"Fine then, go out at night! If that's what you want then we won't stop you!" Saikane shouted as she scoffed at Nagishima before exiting the room and slamming the door behind her. Kuroo groaned and massaged his temples before staring at his cousin. "Do you want go out at night? Is that what you want? What would you even do if we allowed you to go?" he grilled the young girl as he crossed his arms, a rare serious look was plastered on his face.
Kenma worriedly stared at the two cousins. Suddenly, he watched as Nagishima huffs in irritation before walking out as well. Kuroo trails behind her but Kenma quickly intervenes and grabs the taller male's shoulder. "Don't go after her." The pudding-head said before sighing and looking away.
"Are you saying I should just leave her on her own? At night?" Kuroo questioned as he eyed his childhood friend with intensity making Kenma click his tongue. "You..." Kenma paused, unsure with what he'll say next but when he sees Kuroo's gaze, he bites his tongue before continuing his words.
"You aren't protecting Rino, you're just suffocating her." Kenma says sharply before lowering his hands and leaving the older male inside Nagishima's room.
Hearing Kenma speak up made Kuroo think about himself. How could he be suffocating his cousin? He's only trying to protect her to make sure that what happened in the past doesn't happen again. Even Saikane feels like that so why is he the one who's wrong? Where did he go wrong? Kuroo simply can't grasp his mistake.
Meanwhile, Nagishima clenched her fist as she glared at thin air. The thought of being out was slowly sinking in and before she knows it, Nagishima smiles at the night sky. She observed the way the lights from the buildings, from the streets, from small stores, and from other things flickered and shined in a way that it reminded her of someone important to her. Smiling at the thought she had, the black-haired girl kept walking around the streets, checking out the small stores and the small cafes and restaurant that she passed by.
As she roamed around the area, Nagishima stops in front of a five-star restaurant. Tapping her wallet and pulling it out, Nagishima checks her money and exhales in relief when she sees a thick layer of saved allowance inside. Peering inside the five-star restaurant, the young girl decided to enter the luxurious place.
Once she set her foot inside, Nagishima heard the jazzy music that was played inside.
"Excuse me? Do you have any reservations?" A female staff asks kindly. Nagishima blinks and looks around before shaking her head vigorously. "No. I'll eat here without anyone by my side." She replies awkwardly before smiling sheepishly. The female staff gives her a gentle smile before gesturing for the tracksuit-wearing female to enter.
Nagishima proceeds to walk inside while scanning the area for an empty table. Suddenly, someone grabs her wrist and flips her around. Nagishima makes a sharp inhale before grabbing the hand of the person who touched her. She then proceeds to hold it tightly as she stared daggers at the person.
"Ow! Stop it, you're hurting me!"
Oikawa pulled away while rubbing his wrist. He hisses in pain and glowers at the shorter girl before him. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a pissed off manner as he lowers his hands. Nagishima lowers her guard and hums while thinking.
"I'll eat here." She reasoned out as she caught a costumer leaving in the corner of her eyes. Eyes widening, Nagishima rushes to the table to sit down first, completely forgetting that she's in a luxurious restaurant. Oikawa stared at the high-school girl with exasperation. "Why can't she act refined right now? Does she know where she is?" he thought before stepping towards her. "Rino, why are you here?" he asked before sitting in front of her. Nagishima eyed the male brunette with creeped out eyes.
"I told you that I'll ignore you last two weeks, right? I even avoided you by going the other direction." Nagishima revealed shamelessly as she picked the menu up.
"I know." Oikawa replied shortly. "By the way, my mother owns this place." He informed out of nowhere, curious to see how the female will react to his statement.
Nagishima loosened her hold on the menu. She lamely stares at the college male in front of her and forces a small smile. "I see... it's a good restaurant. It looks... stylish." She complimented as she avoided the somewhat teasing eyes of the male brunette as if he was trying to get a reaction from her.
"Tooru? Is that your girlfriend?"
The two seated people frowned when they heard that. Oikawa glances at the female that's standing beside him while Nagishima, although she doesn't know who the female stranger actually referred to, bites the inside of her cheek when she sees an older girl beside Oikawa.
"She's not... that." The brunette responded awkwardly as he placed himself near the wall to make Oikawa Haruka, his mother, sit as well. Haruka gives an elegant smile before sitting. She crosses her legs chicly before resting her chin on top of her palm. She then gives Nagishima an interrogating stare.
