Eleven
Oikawa remained where he stood, unable to move a single muscle. He stared at the man before him, who returned the surprised expression. [Name]'s father's gray eyes widened and turned somewhat glassy and his lips parted as if to say something. "Ryou..." However, he stopped himself there, evoking more curiosity and confusion within the brunette.
Ryou..?
"What's wrong, Tooru-kun, anata (dear)?" Hana questioned, resting a hand on Oikawa's shoulder as she glanced back and forth between him and her husband. Oikawa took it as a cue to snap out of it.
"I-It's nothing." Oikawa managed a forced smile, trying to assure Hana that everything was fine. Hana raised a brow at him and turned to her husband, who eventually snapped out of it too.
"It's really nothing." Her husband smiled at her, adjusting his glasses and tucking his hands in to his pockets. "Please, come on in, Tooru-kun. We've been waiting for you."
"R-Right..." Oikawa nodded as he followed them into the living room, a little surprised by how fluent his Japanese was. He shuffled his feet through the wooden floorboards, careful to keep his footsteps light and polite. He took note of their home design; simple and neat. A low coffee table rested between the pale colored couches and a flat screen TV by the plain walls; it wasn't much but it definitely felt cozy enough for the brunette.
"Ano... I have some pastries here that I got at a patisserie near my house." Oikawa leaned forward in a slight bow and he handed the box of pastries to Hana. Hana smiled at the boy, clearly delighted at his gift and thanked him, heading to the kitchen to get tea and plate out the pastries.
"Please, have a seat." [Name]'s father stretched out his arm, offering a seat. Oikawa nodded at his offer and took a seat right by the arm rest anxiously. He tried to stop his legs from trembling when [Name]'s father decided to sit right across him. He forced his lips into a smile, trying his best to hide his nervousness but failed terribly. He managed to steer his eyes towards her father, catching a glimpse of his smile.
"I haven't introduced myself, how silly." [Name]'s father chuckled and shook his head lightly. "You can call me Adrian. Is it fine if I call you Ry-" He paused and pursed his lips. "Can I call you Tooru-kun?"
"Y-Yes!" Again...
"Sorry, but [Name] is still asleep." He apologized, chuckling softly. He tried to lighten up the situation to make Oikawa feel a little less uncomfortable. However his kindness only made him more uneasy. "She's a deep sleeper and it gets pretty scary when she's forced to wake up, so..."
"No, i-it's fine..." Oikawa lied. It wasn't fine, he needed her to be there during this curial moment of his life.
"Hai, here's the tea and cakes." Hana finally entered the living room with a tray of tea and pastries, which he was extremely thankful for. She placed them carefully on the coffee table, smiling at Oikawa as she handed him his cup. She placed the tray on the edge of the table and took a seat next to her husband.
"Tooru-kun." Oikawa perked up and straightened his back at the seriousness in Adrian's voice. He watched quietly as Adrian took his wife's hand in his large ones, gently squeezing it for assurance. "I'm sure you know about [Name]'s memory condition." Oikawa swallowed and nodded. "You must know it's a difficult disorder to be involved with, don't you?"
"It's not that bad..." Oikawa shrugged, holding onto the cup tightly.
"I see." He nodded lightly and inhaled deeply. "[Name] has gone through too many tough times. As parents, it was incredibly painful for us to watch her go through them, not being able to help much." He squeezed her hand tightly, as though he was in pain just by recalling those memories.
"Dear..." Hana comforted him, rubbing his arm gently.
"That's why we are very grateful for you, Tooru-kun. And your friend, Hajime-kun." Adrian raised his head to look at the volleyball captain right in the eyes. His gray eyes soft and a little glassy, the thankfulness in them overwhelming Oikawa. "You decided to go through all these trouble with her even though it was clearly not something you asked for, something you're not needed to do. And, it really did her good. She's happy and bright, something we've missed for a long time."
