Chapter Text
The wind was more restrained in Tokyo. As if to submit to the lively residents of the bustling city, the wind kept up a brisk pace with a strict rigidity foreign to the Miyagi air of his home. That was the first sign that the days of chirping crickets and sprawling fields were now far removed from this new stage of life.
The next thing he noticed were the sounds. Like soft breathing, Tokyo was never truly silent, and even in the dark hours of night, the sounds of cars and people and life could be heard no matter where you set your head down to sleep.
This fact was particularly unfortunate, for it meant that Iwaizumi only managed to sleep for a scarce few hours during his first night in the city. He had traveled from the suburbs with a small moving party to move into his new apartment, but unforeseen circumstances had stranded them for a night longer than anticipated.
Said moving party consisted of Iwaizumi, Makki, Mattsun, and Iwaizumi’s father. The three boys were going to stay in their apartment anyway, but Iwaizumi’s father had elected to stay the extra night with them after the moving van carrying most of their belongings had lost its way. Iwaizumi had felt guilty for making his father sleep with them in their barren, shoebox-sized apartment, but was nevertheless eager for his first night in the big city.
The excitement had now dwindled, replaced instead by a nasty crick in his neck and fatigue that made unpacking all the less appealing.
Their moving van had made it to them by the time they had finished their meager breakfast of slightly stale waffles and cheap coffee from a café down the street. The moving company apologized profusely for the delay, and they had even sent an extra mover free of charge to help the group remove everything from the van.
It didn’t take long to unload the mountain of boxes with the extra help. Once all the boxes were inside, it was decided that they would utilize the ‘divide and conquer’ strategy in the interest of saving time. Hanamaki and Matsukawa were sent to buy the various household things they hadn’t brought from home, Iwaizumi’s father decided to mount their small TV on the wall, and Iwaizumi himself went to set up their smaller kitchen appliances and put away the few pots and pans they had broufht with them.
Needless to say, they were a bunch of boys freshly eighteen, and they did not have many things to put in a kitchen. It didn’t take long for Iwaizumi to finish up, so he wandered back to the living room that was barely a few steps away. His father was also done with his task, and together they began to move some of Iwaizumi’s boxes to his room.
His room wasn’t impressive by any means, and might actually have been smaller than his room back home, but Iwaizumi felt a current of warmth pulse through him when he first stepped inside. This new chapter of his life no longer felt like some far-off event, and this room was tangible evidence of it.
By the time they had set everything down, his friends had returned and went off to put away their purchases and move their own boxes to their rooms. They thanked Iwaizumi’s father for his help and the three chatted amicably before they disappeared down the hall, Iwaizumi scavenging around for his father’s car keys in the meantime. Once found, the father and son left the apartment to say their final goodbyes.
As they descended the rickety wooden steps Iwaizumi mused silently to himself. His father was a busy salaryman who didn’t take off from work unless he was on the brink of death due to sickness, and even then he was always anxious to get back to work as soon as possible. Iwaizumi was shocked when he had offered to take a few days off to help him move, and he was surprised even now as he watched his father walk towards his car.
His father hoisted himself up into his pickup before closing the door and lowering the window. The pair remained quiet, letting the sounds of the city occupy the empty space between them, before Iwaizumi’s father finally broke the silence.
“Your mother would have loved to be here, to help move you in. I think she was more excited than you about you finally making it to university.”
A small chuckle escaped Iwaizumi’s lips at that. His mother had been ecstatic ever since he had gotten his acceptance letter to his first choice school, and was even more ecstatic when he had received enough merit aid to actually attend.
“And I as well… I’m also very proud of you son. You’re doing well by yourself. And you’re making strides towards a good future for himself.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Even now he felt a well of unease pool inside of him when thinking about his father’s expectations, but he said nothing. He had always figured getting into a good college was more of a requirement in his father’s eyes than anything, but hearing him profess his pride out loud for once brought a small smile to Iwaizumi’s lips.
They both watched each other, unsure what to say next. He and his father had never been the best at this kind of thing, never fans of big words and dramatic speeches.
He heard the sound of the car door popping open and only had time to glance up before he was enveloped in a big bear hug. As soon as his surprise abated, Iwaizumi returned the embrace tightly. His father had grown noticeably weaker over the past few years, but Iwaizumi felt the same comfort he always had regardless. He did love his father, even if their relationship had become more strained as of late.
