, excited to meet his new team.
He walks down to the first floor, stretching his neck and shoulders. He stops on the fourth to last step, too anxious to introduce himself.
"Kuroo, are you finished unpacking ?" A familiar voice calls out to him as he attempts to retreat to his room. He takes a deep breath and takes the last four steps, finally joining them with a smile.
"Sorry it took so long. My name is Kuroo Payne, and I look forward to working with you all." He looks around the living room at his new team.
"Finally, there's another guy on the team. You don't know how long I've wanted this. I'm Liam Krol." He says, punching Kuroo's arm lightly. "Ms.Caitlyn said you were buff, but,man, this is extraordinary," Liam says in awe.
"You're too close, Liam. Give him some space," a girl says in a calm voice, soothing Kuroo's nervousness. Her voice and hair makes Kuroo's focus on her. Short black hair with hints of light purple in it. And at the tip of her hair was dark purple.
"This here is Janet Brjul, she's the team's healer. Liam's role is support. He focuses on backing up the frontliners at a safe distance. These two will make sure to lessen the load for you and Evelyn. And finally, this is Evelyn Lyn, our team's only fighter. Up until you joined, that is."
"Pleasure working with you," Evelyn smiles. She's the tallest out of all of them, still short in Kuroo's eyes.
"Thanks to you and Liam for racking up the hours, we qualify in every aspect to do missions of grade level A," Janet praises.
Evelyn becomes flustered, words unable to come out. Kuroo's head is in a different place, their laughter in the background. Is it just me, or is that the most beautiful voice ever?
"I'll go tomorrow to get a quest. Get some sleep," Janet adds.
"Hmm, okay. I'll go get one as well. I want to be with Evelyn, if that's okay," Liam says, walking up the stairs.
"No, that's not happening. This'll be your first A grade mission, so we'll do it together. Once I know you're ready, you can divide however you like. Depending on the mission, of course," Caitlyn argues. "Is everyone okay with that?" Everyone nods in agreement.
Kuroo lays on his new bed, staring at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. He locks his fingers together, resting his hands on his chest as he drifts away in thought. He's anxious about what's to come, yet excited to begin a new story, one he has been preparing for for more than a decade. He tosses and turns for a while until he finally doses off.
Kuroo wakes up, but has no idea what to do. It's 5 am, but he doesn't need to wake up early to fish. Mrs. Miller doesn't nag him every time he goes into the village, though he did enjoy her company. And the kids who ran around playing and causing trouble. I'll go back and live my days there, Kuroo thought to himself about what he'd do after he accomplishes his goal.
He showers and changes to a dark blue yukata to pass the time, but it's still early. Everyone is still asleep, so he decides to watch the sunrise when he hears a voice. "You're up early," he turns around to a gentle voice.
She sits on the steps next to him, watching a peach-colored sunrise in the sky.
"Ye-yeah. We live in the woods and the nearest village is a few miles away. We had a lot to do, so I'm used to waking up at this time," he looks at the sky, avoiding Janet.
"Hmm. Well if you don't have anything to do, why don't you join me? I'll show you around campus," Janet suggests.
"I'd love that. Thanks." As they walk to the missions' office, Janet points out different departments as they pass by them.
First is the training grounds, a huge building that has all types of equipment and arenas for special training. A few buildings down is a combat training building, specialized in teaching students basic fighting skills.
There are libraries, cafeterias, and many other job specific establishments. Each team has a different level of access, the higher the team is the better quality they get for every establishment. A team's rank is determined by the overall performance of the team, based on missions and their level.
The best looking building is by far the missions' building. Crowded with different types of people, more than other parts of the Academy. It's a huge castle-like building that brings a chill to Kuroo.
At the front desk, Janet looks at all the missions posted on the wall. The building goes silent, and they turn around to see what's happening.
A group of five enter the building, laughing and talking with one another. The whole place quiets down, avoiding eye contact as the group walks towards the front desk. "Just ignore them and they'll go away on their own," Janet whispers, turning around.
