Tsukishima really didn't know how he could get into this situation. Could the God just accidentally slip his fate, Tsukishima really didn't know. What he knew is the fact that he was nearly homeless and that was all that matter.
Orbital
Oxford dict.: 2. area of influence
Disclaimer: Haikyuu! belongs to Haruichi Furudate
Tsukishima is Homeless
Tsukishima lived in a fairly decent small apartment in Tokyo. He had just started his college in Tokyo a month ago and he couldn't say that he wasn't happy. Until that incident at last…
It was on a rather sunny afternoon, Tsukishima received an unexpected call from his landlady. He was at the library of his campus so he covered his mouth as an act to dim his voice.
"What is it, Furukawa-san?" he asked, his eye focusing on an empty seat in front of him.
"KEI-KUN!" Mrs. Furukawa yelled at the other side which made Tsukishima winced a bit. "KEI-KUN, Oh dear, I don't know how to say this! Ohmy…"
Tsukishima sighed. It was not the first time that Mrs. Furukawa called him out of the blue. Maybe she lost one of her cats, again, Tsukishima muttered to himself. Assuming that indeed Mrs. Furukawa had lost her cat, Tsukishima retorted, "Well, who's it this time? If it's Taro, he might hang out near the rooftop, and if it's Maguro, she might be at Fukuda-san's store."
"Kei-kun, your room is gone…"
Tsukishima stilled. He blinked his eyes a few times. My what?
Tsukishima stood from his seat and walked rather hastily out from the library. After reaching the door, he walked to the side of the building to pick a quiet place. He stared at his campus grounds; there were only a few students because most of them are inside the main building. Tsukishima's teacher, at that time, was not present so a free time was given to his class. Many of his friends strolled around the city looking for entertainment. Everybody was very grateful because they were supposed to take a test under that teacher. Ah, what a beautiful life…
"MY ROOM IS WHAT?!"
It only took four words to turn Tsukishima into an angered velociraptor.
.
.
"Your room is gone…"
.
.
But how…?
Tsukishima really didn't know how he could get into this situation. Could the God just accidentally slip his fate, Tsukishima really didn't know. What he knew is the fact that he was nearly homeless and that was all that matter.
"There was a gas explosion from the room next to yours. There were no victims but the room owner, Mr. Nakatani, was heavily injured and was taken care of by the hospital. Luckily, most of your belongings are safe because it was situated at the opposite way from the explosion. Your bed, however, were destroyed and there was a large hole on the one side of the wall and your bathroom disappeared. A few clothes that were hung on the wall were burned. Your working desk is safe but it was moderately broken but you could still use that. It was a very big luck that you were not present at the time of the explosion and it's an extra luck that you bring your laptop and other electronic devices with you. I think it's the very best that you're safe, Tsukishima-kun," the police had explained his room's situation rather too detailed.
Tsukishima looked at his (now half) room. There were a few of black stain caused by the fire and the giant hole on his wall could make a vampire suffered some skin diseases. That if a vampire could get sick, Tsukishima thought so.
I lost my bed, Tsukishima thought. It was his favorite, sadly. His poor bathroom was indeed disappeared and nowhere in sight. My toothbrush…
Whatever his mood might be, Tsukishima couldn't help it but his mood was being salty.
"If losing a place to live is what you considered as luck," Tsukishima mumbled. Fortunately, the officer didn't hear it as he left to inspect on his belongings' welfare. Even though he was upset, Tsukishima really did feel lucky that he was not present during the explosion. He could've just died… or not. Tsukishima never wanted to be a melodramatic person.
"However, the situation is beyond worse to be repaired. Even though it will be renovated, you'll only have a half of the room instead with no bathroom. As for now, moving is the best solution," the police added. That made Tsukishima's heart stung.
"Kei-kun…" Mrs. Furukawa stood beside him. Her voice was solemn and Tsukishima knew exactly what was behind his solemn voice. She didn't have any other rooms. The old lady raised her arm into full length to pat on his shoulder due to the boy's height. "Kei-kun, child, I'm so sorry."
Tsukishima walked a step away and turned to face the old lady. He stared at the messy floor underneath him and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry to destroy your apartment, Furukawa-san. I'll try to cover the renovation bill as I can."
Mrs. Furukawa was slightly shocked by Tsukishima's posture. Even though it only had been a month, it was enough for Mrs. Furukawa to understand that changing Tsukishima's statement is a struggle. "If that's what you want, child, but I'm completely aware of your situation. You focusing on your study is already enough for me. I'll leave the bed for you as I handle the rest."
