Chapter Text
[ code.1]
"Ah! Agh!"
Isagi began to hyperventilate, struggling to distinguish reality. He opened his eyes after much effort and it took him a few seconds to adjust his gaze on the ceiling of his room. He lifted his upper body to try to catch his breath, throwing his blanket to the floor as it felt uncomfortable and heavy.
His head ached slightly; it felt as if someone were pressing hard on his forehead. He was dizzy and sitting down. He had woken up sweaty and tired.
Isagi frantically approached and grabbed a bottle from his nightstand to drink from it. Then he placed his hand on his chest and began doing breathing exercises to calm himself.
"No... Ugh..."
He couldn't get the image out of his head for several minutes. Even then, relaxing afterward was difficult.
He'd had that dream again.
The dream that keeps repeating itself.
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"Hey, shitykawa!" Iwaizumi called, slamming his fist on Oikawa's desk. "Let's go to the cafeteria"
"Huh? No, I don't want to" Oikawa replied stubbornly.
Oikawa was lounging on his desk, his head resting on his back, which was unusual for him.
Both students were in their classroom. Recess had started, and most of them were gossiping with their classmates.
"Let's play volleyball then."
"I don't want toooo" Oikawa protested, pouting and turning his head toward the window to avoid Hajime's face. However, Hajime grabbed Oikawa's face firmly with both hands and turned it back toward him.
"You don't look pale. Are you sick?"
"Do I have to be sick to not want to play?" Oikawa asked in surprise.
Hajime didn't say anything, but Oikawa knew his answer immediately upon seeing him. A vein popped out on Oikawa's forehead.
"I stayed up late working on a project," Oikawa managed to pull away with effort. "I'm tired, let me sleep."
"Do you think I didn't see you fall asleep in biology? You should eat something, anyway."
"Go and buy me milk bread" Tooru said, smiling.
"Go buy it yourself" Hajime said, leaving the classroom.
"You are cruel, Iwa-chan..." the brown-haired boy muttered, resting his head back on the table. "It's so noisy in here... Ugh..."
Oikawa got up and left as well, heading for somewhere quiet. Several girls approached him, looking for an excuse to talk to him, but as much as Oikawa liked the attention, he couldn't reciprocate at that moment.
He reached one end of the school and found a empty spot. Perfect. No one used those stairs. He could sleep there until the bell rang. Even the sun was perfect for his nap.
"Eh"
Or maybe not.
He came across a boy resting on those stairs. He found it curious that he was hugging a guitar, but…
Oh well, what could he do? Someone else had already taken his place.
"Oh? Are you awake?" Oikawa instantly noticed the stranger opening his eyes.
His short, blue hair gave him an average appearance. But those eyes, just waking up, were so blue and deep that they resembled a calm sea after a great storm.
He didn't quite recognize him. It was obvious he wasn't in his class, but he'd crossed paths with him once before; he swore he looked familiar. Maybe from the other class.
Oikawa stood admiring the boy's presence long enough for him to get the wrong idea. He didn't speak, but gestured for him to sit next to him.
"Can I? Thanks~" Oikawa walked to the corner and tried to lie down in the offered spot. "Why aren't you talking, huh? And by the way, you should change the strings, they're rusty enough that- HEY, YOU'RE TOO CLOSE!"
The boy had gotten too close to Oikawa, they were face to face. Their faces were just centimeters apart. His expression was strange, a combination of surprise and bewilderment.
"This" the blue-haired man said, stepping back and holding up the guitar, revealing a broken string. "Can it be fixed?"
"Obviously. Haven't you been to a store?"
"Can you fix it?"
"Of course, but—"
"Really?"
'How persistent!' Oikawa thought, affected by the bright gleam in Isagi's eyes.
"Can you fix it fast?" The boy continued to ask.
"I suppose so, but-"
"Right now?"
"Huh?!" The request startled Oikawa, who was so persistent in his task. It was a bit presumptuous to ask for such a favor, but Oikawa felt pressured by those hopeful eyes.
He didn't fully understand the reasoning behind it, but he hurried to his classroom to grab the tools to fix the guitar from his backpack and returned just as quickly.
It took him a few minutes to complete the job. The blue-haired boy watched the entire process in amazement. He even applauded when Oikawa finished the replacement.
"That's it! Respect me, admire me, I deserve it!" Oikawa said, feeling proud of his work. "So, you owe me for the strings. I hope you don't forget."
"I won't forget."
The stranger reached out to take the guitar, but Oikawa ignored him (not intentionally). He was busy adjusting the guitar's tuning pegs, fine-tuning the strings.
"What are you doing?" the boy asked, puzzled.
"...Tuning the guitar?" Oikawa replied, confused.
What was that question? Adjusting the tuning pegs was all it took to tune the strings. Something every guitar owner or amateur guitarist would know for sure.
Oikawa played the guitar, stringing together a few chords to test its sound. The boy's eyes widened in astonishment. He felt a jolt of electricity run through his body. That brief moment of playing made him act impulsively, grabbing the brown-haired boy by the collar in desperation.
"UHM!" the blue-haired boy shouted.
"HUH?"
"Teach me to play the guitar!"
Tooru didn't know that at that moment, as he strummed the guitar strings, he also ended up, in a way, strumming the strings of Yoichi's heart.
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Oikawa Tooru started playing guitar at six years old, when his mother gave him a brand new one for his birthday.
