crown [t. oikawa]

[thirteen]

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OBA-SAN, HAJIME'S MOTHER, ALWAYS LOVED ART.

she loved all kinds of art, from music to literature. however, her favorite was always painting, adoring how the brush moved and swerved to create a pretty picture. 

and even now, i can tell oba-san feels the same from the wonderful paintings aesthetically decorating her library and the multi-colored paint flecked on her hand, face and hair. 

sitting bored behind the front desk of the library, her eyes glaze over words of a book that i'm sure she has already read before. 

seventeen years ago, i imagined that in the future, oba-san would've become a well-known artist. well, maybe not well-known, but at least an artist. 

she was on track to become one, along with oji-san and she would've been one right now instead of rereading books hundreds of times, locked in this place with endless shelves. she would've had her own proper art studio, selling her paintings for thousands of dollars and attending exhibitions hosted by her colleagues. 

[but mother ruined everything.]

mother, as the oldest child of my grandparents, was set to inherit and take over the library whenever her parents passed away. and when they did pass, both of them taken down by a car crash in the week before i was born, she worked with father and took over the family library for a few years.

but within those few years arguments began between my immediate family and hajime's and anger started to creep in, so my parents left for tokyo and took me with them. 

with other child to take over the library, oba-san had to. of course, she always could've just left the library, given it to one of those businessmen who wanted to demolish it for a high-rise building and let all of her family's work go to waste, but she isn't selfish.

[unlike mother.]

"oh, kichona," oba-san finally notices me, snapping shut the worn out book with a soft thud. she breaks into a smile. "were you looking for a textbook in particular?"

"yes," i nod. "do you have one on japan's politics during the medieval years?"

oba-chan hands not one, but two to me and i take it back to a low table surrounding by four bean bags, enough for not just me but also etsuko, oikawa and hajime who are coming over as soon as school finishes (since they don't have training on monday) for a study session. 

taking a deep breath, i ready my pen and highlighter, open my notebook and take a textbook from the pile i had accumulated in the past hour. 

it's a drag to study while i'm supposed to be on holiday, but if i don't then i'm going to fall behind at school and fail in the upcoming finals. and lose my scholarship, the only reason why i'm at a posh school.