"Tooru." This wasn't happening. Oikawa's heart throbbed in pain as he watched the black-haired girl face him with direct eye contact, tears pouring out of her eyes as she smiled painfully at him. "I love you. But you'll never choose me over volleyball. I admire your dedication to the sport, but I think we'll both be better off without each other." His horrified face was heart-breaking for the poor girl but she had decided that this was for the best.
In her pain, she unconsciously started staring at his white knee brace. "It was my fault. It was my fault you're injured. It was all my fault. I'll bring nothing but pain to you after all." Her depressed expression was enough to mentally kill him that second.
"No it wasn't." He grabbed her shoulders. "It was never your fault." He insisted desperately. "Kyuubi- It wasn't your fault." He moved forward, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You don't need to worry about me, I promise-"
"You'll have more time to practice and you won't have to worry about meeting me for our dates anymore. And I need someone who cares about me. I don't think we should maintain a long-distance relationship when I move to Tokyo next week if you aren't fully committed to this. Tooru, let's break up."
She blinked at him sadly, trying to maintain a smile while her tears rolled down her cheeks. Oikawa pulled away slowly, frowning. "If that's what you want, Kyuubi-chan." He sighed and looked straight at her, trying to hold back all his tears. With a forced smile and sigh, he relaxed his shoulders in defeat. "You were good to me. I'm really sorry I didn't give you enough attention. Good luck in Tokyo." His childish nickname for her brought back so many memories, it hurt.
With a final kiss on her head, he turned away and stalked off, hands in his pockets. He avoided her face, he knew it was twisted with pain. Her tears were enough to make him get on his knees and beg for her not to leave him, to shout that he would be able to give her more attention when Nationals were over. But he couldn't. He would only make her feel guilty, after all.
The light in her eyes faded quicker by the second. Staring at her hands, she narrowed her eyes slowly as she let what she had just done sink into her brain. Her depressed sobs echoed throughout the empty hallways. Now they have him. Maybe that's a good thing.
-2 Days later -
"Slut!"
"Whore!"
"Bitch!"
Just some of the insults her classmates had hurled at her. Obviously, the whole school had heard about it. She stuffed her books into a cardboard box. It was almost time to move to the city of Tokyo for her mother's new job offer. Pushing her silky black locks out of her face, she removed the photos of Oikawa, Iwaizumi and her on the back of the locker door.
"I'm really sorry, Tooru." She whispered, pressing the photo to her face as a single tear escaped her eye. Quickly wiping it away, she breathed outwards. "Time to get over this one." She declared silently. She couldn't get hung up on it, stuffing it into a garbage bag. She was a distraction to Oikawa, after all, and she'd never be one ever again. She stood up, determined. Finals would be coming up soon and she had decided even before her breakup with Oikawa that she would focus on them.
A group of Oikawa's fangirls passed by her as she knelt down to get more of her books from the bottom of the locker. "Seems like you did what we told you to." One of the girls sneered.
"I did… Tooru is all yours. Just don't hurt any of my family members." She averted her gaze. Actually, she was incredibly athletic, and could have beat any of them in a fist fight, but she really hated the thought of confrontation. It was something Oikawa admired, though he encouraged her to defend herself and stand up with pride.
Just then, who else but Oikawa turned the corner with Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi quickly stopped him from going any further by sticking his arm out.
"Oi-"
"Shh- Look." Iwaizumi whispered frantically.
Oikawa quickly noticed what his friend was doing and they silently listened in on their conversation from the shadows they blended into.
"We'll think about it…" Another one laughed at the state she was reduced to.
"Please…" Oikawa could feel his heart shatter at her small voice. "Just don't hurt my family. I broke up with him like you wanted. I'll be moving next week and you can have him to yourself." She looked down at the floor sadly. It would've happened sooner or later.
"And if you dare approach our Oikawa at any of his games, we'll find out where you live and expose that you're the reason for Oikawa's knee. You'd be a degenerate anywhere you go." She smirked. "I'd love for that to happen to your sad ass."
The girl picked up the garbage bag and dumped onto her head. There was a hysterical laughter from the group of fangirls. "Oh, what's this?" She picked up the photo of Oikawa and Iwaizumi with her. "Oh, you won't need this anymore, Kyuubi~." She scoffed, her voice seething with jealousy, mockery and venom. She tore up the photo and threw the shreds out the window. "Bitch." She laughed mockingly as she sauntered away.
Oikawa felt his fists willing themselves to hit the girl in the jaw, but Iwaizumi pulled him back. "You know Kitsune hates confrontation… Don't do it Oikawa." Oikawa glared at him, before retreating reluctantly, hot tears flowing down gently. "Is that why she broke up with me?" He whispered to himself. Iwaizumi pet him on the back, sighing. It wasn't like Kitsune to be so direct in anything, much less a breakup. But she could have had another reason, he decided.
