“ 𝑨𝒘, 𝑰𝒘𝒂-𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆~”
.
𝟏
The morning was bland enough for Oikawa to scoff loudly, his eyes trained on the match of Karasuno vs Inarizaki. It got on his nerves whenever Kageyama appeared on the screen. If not for the cost and his remaining funds, he would've surely broken his phone.
“ What a joke...,” he muttered, taking off his earphones before letting out a low, frustrated cry. Well, whichever side wins, he'll not be happy....so no use lamenting over lost fortune. Yet, his eyes focused on the screen as it showed a replay of the quick duo’s miracle block at the end.
“ Ah ! That's nii-chan !” The tall male recoiled at the high pitched voice near his ears.
Kotei, still in her school uniform, had climbed up the bench and been analyzing the game silently sitting beside the boy. She pointed at his screen with keen interest. To his dumbfounded expression, she offered a grin before adding,“ Atsumu and Osamu are Kotei's friends. So Kotei hopes both teams win.”
That's impossible.
He sweatdropped but managed to gather himself before giving her his best ‘pretty’ smile.“Kotei-chan~exactly the person to make my day bright (which has been already ruined by Tobio-chan) !”
She shook her head before pointing at her attire.“ Kotei’s going home. Because Kotei's a big girl.”
“ Of course you are~” He tried to hug her but she pushed him off by his face and ignoring him asked whether he had games on his phone.“ Kotei-chan, you're a big meanie~too bad I don't have games on my phone.”
“ Hn ? Okay then bye !” She waved at him before getting down, proceeding to walk away.
“ Aaah ! Kotei, where are you going ? You don't wanna spend time with your Toru-nii ?” He pouted, blocking her way.
“ Hm, no.”
“ Then how about I treat you to some food ?”
“ Kotei says yesss !” Kotei cheered, throwing her hands up in the air.
“ Yayyy !” Oikawa copied her action while the few occupants of the park chuckled at the adorable vibes they were giving off.
𝟐
“ A kid's meal...”
“ With the flag on top !” Kotei chirped. Not wanting to ruin his own diet he just requested for a glass of water.
“ Oh yesh~Kotei loves Toru-nii-chan the best,” she cheered, jumping on the seats.
Oikawa knew he was being flattered on purpose but he had absolutely no complaints if it was a kid, expecially Kotei. Taking out a tissue from his pocket he quickly wiped his bloody nose before taking a seat right beside the girl.
“ Kotei-chan, can you please let me squish your cheeks~”
She immediately shook her head, rapidly.
“ A little bit ?”
She continued shaking her head.
“ Not even this much ?” He pouted showing an inch with his fingers.
“ No.”
Kotei glanced up at the dejected grown up who sulked beside her. Feeling a bit sad for him, she tugged on his sleeves, lightly. Besides, it's not smart to ignore the favours from someone who's treating you to free food, voluntarily.“ Okay, but just a teensy-weensy bit.”
Oikawa’s face consorted into a bright smile as he poked her cheeks lightly before pinching them.“ You're adorable, you know that ?” He gushed pulling out a tissue with the other hand.
“ Kotei's adowable always,” she huffed out with a proud smile when the waiter arrived with the food. But the food was not important for her when the flag became the object of interest.“Flaguee~”
Oikawa chuckled as he took a sip from his crystal, clear water. He felt his phone vibrate in his pockets but didn't pick it up thinking whoever idiot was ringing him up deserved to be ignored.
“ Let's dig in !” Kotei picked up the spoon but halted in the midst of her action. She stared up at Oikawa’s face who stared back with a confused look.“ Toru won't eat ?”
“ I'm fine. I'm not hungry,” he said in an amused tone as he leaned forward to rest his chin on his palm. He felt soft knowing she was genuinely concerned (maybe a bit ashamed).
“ E-eh ? But....,” she looked down at her plate,“ oooh, let's share !”
“ I promise I'm fine—”
“ Then Kotei won't eat, too,” she pouted and pushed away the food even when she was visibly drooling at the sight, yearning for a bite.
