I juste realized that the title of the fanfic and the one I hd put on every chapter is wrong... oh, damn it, I'll check it tomorrow... "
Thank you to all who followed and favorited! :D
Riomi-senpai : I think that iwaizumi is just an amazing character for the sake of being amazing but the fanon that he's actually blushy and embrrased and awkward when in love makes him even more amazing~
rheascarlet : If I can save you from boredom then my job is done~ :D You can send letetrs to your seatmate! You might still get a good friend in the end! ;)
deadlywhisper21 : It's all right, I'm glad we understood each other! :) I hope it won't stop you from enjoying the chapters! :)
pinkdoughnuts : Kiku will slowly open up and every time you might have a "I knew it!" feeling out of it! ;) Hajime will just keep feeling more and more frustrated about the fcat that people do'nt try to learn more about her and judge Kiku without getting to know her beforehand. And the cuteness will only increase~ (until thing get really, really serious between them because let's face it - Iwaizumi Hajime is one of the sexiest characters of Haikyuu and I'd be damned if I wouldn't use it to its fullest)
Viet Devil : But I love turning people into giggly, happy, squealing messes~ :D Aaaww, I love you too! :D I hope you'll love the rest of the story as well! ;D
Lili : Adorable, cuteness - these are the two defining words of their relationship~ It's so calm and quiet and relaxing to write compared to Sowlmates! XD Oikawa is definitely the team's mother who covers his children with too much, unwanted attention but he's too oblivious to realize that. We love him for that, tho (and loooooots of other reasons! ;D).
PaintCat : It makes me so happy when readers tell me that one of my chapter has made their day~ :D
Shy guest : I was screaming writing it as well~! ;) There will be some tiny, tiny angst but it'll be mostly smothered by the overall cuteness and love so...~
FanFictionAddiction4EVER : Waaah~ Do I love it when readers tell me such sweet things~! :D Unlike Sowlmate and Ayakou, this fanfic will be quiet, without much drama, and Kijime will have a very healthy relationship! :)
Yuuki no Yuki : It's true for the doctor appointment - it's the best canon explanation but it still feels a bit weird! x) I'm glad you like this story! :D
ella-sirius : I'm so happy someone can relate to Kiku - I am shy and socially awkward myself but not to this point so I hope I'm not overdoing it... ^^" She'll slowly get out of her shell, don't worry~! ;)
FANFICTION
HAIKYUU! : QUIET VOICE
CHAPTER VIII : Beautiful Eyes
"Nervousness made her feel nauseous, almost like she had two hearts frantically beating in her chest, instead of one."
― Caroline Hanson, Love is Darkness
"I know. I'm very hard to talk to. I realize that."
— J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye.
"When my eyes meet his gaze as we're sitting here staring at each other, time stops. Those eyes are piercing mine, and I can swear at this moment he senses the real me. The one without the attitude, without the facade[...]"
― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
"And I'll conclude the paper with this last part." Iwaizumi said, pointing at the last paragraph of Kiku and his' paper.
"Ok," she answered with a nod.
"Who starts though? Should I… uh…" He hesitated, going back on the introduction.
"…I… I'd want to, if… it's all right with you?" Kiku said, flushing and fumbling her fingers.
Hajime was surprised she'd volunteer to speak up first, considering how shy she was.
"I don't mind but… will you be all right?" He asked hesitantly.
"I-I should be…" She answered with a little smile, "I want to start talking… Once I've started talking, I'm all right. I have… lots of habits to control my nervousness. Like staring at a fixed point above people's heads to not look into their eyes directly, or listening to music before, it helps me relax…"
A little stunned by her courage of deciding to speak up in front of class, Hajime only nodded. They both moved away from each other, a little half-heartedly, to go back against their seats. They were done discussing about their paper and they'd practice talking about it to be in a more realistic situation.
12. She listens to music to relax.
13. She's braver than appearances led to believe.
Hajime glanced at his left, tempted to tell Kiku she wasn't hesitating anymore while talking to him, not much at least, but he didn't dare say anything and focused on the practice he'd have later. Just before practice, because they had some time, he convinced Oikawa to ask the volleyball team to listen to his and Kiku's work so they'd give their opinions – he didn't really care about it but Kiku had insisted on practicing in front of people and they didn't have anyone else but the team. Hajime's teammates complied more easily than he would have expected and they all sat in the changing-room and looked up at the two. Thinking back on it, It was the condition Iwaizumi had asked Oikawa in exchange for wearing the clothes he had chosen the other day after all – to convince the team to listen to Kiku and him practicing for their paper.