Meanwhile, she had picked herself up from the ground, brushing her skirt off. "Not again…" She sighed as she pulled off a cover from the back of her locker that had covered her bow and arrows. It was a collapsible one, and very nice at that. With a flick of her wrist, she had opened it, revealing a perfectly polished black bow that she saved for emergencies.
She pulled the dangerously sharp fibreglass arrows out, inspecting them carefully. They were her secret stash. Looking around, she pulled back the bow string, and released it swiftly, hitting a tree branch outside. Flicking her wrist again, the bow folded back. The tsurune of the bow always relaxed her, especially after confrontation.
I wonder what Tokyo is like…. She forced a smile as she thought about the city. What does the Tokyo Skytree look like? Her smile, that could light up a dark night without a moon, formed on her face for the first time in forever. She didn't notice the tall brunette watching her tearily from the other end of the hallway. Nekoma High School, here I come.
-One week later-
"Oh god what is this skirt?" She pulled at it uncertainly. It was dark blue, in contrast to the light brown, beige coloured ones she used to wear at Aoba Johsai. The sailor-style uniform was uncomfortable to say the least. She wasn't used to it. She had spent the last 2 years at Aoba Johsai, so to suddenly transfer over was strange. Oh well, she packed her foldable bow and arrows into a separate bag. She had heard that there was an archery range nearby, and she was willing to try it out.
"Mum, I'm leaving now!"
"Okay! Be careful!"
Her feet trudged forward as she stared at the sign outside the building. Nekoma High School. Wow. She'd watched Oikawa play against them before, but she would never have thought that she'd transfer in there. Her eyes glowered with sadness as she remembered those days. She'd hold banners for him, and she loved the way his face lit up with pride as he watched her. He just had to be popular, didn't he? He just had to have swarms of fangirls trying to kill her for her spot next to him.
"Excuse me!" A tall, white -haired boy shoved right past her in a hurry, causing her to lose her balance and fall over.
"Oi! Bastard!" She shouted after him as she got up, brushing her skirt off. "Oya? You okay?" A tall black-haired boy who somewhat resembled a human rooster looked at her strangely. "You're Oikawa's girlfriend, right? I've seen you at his games before. What are you doing here?"
"My name is Kitsune Shimada. I'm not just another one of Tooru's girlfriends." She huffed as she looked at him properly. "Huh- You're the captain of Nekoma's volleyball team, aren't you?" She stared up at him. "I transferred here. Where's Kenma-san?"
She looked around for the pudding-head setter she had met a year ago at one of their games with Aoba Johsai. Incidentally, she had bonded with him over their intense love for gaming. However, they had lost touch after a while, as Aoba Johsai didn't have too many games with Nekoma afterwards, and she didn't go to most of their games afterwards.
"He's right here…" Kuroo stepped aside to reveal Kenma, wearing his red hoodie, Switch and all. Just as she remembered. "Hi Kenma-san." She smiled gently as she lowered her voice. He nodded a greeting to her. She knew exactly how to greet him, quietly and minimally. A rare smile appeared on his face as they bowed slightly to each other.
"Sorry about the idiot. He's Lev, our first year and he's a complete and utter dunce. C'mon." Kuroo dragged her by the wrist.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked, scowling. "I can walk myself, you know."
"Your hand is injured. We're going to the infirmary. Oikawa would kill me if I didn't look after his girlfriend." Kuroo raised an eyebrow teasingly.
"Thanks, but we broke up last week." She chewed on her lip. Kenma looked curious for a second, but turned back to his game.
"Ah. Don't mind, let's go before class starts." He smiled kindly. Or was it menacing? She couldn't tell with that Cheshire Cat smile of his.
"Thank you, Kuroo-san, Kenma-san."
"Don't mind, Kitsune-chan."
- After School -
"Oi, Kitsune-chan!"
She turned to see Kuroo running towards her, dragging a reluctant Kenma along. Smiling, she waited for them to catch up.
"Are you going anywhere now?" He asked. She reached into her bag and with a flick of her wrist she released her black bow. "Archery range. I found one near here." She smiled adorably. "I have to practice. What are you guys doing? Don't you have volleyball?"
"Practice was cancelled today, so we were going to invite you to grab lunch with the team, but sounds like you're busy." He smirked at the bow. Kitsune, athletic? Since uh-when? "If you want, we can escort you there. It's near the restaurant anyways, right Kenma?" Kenma nodded slowly before turning his attention back to his game. "It won't take long."
