XXXVIII.

Kinomi.

Nekoma High School is one of the three representatives for Tokyo in the Nationals. Although Yaku-san had sprained his ankle during the match against Nohebi Academy, Nekoma still managed to pull through with their unwavering support and teamwork. It served as an advance birthday gift to Tetsurou and I, seeing as though we share the same birthday. Unfortunately.

The house was unusually silent when Tetsurou and I got home. Mom normally greets us cheerfully but somehow, there was something about the house that made it void of life. I would have thought that the house was empty if it weren't for the unfamiliar designer shoes on the floor.

"Kinomi-chan, Tetsurou, come here." Teshi-san called from the living room.

Tetsurou and I shared a look before we walked in the living room to see Mom and Teshi-san wearing the same grim expressions, sitting on the couch with an expensive looking woman sitting on the single couch across from them. I caught the hint of bewilderment in Tetsurou's expression, as if she had recognized the woman. And the woman gave her the same look.

"Hello, Tetsurou-kun. It's been a while." The woman greeted with a warm smile.

"Hanabi-san," Tetsurou said carefully, suddenly on high alert. My family are all grim and serious, which confused me yet there was this sick feeling in my gut that something unpleasant is going on.

"Who?" I mumbled to him.

"Eira's mother." He just said.

"Come sit with us, both of you." Mom said in a low voice, holding her swollen belly that's due on New Year.

Without another word, we joined Mom and Teshi-san on the long couch, and I just stared at the beautiful woman in front of me, who still had a smile plastered on her features, but then I could also tell that she's not happy. She's feeling awkward because four sets of curious eyes watched her closely.

"Uh... I'm sorry for coming in such short notice..." Eira-san's mother started. "Don't worry, I won't be here long because I have someplace to be after this." She cleared her throat. "I don't know how to say this so I'll just get to the point. You have been fired from your job, Teshi-san, right?"

This earned a look of surprise from Tetsurou and I.

"You were fired, Dad? Since when?" Tetsurou asked.

Teshi-san sighed deeply, massaging his temples. "Since last month. I didn't tell you guys because I was confident that I'd find a job immediately but..." Mom held his hand then offered it a tight squeeze. It also felt that my heart was squeezed, too.

"But you couldn't." Hanabi-san finished for him. "And you never will because... it's my husband's doing. He fired you from your job without a reason... and he will make sure that you wouldn't find any other jobs within the country. Your wife and children aren't exemptions also."

"Huh, what... what the fuck?" I whispered to myself. My heart was starting to beat abnormally fast at the revelations. "W-why would your husband do that to us?"

"Because I got Eira pregnant." Tetsurou answered, making my eyes go wide in shock and dismay.

"Oh God!" Mom slapped a hand over her mouth.

"YOU WHAT?!" Teshi-san exclaimed, his eyeballs almost popping out of its sockets.

I just face-palmed myself. I knew it. She didn't just eat something bad that day. She was having her morning sickness...

"That's right." Hanabi-san confirmed with a calm demeanor, making Tetsurou puff out a breath.

"I was going to tell you but she continued on denying it." He shook his head, his lips turning in a snide. "Just as I thought. Eira, you liar." He mumbled, smiling to himself.

"T-tetsu-kun, do you even understand what you've done? Our life is sabotaged because you got a rich girl pregnant! You haven't even gotten out of high school..." Mom's voice shook with tears.

"Wait—how—" Teshi-san let out an exhale, looking over at Tetsurou with a rather confused expression. "So the pink bra I found in your room... it was Eira-chan's? I..." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I thought you were gay... a bi even..."

"Teshi!"

"Teshi-san!"

Mom and I snapped our heads at him in bewilderment.

"Dad! I am not gay! Or a bi! I am a straight full-blooded male!" Tetsurou's face crumpled.

"Tetsurou, you asshole! I thought you said you used protection?!" I almost screeched at him. I slapped his arm, earning me a look from him.

"Studies have shown that condoms only lessen the risk of pregnancy by ninety-eight percent, Kinomi-chan... but in reality, it's only eighty-five percent because people aren't perfect." He explained in a monotone voice. Oh god! I can't with this guy!

"Oh my god, you three! That isn't even the main point here!" Mom was about to explode like a volcano, but Teshi-san calmed her down because it's bad for her to be so stressed.

"Eira returned to Kyoto under her father's command to continue her studies there. My husband wanted to get rid of the baby because a child born out of wedlock is bad for our reputation but Eira refused."

"As she should!" Mom commented.

"I agree. I will keep an eye on her just in case her father does anything. But as a result, he did this to your family." Hanabi-san continued to explain. "Eira's being highly monitored and she isn't allowed to go anywhere. So I went here on her behalf to offer some help."

