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rosierin · 2 years

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Who survives? ○△□

=> Haikyuu edition

fandoms; haikyuu x squid game

warnings; implied death (nothing graphic) made this one a little more lighthearted for ya

includes; hinata, tendou, goshiki, shirabu, semi, kuroo, kenma, bokuto, kita, atsumu, suna, suguru, oikawa, iwa + mentions of others

a/n; ok so I took a few liberties with this chapter, meaning that what you're about to read are a collection of different scenarios that have been festering in my head-

these scenarios don't necessarily involve the third game itself, but rather what happened in the lobby before that (aka when the players were teaming up). this includes the main cast as well as other players (which to make things simpler I decided to keep nameless)

so im sorry for those who were hoping id write about the game itself, but i tried and you can only write a game of tug of war differently—all while keeping it entertaining— so many times, and to me writing these interactions was just a bit more fun :) just consider this chapter a breather for the next game to come

also do keep in mind that i didn't write for every single character, just the ones that inspired me the most so im sorry if i left your fav out, they shall be back (or not), next time 🙇🏽‍♀️

<= previous, the purge

=> next, the marble game

For the sake of this AU I'm pretending that the characters know nobody except those within their respective volleyball team.

DAY 3 : TUG OF WAR

Pairing up...

TEAM 1 :

=> Yamaguchi (012), Tsukishima (011), Hinata (010), Kageyama (009), Yachi (006), Kiyoko (007), Tendou (032), Goshiki (033), Player 281, Player 67

Karasuno were in a bind.

After entering the lobby, the pink soldiers had announced that the next game would require building teams of 10. Naturally, people's first impression was relief, elated that whatever lied ahead, nobody would have to face alone. For Karasuno, the information hadn't been welcomed as positively. The upcoming game was a mystery, that much was true. But upon Tsukishima's observation, they had established that it was most likely going to require strength, given the events of the night before, and to say that Karasuno were at an advantage was far from the truth...

Two girls, four skinny men.

The collective glances that Karasuno shared indicated that everyone was aware of their predicament.

That's when a stranger showed up, his hair a flaming red.

"You!" He cheered, his chesire grin both off-putting and bright. "You're going to win this round, aren't you?"

The crows exchanged looks of confusion, the general consensus being to frown at the oddball before them. With him stood three more players; two with odd haircuts, one with a mean glare.

"Uh.. these guys? Are you sure, Tendou? They look pretty scrawny to me." Spoke one of the weird haircut havers— the one with raven hair.

Hinata— forever the optimist— spoke up first, crossing his arms over his chest with a not-so-intimidating scowl.

"Hey! We may be scrawny but that doesn't mean anything! We don't even know what kind of game we're playing next anyway!"

"The carrot tops right," said the other strange haircut haver— the man with choppy bangs. "We don't. So how can you be so sure they'll win?" He turned his scrutinizing gaze over to 'Tendou', who much to Karasuno's surprise, merely smirked in return.

"I can feel it."

If Karasuno weren't entirely weirded out by these four strangers before, now they most definitely were. Who was this guy? Was he some sort of clairvoyant? Perhaps a charlatan before signing up to these games? Whatever he was, it didn't seem to be welcomed by his three friends (?), who visibly cringed at his claims.

"Are you serious?" Spat the man with choppy bangs, his voice sharp with spite. "You're gonna pair up with a bunch of what are clearly rejects, just because your creepy sixth sense is telling you to? You do realise our lives are on the line, right?"

"Oh, come on!" Yelled another. It had been the first time he spoke since their arrival— the one with the mean eyes and hair like ash. "We don't have time for your guessing games, Tendou! First you go bapshit crazy during the bloodbath, and now you expect us to team up with a load of weak, scrawny high schoolers just because you feel like they're gonna win? You've seriously lost your mind."

Once again, Hinata was about to protest— ready to defend that he and his friends were in fact, not high schoolers— but the man with choppy bangs cut in before he could even open his mouth.

"Semi took the words right out of my mouth. Open your eyes for Christ sake. Look over there for example. Don't you think we'd have a better chance at winning if we teamed up with those guys?" Everyone collectively looked to where he was pointing, noticing a trio of men all tall and about twice as muscular. The sight was actually quite the punch in the gut.

Although, even if Karasuno watched on with envy, Tendou didn't seem all that convinced, his nose turned up defiantly, sighing before turning back to his three teammates.

"Listen, kids. If you don't wanna listen to me, that's your choice. Just know that you're making a very bad decision pairing up with those guys."