"Sure, if you want, you can join me after lunch." She blinked kindly at them. Just then, Yaku ran up to them. "Oi, you two. The team is waiting, hurry up." Yaku blinked at her. "You're Oikawa's girlfriend!" He exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Sighing, she collapsed her bow back into her bag. "Long story."
- Meet up with the team -
"You're Lev, right?" She stared up at the familiar white hair and tall stature.
"Huh? You know who I am?!" His face lit up as he nudged Yamamoto. "Senpai, I'm more popular than you, even more girls know me than you!"
"I would hope not. You pushed me over this morning." She borderline hissed, raising her palm to let him see the scratches on her palm that her fall had caused.
Yamamoto let out a loud guffaw, doubling over in laughter. "Bahahaha! Oh my god Lev, girls only know you as a klutz!" His laughs caught the attention of multiple teachers who shushed him loudly. Embarrassed, he held back his laughter to a snicker.
"Is she our new manager?" Inouka arrived last, tilting his head in confusion as to why there was a girl.
"You wish." Yamamoto scoffed. "She's Oikawa's ex."
"Yikes."
"I'm just going to shoot a couple arrows at the archery range, but if you guys don't stop referring to me as Tooru's ex, I'm going to shoot them into your mouths." She raised her eyebrow teasingly. Kuroo high-fived her, smirking like a wild hyena.
"Are we going or not?" Yaku asked, smiling.
"OSU!"
- Archery Range -
"You're a legend!" The minute the boys had dropped her off at the archery range, the staff started to gather around her, staring at her with admiration in their eyes.
"Can I get your autograph?"
"I joined archery because of you!"
"You're amazing!"
Kuroo raised an eyebrow as he was shoved aside by swarms of athletes who wanted to meet Kitsune. "I didn't know Kitsune-chan was so popular." He nudged Kenma, who glared at him as he nearly dropped his Switch.
"Kitsune-kun is a nationally renowned archer. She's won so many Youth Championships consecutively that she's being scouted to join the Under-19s Japan Team in the Olympics." He mumbled loud enough for them to hear. "Her nickname is Kyuubi, a 9-tailed fox demon from Japanese myth. From what I've heard, Oikawa was the first one to call her that because of her demonically accurate aim."
"What?" The team spun to look at him.
"Huh. So, she's a champion at her sport." Yaku stared at the girl admiringly. "I'm not shocked, for some reason."
"How did you know all that, Kenma-san? You like her, don't you?" Lev stabbed his side with his bony elbow, smiling goofily. Rubbing his side and glaring at Lev, Kenma grumbled, "I do my research on my friends."
SNAP.
The Tsurune of the bow echoed throughout the range, cutting off the boys' conversation. The whistling of the arrow as it split the wind in two. Eyes stared in awe as the arrow pierced through the target with the ripping sound of the fabric. A bullseye, right in the centre of the target. Her smile of menacing satisfaction could have brightened up even Ushijima's heart. She flicked her midnight-black hair off her shoulder, her hazel eyes seeming to glow with pride as she admired her handiwork.
"WOAH!"
"KYUUBI-SAN, YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!"
"THAT WAS SO COOL!"
Kitsune's fans started to crowd around her, knocking the boys further back.
"What the hell was that?" Yamamoto scoffed in confusion. "That was cool."
"Oi, oi. Those are my friends, please don't crowd." Kitsune frowned at her fans, who willingly obliged and moved out of the way for the Nekoma volleyball Team, who approached her. "That was good, Kitsune." Kenma nodded his approval.
"WOW YOU WENT THWIP AND THE ARROW WENT FWOOSH AND IT HIT THE CIRCLE AND IT WAS SO COOL!" Inouka gushed, eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Thanks." She smiled gratefully. "Now you guys should get some lunch. You can join me here later, now shoo, shoo." She physically pushed Lev out of the range, the rest of Nekoma following him.
Soon, they were on their way to the restaurant, still shell shocked from the shocking revelation that their newest friend was basically a legend and inspirtaion to such a large group of people in Japan.
"We don't have an archery club, right?" Yaku raised an eyebrow. "I wonder which club she's going to join."
"Well… We do need a manager, don't we? And she's Oikawa's ex, so I'm sure she knows a little something about volleyball too…" Yamamoto hinted to Kuroo, sharing a smirk with him.
"That's not a bad idea, I'll ask her." Kuroo replied earnestly and thoughtfully. Kenma shook his head, groaning. Kitsune was sweet, but her infectious smile and excitement would cause Lev and Yamamoto to be even more excited aand irritatingly eccentric. Still, it wan't a bad idea.