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[pinpointing]

Heeey, you've reached the one and only Oikawa Tooru! ♥♥♥♥♥♥
Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP (~￣▽￣)~

Or don't leave a message, but I won't call you back!!!

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ACTION: July 17th

[underlined]

[Now, Iwaizumi had told Keisuke to stop by the gym storage room "literally whenever" (or something along those lines) should he ever have something he wanted to ask or just catch up or whatever. Usually that sort of open-endedness would spell disaster for Keisuke, typically a little too hesitant to go out of his comfort zone and actually approach others for such things. But he's been trying really hard to not only make but maintain new friends, and it's been a while since he saw Iwaizumi in the halls or whatever, so...

Here he is. It's several hours after class, and he assumes a lot of people might be drifting around to clubs or maybe to an early dinner. Keisuke's decided to not show up empty-handed, bringing some snacks from the vending machine that he and Rin managed to accumulate. The food hadn't been that lately, so he thought it'd be a good gesture.]

Hey? Hajime? [He calls out as he nears the storage room. He... actually isn't sure he's here. If he's not, he might just text... maybe he should've done that to start out, oops.] You there?

[pinpointing]

[The storage room door opens and it's not exactly the person he's looking for who sticks his head out, but Oikawa can't go and ignore that someone is calling for Iwaizumi by name, and it's with a bright sort of smile that he opens the door more completely, now that he can see the stranger doesn't look threatening.]

Ah, hellooo~ Iwa-chan isn't here right now, but he'll be back soon probably if you want to wait for him. Are you a new friend?

[underlined]

[He was aware that the gym storage room was shared with quite a number of people, but... he hadn't really anticipated running into someone else. It had been a lapse in good judgment, actually, and that was something that happened often enough with Keisuke. He meant well, and he could have moments of acuity, but he was often slow on the uptake.

He doesn't recognize the guy, but he appears to be of an age with Iwaizumi (and Keisuke, roughly, give or take a few years). And he must know him if he was calling him—"Iwa-chan." In a way, Keisuke can't even understand what that means in full cultural sense. His generation had their family names stripped from them, the kanji from their names rendered down into katakana, and honorifics as a whole fell out of use.

It was the reason he accidentally defaulted to Iwaizumi's name, actually. It felt strange to use a family name instead when, for the most part, they had no place in the world he came from.]

Oh, uh, okay. [He stops some short distance away from the door to the storage room. He fears whatever smile he might muster now would look utterly forced, so he goes without.] I - guess so? I met him when we first arrived here... we're in the same homeroom.

[pinpointing]

[How curious - the guy looks a bit confused, but then again, Oikawa did probably catch him pretty offguard. Leaning in the doorway with a mild chuckle, waving his hand as if to say you're fine, you're fine!!, he nods with what is being said to acknowledge he is understanding.]

So you're definitely a new friend! Lucky lucky, getting to be in his homeroom, I really wanted to be but there's no such thing as homeroom transfers here. So what's your name, I'm Oikawa Tooru! If you're not in a rush, really, please feel free to hang out until he gets back. [I really hate being left alone please stay.]

[underlined]

[It was most likely Keisuke's blunder; he had a vague idea of how many people used this place to sleep, so it made sense that he'd find someone else here... He just tended to forget things of simple logic like that, falling too swiftly into pathways of expectation.

Weirdly enough, people with overly-genial personalities often make him even more on edge than if the person were taciturn and curt. One developed that sort of tendency with the friend Keisuke had made in Akira; he'd mentally linked that sort of stoicism with truthfulness, affability with something that he needed to be wary of. But Rin had turned out okay, so... he starts to relax.]

Oh, um. [He talks. A lot. And fast. But he's gotten more used to this...!] I'm Keisuke. And no, I don't really have anywhere to go... I was just making sure Hajime was doing alright.

[He sets Oikawa in a quizzical look.] You... know him pretty well? [The name he used had been very affectionate...]

[pinpointing]

Kei-chan, it's all good. He's doing alright I guess, he still swats me when I'm obnoxious and tells me I make things difficult, but that's pretty par for the course. [That quizzical look just earns a bright warm smile out of Oikawa, chuckling mildly from his own words because Iwaizumi shaking him around means he's not overstressing - it doesn't sound like it's good, but it really is.]

Oh yeah, we've been friends since we were babies! I got lucky, getting my best friend here!

[underlined]

J - Just "Keisuke" is fine, [he mutters in reply, nearly out of reflex rather than anything else. Considering practically no one of his own age back home used honorifics for one another—and even fewer bothered with nicknames—Oikawa's sudden leap into both had felt really strange. But, you know, he'll get over it if you decide just to ignore that...

