Observant || Oikawa Tooru ff

20. The runaway

Next day at breakfast, Ume and Noya were sitting at the table in their respective uniforms. School was about to begin in a while and Ume was in a hurry. But Noya was still busy seething from last night.

"Don't you dare pull feats like yesterday again, you hear me Ume?" He growled with his arms crossed.

"The boy needed an umbrella. And you should know how the weather had become last night. Don't tell me I was supposed to let him go out in the downpour." Ume answered as she quietly ate.

"Of course! Tell me, how well do you know him to let him into the house like that? He might have been waiting to pounce on you for all you know!" He yelled getting worked up.

Ume imagined Oikawa in sorcerer's robes, maliciously snickering as he schemed to trap highschool girls. She found the image a bit too comical, she giggled. Noya was exasperated to hear her laughing at what he considered to be a very serious situation.

"You know what Ume? This sort of behaviour is exactly what is going to get you in trouble when I'm no longer around to protect you." Noya shook his head in defeat.

That hit Ume harder than she'd expected. 

She was of course planning to leave her mother's house the moment she was no longer a minor. That meant moving away from the Nishinoyas too. Ume found it hard to breathe all of a sudden. It was suffocating.

She placed her chopsticks down. Hoisting her bag on a shoulder, she kept her back towards Noya.

"I'm off. Lock the door behind you. You have the extra key." She talked monotonously. Noya heard the front door close moments later.

He sighed. She was closing herself off again. She was running away from her issues and he didn't know what to do in order to help her. He knew she was hurting. He'd failed his promise to Nii-chan. 

Ume climbed on the bus and found herself a solitary seat. She was trying to change... but this loneliness was comforting. When she was alone nobody confronted her. Nobody tried to help her. She was alright.

By the time she reached school, she was feeling a bit better. She walked through the school gates when she heard somebody call her.

"Nakamura, don't ignore people who are waiting for you." Oikawa scowled.

"Who was waiting for me?" Ume asked.

"I was!" He replied indignantly. "At the gates and you walked right past me. That's kind of hurtful you know." 

"Oh sorry, I didn't notice." Ume berated herself for being affected still by her earlier mood. Her eyes were not as sharp as usual if she was lost in thought.

"You need me for something?" Ume asked.

"Yes. We need to go to the administrative office. The school makes students account for all the cases they are involved in with the disciplinary committee." Oikawa replied. Ume's face contorted. Again with this! How many procedures did they have to go through for things they weren't even responsible for?

"Now, now." Oikawa laughed. "Enough with the frowning. It's just a formality, we just have to fill in some papers and we are done. Nobody's going to make us stand trial like yesterday." 

Ume huffed and followed behind him. The staff room was in the building where all the offices were located. Ume was surprised to find Naomi talking to a teacher outside the staff room. She finished talking with the teacher and walked towards Oikawa and Ume. She crossed them without even sparing a glance in their direction. 

Ume felt her eyes stuck on Naomi's figure for some reason. She kept turning her head to look at the retreating girl. She suddenly whipped her head towards Oikawa.

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up." She said urgently. She was walking away before he could even muster a reply.

Naomi was walking in the considerably cold hallway. She was lagging in her studies due to not paying attention earlier on. Now she was almost begging the teachers everyday to extend the homework deadlines. She was fatigued. She tiredly massaged her forehead when she suddenly felt arms enclosing her. 

Surprised she turned around to find her classmate tying her blazer around her waist. She caught a faint whiff of flowery fragrance coming from the girl.

"You've got a blood stain on your skirt." Ume stated briskly. Naomi's eyes widened. She hadn't realised she got her period in the first place.

"Where is your blazer anyways? It's damn cold here." Ume said twirling the girl around to check if the stain was visible from different angles. Naomi reddened.

"I forgot to bring it. I left home in a hurry to catch Sensei before lessons started." Naomi looked down embarrassed.

"It's alright. I want my blazer washed before you return it, okay?" She looked like she was complaining but she did not seem so aloof to Naomi anymore.

"Okay." She replied shyly.

 Ume hummed and walked away. Oikawa was waiting for her. He looked amusedly at her. As she reached him, they began walking towards the end of the hallway again.

"Didn't know you had it in you. " He commented lightly.

"I was trying to help." Ume looked at him confused. "Was that so bad?"

"Not bad." He chuckled. "Not bad at all."

At the other end of the hallway, Naomi was still looking at Ume as she was walking farther away. She was covered well in a beanie, muffler and woollen knee high socks. The girl obviously hated the cold. Naomi looked down at the blazer tied around her waist.

Her hand grazing the knot in the middle, a soft smile formed on her lips.