Chapter Text
Taiki inomata woke up at 5:30 . Stretching his arms, he proceeded to get out of bed and straight to the bathroom he goes . No more than 10 minutes, he was fully dressed in his school uniform. He headed downstairs and made his way to the kitchen to grab breakfast but found the kitchen empty. No food was found on the table.
“ I guess I’ll just have to get something from the convenience store then “ he thought, sighing
He turned , about to leave his eyes lingered on the counter .
For a moment, he thought he saw a silhouette standing in the kitchen .
For a moment, the kitchen was brightly illuminated and his mother was standing by the counter preparing breakfast.
A split second, he could pretend that nothing had happened . That he never lost his mother
He shook his head and walked to the door
Slinging his bag over his shoulder then grabbing his cleats . He left the house after putting on his shoes and whispering “ I’m off” to no one in particular . Taiki started his routine by breaking into a sprint.
The trip to the convenience store was short and quick. He rushed in, got a chocolate bar before putting some notes on the counter before making a run for the exit leaving the cashier slack jawed
Next stop was Eimei high .
———
Chinatsu Kano made her way through Eimei high, headed to the gym . She slides the metal door open.
As always, Inomata Taiki kun was here
“ Good Morning, senpai “ he calls as soon as he notices her
“ Good morning,Inomata kun “ she greets back, smiling.
“ Doing warmups?”
“ Yeah “ came his reply
She picks up a basketball and begins her practice
They worked in comfortable silence,
It didn’t take long for Taiki to finish his warmup session. Putting on his cleats, he’s about to go off to the soccer field located just behind the gym .
“ Well, I’ll be going then”
“ Good luck “
Hearing it from her made his mouth curl upwards unconsciously and his heart beat faster than it should. He shrugged it off and walked to his destination
——————-
Taiki found himself at the door of his classroom .Took a breath ,before entering
“ Yo” he said sliding into his chair ,beside him sat one of his best friends , Kyo
“ Hey, good work on morning practice “
Taiki had a incredulous look on his face
“ how did you know?”
Kyo gave him a “ are you kidding me?” look
“ You’ve never skipped anything that is related to the ball “
“ That’s true but—-“ Taiki started
Their conversation got cut short when the teacher entered the class
“ Quiet down, class “. The teacher took a moment to make sure the class was in order before he continued “ Today we’ll be going through English Literature and Poetry “
As Expected, There was a collective groan from the students
Today was going to be a long day.
Luckily for Taiki , he’s not the only one who has to suffer. His other best friend, Hina wasn’t faring so well either . In fact, she was currently dozing off on her table
Kyo looked at his two best friends and thought “ Yeah, these two are cooked “
————
“I’m home” Taiki announced not expecting anyone to respond
“ Welcome back “ his father called out
“ Dad , you’re back early today . “ Taiki noted “is something up” Normally his dad would still be at work today
“ Yeah, once in a while. I gotta see how’s my son doing “
Taiki had a hunch that there’s something more than just his father wanting to see him
Then he froze, his brain going through the worst scenarios possible .
Is it his report card?
Did his teachers complain about him ?
Did his father find out about his weekly overconsumption of chocolate bars?
Was he banned from playing soccer?
Final question:
Was he screwed ? The answer: probably yes
Before he could do or say anything, his father said “ Help me out with dinner, would you?”
Taiki obliged
The father and son duo worked in awkward silence. .
Taiki was in the middle of slicing the vegetables into smaller portions when his father decided to break the silence and say something
“ How’s school?”
“ it’s fine, nothing really happens “he said ,almost robotically still focusing on his task
“ I see … “
“ I met someone at work a few months ago , an assistant who works hard and is pretty sociable “his father shared
Taiki thought for a moment before responding “ Seems like you’ll finally get a break from Mitsuda san.
Mitsuda was his father’s last assistant who was a piece of work and was the cause of almost all the problems that occurred later on .
“ Spare me” his father groaned “ Kano san is nothing like Mitsuda thankfully “
“ He seems like a nice person “
His father laughs A laugh he didn’t hear since his mother passed
Taiki looks puzzled
“ Taiki , Kano san is a female “
Eh why is he telling me this??
A second then another
Taiki falls silent and the dots start connecting
“Oh” he breathes it feels suffocating to do so all of a sudden
His father’s eyes were shining with happiness when he talked about this woman. His tone was light
Hina had always talked about romance novels and even forced him and Kyo to read one once as a dare
He may be oblivious but he is not a fool when all the signs are pointing in the same direction .
“ Taiki, I’m thinking of proposing to her “ his father finished
His father looked at him ,trying to gauge his reaction.
“ That’s great, you should go for it “Taiki replied despite being unsure of how he felt about it .
That night, Taiki couldn’t sleep at all