Chapter 37:
2 and a half years ago, Tokyo
Mizuki attended Shoto Junior High School in Tokyo when she and her family returned from Brazil. That was also where she met her two best friends, Mina and Rina. In her 2nd year of junior high, she was a member of two clubs: the volleyball club and the student council.
Mizuki met Miya Osamu as they were in student council together. They shortly became friends after discovering their similar tastes in food and music. His twin, Miya Atsumu, would frequently visit them just to annoy his brother, and eventually, Mizuki herself. He loved riling her up and annoying her mostly because she could retaliate with a quippy comeback.
Mizuki never really liked Atsumu - in fact, it baffled her how different he was from his twin, Osamu. Osamu was kind, sweet, and helpful whereas Atsumu was like a reincarnation of the devil. He was brash, condescending, and selfish. For some reason though, many girls liked him, and he would make fun of them after he rejected their advances.
He had dark, black hair which was flipped to the right side, making it somewhat easier to distinguish him from Osamu. He also had a slight undercut, and his eyebrows were black. Additionally, Mizuki heard him say once that he wanted to dye his hair blonde so that he wouldn't look like Osamu. What irritated her the most was his stupid smirk, which was practically glued on his smug face every second of every day. Atsumu and Mizuki never got along, and she was fine with that until she saw him in a different light.
One day, it was raining heavily after school and she didn't have an umbrella. Usually, she would get a ride home with Mina and Rina but they were absent for the week because they were visiting their father in America. Mizuki wondered if she should run for it as her house was only a fifteen minute walk away. Still, she would be soaking wet if she sprinted home. Then, out of the blue, Atsumu walked out of the building under an umbrella with his teammates from the volleyball club. Their eyes met, and a jovial smirk formed on his face.
"Hah. Good luck walking home." He told her as he walked down the stairs.
"Thanks!" She sarcastically shouted at him. Atsumu was infuriating.
As soon as he was out of Mizuki's sight, she took a deep breath and decided to make a run for it. She used her jacket as a makeshift umbrella and began sprinting towards the front of the school. To her surprise, she discovered Atsumu there, standing, seemingly waiting for her. His friends were gone as he was the only one left there.
"What-"
Atsumu rolled his eyes impatiently, his bag slung on his shoulder.
"Don't start. Just let me walk you home." He stated nonchalantly.
Before she could protest, he tugged her arm gently, motioning for her to get under his umbrella. She didn't argue with him, and the two proceeded to walk to her house together. This was a whole new caring side of Atsumu that Mizuki had never experienced, or even seen, before. They walked in silence, and as soon as they arrived at her house, she tried to thank him, only to be interrupted.
Atsumu glared at her and said, "Don't forget an umbrella next time."
A few weeks after that, Mizuki was walking down the hallway of her school when she came across Atsumu sulking on the staircase. Out of courtesy, she asked if he was alright.
"Why do you care?" He spat out, his arms crossed as he avoided her gaze.
"I don't care," Mizuki retorted bitterly, "I just thought I'd be nice and ask."
She spun around to leave but suddenly, she felt him grab her hand. His expression seemed to have softened, suggesting that he didn't mean to be so callous towards her.
"Sorry." He cleared his throat, releasing his grip on hers, "Wait... Can you... stay? I don't feel like being alone right now."
Mizuki was stunned, and after some contemplation, she sat beside him on the staircase. Atsumu didn't say anything else and neither did she. She never found out what had made him so upset that day but she did acknowledge that it wasn't so terrible being around Atsumu.
Maybe he was human, and not a reincarnation of the devil after all.
After that strange incident, Mizuki, Rina, and Osamu were given a project to do by the student council. Unfortunately, Osamu became sick so Atsumu reluctantly volunteered to help his brother with the project. They all planned to meet at a nearby public library on the weekend, however, Rina was going to be late because her horseback riding lessons ran later than she expected. Whether she did it on purpose or not, Rina accidentally set the two of them up to be alone for hours on end.
Mizuki fell asleep, her head resting on the table, as Atsumu noticed how cute her face kind of was. The sunlight grazing her sleepy face seemed to enhance her appeal to him, and he wondered what that was about. He shook the thoughts out of his head and decided to briefly leave her to get milk from the vending machines. After a few minutes, he came back to two high school guys harassing her for her number. Mizuki seemed frightened as she was trembling, and it was as if a dormant switch flipped inside Atsumu. He stepped in front of her, challenging the two older boys.