"So thank you, Tooru-kun." Adrian and Hana smiled at him, embracing him with the warm kindness in their smiles. "But if it really is too much of a trouble for you, don't hesitate to stop. You are not obliged to help her. We appreciate what you have done so far and don't expect you to continue."
"No, please don't say that." Oikawa clenched his fists. "After all, I'm only doing what I think is right. She does deserve all this happiness and I'm blessed to be that person who is able to make that happen. So thank you, for giving me this chance to help your daughter."
[Name]'s parents were slightly taken aback by Oikawa's reply. Eventually, they chuckled and felt an incredible sense of relief and joy within them. Somehow, the serious conversation managed to lift the atmosphere in the living room, opening up more space for Oikawa to breathe and be more relaxed.
"Alright, let's enjoy some of the cake now. I already left [Name]'s share so don't be shy, boys." Hana reached out to the plates of pastries on the coffee table. She handed a plate of tiramisu each to Oikawa and Adrian along with a small fork.
Oikawa took it from her gently, pushing his fork down the cake, careful not to make a loud sound as the fork was about to collide with the plate. "So, I'm sure that you're wondering if I'm [Name]'s biological father." CLANK! Oikawa's hand slipped at Adrian's sudden statement, his attempt to be quiet when slicing his cake turned into a massive failure.
Adrian laughed at his reaction, clearly enjoying teasing the younger male. "Dear!" Hana scolded, slapping his arm.
"Sorry, was that too direct of a question?" Adrian grinned, ignoring his wife who pouted at his mischievous behavior.
"W-Well..." Oikawa cleared his throat, not sure if he was supposed to answer the question.
"It's alright." Adrian assured him. "As you can probably tell, I'm not [Name]'s biological father. You may think that she might have just inherited none of me and all of Hana's beautiful Japanese features..."
"Oh stop it you!" Hana blushed.
"It's true." Adrian winked at her, causing Oikawa to sweat drop.
"But, yeah. I'm not [Name]'s biological father." Adrian removed his thin framed glasses and rested his elbows on his knees. He pulled out a cloth from his pocket and started to wipe them clean while looking at them intently. "Even so, [Name] has always been treating me like I'm her real father. I couldn't be more blessed to have a daughter like that angel." A soft loving smile spread on his face, recalling the memories he shared with [Name].
"I can never imagine being someone else's father besides hers and ..." The last word came out soft and faint, almost impossible to pick up. However, Oikawa did hear it but decided not to ask anything about it. He noticed how his tone had changed a little and concluded that it wasn't a pleasant thing to talk about then.
"Would you look at the time!" Hana interjected abruptly, gasping at the round clock that hung on the wall. "I should probably start with lunch before Tooru-kun starves!"
"I'll help." Adrian volunteered, pushing himself off his seat.
"I-It's fine... I'm not really that hungry..." Oikawa raised his hands up defensively, feeling somewhat guilty.
"Oh hush!" Hana pressed her index finger against her lips and winked at him. "You're a growing boy, also our honored guest. Its our responsibility to feed you, so that your mother wouldn't be worried."
"B-But..."
"While we work in the kitchen, do you mind checking up on [Name]? We should probably try to wake her up by now..." Adrian requested, rolling his sleeves up to his elbow.
"Oh yes, we should." Hana nodded in agreement, putting on her apron. "We're counting on you, Tooru-kun."
"Yes..." Oikawa nodded unassertively.
--
To make sure his footsteps were as light as possible, Oikawa walked using only the front of his foot, bending his feet forward. He tried to reduce the amount of creaks he made as he walked up the stairs. It was certainly uncomfortable to be walking around in someone else's house.
When he finally reached the top of the stairs, he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to his right, where the hallway was. Once more, the decoration for the hallway upstairs was minimal. He started to wonder if there was a reason for it, or they just simply liked minimal decoration.
