Picturesque

“Turn a little more to the left please,” I said, gesturing to Kenma, looking through the viewfinder and snapping a few shots. The blond male smiled slightly as Shrimpy-chan contrasted with his huge grin. They held onto each other tightly and I smiled as I saw the ginger's ring glint brightly in the sunlight.

“Can I see that one, Oikawa-san?” Shrimpy-chan yelled, breaking away from the other male as he rushed over to me. He asked to see almost every picture and didn't mind for a second to show him; I loved seeing the enthusiasm on his face.

I glanced up at Kenma, noticing him twist his fingers together as I showed the ginger the photos. Almost instantly, I heard the youngest male make a noise of excitement and I instantly glanced back at him. His eyes were wide as he said, “Oikawa-san, you're as good at this as you were volleyball!”

A soft smile found my lips as I thanked him on instinct before he wandered back towards his fiancé and I attempted to strike up a conversation with him, “What have you been doing since high school? I know the last time I ran into anyone from Karasuno was a couple of years ago when I saw Sugawara-san in the city.”

Shrimpy-chan glanced away as we moved closer to the river before Kenma spoke up, “Personally, I went to college a little closer to Miyagi and that's where I ran into Shouyou. I've been working in part with a gaming company to help with developing a new product; that's the reason we're so close to Tokyo for the time being.”

The ginger took a seat near the water, running his fingers through it as I was trying to decide what pose would be best next before he mumbled, “After graduating, I started the same college as Kenma and I've been playing volleyball off and on, but it hasn't been the same without Kageyama; he went straight for the national team, he was that good. I haven't seen much of him since then, but we still talk every now and again.”

“I forgot to tell you,” Kenma spoke up and the younger male looked around, “He texted me last night saying that you weren't responding to your phone. He said that he's in Tokyo for the next week or so, and he wanted to see if you wanted to get together.”

I was frozen as Shrimpy-chan smiled brightly, yelling, “Really? I'm sure Bakageyama was texting the wrong number again, but I'd love to do that!”

Kageyama was in Tokyo? Was he near me or was he far away? I knew my chances of running into him were next to none with the amount of people in the city, but just the thought of it had my heart racing. He couldn't be too far off if the two of them were talking about him.

I bit my lip recklessly like I do when I'm nervous and tried to ignore the faintest hint of a coppery taste in my mouth. Kenma's eyes wandered over to me in a “knowing” sort of way and I had a feeling that someone was using him to test me.

I clapped my hands together, forcing and smile as I said, “How about we go on ahead and finish up this session.” If they weren't able to see how antsy I suddenly was, I would have said that they had lost their minds.


My laptop sat on the kitchen table as I scrolled through pictures from an old session. After two months, a couple was finally reaching back out to me to order and I had to take the time to find the particular photos that they wanted. As I was searching through the mess, a cup of coffee was placed in front of me and I looked up when my mother said, “It would be nice if you could come over for once without your work in front of you, Tooru.”

Oh the irony...

“I just need to find these pictures and I'll put it away. I promise,” I said, taking a sip out of the mug, finally spotting what I was looking for.

Quickly, I moved the files to where I could find them easily later before closing the lid of the device, slipping it back in its case, moving my attention to my mother. I ignored the vibration of my phone in my pocket as her brown eyes bore into me.

“You know, I told you to come over here for a reason, Tooru,” she said softly, folding her hands in front of her on the table.

I reached for my coffee again, swallowing it as a lump formed in my throat and I nodded my head, “Yeah, I had a feeling that something was wrong because of your texts. You said it was urgent anyways.” My gaze lost hers as I began to fear what exactly she wanted.

“I talked to your oniisan a couple of days ago and he said that the last time the two of you saw each other, you blew him off after you showed up drunk. He said that this wasn't the first time you've done something like that either. Hajime-kun also called me this morning, telling me a faintly similar story. Tooru, who in the right mind calls their best friend at three in the morning just to “return their call”? Besides, what don't you even carry your cell phone when you're at the bar?” She nagged, worry setting into her features as I slowly grew annoyed.

“What do you suggest then? I've been living on my own for almost four years now and I'm perfectly fine!” I snapped, my voice raised as she frowned. I didn't drive all the way to Miyagi to be lectured about my life choices, poor or not.

“We're only worried about you, especially me, your okaasan,” she said, raising her hands to her chest, “I think it would be best if you saw a therapist, someone who could help you. You've never been the same since you were put out of volleyball.”

“That sport was my entire life!” I shouted and she flinched slightly, “I couldn't just jump back after being forced to watch my team continue on, while I was stuck on a pair of crutches, living with an almost permanent limp that pulls me back. When Iwa-chan and I went to watch the national tournament, I was reminded every time I saw that boy's face!”

She stared at me with wide eyes as I realized I almost mentioned Kageyama's name, breathing heavily. My mother opened her mouth as she said, “Who, Tooru-chan?”

I never told my mother that I had fallen in love. I never talked about my distress whenever I thought about blue eyes. I was never questioned when I watched Karasuno's matches carefully to see Kageyama play with Shrimpy-chan and the others.

“Mama,” I said, calling my mother the name I referred to her as a child, “do you remember what you told me when I was little about love?”

She looked horrified as she covered her mouth with her hands. My phone vibrated once again in my pocket as she said, “You think you lost volleyball because--”

I bit my lip and looked away as my heart thrummed in my chest, “Forget about it. It doesn't matter anyways; the past is in the past and he's gone off to do much better things.”

I stood up, grabbing my bag as she tried to stop me, “No. Tooru, tell me. Tell me about this boy.”

“I think I'll just head home,” I said softly, trying to walk away.

“Tooru!” She yelled as I tried my best to ignore her, almost making it to the front door when she grabbed my arm, “D-Don't. Don't listen to what I said back then. I was angry at your father for leaving me with you and your oniisan and I just...”

Tears were in her brown eyes as I sighed, “I've lived by those words my whole live and I'm sorry, but I just can't stop it now.”

“But--”

“Okaasan, I'm sorry. I have work to take care of, but I'll come back up here to see you and Aniki soon. I love you,” I faked a smile that I knew she saw right through before walking off to my car as she stood in the doorway of my childhood home, covering her face. I hated to upset her, but her words had ruled my entire life.

It was hard to pull out of the driveway and leave her in that state, but I didn't want to go into the subject any further than I already had. As I was making my way down the road I checked my phone, seeing that I had two texts from Kuroo.

Black Cat: What's up, asshole? :))

Black Cat: Aw, don't tell me that you're gonna ignore me ;~; I'm srry for calling u names.

Rolling my eyes, I called the black haired male, turning the phone on speaker before dropping it on the dashboard.

“Finally, he answers!” Kuroo yelled as I sighed, trying to focus on the road in front of me when he asked, “Where are you at right now?”

“Leaving Miyagi; Okaasan wanted to see me and no, I don't want to talk about it before you ask,” I muttered as someone pulled out in front of me, blowing the horn.

I heard Kuroo chuckle, “Well, whenever you get back home, we're hanging out at the usual bar. If you wanna come, we'll probably be here all night.”

“Who is “we”?” I asked and I heard him open his mouth before I muttered, “Never mind. I don't need to know. I should be there by at least 11:30 so save me a spot.”

“Awesome. I will, so be careful driving home,” he said.

“Yeah,” I sighed, ending the call.

I knew right now that I just really needed a drink to forget what my mother told me. I just couldn't believe that I had been living by false rules all my life, rules that had been holding me back from so many things.

I had a feeling though, that, that wasn't just something that I was going to be able to easily forget.