JSWGAS Chapter 20

“No matter what aspect you look at it from, it’s a bit too much.”

Kokonoe Taka commented.

After ten minutes of sobbing, Iwaizumi and Oikawa, the main contributors of tears, looked like they wanted to strangle their past selves from ten minutes ago and make the third person in the ward lose their memory along with them.

But the third person instead gave a sharp evaluation, obviously not letting them easily get away with this somewhat embarrassing sudden event.

Even though his own eyes were a little red.

Iwaizumi Hajime didn’t say anything. He turned his head away a little awkwardly, as if he was extremely interested in the fruit basket placed on the table next to the hospital bed and kept looking at it.

Oikawa Tōru lowered his head, and finally, in a fit of recklessness, completely covered his face, wishing he had a tortoise shell to cover him up.

Kokonoe Taka pinched his wet clothes with his index finger and thumb, and twitched his mouth. “Don’t even think about trying to gloss over this.” He tapped both of them on the forehead. “I can understand the reunion hug—and crying is fine too, but did you two deliberately wipe your tears and snot all over my clothes?!”

Iwaizumi Hajime, “It was Trash River who started crying first!”

Oikawa Tōru had a betrayed look on his face. He was a beat late, but he wasn’t willing to be outdone. “Clearly Koiwa was the one who couldn’t stop crying in the end, okay!”

Iwaizumi Hajime stubbornly said, “…I didn’t!”

Oikawa Tōru’s eyes darted around, “Liars will be abandoned by Godzilla!”

Iwaizumi… Iwaizumi Hajime actually started to struggle with his conscience.

In the beginning, it was indeed Oikawa Tōru who couldn’t hold back his tears first.

Although his personality was terrible, and he was stubborn and not straightforward, when he saw Kokonoe Taka open his arms and make a hugging gesture, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes couldn’t help but burst out.

–Too cunning!

Oikawa Tōru, who fiercely pounced into Kokonoe Taka’s arms and occupied the left half of his shoulder, thought while shedding golden tears.

This guy has always been calm and collected, as if nothing could stump him, and sometimes he’s even a bit too calm. No matter how you provoke him, he won’t get angry—although he’s also very good at holding grudges.

But now that he’s in the hospital, does he still need to maintain that composure?! Isn’t he sad?! Oikawa Tōru carefully made sure that he was only leaning on his shoulder, in case he accidentally pressed on the wounds hidden under his hospital gown, and deliberately wiped his tears on his collar.

He heard Kokonoe Taka gasp and his body stiffen, obviously noticing his little trick.

But before Kokonoe Taka could push Oikawa away in disgust, Iwaizumi Hajime, who had been standing there blankly for a while, seemed to be infected by Oikawa Tōru’s crying. He sniffed, rushed over with a fierce expression, and occupied the remaining half of Kokonoe Taka’s shoulder.

Kokonoe Taka: “…” Seriously?

Oikawa Tōru: “…” Koiwa’s crying is so ugly.

Iwaizumi Hajime was different from Oikawa Tōru. If Oikawa Tōru was hiding his sincere tears under fake howls, Iwaizumi’s crying was quiet and silent. It could be seen that Iwaizumi Hajime, who was always reliable in this aspect, still couldn’t let go of his image, making Kokonoe Taka stiffen at first, and then realize Iwaizumi Hajime’s soft sobs and the gradually cooling and damp fabric on his right shoulder.

Great, now he was slow to push them away.

Iwaizumi Hajime rarely showed such a weak side. Therefore, Kokonoe Taka couldn’t kick him away as mercilessly as he would with Oikawa Tōru. He couldn’t bring himself to push Oikawa Tōru away either.

He was forced to tilt his head back, his arms stiff for a moment, before finally placing them on the two people’s slightly lowered heads, and ruthlessly messed them up. He didn’t stop until he had turned both of their hair into a bird’s nest.

“What are you crying for! I’m right here, aren’t I?” His voice choked slightly, and his eyes also started to turn red. “Oikawa’s a crybaby, that’s fine, but Iwaizumi, you—”

Oikawa loudly retorted while sniffling and snorting bubbles, “I’m not a crybaby!!!”

He sniffed. “Also, can you read the room! Don’t say things that waste our emotions at this time.”

“Okay, I’ll shut up.”

“You haven’t said why you only contacted Oikawa-sama after so long!”

“…”

“Why are you only talking now?!”

“Cough… About that, the day after that night, my grandfather sent my mom and me to a hospital in Tokyo. We just got transferred back yesterday,” Kokonoe Taka honestly said. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you, making you worry.”

During this time, the other patients in the ward came back and were startled by the sight of the three people hugging each other. They chuckled and retreated, winking at Kokonoe Taka, who was the only one who noticed them.

“More importantly,” Iwaizumi Hajime coughed twice, stiffly changing the subject, “Is your hand okay? And your neck…”

Oikawa Tōru chimed in, “Your voice sounds a little hoarse too.”

Kokonoe Taka sat cross-legged on the hospital bed and, hearing this, raised his right hand, which was wrapped like a chicken leg, and waved it. “This? I accidentally fell and didn’t notice, so I put my hand on the broken glass and it became like this.”

Oikawa Tōru opened his mouth, wanting to say, ‘Are you an idiot? How can you fall so clumsily?’ But he realized that if he hadn’t even noticed the obvious shards of glass, this guy must have been very flustered at the time.

He could only ask, “Is the injury serious? Will it leave any aftereffects?”

“There’s a doctor in Tokyo who looks a lot like Gatarou, but his medical skills are amazing. After the treatment, there’s not much of a problem,” he put down his hand. “I just need to rest for a while.”