“ Kotei-chan,” Oikawa teared up, shocked at her rigidness,“ I didn't know you cared about me so much~”
In the meantime, Kotei's hands twitched, wanting to dig into her food as fast as possibly. Hopefully the older will get the signal. She's not someone to share her food with others but somehow it sounds weird when you're gulping down your share hungrily while the other sits there observing you eat.
“ Okay, let's share.” He wiped the last remnant of his nonexistent tears and picked up the small spoon only to get a nosebleed again at the sight of the small cute utensils.
...
“ Gotta use the restroom~” Oikawa muttered in a sing-song voice before getting up but not before warning Kotei not to leave her seat.
On the streets outside, the shrill voice of three gossiping girls resounded as they laughed loudly about something. The first girl with dyed-blonde hair and green eyes, Ayako, smiled softly before adding some details to the events about her stay at her grandfather’s house,“....we played beach volleyball.”
The taller girl on her right with jet black hair cascading straight down her shoulders gave small nods to the conversation, greatly curious about her story.“ Okinawa sure is great. Please take us next time, Ayako-chan.”
Her name was Yumeko.
On Ayako’s left walked a silent girl who pretended to listen to the conversation but was, in reality, busy on her phone. She put a strand of her brown lock behind her ears as it gave a full glimpse of her beautiful side profile.“...,” this girl name Yuuko was supposed to be at home doing her chores but instead she's seen hanging out with friends. Her parents say their child has gone rebellious but teens are supposed to act like teens. And that's exactly what she's doing.
And all three of them went to Aoba Jōsai as third years. Despite their calm and collected looks they go absolutely crazy at the sight of their idol, Oikawa Tōru. That's because they're the respected members of the Oikawa fan club (just a saying as there's no official Oikawa club) and worships him like some God.
“ God damnit ! Who the hell—”
Oikawa, who was returning to his seat, felt the phone vibrate in his pocket once more. But the sight that greeted him was not good.
15 missed calls from Iwa-chan.
Followed by a horde of profanities in the text messages. Oikawa let out a fearful squeak before opening up the messages.
“ Hey, isn't that Oikawa-san ?” Ayako chirped happily pointing inside the cafe.
“ Who ? What ? Where ? Ah !” Ayako’s squeal seemed to peel Yuuko’s attention from her phone as she basically slammed her face against the glass window to get a better look.“It indeed is !”
Apparently, Iwaizumi had the entire volleyball team plan a small get together at the ramen shop nearby and being the good friends they were, Oikawa was also invited. But he didn't see Iwaizumi’s text. Compelled, he had to ring him up but the latter wouldn't pick up. Eventually, he snapped at the ignorance and was on the verge of starting a rampage when Hanamaki and Matsukawa calmed him down. ‘He's probably some place where he cannot pick up his phone,’ was the sentence that prevented the vice captain from breaking someone's skull.
“ Aw, Iwa-chan, do you miss me~”
Oikawa typed back but the response that he got forced him to switch off his phone.
Iwaizumi’s dictionary of curses sure is modified.
“ It is Oikawa-san~” Yumeko said in a daze as the trio took in his outfit and admired his being.“ I think this day is a blessing for us~ah, his style is perfect !”
“ Should we go say hi ?” Ayako asked.
“ Wait, who's that ?” Yuuko questioned as the other two followed her line of sight.
Oikawa took back his seat beside Kotei and chuckled seeing her eating messily. The girls watched, alert, as he held her head with one hand and wiped her mouth with the folded tissue.
“ His sister maybe ?” Ayako added, unsure.
“ He doesn't have a sister. He just has a nephew named Takeru that's all,” Yuuko muttered, nonchalantly. Her response earned weird looks from her friends who stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.“ What ?”
“ Yuuko, stalking people is mean,” Ayako whispered.
“ I'm not a stalker ! He said it himself.”
She leaned towards her right to get a better view of Oikawa’s face and then Kotei's.“ Besides, that can't be his sibling. They look nothing alike.”
