E P I L O G U E

EPILOGUE

TWO YEARS LATER

Isuma felt underprepared at her own engagement party. 

She hadn't known it was happening. Between the time Hishari had texted her with the surprise and when Isuma was supposed to be there, she had barely managed to comb her hair and find a nice dress. Hishari assured her not to worry, as it wasn't technically her actual engagement.

The real thing- a sweet, traditional ceremony- had happened a week ago. It had been exhilarating and dreamlike, but it was a small event that many of Isuma's friends couldn't attend. Her brothers and Hishari had arranged a small party so everyone could celebrate. Around two dozen people showed up and Isuma greeted them all, but the most important person hadn't arrived.

Her best friend from med school, Sana was standing beside her. She was a crazy, bold, and loud person- pretty much the exact opposite of Isuma. 

She was also the person Atsumu had liked for the past two years to no avail.

Sana glanced over at Isuma and asked, "Has he texted?"

"No. Not yet. Hopefully soon." Isuma replied. She checked her phone for the dozenth time; he had texted another update, promising to be there in two minutes. He too had been caught off-guard by Hishari's sudden summons. She began to type out a response when a small figure tackled her, wrapping their arms around her torso. Sakura sang, "I-su-ma-san!!!"

"Sa-ku-ra!!!" Isuma matched her energy, smiling brightly. Sakura complained, "Ao-nii won't let me play on the Swish!"

"The Switch." Isuma automatically corrected. She let Sakura pull her over to the TV, where Aoki and Hinosa were aggressively stabbing their controllers, yelling at the screen. Isuma raised her voice. "Aoki. Hinosa-kun! Why aren't you giving Sakura a turn?"

"One sec, Isuma-chan. We're almost done with this set- hey, Sakura-chan! Not now!" Hinosa protested as she yank the controller away and plopped down beside her brother. Isuma said flatly, "You are a grown man and she is a child."

"That doesn't mean she can just- oh, hey, Tamiko!" Hinosa leaped up from his chair and practically sprinted across the room to tackle his best friend and complain about Sakura. Isuma began to say something to the two kids but was stopped by a tap on the shoulder. Hinata flashed his bright smile and gave her a high five. "Isuma-chan! Congratulations! I'm sorry we're so late. I came with Kageyama and Iwaizumi-kun and Oikawa-san, and they took forever! Can you believe it? How are you- oh my God, I love your dress! Where's your boyfriend- I mean your fiancée! Is he late too-"

"It's good to see you too, Shoyo-kun." Isuma quickly said, smiling. Hinata pointed to the overcrowded table of gift bags and boxes. "I got you something! Kageyama said it was dumb, but it's better than his present. I hope you like it!"

"I'm sure I'll love it. How have you been? I hope it wasn't a hassle for you to get here on time. I didn't even know it was happening until today." Isuma explained. Hinata waved it off. "Nah, I've known for a while. It's no big deal, I was here on break anyway. It's the off-season, so most of us are in Japan right now- luckily."

"Isuma-chan!!" A familiar voice called. Isuma brightened when she saw Oikawa approaching her, with Iwaizumi and Kageyama close behind. Oikawa reached her first and wrapped her in his warm embrace that instantly relaxed her. Over the years, he had become another older-brother figure in her life (although she would obviously never admit it). "Isuma-chan, you grew taller!"

"I did not!" Isuma protested. It had been six months since they'd last seen each other, and her height hadn't changed for the past six years. Oikawa flicked her forehead. "Oh, yeah, Iwa-chan's here too!"

"And she would have already known that if you'd stop acting like the most important person in the room." Iwaizumi rolled his eyes before giving Isuma a quick hug. "You look pretty, Isuma-san."

"Thank you." Isuma smiled at him gratefully. Kageyama gave her a deep bow from a safe distance away. "Congratulations, Miya-san. We left your presents over there."

"Thanks, Kageyama-kun. How are you?" She had gotten over her (extremely small) fear of Kageyama a while ago, but she still felt a little anxious around him and therefore tried harder to communicate.