"Yeah? Well I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

With that, both the man with choppy bangs and the one with the scary eyes turned on their heel. The third man however, remained exactly where he was.

Tendou rose an eyebrow.

"You not gonna follow them, squirt?"

The raven shook his head, a wobbly look of what seemed like confidence, plastered on his face.

"N-No. I trust your judgement."

Tendou hummed, a contemplative look on his face, only for that same chesire grin to split his features.

"Now that's a good decision~" Then, he turned to Karasuno, eyes bright, voice unwavering.

"Well then, friends. Are we in?"

=> PASSED.

TEAM 7 :

=> Kita (036), Atsumu (038), Osamu (039), Suna (040), Suguru (044), Player 55, Player 78, Player 120, Player 99, Player 79

Upon Kita's request, everyone scattered in order to bring back the strongest looking players they could find.

Suna was the first to spot someone, gaze narrowing on a lone man with green hair. He was a decent size, broad shoulders and toned arms indicating his physical prowess.

"You. You taken?"

Suna didn't bother with a polite greeting, seeing as this player was most likely going to become an enemy once this third game was over. His mindset was to not get close to anyone other than his current teammates and he vowed to stick to that. The player in question whipped his head around at the inquiry, his eyes blinking and mouth seemingly struggling to find his words.

Suna cocked his head, one eyebrow quirked inquisitively.

"Uh, no— I don't have anyone yet. Do you?"

Suna merely grunted, lazily tossing his thumb in the direction of the twins.

"Those two. And there's another guy with us, too— our leader. We're all useful so it's up to you if you wanna join."

His blunt words seemingly left the stranger reeling. However the longer he left Suna waiting, the more impatient he grew. He wanted nothing more than to get this interaction over with, hating the idea of having to pair up with complete strangers. It was a hindrance if you didn't know you could trust them. It could potentially ruin the team's harmony, and consequently put not only him, but his friends in danger. His eyes squinted at the prospect.

"Well?"

"Okay, sure— yes, I'm in."

"Great," he drawled without a hint of sincerity. Thus one recruit was added to the team.

The next one to find a new recruit was Atsumu, although his team's first impression wasn't exactly the warmest. For not only had he brought back someone that went against his captain's request— he was practically beaming with pride as he brandished them like a newly acquired, gold trophy.

"Atsumu. Care to explain?" Kita's voice was as cold as ice as he regarded the blonde with a frigid stare.

"Ya said to bring back strong players," he replied plainly, his demeanor unshakable even in face of his former captain's stern gaze.

"Then why is she here?"

Atsumu scowled.

It's true, Kita had specified to preferably only bring back men, just in case the rumors were true and the next game did indeed require strength. However, as Atsumu lurked around the lobby, he couldn't help but stop and stare when a particular woman caught his eye. She had been talking to another group of men, her jacket loose around her shoulders and dipping just below her shoulder blades and if it weren't for the current context, Atsumu would've felt pervy for staring at her for that long. With that being said, it was almost impossible not to— not with the way her back muscles flexed with her every moment, the promenant lines in her arms visible as she revealed them to the group of men, even from where Atsumu stood. She was perfect.

Perfect for the team, that is.

"Another group of guys rejected her so I nabbed her before anyone else could," he said, paying no mind to the way the girl glared at him for his poor choice of wording. "Go on, show 'em."

Elbowing her, Atsumu encouraged her to do the same as she had with the other team. And as she removed her jacket, revealing her broad shoulders and toned upper body, even Kita couldn't mask his surprise.

"Not bad, eh?"

Wincing as the girl jabbed him in the gut, chiding him for talking as though she were some sort of tool, Kita promptly coughed into his fist as he forcefully peeled his gaze away from the woman.

"Of course. I apologize for assumin'. Couldn't tell under yer jacket is all."

And with that, another member was added to the team.

=> PASSED.

TEAM 6 :

=> Aone (041), Futakuchi (042), Koganegawa (043), Shirabu (034), Semi (035), Player 176, Player 201, Player 304, Player 111, Player 98

After leaving Tendou and Goshiki behind, Shirabu and Semi wasted no time in joining the powerful-looking trio. Thankfully, they'd accepted them on the spot as they were missing exactly two players.

"I can't believe that guy. He's completely lost his mind," sneered Shirabu as he glared daggers at his senior from across the room. "Can't believe he'd just leave us for a bunch of strangers."

