"You always tell me to rely on you and others if I need anything yet when you need help, you don't reach your hand out until shit hits the fan." What was Ranfa talking about? She's talking about her boyfriend being a hypocrite.
"I already said it's not that bad-"
"Here, chopsticks." When she dropped them into his hands, Kamitani couldn't grip it properly like a normal person would and so it fell to the table.
So what happened? 2 days ago he slipped in the bathroom and he sprained his wrist. He didn't say anything until it swelled up so bad that he ended up with a fever. He's well enough to go to school tomorrow but he couldn't grip things with his dominant right hand so note takings will be taken by either Ryuuichi or Ranfa.
"A sprained wrist is bad and you should have said something on the day that you slipped. You're going to be a baseball player, aren't you? Your hands are very important to you." Iwaizumi said to him.
Kamitani was at Ranfa's place for dinner.
"Shall I re-bandage your hand for you after dinner?" Shiki offered Kamitani.
"Huh? No thank you, it's really fine."
"Be sure to go to your doctor for a final check up." Shiki reminded him like a mother would for their own son.
"It's not that big of a deal-"
"HAH?! What do you mean it's not that big of a deal?!" Iwaizumi snapped at Kamitani while breaking his own pair of chopsticks!
"Uwah! Daddy is angry!" Michiyo said out loud! She clapped her hands because she liked seeing Iwaizumi angry especially when he's directing his anger at other people.
"If you're going to go for a career in sports, injuries HAVE to be dealt with immediately! If you leave things at the last seconds, you will regret it, dumbass!"
Kamitani couldn't argue. No, more like there was never an option to argue.
"You better have gone to a doctor for a final check up. I will be asking for proof, so don't you dare lie to me you have went when you haven't, got that?!"
"Are you my Father???"
...
"Sorry about Dad, Hayato. He gets worked up since he works with other sportsmen. Hearing you say the same thing as sports noobs got him triggered."
"I am not a noob."
"Well you're definitely far from a professional if Dad had to snap at you like that." Ranfa decided to walk Kamitani half way to his home. She also needed to go the shop and buy ice cream for the family so she might as well come along.
"Geez..."
"At least you know he cares about you."
"Yeah, yeah."
"I figured why you didn't say anything though. Knowing you, you probably don't want your Mom to worry."
"She's grading a lot of papers."
She smiled; he didn't say it but she knew he just doesn't want to worry his own mother.
"Will you be fine on your own?" He asked her when she stopped at a convenience store.
"I think you should worry about the moron who dared to make a jump at me. I'll see you tomorrow in the baby's room, got it?"
"Then, good night." He patted her head with the un-injured hand. He was told not to use it too much so he will have to be careful about it.
"Good night~."
As Kamitani walked home, he was thinking about the reaction of her parents. He saw how his own mother reacted. Tomorrow's a school day...how will his father react?
'It'd probably less explosive than Iwaizumi-san...hopefully.' Because his Father's face was always one expression so he really couldn't tell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When it's the next day, Kamitani was getting annoyed by Ryuuichi and the other babies because they kept pampering him because of his injured hand.
"I'm here- Uwah, why are you sleeping on the ground?" Ranfa asked Kamitani, who was sleeping with his head on Kotarou's favorite panda cushion.
"Because of my injury."
"Pfft! Ahahaha...!" Of course the kids would come up with something like this. She's not at all surprised!
"Michiyo join in too! Pain, pain, fly away!" But instead of gentle pats to the head, she slapped Kamitani's forehead with all her force!
"You are lucky you are not Taka..."
"Nii-chan?!" Taka interpreted that as 'If I was the one who did that, you will hit me?!'
"Kamita, Kamita~." The little twins were very careful as they join in to 'take care' of Kamitani too. Unlike Michiyo, they were stroking Kamitani's forehead.
"Tch, if it's going to be like this...Ranfa, sit down."
Ranfa really did sit down. She sat on her knees and she watched her boyfriend rest his head on her lap.
"All of you shut up and let me sleep. If I sleep, I won't be using my injured hands, right?" He said to the kids.
The kids all put their pointers to their lips and went 'Shh!' so Kamitani could have a nap.
"On top of this, I shall sing you a lullaby~." Usaida said to Kamitani, enthusiastic to start singing.
"Don't you dare." Kamitani then looked at Ranfa, "Make sure to wake me up before class starts."
"No, I'm going to somehow move your head off and then head off by myself."
Kamitani rolled his eyes and then he closed his eyes. He could feel Ranfa stroke the side of his head. Her touch was warm and comforting. No wonder when it's nap time, sometimes Michiyo would choose to rest her head on Ranfa's legs.
