Different Kind of Beautiful

Chapter 11

"Here's the sequel to the book I loaned you earlier."

"Really? I didn't realize there was a sequel."

"It's actually a series. They don't relate much to each other until the final book but the final reveal of how everything is connected is worth it."

I watched his eyes light up before turning to the small stack of books and magazines sitting in front of me. I couldn't help but notice that some of the books had sticky notes or other pieces of paper sticking out.

"Oh, sorry," Oikawa blurted, picking on up. "I forgot to take them out."

"Notes?" I asked, finding myself rather curious.

"Yeah, they're not very good so feel free to ignore them," he sighed, scratching his head.

"No, if you don't mind, I'll read through them as well." I leaned back into my seat and pulled one of the books open.

"Why?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit," I muttered. "You're the captain and can actually come up with some rather good things when you stop getting distracted."

"So mean..."

I sighed, "It was a compliment."

A silence drifted over us as we both began to read, and I found myself a bit amused by the more opinionated notes that he had taken. It was clear that Oikawa was incredibly passionate about his sport. I wondered if he had plans to pursue it after high school. Though I didn't know much about the sport or what it would take to go to a professional level with it, Oikawa seemed to have the determination to make his way there if that was what he wanted to do.

There was a sudden and loud crash on the second floor. I jumped at the accompanied shriek, not sure which parent it came from. I glanced up from the book, staring up at the ceiling as I listened for any sounds to follow after. The faint sound of arguing quickly drifted down. The brunette setter seemed tense as he glanced over, lips pressed in a flat line. I sighed and stood up, carefully closing the book and setting it down.

"Be right back," I told him, moving towards the staircase.

"That didn't sound very good," he muttered.

"It's probably nothing," I replied. Not wanting to leave him alone for very long, I hurried upstairs only to immediately stop in the hallway.

My father poked his head out from the office with a frown. "Oh hey Anzu, don't mind us."

I glanced at the stacks of books and files lining the wall and shot him an unamused look. "What fell?"

"Fell? Something fell? I don't know what you're talking about," he blurted, adjusting his glasses.

"Mom?"

There was a quiet sigh from inside the room. "Your father doesn't want to look weak in front of you or your friend."

The man let out a pitiful whine.

"Could you please ask Oikawa to come help me for a moment?" my mother asked, thinning patience clear in her tone.

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment as I tried to imagine just what could have happened in the short time the two had disappeared upstairs. "Be right back."

Oikawa was waiting when I wandered back down, staring silently as he waited for an explanation for the crash. I opened my mouth but quickly closed it, not sure how exactly to explain.

"Do you mind giving us a hand?" I eventually asked.

"Of course!" He smirked and closed the book, carefully placing the bookmark I had given him between the pages. Without another word I turned around and trudged back up the stairs and pushed past my father. We peered into the office to find my mother sitting under the desk with one of the larger wooden bookshelves toppled over and blocking her in. I heard Oikawa's jaw click shut.

"It's probably nothing," he quickly mocked, nudging me with his arm.

"Just help me lift it up," I replied, ignoring his taunt. Between the three of us, it was easy to set it back up and move it where it needed to be.

The rest of the evening was easily spent organizing the various books and manuscripts that had been displaced during the move, my parents almost gleefully explaining certain titles and pointing him around. While I had to agree that the extra set of hands was nice, I couldn't help but feel bad that he had thrown away his evening to help us.

"Its getting pretty late," I piped up, glancing over at him as we placed various books back onto the shelves. "Shouldn't you be heading back home?"

"It's fine," he chirped. "It only takes like, two minutes to walk between our houses."

"Still. Didn't you say your sister was visiting? You should spend some time together," I argued. It had been a while since I had seen some of the titles we still had. Maybe I would take the time to read through some of them again.

"How did you know she was visiting?"

I looked over at the setter, shooting him an odd look. He was staring rather intensely at me, brow furrowed. "Uh, you mentioned it during practice."

He blinked owlishly. "I made an off-handed comment about making her favorite dish for dinner. You caught that?"

"Yeah?"

I was starting to feel a bit unnerved at his stare. Did he have a bad relationship with his sister? Surely if that was the case, Iwaizumi would have said something or shown any sign of concern. Maybe they just weren't close and things were awkward between them. I couldn't help but feel bad, wondering if I had offended him or brought up a sensitive topic. His comment had seemed pretty positive though. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, he turned to the book in his hands with a grin. I watching him tuck it away on a higher shelf and snag the one I was holding from my hands.

"Tanji-san is super lucky to have a friend like you, huh?" he mused.

I smirked, picking up another book. "Doesn't that make you lucky as well, Oikawa?"

He hummed for a moment. "No, if anything, you're lucky to be my friend."

I didn't hesitate to slam the spine of the book into his side. He cried out and quickly dropped his hands to hold his side, fixing me with a pitiful glare.

"I think you're the lucky one," I taunted, putting the book away.