MY MUSE, tooru oikawa

chapter one

(chapter i)

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Yuna's heavy eyelids fluttered open as a soft tap on her shoulder roused her from her restful slumber. She blinked sleepily and gazed up, only to find her English teacher looking down at her with a stern expression.

Yuna stifled another yawn, her tired gaze meeting the teacher's unwavering gaze. A ripple of whispers and muffled giggles rippled through the classroom as some students murmured in amusement, while others snickered at her audacity for being caught.

Her teacher pinched the bridge of her nose, struggling to contain her frustration as she lectured Yuna.

"Sugawara, you usually pay attention in my class. Why, then, have you chosen to waste class time by falling asleep right in the middle of my lesson?"

Yuna lazily leaned on her palm, her expression remaining unperturbed as she released another yawn before responding nonchalantly, "It was just so boring... I couldn't help but doze off."

Yuna's casual response seemed to trigger a surge of irritation in her teacher. Her hands clenched into a fist, and her jaw tightened in frustration. For a moment, it seemed like the teacher was trying to maintain her composure, but the teenager's words struck a nerve. Despite this being Yuna's first instance of slacking off in class, the teacher found it difficult to just let it slide.

The teacher's voice dripped with smugness as she challenged Yuna.

"If the lesson is so boring, why bother coming to my class? In fact, why not read the passage we're currently on right now?"

Yuna glanced down for a moment before she noticed a movement behind the instructor. One of her classmates discreetly mouthed the page number and pointed to his open book. With a soft hum, Yuna rose from her seat, opened her book to the correct page, and began to read aloud.

The teacher stepped back, her irritation palpable as she watched Yuna flawlessly read the passage from memory. The students struggled to contain their laughter, finding the situation humorous as they watched their teacher's pride take a hit.

With a clenched jaw, the teacher kept her composure and warned Yuna sternly, "If I catch you sleeping in my class again, you'll be facing a week of detention. Do you understand, Sugawara?"

Yuna nodded, silently watching the teacher as she stormed off, still mumbling angrily to herself.

Throughout the rest of the class, Yuna made a conscious effort to stay awake, determined not to let her teacher catch her slacking off again. She didn't want her time to be wasted in detention, especially in a high school as prestigious as Aobajohsai.

All throughout the class, her teacher kept shooting her narrow, hawk-like glances, as if hoping for an opportunity to catch the teenager dozing off and have a pretext to send her to detention.

...

As Yuna rose from her seat and headed towards the classroom door, she was abruptly halted by a voice. Looking up, she found herself face-to-face with a male classmate, but she couldn't recall his name. This was the same male who had discreetly helped her earlier.

The tall male addressed her by name, causing Yuna to turn and look up at him with a slightly bemused expression.

"Yes?" she responded.

The male let out a sigh and placed a hand gently on her head, offering a warning in a concerned tone. "Please try not to fall asleep again in class. Our teacher can be quite strict at times. Just be careful, alright?"

Just as Yuna was about to walk away, she paused and looked back at her classmate.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The male blinked in mild surprise; he recalled her as a bit of a daydreamer, but her complete lack of recognition for the boy she'd shared all her classes with was somewhat unexpected.

"Iwaizumi, Hajime," he introduced himself with a gentle smile, his hand still ruffling the top of her head.

Iwaizumi chuckled softly, still slightly surprised by Yuna's lack of recognition.

"Ah, yes, apologies. We've been classmates for a while, and I didn't recognize you. Sorry, Iwaizumi-kun," she apologized with a sheepish smile.

Iwaizumi was once again taken aback and re-evaluated his earlier assumptions. He glanced at her for a moment before responding with a gentle nod.

"It's alright, Sugawara," he replied, watching her nod and walk away.

Iwaizumi's ears were suddenly filled with a shrill whistle, causing him to flinch and twist around to face his friend.

"Trashykawa," he muttered, his expression stoic and unamused.

Oikawa leaped in front of his friend and teased with a sly grin, "Iwa-chan, could it be that you're finally interested in a girl?"

Iwaizumi clenched his fist and promptly brought it down onto the top of Oikawa's head, eliciting a pained whimper from the latter. Without a second glance, Iwaizumi turned and walked down the hall, leaving his irritating friend behind, grabbing the back of his head.

Oikawa gave one last glance in Yuna's direction before hurrying after Iwaizumi and catching up to him with a sly smirk, gently poking his friend on his side.

He was dumbfounded that he hadn't come across the girl before—considering his notorious talent for knowing all the girls in their year. Yet, somehow, he had no clue who she was. This ignorance only fueled his curiosity, prompting him to take matters into his own hands and get some answers.

He immediately dismissed the idea of asking his best friend Iwaizumi, as he knew his request would be dismissed effortlessly.