With that, it seemed the pair had enough goodbyes, and with a final reminder to call often, Iwaizumi’s father started the car and began the journey back home.
As soon as the car disappeared from view, Iwaizumi turned and walked back up the narrow wooden stairs to his apartment, closing the door behind him with a sense of finality. His friends had already taken care of the remaining boxes in the time he had been gone and were now laying on the floor, Makki surfing through TV channels and Mattsun flipping through a magazine.
They looked up when he walked into the living room, Makki motioning for him to take the spot next to him. Iwaizumi sat, and Makki passed the remote over to him, too tired to even decide on what to watch.
“I wish your dad had stayed for dinner. Would’ve been my treat,” Makki lamented, sitting up to stretch his arms overhead.
Mattsun snorted. “With what money?”
“Hmm, good point. Maybe it would have been his treat.”
“Iwaizumi, Makki wants to extort money out of your dad,” Mattsun hollered.
“He can afford one dinner. He has more than enough to spare,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes.
“Anyway, what are we eating tonight?” Makki asked lazily.
Iwaizumi was barely skimming the summaries of the shows he surfed through. His fatigue from yesterday was melding with the hours he had spent tidying up and furnishing their apartment, and if he wasn’t so hungry he might have laid down and slept right there. He was hungry too, but he couldn’t seem to put the thoughts together to answer.
“There’s this Chinese restaurant close to the café we went to this morning,” Makki suggested, already pulling out his phone to search for the number.
“Sounds good to me,” Makki said, snatching the remote back from Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi simply nodded in agreement and rose from the floor to head to his room. Mattsun knew his order, and he figured he would have at least half an hour to kill before they got their food, so he might as well try to unpack some more.
He closed the door softly behind him and turned to assess the current state of his new room. There were boxes everywhere, of course. The room only looked big enough to house his full-size bed, desk, and nightstand. There was a closet built into the wall, and he decided to start unloading his clothes first.
He hadn’t brought anything too fancy, just a few pairs of jeans, many pairs of sweatpants and basketball shorts, and a somewhat concerning amount of t-shirts. He had brought some decent clothes to wear too, but the bulk of his college wardrobe centered around comfort. He had also brought mostly sneakers, and it didn’t take him long to store everything away.
With that, most of Iwaizumi’s limited energy had dissipated, and he decided to leave assembling his furniture for another day. He did move his mattress from where it rested on the wall to the floor, and flung a blanket and pillow on top of it for later. He heard the doorbell ring, and took that as his cue to retire for dinner.
The food was most definitely something his old volleyball coach would frown upon, but it was good, and it was certainly better than anything they could conjure up at eleven at night with next to no ingredients. They ate and watched an old rerun of some corny reality show, and eventually the food was finished, and so was their desire to watch terrible reality television.
They hadn’t assembled the lamps they brought from home, and the lightbulbs in their overhead lights were fried, so they laid on pillows on their wooden floor in the darkness, the soft moonlight from their only window providing just enough light to make out their faces.
“Is it weird that I don’t really feel anything?”
“I think that’s something you need to tell a therapist, Makki.”
“No, that’s not what I meant to say. It’s just… I feel like I should be nervous. About moving to the city. Like those dumb kids in indie coming of age movies. But it doesn’t really feel like that.”
“I don’t know, this heart to heart feels very indie coming of age movie to me.”
“I’m going to punch you.”
As the two bickered, Iwaizumi’s eyes began to lose their focus on where they were staring straight up at the ceiling. He felt nervous at the idea of starting out in a brand new school, especially one as prestigious as Fukumoto. And studying something he wasn’t all that passionate about felt draining. But the awkward mix of feelings he had didn’t feel revolutionary. He mostly just felt…. excited. Expectant. It couldn’t be all bad.
His friends had quieted down, and he began to feel like he had missed something.
“What?”
“We just want to know if you’re excited for your big boy school.”
Iwaizumi snorted. “Yeah, I guess I am. I’m just glad we’re not still in the suburbs. It’s nice to be away from Miyagi.”