Beside him, Semi was also watching him, his eyebrows pinched for numerous reasons. The most obvious reason being his upperclassman. He couldn't understand why he did it. Did he seriously think he had a chance of winning with those guys? They didn't look like anything special to him. In fact, they looked like one of the weakest teams in the room. His mind ran other scenarios aswell, such as what if Tendou knew something they didn't? Was the next game not a matter of strength after all? And if so, how come he hadn't said anything to either him or Shirabu?

Or maybe, just maybe Shibaru was correct and Tendou truly had lost his mind. It wasn't that unfeasible considering the events of the night before. Regardless, his senior's final decision left a bitter aftertaste on Semi's tongue.

"Whatever," he sighed. "Let's just hope we all make it through to the next round. We can talk things out then."

=> ELIMINATED.

TEAM 4 :

=> Kuroo (021), Kenma (023), Lev (026), Bokuto (028), Oikawa (008), Iwaizumi (013), Terushima (045) Player 49, Player 295, Player 332

This team was founded relatively quickly. It started off with Kuroo, Kenma and Lev. Then came Oikawa and Iwaizumi, requesting that they join. Followed by Terushima. That meant that they only needed four more players to make a full team. To make things easier, they split into teams of two and decided to each bring back at least one person, save for Kuroo and Kenma who vouched to bring back two. The former being their appointed leader, asked that they choose their person wisely.

"Well?" began Kenma, eyes flitting around the monochrome room as he walked beside Kuroo. "Has anyone caught your eye yet?

"Actually, yeah. See that guy over there?"

As Kuroo came to a stop, Kenma looked over to where his friend was pointing, eyes landing on a lone man with two-toned hair. He had his back facing them but even from where Kenma stood, it was easy to tell just how built he was underneath his jersey, making him a potentially good asset indeed.

"We should probably talk to him first," Kenma suggested. "We don't know for sure if the next game will require strength so we should make sure he's got a minimum of wits, too."

Kuroo nodded. "Good idea."

The two of them began walking over to the player, satisfied that they had found a potential teammate so quickly. But the more Kuroo observed him, the more he couldn't help but notice something odd about him, something off that both piqued his curiosity, and elicited his concern. It was the fact that he wasn't walking, nor carrying himself with the same intent as the other players. Rather, this man seemed to have no intent at all.

His steps were languid, his head shifting from left to right like a child lost in a crowd. What was even more strange, was that whenever he stopped in front of another group of players, he made no move to try and speak to them. Rather, he would stop halfway through his approach, as though he wanted to say something but was unable to commit to the act. This particular characteristic made Kuroo weary at first, wondering if he had made a mistake on zeroing in on this particular player. But as the famous saying goes: one should never judge a book by its cover.

It took two attempts before Kuroo finally caught the stranger's attention. However as the latter shifted his body, granting the duo a full view of his appearance, Kuroo felt like disregarding that idiom completely.

Perhaps he should have judged this particular book by its cover.

Truth be told, he hadn't thought it was possible to look any more tired than him, or any other player from his team. Yet the man before him proved him to be sorely mistaken. It was almost criminal how much greyer he looked compared to the other players he'd had encountered so far; the promenant eyebags sitting beneath his vacant eyes a visible display of his fatigue. Not only that but they were bloodshot and swollen too, which made Kuroo wonder if he had been crying not so long ago.

These factors only made Kuroo worry more. If this man truly was as drained mentally as he appeared physically, then the team would have no use for him and would have to pass him up after all. But being the altruistic captain that he was (or would like to think he was), Kuroo decided to give the stranger the benefit of the doubt and masked his apprehensions behind a respectful smile.

"Hey there," he spoke, one hand raised in greeting. "Have you found a team yet? If not, my friend and I were wondering if you wanted to join ours."

As it had done before, Kuroo's question hung in the air for a little longer than he'd have liked, but he and Kenma tried not to the man's... lackadaisical demeanor throw them off, waiting patiently as the man slowly parted his lips.

"You and... your friend?"

"That's right," nodded Kuroo. "We probably should've introduced ourselves first." Clearing his throat, he motioned to both him and Kenma. "I'm Kuroo Tetsuro and this is Kozume Kenma, but you can just call him Kenma. He isn't fond on the whole last name thing. Right, Kyanma?"

"Please don't call me that."

The latter chuckled as Kenma pointedly rolled his eyes at his childhood friend's old nickname. Meanwhile, the nameless player remained unresponsive, his dim, amber eyes staring at the duo with an undecipherable look.

Kuroo swallowed.

