I recently got into this fandom and haven't found as many Kuroo fics as I wanted to (other than on Tumblr and that formatting is hard for me to read) SO, I decided to write one! I love any feedback, so don't be afraid to send any my way. I was originally wanting to set this up as a reader-insert, but it's easier for me to give the OC physical characteristics for visualization purposes when I'm writing because the y/n h/c thing is hard for me to get into. That's my own issue though, and hope you can forgive me!

Thank you so much for taking time to read this! I hope this prologue doesn't deter any away from the juicy story that will follow!

WARNINGS: This story will include body shaming, depression, angst, fluff, NSFW scenes, and a HAPPY ENDING

She's American

Katherine Cole, "Kitty," as she preferred, sat tapping her pencil on the desk she was leaning on. The Alabama spring was already insufferable. She could feel the pollen-tainted humidity seep in from the window she was staring out.

"Congratulations, Kitty!" Her Chemistry teacher exclaimed as he returned to the classroom from a last minute meeting.

"OoOOo what did our little ol nerd do this time?" The class clown asked on behalf of all the other students thinking the same thing.

Okay, she wasn't intentionally a troublemaker. She was simply a curious individual that happened to get carried away from time to time.

The most recent incident that landed her in the principal's office was one involving the water fountain. She had blown it up by stuffing a sodium/potassium alkali metal into the mouthpiece. Her teacher told her that it was explosive when it encountered water and she didn't believe him.

"Nothing involving chemical reactions this time, thankfully," their teacher sighed as his eyes glazed over just thinking about that last disaster.

"Katherine, along with twelve other students, have been involved with our foreign communications program we've been sharing with Japan since they were in middle school. Out of those students, she has been the only one accepted to participate in a student exchange. Ms. Cole will be spending her senior year at Karasuno High in the Miyagi Prefecture."

"What does that mean? Is that where my pen pal person is?"

"Unfortunately, not. Tetsuro Kuroo attends Nekoma High in the Nerima Ward in Tokyo. Four hours south of where you'll be staying. We were originally going to send you there, but his school found your...record of property damage in the name of science a bit too risky; however, it is encouraged for you to spend your school breaks with him for cultural enhancement. Now, please head over to the principal's office for more information."

"Cultural enhancement? Like getting freaky with the locals? Hell, I shoulda signed up, bruh!" The comedian added.

"Please, Mr. Anderson, return back to your schoolwork. You're dismissed, Katherine."

"Yes, sir" Kitty smiled, collected her books, and walked down the hall.

As a loner in Birmingham's largest city school system, it wasn't easy to make close friends. She had only made one. Kenyetta, that one and only friend, passed away in a drive-by last year. The memory of her death had yet to fade. This chance at starting a new year in a completely different country would hopefully give her the distraction she needed to fill the void "KiKi" left behind.

Kitty paused to look at her trembling hands.

She could still feel that sticky texture on her fingertips. She could still smell the iron scent of blood that stained the concrete sidewalk that afternoon as she desperately put pressure on the back of her friend's head.

She'll never forget the way KiKi's ebony curls felt that day. The matted texture from the plasma oozing into the gorgeous locks wasn't something that could be easily erased from one's mind.

KiKi's hair was usually braided into immaculate patterns, but that day she had taken them down and let her tightly coiled twists hang around her head like a halo of onyx.

"I wish I had golden hair like you, Kitty."

"But you can do so many things with yours. Mine just kinda hangs here all thin and boring."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, you know what they say girl."

"You always want what you don't have."

It was an innocent conversation they were having when the gunshots deafened the air around them.

Kitty buried herself into extra-curricular activities after that day. She joined the dance team thanks to her mother's push, she began taking Japanese that Kuroo, her pen pal, was patient enough to let her practice within their emails, and she even volunteered to work concessions at the girls volleyball games.

She only stood at a whopping five feet in height, so she never really had a chance at playing the sport herself, but that didn't stop her from supporting her best friend that did. KiKi had been the ace and good god could that girl spike.