Yumeko’s eyes widened at a wild idea.“ You don't think...,” she looked left and right before dropping her voice,“....his daughter...?”
“ Aw, come on. Be more realistic.”
“ You're being delusional, Yumeko-chan.”
“...”
“....”
“.....”
“ NO WAY THAT'S HIS DAUGHTER RIGHT ?! HAH ? HAH ? I MEAN WHAT'S HIS AGE ? HE'S STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL FOR GOD'S SAKE ! DON'T RUIN MY PERFECT IMAGE OF HIM, B*TCH !!”
“ Calm down, Yuuko,” the girls tried to restrain her as they got some weird stares from the onlookers. The thought of Oikawa having a secret love affair was too out of this world for her.
“ Or maybe he's a pedophile,” Ayako stated, thoughtfully.
Both Yumeko and Yuuko faced her with blank looks as she smiled, innocently. Next you know, two fists collided with the back of her skull as she collapsed onto the floor.“ It w-was just my o-opinion...,” Ayako stuttered out, her body twitching in pain.
“ Argh, I'm so curious.” Yuuko ruffled her hair, frustrated, before pushing open the cafe door and walking in. Yumeko followed dragging a passed out Ayako with her.
They chose a seat close to the pair. Although they couldn't hear what they were saying but atleast now they can analyse the situation from a nearer perspective.
“ Kotei wants a parfait, Toru ! Kotei loves parfait.” The little girl enthusiastically pulled on his sleeves remembering the taste from when Kuroo had first introduced her to it.
“ Oh, anything for you,” Oikawa’s smile remained intact but inwardly he was remembering just how much he was left with in his wallet. He didn't bring much considering he was out on a jog ! But he couldn't bring himself to say no to those doe eyes and puffed out cheeks ! His daily dose of serotonin is on the line !“ Just give me a minute.”
Immediately, he snatched the menu and his eyes scanned through it looking for something cheap. He can't let his reputation of a trained bargainer go to waste (although it's no use here).
“ They look quite chummy. Scratch that, they do look like a father-daughter pair. But,” Yuuko slammed her fist upon the table,“ that can't be true. I will definitely find out the truth !”
“ Yuuko looks pretty fired up.”
“ You bet.”
Ring ! Ring ! Ring !
“ It's Iwa-chan !” Oikawa brightened up at the contact number and picked it up only to pull it away from his ears.
“ THE HELL ARE YOU SHITTYKAWA ! WHY DID YOU NOT PICK UP MY CALLS !”
“ Calm down, Vice captain. That idiot was probably sleeping,” Hanamaki’s voice was heard in the background.
“ I'm sorry. I was jogging. You know my daily routine pretty well, Iwa-chan. You should have known,” Oikawa stated calmly as the waiter brought their order to put it down before them.
“ W-well...I forgot.” Iwaizumi suddenly got very silent,“ I called you so many times. Don't worry me like that.... stupid.”
“ Iwa-chan is so sweet. But I'm fine don't worry,” Oikawa gave a soft smile although the former couldn't see his face.“ Currently, I'm with Kotei-chan. We met by coincidence, can you believe that ?”
“ No.”
“ I'm not joking.”
“ Where are you now ? I need to make sure you're not fooling around.”
“ You worry too much, Iwa-chan~are you my mom ?”
“ I'll punch you, you punk.”
In response Oikawa laughed loudly before picking up the cherry and putting it on his tongue, slowly savouring the taste. Kotei let out a disappointed ‘ehhh’ at that. She wanted to eat that.
“ Look, he's getting up,” Yumeko nudged Ayako who had fallen asleep on the table.
The setter walked out of the cafe to stand on the street outside. His phone was held to his ears and he appeared to be looking for someone.
“ Yosh, this is our chance. Let's go.”
After countless deliberations they sent Ayako to Kotei's table because she had the most innocent and harmless face out of them all. Cautiously, she approached her and stood near the edge.
“ Hm ?” Kotei looked up at the shadow casted on her and shrunk at the weird intimidating looking girl staring down at her with a creepy grin.
