Chapter Text
*announcement click*
“Welcome ladies and gentleman to Tokyo, Japan. We will be landing in 30 minutes. We are glad that you have chosen to fly with us and hope you will again. This is your pilot and have a nice day.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please put up your trays and put away all electronics that are not on airplane mode. Please buckle your seat belts until the seat belt sign is off. Thank you for your cooperation and thank you for choosing our airline.”
You yawn a bit and look outside of your window. The sun peaking over the clouds. You were back in Japan after 6 years of college at UCI; University of California Irvine. Majoring in public health, you had your fun and graduated last semester. Now, you are coming back home to your family and to hopefully settle down in Japan.
~
Stretching your arms over your head at the airport, you scan the Tokyo scene. Though it was only the airport, it was busy. Your luggage and a few boxes sat next to you as you sat and waited for your parents.
“y/n!!!”
You look up from your phone, closing it off. Your parents ran towards you and threw themselves on you for a hug.
“My sweet daughter, oh how I have missed you!”
“Hello, to you too mother. Hello dad.”
“Hi, sweetheart, are you tired from the flight? Honey, get off of y/n, she must be tired.”
“How can she be tired around her mother who has not seen her in person for almost 6 years.”
You smile and hug her back. You have not visited home for all 6 years of college, only calls and facetimes and gifts.
“Let’s get home shall we?” Your dad offered.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
~
Dropping your stuff in your childhood home, you enter your room and the bed was the same from when you first left. All of the furniture still in its place and small knick knacks you didn’t bring to college still decorated the small room. Upon entering the room, you let yourself get the rest you needed.
For the next few days, you unpacked a little and let yourself greet old friends and family and the owner of the convenience store you went to since you were an elementary schooler. You met up with old friends and caught up with their lives. Some were working, some were even engaged while some were still in school.
The fun had gone on for a couple of weeks until you found a place about 30 minutes from your parents' and closer to the heart of the city. You have been here for about a month and finally got a hold of a place of your own and worked as a epidemiologist.
As of right now, you were slowly unpacking. You rummage through your California clothes.
Ah, fuck. I need to get new clothes, It’s going to be colder and hotter here.
You go through older memoirs and fall across this small shoebox labelled, “Bubs.” You pick it up and dust the box off as you open it. Inside were various things of your ex-boyfriend of 3 years that broke up with you over the phone while he was back in Japan 2 years ago. You were not sure why you still had this. His hoodie, still tucked in the back of your closet and his small notes and cards and gifts kept in the box. You wanted to throw it away, but you couldn’t. So you kept it while it became a stabbing needle in your closet from time to time.
You sigh and close it immediately, tucking it into the back of the closet as you close the doors and grab your keys. You haven’t seen him for almost 2 years now, yet you still loved him. He was strong and adorable, had a best friend you had grown to know over the phone. He loved you and hugged and kissed you whenever and wherever, showing the utmost affection you could ever ask. But, you guess long distance was not the choice. Though he and you graduated the same year, you took on 2 more years as he flew back. For the rough year, it was on and off calling between his work and your schooling and he decides to break it off, and you agree knowing it was the best for the both of you.
It wasn’t.
You deteriorated after. No parties, no outings, no interactions with anyone. You stayed in your room and eventually asked to be put into a singles dorm instead of a doubles. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, got to train with old friends and new people on the Japan team and you were glad for him.
You spent 5 months scrolling and looking at social media to see your ex-boyfriend living a life you wanted him to have with you, by himself. You were hurt for a while before you had to keep going and graduate.
You were still alone, and made a few acquaintances in classes to help you through. You still stayed in your dorm, but at least you interacted with people in classes. Upon graduating you made sure to come home, which led you here.
Now you were walking through the mall to look for new clothing. If anyone who hasn’t seen you for the past year saw you, they would not make out your face. You grew out your hair and got a few new ear piercings. You dyed your hair a bit and lost some weight and your clothing style changed a bit.
Rummaging through the clearance section of the store to save your fresh out of college budget, you bump into someone behind you, making her trip over her feet and fall.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry,” you say and quickly help her up and bow profusely in hopes of not making a scene.
She dusts herself off. You look up at her, entranced by her beauty. Her natural brown hair down to her hips framed her small and skinny body. Her hazel eyes shined under the light and her clothing style was ethereal. She suddenly shook her hands in front of you snapping you back to reality.
“No, no, no, I am alright,” she kindly replies, giving you a sweet smile.
