fox on the run | miya osamu

only exception

"Sorry about that," Osamu says after a few minutes, but it felt like an hour for her. She's a blushing mess, struggling to even say a word. "I-It's okay," she manages to mumble, refusing any sort of eye contact.

"Are you okay?" he asks, looking at her with a brow raised in curiosity.

"I'm, I'm o-okay," she mutters.

"Don't tell me that's your first time holding hands with a guy," says Osamu, still staring.

Unable to lie to him, she remains silent. "W-Woah, really? Haven't you had a boyfriend before or something?" he asks, "Not that you have to answer though," he adds, an attempt to get her back to her comfort zone.

"Boys creep me out," she mumbles an answer, just loud enough to be audible.

"Oh."

"But you're the only exception, Osamu-san," she clarifies, thinking it may cause a misunderstanding. She finally looks up at him, expressing her sincerity.

Suiren doesn't realize that she's still a blushing mess and the redness of her cheeks reach up to her ears. It's a cute look, Osamu tells himself.

"Y-Yeah, they don't bother you anymore, right?" he asks then quickly averts his gaze somewhere else.

"They don't bother me anymore thanks to Osamu-san," she confirms, "No one leaves flowers in my locker anymore."

"You don't like flowers?"

"No, it's not that," she denies.

"Well, if they're from stalkers, then it's still creepy, yeah," he mumbles. "Anyway, that's good. Then the deal's working," he continues.

"Yes, fortunately."

"I think once you get an actual boyfriend though, they'd still go away," he adds.

"You think so?" she chuckles.

monday
inarizaki high school
third year class 7

KITA SHINSUKE, the apple of her eye. Miko Ikeda's, actually. As the boy enters the Class 3-7 classroom by 8:30 in the morning, his usual time, he's greeted by a number of people. "Good morning," he says, also in his usual stoic tone.

"Good morning, Kita-kun," Miko greets him while he walks to his seat. She gives herself a pat in the back just for being able to give him a greeting.

"Oh, good morning, Ikeda-san."

"Still so formal," she mumbles before putting on a cheerful smile.

"Good morning" says Suiren, who has just entered the room. Miko barely notices Suiren since she fixated all her attention to Shinsuke alone.

"Hello, Tsutsui-chan," he says with a barely noticeable smile.

"Oh, Kita-san, did you receive my email last night? I'm sorry for sending my part an hour late," Suiren explains and approaches.

"It's okay, it seems like it's you who hasn't checked emails yet," he answers, shaking his head.

"Oh?" Suiren's deadpan eyes suddenly widen, then she fishes out her phone from her skirt pocket. Her phone lights up with a press of a button and his email pops up in her screen.

kitashinsuke
subject: re: no. 56-68 answers

Got it. I'll check it tomorrow
morning because it's late now.
You should sleep too. Rest well.
Goodnight.

"Ah," she mumbles, "I didn't notice the notification. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Really," he reassures.

"I can do more problems on the next part, if that can compensate," she offers, purely out of guilt.

"We should still split the work in half. You have trainings too."

"Thank you, Kita-san," Suiren says, the corners of her lips slightly curving upwards. A rare sight for anyone. He doesn't even notice the loving gaze nearby turning to a hurtful glare.

Meanwhile, Osamu, who's still walking pass the school gate with his brother, is surely taking his time flaunting his date with Suiren the other day.

"I get it, I get it," Atsumu groans, frowning at Osamu who's unusually a little more talkative. "But it's still weird, something's really off," Atsumu sighs.

"Are you really serious with Tsutsui-senpai?" Atsumu wonders.

"I mean, after that I don't do girlfriends fuss before, it's weird," the blonde adds, "Will you introduce her to mom and dad?"

"What?" Osamu asks, surprised.

"I said, will you introduce Tsutsui-senpai to mom and dad? Geez, clean yer ears, 'Samu."

"You think mom and dad will like her?" his genuine thoughts just slip out.

"I mean, she's pretty hot-" Atsumu comments but Osamu cuts him off with a forceful nudge, "Feel weird hearing you call Suiren hot."

"What? You jelly? I'm mister steal yer girl now?" Atsumu laughs, nudging his brother in return.

"Yeah, you were."

"H-Hey, that was in fourth grade! We just liked the same girl!" Atsumu defends himself.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Don't worry, no one's gonna steal yer Tsutsui-senpai."

"You sure about that?" Osamu asks in a quite playful tone, thinking about Suiren's so-called ideal man.

Osamu's in denial, saying to himself that fitting Suiren's ideals is unneeded. But somewhere in his heart, if he truly were to be honest, he knows that a part of their treacherous relationship is real. He just doesn't know if it matters at all.