fall for me | iwaoi (angel! au) ; part 1

nine.

Oikawa gazed at his mother who was biting the skin around her nails, her eyes wild and unfocused, her body trembling. She had been sitting in the corner the whole day, refusing to eat anything or say anything. The 3-year old boy wasn't familiar with his mother in such a ragged state, but he was quite aware of the fact that she definitely wasn't well. A few hours ago, his father and mother were arguing while Oikawa hid behind the sofa. He remembered hearing the door slam as his father rushed out, and seeing his mother collapse in the corner of their living room. But he didn't understand why his father had left...he was sure that his mother and father were on perfectly good terms. In the midst of his thoughts, his mother grabbed his wrist in an outstretched hand, startling the young boy.

"T-Torū...let's move out of this house...shall we?"
Oikawa frowned, "But I like it here!"

"T-There are t-things we have to leave behind, Torū. You u-understand, don't you?"

Although the young boy was practically incapable of understanding any complex situation whatsoever, he immediately knew that he was in no position to protest when he saw the tears stream down his mother's thin, pale face.

Years passed like nothing to Oikawa, and soon he grew accustomed to life in the village. He and his mother were poor, but he knew that she was much happier being far away from her former husband. Although his mother had pretty much recovered from the incident, Oikawa took notice that still picked and bit the skin around her nails when something concerned her, like a lack of food or how she would manage to bring clean water in when she could not work enough jobs at once. The young boy found himself wandering around the village on his own, often going on solitary journeys that more than once involved various scrapes and injuries. Although they were lonely, Oikawa decided that if his mother was happier (or somewhat satisfied) with the way things were, he would have to overcome his loneliness.

It was the third day since Iwaizumi had not gone to visit Oikawa in the village, and the young boy was distraught with loneliness.

"Stupid Iwa-chan," muttered the young Oikawa, kicking a rock and watching it scuffle on the dirt path, "Leaving me all alone. I'm fine without him anyways!"

Turning around, the young boy decided to visit the gorge alone and find some sort of makeshift activity to do. He turned on his heels to walk away, only to feel himself pulled back by the collar of his shirt and thrown onto the ground.

"Wha-?" Oikawa looked up to see three kids from the village staring down at him.

"You think you're so much better than us just because you hangout with a rich kid, huh?" One of the kids said, glaring down at Oikawa.

"What? Of course not!" The brown-haired boy replied indignantly, glaring at the kid. "He's not just some random kid anyways! He's my good friend!"

"If he's such a good friend of yours, why hasn't he been coming to the village these past few days? Hmm?"

"Iwa-chan's just busy! What do you guys know anyways? It's not like you've ever talked to me." Oikawa retorted, getting up only to be pushed back down onto the ground.

"We don't talk to you because you're mother's a slut," laughed another kid, and Oikawa felt himself grit his teeth. "And you're a retard."

"Don't talk about my mother like that. You have no idea what she's been through." Oikawa snarled, and the three kids laughed.

"We know enough. The whole village knows, in fact. Maybe that's why your mom's never home...because she's busy being a sl-"

Before Oikawa was thinking clearly, he punched the kid straight in the mouth. But he was outnumbered, and before the young boy knew it, he was beaten black and blue. From that day onwards, the same kids would beat him up, and he would crawl back towards the hut and attempt to hide the bruises and fresh wounds from his already worried mother. He could feel frustration building up inside of him, but he remained calm. He would wait until Iwaizumi returned.