How to fly with clipped wings (English ver.) HAIKYUU!! FAN FICTION

Chapter 55: The Irony

A/N: This is so sad...

"You should call Iwaizumi," Kageyama had suggested before he left that night. When she'd asked why, he'd just shrugged. "Trust me."

She did trust him, obviously. But what could Iwaizumi do for her right now?

Mikaela sighed and clicked on his contact, then pressed on the call button. She held the phone up to her ear, promising herself that she'd at least leave a voicemail if he didn't pick up. It was a Wednesday night, after all- he probably had school work or something.

"Mikaela? What's up?"

Just hearing his voice made something relax in her chest. "Iwaizumi!" she said, forcing a weak grin on her face. "How've you been?"

"Not too bad. School's a bit hectic, but it always is. Don't worry, I've got time to call."

"Cool. You sure? I could hang up."

"Nah, you never call. I'll put up with you for a night."

"I don't want to bother you!"

"Oikawa calls me every single night. Trust me, you're not even half as bad."

Mikaela laughed weakly, tucking her knees up to her chest. "It's good to hear your voice," she admitted, trying to blink back the tears that had started to bud in her eyes. "Life's been a bit crazy."

He laughed. "I bet. The qualifiers are this weekend, right?"

"Yep. But that's not even the worst bit. Iwaizumi, I..." Mikaela trailed off, pinching her eyes shut. "I've been a mess all year, honestly, but today was the worst. Tsukishima and I just broke up and I-"

"Wait, what? Actually?"

Tears were collecting in her eyelashes, and she sighed. "Yeah."

"Do I need to hurt him?"

"No, no- it was my fault." Mikaela gave him the quick, abbreviated version of the whole argument, making sure to explain that he was totally right and she was at fault. Iwaizumi went quiet on the other end of the line for a while after she was done, so she spoke up again. "Iwaizumi? You there?"

"Is that why you're calling me?"

She paused. "Not really- Tobio, actually, he suggested I call you, and I kind of missed you, so-"

Iwaizumi cut her off with a laugh. "Your cousin's got some good intuition. Mikaela, you do realize how much you sound like Oikawa, right?"

"What?"

"Oikawa had it pretty bad, especially in his junior years. Almost permanently blew out his knee. I had to keep dragging him away from practice so he wouldn't make anything worse." He sighed. "I was basically that idiot's keeper for a year. So I get where you're coming from- well, Oikawa would get it more than I do. But I understand trying to pull someone away from something that they're unwilling to part with."

Mikaela stayed silent, absorbing the information. She always knew that Oikawa practiced a lot, but...

"You'll take it easy though, right? I don't need to come down there and tear you away?"

She laughed weakly. "No, I think I've got the message now. I just wish..."

"Wish that you had got it before this happened?" Iwaizumi finished, and he took her silence as a yes. "Oikawa never had that moment for him. Even when his knee got bad, he never even considered laying back on practice so it wouldn't happen again. I think towards the end of third year, he started getting it. I'm just glad you know now. Frankly, I should've seen this coming. You're as bad as Kageyama."