That smile was like the sun. Something that drew everyone around them in. You push yourself to give back a weaker smile that fell inferior to the bright one she had. You bow to her in apology once more as she turns away to go to someone. A voice calls out to that girl as you walk away, it seemed familiar, but you thought nothing of it. You brushed it off, but it still was a particularly familiar voice that felt drilled into your head for some time.
A few more days of you getting used to the Tokyo city pass and it is now into the 5th weekend you have spent here. Instead of staying home and unpacking, your apartment was filled with your things and photos, so your friends dragged out to experience the Tokyo nightlife.
Which leads you to where you are.
In a small black dress, caked in makeup, a drink in your hand while the other aimlessly traces the counter of the bar.
“Miss? Miss.”
You look up at the cute bartender.
“Do you need anything?”
“Ah, no I am here with friends, looks like I might be DD.”
“If that is the case,” he points to the drink in your hand, “I’ll get you a cold water.”
“Oh, ok thank you,” you say and smile.
You turn in your chair and stare off to your friends dancing on the dance floor. Beers in hand, getting handsy with some strangers. You chuckle at it and turn back to see water in front of you.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Your finger traces the rim of the glass as you keep thinking about that voice. It seemed familiar and suddenly took up your mind right now of all times. You kept tracing the rim of your water as your friend comes and puts a hand over your shoulder.
“y/n! You are supposed to be.. you are supposed to be partying,” she spit out very drunkenly.
“I can’t party when you 4 are like this.”
“What do you mean like this? I am perfectly sober,” she retorts standing up straight too fast where she is losing her balance.
“Go have fun, I did have my fun earlier.”
“No! Come with me,” she says as she drags your ass to the dance floor by your wrist.
You follow reluctantly and let yourself loose. The music blaring in your ears. The lights blinding your eyes. The heat of body warmth creeps on you as you start to break a small sweat from the crowd of people. You look around the dance floor, people happy and letting themselves become noodle like. You smile and keep dancing and looking at your friends until someone catches your attention.
The girl from the mall.
Her hair flowed effortlessly despite the fact of the many bodies against her due to the crowdedness. Her body was in perfect shape to her dark red dress and her makeup was effortlessly natural looking, maybe she didn’t even have any makeup on. Her strapped black heels on her feet moved as she danced with an energetic smile looking at someone. You look to who had her wrapped in their arms, must be one lucky guy.
Him.
It was hard to recognize at first. His disheveled spiky hair that you used to comb your fingers through all the time was the deciding factor. His smile was bright and his eyes trained onto the girl in front of him.
You couldn’t blame him could you?
She was an angel, from the moment she forgave you for making her fall over. You felt inferior.
Now knowing the fact your ex boyfriend was with her, you could only say that it was a great choice to be with that girl.
Sure, you had no idea what that girl was like from just the encounter you had with her a few days ago, but the fact you remembered her and everything seemed that she was incredible.
His smile at her said the same.
You kept moving slowly as your thoughts ran at lightning speed. His genuine smile was all that took up your thoughts. The last time he smiled like that was your guy’s 3rd year anniversary, when he was still in California with you. He stared at her like he used to do to you, with love. It hurt to look at it, but all you had to do was not care. You did not want to care, to look away is what you wanted, but his figure was a target your eyes could not leave.
Your friend shakes your wrist.
“y/n. y/n.”
“Hm?”
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing.”
“Well, okkkkk,” she slurred out.
“Where are the others?”
“At the booth drinking, maybe even hooking up with someone.”
“Let’s get you home alright?”
“But, what about, what about the o.. others?”
“I’ll get them home too, come on it’s very late and I want to go home.”
“Oh, alright alright.”
You lead her to the booth and find your other friends talking and drinking a bit, slightly drunk as you tell them you would drop them all home.
You could not bear to keep being in the presence of Iwaizumi, even if he had no idea you were back home in Japan or even here. You knew that he was here and that was all that mattered. You could not bear to look at him because you felt sorry.
Sorry for the fact that he left you. Sorry for making him be long distance with you. Sorry for making him wait for so long that he had to end it anyways. Sorry for not being enough.
He would always have you sit on his lap, straddling him and hugging him as he combed his hand through your hair, assuring you that you were always enough, the best for him.
You did not want to think about it because it was proven wrong by that girl.
The girl that you could not blame for she was better if you looked at it. Prettier, sweeter, kinder, everything you could not reach, as if you and her were millions of levels away.
You did not want to think it about it right now so you took your friends and left.
After dropping each of your friends safely in their homes, putting them in bed and setting a glass of water and a note for each of them, you head home.
The apartment a long way from the place you spent 6 years of your adult life and a long way from the man you have first loved.