LIX

October 27th, 2022

Isuma's first impression of Irene? She was an anomaly in the dull, predictable schedule of the training center.

Irene was like a rainbow after months of cloudy skies, unexpected and fiery. Her entrance to the center was similar to the rising sun's. Isuma and Takahiro had been working at the front desk with the receptionist, Khloe, when an impossibly sweet voice sang, "Good morning!!"

All three turned around. A beautiful girl with the most luscious brown curls was standing at the entrance, her warm brown skin practically glowing in the sun. Her smile was radiant, and she couldn't be any happier. To complete this vision of perfectness, she carried a coffee cup in one hand and a stack of books in the other. Her face lit up when she noticed them. "Khloe!! It's amazing to see you again; I missed you!"

Khloe seemed just as excited to see her; she returned the hug enthusiastically. "Welcome back, Irene!!! I didn't even know you planned on returning today!"

"It was on short notice, but my trip wrapped up quicker than expected." Irene smiled Isuma and Takahiro. "Hello, I'm Irene! It's nice to meet you!!"

Isuma shook her hand. "I'm Isuma, this is Takahiro. You too!"

"I'm so excited to get to know you!" Her happiness seemed genuine. Utsui Sensei walked through the opposite set of doors. "What a pleasant surprise; welcome back, Irene!!"

"Hello! I was able to return quicker than expected. I haven't even told Jakk yet." Irene said. Khloe raised her eyebrows. "You haven't told JAKK?"

Jakk was a trainee- albeit one of the kinder ones. It didn't surprise Isuma that he was friends with such a bubbly person.

"I've been so busy I haven't had the time," Irene said. "Is he here today?"

"He's here; he arrived just half an hour ago," Khloe said.

Isuma watched their exchange for a few minutes. Iwaizumi walked in halfway through the conversation. Uninterested in Irene's presence, he looked at Isuma and Takahiro. Deliberately in Japanese, he said, "Can you two step out for a moment?"

They exchanged glances before circling the group and entering the hallway. Iwaizumi primarily seemed to be speaking to Isuma. "Hinata-kun just called me. There's been an incident."

"What?" Isuma asked, immediately growing worried. Utsui joined them outside. "Everything okay?"

"Yes- well, no." Iwaizumi took a deep breath. "Atsumu-kun was involved in a car accident. He's- he's in the hospital right now."

"What?" Isuma asked in disbelief. "What do you mean he was in a car accident? When? Where- IN THE HOSPITAL? Why- how-"

"I don't know. I haven't been able to reach Osamu. He must be at the hospital." Iwaizumi's voice was still gentle as if he was trying to soften the impact. Takahiro was in shock. "But- doesn't Atsumu-kun have his match TOMORROW?"

"Oh no. Please, please, please...." Isuma was frantically trying to call Osamu, her hands shaking. "Did- did they tell you ANYTHING else?"

"No. I'm sorry. Hinata said he was on his way to the hospital-"

"Are we all good out here?" Khloe poked her head out of the lobby. Isuma looked like she was on the verge of breaking down, while the other three had grave expressions. Utsui said, "Could you give us another minute?"

Khloe nodded and retreated to the lobby.

"He'll be okay. He'll be okay." Takahiro repeated, trying to convince himself. "He's at the hospital, so he must be getting help already. Right?"

None of them responded.

***

"Your call has been forwarded-"

"Your call has been-"

"Your-"

Osamu didn't pick up. Isuma had talked to Suna, Hinata, and even Sakusa, but none of them knew the situation. From what she gathered, Osamu was the only person with Atsumu. The hospital wasn't allowing visitors and refused to give out any information- which, in theory, made sense- but shouldn't someone be allowed to know? For instance- THE PATIENT'S SISTER??

Isuma spent much of the day on her phone, talking to anyone she could. Most of the trainees didn't take too kindly to her spacing out randomly- after which Takahiro snapped at them. Irene, however, asked her politely if she was okay a few times. Under better circumstances, Isuma would be in awe of her kindness.