Oikawa seemed incredibly eager to listen (as well as Kindaichi for some unknown reason?) and despite Makki and Mattsun's grins, they started easily. Kiku hesitated a little at first but as soon as she had started, it went smoothly.
"That was incredible! So great!" Oikawa exclaimed, clapping his hands happily while the rest of the volleyball team just sighed at their Captain's eccentricity.
"Don't exaggerate, it's just a History paper…" Iwaizumi answered, shaking his head.
"But Kiku-chan has trouble speaking up in front of crowds, right? It went so well! You'll do wonderful Thursday, I'm sure!" Tooru added, turning towards Kiku.
She startled at the mention of her name and nervousness but nodded nevertheless. She glanced awkwardly before swallowing.
"I… I should go… Y-you have p-practice…" She said, already turning around.
"You don't have club on Tuesday, right?" Iwaizumi asked, accompanying the girl outside the changing-room.
He heard some noise coming from it and he noticed the team peaking at them from the doorway, the third-years sending him thumbs-up in encouragement. Iwaizumi glared at them but appeared innocent as soon as Kiku looked up at him – she hadn't noticed the team staring at them yet.
"N-no," she said with a smile, glad he had noticed such a thing about her.
Hjaime hesitated, hiding his nervousness by putting his hands in his pockets – he didn't want Kiku to see that he was clenching his fists and get the wrong idea.
"Um… I… uh…" He hesitated.
"Iwa-chan, fight!" Oikawa told him from afar.
Kiku blinked adorably upon hearing Oikawa's voice but when she tried to glance at the Captain, Iwaizumi jumped in front of her, hiding the view of the volleyball team peaking at them. He flushed brightly after such an action and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, his entire body stiff.
"I've always wanted to ask you! W-what's your club? Literature? Calligraphy or… uh, something…?" He hesitated, voice louder than intended out of embarrassment.
Curious as well, the volleyball team stopped snickering to listen to Kiku's quiet voice. She smiled at Iwaizumi before answering:
"Cheer-leading club."
Hajime blinked. The rest of the team as well, leaning a little more forward because they weren't sure they had heard well.
"What?"
"I'm part of the cheer-leading club," Kiku said with a smile.
His lips opened in shock because it was the last club he would have expected the shy, quiet, Akiyama Kiku to participate in but before he could react, the volleyball club did the job for him.
"The what club?!"
"This girl?!"
"What!"
Kiku and Hajime heard some screams followed by a loud sound. They turned around and saw the boys all piled up at the doorway – the shock had made Makki and Kindaichi trip, which had made some others lose their balance as well and they all fell on top of Oikawa. Now they were just a moaning pile – Oikawa Tooru probably dead under the weight of all of his teammates (he wasn't moving or talking anymore)
Makki immediately got up once again and ran to Iwaizumi and Kiku, grabbing the girl's shoulders with wide eyes – he was followed by Mattsun and the rest of the volleyball club (except Oikawa who was still down, Kindaichi trying to find out if he was still alive)
"Wait, wait, wait! You! You do cheering club?! Since when?!" Hanamaki shouted, not believing that his neighbor could possibly be part of such a club considering how shy she was.
Undisturbed by his rough handling, she only blinked with a half, embarrassed smile.
"Since always? Since Middle-school?" She answered in a quiet voice.
"B-b-but!"
"Oi! Hanamaki! Let her go!" Iwaizumi growled pushing away his teammate.
"I knew you were doing gymnastics, but I didn't know you were cheering!" Makki exclaimed, still not wrapping his mind around this idea.
"There are a lot of things… you don't know…" Kiku answered with a shrug.
Hanamaki's lips fell open in incredulity at her answer while Hajime huffed in a mix of pride from his girl's answer and annoyance to see the light-haired boy so revolted by it all.
"Have a good practice…" Kiku added with a bow to the team before turning around and leaving.
"Ah, wait!" Iwaizumi called but she was already descending the stairs and disappearing.
His shoulders slumped and he glanced angrily at his teammates who all startled – except Oikawa who was just arriving, followed by a worried-looking Kindaichi.