"Can I know your name?" Haruka questioned while smiling with a plan. Oikawa Tooru gulps as he wishes that Nagishima won't say anything, especially the situation he's in with his cousin whereas Nagishima sweat-drops and bows slightly. "My name's Nagishima Rino. It's nice meeting Oikawa... Tooru-san's sister." She replies. When Haruka hears that, she grins brightly before glancing at her son. "What a nice girl! Rino-chan seems respectful. Where did you snatch her?" she asked her son while smiling threateningly, knowing what her son's nature is.
"Momo-chan is at fault! If she didn't tell my mom then I wouldn't be stared like that by my mother!" Oikawa thought begrudgingly. "She's not a pet, mom. She's a friend." He says as he kept his gaze away from his mother.
"Hmm... I understand." Haruka nods before shifting her attention to Nagishima. "Let's talk about my son right now. Isn't he attractive? My friends kept making their daughters look good just so they can get their daughter to marry Tooru." The sly mother informed as she motioned for a waiter then ordered for food. Once she finished, she returned her gaze to the black-haired girl. "So? Is my son handsome?" she repeated her question.
Oikawa knew what was happening. Certainly and without a doubt, his mother is testing Nagishima to see if the younger girl is interested in him.
"Yes. He's too handsome." Nagishima answers, disappointing Haruka who thought the young female was a different while Oikawa Tooru bit his lips to prevent himself from smiling. He accidentally makes eye contact with the high-school girl and gives a sheepish smile. Nagishima sighs before adding "To the point where every time I go with him, almost all woman and sometimes, even men, would look at him. But me? Why do I have to get glared at? Do they think Oikawa-san is too good for me? Wow, it's not like I have any intention in going out with him."
The two Oikawa gawked at the girl in front of them.
Two waiters arrived and placed the food that Haruka ordered. Nagishima eyed the foods with love before promising to pay for the food later. She then grabs her spoon and fork, ready to dig in, but stops when she catches the two people looking at her.
Nagishima points at the food timidly. "Please eat as well. You ordered this so feel free to stuff your stomach." She informs before grabbing various foods and placing it on her plate. Oikawa clears his throat and sighs. "Calm down, Rino. The food won't disappear." He says, trying to act civilized so his mother wouldn't get suspicious. Too bad, his mother caught the way Oikawa calls the younger girl.
"Rino? Already on first-name basis? How close are you two?" Haruka asked before taking a sip of water. Nagishima munched with content before swallowing her food. After that, she drinks water and wipes her mouth on her sleeves. "We're close but not too close. Just close enough to talk about how irritating it is that his parents doesn't want him to join the volleyball club." She explained calmly before finishing her cup of water.
Oikawa drops his smile and glances at his mother sideways. Seeing her frown made the male brunette feel annoyed by how Nagishima can say it without thinking so in an attempt to release his irritation, Oikawa clicks his tongue at the black-haired girl.
"So he's still hung up on that... honestly, why can't he understand that he has to focus on his studies? He isn't in high school anymore, he's attending university now. Tooru should put all of his attention in his education, not in his hobbies." Haruka rants before pushing her hair off her shoulders. The male brunette clenched his fist before unclenching it. He gazed at Nagishima and saw that she was staring at him as well. Oikawa makes a don't-say-anything face and witnesses the black-haired girl shake her head in disapproval.
"I'm pretty sure Oikawa-san's good at volleyball. If I were his mother, I'd make him play what he wants as long as he does it in moderation." Nagishima starts, earning an intrigued face from Haruka. Smiling softly, Nagishima gazed at the mother gently. "You're Oikawa-san's sister, right? What does your mother say about him? Is she proud that she can see her son's happy face? I've been told that mothers are often supportive of their children so your mother must be really happy, right?"
Oikawa peered at his mother and observed her reaction. His mouth hangs ajar when he notices Haruka gulp.
"I'm Tooru's mother, Nagishima-san." Haruka informs, surprising the younger girl. Taking time to register what she heard, Nagishima hums in response before speaking again. "So, are you proud of your son? I'm curious to know what a mother would say." the black-haired girl says with evident interest. The male brunette kept his eyes on the girl in front of him. When his mother doesn't speak, Oikawa opens his mouth but closes it again when Haruka starts talking.
"How about you ask your mother what they would feel if they were in my situation?"
Nagishima bites her tongue at the suggestion. Clearing her throat, she then speaks.