"Help?" Teshi-san said, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "What kind of help?"

"Well, Souichiro technically froze your life here in Japan. So the only choice you have is to start a new life elsewhere... and by that I mean... abroad."

It feels like oxygen left the room at that last phrase, draining the color off my face. My brain is taking too long than usual to process the newly gained information, or maybe I just refused to comprehend it. What the fuck did she meant by start a new life abroad? My life is already here in Japan! What the hell? This is all too sudden!

I tried to take deep, shaky breaths. I bit on my lower lip and slowly curled my fists into tight balls, trying my best to keep my composure. There might be some kind of other options, right? Right?

"I can refer you to my friend in London. I'm sure she can offer you a job. I can make sure that my husband never finds out."

"Wait, this is all too much!" Tetsurou interjected. We had the same reaction. "It's all my fault this happened. I will take full responsibility—"

"I know you will, Tetsurou-kun. But you can't right now... not when you have nothing to prove yet. You have to go and finish your studies first... that's the only time when you and Eira can fight. I wish there was some other way, but this is the best course of action right now."

The end of the school year. That's when the time will be up.

I didn't know what to think, what to do... I just want to scream and cry and run far, far away from here. I don't want to believe a single thing that happened... and was about to happen. It was too absurd to have actually happened.

When I couldn't take it, I screamed on my pillow to muffle the sound. I couldn't help the angry tears and the sob from escaping my throat.

Why does the world always find a way to fuck my life up in all angles?

Is being happy too fucking much to ask for?

"Kei..." I whispered unconsciously, suddenly remembering him.

Kei... I don't know how to break the news to him. How can I tell him that there's no more future for me in this country anymore? How will I tell him that we couldn't be together anymore?

But if I get the chance to come back... I'm sure it'll take a god-awful amount of years. Why... do I gradually slip further and further away from him? First I had to move away to another city... now out of the fucking country? Is it a sign? Maybe... we're just not meant to be together.

Yes, that's it. It was rubbed on my face from the very beginning. I knew that he was too good to be true. I knew that I didn't deserve him. I was really the burden in our relationship to begin with. Kei had to deal with all of those. I was the one who had all the issues. He had to deal with the panic attacks, mood swings, suicidal tendencies... everything. I chose to be away from him and move to a different city in order to better myself. For the both of us. Even with that complicated set-up, we still stayed and tried to make our relationship work. But now... what was the point if we couldn't even see each other again? Possibly for good?

He's going to get tired of dealing with me... of constantly leaving him. But we're still young, and this is going to hurt like hell but he'll be able to move on and find another. Someone who would never leave him. I mean... can I really be selfish and still hold on to him even if I was the one who will eventually slip away?

Kei.

Berry:

Tsukkei!!

Me:

What?

Berry:

Can I spend my birthday with you, please?

I blinked in surprise at the request. I didn't expect that. I looked at the calendar on my wall and saw that her birthday was a Saturday, which is tomorrow.

Me:

What? No. You should celebrate your birthday with your family. And besides, my family is not over on the weekend so you'll not be able to see them. I'll come to you instead.

I also plan to come over to Tokyo because it's always her who makes the effort to come here. And also... a chance for me to finally introduce myself to her family. Mom joined Dad on a two-week medical mission in Saitama and Nii-chan has been pulling a lot of all-nighter in his work. If Kinomi chooses to spend her birthday in here, then it's just going to be an ordinary day for her because it's just me who's going to be in the house with her.

Berry:

No tsukki, it's fine. We're having a bit of a financial struggle right now so celebration is out of the question. ^^ and mom's going to give birth in the new year so we have to save up a lot money.

Me:

Financial problem? Why?

Berry:

No, darling! It's not a problem at all. We're going to get through this, don't worry about it.

Kinomi spent the rest of the night convincing me to spend her birthday with me. I informed my parents about it, apologizing to Kinomi that they wouldn't be able to see her. She's very persuasive and a little more expressive and clingy than usual. I found it strange but I chose to shrug it off. She told me that she's going to visit her father and brother first. I asked her if I could tag along, and she agreed. I decided to meet her in the train station so that we can come visit the cemetery together.

She bought two bouquets of white narcissus flowers. She let me hold the other one. As we carried on our way to the cemetery, she took my hand suddenly, which snapped my head at her. She offered me a small smile before averting her gaze back at the road. She later released my hand when we reached our destination.

"Hi, Dad, Nii-san," Kinomi greeted. She slowly slid to her knees, carefully placing the well-arranged bouquet down on the green grass next to the gravestones. "How are you? Sorry I haven't visited for a while... Life has been really hectic for me now. Happy birthday to me~"

I took in a deep breath, the aromatic smell of the narcissi filling my nostrils in the process. She peered over her shoulder to grab the bouquet from my hands, placing it next to her brother's gravestone.