"Kiku-chan just left…?" He asked, still a little sore from his fall and receiving all of the team on him.
"I wanted to ask her more…" Iwaizumi muttered to himself.
"She's part of the cheering club? What a surprise…" Tooru answered with wide eyes.
"I didn't know we even had a cheer leaders club…" Mattsun said with his usual lazy demeanor.
"We do, but it's a rather small one and every time we have the Inter-High, the cheerleaders have their own competition. That's why they never come to our tournaments." Yahaba answered.
"How do you know that, you?"
"Girls in short skirts with poms." Yahaba said with a determined expression.
The others rolled their eyes, no doubt that their second setter had watched in secrecy some of the cheerleaders' practice…
"If you knew, why didn't you say so about Akiyama-san? Why were you so surprised, Yahaba-san?" Kindaichi asked curiously.
"I thought she looked familiar but I hadn't recognized her… Perhaps I hadn't noticed her? I don't know?" He answered with a shrug.
"Why would this girl do cheerleading out of every possible club to be? She's shy and quiet, she hates being watched by crowds… Cheerleading is the complete opposite…" Makki continued.
"You're still annoyed because you didn't know about it until now and she's your neighbor." Mattsun commented.
Hanamaki huffed annoyingly but didn't deny it.
"Oi! What are you doing? Practice is about to start!" Coach Mizoguchi shouted from down the stairs.
After some screams and running, the team all forgot about the accident and they went to practice as they always did. Only Iwaizumi was still thinking about Kiku's revelation.
14. She's full of surprises…
On Thursday…
Finally. The fateful day had arrived.
Iwaizumi wasn't usually nervous about speaking up in class for his papers or works, but Akiyama definitely was and her nervousness was nagging on him. He wasn't scared to mess up – he was scared Kiku would be frozen in fear or something, that she wouldn't be able to speak up at all… He kept repeating to himself she'd be all right but the longer time went by, the more nervous she grew.
History class was absolutely awful. They were the third group to pass and every pairing went outside the classroom to revise one last time their notes before entering.
"Iwaizumi-kun and Akiyama-san, you get ready, you'll be next in a few minutes," the teacher said.
The two got up, took their papers then went outside the class to read their notes one last time.
Kiku tried reading but it made her stomach turn into a knot and she was unable to focus on the words written, only tried to get over her nervousness. She wasn't usually such a wreck – she always managed to get over it but her biggest fear was to mess up and that Iwaizumi would end up with a bad grade because of her… What if he hated her after that? She wouldn't bear it, he was so nice with her, she didn't want to mess up for Iwaizumi-san…
Seeing that she was almost shaking and pale, a little sweaty from nerves, Iwaizumi hesitated, not knowing how to encourage her.
"Hey." He said, but his voice was harsher than intended.
He felt guilty when Kiku startled and glanced up at him almost fearfully – he didn't understand why she was so nervous when she had been all right in front of the volleyball members…
"Relax, it'll be all right…" He told her with an awkward pat on the shoulder.
He felt stupid for doing that and apparently, it didn't help Kiku much. She nodded before going back to muttering to herself, hands trembling around her papers. Hajime's lips turned into a pout and he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find a solution to calm her down before they'd enter the class – otherwise, this presentation would turn into a disaster.
"Listening to music helps me relax…" She had told him the other day.
"Ah!" He exclaimed, making the girl glance at him curiously.
Iwaizumi suddenly started patting his jacket and pockets, diving his hands in every pocket. She watched him curiously, not understanding what he was looking for. Suddenly, he triumphantly took out his ipod, the headphones almost slapping him from the abruptness with which he had taken it out of his jacket pocket.
Kiku's eyes widened as he took a step towards her to handle him the ipod but the door slid open and they both jumped.
"Your turn, Iwaizumi-kun, Akiyama-san," The teacher said with a nod towards the blackboard.
They both remained standing there and the young man glanced at the girl who swallowed before taking a step forward. She clutched tightly her papers as she made her way towards the class platform. Iwaizumi followed her in silence, glancing at her nervously. He wrote the title of their work then turned towards Kiku, probably a little worriedly, but she didn't seem to notice.
The entire class was silent and observing them but if some were asleep, most were watching impatiently, waiting for the shy girl to stumble on her words.
"So lame…" Someone whispered.
