The room was brightly lit, sunlight covering the plain white walls while the light bulb remained on since yesterday. Hands grasped the plain mint sheets, a groan following. Slowly, he opened his eyes squinting at the brightness that slipped through his eyes. He rolled to the other side in hopes to fall back asleep until he felt the cool air that clung to his skin, jolting him awake.
He sat up on the bed scanning his surroundings. The place lacked colour but it was fully furnished. A wardrobe and bedside table was set in his bedroom. There was a wall that divided the rooms, he figured using Shōji doors would have been nice, but it would look extremely out of place considering he didn't have a traditional home. It had a small kitchen, a living room with two brown sofas and a television. Lastly, there was the bathroom that was placed near the kitchen.
Everything was clean and tidy but somehow, it made him feel uneasy. Instead of souvenirs that littered the top of his wardrobe, he got a freshly painted flat piece of wood. What's worse was the fact that there weren't any food in the refrigerator. This was his second day in Japan and he felt as if he was in a hotel. Clean, devoid of any decor and despite not having any cooling devices, the cold air of the early December stuck to his skin. But perhaps, this was just the feeling of overwhelming unfamiliarity.
He then got up and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower.
Right after finishing, he went to put on some clothes when his cellphone rang. Quickly putting on his underwear and a shirt, he checked to see who was calling. It was his mother. A small smile tugged on his lips as he answered it.
Unfortunately, the smile didn't last long.
"Kuya! Are you there yet? Is it cold there? What time is it?" The voice of a young boy barraged him with questions. It didn't help that it was on loudspeaker too, he almost threw the phone across the wall.
"Kaito? Japan is literally only one hour earlier than the Philippines." He said calmly to his ten year old cousin. "Anyway, where's mom? I thought she was the one calling."
After hearing an argument between his cousin and his mother, he heard his mother on the phone. "I'm here Hajime." Her voice was soothing. "How are you? Is the apartment your grandmother got you alright?"
He looked around the room. There really wasn't much to say about it, even the famous volleyball player Ushijima Wakatoshi's voice had more emotion than his room, honestly. But he can't be picky now, can he? "It's fine. I just have to do the groceries."
"Oh, you're already a grown man!" His mother cried, exaggeration layering her voice.
"You told me that when I was twelve."
"Shut your mouth young man!" She scolded. "Now excuse me, I still have to do the laundry. Take care!" Her voice reverted back to the usual calm voice.
Iwaizumi felt perplexed.
Hours had passed since his awkward trip to the grocery consisting of the excessive use of his phone's calculator and trying to make the most of the English phrases written on the labels.
It was currently 1 am and Iwaizumi, wrapped in several layers of clothes trying to arrange all his documents including his personal and school information with already numb hands. The cold was so much more different than back in his country. Back there, it felt like swimming in the sea late in the night and getting out immediately, feeling the wind. It felt sharp. Here, the breeze would wrap around him and stay.
He looked at his phone one more time, checking the schedule he had for work next week. His boss, Sugawara Koushi from the call center he would soon work at had contacted him earlier, telling him about his requirements and schedule. He spoke in a gentle but firm manner which oddly reminded him of his mother. Maybe that's what made him the boss. He thought. Just as he was about to reach for the papers once more, he heard a knock at his door.
He stopped his movements at once, deciding whether he should open the door or not. It was an awfully unusual time for someone to visit. He didn't know anyone else to begin with! His neighbour and boss was an exception, but it was very unlikely.
Another knock.
He decided to answer. If he wasn't lucky, he could just punch him or throw something, not that there was much that he could lift up anyway. He walked toward the door, holding the knob for a few seconds until he slowly twisted it.
Bright brown eyes and a big smile greeted him. He was wearing a thick coat with a pale blue scarf wrapped around him. Both his hands were at his back, hiding something.
"O-Oikawa?"
"Iwa-chan!" He greeted, only earning a confused expression.
"Do you need anything?"
Oikawa's eyes widened as he started fidgeting. "Would you.. Would.. Tokyo.." he mumbled in Japanese, trying to remember the phrase he had tried to memorize. Realizing that he was failing, he checked his phone that was held behind him. On the screen was a translation website. "Tokyo.. around!" He finally managed to say in English.
"What?"
He felt nervous. "Tokyo trip?" He tried, hoping his poor English skills would somehow save him.
Iwaizumi just stared at him for about a minute. "I'm really sorry, I don-"
He was cut off by Oikawa grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the building.
Once he had let go, a poster was shoved to his face. Iwaizumi took the piece of paper and tried to make sense of it. He found some English text written at the bottom informing him that there was a festival. He frowned. What kind of festival happens at 1 am? He looked back to Oikawa who had a smirk on his face, his neighbour tried to grab his hand once more but Iwaizumi refused to move.
"Come on!" Oikawa tried to pull, but he just wouldn't budge. He huffed. Well that was his second failure for the day, the first being his language skills.
"Tell me what this is about first."
His hand scratched the back of his head followed by nervous laughter. Oikawa was a man who knew and understood people well so he could act appropriately in front of the person, many had acknowledged this. But even he can't understand himself when he was in front of Iwaizumi. Desperate to give a reply, he started to ramble. " Well uh.. you see, I was outside yesterday and I saw the poster and I told my friends but they told me to go get a love life and find someone to go on a date with but that doesn't mean I'm thinking of dating you, I just wanted to go with someone and since you're the new neighbour I thought it would be okay."
Iwaizumi was clueless, watching him ramble with the foreign language that tickled his ears. Oikawa looked so flustered, contrast to his confidence the other day. The sight almost made him laugh. He rolled his eyes, taking Oikawa's hand and smirking when he stopped talking. "Let's go."
Iwaizumi was greeted by the warmth of the lanterns and other decorative lights that hung around the place. Food stalls were all around, tables laid out in the middle while bottles and cans of alcohol were placed on top along with men and women drinking and laughing. There were also kids that ran around with toys in their hands. He also noticed that only a few people were wearing the traditional attire, most were wrapped in warm clothes. All kinds of sounds were heard, from the children playing to the vendor's shouting. The syllables and pronunciations were all familiar to him, back in the Philippines, the vowels were spoken in the same way too. But the fact that he couldn't recognize anything unnerved him. He glances over to Oikawa who was laughing with the noodle vendor, noticing how he had fit so well in a place full of people. It was honestly kind of enviable.
Three hours had gone by so quickly; they explored each stall and even ate a lot of food with Oikawa ordering for him. Iwaizumi would have been lying if he said he didn't enjoy himself, but as they both finally decide to rest for a while on one of the benches, he starts to feel disappointment. He couldn't answer nor read anything, he knew the festival was supposed to be welcoming but even the lights and sounds muffled his senses.
It was then Iwaizumi realized, that he did not belong here.
He looks down on the ground, sighing.
"Asa."
His head turns to Oikawa who was looking up the sky that had turned into a light blue. "Hmm?"
"Asa." Oikawa repeats, a serene expression on his face, the rising sun highlighting his features.
"Asa.." Iwaizumi says slowly. It was a word he had recognized, it meant hope in Filipino. How Oikawa knew of this, he did not know but as the streets get covered in sunlight and the warmth slowly creeps up to him, he realizes that maybe he just needs to wait.
Title explanation! Since asa is morning in Japanese and it means hope in Filipino I kind of wanted it be like 'There will always be another morning.' So yeah. Also, Kuya means older brother but can be used to refer to guys older than you. Just thought I would use it to include the kind of idk vibe? idek.
Kaito is just a random family member, he's not really important in this story.
:D
:D