"Don't be like that, Jenny. I just wanna talk," the guy in the middle says, walking up to them. He's wearing a fancy outfit, with golden outlines on his coat and button-up.
"You know this guy?" Kuroo whispers, pointing at him with his thumb.
The man's face tenses and he moves closer. "Haaah? Who is this freak? What are you, a short giant or something?" He mocks, so close that Kuroo can feel him breathing down his face.
"He's not your boyfriend by any chance, now, is he?" He turns to Janet with a deeper voice. The tension is high, yet Janet is unfazed. She turns around, their eyes meet yet she shows no hint of fear.
"No, he's not. He's our new team member, and you'll leave him alone. I hate repeating myself," her tone changes, brows pointing down.
"Woah, who do you think you're talking to," a girl from their group walks up, putting her hand on Janet's shoulder and squeezing it. "It seems you forgot who we are, so let me remind you," she strengthens her grip. Janet opens her palm, and Kuroo starts to hear a sound. Energy, flowing through her bloodstream, breathing in the same rhythm as Caitlyn's.
In that same moment, he hears five more streams, all rushing in their own rhythm. Their faces tense up, a fight is starting. "We'll take this one," he grabs a paper from the receptionist's desk. "We got what we came here for, let's just go," he pushes the girl's hand off of Janet.
Janet stares at him for a few seconds, then walking away with a slight smirk. "Where do you think you're going?" The girl yells, her voice cracking in fury.
"I don't know who you guys are, but we're on the same team. If you can't understand that and keep messing with my team, I'll make you stop." They stand there in shock, while the guy in the middle laughs hysterically.
"The name's Ghuis, see you around."
That could've been bad. I don't know what Janet's Kayshin is, but I don't think she would've been able to fight all five of them.
"Guess what," Janet enters the room with the rest of the team. Liam and Evelyn are on the ground, with a ball of firing levitating above Liam's palm. They turn around, the fire still there as he asks, "what happened? Did yall get a mission?"
Kuroo nods his head, rushing to Liam and placing the paper on the table. "Woah. You have a fire Kayshin? How does it work?" Kuroo watches in amazement.
Caitlyn, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, takes the paper. "Holten. That's far."
"Indeed, so can we have Rick take us,"
"I'll see what I can do," she looks at Janet. "Was there something you wanted to tell us?"
"Oh, yeah. We ran into team two," she says, Liam and Evelyn's face tense and Caitlyn clicks her teeth. "Kuroo told them off. I was impressed, to say the least," she continues. "You two take notes."
A phone rings and Caitlyn reaches in her pocket."Caitlyn," she answers. "I'll be right there," she hangs up. "I have to go to an important meeting in another base. We're getting very close to a Keinma, so I won't be here for a few days. Could you guys wait until I come back."
They look at each other in disappointment. Kuroo agrees immediately, while Evelyn and Liam complain. "It'll be fine. Four is more than enough for this rescue mission" Janet says, bringing a bright smile to their faces.
Caitlyn looks at Janet, eyes full of argument. Yet despite that, her mouth stays shut, unable to speak. "I entrust them to you," she leaves in a hurry.
The next day the students are waiting for Rick in the mission's office. "Are you sure he'll be here," Evelyn sighs.
"If Ms.Caitlyn said he'll be here, he will. Just be patient," Liam comforts, their eyes meeting. They hold eye contact for a few seconds before Evelyn breaks it, turning around.
"What's up with them? Are they together?" Kuroo whispers, covering his mouth.
"No, but they do like each other," Janet answers. "Alright, let's review the plan to make sure we all know what to do," they gather.
"The base we're infiltrating is in Holten, a city ruled by a Keinma, so we have to be quick and sneaky. We'll go in an hour, when their security is weakest. Our target is Mia, a shapeshifter the Academy has had their eyes on for quite a while. She disappeared three years ago, and we finally found her thanks to our scouts team."