By the time the training center closed, Isuma was out of her mind with worry. Not a single piece of information had reached her- not one. She didn't know where either of her brothers was. Once the last trainee had left, Isuma began gathering her belongings. "Utsui Sensei, may I leave early today? I'll finish this week's project tonight."

He and Iwaizumi exchanged glances. "Go ahead. See you tomorrow."

"Thank you." Isuma left his office and walked through the dark center. It was silent without the trainees and the billion machines running all day. She barely noticed where she was going on the way back to Iwaizumi's apartment. When she finally locked herself in her room, her mind began running through her possible choices- none of which were appealing.

She could return to Japan right away. Isuma had checked the flights several hours ago, and the nearest connection flights were late that night. But that meant her internship would end, and did she want that? Yes, it was difficult- and stressful. Yet, she and many other people had worked so hard to get her to California- and going back now would mean months of trying thrown away. And what if Atsumu was completely fine, and she returned for no reason? She knew he and Osamu would be disappointed- and likely angry.

Her other- and probably better- option was to wait. While it wasn't enticing, it was the wiser choice.

Isuma picked up her phone; she'd turned it off so Iwaizumi or Takahiro couldn't call her. Reluctantly, she pressed the power button. Her phone vibrated. Again. And again. A flood of texts came in all at once.

OSAMU

Im sorry for not answering

52 missed calls, suma?

And tsumu said u wouldnt be worried.

hey

HEY

PICK UP

DONT BE MAD

TSUMUS FINE. I PROMISE

HES BARELY HURT

IDK WHY EVERYONE FREAKED OUT

THE HOSPITAL PEOPLE WERE DUMB. AND WOULDNT LET ME TALK TO ANYONE

ISUMAA

Bye. not u ignoring me

IM SORRY OK

I was in the hospital! They wouldn't let me call anyone!

Can you please answer the dang phone???

AT LEAST LET ME DEFEND MYSELF

ISUMA. PICK UP

Her phone rang again, this time with a phone call. Isuma swiped her phone's screen so fast that she almost accidentally hung up. Osamu snapped, "About time! Why would you NOT pick up??"

"My phone was off!" Isuma said. She was so relieved she could cry, but she pulled herself together. "Is Atsumu okay? What happened? How long was he in the hospital? Why couldn't you call me? And-"

"Slow down." Osamu's voice suddenly softened. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you-"

"You should be!!" Isuma yelled. "I was so worried! I didn't know ANYTHING. The whole day!! I wouldn't have even known if he was DEAD!"

"I know. I know." Osamu let the silence linger for a few moments. "Atsumu was on his way home. He says he was crossing a road and didn't see the car speed through the red light."

"How do you not see a car about to hit you?" She asked. Osamu said, "I have no idea. It's Atsumu; what do you expect? Anyway, the driver noticed HIM and tried to stop. It's not as bad as- as it could have been."

Osamu's voice caught on his last sentence. Isuma hesitated, unsure if she wanted to know the answer to her next question. "How bad is it?"

"He's fine." His tone didn't betray anything, which concerned her even more. "Yeah, right. If he was fine, he wouldn't be in the hospital for half a day, and you would've called me HOURS ago. I'm not stupid; I know it's bad."

"Ah." Osamu hesitated. "Well. He won't be able to go to his next match. Or the one after that. The doctor said his collarbone was broken. But it's not that bad, actually!"

"Right. Should I call Rintaro so HE can tell me the details?" Isuma asked. He protested, "Wait, no!"

She waited. Osamu sighed. "He DID really break his collarbone. But well... apparently, the pieces are all messed up in his shoulder. Like, out of alignment. They'll have to do surgery to put metal rods in his shoulder. The bone won't be able to heal by itself."

"SURGERY??" Isuma repeated. "WHAT?"

"...yeah." Osamu sounded dejected. Isuma swallowed, trying to keep it all inside. "Can I talk to Atsumu?"

"Sure. Give me a second." She heard muffled footsteps and a door squeaking. Osamu spoke to someone before uncovering his phone again. "I'm giving it to Atsumu."

