𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑃𝑇 𝑂𝐹 𝐵𝐸𝐺𝑈𝐼𝐿𝐼𝑁𝐺 ┊ 𝐻𝐴𝐽𝐼𝑀𝐸 𝐼𝑊𝐴𝐼𝑍𝑈𝑀𝐼

𝟯𝟬 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Naomi skipped graduation, taking her diploma afterward.
Her ankle had healed, but she hadn't tried to go anywhere.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi had made up for lost time in the gym, finally getting back into the groove before Oikawa proudly announced his plans to leave the country.
"Argentina? Can you even speaking fucking Spanish?"
"Sí!"
"And that's it?"
"No, yo hablo más español!"
"Whatever, man."

Oikawa threw a ball at him, "what about you, doc? You gonna go to college here?"
"I can't afford it. I think I wanna go to America for college. Might take me a while to get there though."
"Well, I'm glad you've got other things on the mind."
The two boys sat together against the wall.
"Riko and I are thinking of living together after finishing college. Long-distance right now is gonna suck ass though."
"Glad you and her worked out."

Oikawa patted his friend's shoulder.
"It's okay, Iwa-Chan, there's plenty of cute blondies in America. Especially California."
At a deep sigh, Oikawa grumbled, "you seriously still thinking about her?"
"She...even if she didn't like me, I can't say the same."
"Damn, I thought I'd be the one to experience Highschool heartbreak."

Oikawa stood up, collecting the volleyballs while Iwaizumi sulked against the wall.
He never did return to her hospital room and he regretting it, especially after learning why he found her.

Naomi's mother hadn't let her get therapy, so sitting in her room by herself for weeks was her only way to cope.
Now that she had revealed the truth, Naomi didn't feel as nauseous, yet the feeling of guilt still hadn't subsided.

Grabbing her backpack, full of all she needed for her trip, Naomi headed down the street, her shortened hair blowing in the wind behind her.
Her hands were tight on the straps of her bag, butterflies as she walked into a new neighborhood.
Iwaizumi's house still looked the same, with the same cats still presiding by the porch.

She wanted to give her final goodbye, so she rang the doorbell, hoping he'd answer.
His eyes were frozen upon hers when he opened the door.
"Hey, H-Iwaizumi-San."
"Itsuwaru."
"Can we talk? For a bit?"
He looked inside before his foot tapped against the floor.
"I guess. Come inside."
She carefully entered like she was a stranger to the home and sat across from him at the table.

"What did you want to talk about?"
"I'm leaving," she said, "and I wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh."
"And I couldn't leave without telling you something."
He straightened up in his seat.
"What is it?"
Naomi struggled to face Iwaizumi, but her heart had to speak.

"I need you to know that our entire relationship, while it may have been built on and started as a lie, at some point, it wasn't for me. At some point, I did feel real feelings for you, but it was ruined by my falsehood."
His leg bounced, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
"The things we said, the things we did, they felt real to me. Your love felt real. The way I felt, it was something I had never felt before."
Naomi huffed, "To say that I felt nothing, to say that it was all fake, would be a lie."

Her hands grabbed the edge of the table.
"I'm sorry to tell you this now. But I couldn't-just leave without telling you."
He nodded, "Naomi...it's not that you truly liked me, or that you didn't..."
Iwaizumi wasn't meeting her face, "it's that you pretended to for so long, I don't know what was real and what wasn't."
He licked his lip.
"I let you drag me along. I let you ruin my friendships. I let you make a fool out of me. That's what hurts."

"I know," she sighed, "I don't expect forgiveness. I just wanted to see you one last time."
Naomi stood up, hands on the table.
"Goodbye," she bowed, "I wish you a good life."
She quickly departed his kitchen, leaving her bag by the table.

Exited his home, she tried to rush out his yard, but the door opened.
"Itsuwaru! You forgot your bag!"
She turned around, waving her hands.
"Keep it!" She called, "it's yours. You can have it!"
"What?"
"It's all yours, Iwaizumi-San!"
He shook his head with confusion before opening the bag to reveal wads of money. It was the stash she had been collecting for years, now all stuffed inside a bag for him.

"What?! Naomi! I can't take this!"
"I don't need it! I'm going to Tokyo! I'm getting a job there! Use that money for college and your bills! You can pay off all of them with that!"
He walked down the steps, zipping up the bag and throwing it at her feet.
"I'm not taking that! It's your money! You worked for it!"
"I have no reason for Norway anymore. I'm not going to run from my problems. I don't wanna this way. I want to change. That money will help you get somewhere. You need it way more than me."

He shook his head, fists shaking, "No! Naomi-"
"I don't need it!"
"I don't want it!"
"I'm not taking it with me!"
"I'll burn it!"
She sighed, stepping up so that bag sat between their feet.
"Iwaizumi-San. You deserve a good life. Let me do this for you. Let me do something good for once."
"You were something good. I liked you so much! All I wanted in life was you!"

He began to cry, "and even after all that you've confessed to me, I still fucking love you!"
He kicked the bag, "and because I love you, I want you to live a good life!"
"Iwaizumi-"
"I want-a life with you Naomi, but I don't know how-after all this. I don't know how I can if you don't love me the same! If everything we do will be shadowed by the possibility of lies, I don't know if it's worth it!"

He grabbed her hands, bringing her close.
"So tell me! The truth! The absolute truth! I'll take your money and you, my dream. I'll accept you and all your mistakes. I'll accept your bad parts along with your good! I love you, Naomi! So tell me, tell me if you love me back!"

He deserved a good life. He deserved a good love. Iwaizumi deserved those things.
Now, in full honesty, in full truth. No malice, no trick, no fakery, no lying through her teeth.

She could tell him now in full sincerity...