"Shapeshifter? Didn't they all get hunted years ago?" Evelyn interrupts. "Sorry, Dark was asking.
"I remember that. I was inspired by the Academy's response, which is why I joined in the first place." A shadow of sorrow crosses Janet's face, gone as quickly as it came.
"Indeed, it's said she's the only survivor, which is all the more reason we cannot fail."
*** *** *** ***
Rick arrives, taking the team to the roof of the building. Kuroo stares at the city in awe. "
"Hey, focus," Janet breaks him out of it. They look down at the two guards, standing in front of the back entrance. More guards are patrolling back and forth the side of the building. Evelyn keeps her eyes on the back entrance while Janet and Liam watch the left and right side.
Evelyn waits for a signal, and a minute passes before they give her a thumbs up. She jumps down, her hands turn black and fingers become sharper, claw-like. She lands in between the two guards, her hands push the guards to the floor, knocking them out.
They follow her, jumping off the four story building. Quickly, they sneak into the building as she holds the door, where they wait for Kuroo to guide them.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, and everyone goes silent. Footsteps outside the building, and people chattering inside. The sound of saliva being swallowed, people laughing, a lamp buzzing.
Then he hears it, whispering in the floor below. Footsteps approaching the distraughtful, quiet cries. "I found her," he starts running.
The others follow, surprised at his sudden sprint. "Hey, slow down. We're trying to be discreet, remember?" Liam complains.
"Where is she?" Kuroo points down as he continues to run. "Down? But this is the first floor," Evelyn continues. They run until Kuroo abruptly stops.
"Hey, can you-" Janet attempts before he stops her, one hand covering her mouth and the other shushing her. He lets go and looks around the corner, pointing at the two more guards standing by a door.
Like the other guards surrounding the building, they are armed with machine guns and on high alert. "Are you sure she's behind that door?," Evelyn asks.
"That's definitely the way," he answers confidently. She nods her head, walking around the corner and limping towards the guard.
"Who are you?" The guards shout, standing up and gripping their weapons. "Show us your ID. Otherwise, we will shoot." In the blink of an eye, Evelyn vanishes and appears right behind them, her hands and feet turn black and sharp like earlier.
Before they can fully turn around, she grabs their hands and smacks them onto each other, knocking them out instantly. "Let's go," she looks at Kuroo.
They slowly open the door while simultaneously regretting it as it creaks loudly. Kuroo turns the light on, revealing nothing but cabinets. Other than the endless amount of folders, the room looks normal.
"Are you sure this is the right place? Maybe you were imagining it," Liam flips through a folder curiously.
"No, I definitely heard cries from this direction. It came from below this room."
"I believe him," Janet says. "We walked by many rooms and none of them had guards except for this one. Keep trying to listen, and we'll keep looking.
"Hey, over here," Evelyn whispers, pointing to a trap door under one of the cabinets. Kuroo kneels down to listen better before they try anything. As he places his ear on the trap door, a loud, high-pitched scream flows and Kuroo jumps back.
Ahh. As I was focusing as well, he holds his bleeding ear. "Hey, are you okay?" Janet squats down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's hurry." They rush down, Evelyn, then Liam, then Janet, and lastly Kuroo. At the bottom, they find an open door leading to a room.
Evelyn walks in, signaling the team to wait. "Oh my God," her stance changes, her guard obviously down. They follow her in, the sight painting frowns on their faces.
"I can't," Evelyn turns around, stabilizing herself on the wall and throwing up in the corner.
The room has nothing but a bed with a girl curled up in a blanket. Empty bottles and bags, plastic and glass, lay on the floor. Dried up blood stains in different places on the walls and floor.
"Hey, are you okay? What's going on?" Liam asks the girl. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispers, shivering on the bed. He gets closer, and repeats "Are you okay?" to get her attention.
"Careful," Janet advises, her hands shine as she heals Evelyn.
"Good job, Mia," a man's voice from the top of the staircase.