Tsukishima bit his lips but nodded nonetheless. Mrs. Furukawa was right after all. "Thank you… and sorry."
"It's not your fault, Kei-kun," the old lady patted his arm, "you can stay in my room for a while, I'll help you look for a new home."
Tsukishima nodded, "I'll call my mother."
.
.
"Hello? Mom?"
.
.
"Kei! How's your school? You see, I had just won a lottery-"
"Mom, I'm practically homeless right now."
"You know that I'll not fall for your trick! Who taught you that? Akiteru? That boy-"
"Mom, have you ever heard that chicken could fly? Even though it's only for a short period of time."
"…"
"Oh, dear…"
.
.
.
Orbital
The following days were hard for Tsukishima. He had to manage his college schedule while looking for a new home. He had to move out as soon as possible so that he wouldn't burden Mrs. Furukawa any further. It has been three days since the accident and there was still no improvement. Nevertheless, Mrs. Furukawa could be seen all day contacting numbers to help Tsukishima found a new home.
Tsukishima himself had spent less time in the apartment, coming back merely just to take a bath and sleep. Before he realized it, he had turned a coffee shop near his campus as a new sanctuary. He studied there and spent most of his free time there, heck, even the employee had become used to his presence.
"Have you found a new home?" Yamaguchi asked at the other side of the call, the boy had contacted Tsukishima daily upon knowing that his friend was homeless.
"Not yet," Tsukishima answered shortly, his finger fiddled with his pen while his assignment was waiting to be finished.
"Don't worry, you'll get one soon!" Yamaguchi encouraged.
"Hmm.., yeah," Tsukishima mumbled, he had already used with Yamaguchi's positive cheer. Yamaguchi had always been the first one to support and encourage him; or just simply remind him that he wasn't that bad and that he was definitely worth it- aside from Akiteru.
"Yep, you'll get one eventually, soon. Oh, by the way…," Tsukishima heard a rough voice from the call and he waited for Yamaguchi to continue his speak. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi enrolled in different universities. Yamaguchi had preferred to stay in Miyagi and studied in Sendai while he himself chose to study at the capital, Tokyo. "By the way, I heard that a sport festival is coming up in your campus?"
Ah, yes, that sport festival, how could he forgot that?
Tsukishima sighed, "Yes, it is. By the end of spring, just before the summer break."
"Cool! I think I'll stop by! I'm quite free after all," Yamaguchi cheered.
"Sure, whatever you want," Tsukishima heard a small laugh from Yamaguchi.
"There must be volleyball in the festival right? Maybe I can as well invite the others?" Yamaguchi asked with a light tone.
"You mean that shortie and that snobby king?" Tsukishima scoffed, "Well, it's up to you, we were told to bring many guests anyway," Tsukishima stated dryly. "I don't know whether to be elated or not but I was chosen to be one of the representatives for the volleyball section."
"Wow, you're so cool, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi squeaked but Tsukishima only gave him a snort.
"I'm not that cool, you know."
"Shut up, you're cool!" Yamaguchi insisted, "Well, enough for now, I suppose, I was told to buy some groceries for dinner. Bye for now, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi said in a very light tone, Tsukishima only nodded his head lightly, even though his friend couldn't see it.
"Yeah, later."
Tsukishima put his phone next to his half-empty mug. The thought of the sport festival suddenly crashed his mind and he couldn't help but to sigh deeply and crossed his fingers in front of his forehead. He didn't really like to participate in those kinds of thing as he preferred to focus on his study, but then again, his senpai directly pointed him to be the committee. Which place he stood that he could reject the appointment? Tsukishima decided that it was the best to just follow up with the decision rather than to create issues with the seniors, so he agreed to join. Nonetheless he was actually quite grateful that he was placed in sport that he knew-coincidentally, he exceled at. He was about to be placed in basketball (due to his height), but he quickly said that he played volleyball in high school, so the seniors changed their mind at that moment.
Just how many misfortunate events that could happen to him? The God must hate him so much. Couldn't he just receive a rather fortunate or good news? Tsukishima thought that he deserved one at least, after his endless pain these few days.
Talking about pain, his status as a practically homeless person really did cause him a deal of pain in his head. Just when he was thinking about his homeless status, his phone vibrated once more and he tried to hold the hope in his heart when Mrs. Furukawa called him.
"Yes, Furukawa-san?" Tsukishima didn't know why but he was just so desperate to get a new home that even his voice shivered a bit. He had to get a new home now.