"Leave her alone, you scumbags." Atsumu gritted sharply.
"Oh?" One of them snickered menacingly, "Look at this puny kid protecting his little girlfriend. Adorable."
"You guys don't seem to get it," Atsumu chuckled arrogantly, "I'm a black belt in taekwondo, you dipshits. Not to mention, my dad is the police chief."
His eyes gleamed in haughtiness, "Still want to try fighting me?"
The two high schoolers glared at him before leaving the library disappointedly.
Atsumu sighed, clearly relieved, and faced her. She seemed astonished by his actions, which concerned him. Maybe he had been acting too much of an ass to her.
"Sorry I left you alone," He stated calmly, "I was getting some drinks-"
Without warning, Mizuki embraced him, burying herself on his chest. She began crying as Atsumu stared at her, bewildered. He had never seen her cry before - she always seemed strong-willed and tough. He didn't recognize this frail girl in front of him. Atsumu's heart twinged, a bizarre feeling that he had never experienced before worrying him.
Big uh oh.
"Hey..." He managed to say, trying to decipher her feelings. She must've been so afraid.
Atsumu paused for a second, unsure of what to do. Then, without thinking, he hugged her back, stroking her hair comfortingly.
"Is this a good time to tell you that I'm not really a black belt?" He joked casually, "I don't even know what taekwondo is. Also, my dad is far from a police chief. He actually owns a sushi restaurant by-"
Mizuki gazed up at him and quickly brushed her lips against his, tears still streaming down her face. Atsumu froze as he felt her soft lips electrify his entire body. At first, his mind didn't know what to do or how to process what was happening. However, his body had already responded to Mizuki's rash kiss.
Atsumu squeezed her tightly, deepening their kiss.
This was a huge, colossal, whopping uh oh.
~
Present day
"Stop it." Mizuki rolled her eyes, ignoring his playful comment.
"What?" He grinned arrogantly, "Can't I be happy to see my precious girlfriend?"
"Ex-girlfriend." She corrected, scooting away from him as he was too close to her.
"Right." Atsumu chuckled, running his hand through his dyed blonde hair.
"So, how's school?" She asked, trying to steer away the conversation about their relationship.
"Boring," He sighed exasperatedly, "Besides, I don't want to talk about that! You're as pretty as ever, you know that?"
"Atsumu..." She bit her lip, "You should know that I-"
"MIZUKI!" Rina shouted loudly, appearing from the gym, "Where are you?! I want to know what Kojima-san wants-"
She froze in her tracks as soon as she spotted her friend and a familiar face. Rina moved her head back and forth between the two of them, unable to believe what she was seeing. She rubbed her eyes multiple times, and she came to the conclusion that she wasn't hallucinating.
"Oh my- You have got to be kidding me! NO WAY!" Rina's eyes filled with tears of amusement as she laughed outrageously.
"HA! Miya Atsumu! Here in Tokyo!" She continued, clutching her stomach, "NO WAY! I can't believe this is real!"
Rina jogged over to Mizuki and Atsumu as she sat in between them gleefully.
"Suzuki-chan..." Atsumu smirked humorously, "It's nice to see you again. Where's the better twin?"
"I could say the same to you! Where's Osamu-san?" She retorted, causing his eye to twitch in irritation.
"He's injured so he couldn't make it here..." He explained coolly, "I gotta say, I expected Mizuki to be here but not you..."
"And I gotta say," Rina sighed contentedly, "I expected you to be nicer now that we're in high school. Guess we're both wrong."
Before Atsumu could retaliate, Kageyama walked out of the gym searching for Atsumu.
"Miya-san, there you are... Coach-" He stared at his upperclassman who seemed to be familiar and friendly with Mizuki and Rina.
"Tobio-kun!" He stood up, slinging his arm around Kageyama's shoulder, "Shall I introduce you to these girls?"
"Uh... why?" Kageyama asked slowly.
"Don't listen to him Kageyama," Mizuki rolled her eyes, "He's being annoying as usual."
"Oh. You all know each other?" Atsumu clasped his hands together, "That makes things a lot easier!"
"We go to the same school in Miyagi dumbass!" Rina huffed, crossing her arms.
Atsumu widened his eyes, "Huh. Small world."
"Miya-san, how do you three know each other?" Kageyama inquired curiously.
