fox on the run | miya osamu

confrontation

"Kita, I love you but," she pauses, feeling a lump on her throat.

"But?"

"But not in that way," she continues her sentence and averts her gaze away from him.

"So it's not pretend, then?" he questions, staring at her still.

"I, I love 'Samu," she admits, "Even if he's not so sure about me anymore."

"I had a gut feeling," he sighs, then looks at the ground, fiddling with his hands.

"Huh?"

"I had a feeling that somewhere along the lines, you genuinely liked him."

"Then why?" she mumbles her question, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I don't know. I set the gut feeling aside."

"I'm sorry, Kita."

"We don't really pick who we'll like, do we?"

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ARCADE
HYOGO PREFECTURE

"Hey, 'Samu, ya done yet?" Atsumu asks in a seemingly irritated tone, "You've been trying that for ages!"

"Shut yer trap, 'Tsumu," Osamu scolds, trying to get the Melty Kiss from the claw machine.

"Let's go home, yer taking too damn long!" the blonde continues his complaints, nudging his brother's arm.

"Ugh. Fine," Osamu groans after another unsuccessful attempt.

"Dontcha have anyone else to drag to the arcade?" the blonde sighs while they walk out of the arcade.

"You know, your Tsutsui-senpai?" he suggests but Osamu keeps himself quiet.

"Oh? Not so talkative about yer girlfriend anymore?"

"Whatever, 'Tsumu."

"Oh? Lemme guess, ya havin' a quarrel? What is it this time? Jealousy? Lack of time? Her admirers? Or yours?" Atsumu blabbers, "Come on, come on, tell me!"

"No," he refuses.

"Aw, don't be shy, yer helpful brother is here to help."

"No."

"Wait, wait, is this about Shinsuke-san?"

Osamu couldn't lie.

"Oh no!" Atsumu dramatically gasps.

"We just saw them near the gym and now poor 'Samu's jelly," he adds.

"Ugh, shut up."

"You wouldn't tell me to shut up if you heard what my advice is," Atsumu snickers.

"Fine. What is it?"

Atsumu leans over to his brother and he places a hand near Osamu's ear to whisper.

"Are ya out of yer mind? No damn way!"

"Come on, thought ya liked her?"

Osamu rolls his eyes.

"Wait, do you?"

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SUIREN RESIDENCE

Suiren felt empty right after Kita's confession and all she could do was distract herself from him. With her earphones on, she continues her studies until her guilt gets washed away.

As she calls it a day, she checks her phone for the fifth time. "Still no messages from him," she mumbles to herself and she lets out a sigh. She throws herself to the comfort of her bed, staring at her wallpaper.

"Do you really not like me anymore?" Suiren wonders at his photo.

"Why did you ask for some space? Am I too much for you?" she asks again as a tear running down her cheek goes unnoticed.

Suiren dozes off after a few more scrolls on his social media profile. Twitter, to be exact. Now that she thinks about it, he never posts anything about her, and neither does she. But interestingly, when she switches apps to take a look at his Instagram, she notices his recent post was a photo in a mall. "Did he go out with someone else?" she mutters.

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INARIZAKI HIGH SCHOOL

Miko Ikeda, Suiren's so-called best friend, had been distancing herself from Suiren lately ever since her accident in the competition. It all boils down to guilt with a mix of hatred. And today, she swore to herself she'd settle it for better or for worse.

"Suiren, can we talk?" she asks, quite loudly. It makes Suiren's seatmates lower down their voices, a little intrigued with the upcoming drama.

"Another one of these?" Suiren mumbles, hinting annoyance in her tone. Suiren herself knows she isn't this usually annoyed. If she is going to act the way she does before, she'd simply nod and follow in silence. She wonders what changed.

"About what?" she asks.

"I just need a bit of your time."

"Okay," she sighs. Miko's taken back by the obvious display of emotion. Suiren isn't too hard to guess, not at this moment at least.

They walk to the rooftop, and if she could recall it correctly, Osamu mentioned it to be his favorite place.

"Hey, Suiren," Miko calls. "Suiren," she repeats in a more demanding tone. No honorifics again.

"Yes?"

"Did Kita-san tell you already?"

"It's about him again," she mutters. As expected.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know Kita-san likes you, don't you?" Miko confronts, "What did you tell him?"

"I'm not fighting over a boy."

"Answer me, Suiren," Miko demands, grabbing the unfazed girl by her jacket collar. Suiren's crutches fall down on the floor, causing her balance to become unstable.

"He confessed to you, didn't he?" Miko continues to press questions on her, "Tell me."

"Don't touch me."

"You broke his heart, didn't you?" Miko cries out another question, gripping her collar even tighter.

"Of all people, Suiren," her voice grows desperate. Suiren couldn't understand.

"Why did it have to be you?" Miko's voice becomes shaky as she pulls Suiren's collar towards her.

"You called me for this?" Suiren scoffs.

"You're just pouring your frustrations on me," she continues, worsening the other girl's anger, "I didn't do shit to you."

Enraged, Miko forcibly pushes her to the wall, putting a toll on her leg that hasn't even fully healed yet. Suiren falls down, feeling an sharp pain down her knees. "I hope you don't ever get to run again."

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author: thank you for getting
this far in my fanfic! what do
you guys think of it? I'd love
to hear your comments ^^

last chapter tomorrow ♡