Chapter 7: Lesson Learned
When Yuna opened her eyes, she noticed three things: the first being that she could breathe. She inhaled deeply through her nose, startled, almost as if she'd suddenly remembered a time when she couldn't get enough oxygen and her body was trying to make up for it.
The second thing Yuna noticed was the pain. Her face hurt, and her head throbbed dully. There was a bright star of pain surrounding a large blotch of numbness on her left thigh from her epinephrine shot. And invisible weight seemed to be set atop her chest, though there was no pressure on her lungs.
Finally, she felt a steady warmth enveloping her hand. Yuna looked down to find the source of the warmth and found pale fingers resting against her own tan ones. Pale fingers connected to a pale hand which attached to a pale arm that lead up to the soft pale face of her mother.
"Mama," she croaked. Inori Hikari, who had been looking off into space, turned her wide grey eyes -the same as Yuna's- to her daughter. Those same grey eyes filled with emotion and she mustered a watery smile.
"Hey, amai."
"Drink?" Yuna rasped. Her mouth was the sticky kind of dry that was very unpleasant and made it hard to talk or swallow. Her mother nodded and left to get her one. Swallowing past the ache in her throat, Yuna stared at her hands, taking a moment to collect her thoughts and think back to what had happened.
Things had been going so well. The boys were relatively behaved, and Oikawa had been more cheerful than she had seen him in weeks. He had quieted at one point, staring off in space like she had caught him doing several times throughout the outing, and so she had tried to break him out of it by stealing some of his food.
Turned out to be a better distraction than she realized, because she ended up passed out in anaphylactic shock. Great job.
Yuna hadn't had a reaction in years; not since she was a very small child. She wasn't sure how she didn't recognize the symptoms sooner, and now she felt like an idiot. She hoped she hadn't frightened the boys too much. She'd have to thank Oikawa for helping her, since he was the only logical person to have taken charge of the situation. She trusted her brothers, but when something unexpected like that occurs, it would've been understandable for them to panic, let alone administer a shot, had she even brought the injection. Yuna sighed, momentarily regretting her decision to stop carrying her injection around all the time.
She looked up, finding Iwaizumi watching her from the doorway, hands stuffed in his pockets and a concerned scowl scrunching his features.
"Iwaizumi," she said, mildly surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Did you seriously just ask me that?" He asked. "My best friend ended up in the hospital after a near-lethal brush with a fruit cake, and you're wondering why I'm here?"
"You're right, that was a dumb question. I meant how did you find out?"
"Oikawa." He left the doorway to fill the seat her mother had vacated. "He called me in a panic, saying he didn't know how to reach your parents, and that it was an emergency and he didn't know who else to call." Yuna nodded for him to continue. "Someone needed to ride with you in the ambulance, but he couldn't leave Takeru, Haruki, and Kazuki with Nakamura-san."
"Who?"
"The lady who called the ambulance. She realized you were having a reaction and helped out."
"Oh. I'll need to thank her, then."
"I know where she works, I've seen her around that area before. Anyways, I was close by when Oikawa called and was able to watch the boys while he went with you."
"Thank you. I'm assuming you told my parents and that's why my mom is here." They were quiet for a minute. "Oikawa rode with me?" Iwaizumi nodded.
"I don't think I've ever seen him so freaked out over another person before. He was hiding it for your brothers I think, but I could tell he was on edge."
"So you guys are okay now?" Iwaizumi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, we talked a little bit, after he calmed down about you being in the hospital."
Yuna nodded and leaned back, smiling gently. "I'm glad. Watching the two of you mope around without each other was seriously cramping my style." She hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe it was a good thing then, that I got sick. Got you stubborn mules to get over yourselves and make up."
Iwaizumi huffed and ruffled her hair. "Don't joke like that! You seriously scared me!"
She laughed, but quickly winced. "Ow, ow! My face! Don't make me laugh!" They chuckled for a bit longer, but Yuna sobered. "Is he still here?"
"Yeah."
"Can I see him?"
"God, I thought you'd never ask," came a voice from the doorway. Oikawa walked over and handed her a cup, mostly likely given to him by her mother. "I've been standing out there for ages. Do you know how hard it was to wait for your conversation to end when I just knew you were talking about me?"
"Oikawa." She stared at him, waiting for him to stop running his mouth.
