But happy Valentine's Day 🫶🏽
as a Valentine's Day special I'll finally touch on why yn is so touchy when it comes to volleyball. 💕
DONT KILL ME
——
the confrontation blossomed too quickly for anyone to do anything. in a moment you retaliated, in the next you were both sitting in the principal's office.
the famed ravenette innocent student council Vice President, fuming with a red cheek and you, the second year aggressor who was now sinking in terrible regret.
akaashi didn't quite report it but you had been unlucky enough to have too many witnesses for it to go under the covers.
and they reported it.
although it was after hours, there were still some students who caught wind of the incident and you could already tell that the majority of the school body would know by morning.
somehow, even as the principal lectured you and the coach tried to petition for your cause, the only thing that dwelled on your mind was that he knew.
akaashi knew of your past in nerima ward.
but to what extent?
it worried you.
it made you feel sick.
"All I'm saying is what he said maybe earned him it. The lad must've said something to trigger her like this! She's usually docile and passiv-"
"you're saying a member of the student council would say something in any derogatory manner whatsoever to one of his juniors?"
"well why don't you ask him? If he's mature enough he'll fess up...which I would've thought he'd be" the coach retorted throwing a sharp glare to akaashi.
"Sorry Mr. Takeyuki, I muss digress. it doesn't matter the conversation, there should be no words to warrant such a physical reaction between students. Whatever keiji said makes no justification for this. At this moment the student council Vice President has blood inside his mouth. His cheek is even swollen! She should be civil enough to tell him that he offended her if that was the case. Y/N I hope you're ready to disclose to your guardians that you are being suspende-"
"That's horseshit! I shan't hear no parts of this" takeyuki flung his arms in visible annoyance and the principal in astonishment cocked a brow when the coach swore.
"I don't approve this. He instigated it" the coach continued to fume, shaking his head to himself as he paced pointed a trembling finger at akaashi.
"So would you prefer I suspend your captain coach? The preliminaries start tomorrow and I'm sure you wouldn't want him missing the game."
At this the coach took a deep breath, pinching between his brows.
"All I'm saying is, they're both young and stupid. This reaching to the principal's office is penalty enough. And they're mature enough to learn not ta cross each other anymore. Matter of fact. Why don't you ask them? How they'd like this to progress?"
Too stunned to say anything or too petrified to find any words, you sat in the seat still trembling from a temper.
who could've told him.
I nearly began to forget the whole thing myself.
"I think, sirs, we will be able to sort this through together" akaashi said then to you "right y/n?"
then again... how could I have ever forgotten
"Y/n?"
I can never fully forget
—-
"Y/n! Wasn't this the camp the best volleyball camp yet? I kinda don't want to go home" one of your past teammates said.
"I really think we'll make it to nationals this time" another said.
Their voices came through with the distant chirps of crickets on the outside and the soft thuds of the ball you had been throwing up and catching right above your face since you laid on the ground.
"Yeah. I want to do more matches for fun though, to practice" you said.
"Definitely! Oh my God y/n, you know what would make you the best captain?" one of them had asked and then added "since you're friends with kenma, maybe you could get him to agree with us to have a match against the boy's team"
'The boys' team? That's not a bad idea. And playing against kenma would be fun.
"She's just saying that so that she can see kuroo" another girl chimed in earning a playful attack from the first girl.
"Kuroo?" you repeated and immediately remembered a foggy memory of the dark haired older boy that kenma always hung around.
"Yes. Hana-Chan has the FATTEST crush on him. Stop tickling mee!" the second girl wailed between laughs.
the team had gone on to try and influence you into getting the coach and the boys team to have a friendly match.
of course it was a simple thing to do especially since you were the one asking, but if you'd known how that single game would've changed everything you would've never told kenma nor the coach.
Hana had sent you on a mission that backfired awfully.
When the practice match finally came about and you got icicles to share with kenma after the match, you walked towards him and realised kuroo had been beside him.
Though you usually left when he was around kenma, this time you didn't leave.
"Yo" you greeted both of them and awkwardly gave kenma his icicle then stared at kuroo who quirked a brow. "I only bought two" you explained clutching to your one then awkwardly "but I'll share a piece"
"I thought you were nice all this time" kuroo laughed but took on your offer either way, "you're a cool setter. You should teach this kid" he said plopping a hand on kenma's head as he threw the piece of icicle in his mouth.