Somehow, Keisuke isn't surprised that Iwaizumi has to keep this guy in check a lot. He certainly seems... uh. Keisuke isn't really sure how to describe him. He's never really met a person who acted like him before.]

Oh. [Wow, they'd been together that long? Keisuke can understand, in a way. He'd known Akira since they were kids in the orphanage, so nearly as long.]

That is lucky... You can get through a lot of dangerous situations if you trust the person at your side. [Even though he looks down a bit while saying it.]

[pinpointing]

Mm, it's really good.... but you look kind of down about something, if you don't mind me saying. Were you really hoping to run into him after all?

[It's a softer tease, leaning a bit as if he can meet that gaze that is pointed downward because getting Keisuke to look up again is important - eye contact lets him get a better feel for someone, but if he's really that shy, that also tells him plenty.]

Or is this look more about thinking of things, the situations you were just talking about? [His voice was far more gentle about asking this though, he wasn't intending to pry too much into someones life he literally just met.]

[underlined]

[He really wishes he didn't telegraph the way he felt so clearly, written onto his expression louder and with more clarity than he could even manage if he voiced it. He didn't really want to talk about it, though, the way he simultaneously missed his best friend more than anything and was wounded to his core that that guy didn't feel the same for him.

It wasn't really that he was all that devastated he couldn't hang out with Hajime some. They'd run into one another at some point, or at class. It was just the compounding effect of the gravity of the situation—like Oikawa seemed to perceive, leaning over to catch Keisuke's line of sight even as he was trying to avoid it.

He makes more of an effort to look at the other guy a little more conversationally.] I... don't know if it's anything as - specific as any of that, but that's probably closer...

[He's realizing belatedly this must be him, the guy that Iwaizumi had lost his fingers trying to save from the creature in the doors. For a moment, his gaze turns a little more appraising.]

I was mostly just wanting to check up on him, I guess... Things have been getting a little weird around here again.

[pinpointing]

Yeah, things have been getting weird, but you don't have to worry too much. Iwa-chan is really good at taking care of himself and everyone around him, I can promise that. But Kei-chan, I'll definitely let him know you stopped by, you seem like a good friend for him.

[Smiling just that little bit more brightly with the way Keisuke shifts to try and be more conversational - that's right, meet my eye, I'm not about to bite - Oikawa shuts one eye in a playful sort of wink.]

You're always welcome to hang out until he gets back too though! I like the company, at least.

[underlined]

Yeah... he seems like he is. [He definitely had that kind of aspect about him, that Keisuke had noticed, at least. He had barely known Keisuke for a few weeks and he was willing to pull him into a hug in a moment of emotional fragility. It wasn't something Keisuke was used to. Strength and stoicism had been prided in the world he came from—that, and the person he'd spent most of his time with hadn't exactly been the "touchy feely" type.

That sort of camaraderie was... nice, he had to admit. He understood why one might want to be friends with Iwaizumi, though he's still trying to figure Oikawa out. He's amiable, sure, but... there's something a little overly-saccharine to it. He's not sure.]

Okay - if you say so. [Okay, yes, he's maintaining eye contact a little easier now, thanks Oikawa.] He... mentioned you, I think. You've been friends for a while, right?

[pinpointing]

Hehe, yeah, we've been friends for as long as we can remember! Our birthdays are just a month apart and our moms were really good friends, and I know there are pictures of us in our diapers just clinging to each other... so he's stuck with me forever~

[Laughing a little about it, remembering the pictures themselves with a fond expression, Oikawa moves to pick up one of the volleyballs from the bin and toss it lightly in Keisuke's direction; let's play catch, buddy, now that I've got your eye contact.]

[underlined]

Oh... [And he thought he'd known Akira for a long time. He's not even sure how long it's been—more than ten years, but his memories from the orphanage were so cloudy (when he could remember something at all). They had been kids, sure, but not babies...]

You must know one another really well then, huh... [He'd started to get the instinct to look away (habit), but Oikawa picking up a ball and tossing it at him snapped his attention back. Keisuke catches it easily, largely without thinking. He's a clumsy guy, but he has odd moments where good instinctual reflexes shine through. It's just whenever he's actually thinking about something that he fucks it up...

He doesn't recognize whatever sort of ball it is. Most of the sports he doesn't really recognize—the only sport that'd been anything worth talking about back home had been Bl@ster. He draws the ball toward his chest, tossing it back to Oikawa.] It's... well, it's not good you're here, but it's good you're both here to depend on one another. [His words seem a little heavy.]

[pinpointing]

He's the person who knows me best and I'm the person who knows him best! It works out well enough, even if he's mad a lot.

