LX

Oikawa was... interesting.

That was the only word for him. Oikawa deserved an adjective of his own.

They arrived at the airport at 10 AM, after an actual, sit-down breakfast. Isuma couldn't recall the last time she'd sat at a table and eaten without a book in her hand. As promised, Utsui Sensei had given them no work to do on their free day. Iwaizumi had a whole list of places he wanted to take them- after, of course, meeting his best friend.

They had heard many things about him. Atsumu and Kageyama usually insulted him. Sakusa had admitted that he'd wanted to experience Oikawa's sets- a rare bit of praise from him.

Isuma read a book while they waited for Oikawa. Takahiro and Iwaizumi were talking beside her. Ten minutes passed. Another ten minutes.

When she finally looked up from her book, Takahiro and Iwaizumi were both gone. People were trickling out now, most likely from the same flight. Startled, Isuma stood up and looked around. "Where did they go?"

She dug out her phone and tried calling both. Neither answered. A little concerned now, she scanned the crowds hastily, hoping to catch sight of them. More people were arriving now, all chatting and dragging luggage. "Iwaizumi-san!!!"

No, that wasn't him. The man looked at her like she was crazy and kept on walking. Isuma buried her face in her hands and sat back down- god, she was embarrassing.

"Excuse me. Are you Isuma-chan?"

She looked up- and almost choked.

God, he's beautiful.

Pictures hadn't captured Oikawa's beauty. He was FLAWLESS. Beauty personified- okay, she was going to stop now. But he was. His hair??? His warm skin tone? HIS EYES? HIS SOFT, PLAYFUL SMILE, HELLO???

If she hadn't already had a complicated love life, Isuma probably would've fallen in love with him on the spot.

Oikawa took her silence as a denial. "Ah, sorry, I thought you were someone I knew. Sorry for bothering you-"

"Wait- I'm Isuma." She hastily stood up and bowed. Oikawa turned back, smiling brightly. "Oh, hi! I thought it was you; Iwa-chan sent me pictures of you and Takahiro, and I recognized you just now- it would've been so humiliating if I went up to some random person! Oh, where's Iwa-chan and Takahiro-kun? They were supposed to be here, right?"

"Oh- yes, they're here! I was looking for them before you came." Isuma answered awkwardly. "I'll call them again; give me a moment."

Before she even dug her phone out, she heard someone yell, "Isuma-san!!!"

The two turned around in sync; Takahiro and Iwaizumi had returned, looking relieved. Oikawa lit up. "Iwa-chan!!"

Isuma asked, "Where did you go?"

"To the other arrival area! We didn't realize you weren't with us until we were there." Takahiro apologized. His gaze went to Oikawa; his eyes widened. "Is that Oikawa-san?"

"Yeah."

"He's beautiful."

"Yep."

"The photos lied to us."

"I know."

Oikawa overheard them and smiled. "Aww, thank you. I know my looks can be overwhelming."

Yeah, they really could be.

Iwaizumi punched Oikawa's arm so forcefully that Isuma was sure his bone broke. Oikawa didn't even flinch. "What, Iwa-chan? It's not MY fault I'm so tragically beautiful-"

"Shut up." Iwaizumi turned towards Isuma and Takahiro. "I apologize for him. He has no common sense."

"No- it's okay. Oikawa-san's so cool!" Takahiro exclaimed. Oikawa smiled again. "I'd say thank you, but Iwa-chan would probably punch me again."

"I would." Iwaizumi agreed. He checked his watch. "We should hurry; the roads will be busy soon."

Iwaizumi waited for Isuma and Takahiro to take a few steps before pulling Oikawa aside. "Do you remember what I told you?"

"Hai, hai, Iwa-chan." Oikawa answered, amused. "I remember."

***

They spent the day in downtown Irvine. Iwaizumi had a list of places he wanted them to see, and they visited every single one.

One of their last stops was the bookshop where Jakk had worked long ago. It wasn't strictly in the downtown area, but Iwaizumi had taken them there anyways.

When Isuma saw the inside through the glass windows, she could see why Jakk had fallen for Irene THERE.

It was a truly magical place- in Isuma's opinion. There were stacked books on every surface- the cashier's desk, the tables crammed on one side, and the endless bookshelves that disappeared inside.

An older woman was locking the door but paused when she noticed them. "You're here awfully late; I've closed up for the night."

"We apologize; we should've visited earlier." Iwaizumi pulled them back, but the woman called, "Do you need anything specific? I can grab it for you if you'd like."

"No, we were only passing by. Our friend used to work here. Jakk?" Takahiro asked. The woman lit up. "Oh, Jakk! He worked here for SUCH a long time! What's the young man been up to?"

"He's a member of the Irvine Polar Bears- a sports team." Iwaizumi added. The woman nodded in approval. "He was always an excellent athlete, even in high school. And what about his friend, Irene?"

"You know Irene?" Isuma asked in surprise. The woman nodded. "Of course I do! We all do- how could we not? Jakk was SMITTEN with her. She came every single day. The poor girl was oblivious to his feelings- are they still friends?"

"Oh- yes!" She answered. "Great friends!"

"Hmph. Just friends?" The woman shook her head. "Tell the young man to let her know, will you? A girl like that won't wait around forever."

"We will." Iwaizumi stepped aside to let the woman pass. She shouldered her bag and looked back at them. "Come by with Jakk soon, yes? It's been far too long since I've seen the boy."

Before they could answer, she waved and climbed into a small car parked at the curb. It shuddered to life, and she drove off, slowly disappearing on the horizon.

***

Oikawa was in California for only four days, but Isuma's world turned upside down in that short amount of time.

