Chapter Text
He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and sitting up groggily. Where was he? What happened...? Tsukishima Kei couldn't remember a single thing of what happened just a few hours ago. He was blessed with a pounding headache, a burning cheek, and sore muscles all over his body. The only thing he could think of was that he must have put up a fight to something or someone. His memories were wiped clean.
Kei slowly opened his eyes when his ears adjusted to the loud talking of at least twenty men around him. At first, he couldn't be more confused. He sat on a fairly uncomfortable cement ground. It was a large room, probably a basement when considering the size. He glanced back to see that he was knocked out against a thick pole that was most likely used for holding up the building. He squinted his already half lidded eyes in confusion.
Looking before him was what appeared to be a makeshift pub or bar. There wasn't necessarily an actual bar or counter with a man working and cleaning up the station, but the air was drenched with the small of heavy alcohol and the aesthetic screamed everything but formal. The majority of the room was lit with dim yellow lights. Scattered about, in an attempt of decoration, were colorful party strings of different colors doing little to help the lighting.
There were a few more chipped poles littered about between games of pool and fold out card playing tables with mismatching chairs. It was honestly a pretty lively place; laughter and the sound of a cue ball hitting the others and music that was quieted with the chatter. It was almost like a house party, really.
Some were gambling with surprisingly large amounts of money, some were hanging around a mini fridge full of beer and liquor, and some were just talking like family. If it weren't for his situation and the growing migraine in the back of his head, he might as well have joined in.
His memories came flooding back to him once he saw the same burly man who took him in. His eyes widened and heart rate picked up. That only gave his headache more fuel, before clutching his head with both hands and squeezing so tight he might as well have been choking an animal. He squinted his eyes over to the man's whereabouts. He was leaning against a wall and talking amount a few others he didn't recall. Tsukki was pretty sure his heart skipped a few beats when the man looked in his direction and smiled. He made a gesture for his small group of three to follow him over.
"Mornin', sleeping beauty." The small group made their way over to Tsukishima at a fairly casual pace. All of them seemed to have friendly intentions, despite the situation, but the menacing aura continued to linger. It was possible they were genuinely being kind, but there was no doubt that these men were powerful and wouldn't hesitate to snap a neck.
Kei's eyes were widened slightly when they stopped five feet away. He didn't know what to do. Run? He didn't have any restraints, so he could get a good distance away easily. But then again, they wouldn't have gave him freedom unless they were positive he wouldn't be able to get away. Putting up a fight was futile. Maybe a verbal fight could at least keep him his pride, but they would end up shutting him up somehow. Crying or begging for release was just weak.
"Come on dude, loosen up. You probably won't die. We're friends here, yeah?"
Kei scowled. "I don't recall ever befriending assholes who kidnapped me in the middle of the night."
"Business is business, kid." The man closed his eyes and shrugged lightly as if it was no big deal. Business? What kind of business involves taking a sixteen-year-old boy late at night to a makeshift pub in the basement, then expecting to be buddy-buddy with each other?
"The hell are you talking about? This isn't fucking business," Tsukishima stood up and his muscles tensed. He clenched his fists, "What part of this is business? Are you fucking with me?"
The man dropped his smile and crossed his arms. All traces of attempted kindness left his face. "Watch your mouth, kid." His eyes were half-lidded as he furrowed his brows. The dangerous, menacing aura grew stronger, along with the air getting tense. The chatter that once filled the air had quieted down and it was now near silent.
"I don't need to take any fucking orders from you scumbags."
Crack.
"Fuck-!" Tsukishima held his nose in his hands. His head snapped to the side and his neck cracked, as he stumbled and almost fell, if it wasn't for the support of the rough wall to lean on. The man drew his fist back and glared at Kei. After a few seconds everyone began talking again, ignoring the event that just occurred like it never happened.
Tsukki breathed in through his teeth when he managed to squint and glare right back at the man who just, most likely, broke his nose with one blow. He was still unable to stand up straight with the throbbing in his nose, the blood flowing to his head making his legs weak. He could already feel his nose swelling and one painful touch told him it was bent in a way it shouldn't be.