His friends didn’t respond, and he felt the atmosphere of the room change. He had unknowingly reminded them of past events left resolved. Of the reason they had all left home.
“Well,” Iwaizumi continued, hoping to lessen the awkwardness. “I would like to know about the amazing jobs you keep telling me about.”
He could see Makki shake his head in the darkness. “So impatient you are. All will be revealed in due time.”
Iwaizumi had been shocked when the pair had brought up the idea of moving with him to Tokyo, and even more shocked by how evasive they had been every time he had asked where exactly they had gotten such ‘incredible’ jobs fresh out of high school.
“You’re not dealing drugs are you?” Iwaizumi asked, not for the first time.
Mattsun scoffed. “Do you really think so little of us?”
“No, but you’re being awfully tight-lipped about all of this. Who’s to say you haven’t stuck your nose somewhere dangerous.”
This roused a mad fit of chuckles in the other two, and their laughter intertwined with the sounds of honking cars and rattling shingles, and eventually faded into silence as sleep overtook the three young boys.
—————————————————————
The morning sunlight was harsh on Iwaizumi’s eyelids, and he let out a resigned sigh before slowly sitting up. He felt disoriented for a moment, the hard wooden floor and slate gray walls unfamiliar, and it took a long moment before he realized where he was.
“Mornin’ sunshine. Care for some pancakes?”
Sure enough, Makki was flipping pancakes in the kitchen, and Iwaizumi was at least ninety percent sure he had never seen the pan he was using in his life, nor did he have knowledge of Makki making pancakes ever. Still, he nodded, and got up to help his friend with breakfast.
Mattsun returned from the bathroom soon after they finished cooking, and together they plated their breakfast and sat unceremoniously upon the floor, for they had no dining table for the time being. Mattsun mentioned something about going to a used furniture store later that week, but Iwaizumi tuned him out in favor of hyper focusing on the food in front of him. Makki sure made a mean stack of pancakes. Maybe his mysterious job was at a diner.
Mattsun volunteered to take care of their dishes, and Makki and Iwaizumi left to get ready for the day. Makki took the bathroom first, since he and Mattsun had to leave for work soon, so Iwaizumi wandered back to his own room for the meantime. He looked through his boxes before finding the one containing his nightstand, and took the various wooden pieces out carefully before making sure he had all of the screws and tools necessary to put it together.
It was nothing fancy, and Makki usually took forever in the bathroom, so Iwaizumi got to work. It took him a bit to decipher the instruction manual, but after he got into the groove of things he was able to put it together fairly quickly. He surveyed his handiwork with a satisfied grin, which quickly turned sour once he laid eyes upon the box containing the framework of his bed.
He heard the bathroom door click open down the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. The bed would just have to wait.
After showering and completing his usual morning routine, Iwaizumi put on some athletic clothes and prepared himself for a jog. He had been too busy to exercise these past few days, and he needed to pick himself back up before school started the following week. He wasn’t on the volleyball team anymore, but that didn’t mean he had to let himself grow soft.
He found a note on the kitchen counter right before he left, and recognized Mattsun’s untidy scrawl right away. On the piece of paper were the names of a few spots he and Makki wanted Iwaizumi to check out, like restaurants, convenience stores, the like. Iwaizumi pulled out his phone and put some of the places into an online GPS, and spent a few minutes curating a jogging route that would allow him to hit a few of the places on the list. Well, now he didn’t have to worry about figuring out where to go.
Iwaizumi locked the door behind him, plugged in his earbuds, and set off at a slightly slower pace than usual as he warmed up. The weather was nice, and most people were home or at work so the streets weren’t as crowded as he had expected. He let himself slowly speed up, and soon he was jogging at his usual brisk pace.
The first place in the list was a coffee shop, different from the one they had visited yesterday morning. As Iwaizumi walked inside and surveyed the shop, he immediately pegged it as one of those places people mainly frequented to take pictures for social media, and thus not a place he would typically find himself in.
The walls were a pale blue, and one wall was covered in what looked like a fake green hedge, and the wall opposite it had a few pop art pieces on display, as well as a booth with a neon sign behind it in which a small group had already set up a mini photo shoot.