The sound that came along with the ferocious slap of the ball gave her shivers every time. Now, she would never get to experience the thrill of the game with KiKi no longer here with her.

Kuroo also played the sport. That, along with their shared interest in science and endless curiosity in one another's countries, kept their conversations going even after six years.

The Principal's friendly cough brought the seventeen-year-old back to the present.

"Kenyetta's passing has been hard for our community, yes, but your personal attachment to her has not gone unnoticed. It is for this reason, along with your outstanding grades and persistence to keep up with your pen pal, that we have selected you for this opportunity. Your teachers and mother agree that sending you out to discover the culture and wonders of Japan will be an excellent chance for you to rediscover yourself."

"It is the perfect distraction."

"Indeed. Now, let's discuss the curriculum you'll be expected to adhere to."

Japan huh?" Kitty's mother remarked for the upteenth time.

It wasn't easy being a single parent. All she wanted to do was give her little girl the luxuries in life she never had, but she failed time and time again. At least her baby would get to spread her wings out of Alabama.

"Yep. Tonight at Midnight I get to have a conference call with Karasuno's Superintendent, the principal, and the third year class representative. Then, I finally get to have one with my pen pal that helped me land this opportunity!"

"Do you think he'll be cute, this Kuroo person?"

"Mom!"

"Well, don't you ever think about it? You've been his correspondence for half a decade now. Haven't you ever wondered what he looked like?" Her mother laughed as she watched her petite daughter blush in embarrassment.

"Now I am," Kitty shrugged uncomfortably. It was hard not getting attached to the only person that seemed to like her other than KiKi. Naturally, her silly girl hormones couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to speak with him face-to-face.

And now she was going to be.

Her mother proceeded to finish packing up for her as the conference call continued throughout the night. Finally, around three in the morning, she prepared for the zoom chat with the captain of Nekoma's volleyball club.

She felt the weight of her eyes from lack of sleep win over her excitement with finally meeting him.

"Yo, Kitty Cat! Don't tell me you're already bored. I haven't even said anything yet," Kuroo teased as he set up his laptop in the gym his team was practicing in. It was five in the evening for him.

"Hmm? Oh! I'm so sorry," Kitty mumbled as she jumped awake.

She rubbed her grey eyes sleepily as she adjusted the brightness of her screen.

Kuroo studied the girl he had been limited, up until now, to email conversations with. He wasn't sure what he really expected her to look like, but it certainly wasn't...this. He hoped his ears weren't as red as they felt.

Eyes resembling storm clouds softened as her plump lips turned up into a smile once she finally woke up enough to acknowledge him. Her long, blonde hair was wrapped into two buns on the top of her head.

So this is what a Southern Belle looks like? He thought, deciding that joining the foreign communications team in middle school just to add to his resume was worth it.

"I accept your apology, meatball head."

"Meatball head? That's clever coming from someone whose hair resembles a rooster," Kitty replied evenly.

Kuroo's hyena like laughter filled her dimly lit room.

"I don't style it this way. This is all natural, kitten," he winked, unable to stop the word from slipping out.

"Listen to you! You are a rooster. Cackling like one, having hair like one, and then having the cockiness to flirt with me like one!"

"As long as I get to call you kitten all I want, I'll allow the rooster moniker. How does that sound?"

"Deal!"

"So, is your plane leaving tomorrow night?"

"Yep. It's going to be a long fourteen hours."

His grin widened the longer they talked. Her accent was something he hadn't heard before and it sounded cute in Japanese. The sultry way she slurred her words was intoxicating.

"I don't want to rush you or anything, but you should probably start practice soon," Kenma (at least that's who Kitty assumed it was based on the descriptions she received from Kuroo) quietly spoke up with his eyes glued to a game he was playing while walking over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in five minutes. Anyway, Kitty, I'm going to send you a list of places to see and do during our breaks. Oh, and can I get your number? It'll be easier for us to communicate that way when you get here."

"Sure!"

That is how Kuroo Tetsuro found himself thinking about an American he had known for years but never bothered sparing a second thought to until now.