Five
Oikawa never thought he'd see the day where he would meet someone more fearsome than Iwaizumi. It just seemed impossible to find someone whose gaze could give you a good glimpse of death the way his childhood friend would. Now, he knew he was wrong and begged for mercy.
"S-S-Sakura-chan..." [Name] stuttered, still frozen in her mid-turn position. Oikawa was thankful that his bladder was emptied; otherwise, he was sure it would empty itself right there right then. Iwaizumi tightened his jaw, trying to stop them from chattering against each other.
"What are you doing here?!" Sakura demanded, stomping with her tightly clenched fists. She was wearing her baby blue tracksuit over her well fitted baseball jersey. Luckily, she didn't have her silver baseball bat with her, which would have made things worse. "You told me you're heading home early today!"
"I-I..." [Name] struggled to find an excuse, her eyes darting all over the place.
"Why won't you just listen to me?! I told you that you can't see him!" Sakura scolded, throwing her hands up as she did. [Name]'s eyes started to glister with tears as she looked down to her feet, feeling ashamed. "And you," She snapped at Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "I warned you to stay away from her! I thought you would be the better half, Iwaizumi-senpai, but I guess I was wrong."
"F-Fuyuki-san, I-I can explain..." Oikawa threw his hands up defensively, his knees ready to buckle and give up on him. He glanced to his side, hoping that Iwaizumi would be able to help but Iwaizumi remained frozen and speechless, as though he lost his tongue.
"Hey, you guys are still here. That's good. Listen, Sakura's coming and – Oh shit." Kimi winced, scratching the back of her head as she jogged towards the intense group, finally realizing that she was too late. She was about to turn around and leave, pretending she wasn't there in the first place but Sakura called her name, making her flinch and stop her in her tracks.
"You!" Sakura pointed at Kimi, startling the girl a little. Kimi winced again, rolling her eyes lazily.
"I should have just went home..." She mumbled under her breath.
"You knew they were seeing each other?" Sakura's voice was dangerous.
Kimi shrugged. "I dunno..." She muttered. "It's not like I brought her to see him during lunch or something..."
"You what?!"
"Goddamn it... I've gotta learn how to shut up..." Kimi slapped her own forehead for being such an idiot. "How did you know they were heading home together anyways?"
"I heard you talking to yourself, saying that you should warn them." Sakura growled, turning back to [Name] and Oikawa. She stomped towards the younger girl, pulling her away from the brunette setter. "You're going home with me now. And don't go looking for him ever again, do you understand me?"
"Fuyuki-san! Please! Let me explain!" Oikawa pleaded, pulling onto [Name] wrist. Sakura's rage turned up another level as she tugged [Name]'s hand away from Oikawa's grips.
"That's it!" [Name] exclaimed, snatching her hand away from Sakura, surprising everyone into silence. Her breaths were shallow as she tried to control her emotions. She looked up to Sakura with the sternest, hardest look she could make. Sakura's brow knitted at her behavior. "I had enough of this!"
"That's new..." Kimi added quietly at the back.
"W-What are you saying – "
"I can't do this anymore!" [Name] cut Sakura off, her shoulders shaking. Her voice was trembling and tears threatened to fall. "I want... I want to be with Tooru-chan. I want to be with him and Hajime-kun. But you're being so mean, Sakura-chan." She looked up to the 2nd year baseball player, tears finally streaming down her cheeks.
"Not just to me, but to Tooru-chan and Hajime-kun as well." She continued. Sakura's breath hitched and she chewed on her lower lip, guilt hitting her in the face. "Why won't you let me be happy? Why won't you let me be with them? Do you hate me, Sakura-chan?"
"N-No, of course not." Sakura squeaked, trying her best to explain herself. "I-I just..."
"[Name]-chan..." Oikawa called her name softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sniffled and looked up to him as he offered a sad smile. "You know, Fuyuki-san is only trying her best to look out for you. She doesn't hate you, she loves you very much." He glanced at Sakura only to have her look down as soon as they made eye contact.
"She just doesn't want you to get hurt, especially by this douchebag." Iwaizumi added, scowling at Oikawa. Oikawa gave him an animated hurt look but recollected himself quickly. "She's just doing everything she has to to protect you."
