Aeonian - Oikawa Toru x Reader

Ch. 08 - Managing Idiots for Dummies

"Maybe I should get a bigger binder," I mused, flipping through the pages of my old one.

"What, and have to reorganize everything? Seems awfully wasteful, (Y/n)-chan," Toru said beside me.

And on his far side, Hajime piped up too. "Get a bigger binder and you'll just find more useless shit to fill it with," he said without even sparing a single glance up and away from his homework, and I pouted right away because he was right.

"Maybe that useless shit will be just the advice or strategies we need to get to nationals," I grumbled, closing the binder anyway and returning my focus to the book in front of me.

They were doing homework I had already finished, so I was referring to all the materials I could on team leadership and sports management, specifically. If I was going to stick this out, I wanted to do it right, and that meant putting my all into it.

That was the way of the Kageyama family, of course. We never put anything less than all of ourselves into whatever it was that we were doing. So, I was going to do this - and I was going to do it well.

I'd checked several books out from the library, and since I had nothing else to do while the boys studied, that's what I had chosen to focus on. I took notes on the most effective strategies and the like, and had just been putting it into my binder when I realized how full it was - and the year had only just begun. This was specifically for the team, and I'd gone and filled it with several novels' worth of notes, ideas, and records.

When my pout lingered, and neither of the boys decided to console me, I relaxed my face and closed the binder. Then I checked the time and sighed. "I gotta get going," I said, starting to pack up.

"That's a strange way to say you don't like us anymore," Toru said, glancing up at me briefly from his homework. A breeze blew through the park, hardly swaying the warmth of the day, and I basked in it briefly before starting to pack up. Practice had let out early today - so, in anticipation of the busy weekend, we decided to come here to get ahead on our work.

But now, well... I had plans I needed to get home for.

"Oh, ha, ha," I said, gathering up my belongings. "Very funny. I'm expecting an important call. Really important."

"What, get a boyfriend and didn't tell us?" Haji asked, setting his work down and leaning back on his hands to level an even look at me. "That stings."

"You two are awful," I said. "No, I don't have a boyfriend. I'm getting a call from my dad today."

That caught their attention, and I only continued to pack my things away. I'd told them, probably towards the beginning of the third year of junior high, about my family situation. We didn't tend to go to my house, much, especially not after Toru... realized he was less than willing to be anywhere near Tobio.

I'd told them that I lived with my aunt and uncle (when they were home, anyway), and how my older cousin took care of us both. They listened patiently and kindly as I talked about my grandfather passing and that being the reason I moved in the first place. When he got sick... so did my dad. And even now, he...

"You still haven't seen him?"

"Shut it," Hajime hissed right away. "Don't ask something like that!"

"Thank you, Haji," I said, smiling at him, "but it's ok." I looked at Toru, seeing the regret in his eyes for an outburst like that - but I'd be curious, too. "No, I haven't seen him. Not since I moved in with my cousins."

The two boys glanced at each other briefly. "Do you want to?"

"Yes," I answered, zipping my bag up. "More than anything. But I can't." I stood, smoothed out my skirt, then summoned up a smile. "I'll let you know about staying over tomorrow night," I said, looking at Toru. "Visibility's looking great for tomorrow, right? I won't miss the best night of the season to stargaze. We've got lots to catch up on. I'll just need to make sure Tobio will be alright on his own."