He knew right away that he wouldn't be able to play guitar like David Gilmour or Vic Fuentes. He even tried for several days in a row with his best friend. And what words of encouragement did he receive from him?
"You suck at it."
Hajime didn't mean any harm; he was just being honest, like anyone his age. However, Oikawa only took it as a challenge.
At first, it was just a whim. Soon, it would become one of his greatest ambitions.
Whenever he couldn't get something right, he practiced and practiced until his fingers ached, determined to succeed. Oikawa became completely addicted to the feeling of satisfaction from the melodies he could play. They invaded his heart and captivated him entirely.
His best friend, Hajime Iwaizumi, pursued sports, yet they were inseparable in middle school, even though their passions lay in different fields.
Upon arriving at high school, Tooru had already decided to pursue music one hundred percent. However, little by little, he forgot what truly motivated him.
He loves playing the guitar. He feels excited every time the sound of the chords resonates in his ears. And yet.
And yet.
It became somewhat monotonous. A little.
When Isagi asked him if he knew how to fix the strings, he felt a small spark, something that made him move despite not wanting to.
"Now that I think about it" Oikawa muttered to himself in his room. He looked at his guitar case and a slight smile appeared on his face. "I cried too the first time one of the strings broke, haha."
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The next day arrived, and with it, the recess bell rang.
"Aren't you coming to play today either?" Hajime asked, standing in front of Oikawa's seat.
"Mmm, no" Oikawa replied without lifting his tired gaze from the table. "I have something to do, sorry."
Tooru got up and left the classroom, heading straight to the place where he'd encountered the mysterious boy—no, his name is Isagi.
Before saying goodbye the day before, they'd introduced themselves by name.
Anyway, he went straight to that spot so he could decline Isagi's request. He practiced all night, perfecting the best way to avoid looking bad and preventing Isagi from spreading rumors about his behavior.
"Ah, there you are!" Oikawa said, finding Isagi in the same position as yesterday: lying on the stairs, asleep.
Tooru ruffled his hair a little and managed to gently wake him. The first step to declining was-
"Oikawa-san…"
UH. A DIRECT AND EFFECTIVE CAPTIVATING HEADSHOT.
HUH. WAIT A MINUTE. THE FUCK YOU MEAN 'EFFECTIVE'??
Isagi looked so gentle with the smile he gave Oikawa when he mentioned his name. And his just-woke-up appearance made Oikawa forget his entire plan for a few seconds.
"Thanks for yesterday," Isagi said again, his voice soft. He bowed his head and then held out two thousand-yen bills with both hands. "This is for the strings."
"That's a lot!" Oikawa exclaimed, surprised by the amount of money, which threw him off his original plan even more. "Keep it, I was just kidding, I didn't need that pack anyway!"
"I brought enough to pay for some guitar lessons," Isagi explained. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. "I don't know how much you'd ask for, sorry."
"About that, uh-" Oikawa rubbed his neck, avoiding eye contact.
"I can also offer this" Isagi said, pulling a milk bread from his pocket. Oikawa glanced at the offering and considered it. The money wouldn't hurt—NO.
"Wait, Isagi-chan, listen to me" Oikawa said, sitting down beside him. "Even if you offer me money or food, I can't give you lessons because... I don't know how."
Isagi tilted his head slightly. Severe question marks appeared in his head.
"Why don't you join the light music club instead?" Oikawa suggested, lying down for a nap. "I'm sure they accept beginners, or you could join a band."
Isagi didn't respond, which worried Oikawa.
"Are you considering starting a band?" Oikawa asked without moving.
"...I don't know what a band is," Isagi replied honestly.
Oikawa froze. "That's a funny answer, I almost believed it."
"..."
"No?"
"..."
"Are you serious?"
"..."
"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW? WHY DID YOU GET THAT GUITAR IN THE FIRST PLACE? DON'T YOU KNOW THE ROLLING STONES? RADIOHEAD? NIRVANA?"
"Sorry."
"DON'T APOLOGIZE, EHHH, HERE, LET ME JUST, WHERE DO I START-"
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"Who's that behind you?" a woman asked, lowering her water bottle.
"I felt the need to do a good deed, so I brought a stray dog" Oikawa replied with complete seriousness.
"Did you just call him a dog?"
"I really couldn't just let him go."
"I'm not catching the story."
Oikawa had taken Isagi to a rehearsal studio after school. Upon entering, he encountered a slender and beautiful woman, a short-haired blonde with lip and ear piercings. She was sitting behind the drums, but her appearance somewhat overwhelmed Isagi, who hid behind Oikawa.
"Come on, Isagi-chan, introduce yourself to Tanaka-san" the brown-haired man said, standing beside Isagi and taking his hand, extending his own and Isagi's. "Come on, come on, stop hiding behind me! She doesn't bite!"
"Hey, I'm sorry im lat- Who is that?!"
Isagi jumped at the sight of a new person behind him. A new person joined the group through the entrance. An older man, taller than Isagi, with long, honey-blond hair and brown eyes.
"He's the bassist, Tsukishima-san" Oikawa said, patting Isagi on the back to put him at ease. "Introduce yourself, then!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Isagi said, bowing nervously.
"Who's the one with blue hair?" Tsukishima asked, approaching Tanaka.
"No idea, Oikawa brought him" Tanaka replied, her expression then shifting to one of enthusiasm. "Whatever! Welcome! What's your name?"
"I'm Isagi Yoichi" the blue-haired boy replied, a hint of embarrassment visible on his cheeks. "I've come to observe and learn."