Iwaizumi was not very optimistic about the quality of the drinks, still scarred from a similar place had opened up back home, but nevertheless walked up to the counter and ordered a simple iced tea. The barista who took his order gave him a friendly smile, and he returned it as he paid and walked over to the end of the counter to wait for his drink.
A few minutes later, he heard the barista call out for him, and he walked up to grab his tea. Before he could take it though, the barista slid it a bit out of his reach. He glanced up, confused, before the barista held out his hand.
“I’m Sugawara. You can call me Suga.”
Iwaizumi just stared at him. “Um, that’s great. Can I have my—,”
“Are you attending school around here by chance?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m starting next week actually.”
“Me too! I guess that means we’re classmates. How exciting.”
Iwaizumi blinked. “Uh huh.”
Suga returned his blink before gasping and handing over his drink. “Oh sorry! I just wasn’t sure how else to start a conversation. I’m trying to say hello to anyone who I might see at school.”
“Well, that’s nice of you I guess.” Iwaizumi was truly unable to come up with a more put-together response, or a way to end this odd encounter.
Fortunately, another customer walked up to the counter. Sugawara turned to address them, but not before sending Iwaizumi off with a friendly wave.
“I’ll see you at the Introduction Ceremony! Make sure to say hi if you see me. I have a friend that I think you would get along well with.”
Iwaizumi waved back before quickly exiting the small shop. He quickly put a few feet between himself and the coffee shop before taking a sip of his tea. He raised an eyebrow. Pretty good. He pulled out his phone and typed up the name of the place, followed by a short note for when he reported back to his friends. ‘Solid iced tea, wacky barista.’
As he ventured farther away from his quiet apartment complex and further into the city, he marveled at just how different the scenery around him was to his home. Even this early, there were cars honking and people rushing to get from one place to another. Colorful storefront, bold advertisements, shop doors propped wide open and already filled with busy patrons and staff. There were also many people who looked his age, as was to be expected from the area around a college campus. He was mesmerized by the sheer volume of activity that this city sustained.
Iwaizumi found himself switching between his map and the list of locations often once he reached the shopping district. Some of the places he was asked to visit made sense, like a bakery and a bookstore. Others were a bit more questionable, like the yoga studio managed by a burly man that even Iwaizumi was slightly intimidated by. His friends didn’t even do yoga.
Then there was the vintage lamp store that was tucked inconspicuously between a daycare and a drugstore. He traveled the block about three times, the sign for the store faded almost to transparency, and as soon as Iwaizumi walked in he was greeted with a large lamp the shape of a sun with a face that leered at him from a few feet above the entrance.
“Can I help you son?” asked the middle-aged woman standing a few feet away, polishing a lamp made of colorful stained glass.
A quick survey of the small shop yielded some lamps that were actually quite nice, but also many small devilish cat figurines that were not as nice. And who looked oddly like the owner, at a second glance.
Iwaizumi did not linger for long.
After that encounter Iwaizumi decided he had had enough of his friends’ odd quest for the day. He jogged back to the more normal side of the shopping district and stopped by a convenience store to pick up a few snacks and packs of ramen.
Not for himself, he mentally chided, for his friends. Well, maybe one or two for himself. Ramen was cheap, and he wasn’t exactly made of money. He paid for his things, and tapped out his home address and continued on.
As he surveyed the bustling town on the jog home, it seemed easy to get lost in commotion of such a place, and after he finally tore his eyes away from everything going on around him, he realized he had not been following the directions on his phone for a long while, not since he'd just left the convenience store, and that he was now very lost.
Struggling to gain his bearings, Iwaizumi slowed his pace a bit, trying to reconcile the landmarks on his digital map with the buildings and area around him. He was so engrossed in his phone screen that he almost ran straight into a young boy hurtling straight towards him. Iwaizumi barely missed colliding with him, and instead swerved and bumped into the boy’s side instead.
Quick reflexes kept him from falling flat on his face, and he turned around to help the boy up from where he had fallen.
“Sorry about that kid, are you—,”
“Oh no!” the boy cried, barely glancing at Iwaizumi as he stared in front of him. He rushed forwards and picked something up off the ground. Iwaizumi walked over to him, and his eyes widened when he laid eyes upon the violin in the boy’s hands. Before he could really get a good look at it though, the boy pulled it close and wrapped his arms around it, giving Iwaizumi an angry pout.