"You see, I do taekwondo and I want my mom to see how good at I am at it but... she's gone so I can't really ask her if she's proud of me or... hear her say that to me." The young girl explained while giving a lame smile.
The air went thick when Nagishima said that. Oikawa blinked his eyes at his friend before faking a cough. "Go rest now, Rino. Don't pay and just go home." He ordered as he stood up. Haruka stands up as well and moves aside. Nagishima hums in response, as if she's hesitating, before nodding obediently. Getting off of her seat, Nagishima bowed to the two and says her goodbye.
"Thank you for the food, sorry if I can't pay for it. I'll pay for my food next time." She says before leaving the two mother and son behind.
Pleased with the food she ate, Nagishima sighed in relief. Out of the blue, she halts walking and turns slowly to Oikawa, only to see him still watching her. "Uh... Oikawa-san" she pauses when she forgets what she's trying to say. Why did she turn around again? Was there any reason she did that? "Thanks for the food! I'll treat you and Ushijima-san as well as Tetsurou next time as payment." Nagishima tells before turning her back on the college male and exiting the restaurant.
Once she did, the young girl sighs and bites her lips. The cold autumn air then blows and instantly, Nagishima shivers. Deciding that it was time to go home, the girl walked home peacefully.
Oikawa watched his mother sit down on her seat at VIP lounge, a place only for her and her family.
"Tooru... that girl was really unique. What is she to you?" Haruka asked while holding her glass of wine. At the sudden question he received, Oikawa had to pause and think. "Uh... we're friends. That's all." He said truthfully before sitting down on the couch placed in front of his mother's desk. Haruka sighs disappointedly before taking a sip of wine.
"I love volleyball."
Haruka gaped at her son's words. She puts her glass down and stares coldly at him. "Just because you friend's words had an impact on me doesn't mean that I'd let you play it. You've played it almost half of your life, aren't you tired of it?" she questioned with frustration.
"It doesn't matter if Rino says a touching story or not, what matters is I want to do what I love!" The male brunette exclaimed. "I – I... I don't like hearing my roommates talk about their practice nor do I like hearing how Iwa-chan is waiting for me in the opposite side of the net. It makes me feel bad that I can't even do the same thing! We just like one sport so why are our decisions different? Why am I walking on a different path from them?" Oikawa ranted out. He then gulps when he realizes his mistake. How can he shout at his parent? He'll get in deep trouble, for sure.
"I mean –"
"If you don't study, I'll cut off your allowance." Haruka says with a scowl on her face.
Nagishima approached a male stranger who was holding onto his head. The tracksuit-wearing female was walking peacefully until she arrives at the less crowded area of the city where a man suddenly yelps in pain. The trees were around but a street lamps were placed beside the streets, shedding light to the closed shops and restaurants and making Nagishima see the face of the male clearly. She doesn't smell alcohol on the stranger so she decides to aid to him.
"Are you alright, sir? Does your head hurt?" she asked worriedly before putting a hand over the man's shoulder but as she did, she suddenly gets punched on the stomach by the stranger and proceeds to get dragged close to the bushes.
The unexpected action made Nagishima freeze, confused with her situation. When the male stranger pins her down the ground, Nagishima recalls her and her childhood friends' fight earlier. The fight started when Nagishima stated something.
"I want to go out right now." Nagishima stretched as she leaned on her cousin's shoulder. Kuroo glances at her and frowns. "You can't do that. It's dangerous, you know." He says before shifting his attention on the television. The black-haired female hums in response before saying, "Everything is bad and dangerous according to you. I bet you're exaggerating."
Saikane hears what the female say so she turns to her with a frown on her face. "What are you saying? Do you not believe us? The world is a dangerous place so we should keep wary of things around us." The female blonde retaliates before sighing.
"Why did you make me learn Taekwondo? Isn't it so I can protect myself?" Nagishima stated. "If I'm going to be locked up and watched all the time, I shouldn't have wasted my efforts learning how to do a roundhouse kick."
"It's not a waste of effort!" Kuroo exclaimed before facing his cousin. "I made you learn that so you could protect yourself but we can't guarantee that you'll be perfectly safe just because you know it. That's why we're making an effort to –"
"Just say that you don't want to regret something again." Nagishima raised her voice, irking Saikane. "Why are you raising your voice? Are you getting angry that we're trying to protect you?" she asked angrily.