[Laughing lightly and scuffing his shoe mildly on the floor, watching how Keisuke catches the ball - he catches it like a basketball, haa, well that can get drilled out of him if he decided to play - Oikawa finds himself with a fonder smile as he keeps answering. Catching the ball and spinning it up on one finger, he bounces it into place a few times.]

I can agree with that though; I hate that we're here, but if we're here, I'm glad we're both here. Iwa-chan would be okay on his own, probably, but I think I'd have gotten too reckless from the start if he wasn't here.

[underlined]

[He might've likened that explanation to the friendship that Akira and himself had had, or at least he might've done that at some point but—as much as he thought he'd understood the guy, Keisuke now realizes he didn't know him very well at all. Conversely, he knew Keisuke fairly well, but it was easy to understand him. Almost everything he thought or felt was written all over his face.

He watches Oikawa spin the ball—he must be fairly familiar with it, then, or whatever sport it's for.]

He certainly seems more cautious... [Just from having spoken to Oikawa for a few minutes, he gets the sense that the guy might be one who acts before thinking sometimes.

Keisuke's quiet a moment before asking,] ...Have you ever been apart for very long?

[pinpointing]

Mm, Iwa-chan likes to act like my mom sometimes; he makes a really awful face whenever anyone calls him mom though, so it would proooobably be better for me if you don't tell him I said that.

[Snickering to himself when he catches the ball, almost hiding that amused expression behind it, Oikawa blinks when he flicks his eyes up to Keisuke's at that sort of question and he can't help the curious look he gives him.]

No. Not really. He had a family trip out of town one summer when we were in elementary school where I called him frequently, but that's about it. [More like Oikawa was still young enough that he cried every day unless he got to talk to Iwa-chan. And complain about him not being there to play with him.]

[underlined]

[Keisuke has to laugh at the comparison; if anything, he'd been the "mom" in his friendships (what with his worrying and concern), but he could... understand why Iwaizumi might get a little testy at the comparison.] I won't call him that, promise. [Having never really had parents to understand the comparison, it wouldn't be something he'd jump to very easily—his only feelings for parents in general were uneasy and negative.

He understands it must've been a strange question, but it felt pertinent to Keisuke—he was a little bit lost in how to handle himself without Akira nearby, no matter how their friendship had fallen in the recent past, and he was honestly seeking advice in the most roundabout way he could think to.]

...Was it difficult, or did just being able to talk help? [He knows it wouldn't for him. Even if he had the ability to talk with him, he doesn't know what he'd say.]

[pinpointing]

[Just with how he's asking, Oikawa can tell there's a point to the questioning. Some kind of answer, something about how to act without the person you've relied on for a long time, that's about all Oikawa can speculate on with the way Keisuke continues on the topic. It leaves him wondering, but he doesn't know enough yet to ask his own questions. Making a show of thinking, tapping his fingers to his chin while crossing his arms, Oikawa puts his gaze aside briefly at touching the memory.]

No, being able to talk didn't help enough. I was still pretty miserable until he came back - I can't say it was my favorite summer.

[underlined]

[Of course there is, but whether or not Keisuke will broach the subject is the point of contention. It's still a raw subject with him, something that he had expected to at some point scab over in the weeks (months...) he's been here, but it hasn't.

In the end, he ends up feeling oddly validated by Oikawa's recount. He'd been thinking he was weak in his over-reliance on someone, but maybe that was as little more normal than he thought? He doesn't know.

He nods, is quiet a moment—he feels like prying so much into Oikawa's life without an explanation was rude, so... after a moment of tremulous hesitation,] I - pretty much grew up with someone, and it's... been difficult, so, uh...

[He rubs at the back of his neck, glancing away.] It's - nice hearing it's not just me, I guess...

[pinpointing]

It's fine, I call myself super lucky that got here at the same time as Iwa-chan! Not everyone gets to have their best friend in this place. I'd really be more lost without him and we both know it.

[Laughing gently, giving Keisuke a bright, reassuring smile, he wound up reaching to fuss with the balls in the bin a bit behind him.]

So no, it's not just you. Don't worry so much.

[underlined]

...Yeah. Right.

[Of course it wasn't quite that simple, Keisuke having boiled down a hell of a lot of insecurity and doubt regarding his relationship with his friend to just that one word. He didn't really want to go it now, though (he didn't really want to go into it ever), so he's capitulating.

And beginning to feel a little out of place, a little "outstayed your welcome" (Not true, most likely, but convincing him of that was a different story.)

So,] Well - uh - it was nice meeting you, Tooru, [Keisuke's cultural propensity towards ignoring the somewhat more normal inclinations towards using family names, oops—he still forgets that regularly,] but I - think I've got somewhere to go.