"KEI-KUN!" Mrs. Furukawa gasped. Tsukishima balled his fist as an act to hold his anticipation. His mind was already fuzzy as he tried to hold his exhaled voice. It was dreadful for him. He needed it to be right now.
He needed it right now.
"AH, KEI-KUN, I finally have good news for you!" Mrs. Furukawa chirped in a very excited voice. Tsukishima's eyes widened and he put a great effort to not scream or sound an octave-higher.
Please be it, please be it, please be it, please be it, please be it, God, please be it.
"I GOT YOU A NEW HOME!"
Tsukishima bit his lips to restrain his voice. He stood up from his chair, walking limply to the toilet. There was only one toilet and he was beyond glad that it was currently empty. He entered the toilet quickly, phone still on his ear and then proceed to lock the door. He placed himself as far as he could from the door and raised his hand high just like that moment when he managed to block one of Ushiwaka's spikes.
"YOSHAAA!"
.
.
.
A new home, at last…
By the time he returned to Mrs. Furukawa's apartment, the old lady greeted him with a loud cheer and keep stating on how grateful she was that Kei-kun had finally gotten a new home. Tsukishima (trying to hide his excitement) could only nod to the lady and replied it with a soft thank you. Upon entering his temporal room (which was Mrs. Furukawa's room), he directly packed his things.
"Furukawa-san, when will I be able to move?" he asked, in a louder voice because Mrs. Furukawa was at the kitchen.
"Oh, you should be happy for it, Kei-kun, the owner said that you can move in as soon as you want," she answered from the kitchen. "The place is very nice, Kei-kun, I'm really glad, you deserve a better home after that gas explosion," she joked as she walked to Tsukishima's room to help the packing.
"Would you please elaborate more?" Tsukishima asked as he folded one of his jackets. "How about the administrative needs?"
Mrs. Furukawa dragged a few empty boxes into the room, "Don't you worry for the administrative needs, I'll take care of it," she answered as she patted her own shoulder. Sometimes, Tsukishima wondered at the youth in his former landlady's self.
"It's an apartment; the room is very spacious, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room, and also a bathroom! Thank god! The structure inside kind of remind me of a normal house, but it's still an apartment," she explained eagerly.
"Oh, two bedrooms," Tsukishima mustered; slightly shocked. Well, Nii-chan or Yamaguchi can stay if they're visiting Tokyo, he thought.
"It's not that far from your campus, but I think you should take a bus if you don't want to walk for long, besides that, all seems perfect," the lady ended her speech with a soft whistle.
Tsukishima faced the old lady as he let out a long breath. Mrs. Furukawa was still busy with the empty boxes, and although she couldn't see it, Tsukishima was actually staring at the old lady deeply. If Mrs. Furukawa would have seen his face at that moment, she could actually grip the earnest feeling he tried to gather in his gaze. The boy then placed a more relaxed stature and gathered his fingers together. Despite not having an eye contact with her, Tsukishima tried to smile, and he succeeded, even though it was only a tiny grateful smile, "Thank you very much, Furukawa-san."
Mrs. Furukawa turned her back to face Tsukishima and smiled so wide, "No worries, dear."
.
.
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In the next three days, Tsukishima was busy loading his belongings to prepare for his move. Like what Mrs. Furukawa said, his new apartment is not that far from his campus so the moving process was handed very easily-nearly without any major obstacles. Because of this, he reluctantly had to not attend his classes. Fujimura could spare me some of his notes, he thought.
By the end of the third day, he lifted his boxes to the small truck parked in front of Mrs. Furukawa's apartment. As he placed the last box, the truck headed first to his new place while Mrs. Furukawa will drive Tsukishima there. As the truck faded away, Tsukishima glanced at his former room which was still destroyed poorly. Mrs. Furukawa had stated that the renovation is under go and even though he insisted on it; she wouldn't just let Tsukishima paid at least a quarter of the compensation. In return, she finally allowed Tsukishima to donate one bed.
"Are you ready, Kei-kun?" Mrs. Furukawa called next to her small car.
"On my way!" he replied as he hastily picked up his backpack and other small bags. When he was wearing his shoes, the cats, Taro and Maguro, meowed to him as if not letting him to go away. Maguro, especially, had already circled his feet a few times for today. Tsukishima bent his body to caress both of the cats' head, "I'll not forget your meow. It was quite annoying but I like you guys."
And with that, he left from the house and got inside the car.
"Nothing's left behind right?" Mrs. Furukawa asked as she started the engine.