"This isn't your damn playground. Just shut up, listen, and we won't have a problem. Got that?" Tsukishima didn't bother to answer, but both knew he got the message. Be a smartass, break a bone. His nose was already deep shades of black and blue, he couldn't take a breath in without a searing pain shooting to the bridge. He was bleeding badly. A little of the blood managed to get down his throat and he could taste it in his mouth, coughing when his body reacted to the liquid in his windpipe. His cheek took some of the blow as well, and feeling the blood flowing under his eye, it was definite his cheek was red and swelling up a bit. He couldn't turn or move his head without experiencing excruciating pain.
He grunted when the man spit on the ground before his feet, walked away, and began talking like he had before. The entire room seemed to ignore Kei's presence. After a few moments, he gained the strength to stand, though wavering a bit as he did so. One hand was hovering just above his nose, because the slightest touch would give him a migraine from the intense pain.
Once he stood for a minute or two glaring at the man, he decided it was best for him to sit down in the possible case of his passing out. He nearly fell when he slumped against the same pole he woke from. All his thoughts were focused on how he was going to survive the situation. Business? He had no idea what that meant. There was no messing around with these guys, though. He wouldn't bother to ask.
He sighed, even though it sent another shot of pain right to his nose and cheek. He would just have to wait and comply to their demands, much as he hated to do that. The thought of what they were exactly planning for him was terrifying him, but if it was any sort of business, he would most likely get out eventually.
He hoped.
A few hours had passed, and he was pretty sure that he fell asleep at one point, because the next thing he remembered was jolting up when kicked lightly in the side by a man he hadn't seen before. Not that he really knew any of them in the first place.
"Ey, look, you're on the news, pretty boy." He looked up to the man with a slight scowl, only to be met with a curt smile. The man motioned his head towards a small HD TV he hadn't noticed before. He wasn't anyone to trust, but was not as worse as the larger man earlier, who he assumed was one of the main leaders, if they had one.
He looked to the 36" flatscreen to see the four o'clock news channel on.
"-was last seen at the Yamaguchi household at around 10:03 pm before walking home, according to his close friend, Tadashi. We asked him what he knew about the situation involving Tsukishima Kei, this is what he had to say.
'I-I told him not to, it was just a normal night! He wasn't acting suspiciously, he didn't run away. I, uh... I made him talk on the phone on the way back, but- ...but he said he ran into someone and hung up. Th-that's the last I heard from him.'" The screen had switched to an interview of Tadashi, in front of his home in the calm neighborhood. He was really shaken up. Tsukki couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest and his throat dropped to his stomach like a twenty-pound weight was attached to the back.
"So, Tadashi, would you mind giving us any information on your friend?"
"A-ah, yeah. He's tall, about 188 centimeters, I think." He visibly swallowed, "Short blonde hair, rimmed glasses... Hazel eyes."
"What was he last seen wearing, if you remember?"
"He- He had a plain white t-shirt with our school's volleyball team jacket- Karasuno- and some worn out skinny jeans. I can't remember, but he usually has some headphones around his neck... I doubt he still has it, but, uh... He has one of those thin black backpacks... With a dinosaur zipper pull I gave him for his birthday..." Kei saw that Tadashi had begun lightly crying with silent tears running down his cheeks.
He finally gave way and nearly sobbed when he grabbed the camera. "Tsukki! If you're watching this I- ... I'm gonna get you out! I promise!" He looked down and sniffled, using his knuckles to wipe away tears, "I-I'm sorry... please... Promise me you'll be okay!"
The news reporter ended with a brief summary and one of the latest pictures taken of him, a selfie with Yamaguchi. He was smiling. He wondered if he'd be able to smile again.
He couldn't help but let a few tears fall down his own cheeks when he saw Tadashi in that state. "... I'm sorry..." He whispered to himself.
The TV flicked to a commercial for some insurance company he didn't bother to care about and let the noise of the short ad flow right through his ears. He sat in silence, holding back from crying the best he could, until he fell asleep from exhaustion.