This Side of Paradise - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 7: Protagonists

Chapter 7:

"Hayashi..."

Kei thought that his mind was playing a trick on him. He hadn't seen her in a few years, and their break up certainly wasn't mutual. She looked a bit different now - she had short, black hair, and weary eyes. It seemed like life hadn't been kind to her.

"Oh..." She managed to say as she gazed up at him, "Kei- I mean, Tsukishima... Hey. Long time no see."

"Yeah... What are you doing here in Tokyo?" He murmured.

"I work here now..." Hayashi cleared her throat, "Lots of things happened after our... Well, you know... So, I live here in Tokyo now."

"Right..." He nodded guiltily.

There was a part of him that hated the way they broke up. He did care about her a lot still, and if she allowed it, he would have liked to remain friends with her. Hayashi was there for him when Mizuki was in Brazil.

Once upon a time, Hayashi made him happy.

"Were you the one that rented this whole restaurant out?" She interrupted his thoughts.

"No," Kei shook his head, "Mizuki's best friend..."

He trailed off as soon as he realized that maybe he shouldn't be talking about his wife to her. Then again, there shouldn't be a problem since they've been broken up for a few years now.

"Ah..." She laughed softly, "How are you and Mizuki?"

"We're great," He smiled, "We've been married for about 2 years now."

"That's amazing," Hayashi whistled, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks..." He cleared his throat awkwardly, "So... Uh..."

"We should catch up sometime..." She blurted out, causing him to raise an eyebrow curiously, "If you want."

"Yeah... Sure..." He nodded slowly.

Before Hayashi could say anything else, one of her co-workers told her to return to the kitchen to help with the dinner preparations. After Kei went to the restroom, he returned to the table where Hinata, Kageyama, and Yamaguchi were.

"Hayashi's here, Yamaguchi." Kei brought up, causing his friend's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Really?" He blinked a few times, "In this restaurant?"

"Yeah... She works here." He explained.

"Wow... Small world..." Yamaguchi whistled, "I should say hi to her."

As he stood up to find their old friend, Kageyama raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Isn't she your ex?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Awkward..." Hinata snickered.

"How's the single life treating you, Hinata?" Kei smirked smugly, causing Hinata to frown.

"Just fine, thanks!" He rolled his eyes.

After a few minutes, high-pitched shouting could be heard from the entrance of the restaurant.

"Well... It seems like Bokuto-san is here..." Kei sighed exasperatedly.

"Bokuto-san!" Hinata exclaimed giddily, practically sprinting out of the chair to meet with him.

Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo made their way to their table.

"Aww, Tsukki!" Kuroo smirked, patting him on the head, "I haven't seen you since your wedding! How are you? Got any babies with Mizuki-chan yet?"