"You guys remember Tsukishima Kei, right?" She asked with a smile. I mirrored her action, sitting on the grass next to her. "Well, I know that you guys were always against me having a boyfriend but..." She shrugged, smirking. "It's your fault for leaving the world so soon."

I frowned when the wind drifted, as if it was her father and brother's way of letting her know that they're against the idea of her having a boyfriend. She only laughed in response.

"She basically courted me." I stated blandly, which made her gasp in surprise.

"What?! I did not!" She said with dilated eyes. "Don't lie in front of my family, Stingyshima!"

"Oh, I can't lie in front of your family, Berry. That's not a good impression." I said with fake shock, smirking. "Weren't you the one who always baked my favorite food? If that isn't a form of courtship, then I don't know what to call that."

"Well... it's a form of punishment from my aunt because I acted rude to you before!"

"Yeah, right. Whatever floats your boat, Berry."

We lingered there for a little while longer. Then we decided to stop by at her aunt's café to buy a cake. But since it's Kinomi's birthday, her aunt gave her a whole box of cappuccino cake for free. It's also her favorite cake.

We walked on the way home after that. We're both not in the mood to do anything strenuous so we just spent the entire day eating the cake in the living room, realizing that coffee cake also tastes good. We had a Jurassic Park marathon. We just talked, argued and teased each other all the way. I hoped that I made her happy even if we just spent her birthday like this...

As the night delve even deeper, we decided to go by the backyard to watch the moon and the stars. She sat there quietly beside me, lost in her own trance.

"Berry..." I muttered.

"Hmm?" Her eyes were still focused on the evening sky.

I fished out something from my pocket then took her hand to put it on her open palm. Her gaze lowered to her palm, taking the object with her other hand and held it in the sky, examining it.

"Are you proposing to me?" She suddenly asked, making me let out a sigh in expectation.

"I knew you were going to ask that. But no. It's only a birthday present, idiot."

She smiled, before fitting the ring on her right ring finger. But it came out loose, so she tried it on her middle finger. "Why a ring?"

I shrugged. "No reason..." I stole a glance at her through my peripheral vision, seeing her gentle smile and gaze fixated on the crescent moon and stars ring. "How is it?" I mumbled.

She shook her head, making me frown. She drew a shaky breath as she chuckled at my reaction. "I love it very much." But it surprised me when tears suddenly spilled from her eyes.

"Oi... why are you crying?" I suddenly felt nervous at how she's been acting. What the heck? Does she love it that much that there's a need to cry? I held her as she tried to wipe her tears away, but she wouldn't stop crying.

"Tsukki, you big idiot..." She croaked, laughing and crying at the same time.

"What's going on with you, idiot? Are you high or something?" I arched an eyebrow, making her let out a short laugh. She nudged my chest, smiling through the tears.

"Nothing... it's just... I'm just so happy."

Why the hell are you crying then? I frowned, then went to wipe her tears using the sleeve of my sweater. "Idiot. We didn't even do anything special..."

"Just being here with you is already special to me."

I was taken aback at her being so honest. "Have you been possessed by the spirit of honesty?" She glared at me. I sighed as I stared at her gently. "You're such a crybaby, Kinomi. It doesn't really take that much to make you cry. It's just a ring... idiot."

She shook her head as she blew a breath, sniffling. She looked up at me with a slight pout, before moving over to sit on my lap to wrap her arms around my neck, surprising me with a kiss on the cheek and a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Kei..." Her voice shook, burying her face to the crook of my neck. "Thank you so much."

Why does it feel like she's thanking me for something else?

Something is definitely off about her.

Granted that the bags under her eyes are constant, but her eyes reminded me of her former self before she met me. It was a pool of dull, lifeless mysteries. I wonder if her family's financial struggle is a lot more drastic than what she make it out to be?

And her suddenly becoming more expressive and clingy with me. It's strange. It's bothering me. I tried asking her, but she wouldn't tell me. In the end, I didn't force her. She will tell me about it when she's ready. She has to...

But why, Kinomi? How could you do that to me...?

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Welp, that's a huge spoiler to my Kuroo fanfic. But oh weeell. This is a hard chapter to write because I don't know if I ever did a good job but let me know!!

I still can't believe that Haikyuu is ending!! Oh my god, my heart is shattering and melting. . . life is not daijoubu.

Just... just look at how ripped Iwa-chan is! Oh my godddd. And I've heard some rumors that he is half-Filipino????

My face when I saw Iwa-chan's biceps XD

Oh and didn't I also mention that I'm a hoe for Iwa-chan and Akaashi???? No???

I mean, look at him???? He's the epitome of drop-dead gorgeous