"Tsk, this couldn't get any worse," Kuroo mutters. Just as he finishes that sentence, green gas seeps from the top of the room where the AC is.
"What is it now?" Evelyn lifts her head up, exhausted from all the vomiting. Liam rushes to the door but it finds it locked. Kuroo's vision weakens, blurry as his consciousness slowly slips away.
*** *** *** ***
Huh? What's going on? Where am I? " Can you break free?" A voice muffled as Kuroo's ears ring. I feel like my head's about to explode. Oh yeah, that's right. We were on a rescue mission, and then… he jumps up, his ears ringing loudly.
"You're finally awake. Take it easy, there's nowhere to go," Evelyn remarks. They're captured in the room they so eagerly rushed to.
"Ahh, my head," he grabs his head in pain. "Can't you break the door or something?" he asks, looking at Evelyn and Liam.
"I tried, but my fire won't come out. Something's preventing my Kayshin from working."
"Me too. It's almost like it was built to keep Kayshuns in here. And she says dark is still unconscious, so there's nothing we can do," Janet adds. Kuroo looks around the room, its condition telling the horrors that happened.
*** *** *** ***
"So, why are you guys in the Academy?" Kuroo breaks the silence, trying to find a way to stay entertained. "Come on, we've been here for a few days now, we might as well get to know each other."
Evelyn sighs and rolls her eyes, then silence follows for a few moments before Liam responds. "My brother," he answers, everyone turning to him. "We were saved by someone from the academy. It inspired us, and we promised to help others together. He joined when he turned eighteen, and I followed three years later," he continues, looking down and speaking slower than normal.
"I'll go next," Janet chuckles awkwardly. "Ms.Caitlyn saved me. I was in trouble and couldn't find a way out, and she helped me. I want to return the favor by helping her as much as possible while she's still around," she smiles.
"This is ridiculous. We need to find a way out, not talk about-" Evelyn complains, her sentence interrupted by sound coming from the door; someone unlocking it. They've been in there for a few days, without anything to eat or drink. Has someone come to their rescue? Is this the end? Thoughts ran through Kuroo's head and everyone tenses up, their eyes locked onto the door.
What seems to be minutes of waiting is a few seconds, and the door finally opens fully, and "Who are you?" Kuroo addresses the elephant in the room.
"Ahh, it's about time," the man walks in the room. In the corner of his eye, Kuroo sees Evelyn balling her fists. "How did you find this place?" he asks. His tone drops, brows down, eyes set onto the team. "How—didyou—find—this—place?" His words come out one by one, slow and heavy, filling the silence with a suffocating dread. The tone strikes fear in the team, their silence is proof. Fearful of the murderous aura around him, and the helplessness of their situation.
He looks again at Evelyn, her fists still balled up, yet shaking. "Your lousy security is how," Janet responds, her bravery and calming voice allows Kuroo to recollect his thoughts.
"This one has a smart mouth on her, don't she?" The man steps closer, squatting down to her level, arms lying on his knees. "I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just let my team go, please."
"I have a better idea," he smiles. I have to do something, or we're all going to die. It's now or never. Kuroo rushes towards the man, using his momentum and element of surprise to land a blow onto the man's face.
"Get out of here! I'll hold him off," he turns to his teammates briefly.
"What? No way, we can't j-"
"Just go! Hurry!" Janet grabs Evelyn and Liam, pulling hard enough to get them out of their fear state. They then book it to the door as Kuroo watches, glad that his team will be safe.
"Tsk, how could I let this happen? You, how dare you mess up our plans!" The man's composure shatters, his voice shakes in a mix of fear and anger. "What now? This doesn't change the fact that you can't use your Kayshin in here, idiot."
"Yeah? Well, I don't really need it," Kuroo smirks. He rolls his shoulders and balls up his fists, close to his face. His breathing changes, deep and slow, the sound of his neck cracking echoing in the room. "Let's do this, shall we?"