“…Gatarou?”

Ignoring Oikawa, who was muttering, “What does a doctor who looks like Gatarou look like?”, Iwaizumi Hajime immediately asked, “What about your neck?”

“Hmm…” Kokonoe Taka touched the faint marks of being strangled. “Kokonoe Hikohito did it.”

Oikawa Tōru’s eyes widened. “Huh?!”

Iwaizumi Hajime frowned. “How could he…” He paused slightly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh, A-I is always so considerate in these things…” Kokonoe Taka said with emotion.

Oikawa Tōru interrupted, “Just like everyone’s mom!”

Iwaizumi Hajime: “…Looks like you really want to stay here today. Fine, I’ll make it happen for you!”

Oikawa Tōru quickly dodged Iwaizumi’s iron fist, screaming with a pale face, “This is A-Taka’s ward! Are you trying to turn this into a murder scene?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave you with a breath!”

Kokonoe Taka supported his head with a relaxed expression, watching the two of them battle three hundred rounds on either side of the narrow hospital bed. Iwaizumi Hajime was holding his breath and trying to grab Oikawa Tōru, while Oikawa Tōru was flexibly circling the hospital bed. For a moment, they were evenly matched. “Why bother, Tōru?”

“Don’t just watch! Hurry up and stop the violent Koiwa!”

He couldn’t know whether Oikawa, who had always been incredibly insightful, had noticed his depression. But as a result, this familiar and interesting scene of Oikawa and Iwaizumi messing around was something he could never get tired of watching. As long as these two people were around, his mood could go from the depths of despair to soaring again.

It seemed like he could say those things now: “Aren’t you curious about what happened?”

Iwaizumi Hajime: “…”

Oikawa Tōru: “…”

Oikawa Tōru had the intention of deliberately acting the fool, while Iwaizumi Hajime was recklessly going along with it. Hearing his friend being so candid, they didn’t know what to do for a moment.

“Normal people wouldn’t avoid talking about this…” Oikawa Tōru said in a low voice.

Iwaizumi Hajime retorted, “So you do have common sense, Trash River.”

“It’s okay, if it’s Tōru and I.”

Saying it might make it hard for people to understand.

The moment he clenched his fingers into a fist and punched Kokonoe Hikohito in the face, in addition to the anger and hatred for what his mother had suffered, another secret emotion grew in the depths of his soul.

It was like a sudden downpour after layers of dark clouds had piled up, making it hard to breathe; a lion that had been tamed with chains and gags by a tamer walking out of its cage; or finally landing on the ground after a long fall, feeling grounded, the dust settled—complex, joyful, and delightful.

And at that moment, he was undoubtedly excited and satisfied.

When Kokonoe Taka recounted what happened, he was so detailed that he even described the force of each punch he threw at the time and what he regretted, which scared the two of them so much that their faces turned pale—

“Why are you so skilled?” Iwaizumi Hajime said dryly. “I remember you said that when I beat this guy up, it was the coolest moment? Could it be that you…”

Kokonoe Taka readily admitted, “Ah, that, I was interested in martial arts before, so I learned about it for a while. A-I’s movements are very decisive and neat, and he held back his strength. Although it’s not that standard, it’s very beautiful.”

Iwaizumi Hajime: “…”

Oikawa Tōru: “Should I thank you for showing mercy?”

Kokonoe Taka: “You’re welcome.”

Oikawa Tōru: “Don’t actually say ‘you’re welcome’ to that kind of retort!”

Kokonoe Taka shrugged. He had now mastered how to peel oranges with one hand, and he quickly peeled two or three and fed them to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. The former opened his mouth and ate them without blushing, while the latter peeled an apple for him in return.

While they were eating, Oikawa Tōru didn’t stop angrily scolding Kokonoe Hikohito, and even suggested putting a bag over his head. Kokonoe Taka smiled and glanced at Iwaizumi. “Hey, A-I, don’t look so approving. This guy will take an inch and want a mile.”

Iwaizumi looked up at Kokonoe Taka, and Oikawa Tōru also shut his mouth, and they all fell silent.

“…What’s wrong?”

Kokonoe Taka observed for a moment: “Do you think this matter is very heavy?”

There was another moment of silence.

A few minutes later, Iwaizumi Hajime said in a deep voice: “I won’t ask about anything else, Taka, are you in pain now?”

He chuckled. “Seriously? Are you worried about this too?”

Kokonoe Taka stopped smiling and fell silent. His gaze was a little dazed, unfocused, his face pale, and his expression stiff like a puppet.

The wind from outside the window entered the quiet ward, and specks of the setting sun fell on the window, the dim light of the sunset dyeing the outlines of the few people with a layer of gold. Iwaizumi Hajime was unmoved in this warm color, looking at him seriously.

A soft tongue can break a person’s bones and tendons. Language is sometimes more hurtful than violence. Sometimes it is also incredibly pale and powerless. People who have not experienced this can never truly understand the suffering and joy of the experiencer.

Iwaizumi Hajime is a frank and steadfast person, so he chose to reach out and hold the left hand of the person who was silently watching him, quietly covering it with his left hand, his palm enveloping the scar on the other person’s wrist.

Telling him his answer.

He stared into the other person’s eyes, and for only a few seconds, a fire blazed in those gray eyes. But it was no longer a spark wrapped in stone and steel. In this seemingly short and extremely long time, it turned into a fire of life that was free and only burned for itself.

Kokonoe Taka blinked, and like an illusion, the flame disappeared from Iwaizumi Hajime’s gaze.

He answered frankly.

“I feel… incredibly free right now.”

“…That’s good.”