Glancing down at Kenma, the captain internally cringed at the look painted on his face. He deduced that if his former setter's tight-lipped expression had a vocal translation, it would go something along the lines of: "this man is a total lost cause". Yet despite this presumption (which at this point was most likely correct), for some reason Kuroo simply didn't have the heart to turn his back on him on the stranger.

Had he been swayed by the pitiful look on this player's face? Maybe.

...Did it remind him of himself? Eerily so.

It was the same look that stared back at him through the mirror on the day of Yamamoto and Yaku's death. The same look of mental exhaustion, guilt and dread that would most likely still be plastered on his face if not for Kenma. It was his presence that had kept him grounded after everything they'd been through and Kuroo couldn't bare to imagine where he would be now if it weren't for him. Would he be as worse for wear as this guy? Or worse?

"You two seem close." He's roused from his bitter thoughts when the stranger suddenly spoke up after what must've been approaching a minute. After blinking away the rest of his musings, Kuroo replied the first thing that came to mind which in retrospect, probably sounded a bit more aloof than he'd meant to.

"Uh. Yeah. Guess we are."

"And you're sure you want to invite me?"

Kuroo cocked his head. "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

Upon his inquiry, the player seemed to shrink him on himself, which was strange considering his large stature. "Wouldn't wanna hold you back." He muttered. And at this Kuroo couldn't help but feel that there was more weight behind that sentence that the man was letting on.

"Nah, 'course you won't," assured Kuroo, a playful smile on his face. "I mean look at you, you're practically bustin' out that jersey of yours." He joked, hoping his light-hearted tone would shift the somber atmosphere that had begun to loom over the trio.

"Ew. Are you flirting with him?" Shot Kenma, his nose wrinkling a tad. "I hope that's not how you plan on recruiting him. That's weird. Even for you, Kuroo."

Feigning hurt, Kuroo placed a hand over his chest before chiming "of course not!". Then as he glanced back at the stranger, worried that his and Kenma's antics may have made him ill at ease, he all but froze when he caught a glimpse of the beginning of a smile forming on the latter's lips.

"I'll join you. If that's still okay," he said, his hand scratching at the back of his neck.

"Of course. That's great news!" replied Kuroo, perhaps a tad too earnestly. Holding his hand out, he then added: Welcome to the team..."

"Bokuto Koutarou," he replied. The two men shook hands and "Bokuto" grinned. "I won't let you down."

The next person to find a new recruit was Oikawa. Although, he wasn't sure if the rest of his teammates would approve. He was told to bring back someone capable looking, perhaps someone strong, someone nimble, or someone brainy if he could somehow figure that out. But when coming across a lone girl sitting at the back of the room, her back pressed against the wall, he began getting second thoughts.

At first he had tried ignoring her presence, turning his body away from her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to just leave her. He'd find himself gravitating towards her, cursing to himself when a heavy feeling settled in his chest whenever he saw her curl in on herself, knees hugged to her chest.

"You saw her too?" Came Iwaizumi's voice. Oikawa pursed his lips at the question, chocolate eyes never once leaving her form. She looked so small, backed into the corner of the completely white room, frowning as the other players walked past her without so much as a single glance.

"Do we leave her?" He murmured, partly to his friend, mostly to himself.

"I doubt the others would be happy if we brought her in," provided Iwa, his voice sounding somewhat regretful.

"What if nobody picks her?"

"Then I guess she's out."

Iwaizumi's response caused a sharp inhale to ripple through Oikawa's chest. Was it worth the risk? Taken her in? All things considered, it wasn't as though they were entirely sure the next game would require strength. For all they knew the next game could be a jungle gym, in which being too heavy could cause a disadvantage.

Who knows... Maybe being petite would come in handy...

"I'll be living with a guilty conscience if we make it and she doesn't," Oikawa spoke firmly. At this point he knew he was simply making up excuses but it was just too cruel to abandon her. He cursed himself for being so soft and to be frank, part of him hoped Iwaizumi would be the one to talk some sense into him. To tell him he was acting reckless by taking such a big risk. Alas, what he responded was quite the opposite and Oikawa of all people should've known from his high school years that Iwaizumi would never turn his back on someone in need.

"I mean, a little bit of chivalry in this hell hole couldn't hurt, right?"

"We'll find out if it does, won't we?"

With this, the two men exchanged a glance, both knowing what their next course of action would entail.

As they walked over to where the girl was sitting, Oikawa crouched down, smiling softly as she cautiously lifted her head.

"Morning, miss. What do you say you join our team?"

=> PASSED.

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