“ Hey, kid, you alone ?”
Yuuko and Yumeko facepalmed.“What's that idiot doing ? Why is she talking like a perverted kidnapper ?”
“ She's taking roleplay a bit too seriously.”
Kotei froze as she leaned near her face with the same creepy smile.“ Don't worry kid. Nee-san won't hurt you.”
What's with this weird big sis ? Kotei thought with narrowed eyes as she felt her intentions were not right. Being the smart child is, she stated proudly,“ Kotei's naive but Kotei's not dumb. Kotei's papa is just outside—”
“ Aaaahhhh !” Kotei flinched again as the blonde let out an inhuman screech before running towards the table at the far corner. Two other girls sat there. She didn't think much of it before shrugging and getting back to eating her share. Kidnappers sure are weird these days.
“ It's confirmed,” Ayako whisper-yelled as she sat beside her friends.“She said it herself. Oikawa-san is her father.”
“ I can't believe this !”
“ He could've waited a few years more. Now he ruined my perfect image of him,” Yuuko ruffled her hair before burying her face in her arms.“Oikawa-san, how could you !”
“ Don't tell me she liked him in that way,” Yumeko whispered to Ayako. But no response came.“ Ayako ?”
“ Oooh, this looks tasty,” Ayako drooled at the menu completely having forgotten about the situation.
The black haired girl sighed before pushing Yuuko by the shoulder.“ Don't you think it's a bit weird for us to lament over his life decisions ? I mean it's his life. He can do whatever he wants with it. The least we can do is learn our lesson from this.”
“ Oh ? And what's the lesson ?”
Yumeko smiled innocently.“ That one night stands are not as bad as it seems.”
No one noticed how two shady looking high school girls, one strangling the other, struggled in the corner table. Or more like they ignored them afraid that later when the cops pulled up, the witnesses would be the first ones to be questioned.
“ Iwa-chan, here~”
“ Don't Iwa-chan me, you idiot !”
Oikawa prepared himself to get hit by the latter but frowned when the rough hands didn't touch him. He looked at Iwaizumi in question who just shrugged.“ Did you watch Karasuno’s match ?”
“ I did.”
“ Thought so. You always skip your meals when you're frustrated. I had to make sure you didn't pass out from fatigue,” the dark haired boy muttered scratching his cheeks, awkwardly,“ glad to see you're alive.”
“ Iwa—”
“ Shut it ! Where's Kotei ?” He walked away with hurried steps before Oikawa could say something.
A smile stretched on Oikawa’s face who followed him.
𝟑
“ Zumi !” Kotei brightened up at the sight of the familiar person.
Iwaizumi acknowledged her presence with a wave, not saying a word and sat down beside Kotei, picking up the menu.
“ I was sitting beside Kotei-chan~” Oikawa grumbled, grabbing the seat in front of them.
“ It's Iwaizumi-san,” Ayako pointed out, causing the other two to perk up.“I wonder if they're hanging out...”
“ Zumi, look ! Toru treated me. Toru is actually very nice,” Kotei piped in.
“ K-Kotei-chan, I think that's enough for today! I can't control my happiness anymore,” the latter said covering his mouth with the back of his palm, growing emotional.
“ Whatever. I think I'm gonna head out first.”
“ Eh ? But you just arrived.”
“ I came to check upon you. So my business is technically done here.”
“ Zumi, say ah~”
“ Wha-mph,” the sweet flavour melted in his mouth as his tongue wrapped around the sliced cherry. Kotei pulled back the spoon and inquired about the taste.“ Sweet.”
“ It is !”
“ Hey, Iwaizumi-san seems to be familiar with the child too ! Does that mean he knows about the secret affair ?” Yumeko asked, breaking the silence.
“....you don't think he's the dad right ?” Ayako whispered back, her eyes almost shutting when she figured she's gonna get smacked again.“ They kind of look like a family.”
