— — — — — —
About ten minutes later, they left the supermarket, each carrying a large bag.
Kawasaki paid for the curry ingredients. Oikawa paid for the rest.
She drew a very clear line when it came to this sort of thing.
"I'm back."
Oikawa dropped the bags to the side and collapsed onto the sofa.
Hot. And tired.
It was already September, yet there wasn't even the slightest hint of cooler weather.
By now, Kawasaki was basically a regular at his place. After entering, she carried the ingredients straight into the kitchen.
First, she started the rice.
Then she marinated the meat, cut the vegetables for later, washed a bunch of grapes, and finally came over to sit beside Oikawa.
"Here."
She handed him the plate of grapes.
"You should eat too."
Oikawa set the plate between them. They watched The Solitary Gourmet on TV together.
Neither of them spoke.
Oikawa stayed quiet on purpose. Kawasaki probably just didn't know what to say.
After about ten minutes, he heard her breathing grow steady.
She had fallen asleep, leaning against the sofa.
Looking at her sleeping face, Oikawa shook his head.
"You said you weren't tired. What an unlovable person."
He scooped her up in a princess carry, placed her on the bed in his bedroom, then drew the curtains before leaving.
After the door closed—
Kawasaki opened her eyes, her face flushed.
It felt strange. She had been afraid Oikawa might do something… yet part of her had also been expecting it.
"Idiot."
She muttered softly, not sure whether she was scolding herself or him.
She pulled the thin blanket over herself. Then, almost unconsciously, she sniffed it.
Her ears turned red.
After letting her thoughts run wild for a long time, she finally drifted back to sleep.
She seemed to be having a pleasant dream. A faint smile lingered at the corners of her lips.
When Oikawa woke up on the sofa, it was already dark.
He picked up his phone. 8:20 PM.
He'd slept for about four hours.
Yawning, he walked toward the fridge, planning to finish the last can of cola.
After only a few steps, he caught the smell of curry.
He quickened his pace and soon spotted a pot covered with plastic wrap.
A sticky note was attached to the side.
{After eating, put the leftover curry into the container next to it. Don't forget to wash the pot and the dishes.}
"Like I need you to remind me to wash dishes."
Oikawa waved his fist lightly and was about to toss the note into the trash.
Then he hesitated and stuck it onto the plastic container instead.
"So good."
After pouring the curry over rice, Oikawa took a bite. A pleased expression immediately spread across his face.
Kawasaki's cooking really was the real deal.
Once again, Oikawa felt it was a waste she hadn't trained as a chef.
After finishing the curry and washing the dishes, Oikawa followed her instructions, packed the leftovers into the plastic container, and put it in the fridge.
With that done, he went looking for the snacks he'd bought earlier, planning to play while munching. He felt... the world of Red Dead Redemption was calling to him.
But after searching around, he couldn't find his snacks anywhere.
Instead, he only found a sticky note: {Keika says thank you for the snacks!}
Oikawa's fist clenched.
"Kawasaki, you're bullying me."
...
..
School was starting again.
After any break, that was truly a hard phrase to accept.
Oikawa had grown used to waking up at noon. Being jolted awake by a 7 AM alarm made the whole world feel gray.
Washing his hair, brushing his teeth, washing his face. He did it all mechanically.
Only after getting on his bike and riding a few hundred meters did he finally start to feel like himself again.
The road to school, quiet for over a month, had become crowded and noisy once more.
Everyone gathered in groups, as if they had endless things to say.
Oikawa felt like he really did have some strange fate with Kawasaki. The first person he ran into after entering the building was always her.
Then again, maybe it wasn't fate. Their shoe lockers were right next to each other.
"I said the snacks were for Keika-chan, but I didn't say all of them were. You could've at least left me some!"
Oikawa glared at Kawasaki.
"Keika-chan says thank you."
She flicked her hair and walked upstairs without looking back.
"Yahallo."
He didn't even need to look. That familiar greeting could only belong to Yui Yuigahama.
"Oikawa-kun, long time no see."
"It hasn't been that long. Not even a week."
Oikawa turned toward her.
Yui had her usual bun hairstyle today, and the top button of her uniform was, as always, undone.
"What do you mean? It's definitely been more than a week!"
She puffed her cheeks.
She'd been looking forward to seeing him again, even counting down the days until school started.
"Has it?"
Oikawa yawned, looking half-dead as he walked upstairs. All he wanted was for first period to be math so he could legitimately catch up on sleep.
"Oikawa-kun, are you sleepy?"
"Yeah. You figured that out? Impressive."
His response was perfunctory.
Yui got a little annoyed, but just as she was about to say something, they ran into Sagami Minami and her two friends.
Oikawa glanced up. Sagami's face immediately stiffened.
She took a step back and moved aside.
Yui looked conflicted, hesitating over whether she should greet them.
Seeing that, Oikawa grabbed her arm without hesitation and pulled her toward the classroom.
"Yui, are you an idiot? They're not your friends. You don't need to keep smiling at them. Got it?"
He looked at her seriously, waiting for an answer.
"O-Okay… don't be so scary…"
She shrank back slightly.
"If I'm not, you'll never remember. Don't greet them again or I won't let you off."
After the threat, Oikawa walked into the classroom first.
Hachiman looked over and gave him a small greeting. Oikawa nodded in return.
After a break, the first thing everyone did was catch up, sharing stories from summer vacation.
Yui was chatting with Ebina about her trip home.
Kawasaki was memorizing vocabulary.
Oikawa rested his head on his desk, preparing to nap.
If the math teacher walked in, he planned to demonstrate a long-lost secret technique.
Instant Sleep Jutsu.
The bell rang. The moment Oikawa saw the math teacher's face, he fell asleep.
The teacher froze.
Watching Oikawa drop his head and start sleeping, an inexplicable anger rose inside him.
Seriously?
He hadn't even reached the podium yet, and the guy was already asleep?
The math teacher almost wanted to fling a chalkboard eraser at him, but remembering Oikawa's perfect-score math exam, he suppressed the urge.
.
.
.