fragile ; oikawa tooru

⎯ 06 ⎯

oikawa tooru,

i returned the gym key and awkwardly made my way around the corner. i hadn't changed into my gym kit so it felt a little stuffy in my seijou shirt.

only needing a glance, i saw that chikasue wasn't there. checking my phone, it made sense. lunchtime was nearly over.

i guess i missed her... if she was there to begin with.'

"oi, shittykawa, are you still here?" iwaizumi called from behind me.

"yeah, yeah! i'm just coming," i smiled with my hands in my pockets, rejoining iwaizumi to go find any remaining food for lunch.

———

it was true that today's volleyball was nothing special, however, i still asked chikasue if she wanted to come.

to me, today was special because i'd been looking forward to getting back on the court all week.

despite chi-chan's absence, i was still excited to practice although, it's strange. i wasn't looking forward to it for any actual reason.

i thought while changing.

why am i looking forward to it?'

"remember, oikawa," matsukawa called as i was leaving the changing room.

"take it easy, i know, i know!" i responded with a smile.

it was just practice but the gym had more people than usual. some familiar fangirls were watching from the bleachers, happier about my recovery than i and shouting my name as i entered and began stretching.

i was stretching for longer than the others because of my ankle but i only noticed the extra person in the room once i was called over for set-spiking drills.

at the corner of the room sat chikasue-chan on the bleachers, watching with her arms folded on her legs, presenting herself as
unapproachable.

nevertheless, I was surprised to see her and bounded over with a broad smile.

"chi-chan~" i brought her out of her reverie. "i thought you weren't coming!"

"don't speak to me," she hissed.

"huh?" i blinked at her. she was looking away and didn't appear to want to talk whatsoever.

is this because i didn't come to lunch today?'

even so, she wasn't usually this hostile.

"you don't have to be here if you d—"

"hm?" chikasue looked up to meet my confused face. "no, i'm here on my own free will but it's not the best idea. you see, hattori is sitting over there with that group of girls? if you're talking to me, she's going to get even more suspicious..."

"...suspicious of what?" i asked, slowly dragging my eyes to search for hattori in the crowd.

"just go back to practice! i'll be here watching," she said urgently, shooing me away before the girls could recognize her.

still confused, i shrugged it off and continued the drills, this time, with a smile on my face.

every so often i would glance at chi-chan when i thought nobody was looking but she'd stare blankly at me, willing me to look away. the whole situation widened my smile and before long, practice was over.

while i was packing away, filtering in and out the storage cupboard, the girls began waving goodbye and leaving the gym.

"oikawa."

ah.'

"yes?" i turned around to face the coach who looked at me with a stern expression.

"i know we talked about it at morning practice, but we can't have you overworking yourself."

i blinked before angling my feet to him, turning my full attention to face him.

"i know."

preliminaries are over...'

i sighed, grabbing my bag and leaving the changing rooms.

we lost. we never went to nationals.'

i hung the key and ruffled my hair.

is there a reason why i overworked myself again?'

i stood there with my head hung low and my hair covering my eyes, i don't know for how long but i was only snapped out of it when i heard chikasue's voice.

"we're friends."

i sharply inhaled, instantly recognising her voice, and turned my head. her and someone else where behind the gym.

i slowly crept to the wall to investigate and looked around the corner, sure enough, chi-chan was there with another familiar girl, her back turned to me.

oh! that girl is hattori, right?

i recognized her long, silver hair that was in a high ponytail. i remember spotting her amongst the fangirls.

what are they talking about?'

the thought that prying might be rude briefly crossed my mind but both girls looked at least a little frustrated so i stayed hidden to find out.

"really? now how am i supposed to believe that?" hattori glared at chikasue.

oh, they're fighting!'

now it felt extra weird to be evesdropping on a girls fight but i didn't move.

"you've been hanging out with oikawa non-stop and ignoring me!" she continued. "it seems fairly obvious what's going through your head."

wait— they're talking about me?'

are they fighting over me??'

i thought, more concerned than anything. i've had girls fight over me in the past — not a flex — and i've usually tried to resolve it with charm.

"you do remember that oikawa is my soulmate, right?" hattori questioned, chikasue remaining calm and quiet.

eh?!'

05.05.20

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sorry for the short chapter, honestly i just wanted to leave it on that cliffhanger. i swear the next chapter is better lol.