"But I don't need her protection..." [Name] looked down. "Not like this..."
Oikawa exchanged looks with Iwaizumi, both concerned for what was going to happen. They glanced at Sakura who had guilt written all over her face. She took a deep breath and mustered up all the courage she needed.
"I'm... sorry." She apologized and everything fell silent once more. "I'm sorry I'm being so mean..." She apologized again. Her apology widened everyone's eyes, especially Kimi who usually had her eyes lazily half lidded. The softness and tenderness in her voice made her seem so vulnerable and innocent. "I've been taking things too far and I'm sorry about it."
"But I'm just trying my best to protect you, [Name], from any harm." She glanced at Oikawa briefly, shooting an imaginary arrow to the captain. "But it seems that I'm not doing a good job..."
Guilt started to form in [Name]'s throat. "Sakura-chan..."
"So I've decided..." Sakura took a deep breath, unable to believe she was actually going to say it. "To give him a chance." She glanced at Oikawa at the word 'him'.
Oikawa and [Name]'s faces lit up at her words. They smiled at each other, thrilled that Sakura was finally giving them a chance. "But!" Sakura raised her voice, getting their attention once more. "I will be setting some terms and conditions."
"Sakura-chan~!" [Name] jumped onto the older girl, wrapping her arms around her neck gratefully. Sakura was a little surprise at the sudden show of affection, taking a step back to maintain her balance but softened into a smile. "You're the best!" [Name] said as she snuggled against Sakura's cheek.
Sakura let out a light chuckle and glanced over at Oikawa and Iwaizumi. She nodded at them as an apology and kept her gaze at them. "I want her to be happy." She said.
Iwaizumi let out a sigh of relief, with a hint of a smile dancing on his lips. Oikawa chuckled, running his fingers through his hair, a sense of relief running through his veins. "Me too."
--
Kindaichi's shoes squeaked loudly against the hardwood floors as he finally came to a stop after a few laps of jogging around the gymnasium. He panted lightly and fanned himself with his blue t-shirt. Kunimi joined his side, resting his palms on his knees.
"Good job everybody~! Well start with spiking, okay~?" The two first years turned their heads to their captain at his voice. He waved his hands up in the air with a wide smile plastered on his face, threatening to rip his face into two.
"Hai!" They replied along with the rest of the team.
"Oikawa-san seems to be in a good mood these past few days..." Kunimi said, straightening his back, eyes lingering at the captain as he waved at his fangirls who were cheering loudly by the bleachers. Oikawa's fans shrieked when a fast, powerful ball hit the back of his head, causing his head to snap forward.
"Iwaizumi-san looks like he's in a better mood too." Kindaichi added, motioning his head to the said third year.
"Get serious." Iwaizumi reminded the brunette flirt, catching the ball that bounced back from Oikawa's head. He hid the satisfaction of hitting the setter behind a small smirk. Oikawa whined that he was being mean, rubbing his head where the ball had made contact.
"Did something good happen between them?" The turnip head first year wonder aloud.
"Who knows?" Kunimi shrugged but blinked when he finally remembered something. "What about that girl from your class?"
"You mean [Name]-san?" Kindaichi raised a brow. "What about her?"
"Do you think their moods have something to do with her?"
"How would I know?"
"Well, aren't you classmates with her?"
"Yeah, aren't you classmates with her?" Mattsukawa suddenly appeared between the boys, scaring them to the point where they jumped up like cats, hair standing all over their bodies.
"M-Mattsukawa-san!" They exclaimed, still shaky from his sudden appearance.
"So, tell us, Kindaichi." Mattsukawa put a hand on the first year's shoulder. "Do you think it's got to do with her?"
"I-I'm not sure..." Kindaichi admitted, still slightly embarrassed with himself. "No one in class really talks to her..."
"Or maybe you're just too embarrassed to have a conversation with an actual female." Hanamaki joined in their conversation, his face as straight as ever. Kindaichi's face burst with a bright red blush at his words.
"Does she seem to be in a better mood like our captain and vice-captain too?" Mattsukawa asked.
"Now that you mentioned it..." Kindaichi titled his head upwards, trying to recall [Name]'s recent behavior. "She seems to be a little brighter than usual..."
