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And the last ball landed on Karasuno's side of the court.
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The first day of the tournament, Iwaizumi Hajime noticed his setter's unmistakeable anger. Others would have dubbed it as him being focused on the matches but Hajime knew better. Did something happen again? Did that guy fight with Meekawa again? Hajime thought that they were somewhat okay now?
However, the more he looked at Oikawa Tooru, the more he felt guilty. He did kinda force his setter from making up with his twin. At first, he was proud of that Trashykawa but then, he began acting this way just a few days after that. Despite all that, however, his setter still performed at his best.
On the second day, his setter's twin came again to watch but he never acknowledged the latter. Hell, Trashykawa acted as if his brother didn't exist even though he was sitting right in front of the bleachers behind them. Hajime already noticed how Mattsun and Makki gave him subtle gestures and helped him steer their captain away whenever they were about to bump into Yuuma.
And then, they won against Karasuno. For some reason, Oikawa Tooru marched his way to where Yuuma was who had been chatting with both Mattsun and Makki (who was pestering him about making bentos for them some time). It was too late when Hajime realized his setter's intention.
"See that?!" Startled, the trio who had been talking about bentos flinched back. Mattsun and Makki held a look of dreaded realization whereas Yuuma tilted his head in confusion. "Karasuno... is no match for Seijoh!" Even though he declared that with such a proud demeanor, anxiety clawed at his heart. What the fuck was he doing, exactly?
Why did he suddenly march up to where his brother was and said something like that? Tooru wondered what his own goal was by acting like this. "And we'll be beating Shiratorizawa, too!" Shit, what the fuck am I doing?! Why am I saying all these towards Yuuma?!
Hell, even his fellow third years were startled by his sudden declaration. Fortunately for them, the audience had already trickled out of the bleachers and the rest of their team was out of earshot.
Instead of staying in such a confused state, Yuuma took it all in stride. Even though he was a little confused by his brother's actions, the only thing he felt was happiness. Tooru had spoken to him on his own volition and it wasn't even about him.
"I believe... you will, Tooru." With such soft-spoken words, Yuuma left but not before he flashed the third years a small smile he rarely showed anyone.
That image burned itself in his head; Tooru couldn't get it out of his mind. It might not have been the exact same but that tinge of nostalgia that hit him hard reminded him of those countless times Yuuma smiled at him. Sometimes, Tooru would get lost down in his memory lane and watched the days when he and his brother were still close.
It had gotten harder to remember them when the past few years were spent avoiding each other and pushing one another away. Some times, Tooru would entertain himself with thoughts of what ifs.
What if Yuuma still loved him like when they were kids? What if they were still just as close?
"... Oikawa." Hajime approached his friend with careful steps, shooting Mattsun and Makki a look before the pair left them alone. The ace just stood there, waiting for his setter to do something. For once, the setter appeared to be deep in thought and thinking about something else other than volleyball.
"Hey, Iwa-chan?" A moment later, the setter called out.
"Hm?"
"... I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I know I hate him—" lies "— and I don't want to do anything with him—" more lies "—but I just can't help it. I want to hear him say that we're twins. I don't want him to mingle with anyone else other than me. Isn't that kind of stupid of me, Iwa-chan?" That desperate tone, that yearning look; both of them caused Hajime's heart to twist and hurt for his setter.
Just as he expected, Oikawa still loved his brother but too stubborn to admit it. Even now, when jealousy began to manifest, the setter kept refusing the undeniable truth presented to him. "I hate him... well, I'm supposed to hate him." Growing frustrated with his confusing emotions, Oikawa Tooru groaned and threw his hands in the air. "Gah! I don't make any sense! Let's go, Iwa-chan!"
Not once did Hajime say anything as the both of them left the court. Instead of thinking about their match tomorrow against Shiratorizawa, Hajime's mind wandered down the lane leading to his thoughts of Oikawa Tooru. Sometimes, the urge to throttle the setter became irresistible. That idiocy he showed annoyed the hell out of the ace.
Heck, he was so damn exhausted consoling the idiot when said idiot began spouting nonsense about his contradicting feelings. Hajime had never been good with emotions, that was supposed to be Trashykawa's forte.
The only thing he could really do for his setter was to listen and be there for him. Sheesh, you're a lot of work, Assikawa.
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owo I don't know where I'm going with this —