Monochromatic: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 34: O-Mikuji

O-mikuji (御御籤, 御神籤, or おみくじ o-mikuji) are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan.

***

Oikawa is doomed.

Soul leaving his very body, his usual annoyingly cheery attitude freezes as he stared at the strip of paper that foretells this future year.

You see, Tooru's family, along with Fukui, paid a visit to the Shinto Shrine nearby his school for the new year. It's an annual family tradition. People around the neighborhood join as well, clasping their hands before the shrine as a sign of respect in hopes for another successful year. By the corner, there are gift shops and the fortune teller, an old lady selling o-mikuji for a small fee. Typically, it's a word of encouragement or a good prediction.

Oikawa's fortune has a different thought in mind.

"Oi... Oikawa." Fukui waves her hand inches from his face. He is still frozen, face pale and mouth twitched in a smile. He is doomed.

"...How was it?"

He did not move a muscle.

Fukui frowns at Oikawa, who still gazed lifelessly at his fortune. What's gotten into him so bad? Is he going to die? Lose against Karasuno? Slowly she peeked over, and her eyes spot the blotchy ink - handwritten clumsily- on his fortune. She reads out loud:

凶 恋愛。
Kyō renai.
Cursed romantic relationship.

Oikawa at this point turned into at stone statue, ready to erode away from the world. Aliens are one thing, but fortunes are another thing that he swears by his heart that is legit. Spirits have chosen him - cursed upon him to have a bad luck in love.

Why did I deserve this? He asks mentally - perhaps the Gods would hear his wishes.

And instead of hearing some kind of reassurance from a friend - hopefully something that convinces him that there's still hope. That it's just fortune. Just a skinny, flimsy piece of paper is just a way to make money for the old women who sold it.

But instead, Fukui grimaces.

"Oh... That's tough... Good luck with that..."

Oikawa snaps out of his frozen state, "Wh- You...!" He jabs his finger mercilessly at Fukui's cold cheeks, enough for her to hurt, "- you're supposed to help me feel better!!"

"Ow! Ah - !! Stop that..!!" She grabs Oikawa's finger, bending it back earning a whiny 'ow!' from Oikawa and pulls his finger back, but to no avail. The two teens wrestled back and forth, Fukui pulling his pointer finger, and Oikawa yanking it back in retaliation - is this a tug of war?

From afar, Oikawa's parents are watching him, distanced from the embarassing duo.

His mother laughs uneasily, "they're - they haven't grown much..."

"The same six year olds I knew," his father agrees.

"Wai- hey! Idiot! You're crumpling my fortune!" She yells at Oikawa, who pauses before finally withdrawing his hands from Fukui, a different thought in his mind. He looks down at his own fortune, back to her, and frowns.

"What did you get?"

Fukui merely shrugged, "...not even a fortune, it's more of a quote, really."

She hands him the piece of paper.

[ Good things come to those who wait. ]

"Nothing even remotely interesting..." She sighs.

"It's better than getting cursed on love," Oikawa comments dejectedly.

"Well, whatever," she says, "let's go tie these up."

And they did. Not without Oikawa's whining of how he's in crisis already without that fortune - Ayame is merely a first year, and Oikawa is ready to move on to college in a matter of months to god-who-knows-where... The difficulty of maintaining a 'close bond' through corny pick up lines can only reach so far.

This fortune pretty much reassures him that his fate is sealed.

Oikawa ties the strip of paper to a tree branch beside Fukui's with careful fingers. And Fukui notices that he's been oddly quiet.

"Don't tell me..." She raises a brow. "...that's you're still bummed out about that fortune."

"You're not the one getting a curse," Oikawa argues, "my chances of winning Aya-chan are so slim and -!"

Fukui punches Oikawa at the stomach deftly, but enough to knock the air out of him in a breathless wheeze. Sure Fukui is not a brute nor muscly, but the bone in her knuckles delivered a harder smackdown than what Oikawa had expected.

He rubs the injured area with a pained glance at her, "that was totally uncalled for! It hurts -!"

"Idiot!"

At fukui's riled tone, Oikawa jumps, eyes widening at how Fukui is bothered by his words.

She jabs her finger at Oikawa's chest. "That's quitter talk! Come on, are you gonna let a piece of paper tell how you're gonna live?"

She looks at Oikawa directly in the eyes this time, "you're gonna win her over. Plus, you have me to help you out! Now stop being a child and do something instead of sulking about it."

"Ume-chan..." Oikawa trails off, touched by her encouragement.

"H-Hey... Are you crying..?"

Oikawa wipes the water in his eyes and embraces Fukui with a vice grip. His arms are lean, but Fukui could not move under his grasp.

"Thank you for your kind words, Ume-chan!" He cries out gratefully, "I'll definitely do my best!"

And how do people usually react to hugs again? She stiffed up like a cautious cat about to jump of a ledge.

"Okay, Oikawa," She says and pats his back awkwardly - the closed space between them is way too close for comfort. It's definitely embarassing, being pressed thisclose to someone in public. She pries away from him, but to no avail. "Off. Get off me."

She sighs heavily to even out the pulse in her chest.

"You're such a child..."