"Yes, I am. In fact, I'm tired of hearing your reasons again and again. That protection you give me doesn't feel like a protection at all because it feels like it isn't for me but for someone else!" Nagishima yelled as she stood up. She glanced at Kenma and said "Tell Tetsurou and Saikane that they're making me feel locked up." Kenma gulped and looked down, unable to choose sides. "Kenma, you know what happened before, right?" Kuroo asked before sighing at his cousin.
"Just because one man almost sexually harassed me when I was twelve, doesn't mean that every man is like that!" Nagishima retorted. Kuroo clicks his tongue and stared pointedly at his cousin. "Do you know how many times you cried over a man?" he questioned. "Crying twice isn't many." Nagishima replies.
"But twice is enough!" the black-haired male retorted. "You cried for a whole week when your mother got shot by a male robber then you were left traumatized when you almost got molested!" he reminded loudly.
"Do you know how painful it was to see you like that?" Kuroo questioned as he stared at his cousin with sting in his eyes. He huffs and looks away before sitting down. Saikane and Kenma both felt uncomfortable with the situation they're in. Saikane sighs and goes to the black-haired girl. "Rino, let's talk thi –"
"I won't talk this out with any of you being like that. If you can't move on from the past, then it isn't my fault anymore. I'm tired of accepting your demands." Nagishima cuts Saikane's sentence off, further irritating Saikane.
"Fine then, go out at night! If that's what you want then we won't stop you!" Saikane shouted as she scoffed at Nagishima before exiting the room and slamming the door behind her.
Having a fight with four of the most important people in her life and being forced in a situation like this, Nagishima can't help but curl her fingers.
All of a sudden, the male forces the young girl's jacket open, breaking its zipper. With how heavy the man is and with her fear kicking in and making her freeze, Nagishima kept moving her body to make the male distracted but when she gets punched in the middle of her stomach again, she starts to feel weak as blood went out of her mouth. The molester then takes out a knife and slices Nagishima's white shirt open.
When this happens, Nagishima clenched her hand before aiming for the soft and shallow lower part of the throat. When she hits it successfully, the molester drops on her. Taking this as an opportunity, Nagishima head-butts with the stranger and pushes him aside when the female sees that the man seems to be too hurt to stop her. Nagishima quickly stands up and backs away, trying to gain a short distance between her and the stranger. The molester groans and cusses under his breath before standing up groggily. When the almost-molested female notices this, she scoffs.
Turning her back on the molester, Nagishima peered over her right shoulder as she snaps her right back leg, aiming for the man's jaw with her heels. With the back kick's addition in power, Nagishima effectively kicks the molester on the jaw and was able to watch him as he dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
Huffing and puffing, Nagishima raises her fist before shakily exhaling. She stared at the stranger and looked down on her clothes while still shaking. Realizing that her shirt is ruined and her jacket is broken, Nagishima finally grasps what happened to her.
"I almost got raped again." She uttered with an unstable and quiet voice before gulping to try and calm herself.
Meanwhile, Oikawa grinned happily while carrying a chocolate cake.
"If you don't study, I'll cut off your allowance... So go! Do whatever you want as long as you don't forget to study!"
Oikawa bit his lips to avoid smiling too wide. The fact that his mother finally agreed was partly due to Nagishima so since he's feeling thankful of her, Oikawa decided to go after the young girl and treat her a cake. Humming a small happy tune, Oikawa stops when he sees a silhouette of someone walking unsteadily. Narrowing his eyes, Oikawa almost dropped the cake he was holding when he witnesses Nagishima walk while sobbing.
The high-school girl bawled her eyes out as she kept her hands to her jacket to keep it from exposing her body. After she fully registered the situation she was in, the black-haired girl suddenly started tearing up.
As Nagishima walked, she saw a man and soon recognized it as Oikawa. She stops sobbing and turns around before desperately covering up. "He can't see me like this." She muttered under his breath, unaware that the male brunette was inching closer to her in a rushed manner. "Rino!" he called out before running to Nagishima and grabbing her shoulders to force her to make her look at him, yet once he did, he gasps at what he sees.
With a broken zipper and a slashed shirt, Nagishima looked like she was harassed.
"Who..." Oikawa stops when he caught the shorter girl weeping again. Gritting his teeth, the brunette clenched his fist. "Stop crying and tell me who did this." He says solidly as he dropped the cake on the ground and grabs on Nagishima's shoulder. When he sees her still crying, he scoffs. "Stop crying, I said! Tell me clearly!" he yelled restlessly while shaking her shoulders, clearly worried about the female's state.