“My violin’s busted because of you.”
Iwaizumi scratched the back of his head. He hadn’t been paying attention because of his phone when he was jogging, but he didn’t think he had been going fast enough to slam into the kid like that.
“Um, sorry about that. I can pay for repairs.”
“Nah. You owe me ice cream.”
A beat passed. “…What?”
“You have to buy me an ice cream. The good kind.”
Sure, he hadn’t been excited about the potential cost of repairing a nice-looking instrument, but he felt he was getting off too easy.
“Um kid, I don’t think—,”
“Takeru! Where did you run off to this time?”
The kid made a face and began to turn to run off in the opposite direction of the voice before someone came and snatched him by the collar.
“There you are! What the hell are you doing all the way over here? I swear, I looked away for one second and you just disappeared. Do you have any idea how worried I was? Not to mention how much your mom—,”
“Okay I get it Uncle Tooru, geez,” Takeru grumbled. “And it’s not my fault your lessons are boring.”
Iwaizumi just stared at the pair as they squabbled, unsure if he should butt in. It appeared that the kid’s uncle, Tooru, noticed him watching, and he looked over to meet Iwaizumi’s gaze. As soon as their eyes met, Iwaizumi felt his breath catch a little.
His brown hair was long, reaching to his shoulders, and it provided a dark contrast with his much paler skin. He wore glasses that highlighted his warm brown eyes, and even the sun seemed to alter its rays to shine warmly upon his face. Iwaizumi didn't think he’d ever seen a person that even commanded the sun’s attention, and who looked completely unaware of its favor.
“He didn’t cause you trouble did he?”
“Oh—um, I mean, we did run into each other, and I think his violin might have gotten damaged.”
Oikawa eased the violin out of Takeru’s arms and surveyed it carefully. “Looks fine to me. Honestly, it’s already so banged up I don’t even notice the new dents and scratches anymore.”
“So I don’t need to buy ice cream?”
“Is that what he told you?” He looked back at Takeru again. “I can’t believe you’re trying to extort ice cream out of people again.”
“It wasn’t my fault he bumped into me.”
With a sigh, Oikawa lowered his head and Takeru’s. “Sorry about all this.”
Iwaizumi shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It was partially my fault too.”
“Well, what’s done is done,” Oikawa said with a shrug, before his face took on a more thoughtful look. “Say, are you attending school around here by chance?”
“Yeah actually. I’m a freshman.” Iwaizumi was beginning to wonder if it was something about him or if the people he had met today were just unnaturally good guessers.
“Thought so, I haven’t seen you around before. We’ll be classmates!”
“Can we go now?”
“Yes, fine. You need to work on your scales anyway.”
Takeru groaned and turned to start back off the way he came. His uncle began to turn as well before stopping to look over at Iwaizumi again.
“I don’t think I caught your name.”
“Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi Hajime.”
He smiled. “Oikawa Tooru. I…have a feeling we’ll see each other again. At school, I mean.”
Iwaizumi nodded, and Oikawa turned and with a wave, was gone.
It took a little while for Iwaizumi to finally turn and resume his own journey home, and his thoughts had already shifted from exploring his new home to who he’d found within it.
—————————————————————
It hadn’t been long since Iwaizumi had toured his new school, but being back on campus proved to be more overwhelming than he had expected.
The layout of the university campus was a lot larger than he remembered, and it took him longer than he wanted to admit to navigate his way to the hall the Introduction Ceremony was being held in. The large group of students waiting to get in was what tipped him off, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he melded into the mob.
“Iwaizumi! Nice to see you!”
Iwaizumi glanced over to his side and took a moment to think back to where he’d seen the familiar face that just called for him. It took a moment before a flash of recognition went through him.
“Sugawara, right? Good to see you too.” He hadn’t expected to actually see Suga at school, but it was still nice to see a familiar face in a sea of unknowns, even if it was the odd barista.
Suga grinned and scooted through the crowd so they could hear each other better. Their conversation would have to wait though, because the crowd began to pick up from it’s stagnation and file quickly up the steps and into the two large doors that led into the hall.
