"Tsukki! We're going to be late for volleyball!" Yamaguchi whined, trying to get his friends to leave his seat. The bell had rung five minutes ago, but Tsukishima insisted on staying. "Daichi will be angry at us..."

"I don't care, and I feel like something important is going to happen," Tsukishima stated again, causing Yamaguchi to give up.

"Fine..." Yamaguchi sighed and stayed in his seat. 

He wasn't lying before, exactly. He didn't want Daichi to get mad at them for being late on their second week of being on the team. That said, there was another reason he wanted to leave. As more and more people stopped hanging around, the ratio of ghoul to human in the room was starting to shift. All the humans were leaving, but the ghouls were staying for some reason.  

He wondered if that had anything to do with Tsukishima's strange feeling. Surely his friend couldn't sense ghouls, so perhaps whatever might happen only involved ghouls by coincidence. He hopes that was what it was, at least. It'd be a huge slap in the face for Tsukishima to actually be able to tell who was and wasn't human all this time. That would mean that he knew about all the ghouls in their classes—and if not that then there was no chance he didn't know about Yamaguchi.

These thoughts made Yamaguchi even more nervous when suddenly he tensed even more. A ghoul walked in the room, but he wasn't super familiar with this one. It occurred to him very quickly that this was one of the ghouls he bumped into in the hall the day he joined the volleyball team. He had no idea why they were here, though. There was no way he wanted to see Yamaguchi—he shouldn't know what class he was in, anyway.

The look that came over the redhead's face was quick, but it showed all the caution he wanted to present. You see, another reason Yamaguchi was nervous was that this ghoul, who he remembered to be called Kirishima, wasn't actually the first ghoul to join the room after the final bell. His manager in training, Yachi Hitoka, and the rather threatening Akabane Karma had joined in too, and he knew that they were ghouls. (Yamaguchi and Yachi hadn't addressed what that meant for them or the other ghouls on the volleyball team, but it would happen sooner or later.)

There was this strange air, and for several moments it was as if the ghouls were the only ones in the room. Yamaguchi could practically feel Karma, Nagisa, and Itona threatening Kirishima. He wondered if he and Yachi were supposed to be here for this.

Yamaguchi snapped out of his trance and looked over at Tsukishima. His best friend had no idea what was going on, he didn't understand a thing. Yamaguchi would have to ask Nagisa about it later (he only really felt comfortable around Nagisa; Karma was too threatening and Itona just seemed like someone he should stay away from). Tsukishima sighed and began to leave, Yamaguchi following his actions by reflex. Yachi realized they were leaving and decided to follow.

"That was a whole lot of nothing," Tsukishima grumbled and continued his long strides towards the volleyball gym. Yamaguchi, meanwhile, hung back and kept a slower pace with Yachi. It suddenly occurred to him that Yachi might know something.

"Hey, Yachi?" Yamaguchi called her name, gaining her attention, "what was that?"

Yachi looked up at him, almost surprised he didn't know what the deal was. "You seriously don't know?"

"Tsukki said something important was going to happen, but he didn't understand what just went on;" Yamaguchi paused for a breath, "frankly, neither do I, really."

"Akabane 'arranged' that," Yachi said under her breath, "he didn't tell me the whole story, but apparently it was to ensure our safety."

"Oh God," Yamaguchi quieted down further as his tone became nervous, "has there already been a... you know... fight or something?"

"I don't think so," Yachi was also nervous, as neither her nor Yamaguchi were very strong ghouls, "I did hear that somehow, though, someone managed to get information on Horibe's identity."

Yamaguchi had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing. They'd only been in school for a little while, and this was already more risk than he was comfortable with. He decided to play it off, seeing it a good time to hurry and get to the team. Both of them were twenty minutes late by now, and Daichi would not be a happy camper.

"If this is what the first grading period is gonna be like, summer is going to be absolute chaos..." Yamaguchi lamented.

Yachi nodded and continued to the gym while Yamaguchi went to go change. It only took a couple of minutes, and he was in the gym in no time, awaiting Daichi's scolding. Daichi barely noticed when he first stepped through the doors, but when the loud sound of the door closing was heard, it was game over. 

"Yamaguchi..." Daichi had a scary smile on his face, and God, Yamaguchi had never been more thankful that his captain wasn't a ghoul.

"Yes..?" Yamaguchi didn't even have to fake this—Daichi genuinely scared him.

"Why are you so late?" Daichi wondered aloud, "I expected it from Tsukishima at least once, but you and Yachi? I'm surprised."

Yachi jumped from across the room, hearing her name from Daichi's mouth. (She was extra on edge due to her having already been scolded.) Yamaguchi wanted to crumble in on himself.

"Ah... Well... you see..." Yamaguchi tried to come up with an excuse. He couldn't just tell a human that he'd unwillingly and unknowingly been used to threaten another ghoul.