"Great question Tobio!" He patted his back reassuringly, "It all started when we attended the same junior high here in Tokyo."
"I thought you were from the Hyogo Prefecture..." Kageyama pointed out.
"I am! My family is from there but for a brief period of time, we lived in Tokyo because of my dad's work. We moved back to Hyogo just before I started high school though," Atsumu explained thoroughly, "And so... our story continues..."
For some strange reason, Kageyama remembered what Mizuki had told him months ago.
"I was in a relationship with this guy during junior high when I lived in Tokyo."
"He's an amazing setter."
"He's really talented but maybe a little bit overconfident about himself."
Kageyama bounced up suddenly, the fragmented puzzle pieces in his mind fitting together as one.
"Miya-san..." He gulped nervously, "Do you..."
"What?" Atsumu tilted his head curiously.
"Do you... know Toma-san's ex-boyfriend?" Kageyama asked courageously, "He's a talented setter like you apparently!"
Mizuki, Rina, and Atsumu stared at Kageyama, dumbfounded at his question. Is he serious?
"Maybe you know him since you lived here in Tokyo before..." Kageyama nodded furiously.
Rina blinked a couple of times, then she let out a rambunctious laugh.
"Tobio-kun..." Atsumu shook his head in disbelief, "It's me... I'm Mizuki's ex-boyfriend."
Kageyama's mouth hung open, stunned by what had just learned. He did not expect that at all.
"YOU?!" He gasped sharply, his mind travelling in different directions.
"Tobio! Stop!" Rina laughed loudly, "I-I can't breathe!"
"I'm... leaving." Mizuki stated, her head throbbing.
She spun around and prepared to head back to the gymnasium to continue her dinner.
"It's nice to see you again, Mizuki-chan! I'm looking forward to this week!" Atsumu called out to her teasingly.
At the same time, Kageyama tried to process and recollect his thoughts whereas Rina couldn't stop laughing.
As Mizuki entered the gymnasium, she let out a relieved sigh. Of course Atsumu would be here. She should've known.
"Oh! Mizuki-chan! There you are!" Kojima motioned for her to sit back down in the cafeteria.
"Miya Atsumu is here." She declared out loud, sinking back to her chair.
Kojima paused before murmuring, "Yeah... I should've told you earlier."
After dinner, Mizuki took a quick shower and tried to calm herself down. She was sharing a room with Rina, who was currently sneaking around the stadium with Kojima to steal some snacks from the cafeteria. Mizuki laid down on her bed and glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. She should probably go to sleep as they had training bright and early tomorrow.
Her phone buzzed, and she instantly hoped it was Kei calling.
It was him.
"Hello?" She answered a little too excitedly.
"Hey princess... Sorry I'm calling so late," Kei mumbled tiredly, "I just wanted to hear your voice."
She smiled, her heart bubbling with exhilaration, "Me too."
"So, tell me all about your day." He murmured tenderly.
"Kei..." Mizuki sat up, clutching her phone nervously, "I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
She debated whether or not to tell him that Atsumu was there, and that it brought up old memories of the two of them she thought she had forgotten. Instead, she swallowed her words and took a deep breath.
"It's nothing. I just miss you, that's all." She mumbled, half-lying.
"It's only been a day princess," Kei stated teasingly, "How are you going to cope without me for the next six days? What could possibly happen then?"
"You're right..." She chuckled softly.
Kei made her instantly feel comforted, and the two kept talking until Rina came back with three chocolate bars that she had "borrowed" from the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, after a quick shower, Atsumu laid down on his bed, exhausted from the practice games. He received a call from his twin, Osamu, and he answered it.
"Yo Samu!" He exclaimed cheerily, "You'll never guess who's here!"
"Who?" Osamu asked slowly.
"Mizuki!" He chuckled warmly, "You should've seen her Samu. She's taller now and her hair is longer! She's still as cute as ever! We were talking on the track field earlier, and she seemed happy. I didn't get a chance to ask about her dad though, but maybe tomorrow I will. Should I buy her favorite drink-"
"Sumu." Osamu interrupted his twin's rambling.
"What?" He responded.
"Are you still in love with her?" Osamu inquired without hesitation.
"Don't be ridiculous..." Atsumu scoffed, "It was just nice to reunite with her."
"You sure about that?" His twin asked casually.
Atsumu paused for a second, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.
Uh oh.
"... Shut up, Samu."