No reply (Iwaoi) oneshot

No reply

I didn't like playing with other children, so I left immediately, looking for some carousel to be able to be on my own. I got on the swing and remained still. There was no point trying to move, as I didn't know how to swing without falling. While I was looking at the sky, I felt that someone sat on the swing next to mine. Hajime and his olive-green eyes continued to stare at me.

"Can you stop it?" I said, finally addressing him.

He continued to stare at me, as if shocked. I saw a light shine in his eyes.

"Stop what?" he said to me after a while.

"Staring at me" I replied, returning to look at the sky, ignoring him in the best possible way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he looked away, confused, and then began to swing. He was so good, I thought. I wouldn't be able to swing like that in ten years. It was me, this time, who stared at him. He didn't see me, absorbed as he was in his thoughts. He seemed to have taken offense at my words. No...he looked hurt. Suddenly he stopped, and then ran after a bush, towards a tree. His movements were so abrupt and rapid that I jumped.

I didn't see him come out of that bush for half an hour. Slightly worried, I decided to get up and go see. I saw him climbing a tree and, needless to say, I was surprised. He seemed so determined. Suddenly he jumped off the tree, right in front of my eyes. He didn't even dare look at me by mistake, he kept his fists closed. I stared at him, looking for answers, and he opened his hands. A beautiful blue-winged butterfly with green hues flew right before my eyes. I looked at it, dreamily. I fixed my gaze on that strange child.

"How did you manage to get it?" I said, thrilled.

"I like catching bugs" was his reply.

What an unpleasant hobby. I noticed that he still didn't look at me, so I lowered slightly, meeting his olive-green eyes. Surprised, he looked to his right so as not to meet my eyes. I smiled at his awkwardness, so much that he looked at me for a moment.

"You can go back to staring at me if you want, Hajime" I assured him.

He'd taken seriously the words I'd said to him earlier. He was surprised when I said his name.

"What's your name?" he asked as he studied me with his olive-green eyes.

"Tooru" I whispered back, but he heard it anyway and nodded. His eyes lit up.

"Do you want me to help you with the swing?" he asked, pointing to it.

He must have noticed that I was unable to swing and that embarrassed me. I nodded. He began to push me gently and I held tight to the chains of the swing. I was afraid of falling, but somehow Hajime's presence reassured me.

"Haji-chan, higher up!" I said almost instinctively.

I had a bad habit of giving people silly nicknames.

"Are you sure, Tooru?" I heard from behind my back.

I nodded. Hearing Hajime say my name made me feel at home. It was a feeling that I had never experienced before and that I never wanted to go away.

But it vanished. It vanished when Hajime found out my last name and started calling me Oikawa. I begged him to call me Tooru, but he didn't want to. It's a sign of respect, according to him. Out of spite, I started calling him Iwa-chan, as his real last name was Iwaizumi. He kept glancing at me every time I called him that.

Unbeknownst to me, we became friends. We went to the same elementary and middle school. We also played on the same volleyball team. Actually, Iwa-chan wasn't interested in this sport, I was the one who convinced him. My only intent was to get him away from his stupid hobby of hunting insects, and I succeeded. We started practicing, tossing in the park and later joining the club.