The pair each snagged a program as they walked inside, and by the time they reached the actual assembly hall most seats in the first few rows had been taken. The auditorium was well-lit, and all of the seats formed a half ring around the stage at the front of the room, where rows of faculty were seated behind a raised podium.
Following the crowd led them to a row with a fairly decent view. They walked along the aisle and took seats near the center. Suga immediately began to chatter about a number of different things, like the people onstage and what he’d heard about the festival they would get to attend after the ceremony, and Iwaizumi nodded along while he flipped through the program.
It was the last page that he lingered on, eyes skimming the various events and attractions the university had planned to help the students assimilate into their new environment.
“Oh, I’ve heard the pop-up restaurant managed by the culinary department have lines that stretch for blocks. But that’s nothing compared to how crazy it’s going to be getting tickets for the Conservatory’s concert tonight.”
“Concert?”
“Yeah! They always get some hotshot idol to come in, and the orchestra’s amazing, but I’ve heard that there’s this amazing violinist or something that everyone goes nuts for.”
“They go nuts for a violinist over the idol? Do you know who he is?”
Suga chuckled, but shook his head. “Unfortunately I do not. I’m sure someone will know if you ask around.”
Iwaizumi hummed, flipping the program shut, and their conversation shifted more to things they were actually knowledgeable about, namely volleyball. Apparently Suga had played as a setter in high school. It didn’t take long for the crowd to quiet as the dean rose from her seat and walked up to the podium, a graceful smile donning her features.
“Thank you to all for joining me for the introduction ceremony of our 120th year of education and enlightenment. I am Nishikawa Yuko, and I have had the pleasure of serving Fukumoto University for the past twenty years.”
“Today we’ve come to celebrate the induction of our new class of brilliant students, and to start off our academic year with well wishes and a united spirit of determination and vigor. Will our incoming first-years please rise?”
Nishikawa paused to allow for the students to stand before continuing.
“We are honored to have the chance to enrich your minds, and to play a role in cultivating the exceptional talents and minds that have brought you this far. The four years that you will spend here will be both vital to your future success, and monumental in terms of the knowledge you will gain and the experiences you will have.”
“Like young birds beginning in the nest, we at Fukumoto will have the pleasure to help strengthen your wings until it is time for you to take flight. Everyone please join me in a round of applause for our new class.”
After the applause died down and the students were seated, the ceremony continued to address all other groups in the auditorium, such as parents, faculty, and members of the board before Nishikawa began to go on about a variety of flowery metaphors about school values and the students' experience as such.
It was two long hours before the students were free to explore the campus. Banners hung on most buildings with welcoming messages, and small signs were tacked into the grounds with directions to different areas of the small festival.
Rather than getting swept up in the crowd and losing his way, Iwaizumi decided to tag along with Suga as he waited off to the side for his friends. They both discussed where they wanted to head first, and they both marked the hall that housed the culinary department’s makeshift restaurant as one of their prime destinations, and Suga also took interest in the petting zoo run by the zoology majors.
A few minutes passed before Suga seemed to latch onto a familiar face, and soon two tall heads stuck out above the crowd and made their way to the pair.
“Iwaizumi, the one with the rooster hair is Kuroo, and the normal-looking one is Daichi.”
Both boys frowned slightly at their descriptions, but they didn’t complain. Iwaizumi introduced himself, Suga explained their plan, and they were off. It became clear after a few minutes of walking that they were probably not going to beat the first wave of students that had gotten out of the auditorium before they had, and so Kuroo suggested an alternate route.
He led them into a small alley and through a series of sharp turns and faintly lit lanes that looked like a soul hadn’t traversed them in years. Iwaizumi knew the campus was large, but he was beginning to think he had walked into an endless maze.
They stopped in front of a tall fence that supposedly led them straight to the culinary school, and as soon as he had explained this Kuroo started up the fence with a practiced expertise.
“How do you even know about this?” Iwaizumi asked, watching Kuroo climb up a chain-link fence between two buildings.
“I live in Tokyo, and I’ve come to Fukumoto a few times for science competitions,” Kuroo explained, reaching up to hoist himself up over the edge.
“What kind of science competitions involve climbing over fences?” Daichi inquired, a bewildered look crossing his face as he watched Kuroo scale the fence and jump down once he was a few feet off the ground.