"I mean, first you scare the life out of me by passing out-"
"Oikawa."
"Then I had to keep your brothers from freaking out, which meant I had to call Iwaizumi-"
"Oikawa~"
"And then I had to ride in a very uncomfortable ambulance while you're lying there all dead-like-"
"Oi, baka."
"Finally, I had to explain to your mother why her daughter almost died-"
"Tooru." He finally stopped talking and met her stare.
Yuna held out her arms for a hug, and the forced, cheerful but annoyed mask Oikawa had been wearing since he walked in crumpled. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as best she could, since he was so broad, and she was sitting down. It was awkward, but it gave them both some sort of comfort.
"This is stupid," he mumbled into her shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the one comforting you; you almost died." His voice cracked a little at the last word. Yuna looked over Oikawa's shoulder at Iwaizumi, who raised an eyebrow.
"Told you he was worried," he grumbled.
Yuna patted Oikawa on the back. He sat on the edge of her bed and leaned back, so she let go of him. "I think you're being a little dramatic here, I didn't almost die-"
His brown eyes flashed and he gripped her jaw in his hand, forcing her to look at him. Yuna's eyes widened at his serious expression. "You went into shock for over ten minutes. I couldn't take my eyes off of you just to make sure you kept breathing. They brought you to the hospital in an ambulance to make sure the anaphylaxis and the late injection of epinephrine didn't have any side effects on your body. I sat here and watched, waiting for you to wake up for hours. The nurses all said how lucky you were, because you were so close." He swallowed the emotion that seemed to clog his throat and color his words. "So no, Inori, I don't think I'm being dramatic here."
She stared.
He stared back.
Neither one of them moved.
Neither one of them blinked.
The tense staring contest was cut short when someone burst into the room, shouting. Yuna jerked back from his grip and Oikawa stood, moving from her side to stand by Iwaizumi.
"INO-SAN!"
"KEIKO!"
A short girl with a sharp blonde bob, dressed in Aobajohsai's uniform, came flying over to Yuna's side, practically crushing her in a tackle-hug.
"INO-SAAAN~" she wailed.
"KEIKOOOO~" Yuna wailed back.
"INO-SAAaAAAaAAN~!"
"KEIKOOoOOOoO~!"
The tiny girl fake cried into Yuna's chest and she stroked the girl's hair.
"Iwa-chan~ How come you don't hug me like that?" Oikawa draped himself over his friend.
"I could think of a thousand reasons why, the first one being because it's stupid."
Keiko immediately gasped and sat up. "How dare you? Ino-san deserves the highest level of affection at all times, and hugs are the superior symbol of friendliness. You shall not desecrate our beautiful show of emotion by calling it stupid." She stuck her tongue out as Yuna chuckled.
Iwaizumi and Oikawa blinked at the dramatic diatribe. "Inoricchi, who is this tiny pixie-child?"
"This is Kasumi Keiko," Yuna introduced.
"Hello~!" Keiko chirped brightly.
"Er, hello," Iwaizumi said, confused at the small girl's ever-changing emotions.
Oikawa, not to be outdone in the dramatic friend department, narrowed his eyes and came around Yuna's side again, throwing his arm over Yuna's shoulders. She tried to shrug him off (What in the world does he think he's doing?) but he maintained his hold. "How long have you known Inoricchi?" His tone was possessively inquisitive. Yuna frowned, not liking what that toned implied. Iwaizumi seemed to know where this was heading as well.
"I met Ino-san this year," Keiko explained, stressing her own nickname for Yuna. "She's my science tutor, and she's brilliant."
Victory flashed in Oikawa's eyes and Yuna did not like where this brewing competition was going. "Oh, really? That's cute. I've known Inoricchi since junior high. And I'm her tutor, for English."
"That was one time, Bakakawa," Yuna said. "But yes, Keiko is a first-year, and she asked me to tutor her for science. While she started out as my favorite kohai, she's now my best friend." Yuna squeezed the small girl's hand, and Keiko gave Oikawa a smug look.
Oikawa's face morphed at the unspoken challenge.
Oh no.
This was going to escalate quickly… Too late; it already escalated.
"What's her favorite food?" Oikawa quizzed.
"Melon bread," Keiko replied easily.
"Favorite color?"
"Orange, obviously."
"When's her birthday?"
"Last day of summer break."