Kageyama was really bad at communicating. "Fine. Good."

"Isuma-san, where is he?" Iwaizumi asked, glancing at her curiously. Oikawa pipped up, "I've been wanting to meet this guy for years now. I'm dedicated to this cause."

"He said he'd be here in a few minutes." She glanced at her phone, but he hadn't texted or called. "Probably in just a bit."

A huddle of people by the door suddenly raised their voices. Isuma and the others turned around, watching as the front door swung open and close.  People surrounded him instantly, and he took the time to greet everyone and shake hands and accept hugs. At one point, he looked up and directly at her. Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes met hers. He broke into a smile and headed straight for her. 

 It was embarrassing to admit, but he sometimes still gave her the worst butterflies. Isuma took a tiny step back right into Hinata, who pushed her forward towards him. The entire room's eyes followed his progress as he reached her and took her hand and ducked down and kissed her cheek. Everyone burst into cheers at once- why at that particular moment, Isuma could not guess- and surged forward.

Just before he straightened, Shinsuke whispered, "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay." She assured him. Aoki and Sakura ran over and tackled Shinsuke. "Shin-san!!!!"

"Ow. Ow!" He stumbled back, laughing. They both wrapped their tiny bodies around him in hugs, swaying him. "Shin-san, you're late!" "Shin-san, do you like my new dress?" "Shin-san, did you bring chocolate?" "SHIN-SAN, AO-NII STILL WON'T LET ME PLAY ON THE SWISH!!"

"Okay, okay!" Tamiko emerged from the crowd and gently pulled his kids back. "Let the man breathe. Sorry, Shinsuke-kun."

Shinsuke shook his head and smiled. "No, it's okay. I missed them too. And I DID bring you something, but it's a surprise for later, okay?"

Aoki and Sakura perked up. "Okay!!"

Tamiko hugged Shinsuke. "You didn't have to bring them any- hey, you two!"

He quickly broke the embrace because Sakura had kicked Aoki in the shins. "Gimme a sec. Altan Sakura, what did we-"

"I missed them." Shinsuke glanced at Isuma, who had watched their whole exchange. Seeing Shinsuke interact with children filled her with unexplainable content. 

She and Shinsuke talked to several people for a few more minutes before Hishari called them over to eat lunch. Afterwards, they took pictures with all their guests. They played all the stupid games their family had excitedly prepared. Shinsuke gave Aoki and Sakura gifts he'd brought them- after making Aoki promise to let Sakura play on the switch. By sunset, many people began to leave with promises to come to their wedding. Only a handful of people were left when the last rays of sunlight were completely gone. 

The whole day, Isuma hadn't gotten to talk to Shinsuke for more than two minutes in private. After another half hour, everyone seemed too busy to notice if they left. Hishari, her boyfriend, Atsumu and Oikawa were immersed in an intense game of Mario Kart (Aoki and Sakura had long since passed out and were asleep in Hishari's guest room). Tamiko, Takahiro, Ginjima, Osamu, and Suna were watching a replay of one of Atsumu's practice matches. Everyone else was watching the group of four play Mario Kart and cheering loudly.

Isuma was sitting on the couch talking with Sana when Shinsuke came over. "Do you wanna leave for a bit?"

She glanced up at him quizzically. "Where?"

"It's a surprise." He said, giving away nothing. Isuma looked at Sana, who shoved her away. "Girl, go! I'm fine here!"

"If you're sure." Isuma shrugged. Sana pointedly looked at Shinsuke and use several very specific hand gestures, indicating the penalty for disappointing Isuma. He responded with a thumbs-up. 

Hishari's street was dark and only dimly illuminated by streetlights. It was completely deserted, save for a cat that bounded away as they approached. Isuma waited a few seconds before asking, "So where are we going?"

"Nowhere in particular." Shinsuke abruptly stopped beside a jasmine tree, where it was so dark they could just barely see each other. He turned to Isuma. "I've just wanted to have you to myself for more than thirty seconds this whole day."

He placed his hand on the right side of her face and kissed her. 