"No," Tsukishima answered as he checked the places inside his backpack, when he was sure, he nodded his head, "All done."
Mrs. Furukawa started driving the car and Tsukishima glanced out from the window. It was raining lightly outside and the sky was light-grey. Tsukishima had already imagined his new life in his new home. Living alone in a fairly spacious apartment room.
Ah, what a perfect soon-to-be-perfect life!
This must be his reward for being patient nearly a week. All his pain, all his sweat, had finally paid off. His patience paid off and his mind had finally found its place to rest for a bit. God must have already loved him back right now; maybe He forgave him for his patience. Tsukishima decided to not think too much about it and enjoyed the ride.
Mrs. Furukawa turned on the music and sang along. Tsukishima didn't really mind it, in the very least, he was glad that the mood is good. And it's indeed good. He reached his backpack to take his phone, planning to send a report message to his mother. They faced a traffic-light and suddenly, Mrs. Furukawa stopped singing along.
.
.
"By the way, Kei-kun, I forgot to tell something important to you."
.
….
Tsukishima stared at the old lady, his eyes widened a bit. "Pardon me?"
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.
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The God must hate him so so so much that He decided to give the bitter end after the short bliss. Tsukishima was quite dumbfounded when Mrs. Furukawa accidentally slipped the important thing and decided to tell him just 10 minutes ago and yet, he couldn't just blame her for her carelessness as she had already helped him so much. The thing might not be a very big problem for others, but for Tsukishima…
Sharing a room with a stranger means that his privacy is not guaranteed.
And it's a red flag.
He could already imagined his roommate. What if it would be someone like Hinata? There'll be only doom. Someone like Kageyama? A doom indeed. What if it would be a girl?! Someone like Yachi, perhaps? Tsukishima would gladly move his things back because he preferred to stay safe. Anything that could happen, he had no choice. It's this apartment or not. It's his new house or he'll become a homeless until he graduate. Whatever he might face upon him and no matter how bad it turns out, it was still the best choice for him so Tsukishima didn't have a reason to turn around. He just hoped that this person –his roommate-would be bearable enough.
When they reached for the destination, Tsukishima couldn't help but to be in awe at his new home. It's spacious indeed. A two story apartment but each floor had at max 6 rooms, indicating how spacious the interiors might be. Beside the apartment was a parking lot for the residents. At the very short moment, happiness came back to him. He got out from the car and so Mrs. Furukawa.
"So this is it, it might looked like each rooms are connecting to each other but actually, each rooms are quite separated from each other. You'll know it when you get in. Your room is on the second floor, room 6102," Tsukishima only nodded but Mrs. Furukawa suddenly hugged him, "Stay safe, my boy!"
Tsukishima patted her back, "Thank you very much Furukawa-san." After another short goodbye, Mrs. Furukawa left and said that she will always be open to receive his visits.
As soon as the car was invisible, Tsukishima faced the apartment once more.
This is it
He searched for the stairs and moved himself to the second floor and searched for his room. He soon found out that room 6102 was at the most corner of the second floor. He stood in front of the door. Suddenly remembered that he wasn't living alone anymore, he knocked the door twice.
He heard a soft bump and an annoyed meow from the inside.
Great, another cat, he murmured in his heart.
"Ah, yes, sorry, welcome, welcome." The door slid open and the first thing that Tsukishima saw was a pair of pointed cat-like sleepy eyes and a lazy smile. At the same time, Tsukishima also found out that the person standing in front of him was nearly at the same height as himself. It took a little bit moment to realize but Tsukishima widened his eyes.
The person in front of him opened the door wider and leaned back, "Ahhhha."
Tsukishima was still surprised but the person in front of him had already got his grip. The person raised one of his free hands in a lazy but friendly manner.
"Yoo, Tsukki."
.
"Kuroo-san?"
Orbital
A/N: Heeyyyaa, so this is my first fiction in ffnet and roughly my first published fict *gasp. Well, I've been in this site for quite a long time and just recently tried to write in this site heheh.
Well, so how was it?
I'm curious at how people think about this story so please let me know what you guys think! More importantly, Is Tsukki in character enough? I'm scared if I might write him OOC hahah :"v
Also, please tell me if I made mistakes! Whether it's a typo, grammar, etc. etc. I also want to improve so reviews are very much appreciated! Oh anyway, thank you for reading (or at least try to read) this fict, I really really appreciate it! They say that readers are the power of the writer (?) ;)
So maybe that's all and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter!
-potatos