Unfortunately for him, Hana and Adrian didn't tell him which was [Name]'s room and there were about 5 doors in total down the hallway, 3 on the right and 2 on the left. The doors were all the same and had no sign indicating whose room it belonged to; two were left open, exposing a master bedroom (which he assumed was Hana's and Adrian's) and a simple guest bedroom (or at least that's what he assumed).
He opened the first door on the right to reveal the washroom. Walking down the hallway he moved onto the second door. He peeked a little into the room as he pushed the door slightly ajar. He noticed that the room was darker than the other rooms, the thick curtains drawn close. As he pushed the door open, he can see particles of dust floating in the air thanks to the small current he created and a thin layer of dust that served as another layer for the floor.
It struck to him as odd. Although he already knew it wasn't [Name]'s room, he couldn't help but to have a better look. He glanced up from the floor to across the door. Because it was dark, it was harder to make things out, so he squinted his eyes for a better vision. Just as his vision was about to focus itself, a voice made him jump.
"Tooru-kun?"
He turned away from the door immediately, suddenly embarrassed and guilty of his actions, and found the girl he was supposed to wake standing by the last door. [Name] rubbed her eyes lazily, her hair wild. She stifled a yawn and continued to rub her slightly swollen eyes.
"[N-Name]-chan, ohaiyo." Oikawa greeted, closing the door. He walked towards the girl and flashed a crooked smile.
"Ohaiyo. You're early..."
"Well, it's actually almost noon now."
"No way..." [Name]'s eyes shot wide open, her sleepiness disappearing immediately. "I'm sorry I overslept..."
"It's fine," Oikawa chuckled, patting the top of her head. "Everybody needs their beauty sleep."
"Yeah..." She agreed.
"Anyways, your parents are preparing lunch. You should wash up and head down soon."
"Right! I've got to introduce you properly!" She perked up. Dashing down the hallway with loud footsteps, she rushed to the washroom to get cleaned. Oikawa chuckled, following her as she quickly brushed her teeth and splashed cold water on her face. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed the room he was looking into earlier and his chuckles faded a little.
His gaze remained fixated on the room, as if he was somehow attracted to it in an incomprehensible way. There was just something about that room that didn't seem right to him.
--
The birds started to fly in a large flock to big trees where they call home as the sky turned into an orange-blood red color. Oikawa slipped his feet into his shoes, twisting it around a little for it to fit better. Once he was done, he stood up and turned around to face the [Last Name]'s with his signature smile.
"Thank you for the hospitality today." He bowed before Adrian and Hana. The couple returned his smile. [Name] on the other hand pouted, saddened by the fact that he had to leave. "I'll see you in school, [Name]-chan." Oikawa tried to cheer her up. She nodded but still not quite satisfied, causing him to chuckle.
"Come on, [Name]-chan. Don't make such a sad face, it's not nice to someone who's leaving." Adrian rested a hand on her shoulder, getting her to stop pouting.
"Besides, Tooru-kun is free to come back to visit us anytime." Hana added.
"You will come again, right, Tooru-chan?" [Name] glanced at him with wide pleading eyes.
"Of course," Oikawa nodded.
"Now, why don't you send him out?" Adrian suggested with a wink, giving the girl a little push.
"Alright." She agreed, finally regaining her cheerfulness.
"Well, then. I'll be leaving now." Oikawa bowed once more at her parents and pushed the door opened, gesturing for [Name] to head out first. She happily skipped out of the house, with him following closely behind. Before he could step out of the house, Hana called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned around to find Adrian's hands around Hana's shoulders as they both smiled at him with the softest and kindest smile he had seen for a long time. "Thank you." She said quietly. Though a little taken aback, he knew her thanks meant more than just a regular 'thank you'. He returned a similar smile before making his way out of the house.
"Anata..." Hana sighed as soon as Oikawa closed the door behind him.
"He reminds me so much of him..." Adrian confessed, pulling Hana closer for comfort. She rested her head against his chest, inhaling his scent. "I miss him."
"I know," Hana pulled him into a hug, snaking her arm around his waist. "I miss him too."