"I... I was almost... ra-raped again!" Nagishima said while sobbing. She then sniffs before proceeding to talk. "I had a fight with my childhood friends and after that, I got molested by a person I tried to help and I..." the young girl stops and breaks down as she covered her mouth to not be too loud. Oikawa eyed the shorter girl and observed her body. A bruise was forming on her stomach and the sight made Oikawa hiss.
Nagishima covers herself when she sees the male brunette scan her. Oikawa gulps before yanking her wrist and pulling her along with him to the back of a random tree, away from the public's sight. "Remove your clothes." He says while motioning Nagishima to hold her hands up. The black-haired girl backed away, still crying. She covers her chest and steps away even further. The brunette shows his sweater before explaining.
"Remove that ruined clothes and wear my sweater." He spoke softly, in an attempt to calm the high-school girl. When Nagishima hears this, she sniffs and wipes her tears away. The male brunette sighs and turns around before pulling his sweater off and leaving him only wearing a white shirt. He then hands it to the female without peering over his shoulder. It took three minutes until Oikawa had to turn around.
Seeing the younger girl clothed, the brunette sighs in relief. He checks her neck and sees no marks left on her, making him sigh once again. In a split second, Oikawa's expression changes.
"Didn't I tell you that some men are wolves? Why would you help a man at night? Are you that innocent?" he grilled her before crossing his arms. "What would you do if there were a lot of men and not just one? Can knowing how to kick someone help you?" he added with an evident frown. When Nagishima shakes her head as an answer, he groans and pulls her into a tight hug.
"Let's get you home! You're stomach's hurting, isn't it?" Oikawa uttered while warmly holding the shorter girl in his arms. When she starts pulling back, Oikawa tightens his hug on Nagishima. "I won't do something to you, so stop wiggling." He uttered in annoyance and when the girl in his arms suddenly stops moving, he smiles gently.
The area then suddenly turns quiet as only crickets were heard. The two stayed that way and when Oikawa realizes that it was the perfect moment to say what he wanted to say, he opens his mouth to say it.
"Rino... I'm sorry. Let's not avoid each other anymore." The brunette pleaded.
"Why?" Nagishima gave a muffled answer.
"I think I... I... might've started getting fond of you." Oikawa confessed with his cheeks dusted with pink but when he doesn't hear a response from the girl, he looks down and realizes that she fainted, thus explaining the sudden weight he felt.
"Hey, are you alright?" he asks for assurance and looks down, only to see the girl unresponsive and probably asleep. Oikawa stood lamely, not knowing what to do when a girl faints in his arms. Clearing his throat, the male brunette carries Nagishima in a bridal style. He huffs at the girl's weight and looked down to glare at her yet he stops when he witnesses her face. With tears still on her eyes and dried tears evident on her cheeks, Oikawa suddenly felt guilty.
Playing with her for entertainment, Oikawa wanted to hit himself in the face. "What have I done...? This is bad." He mutters regretfully as he clicked his tongue thrice.
"Oikawa." A male voice called out and when the brunette faces the person who called him, he makes a sharp inhale of air.
In front of him was Kuroo with a clear look of anger. Approaching his cousin and his roommate, Kuroo curled his palm into a fist.
A/N:
ARGHHHHHHH
I DONTWANNA DO THIS TO RINO! I DONTWANNA DO THIS TO ANYONE BUT IT FEELS SO GOOD MAKING HER CRY! WHATS WRONG WITH ME?!
anyway, please don't worry about me. I've done lots of editing, trying to make this good to read or shorter but in the end, this might be the longest chaoter I've posted. I hope you like it~~~ by the way, while I was writing this i was listening to exo's universe for some reason, it just felt so right to pair the song the moment tooru finds rino... idk why tho.
This chapter is created becoz i wanted you guys to know why testurou is over-protective of rino and i hope it doesn't change your perspective of this story! this story is still humor and i want it to remain that way, of course with moments of angst, but you get my drift, right?
Btw, guys... I wrote a story that's comedy/romance with a dash of drama and Akaashi leads in it so... i just wanted to inform you becoz i dont know if it's interesting enough to post... that story has lots of love-line and I basically titled it as pairing hq characters with bunch of my ocs and... it kinda talks about some of society's issue but it's comedy! I swear i made it hilarious! well, tell me if you're cool with it and i'll post it.
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you for spending time over this story~~~