This time the other two couldn't say anything as they watched the heartwarming scene with baffled expressions on their faces. Iwaizumi and Oikawa had a child ? This has to be a joke. Wait, is that even possible ? How does that even work ?
“ Pfft..I didn't know Ayako-chan is into that stuff,” Yumeko giggled, dismissing the awkward atmosphere with a laugh.
“ That I'm a fujoshi ?” Ayako asked directly still in an innocent ( no longer innocent ) voice.
“ This day is full of surprises,” Yuuko deadpanned.
Their doubts strayed afar from the main topic as they thought back to the innumerable times they had seen the boys together. Scratch that, they are always together. Initially, as any sane person would see it, they were taken to be best friends, the best buddies, childhood friends and nothing more. But Ayako’s words made them see the duo in a whole new light. Screw Ayako for corrupting their minds.
They finally viewed Iwaizumi walk out of the cafe, leaving the other two behind. Oikawa regained his former place beside Kotei and tried to make light conversation. Despite their worries, the trio couldn't help but fall in love with this, rather clingy side, of Oikawa. Their hearts clenched tightly within their chests and their respect for the former only grew.
“ Oikawa-san is definitely the father type,” Yuuko sighed dreamily as the said person proceeded to wipe the cream smudges around the child's mouth.
“ He looks so good,” Yumeko followed close behind feeling like she could stare at the adorable scene forever.
“ This food looks good too~” Ayako’s eyes twinkled as she continued eyeing the menu.
“ Okay, that's it ! I'm gonna confront him !” Yuuko shot up from her seat and without another word stomped her way towards their table. Yumeko clicked her tongue before dragging Ayako along with her.
“ Oikawa-san !”
“ Hm ?” He tore his attention from Kotei to look up at the newcomers. His eyes lit up in recognition and he greeted them with a smile.“ It's Ayako-chan, Yumeko-chan and Yuuko-chan ! What a pleasant surprise.”
‘ He remembered our names !’ The trio chorused in their thoughts as they clutched their chests to calm down their racing hearts. Although all of them had a few classes together, they frequently interacted with the male. They thought Oikawa sees them nothing more than a horde of crazy followers.
“ Sorry, can we do the autographs later ? I'm a little busy today,” he stated, apologetically.
“ Th-that's it !” Yuuko managed to speak, resting her palms on the table and looking desperate to hear some sort of reassurance.“ Oikawa-san, how could you ! And at this age ? That's two lives wasted !”
“ Eh ?” Oikawa stared at them with a blank expression.“ Whose lives are wasted ?”
“ One is you ! Second is the....uh....,” she grew a bit shy before adding in a whisper,“...the mistress.”
“ What mistress are you talking about ?” He asked with knitted brows.
“ Oikawa-san, we already know. There's no use hiding it. She's the living proof,” Yumeko said gesturing at Kotei who was clinking the spoon against the glass to create some pop music or whatever.
“ Kotei-chan ? What about her ?” Oikawa asked getting nervous. Just what were these girls getting at ?
“ It's alright. We just want to clarify. But of course your secret is safe with us.”
“ Yes, because she is cute~and you are too,” Ayako stated happily.
“ Wait, what secret are you talking about ?” Oikawa shot up from his seat.
“ That she is your daughter,” the three yelled, simultaneously.
“...”
...
“ P-please forgive us ! We're so sorry for jumping to conclusions !”
The three girls bowed before him as he shyly waved them off, dismissing their misunderstanding.
“ It's fine. But I am still a bit shocked....did we really look like father and daughter ?” He asked excitedly glancing at Kotei who had fallen asleep on his lap and was snoring softly, one of her hands clutching his trouser and the other, holding the spoon.“ I really wanna take that as a compliment.”
The three girls shared looks among themselves.“ Oikawa-san seems to be a really good father figure !”
“ It suits him, right ?”
“ He might get the father of the year award !”
Oikawa blushed hard at their compliments and laughed loudly, discreetly refusing their statements although he wanted to accept them, directly.“ Stop it. I'm still in high school~”
“ But you seriously looked like a real father a second ago ! That's the very reason we mistook the whole situation !” They stroked his ego further resulting in him grinning broadly.