“Hey, we had a lot of time between rounds. Nothing better for our bright, curious minds than to do some snooping.”
The other three boys stared at him, and Kuroo turned away in mild embarrassment.
“Just get over here or we’ll be even later.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, Iwaizumi decided to take the plunge, and it didn’t take him long to climb over the fence and land on the other side next to Kuroo. The other boy greeted him with a high five, and as soon as Suga and Daichi joined them they headed further down the alley.
It turned out that Kuroo’s secret path had not in fact led them to their doom, and they found themselves in front of the culinary school within a few minutes. There were already students trickling in, and the group wasted no time joining the queue.
Thankfully, they were able to get a table within the next twenty minutes, and they were led into a banquet hall that had been decked out in tables covered with tablecloths and cutlery representative of the school colors, silver and blue. They were seated and soon handed menus, Iwaizumi’s eyes raising at the sheer volume of choices and varying complexity of the dishes featured.
Kuroo whistled. “I didn’t know we were in for a fine dining experience. I don’t know if my ramen-budget can handle it.”
“Well every department is trying to show off today,” Suga explained. “Though some of this really is pricey for a college student.”
“I don’t even know how to pronounce half of these things,” Iwaizumi said, puzzling over a short list of French dishes.
“I think I’ll stick with noodles,” Daichi chuckled, and a general consensus coursed over the table. A student came over to take their orders and menus, and soon they were left to their own devices while they waited for their food to arrive.
They got to talking in the meantime, and the other three wasted no time in questioning the new edition to their group.
“So where are you from? What’s your major?” Suga asked.
“I lived with my parents in Miyagi, and now I’m here to major in finance.”
“Really? Didn’t see you as a future salaryman Iwaizumi,” Daichi remarked.
Iwaizumi shrugged. “My parents have always been really insistent about having job stability, and I didn’t really have anything else in mind.”
“Well, nothing wrong with that,” Suga affirmed.
“What about you all?”
“Ah, I’m an early childhood education major,” Suga said.
“I’m studying criminal justice. I’d like to be in law enforcement one day,” Daichi added.
“I’m majoring in chemistry.” Kuroo said. “Not really sure why, but it was easy enough in high school, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“I bet you’ll get through one semester,” Suga grinned.
“Well hey now, I think—,”
“Aren’t you taking organic chemistry in first semester?”
“Well yeah but—,”
“I think the real question is what he’s going to switch to,” Daichi interjected.
“Hm, I’d have to think on that,” Suga said, leaning back in his chair and donning a thoughtful expression. “Marketing maybe?”
“Oh that makes sense,” Daichi nodded.
Kuroo just heaved a heavy sigh of defeat. Iwaizumi laughed, the banter reminding him of his own friends. Their food arrived not long after, and they dug in happily.
“Wow, this was really made by students?” Iwaizumi asked after a few bites. He was shocked about how simple noodles could feel so elevated with just a few added changes.
“Yup! Fukumoto’s culinary program is one of the best in the country,” chirped a voice behind him. Iwaizumi turned to see a tall man with bright red hair looming over their table, a wide grin crossing his face.
“Oh, are you a culinary student here?” Daichi asked.
“Sure am! Tendo Satori, first-year apprentice chocolatier at your service!” Tendo pronounced, giving the table an exaggerated bow.
“You’re a first year? So are we,” Kuroo said.
“Are ya? Hey, has anyone told you about the third floor of the arts and sciences building yet? If they haven’t—,”
“Tendo, stop slacking off over there!”
“Oh, time to go,” Tendo said, his previous train of thought gone. “If you’re ever around the culinary department feel free to drop by.”
With that, the lanky boy left them with a little wave, and their original waitress came over right after to check if they wanted dessert.
“We probably shouldn’t, or we’ll miss the concert. Oh but these cakes look so good,” Suga lamented.
“Are you really willing to risk Oikawa’s wrath for a slice of cake?” Kuroo snickered, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.
“Did you say Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asked, the name jolting him out of his own search for his wallet.
“Yeah, he’s our friend. Do you know him?” Kuroo asked.
“….No, I guess not.” He had only met the man from last week briefly, if they were even talking about the same person.