"Man, Hayato sure is lucky. I'd like to have a nap with my head resting on a girl's lap. Ryuu-chan, we're on the same boat, huh? The boat of no happy ending with a cute girl, huh?"
"Eh??? Why do you have to put it like that?"
...
They're in the classroom now and it felt weird having to do everything with his left hand instead of his right. Whenever Ranfa look away, he would try to use his right hand to get rid of that weird and uncomfortable feeling of not been using it. However, he got caught.
Ranfa was not harsh like her father was but whenever she saw Kamitani try to use some force on his injured hand, she would slap the uninjured hand instead. She's trying to train Kamitani; you wouldn't put your hand on a burning stove because you know it will burn you, right? She wanted to condition him if he used his injured hand then she will hit his uninjured hand.
"Ow! What gives?"
"I should be asking you that question: Why are you using your injured hand?"
"I was trying to pick up an eraser..."
"So you did, but what do you think 'Don't use your injured hand' possibly mean, Hayato? When you do the very thing people tell you not to do not once but twice, it gets to the point where I have to think you are an idiot and I have to treat you like one."
The classmates who heard them were rather shocked. The fangirls of Kamitani were shocked at Ranfa's reply.
"Sakura-san, how could you?! That was harsh!"
"Yeah! Kamitani-kun is injured and all! He deserves special treatment!"
"Yeah! Yeah! What she said!"
If it were them going out with Kamitani and he's injured, they would spoil him to the Earth's end!
Ranfa looked at the fangirls. She didn't mind her boyfriend having fangirls because she never put their existence in front of her eyes; one could not simply acknowledge what was not there. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She then turned her attention back to Kamitani, "Anyway, I promised your Mom that I would watch over you. Put up with it."
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
"In this case, nope~."
And when Chemistry started, It didn't take long for Hebihara to notice his son's injury. "Kamitani, what happened to your wrist?"
"It's nothing." Kamitani replied.
"He sprained his wrist." Ranfa answered for Kamitani.
"Club injury?"
"No, he slipped while having a shower."
"Hm. Clumsy."
"Ranfa." Kamitani glared at Ranfa as if to tell her she's telling his father way more than she needed to.
Ranfa didn't care about the glare. It might intimidate other girls but she's not one to be intimidated considering who her father was. She stuck her tongue out at Kamitani. Did she tell Hebihara on purpose? Yes. She wanted Hebihara to know what happened to give him a chance for him to reconnect with his son again; what father wouldn't worry about their son? Especially when injuries were involved.
And then when Chemistry was over, Ranfa said she still have something she wanted to ask Hebihara so Kamitani should go on ahead of her.
"Sensei, can you print me a handout that says you will tutor anyone who doesn't get your work?"
"Are you implying no one understands what I am saying in my own class?" Hebihara asked, feeling a little irked by his best student's words.
"Hey, I'm giving you a chance to spend some time with your son. One on one tutoring, hint-hint."
"I don't need to do such thing."
Ranfa glanced at his laptop and she looked rather smug. This old man! He was going to print out an after school tutoring session to start with! "Sensei, would you like me to collect your print out for you~?"
"Don't be smug....yes. And make sure only Hayato gets it."
"I don't think anyone would want this even if I give it to them."
"Oi."
"Yes~, yes~." Ranfa left the classroom to go and collect the print out. She's not a magical fairy that could heal injuries like in Michiyo's story books but what she could do was let her boyfriend know a lot of people cared about him- even his father even though his parents were no longer together.
She then thought of something. She decided to call her dad.
--Hello?-- Iwaizumi answered Ranfa, --Is Michiyo hungry again?--
"Nope. Just wanted to know how to care for someone with a sprained wrist. Is there anything like they should and shouldn't eat or drink while injured?"
Iwaizumi smiled on the other side of the phone; he raised a good daughter. --I'll tell you all about it--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I heard you wanted after school tutoring to catch up with what you're behind on. Good attitude. Now, sit." Hebihara said to Kamitani who was holding the print out Ranfa collected for him before.
"Why am I the only one here? Where's Ranfa?"
"This tutoring session is for students who somehow found themselves unable to understand the simplest things within my classroom. I wouldn't expect Sakura-san to be in this session."
"Ranfa..." Kamitani worked it out Ranfa and his own father planned this out!
"We can start whenever you want to. Until then, you can do whatever you want."
Kamitani sat down on a chair and he looked at his Father's back. He really was typing away on something. Maybe he's grading papers? Kamitani wondered about his Father's words; start whenever he felt like it? So if Kamitani sat there until it was time to go, his Father won't be mad? He sat there for a good while until he decided to break the silence.
"Old man, my wrist really hurts."
"Blame it on yourself who makes your mom worry all the time, idiot." Hebihara turned his chair to Kamitani, "Let me have a look at your wrist."