The Great King -「大王様」

Chapter 24

"でも絶対に行くないで (But we're definitely not going.)" There goes his tsundere self again. He obviously cares about his junior. A junior Oikawa Tooru.

A mini Oikawa.

Why am I having these thoughts.

As I stared at the court, I visualized Tooru teaching a little boy who looks just like him how to set the ball. I could see them practicing together and playing a mini volleyball game against each other. How cute...

Tooru caught me off guard when he stood up without warning. "バレーやろうぜ (Let's play volleyball)," he invited. Goodness, with that gleam in his eyes and excited smile on his lips, how can I say no.

--

I held onto my knees for support as I steadied my breathing. He wasn't going easy on me, just like how I wanted him to. So far, I've only received his serves 7 times, out of the 20 times he's been serving. He probably realized that I was starting to get annoyed, so we switched roles. I served and he received.

Tooru panted hard, but he wasn't showing any hints of stopping from fatigue. The grin pasted on his face only fired me up to serve harder to make sure he doesn't receive it. Out of the 20 times I served, he received 16. I was the one who called it off since I could feel my energy draining my system.

While we cleaned, Tooru laughed as he boasted at how great he is at volleyball. It was annoying, but we didn't last this long if I haven't grown used to his childishness.

I was already heading towards the door to leave the gym with him when Tooru called me to wait for him to tie his shoelace. I stood in front of him, watching the subtle movements of his hair strands as he tied his shoe.

If I wasn't out of breath and tired, I wouldn't have complained. But isn't he taking too long to tie his shoe? "早く！(Hurry up!)" I stated, annoyed. But in a swift moment, my head went completely blank.

Tooru raised his head. The small tears in his eyes reflected the warm light in the gym. His cheeks were in a deep shade of red, and the corners of his lips rose a little. Tooru brought up a turquoise-colored box and opened it, revealing a silver ring with a ting diamond in the middle. It had the simplest design of a diamond ring, just the way I liked it to be. And the love of my life was holding it for me, just how I hoped my love story would be.

"長い旅だった。会った時、君が俺の恋人になるとは思わなかった (It's been a long journey. That time we met, I didn't think you'd become my lover.)" He laughed a little. "けど、君と一緒にいるのが好きだった。影山について話すときはいつでも、「彼の何がそんなにいいの？」と思ってた。嫉妬してるなんて知らなかった (But, I liked being with you. Whenever you talked about Kageyama, I always thought 'What's so good about him?". I didn't know I was jealous.)"

My cheeks felt wet from my tears. The silence in the gym wasn't deafening. It only made this moment more special than it already was. The light from the sun was perfect. The location. The moment. He may be sweating from our mini game earlier, but even that made this all better. It feels almost as if... We're back in high school.

"高校生の時、君を追いかけた (When we were in highschool, I pursued you.)" His head fell slightly. "でも。。君が俺を嫌いだった、だろ？だって俺たちの両親は、俺たちに結婚することを望んだ。さらに君が飛雄好きだから (But.. You hated me, right? Because our parents wanted us to get married. Plus you liked Tobio.)" he kept a strong expression, but I couldn't turn a blind eye on the slight pain on his face. "だが俺辞めなかった。辞めたくなかった。何故なら、君の事が好きすぎる (Nevertheless, I didn't stop. I didn't want to stop. The reason is because, I love you too much.)" A tear escaped his eye.

Remembering that time he tried to pursue me must be painful for him. It takes a lot of mental strength to keep your heart together when the person you love is clearly interested in someone else. "諦めなかった良かった (I'm glad I didn't give up.)" Tooru smiled. More tears flowed down his cheeks. "あの夜。。遂に、君が俺に答えした。キスで (That night... Finally, you answered me. With a kiss.)" I laughed at his line. "あの時からとても幸せだって(I've been so happy since then.)"

"しばらく考えてた (I've been thinking about this for awhile.)" His eyes looked into mine. It was full of purity and love. His look alone made my heart melt. "君と家族を作りたいだ。そのため、俺と同じ苗字にならないの？(I want to make a family with you. For that to happen, shouldn't our last name be the same?)" My heart skipped a beat when he paused. He tilted his head to the side and asked, "結婚するか？(Let's get married?)"

My tears started flowing hard. His already stopped. Trying to act all manly now? "馬鹿徹！(Stupid Tooru!)" I couldn't stop my voice from slowly turning into sobs. He started to worry about me, but before anything, I wanted to make this sure now. I'm not going to make him wait again. "いいよ (Sure.)" I toughened up, holding back my cries. "け。。結婚しよう (L-Let's get married.)"