[English] ~𝒟𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓉ℴ 𝒟𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂~ Kenma x OC

Chapter 15: Once a problem is solved, the next one is already rising

The evening came that I had to go back home. My mood suddenly sank when I saw the SUV still parked in the driveway. Great. As if I didn't have enough problems on my plate already. Dejected, I unlocked the front door. Now I could only hope that I would make it to my room unnoticed. I tiptoed down the empty hallway to the stairs. Voices came from the kitchen. I paused. Had I just heard the word inheritance? My mouth went dry as dust. I quietly leaned a little closer towards the kitchen. My mother's voice reached me loud and clear.

"The child is naive. As soon as I have the inheritance, it doesn't matter what happens to her." Pots clattered. A man's voice answered her. "Are you one hundred percent sure that you can get your hands on the inheritance?" There was a short moment of silence. "As long as she doesn't dig around in his documents, the inheritance belongs to me. She is a minor, and as long as she is not eighteen, she needs someone to accept the inheritance for her. That would be me as her mother." 

I could't breathe. "So there is someone who can accept the inheritance on her behalf?", the man said. My heart began to pound loudly. "My ex-husband had a large family. They turned away from him when he married me. He was too naive and didn't listen to them." She laughed loudly. Nausea spread through my stomach. "As far as I know, most of his family has already died. However, he had a brother and a sister who have two children. They should both be around twenty by now." I took a step back. I didn't want to hear any more. I didn't need to hear any more. Even if this whole inheritance thing seemed hopeless, there was still a small shimmer of hope. That was enough for me for now.

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The bell rang signaling break time and the teacher left the room. I shifted restlessly in my chair. My classmates were watching me, some were laughing. I could only guess what they were up to. But I didn't care at the moment. I had other priorities. For almost a week now, my thoughts had been focused on this conversation between my mother and the mysterious man that I had overheard by chance. But I hadn't gotten much further. I couldn't find the documents she had talked about either. It was sickening. The court date at which the inheritance was to be transferred was getting closer and closer. I sighed and laid my head on the table. How was I supposed to find my cousins ​​if I had no starting point? On top of that, the social media thing was still nagging me. The situation had calmed down a bit, but I expected someone to recognize me every second. I was on my breaking point.

A chair was dragged across the floor with a squeak. Confused, I raised my head. Kairi and Ayumi had sat down next to me and were looking at me challengingly. "Do you really want to let them pick on you?", one of the girls asked. Uncertain, I let my gaze wander around the room. My classmates had averted their eyes. My gaze wandered back to my teammates, who were staring at me in shock. "So it really doesn't bother you that they pick on you?! Are you mentally ill?!" Ayumi pulled a face. So it was about this bullying thing. So far, everything from tomato juice to mean pranks had been happening these past few weeks. Not that it didn't bother me, I just couldn't do anything about it. Even the teachers looked away when it happened. Nobody wanted to believe me. So I left it at that. I had better things to do. Kairi's pretty face turned bright red. She jumped up from her chair in one leap. She turned to the class, upset.

"I've had enough." Her voice was firm and cool. Goosebumps ran over my body. "I can't stand by and watch y'all bully a classmate and she putting up with it! What's wrong with you guys?!? Don't you have anything better to do?" She got louder. Some of them ducked their heads. They were scared. Probably because Kairi was the class and year representative. I could only stare at her. I had never seen her so angry. Kairi fell back into her chair. "One more thing like that and I'll report it to the headmaster. You there-" She pointed towards a boy who just grinned smugly. "Clean that shit up." 

Only now did I notice that a bucket of liquid glue had been placed right next to me. If I had moved an inch, I would have stepped right into it. My stomach rumbled. Ayumi nudged me. "Don't let it happen to you. You're making it too easy for them." Easier said than done. Didn't she know that such behavior often triggered the opposite reaction?

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I could hardly concentrate during training, which affected my performance. I kept losing the ball or played sloppily. In the end I gave up. It had been like this all week. Dejected, I collapsed onto the floor against the wall. It couldn't go on like this. I urgently needed to get rid of my personal problems. Our coach clapped her hands. "Everyone, please come together." Lost in thought, I jumped back to my feet and trotted to the middle of the hall where the rest had gathered. I sat down next to Maru-chan. The coach looked around. "Fall break is coming up soon. Some of you have been invited to a special training session. It is the Young Champions training camp, organized and planned by some former volleyball and professional players. This year, however, boys and girls will train together, unlike last year, where they were still seperated." 

A murmur went through our team. "This year, five players from our girls' team were invited. I will now list them. Akito Shiori, Fukuda Kairi, Hashimoto Ayumi, Ito Izumi and Kyoya Maru, you have been chosen to take part in the training. The consent of your parents has already been obtained. On the first day of the holidays, you will travel to Hyōgo together with the other participants." I smiled uptight. Oh no...

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"Good evening, kitten", Kenma welcomed me warmly. I dropped my school stuff in the hallway before taking off my shoes. Kenma leaned against the doorframe and watched me. I gave him a small smile. He let out a sigh. "Why are you pulling a face like the world is going to end in the next twelve seconds?" I looked up, startled. "Do I really look that bad?" He laughed harshly. "You always look great, kitten. I just noticed that you don't look really happy. Did something happen?"

We went into the kitchen. Sakusa-san and Bokuto-san weren't home yet, Akaashi-san also had to work and Kuroo-san was at my sister's, so we were completely alone. For the past few days, I had eaten dinner with them every day, as Kenma had suggested. Kenma put two plates on the table. He repeated his question. "Did something happen, Izumi?" I plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs while Kenma put two small bowls of rice on the table. "Where should I start?", I sighed. My thoughts were spinning. It was hard to organize them. "We have time, kitten. We're alone until 7 p.m."