𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 | 𝐤.𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐨

twenty

a/n thanks for 20k views guys, ilyall <3

TOHOKU REGION TRACK&FIELD FINALS

crack.

that was the sound of the raven-haired girl's world crumbling down on her.

the 800m girls regional finals had just concluded, and the name next to #1 wasn't ayako miyazaki.

neither was #2, or #3.

a lump grew in her throat as ayako felt reality slowly hitting her.

the crushing, painful feeling of defeat tearing her heart apart.

she bit back the tears that sprung to her eyes, keeping her poker face on as she slowly walked back to the stands.

embarrassment. disappointment. weak.

that's what she was now, wasn't she? she was no longer ayako miyazaki, karasuno track's golden girl, their ticket to victory.

she was useless to the track team now.

she was greeted by an awfully painful silence when she'd returned to the stands.

no 'victory hug' from nakamura, or hayashi's wide grin after she'd won her race.

because she had lost.

and she was a disappointment who couldn't meet expectations now.

just then, there was a hard slap on her back.

hayashi came up from behind her, his expression not one of disappointment, but one of defeat, like hers.

he'd lost his race, too.

"don't mind it."

ayako gave him a nod in acknowledgment, but refused to look up.

if she looked up, the tears she was still biting back would threaten to spill out.

"oi, she's a girl. be more gentle, ryouta," nakamura scolded, only to be ignored by the dark-haired boy.

she then walked towards ayako, putting an arm around her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"don't be too hard on yourself, you did great."

but her words went on deaf ears, as the thoughts in her head were overpowering everything else around her.

as soon as nakamura took her hand off her shoulder, ayako immediately turned in the other direction, not giving the volleyball team a chance to say anything to her, stalking off.

she went down from the stands, blindly pushing past the crowds.

she finally stopped when she found a quiet corner next to the stairs of an empty part of the stands.

she sat down on the bottom step, and buried her face into her hands.

at this point, she didn't care if people were going to pass by and judge her.

she didn't care about anything else, other than the fact that she'd lost.

the tears she had been holding back for so long spilled down her cheeks, slowly turning into sobs, her entire body shaking.

a pair of strong arms embraced her into a hug as she broke down.

the girl began sobbing into their shoulder, completely disregarding the fact she had no idea who had embraced her.

kageyama had immediately chased after her as soon as he saw her leave, knowing she was already on the verge of breaking down.

he gently stroked the girl's hair as he let her sob into his sweater, and placed her track jacket-which he had brought along before running after her-around her shoulders.