"Brighter?" The group echoed.
"Yeah... Typically, in class, she would be slouched over her table like a blob, whining incoherent words and all." The turnip head sweat dropped at the thought of her usual class behavior. They could all imagine her in class already and small depression lines forming under their eyes. Reminds us of a certain someone...
"But recently, she's been oddly happy, swaying and humming in class, greeting everyone despite getting our names wrong." Kindaichi replayed the scene where [Name] entered the class cheerfully, wishing everyone good morning even though she was already 15 minutes late to their first class. She greeted the teacher, forgetting his name halfway. She also greeted all her classmates, mistaking some for being new students. He could still hear her voice ringing in his head, calling him 'Kimochi-kun'.
Watari noticed the little discussion they were having and decided to join in curiously.
"Do you think they're going out?" Hanamaki thought aloud, dropping the jaws of the younger players
"Y-you think so?!" They exclaimed. "B-B-But just the other day... She freaked him out right?"
"It seems to be the only logical thing." Mattsukawa agreed.
"A-Amazing..." Watari muttered, a blush forming on his face.
"Hey,hey~! What are you guys talking about?" Oikawa walked up to the group, winking at his teammates. "Don't leave your good looking captain out of it~"
"Oikawa-san!" Kindaichi flinched a little, swallowing nervously. He tried to avoid the captain's gaze, a feeling of shame creeping under his skin. Watari's face burst into a deep explosive blush. He turned his back towards the captain, burying his face in his hands.
"So, what's the whole little gossip group about?" Oikawa nudged the first years, wriggling his brows at them, trying to get them to tell him.
"Well..." Kunimi tilted his head to the side, away from the captain.
"We were just wondering, Oikawa," Mattsukawa spoke on behalf of his curious teammates. Iwaizumi joined the group, standing right next to Oikawa. "Are you going out with [Name]?"
The captain and vice-captain widened their eyes in surprise, lips slightly parting. Watari had dropped into a crouch; the secondhand embarrassment was hitting him hard. The two first years' jaws dropped, taking aback by the straightforwardness of the third year.
"What makes you say that?" Iwaizumi asked cautiously.
"Well, you both have been in great moods recently and according to Kindaichi, [Name] has been a little different too lately." Hanamaki explained. "So we came up with the conclusion that something must have happened between you guys."
"Geez..." Oikawa chuckled, impressed at their deduction. But he always knew that his teammates were intelligent. "Alright, I'll answer you. I am going out with [Name]-chan."
Kindaichi and Kunimi dropped their jaws wider. Watari was already on a floor on the brink of death due to the secondhand embarrassment. Hanamaki and Mattsukawa nodded and hummed in approval, completely fine with how things were turning out.
"Not in that context, you moron." Iwaizumi corrected, shooting the flirt a quick glare.
"What does that mean?" Hanamaki asked.
"Well... The truth is, [Name] has a memory disorder and I'm going to help her." Oikawa beamed with a smile.
"Memory disorder?" Kindaichi echoed questioningly. Kunimi turned to him, hoping for an explanation but he was just as clueless.
"What do you mean you're going to help her?" Mattsukawa asked.
"It means, I'm going to do whatever I can to make her happy and make fun memories with her, help her go through her memory disorder. She thinks of me as her boyfriend and that's what I'm going to be." Oikawa explained. "After all, it would just be too cruel for her to go through this alone. So, I'm going to help her in any way I can."
A moment of silence passed by as his teammates widened their eyes at him, amazed and even admired him for doing so. They can feel a slight halo glowing behind the flamboyant male, giving him a saint look.
"S-So awesome..." They muttered softly in unison, feeling so touched that tears started to form in the corner of their eyes.
"But how are you going to explain this to the fangirls?" Hanamaki interrupted and the bright, holy atmosphere shattered into a dark, troubled one. Oikawa dropped his head down to his chest, shoulders slumped with dense depression lines hanging heavily right above his shoulders. Iwaizumi could feel a certain discomfort in his stomach too and furrowed his brows with his eyes closed, as if he was getting a major headache just at the thought of it.
"L-Let's just think of a way when we get to that part..."