"Hi, Suma-chan!" Atsumu cheerfully called. Isuma rubbed her eyes. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Me? I feel AMAZING," he answered. Isuma almost smiled. "Yeah, right. You can tell me the truth."

"I do feel good! It's because I'm doped up on medication, but still. How are you? Did you worry a lot?" Atsumu asked teasingly. She snapped, "Yes, I did!"

"You were supposed to say you didn't," he corrected.

They talked for several minutes. The remainder of their conversation consisted mainly of Atsumu describing the incident to Isuma in great detail. It was the first calm conversation they'd had in months; for once, neither yelled at the other in anger.

Having Atsumu mad at you SUCKED.

***

"Isuma, is your brother okay?" Irene asked, adjusting the settings on her treadmill. Isuma nodded. "Yes, he's doing much better, thankfully."

Two weeks had passed since Atsumu's accident. His surgery had gone relatively well, and the doctors said he was healing at a decent pace. The past fortnight had been peaceful; Isuma could talk to Atsumu every day without an argument. She'd missed her brother. Daily updates about him from Osamu just hadn't been the same.

She had also gotten to know Irene. She was just as kind and lovable as Isuma had guessed, although it almost seemed like a coping mechanism. Isuma knew too well how different people handled trauma and rough lives. Irene's happy demeanor was a cover for her troublesome life- at least, that was Isuma's theory. A brief conversation with Jakk confirmed it. 

Jakk had explained his and Irene's friendship during a short break. Their story was something one would find in a fairy tale: Jakk had worked in a bookstore that Irene frequented almost daily. Being introverted, Jakk hadn't made much effort to talk. Irene, however, spoke to him every time he was there. From how Jakk talked about it, it wouldn't seem too special, but Isuma could guess he valued those memories.

After that conversation, she was pretty sure he had a crush on Irene.

Jakk had also vaguely mentioned Irene's trip; she'd had a family emergency back in Los Angeles, her hometown. From what he said, Isuma gathered that Irene didn't have the best home life, but she said nothing of it.

Irene seemed to have no problem with asking direct questions. With anybody else, Isuma would've avoided the topic. However, Irene was the type of person you WANTED to tell your deepest, darkest secrets. It was easy to talk about even the most serious topics with her.

And maybe Isuma had been wanting someone to talk to. She had so many people close to her, of course- Takahiro, Suna, her brothers, (perhaps not Tamiko at the moment)- the list went on and on. But all of them had experienced it with her, and what Isuma needed was an outsider's point of view.

So when Irene causally asked if she was in a relationship during a coffee break, Isuma may have told her everything.

Irene was a great listener. She just sipped her coffee silently as Isuma talked for twenty minutes. Once she finally stopped, Irene said, "Honestly, Isuma- I'm proud of you. And I've only known you for two weeks. You're a total girl-boss."

"Oh. Um, thank you." Isuma laughed. Irene sat up. "No, I'm serious! What girl has the courage to stay away from the guy she's been in love with for a gazillion years? No one but you, miss girly, I promise."

***

"We have a free day tomorrow; do you want to go somewhere?" Takahiro asked, repacking his books into his backpack. Isuma answered, "We should ask Iwaizumi-kun; he's been wanting to take us downtown for a while."

"Oh, right! We should go to that bookstore Jakk used to work at. I wonder if it's still open." Takahiro said. Isuma replied, "I don't know; we'll have to ask him."

"Ask who?" Iwaizumi walked in after ending his phone call. Takahiro said, "You wanted to take us downtown, remember? Do you think we could go tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah. We need to head to the airport anyway." Iwaizumi said. Isuma and Takahiro spun around to look at him in sync. "The airport? Why?"

"A friend of mine is arriving tomorrow."

Isuma snapped his fingers. "WAIT- is it the guy on your wall- what's his name, Takahiro?"

Takahiro exclaimed, "Pretty boy Oikawa-san?!"

"Yeah. Your pretty boy is coming to California."

procrastination~ we love it <3