The night was so, so quiet. 

She felt like every atom in her was about to explode. All 86 billion neurons in her brain instantly died. Her hands went to his neck and pulled him in closer. And closer. And-

The stupid cat from earlier screeched loudly.

The two broke apart, breathing hard. Isuma's face was flushed- partially from the cold, but mostly because of Shinsuke. He glanced over at the cat and laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think it approves."

The cat was perched on a high stone wall, glaring down at them. Isuma watched as Shinsuke called, "Can I hug her?"

The cat looked away, and Shinsuke took it as permission. Isuma wrapped her arms around him, engulfed in his warmth and comfort. She closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar scent and listened to his beating heart. This was where she belonged, where she was the most strong and the most capable.

With Shinsuke.

He pulled back for a moment and took her left hand. He kissed the ring on her finger, holding her hand tightly with both of his as if he were afraid to let her go. Isuma's heart skipped a beat as he pressed his forehead against her delicate knuckles. She was afraid her heart was going to burst.

With all that she was and ever had been, she knew she belonged with this man. As he looked at her again with his piercing gaze, a tsunami of emotions overtook her. There were a million things she wanted to say, that she should say. But something told her he knew already.

"I love you."

***

Isuma and Shinsuke got married the next year. They bought an apartment in Tokyo and Isuma completed her residency and moved forward with her career in medicine. Shinsuke helped Osamu set up the Tokyo branch of Onigiri Miya (with considerable assistance from Akaashi, who was a desperate advocate of the project). 

And yeah, there wasn't really anything left to say. They were surrounded by all the important people in their life and were pursuing both of their worldly dreams.

And most importantly, they were with each other. 

To Isuma, Shinsuke was the one who had saved her all those years ago and continued to provide endless support even now. 

To Shinsuke, Isuma was more than the "Miya's siblings." To him, she was the one who mattered the most. She wasn't the THIRD Miya, as she had been most of her life. No, she was the FIRST. 

***

PLEASE READ!!!

I'm actually crying a little right now guys someone hand me a tissue please

It's almost been three years since I started this fic. I began writing this November of my freshman year in high school, and now I just finished my junior year. I'm almost a senior. This story has grown with me- it has been with me as my writing style changed, as it grew more sophisticated. This story has been with me through the lowest points in my life but also the highest.

It's messy. It's chaotic. I jumped into writing this blindly- without any sort of plan. Do I have regrets? Yes! But did I have fun? Also yes!

Thank you all so much for staying with me for so long.

It means so much to me that people actually read this. If you've been here from Day 1, great! If you just read this all in one go recently, also great! Thank you. You read my crappy writing. If you're reading this, PLEASE comment. Let me know you're here. I want to love you till the day I die for even completing this story. I want to give you the biggest hug and thank you a million times over. 

This story started out as something meant to explore a wildly unknown part of Haikyuu. I wanted to give Inarizaki a backstory and learn more about those amazing characters.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to become THIS (and I have pretty crazy dreams!)

But it did, and I'm not complaining. 

Before anyone asks, no, I'm not writing a sequel. BUT.

A LONG time ago, I posted a preview for Pure Royalty, a royal Haikyuu AU. I'm not completely certain if I will write it, but in the plans I have now, Isuma and Shinsuke will be important characters in the story. I want to start posting Pure Royalty over the summer, but I'll post updates on my message board when I finalize timings. 

I'm considering editing this story. It's a 50/50 right now. This story will be marked as Complete after I upload this, but I'll post an update if I start editing. I kind of hate how it was written (again, my writing style has changed a LOT) and I can't even look at the older chapters without having a physical reaction. 

Just kidding. But seriously, I hate it. 

Again, thank you. I love you all so much. THANK YOU. Seriously. It's crazy to me that someone would even read this. I kinda can't believe it. Idk how much exactly but I think this story is somewhere at 230K views? 230K??????????? That's actually insane to me. 

Thank you for bearing with Isuma, Shinsuke... and me. It's been an amazing journey.

See you in Pure Royalty ❤️