"Poor Iwaizumi-san…" Another snorted.
Iwaizumi glared at the class and everyone turned silent at his deadly gaze but Kiku had already heard everything. She seemed even more disturbed than before.
"Go ahead," The teacher finally said, not having noticed anything from his students.
Hajime turned back towards Kiku, she was the one to start. Her lips opened and closed several times, eyes fixed on the notes. Her blemish complexion was now bright red from embarrassment at trying to speak up. She took a shaky breath in, about to speak when a voice rose.
"Get started already! We don't have all day!"
"Oi, silence!" The teacher exclaimed, glaring at the impetuous student.
Kiku seemed to close on herself, trying to hide herself behind her papers, her hair and lifting up her shoulders, as if it'd make her disappear.
Hajime watched her worriedly, not knowing whether or not he should intervene… She was breathing a little hard and finally, the young man turned towards the class, speaking up with a firm voice:
"We'll talk about the samurai of the Edo Era. The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and…"
He continued, talking for all of Kiku's part.
After realizing he had taken the responsibility of speaking instead of her, she lowered her head, keeping her face hidden behind her paper, trying to focus on the words that were going by and by. She felt tears of helplessness, shame and disappointment fill her eyes. She had wanted to start talking so that people would feel less bored when they'd get to the part with the samurai – also, Hajime loved this part, it was his favorite part. It was obvious he had wanted to talk about it but now… because she had been unable to find the voice to speak in time, he was giving it up to her.
Hajime kept glancing at Kiku, trying to make her understand she'd have to speak soon but she didn't seem well at all… Worry made his voice stammer a few times and it made some people grin and chuckle – he didn't care, but he saw from the corner of his eyes Kiku's shoulders shaking even more at that.
Can't you all shut up?! Can't you all stop making fun of her and laugh?! He thought to himself, frowning more and more at his classmates who didn't seem to realize what he was trying to tell them.
He stopped talking when he reached the end of the part and looked over at Kiku desperately. He saw her open her lips but when no sound came out at first, he swallowed hard.
The teacher looked up and several students started whispering, amusement obvious in their voice.
Kiku was still taking in some air to speak when Hajime took a decision – better end this before she'd collapse. He opened his lips but an idea struck him. He blinked down at the teacher's desk that was hiding both Kiku and his' legs from view…
I am so going to get in trouble for that… He thought to himself.
He took a step towards Kiku and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You're ok, Akiyama? San…" He added awkwardly when he noticed he had forgotten the honorific.
She barely reacted but the whispers intensified. Kiku swallowed hard then lowered the papers to speak up.
But Iwaizumi was already executing his plan: still hidden by the desk, he lightly kicked the back of her knee with his foot. The girl instantly gasped and fell backwards. He caught her in his arms and instantly picked her up. Kiku was too stunned to react, eyes wide open and cheeks just as red as before.
"Sensei, Akiyama-san doesn't seem well! I'll take her to the infirmary!" Iwaizumi exclaimed, already walking towards the door with the girl in his arms.
The teacher blinked, nodding in agreement when he saw the sweaty and pale face of the girl – also, it looked like she had almost fainted just now, right?
The rest of the class erupted in excited whispers because it was obvious this wasn't the real reason Iwaizumi was taking her away but he ignored their whispers.
It was only once away from the classroom, bathed in the quietness of the hall, that he sighed, Kiku watching him with wide eyes.
"…I-I can… walk on my own…" She murmured, trying to get him to let go.
"No, if someone sees us we need to have a good excuse for missing class." He answered, looking straight ahead.
"…I-I'm t-too heavy… y-you shouldn't…"
"Uh?!" He exclaimed, finally looking back at her.
She startled in his arms and he huffed annoyingly:
"Don't underestimate me! I am perfectly capable of carrying you! If I can carry Oikawa, Matsukawa and Hanamaki in the same time, you're not heavy at all!" He exclaimed before adding in a low, grumbling voice, "Don't say stuff like that about you… you're great the way you are…"
Stunned by his behavior, Kiku watched him with wide, awed eyes. He had tried helping her relax by attempting to make her listen to music, he had taken her part for the paper to give her time to be ready, he had made her fall in his arms just so she'd escape facing the class and now, he was… saying such nice things… Though, she was a little curious about how he had ended up carrying all three of his teammates in the same time?