They paid for their dinner and were soon off to the concert venue, located in the school’s large music building. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to beat the crowd, and the line for the concert already stretched long beyond the building’s forefront.
“Should we head somewhere else?” Iwaizumi asked, eyeing the end of the line a few blocks away that was still growing. He had no idea classical music was such a big thing among college students.
Suga waved a hand in the air. “Not to worry! I’ve got a friend on the inside.”
The silver-haired boy proceeded to lead them directly to the front of the building, where a few students stood checking VIP tickets and selling general admission tickets in two separate queues. The group walked into the much shorter VIP line, and with a few quick words they were in.
“Remind me to bring him clubbing,” Iwaizumi mumbled to Kuroo, inciting a hyena-like laugh out of the other.
They were handed programs as soon as they walked into the auditorium and were also able to get seats in the front center section. Iwaizumi marveled at the sheer size of the concert hall. The stage was huge, and the orchestra was already seated, each musician exhibiting the utmost professionalism as they warmed up. The hall was well-lit, the seats a plush red, and there were boxes on the walls that had fairly important-looking people watching from them. The auditorium looked like it could hold hundreds of people, and Iwaizumi settled comfortably in his chair. It would probably be a while before the show began.
In the meantime, Iwaizumi decided to flip through the program. He had no idea what any of the songs on the program were, or any of the musicians that were being featured, save for the B-list idol who was apparently an alumni, according to Suga. It was the final act that grabbed Iwaizumi’s attention.
Oikawa Tooru. No doubt the friend that Suga and Kuroo had mentioned, and quite possibly the man Iwaizumi had met not that long ago.
He felt the pace of his heart quicken, just a bit. He had been hoping to see him again, and he felt a rising anticipation at the thought of seeing him onstage. He wondered exactly how talented of a musician Oikawa was, to be the closing act out of so many top-tier performers.
Eventually the lights in the auditorium dimmed, and the stage was the center of attention. The conductor of the orchestra briefly introduced the opening act, and soon they commenced a rendition of the school’s anthem. They played a few more pieces, one dramatic, one soft, before finishing with a booming piece intent on raising the audience’s spirits, which was met with loud applause by the entire auditorium.
Each act was clearly something special, even to someone who knew nothing about music, from the second-year pianist performing a dramatic Beethoven piece, to the choir singing beautiful harmonies in unison, even the B-list idol, who managed to rile up the crowd despite his lackluster stage presence and generic pop sound. But as each song passed, Iwaizumi could feel his impatience grow, and he didn’t think he was mistaken when he felt the anticipation of those around him grow fiercer.
After what felt like centuries, the spotlight shined upon a lone figure. His hair was tied into small braids that met in a ponytail behind his head, and his clothes were fresh-pressed, outlining his tall, slender figure starkly against the harsh spotlight. His fingers were long too, and they held both the violin and bow with a practiced elegance.
Beautiful.
“Presenting, Oikawa Tooru, performing an original composition, “Songbirds to Spring,”’
Oikawa put his bow to the instrument, and the performance began. The song started off calmly, and almost as soon as it began an image appeared before Iwaizumi’s eyes. It was winter, all life somewhere far away, and he was stuck waiting among the snow for it to return. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like when the snow was gone and the sun was smiling warmly above him.
But soon, the snow faded, and life gradually seeped back into his surroundings. The grass greened and grew, the trees regained their plentiful leaves, flowers popped up out of the ground and sighed as the breeze passed over them. But it was still quiet, save for the chirping of bugs and croaking of frogs.
Then the song picked up, and suddenly there were birds, what felt like hundreds of them, and they sang an ode to the fresh born spring, to their fateful return after a long winter, to the promise of new beginnings after hardship and barrenness. Iwaizumi was hit with a sudden rush of invigorating joy he had scarcely felt in his life, and he reeled from it as the song tapered to a close.
He almost didn’t realize the song had ended until the concert hall erupted into earth-shattering applause, everyone rising to their feet as Oikawa dipped into a humble bow. He gave a bright smile before he disappeared off the stage and was replaced by the speaker that had facilitated the transitions and introductions for all of the acts.
Even long after he had returned home and laid upon his mattress in his small room, Iwaizumi felt his heart pounding hard in his chest, and like the songbirds rejoicing, he felt that his spring too would soon come.