"Kenma is already good" you defended, watching as kenma squirmed under his sticky hand.
"Of course I know. I'm just messing with him" he laughed and you grew silent then tried to remind yourself of the pep talk the girls had given you.
'You have to find out if he's talking to anyone and how he feels about me' you remember hana prepping you and uncomfortably you switched your weight to your other foot.
"Well...what did you think about our libero?" you asked and he eyed you wearily then to the girls that were 'hiding' in a nearby bush.
"I was focusing on the ball so I didn't really see" he scratched the back of his head and you scrunched up your nose.
didn't he just compliment my set?
he had been joking with kenma again and soon you realised it was hard to get any openings to ask him what you wanted.
so you sat beside him patiently as you ate at your icicle.
"It's like I've adopted two stray cats" he commented earning a "don't call us that" from kenma and a sigh from you.
'I don't even know why hana is interested in him. I'm ready to pack up and go home'
"are you ready to go home?" Kenma asked as if reading your mind and you nodded as you stood and he followed suit.
"You want to go home like this? Your face is a mess" kuroo said then began to wipe his mildly sweaty Jersey at the icicle stains near your mouth which lead to a wild goose chase in the yard.
through that little interaction kuroo immediately adopted you as a friend or as a pet.
eventually you got him to start going out with Hana but you never quite expected that he'd be so close to you even after you set them up.
he hung around you the way he hung around kenma though he'd never explain why.
and when he opened his mouth it was either about nonsense that sounded like funny nothing or him imagining crazy spikes that would never work anywhere in this galaxy.
everything he said made the days seem so much more funny. much more enjoyable.
he always helped to tutor you both for tests and on walks home, he held your hand until you were out of the crowd.
you didn't really find a problem with this and became very fond of his keen attention to you.
...but your teammates found it to be treason.
it started with finding dead insects in your lockers, to manure in your gym shoes that was more than likely from the garden shed.
Whenever you spoke in practices they'd be snickers after. You couldn't pinpoint what was wrong until you had found pages of your textbooks ripped out with notes on the covers that made your stomach twist.
Y/n the whore.
The Liar.
The Fake.
It would've been tolerable if what happened the day of the regionals didn't happen. Since kuroo lived close to you and kenma and there was a playground in between all your houses, you'd often play volleyball in the evenings.
Usually you'd wear your pe gears and sometimes you'd go by kenma's house after, where you'd play games and eat snacks.
the problem with that was that you'd leave your pe gears there since kenma's mom always offered to wash them all.
...but you and kuroo wore the same number.
and so in the changing rooms before the regional match you had found yourself in a Jersey two sizes too big and with a last name that was obviously not yours.
when Hana saw, she broke down and cried, running out of the changing room as she did so. It was an honest misunderstanding but no one would ask. And no one would listen.
When you tried to chase her, one of their feet had mysteriously appeared in front of you causing you to fall sharply on your knee.
You remembered then when you looked back, how their eyes glared at you like those of ghouls. like the yellowed eyes of beasts in the night.
that's when the physical began.
during the game they'd pass balls to you that were too short where you had to basically fall to catch it or too high so when you jumped your knees would ache.
That finals match was never a team against another. But instead one person against the world or at least that's what it felt like.
and the other team was leading.
and the very worse part of that entire match, during the match point , when the ball was perfectly in line with you and just mere inches above your head.
you couldn't jump.
your knees failed and your feet did not leave the ground at all.
'one of the worse things a captain for a team can do is lose the trust of their team' your coach always said it but it was only during that game that you realized how lonely it was to be untrusted.
how loudly the bounces of a ball on the gym's floor echoed when no one caught it.
how heartbreaking a lose is when you're the last person given the opportunity to score.
the lights seemed to dim on everyone else and fall on you then it was like you were placed in a glass box with no oxygen but clear enough for everyone to see you struggling.
and the only sounds that came through being the chatter of the crowd wondering what happened.
you had your first panic attack that match. then the days after that your first instances of being physically bullied as the rumor spread like wild fire.
that you were a...whore who lost your virginity to your best friend's boyfriend.
And to think that the past had finally rendezvoused with your present, and that akaashi keiji was the bearer.
that was the worst feeling on earth.