Blushing, she lowered her head and her fingers clenched a little tightly the young man's shoulder, inching just a little bit closer to him.
Noticing this gesture Hajime stiffened and almost dropped her, suddenly incredibly nervous, but if his steps stumbled a little, Kiku didn't notice a thing. He held his breath, blush creeping his cheeks as well.
"Don't… listen to what others say…" He breathed.
She glanced up at him and his cheeks turned even redder. He avoided her gaze, hoping she wouldn't notice how fast his heart was beating.
"Do whatever you want, ignore their insults and laughs… It's not worth it." He added in a low voice.
Kiku didn't answer right away but they arrived at the infirmary. Iwaizumi put down Kiku on a bed, explaining to the nurse that she had been feeling unwell for a presentation in class, he said it was probably nerves and being tired but the kind nurse still examined the girl.
"You have a little fever, Kiku-chan, but after some rest, you'll be all right!" She finally said.
"Incredible, you were so nervous you got a fever…" Iwaizumi murmured, blinking in astonishment.
"I'll leave her in your care, Iwaizumi-kun!" The nurse said before leaving the two alone and pulling at the curtain.
He stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets while Kiku remained sitting on the side of the bed, looking down and fumbling her fingers nervously. When he heard a sniff from her, his eyes widened and he looked over, seeing her crying as silently as possible.
"Wah! Ah! Uh!" He exclaimed, waving his hands around awkwardly because what was he supposed to do to comfort a crying girl…?!, "D-don't cry! Akiyama! Don-don't cry!"
"I-I'm s-sorry…!" She hiccuped, wiping away her tears, making the young man freeze in distress, "I-If I weren't so s-shy…!"
"I-it's all right… the teacher believed me, and the nurse said you had a fever… we'll just have to try again another time…" He said, pouting because he wasn't sure it was any way to comfort her.
He patted his pockets just like he had earlier, attracting the girl's attention on him. Then, finally, he took out a handkerchief and approached her, handing it nervously.
"T-thank you…" She murmured after staring at him for a short moment.
She took it and wiped calmly her nose and eyes, not noticing that Iwaizumi was red in the ears. Once she was calmed down, he looked back at her.
"W-why did you do that earlier…?" She asked hesitantly, looking saddened.
"Uh?"
"…When you hit the back of my knees?"
"I didn't hurt you, did I?!" He panicked instantly.
"N-no… b-but…"
Her shoulders slumped and she sighed heavily.
"I had been about to talk when you did…" She murmured guiltily.
"S-sorry about that…" He answered, just as guilty because he had acted just she had gathered the courage to speak up.
"I'm really sorry you had to go through so much because of me… I'm not usually that… that terrible at speaking – well, I am actually… b-but, the idea of ruining your grade j-just…"
She closed her eyes and Iwaizumi finally understood why she had been even more nervous than usual: she didn't want his grade to go down because of her shyness. He sighed with a little smile, feeling reassured that it wasn't entirely because of their classmates and her nerves…
"Hey, Akiyama…" He started, taking a step forward.
He knelt on the floor in front of her so they'd be able to face each other, absentmindedly, he put a hand on her thigh. Kiku's eyes widened and she blushed but she looked right into Hajime's eyes and somehow… she didn't feel scared anymore… She felt peaceful.
"Don't worry about that, ok? Just… make sure you enjoy what you're talking about, just like when we studied and practiced, ok?" He said with a warm voice and smile.
Kiku looked right into his eyes, not feeling nervous anymore, her entire body relaxing. She had always thought his eyes were dark but looking closely, they were a beautiful shade of gray-green…
Hajime was glad he was lower than her because he was able to see her face completely – she wasn't hidden by her hair and it made her big, dark-blue eyes so much more beautiful… She looked so pretty…
"Your eyes are beautiful…" She whispered in awe.
"Eh?" He hesitated, blushing.
"Eh?" She repeated, blushing as well.
They stiffened and moved away from each other suddenly, blushing and trying to handle the way their hearts beat incredibly fast, almost getting them out of breath. While Hajime was looking as far as possible from her, pretty sure he was the one with a fever now, Kiku put a hand on her beating heart. She felt the way it pulsed frenetically against her chest, as if trying to jump out of it and reach for Hajime's beautiful eyes…
"S-sorry…" She murmured finally when the awkward silence went longer, "I-it just… I-I feel v-very relaxed… when I look at your… eyes…"
"I-I'll go ahead…" He muttered without looking in her direction.