Isuma first noticed something off about Irene a few days before the incident. Irene came in one morning with red eyes. She was unnaturally quiet the rest of the day, and she and Jakk had hushed conversations whenever they met. Isuma didn't bring it up- but looking back, she definitely should have.

***

"Isuma-chan!" Oikawa bounded into the office right after Isuma had submitted a long report to Utsui Sensei. She looked up, smiling for the first time in hours. "Hi. I thought you were resting. Aren't you jet-lagged?"

"No, just tired. Travelling drains all your energy. Iwa-chan said I was annoying him and to go bother you instead." Oikawa shook his head in wonder. "Can you believe him?"

"No, it's astonishing."

"Right!" Oikawa exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"I just finished my big assignment!" Isuma replied. Oikawa sat down across from her. "Yeah? What do you and Takahiro do, exactly?"

"We usually assist Utsui Sensei with whatever he needs. Some days it's going through diet plans for a trainee, and other days it's designing workouts. It changes a lot." She explained. He questioned, "So what are you doing after this?"

"Well, Iwaizumi-san is going into sports science- he's interested in working with the national team in the future. But to be honest..." She paused. "I've been studying sports science for four years, and it's lost its appeal. I want to stay in the medical field, but not how I've pictured it up until now."

"You could go to medical school!" Oikawa suggested. "Or is there anything else you want to do before committing to that?"

Isuma flinched. Her hand automatically went to her ring; Oikawa noticed the movement and said, "Are you-"

"No." She said suddenly. "I'm not married- or engaged. It's not like that."

"You don't have to talk about it," Oikawa replied while making a mental note to ask Atsumu. Instead, he asked, "Do you regret anything, Isuma-chan?"

"Regret?" She repeated. Oikawa motioned to her ring. "Do you regret what that ring means to you?"

Oikawa had the same energy as Irene; Isuma felt comfortable talking to him. Nevertheless, she'd only known him for a few days and wasn't comfortable telling him her whole life story. 

She gazed at her ring for a moment. "No. No, I don't. I value what this ring means."

Isuma tried to phrase her words carefully. "It was a promise from a friend. It's a reminder that I need to keep going."

"I see. I'm glad the ring empowers you." Oikawa flashed a genuine smile that uplifted Isuma's mood. He really was impossible to dislike.

Well, except for Iwaizumi.

***

"Irene!" Isuma and Khloe practically jumped out of their seats when Irene walked through the front door, sporting a huge bandage on her forehead. Khloe demanded, "What happened?"

"It's nothing. I just banged my head on my front door." Irene smiled awkwardly. "I'm really clumsy..."

Khloe scolded her as Irene laughed it off. Isuma approached her tentatively. "Are you sure you're alright? It looks serious..."

"Oh, I'm fine!" Irene smiled. "I got it checked this morning. Thank you for asking!"

Anyone else may have accepted it, but not Isuma. Even with the bandage, she could tell the injury had happened well before that morning- at the very latest, the previous night. But she didn't say anything.

Jakk walked in while they were talking, his eyes narrowing when he noticed Irene's injury. Irene didn't see him until he asked in a dark tone, "What happened?"

Irene didn't respond to him; Isuma was sure that Irene had lied about bumping into the door but didn't want to repeat it to Jakk, who'd see through it. "I'll tell you later-"

"Tell me NOW, Irene!!" Jakk snapped. Irene snapped back, "I hit my head on my door, okay?!"

Jakk didn't respond. She didn't want to tell him and clearly wasn't going to. He brushed past her without another word and disappeared into the hallway.

***

Takahiro and Iwaizumi listened to Isuma carefully when she detailed her suspicions to him later. When she'd finally stopped, Iwaizumi said, "You're probably right."

"You think so?" Isuma's sickening feeling grew worse. He nodded. "Something's going on at home. I'm guessing it's a boyfriend or family member-"

"Definitely not a boyfriend," Takahiro put in. "Jakk would've mentioned someone like that."

"Jakk knows what's happening- or at least has an idea of some sort." Iwaizumi nodded. Isuma asked, "Then what do we DO?"

Iwaizumi stared at her bleakly. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Isuma repeated. "We KNOW something's wrong- why shouldn't we help her?"

"Because even if you're certain, Isuma-chan, you can't convince the police- or anyone who has the power to do something."

Oikawa had been at the door, listening. He entered the office and shut the door, taking a seat next to Takahiro. Iwaizumi grumbled, "You weren't supposed to hear any of that."

"The walls here are abnormally thin. I heard something and couldn't help but accidentally listen." Oikawa's smile disappeared as he took on a more serious expression. "Back to what I was saying: no one will believe you. Even if Irene herself told the police, they probably wouldn't believe only her word."

"But there's MY word too!" Isuma protested. Oikawa raised his eyebrows. "Not be cold, Isuma-chan, but you must know how people treat you differently here because of your race?"

Isuma swallowed and looked down. Of course she knew. She'd known since she landed in the United States for the first time, since the first dirty looks she'd received. Whenever she went out in public, someone always gave her a strange glance or glared at her. Slightly defeated, she said, "It doesn't always happen-"

"It WILL happen. Not everyone is as kind as you are." Oikawa smiled faintly. "And the truth is, people treat us differently simply because we're Japanese. And don't get me wrong- not everyone here is rude and discriminatory. But I promise you, the racism in the legal world is even worse."

She couldn't respond. Thankfully, Oikawa decided to move on from the topic. He turned toward Iwaizumi. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No. Not unless Irene is willing to speak up." Iwaizumi responded. Oikawa tilted his head. "Then we'll have her speak up. Isuma-chan, talk to Irene. She needs to take action herself if we want to help her."

"I understand."

Hi loves <3 sorry its a little late, i try to post on fridays but it didnt work out this week