[English] ~𝒟𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓉ℴ 𝒟𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂~ Kenma x OC

Chapter 10: A date... and tomato juice?

I nervously played with a loose strand that had fallen out of my braid. I just couldn't concentrate. I stared absentmindedly at the worksheet in front of me. The teacher wrote two sentences on the board. I looked out the window without any interest. All I could think about was the afternoon ahead. A warm tingling sensation spread in the pit of my stomach. I was happy, really happy. It was almost scary.

"Miss Ito, could you please answer the question on the board please?", the teacher asked me in english. I looked up. 29 eyes were on me as I slowly stood up. Crap. I cursed at myself for not paying attention. "I'm sorry Miss, could you repeat the question and the task, please? I'm not sure if I understood it correctly." The teacher looked at me sternly and switched to Japanese. "Ito-san, please pay more attention, even if you know the English language perfectly." I lowered my head. "Excuse me please." The teacher nodded, repeated the question and had me write the answer on the board. As I returned to my seat I heard a giggle. But before I could figure out why they were giggling, I had already sat down into a huge puddle. Red tomato juice sprayed in all directions. Anger rose within me. My classmates started laughing out loud. My gaze turned to the teacher, who didn't even make any move to do anything about it. Great. "Miss, may I go to the restroom?" The teacher nodded. I angrily stormed out of the room while typing a message on my phone.

Izumi: Can we meet a few minutes later today? I sat down in tomato juice and have to change my clothes first.

Kenma: Shit. Sure thing. You okay?

An emotionless laugh escaped my throat. Of course I was fine.

Izumi: More or less. I'll tell you later.

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I had to walk around in my P.E. clothes for the rest of the day, which didn't necessarily bother me, but it just made me angrier given the fact that it had something to do with a mean prank. I only managed to get rid of this extreme anger during training. I hit the balls over the net with full force. I grimly noted that they mostly went out of the court. I was grateful that none of my teammates criticized me for it. They all realized that something had happened. Kairi had probably told them what happened earlier as we were in the same class. After half an hour I had somewhat recovered my composure.

"We're playing against Karasuno this weekend. Their girls' team has become very strong over the last two years, so we're going into the game with the confidence that they're definitely worthy opponents. That's why we're doing an extra training session on Friday. Any objections?" Our coach looked around. "Good, then let's wrap up. See you tomorrow." I sighed quietly. Maru-chan linked arms with me. "Are you okay, Izumi-chan?" I held back my grimace. "I'm fine, don't worry." I twisted my face into a smile, but failed miserably. Maru-chan wrinkled her nose. "That was really bad of your classmates. I hope it doesn't happen again." I was hoping for that. Under no circumstances did I want to become a victim of bullying. There were already too many of them. It was really bad here in Japan. Just last week a classmate had to change schools because it had simply become too brutal. Too terrible.

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At home my mood went downhill again. One could really throw this day into the trash can. Hikaru wasn't home, but my mother had a man visiting her who I ran into on the way to the bathroom. Apparently they hadn't expected me, because he wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing on his body. He quickly apologized and walked back to my mother's bedroom. Traumatized by the scene, I escaped into the bathroom to freshen up. I wanted to cry, but I pulled myself together and slipped into the black and white checked dress and the white turtleneck sweater. With a few skillful moves, I tied my hair into a braid before grabbing my backpack and fleeing outside. I didn't want to stay in this house for a second longer.

After ten minutes I reached the train station. I looked out for Kenma, but couldn't see him. Unease spread through me. Had he forgotten our date? A hand tapped my shoulder and I spun around. A man in a white shirt, black jeans, and a brown college jacket raised his hand and waved. A smile crept onto my lips. So he had come after all. "Hi Kenma." Kenma smiled. "Hi Izumi. Cool that you're here." A train pulled in and Kenma grabbed my arm. We rushed to the door together and got in. I let out a breath. Kenma grinned slightly. "You look good." I raised my head. A blush rushed to my cheeks. "Thanks." He pointed to two empty seats and we sat down. We were silent for a while.

​"Have you eaten already?" I shook my head. Kenma tilted his head. "Me neither. There's a really good onigiri shop near the internet café. Would you like to go out and find something to eat there together?" My mood lifted. Food sounded good. "Sure. Onigiri are always good." Kenma pulled out his phone and tapped on it. "I reserved a table for us. The owner is an old friend." I looked at him curiously. The sunlight blinded me and I squinted. His melodic laugh left goosebumps all over my body. "It's a surprise, Kitten." Kitten?

"Long time no see, Kozume-kun." A well-built man about Kenma's age greeted us. His hair was dyed gray and he wore a white apron. I recognized this face from somewhere, but I couldn't remember from where. "Who did you bring with you?" He let his gaze wander over me curiously. I hesitantly raised my hand. "My name is Ito Izumi." An unusual expression crossed his face. "Ito Izumi... Nice to meet you. My name is Miya Osamu." Now I knew where I knew him from. Miya... He had to be the twin brother of Miya Atsumu that everyone was talking about. Kenma grabbed my hand and I choked a little. He smiled at my reaction. "Which table is reserved for us?" Osamu pointed to a table at the very end of the room, right by the window. A nice place. "I'll come to you in a moment. Do you want something to drink yet?" My foggy brain took off on its own. "Anything but tomato juice, please." I opened my eyes. Holy moly, what kind of crap was I talking about? Kenma burst out laughing, which I didn't blame him for. "What I meant is lemonade would be great." Osamu grinned too. "Coming up."