"How tall is she?"
"170cm." Keiko continued on, intent on proving her knowledge without prompting. "She also loves poppies, and jellyfish fascinate her; her symbol is a pair of angel wings; she hates coffee and English, and until recently, you. So, I have to wonder: why are you here, Oikawa-san?"
"Keiko-" Yuna tried to intervene, knowing Oikawa's temper.
"Because Inoricchi and I are close friends," Oikawa said, glaring at the blonde. "She was sick, and she wanted to see me to make her feel better."
"Oikawa, it's not-"
"Isn't it your fault she got sick?"
"Keiko, no, I forgot my-"
"Of course it was my fault." Everyone shut up and stared at Oikawa. "She stole my food while she was with me. I panicked. I didn't know what she was allergic to, I didn't know how to help her. It was my fault." He looked at Keiko, daring her to keep fighting him when he owned up to his mistake, one he hadn't even made. "She may have gotten sick because of me, but I'll be damned if you belittle my efforts to make up for it or scorn my relationship with her."
Keiko hummed, a cool expression on her face. But something like respect, or at least tolerance, shone in her eyes. "Ino-san makes her own decisions, and she's very smart. She doesn't accept people without a reason. Everyone here has done something to earn her loyalty -I guess you did, too." Oikawa nodded once in acknowledgment, accepting her approval. Keiko turned back to Yuna. "Well, I'm glad I could stop by, but now I have to get over to my summer classes." She sighed. "You may have saved my butt when it comes to my science grade, but I'm still ridiculously hopeless with everything else."
Yuna laughed and bid the girl farewell as she bounced out of the room. Then Yuna turned to Oikawa, giving him an indecipherable look. She knew it was her own dumb fault for leaving her injection at home, so she didn't understand his reasoning at all.
"You argued with Keiko... and won," she said, eyebrow raised. Oikawa's shoulders slumped, as if relieved she wasn't yelling at him, and he huffed a laugh.
"Such a crappy guy," Iwaizumi put in. "Winning an argument against a first-year -such an accomplishment."
"Rude!" Yuna laughed, but then winced as her face pulled painfully.
"Alright, I think that's enough excitement for today." Yuna's mother returned, and walked over to the third-year trio, placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I've let you all catch up and chat away, but now you need to get some rest. They can clear you for discharge by tomorrow if you're in good shape, so let's not do anything to impede that, shall we?"
Yuna was already grateful for how well her mother was taking the whole ordeal, considering it was really Yuna's own fault she was in the situation, regardless of how Oikawa felt. She grimaced. She hoped he hadn't given his little guilt speech to her mother before she had woken up. Inori Hikari was a sweet, fair, and level-headed woman; but when it came to her children, she was just as protective as any mother would be. Yuna wouldn't wish Oikawa to be on the receiving end of that protectiveness. She just nodded along to her mother's suggestion and said goodbye to the boys.
Her mother resumed her post in the chair by Yuna and stroked her hair. "I hope you've learned your lesson now." She gave her daughter a wry smile, and a reproachful glance.
Yuna sighed and nodded, knowing she meant about leaving her shot, but Yuna had learned other things that day. "Yes, Okaasan, I know. I got very lucky. I'll be more careful next time."
"Good." She patted her daughter's hand. "Now. Tell me all about this nice boy, Oikawa."
Yuna closed her eyes and groaned.
*Okay, so this is the Japanese word for the adjective "sweet". I kinda took some artistic liberties with the translation here, and used it for a term of endearment, like "sweetie" or "sweetheart", but yeah that's basically it.*
So, Keiko and Yuna's little greeting was inspired by Hinata and Nishinoya. That dynamic is literally my favorite friendship, so I just had to give a slight nod to that scene in the anime that may or may not live in my mind rent-free:)
I've been having trouble keeping Oikawa from being too OOC, since I keep making this boi all emotional whenever it's his pov, but I hope I did okay by making him his normal, flippant, easily jealous self. It has also been brought to my attention that I keep introducing characters that Yuna has connections with, but have been inconsistent with keeping them in the loop of the story. I promise, they will show up again in future chapters ;)
Thank you to all the beautiful people in the reviews for taking the time to give me your feedback, it really helps. I will forever wonder how this story is still going, but I know it is all thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, and followed: you guys are fantastic.
See y'all later! -Peri