[English] ~𝒟𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓉ℴ 𝒟𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂~ Kenma x OC

Chapter 34: On the search for more evidence

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Never in my life did I expect something like this to happen. But that's exactly why these unplanned things were sometimes the best things that could happen. 

It was getting late. We were lying in Kenma's bed, tightly embraced, without making a sound. There was only him and me, nothing in between. Tired, I leaned my head against his chest. A hint of his vanilla scent played around my nose. How much I loved his smell. His chest rose and fell evenly. He was already fast asleep. But I just couldn't fall sleep. All those positive things that happened today couldn't erase all of the bad stuff that was circulating in my mind, I just couldn't calm down. 

The court date was getting closer and closer and we still didn't have enough serious evidence that we could use against my "mother". I dreaded the next day. Even though I wasn't alone - I had the help of my friends after all - it scared me. What would we find out?

Kenma's hand started to draw circles on my back. I looked up. He looked at me with half-closed eyes. 

"Why aren't you asleep yet, kitten?" He yawned. 

I grimaced. "I can't sleep. My thoughts are keeping me awake." 

Sleepily, he pressed a kiss on my forehead. 

"Let's play a game." 

I looked curiously into his eyes. "What kind of game?" 

Kenma smiled slightly. His two-colored hair was slightly tousled from sleeping. 

"I'll draw something on your back and you have to guess what it is," he whispered softly in my ear. 

I just nodded. 

"First round, kitty." His finger gently stroked my back. I followed his touch attentively. 

"This is Yuki, your cat." He nodded. I heard the white ball of fur meow softly. 

"Your turn." I carefully put my hand on his back and started to draw something. We remained silent for a long time. 

"A flower?" 

A nod from me. My eyes felt heavy by now. I closed them and tried to follow Kenma's touch again. And before I could fight it, I was asleep.

------

The next day I met Rose in a small café in the city center. She wanted to tell me some of the things the others had found out. 

"You look tired." Rose put her hand on my forehead. She probably wanted to make sure I wasn't sick. Relieved, she pulled her hand back. 

"Don't worry, I just didn't sleep that much." 

She nodded understandingly. Then she looked at me mischievously. "I heard you stayed at Kenma's yesterday." 

I quickly put my hand over her mouth to silence her. I looked around nervously. 

"Not so loud." She nodded, then I took my hand back. "Yes, I did. But that's not relevant right now. I'll tell you later, okay. My thoughts are elsewhere at the moment." I was lying. My thoughts were with him too. My first boyfriend.

Rose pulled out a folder. "Your friends are really reliable. These are Tsukishima-san and Yamaguchi-san's things. And this is Akaashi-san and Bokuto-san's information. Lev and Yuki are currently looking for this woman named Satō Nanami. We discovered her name when Sakusa-san and I were going through some newspaper articles." 

Goosebumps spread across my body. "Did you just say... Satō Nanami?" I felt a chill run down my spine. "What was her connection to my family?" 

Rose looked at me strangely. "We're looking into that right now... Do you know her?" 

I shifted restlessly in my chair. "She... Her name is on my birth certificate." 

Rose's eyes widened. "You mean she could be your birth mother? And your mother isn't your mother?" I nodded. 

"Holy shit." She pulled out her phone and wrote a message. "Why is everything so complicated?" I could only agree with her.

Rose put her phone aside. "I'll take care of it. Here are the other things." 

I slowly opened the folder. Akaashi-san and Bokuto-san had done a really good job. They had followed my mother and recorded everything that seemed important to them. My blood ran cold. Each of the photos showed my mother with her new boyfriend. One photo in particular made me shudder. It showed a scene in which my mother beat an old woman. 

"W-what is that?" 

Rose lowered her gaze. "She didn't want to give them any money. Apparently her boyfriend works for a loan shark*. When the old woman didn't want to pay, they freaked out and beat her. Don't worry, Akaashi-san and Bokuto-san called the police, but they managed to escape beforehand." 

I felt sick. 

"Hinata-san and Kageyama-san are following Hikaru. Tsukishima-san and Yamaguchi-san have been snooping around their employers and gathering information. We'll have everything together soon."

------

I laid on my bed in the Miya twins' apartment with my eyes closed. Rose had flown back to the US two days ago and there were only four days left until the court date. In two days we would follow Rose and fly back to New York. I should be excited to be going back there, but I wasn't. I was scared. It was the first time I had been back there since my father died. I was terrified of all the memories that would return as soon as I arrived. 

There was a knock on the door. "Izumi-chan. Are you OK, ya?" 

I smiled at Atsumu. 

"I'm fine, Tsumu." 

He came in and closed the door behind him. "Spit it out. What's going on inside your brain? Your face tells me otherwise, ya." 

I let out a quiet breath. He sat down on the desk chair. We had taken my school supplies and belongings out of my family's house recently before school started again so I wouldn't have to go back there. Since then I lived with my cousins.

Atsumu listened quietly as I told him my thoughts and feelings about our trip. 

"You don't have to be afraid, ya!" He gave me a bright, encouraging smile. "We're still here. You can cry as much as you want, we won't judge you, ya." 

His words were like bittersweet honey on my soul. That's what family should be like. Understanding, loving, and always there for you. 

"Thanks, Tsumu. That's what I needed." 

He grinned. "Good. Then you can definitely play volleyball with me now. My stupid twin has no time for me, ya." 

That made me laugh. "Sure. A little exercise doesn't hurt."

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*For those who don't know exactly what a loan shark is:

 What is meant by a loan shark?

Meanings: [1] colloquial, derogatory: lender who offers debtors money on particularly unfavorable loan terms, which are usually extremely high interest rates.