“ Stop that, already. Flattery will get you nowhere,” he said yet his face looked like it was inviting further encouragement and compliments. He proved his own statement wrong when he spoke up,“ how about you order whatever you like. And it'll be my treat.”
Oops.
That was a big mistake.
He went with the flow completely forgetting the fact that his wallet was basically empty. He began sweating when the girls looked excited for a second. He could only give them a tight lipped smile.
“ Please don't let us bother you, Oikawa-san. Besides, it's getting late. We should get going,” Yuuko said, flustered.
Sigh.
“ See you later, Oikawa-san.” They bowed and took their leave. The bunch looked pretty contended and the boy even heard Ayako mutter ‘ but I wanted some free food’ at the end.
“ Kotei-chan ? Time to go home,” he whispered, cupping his hands by his mouth to direct his voice straight into her ears.“ Kotei-chan~” He smiled when the child just turned on her side to get into a more comfortable position.“ Aw, what should I do ? I don't know where she lives~” He thought for a moment before picking up her lax form to rest her head on his shoulder.
The next when Kotei opened her eyes she found herself in a completely different place.
“ You're up ? Mind telling me where you live?”
She looked to her right only to see soft brown hair covering her sight. She drew back and rubbed her eyes before facing Oikawa and then the Karasuno High school in the distance.“ Nii-chan school...,” she pointed.
“ So it is.”
“ Kotei wanna go home ! Put Kotei down !” She wiggled in his grasp and he let her down, carefully and crouched before her.
“ Your house is near here ?”
“ Mhm.”
“ Okay, I'll tag along~”
Kotei looked up in thought.“Miwa-nee says not to show strangers where you live. So Kotei can't bring Toru-nii-chan along. Sorry, Toru.”
His heart cracked at the word ‘stranger’. But he masked his sad look with a smile.“ You're so smart, Kotei. I feel so proud~”
“ You do ? Heh,” she smiled, shyly, scratching her cheeks.
“ Ah, but how do I know you've reached safely ?”
“ Kotei will make pinky promise that Kotei will reach home safe,” she chirped.
“ Aww~but that's not reassuring. I need to know that you reached home safely.”
“ Hmph,” she pushed her lower lip forward, trying hard to figure something out but looked up with a defeated noise escaping her throat. Oikawa chuckled and motioned for her to show her bag.
He fidgeted inside to find something. Anything. That's when his fingers touched a small box of crayons and he took the red colour. Finding the sketchbook Kotei always carried everywhere he took out the last page of it and jotted down his phone number in a neat handwriting.
“ Once you get home you have to ring up this number. I hope you can do that ?” Kotei nodded rapidly in response.“ Good~”
The girl smiled and waved at him to walk away. Oikawa waved back but had to stop when he saw the girl returning the next minute. Giddily, she took something out of her pocket and motioned for him to take it.“Kotei thanks Toru for the treat. This is a gift.”
He looked down at his palm to find a weird ochre pebble shaped in the form of a star (somewhat). The texture was smooth and the surface was indistinct. At first glance, it looked like a normal stone but after staring at it for a long time it'd start to take a starry shape. “ For me?” He asked with wide eyes.
“ Mhm. Because Toru is the best ! Toru’s not the pervert Kotei thought to be. And Kotei loves Toru-nii-chan. Thank you for today,” she said, hugging his leg.
The latter felt weak in heart his insides churned with happiness. Ignoring the rapid tugging at his heart strings, he bent down to return the hug as she patted his head.
“ Bye, Toru ! Look out for shady people on streets. And don't talk to strangers,” she warned him, seriously.
“ I won't.”
“ Ta ta !”
This day wasn't so bad with Kotei's company. Well, the said girl's brother was the one to ruin his mood anyway but he was happy the he was no longer acknowledged as a ‘perv’ by the small girl.
Whistling to himself, he walked back home in a good mood.
______________________________________
“ 𝑇𝒉𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 !”