It was a beautiful day.
The temperature was lovely. It wasn't hot enough to sweat, but it wasn't cold enough for a jacket. An occasional breeze would rustle the air and flowers, but it was warm and refreshing.
Iwaizumi checked his phone for the time before putting it away in his backpack.
Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he stood up from the bench he was sitting on and brushed off any dirt on him. He started walking.
It's been a couple of months since the phone call. A couple of months and a week since he, Akaashi, and Bokuto attended Oikawa's funeral.
It was a small ceremony with few people. Mr. Mori was there along with Sato and a few other unfamiliar faces. Mr. Mori looked like he had aged considerably in the year that he had been in the States. His once sleek black hair was now primarily gray with streaks of black. Wrinkles creased on his skin every time he talked, and Iwaizumi wondered how a man could age that quickly in such a short amount of time.
Then he remembered his own appearance: messy, unbrushed hair, sunken eyes with circles dark as night, and he quickly vanished thoughts about Mr. Mori's rapid aging.
The ceremony itself was simple. Mr. Mori said a few words before inviting Iwaizumi to speak as well. He had tried to prepare a speech in advance, but there was nothing he could put down on papers to explain who Oikawa was.
When Iwaizumi took the stand from Mr. Mori, it took everything in him to not break down. In fact, he was so concentrated on not sobbing on his knees that even now, he still can't remember exactly what he said in his eulogy.
Fast forward to these recent weeks after the funeral, Iwaizumi hasn't been able to remember anything properly. His mind was constantly in a fog, and as his friends and family would say, he seemed like he just wasn't there.
And they were right.
Iwaizumi was no longer in the present because that means he's living in a world without his soulmate. Instead, his mind would run over his memories with Oikawa over and over again. In his mind, there was no end to their story.
Harumi used to chide his absentminded self and beg for him to accept Oikawa's death, but Iwaizumi thought she was asking for the impossible.
How can he accept his soulmate's death when he's still here with him? The request was ridiculous in Iwaizumi's mind.
As he continued walking down the street, his eyes glanced over his surroundings. There was nothing special about this location; he had taken this road more times than he count, but as he approached a corner, a stranger with brown locks passed by.
Iwaizumi paused mid-step.
He turned around. The stranger was walking farther and farther away from him. There was a tug on his heart as he watched.
"Oikawa?" He called out hopefully.
The stranger paid him no mind, walking away until Iwaizumi could no longer see his silhouette.
"Oikawa!" He called again.
No response. Iwaizumi bit his lip, pulling out his phone to check the time before putting it back into his backpack.
He took off after the familiar stranger.
His shoes scrapped against the cement as he bounded down the sidewalk after his soulmate. With his heart pounding and his mind spinning, he paid no attention to the civilians around him. He pushed them aside and sidestepped others. His soulmate was getting further away.
There was no way to describe how Iwaizumi was feeling. In fact, the last time he felt something was when he watched Oikawa's casket get lowered into the ground.
He stopped running, suddenly feeling nauseous. Oikawa's casket. Why did he have to remember that now?
The taste of bile tainted his tongue as he clamped a hand over his mouth. A wave of dread washed over him as he recalled the phone call, the funeral, the casket, the loss of his lover.
No longer able to contain his feelings, he threw up on the side of the road. His eyes watered from the intense projection, or maybe from his memories.
As he hurled, his mind began to fog again. Why was he running in the first place? Was he late? He remembered checking the time. Where was he supposed to be right now?
No answers came to him. His legs collapsed underneath him as he tried to take in his environment. As he wiped the tears from his face, he caught a glimpse of a stranger.
Iwaizumi couldn't see the man's face, but he could see the curly brown locks. The stranger had a small but muscular build and formidable height.
Oikawa?
Iwaizumi got back on his feet. He slowly took a few steps toward the man.
"Oikawa?" He questioned.
The stranger seemed to have heard him and turned around.
Iwaizumi squinted to see.
Chocolate colored eyes stared at him. The stranger's lips tugged upward in a broad smile, pearly whites flashing.
"Oikawa!" Iwaizumi shouted.
The stranger waved and turned away, his back faced Iwaizumi as he began to walk away.
Panicking, Iwaizumi rushed forward, nearly tripping as he stumbled across the street. A blinding light made him shut his eyes, but he instinctively reached his left hand out desperately towards his soulmate.
"Tooru, come back!"
• • •
Akaashi glanced anxiously at the time as Bokuto scrubbed the dishes, whistling an odd tune.
"Where do you think Iwaizumi is? It's been an hour, and he's not responding to any of my texts!"
Bokuto shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he's visiting Oikawa's grave? You know he does that a lot."
"Kotaro, you know he's not in his right mind," Akaashi said exasperatedly. "He hasn't been since the funeral. Sometimes I think he needs to start taking some medication or something."
"I'm sure it's hard to lose your soulmate. I can't imagine losing you, so I'm sure Iwaizumi just needs some time."
Akaashi rubbed his eyes. "I can't imagine losing you either, but that's why I'm so worried about him. Sometimes he says he can see Oikawa!"
"See Oikawa? Like a ghost?" Bokuto asked, puzzled.
"No, I think Iwaizumi genuinely believes Oikawa is still here. He's followed people with brown hair before because he thought they were Oikawa."
Bokuto set down the dishes in his hand and frowned. "Why haven't I heard about this?"
"It's only happened twice, but Iwaizumi snapped out of it before he could do anything else." Akaashi picked up his phone. "I'm going to call him."
"Maybe we should call Harumi," Bokuto suggested.
Akaashi nodded. He placed his phone near his ear and waited for the line to pick up.
No answer.
With a purse of his lips, he set his phone back down and tapped on the screen until he reached Harumi's number.
The line picked up after a few moments.
"Harumi! Do you know—"
A sniffle interrupted him. Akaashi froze.
"Akaashi?"
He gulped. "Yes, Harumi?"
"He's with Oikawa now."
• • •
THE END