She watched him leave a little sadly, feeling guilty because she knew he was leaving because of her comment.
Hajime covered his mouth with his hand, his entire body feeling hot and awkward. He was blushing so much and his heart was beating so hard that he was about to collapse from overheating… His thoughts were messy and numb but Kiku's words kept repeating in his mind.
"Your eyes are beautiful…"
15. She gets a fever when she's too nervous.
16. She makes me feel feverish.
17. She thinks my eyes are beautiful…
Despite still hidden by his hand, the corners of his lips quirked upwards and he smiled softly, feeling all happy and giddy.
Once Kiku felt better, they walked back to class, and later, they went to apologize to their History teacher who talked with the two of them in the teachers' room.
"I learned about your situation, Akiyama-san," he started, arms crossed over his chest, "Do you two want to present your paper during a break? Before your club activities? This way there won't be anyone to see."
Overjoyed that their teacher had believed the whole 'she's feeling unwell' play from earlier and that he was compliant enough to even give them a great opportunity to go without having to be in front of the entire class, Hajime grinned, turning excitedly towards Kiku but she was looking down.
"Akiyama?" He called curiously, tilting his head on a side.
"T-thank you, sir b-but…" Kiku started, biting her lower lip before looking up at the History teacher, "B-but I'd like to go in front of everyone… I-it wouldn't be fair if we were… the only ones to have a privileged session simply because of my shyness…"
Surprised, the teacher blinked before smiling.
"Well, well, if you think you can handle it, I'll let you participate tomorrow. You'll be the first group, though. How is that for you two?" He asked, turning towards Iwaizumi who nodded as well.
He was really shaken by Kiku's decision but he'd respect it, if she felt like she could do it. Once it was settled, they were about to leave the teachers' room right as Coach Irihata entered the room.
"Hello, coach," Iwaizumi saluted with a little bow.
He nodded back, Kiku bowing lightly before hurrying behind Iwaizumi and grabbing his sleeve as they exited the room. Blinking, Irihata watched them leave curiously.
"Oh?"
The next day, Iwaizumi glanced nervously at Kiku, but she didn't seem quite as nervous as the day before – she was still trembling and a little pale, though. No doubt that if she didn't manage to speak quickly, she'd get in a state as terrible as the day before…
"You can start," The teacher said with a nod.
The class was as smirking and whispering as the day before. Hajime kept glancing between Kiku and their classmates, wondering if he should start like the day before – but she hadn't liked it much…
"I feel v-very relaxed… when I look at your… eyes…"
Hajime's eyes widened slightly and he leaned slightly closer to Kiku, lifting up his notes to hide his face from anyone else.
"Oi, Kiku…" He whispered, voice heard only by the girl.
Surprised he'd call her, and by her first name, she looked up, meeting his beautiful green-gray eyes…
"Look in my eyes, relax…" He continued.
Her night-blue eyes widened and her lips trembled, cheeks flushed. She looked right into Hajime's eyes, just as he had just said, her shoulders going down instantly.
She still heard her heartbeat resonating, but it wasn't the nerve-wrecking beating against her temples that turned her stomach into a knot that didn't let her breath and made her nauseous. It was relaxing, like a peaceful lullaby… When Kiku looked into Hajime's eyes, she felt at peace.
"W-we'll talk about the samurai of the Edo Era a-also called t-the Tokugawa period…" She started in a little voice.
Hajime grinned and she smiled a little as well, realizing that she didn't feel nervous anymore. Not to the point of being unable to talk. A little more confident, she continued, her eyes sparkling like stars in a nighty sky.
"I-it's the period between 1603 and 1868, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and…"
Feeling ridiculously proud, Hajime grinned happily and nodded in encouragement, still hidden by his notes. Kiku grinned and turned towards the class, continuing to talk without any trouble despite a few hesitation here and there. She was almost bouncing in pride to have overcome her fear thanks to Hajime and the latter lowered his notes, smiling happily. When it was his turn to talk, she glanced at him and the gaze and smile they shared… they were the only ones to understand its meaning.
I hope I overdid it and you still enjoyed this chapter~ Iwaizumi is an actual knight in shining armour.
Yours Truly,
May