"It was my fault, Daichi," Tsukishima walked over and intervened, "I held him back after class for no reason, then he was later because he wanted to make sure Yachi got here okay."

Daichi thought it over, several of the other players acting surprised that Tsukishima would take a bullet for his friend. Yachi was relieved, some of her own guilt leaving her. Yamaguchi had never been more thankful that he'd put the time in to become Tsukishima's friend. 

"Alright..." Daichi patted them both on the back, "I'll let it slide this time, you three, but next time I won't be so lenient."

The three sighed, glad to have avoided punishment.

┈

"Yo, Kaminari," Kirishima said over the phone.

"Hey, dude, how'd it go? Chill, right?" Kaminari sounded totally oblivious. He'd been sick, so he asked Kirishima to visit Itona for him.

"No, not at all!" Kirishima stated worriedly, "that Akabane guy you told me about literally gathered others and used them to threaten me! What did you do to make that happen, because they were all expecting you."

"I told you, I spied on Itona..." Kaminari breathed heavily, "I'll resolve the issue tomorrow."

┈

Yamaguchi was helping with putting away the nets at the end of practice; a small penalty for being so late. Tsukishima had to mop the floor and Yachi was given a couple of files to go over. They finished these chores rather quickly and were heading out when Sugawara stopped them.

"Yamaguchi, Yachi," he called from the other side of the gym, waving them over. Tsukishima paused, wondering if he should go over as well. 

"Go ahead, Tsukishima," Sugawara seemed to read his mind, "Yamaguchi can walk alone for one night."

"Tsukki! It's safer to walk with someone! Nishinoya lives in our direction, so please walk with him!" Yamaguchi called after him. Tsukishima just grunted and walked out.

After they were all sure there was no one else around, Asahi finally spoke up, "Why do you go to such great lengths to... you know..."

"He's my best friend," Yamaguchi smiled at the ground, "you guys will find this hard to believe, but he'd do the same for me."

"Anyway..." Sugawara wanted to change the subject, not wanting to stay later than needed, "we wanted to offer you guys something!"

"What is it?" Yachi wondered.

Sugawara whispered, "Join The Crows. You don't have to pledge to us or anything, we're not an organization..."

"That said, there are more ghouls than you think, years older than us that have graduated, that will have your back as long as you carry the mask," Asahi foretold, "it's just safer for you guys."

"Oh, wow... Thanks!" Yachi smiled.

"Yeah, it means a lot to know we're not alone in this..." Yamaguchi said quietly.

"It's perfectly alright!" Sugawara put his hands on their shoulders, "all I ask in return is to know why you two were actually late."

"We don't know one-hundred-percent ourselves..." Yachi admitted.

"We think we were being used as pawns to threaten another ghoul in our year," Yamaguchi told them, "Tsukki stayed behind because he thought something cool that actually involved him would happen."

"Honestly, the whole ordeal seems like it should go away, but we don't know..." Yachi stated nervously, "we don't want to get caught in what's going on."

"We'll keep an eye out for you guys, okay?" Asahi made known, "you guys are officially two of us, so we have your back now."

"Thank you guys," Yamaguchi sighed, "I need to get going, though, sorry... I need to make sure Tsukki gets home alright, and I.. uh... haven't eaten in a while."

The others gave him a concerned look when he said that. They'd all assumed he was a naturally skinny kid, which he probably was to an extent, but it didn't occur to them that he may be hungry. It made sense, though, with how much time he spent with Tsukishima. Unfortunately, Yamaguchi Tadashi had put himself in a position where he couldn't eat as much as he needed to. 

┈

"Why are we out?" Uraraka asked, traveling via rooftop and kagune with a ghoul called Grin.

"Because, Uraraka, apparently there's an alliance at our school, and I want in," Grin, also known as Monoma answered.

"Is it an official organization type of thing?" Uraraka questioned.

"Not from what I know of," Monoma responded, "have you heard of The Crows?"

"The Crows? Aren't they a huge alliance that only those who are asked can join?" Uraraka recalled her mother telling her about them a while back.

"Yeah, but I just want to know what they all have in common—those asked," Monoma grumbled, "it doesn't make sense. They have weak ghouls, strong ghouls, giant ghouls, tiny ghouls— the list goes on! What makes someone qualify?"

"A program," a voice answered. Monoma and Uraraka jumped a little, both turning towards the figure.

"Who are you?" Monoma asked suspiciously, preparing for the worst against the larger male before he took in an important detail. "You're a crow."

"And?" the ghoul asked softly, "oh... and please put your kagune away."

"Okay," Uraraka complied, "but tell us, how do you join the Crows group?"

"Well, it kind of happens by chance, to an extent..." the ghoul explained, "ghouls who join a certain type of human program are offered entry to the Crows."

┈

(1945 Words)