oikawa and iwaizumi have been a menace since they were barely more than toddlers, a fact that only intensified once they started school. their parents found themselves visiting it more often because of calls from the principal about their shenanigans than for any school events.
things settled down a little in middle school, partly thanks to constant scolding from their parents and partly because oikawa fell into that quiet spiral of self-destruction brought on by his obsession, not with volleyball itself, but with the need to be good at the things he loved.
until, of course, iwaizumi’s headbutt happened, and it felt like the emotional and mental reset he had been silently begging for all along.
after that, they slipped right back into their usual rhythm, with the occasional call to their parents because “oikawa-kun pushed iwaizumi-kun off his stool during art class and it turned into a paint fight”
or because “iwaizumi-kun broke a window, but oikawa-kun tried to cover for him, then iwaizumi-kun got annoyed and somehow they ended up arguing over who was covering for whom, breaking another window in the process"
or because “they both asked to go to the bathroom at the same time during separate classes, only to meet up there and watch a VNL match during school hours.”
by high school, the ones who ended up witnessing or suffering their chaos were mostly their classmates. though mei-chan, a first-year and one of oikawa’s classmates in advanced class, found it all pretty entertaining. she especially enjoyed watching the two of them cause trouble every now and then.
her favorite moment, without a doubt, happened one day during break. she had stayed in the hallway with her friends, reviewing for an upcoming biology test, when a burst of noise echoed from the stairs, two voices clashing over each other in a tangled mess.
she (phone already in hand, ready to trade the video to hanamaki or matsukawa for their week's dessert) waited for oikawa-kun to appear first, probably sprinting like his life depended on it while shrieking as he ran from iwaizumi.
but, surprisingly, iwaizumi was the first to show up.
the volleyball team’s ace nearly tripped on the last step, catching himself in the blink of an eye before darting down the hallway like lightning, weaving effortlessly through the other students.
mei-chan barely had time to register the two packets of milk bread in his hands and the naughty grin on his face before, two seconds later, tooru appeared with a murderous expression, almost stumbling on the same step, recovering just as quickly.
“GIVE THEM BACK, IWA-CHAN, YOU BASTARD TRAITOR!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, speeding toward the end of the hall where iwaizumi had disappeared.
mei didn’t stop recording. they’d turned left toward the bathrooms, so they’d be back any second.
she heard the door slam against the wall, more shouting, an “OW, SHITTYKAWA, DON’T BITE” and then hajime came back into view, moving slower this time, hunched over himself as he crushed the bread against his chest, shielding it from tooru
who was draped over his back, clinging like a koala, legs hooked around his hips, one strong arm looped around hajime’s broad shoulders while the other tried to pry the bread from his grasp.
“GET OFF ME, YOU DAMN TICK!”
“GIVE ME MY MILK BREAD FIRST, YOU BRAINLESS FREAKER!” but their complaints tumbling out between laughs, and mei-chan knew instantly the video had just guaranteed her three weeks’ desserts.
then there was masato, poor, sweet masato, a first-year who took his role on the disciplinary committee very seriously. he did his unpaid duty every monday, wednesday and friday, making sure all aoba johsai students followed dress code and arrived on time from the very start of the day.
he carried a turquoise clipboard with a matching pen, and his eyes were sharp enough to catch even the most outrageous hair dye, thanks to his mom being a hairdresser. he enjoyed it, honestly.
it was a sunny wednesday. the morning had been going smoothly, the gates were closed right as the first bell rang, and he had only handed out two minor warnings. he nodded to himself, satisfied, clicking his pen shut and slipping it neatly into the pocket of his perfectly pressed trousers.
but just as masato turned to head back inside, he heard two dull thuds behind him. and voices. male voices. voices he knew very well.
he froze, silently pleading to the heavens that it was just his imagination and slowly turned his head.
of course, no one answered his prayers.
“i-iwaizumi-senpai?! oikawa-senpai?!” he cried, horrified once again as he spotted his second-year seniors /once again/ climbing over the gate like beetles scaling a tree, shoving each other between laughter and taunts.
wide-eyed, he watched them reach the top. in perfect sync, they swung their legs over and, with a single push of arms and hips, dropped to the ground right beside where they had tossed their bags.
they grabbed them quickly and, without even bothering to sling them over their shoulders, ran straight toward masato, who remained frozen, mouth agape.
“yahoo, ma-chan!” oikawa beamed, radiant even beneath his messy bangs, cheeks lightly flushed and shine on his lips as he flashed him a peace sign while passing by.
“w-wait! i-i have to write you up for being late!” masato stammered, spinning around to face them again. “and i-iwaizumi-senpai, your shirt is wrinkled and you forgot your vest and tie again! and those shoes aren’t regulation!” he shouted, arm outstretched uselessly.
“sorry, come find me during break like always!” iwaizumi called back, grabbing oikawa’s hand and dragging him along with a sharp, 'move it, idiot, the chem teacher’s gonna kill me if i’m late again' when tooru tried to stop in front of a faint window reflection to fix his bangs.
masato sighed in defeat, tapping his forehead with his clipboard. “i should’ve gone to shiratorizawa like mom said.”
and then there were the teachers, of course there were.
like kazuki-sensei, the history teacher and homeroom teacher of class 6 (oikawa’s class), and nao-sensei, the chemistry teacher and homeroom teacher of class 5 (iwaizumi’s class).
academically, there was absolutely nothing to criticize. both of them consistently ranked at the top of their classes, their work impeccable. they understood the material, answered questions correctly and weren’t afraid to raise their hands when they didn’t.
but their behavior, when they were together or sometimes even just near each other, was something else entirely.
nao-sensei could count on both hands and feet the number of times the rest of the teachers had come to her and kazuki-sensei, not to complain about oikawa or iwaizumi individually, but about oikawa and iwaizumi.
though, honestly, she’d be more surprised if they didn’t. after all, in previous years, she had gone to their teachers for the exact same reason.
“should we notify their families so they can talk to them?” nao-sensei asked, seated in her wheelchair in the staff room, staring blankly at the third uniform violation slip iwaizumi had received that week, and it was only monday.
“we tried that once, remember?” kazuki-sensei replied, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes fixed on a strange stain on the ceiling shaped like godzilla. “we somehow ended up drinking tea for two hours with oikawa-san and iwaizumi-san while they told us stories about those two as kids.”
“ah, right. oikawa-san made a really good green tea.”
they sat in silence for a few seconds, the only sound the aggressive clack-clack of yuda-sensei’s laptop keyboard, the first-year literature teacher muttering curses under his breath.
“you know, not all teachers complain about them. hido-sensei from P.E. loves them. they treat every activity like a life-or-death competition and never stop challenging each other, but they behave.”
“…yeah. you’re right.” nao-sensei sighed, slipping the violation slip into her desk drawer with a mental note to think of a small punishment for iwaizumi later. she stood, smoothing her trousers.
“leaving already?” kazuki-sensei raised an eyebrow. “there are still ten minutes left of break.”
“i have lab with class 6. i need to check if iwaizumi-kun left another ‘present’ on oikawa-kun’s seat. again.” she replied, a dark smile tugging at her lips as she headed for the door.
you could separate oikawa from iwaizumi, and vice versa, but not tooru from hajime, nor hajime from tooru. they’ll always carry something of the other with them, a habit, a thought. it doesn’t matter if they end up on opposite sides of the world or just inches apart.
a bit of iwaoi as menaces 🙂↕️
u can find me on my ao3, bluesky, strawpage and this is my carrd 🍉
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