\ Three Years Ago \

Kageyama didn't know what he was feeling every time he looked at you. He didn't know why his chest felt so tight when he saw that smile on your face. He didn't understand why his heart seemed to beat so fast in his chest when he felt you beside him, completely nonchalant and smiling all the time. It was actually a little irritating because of how he seemed so connected to you by the hip, he didn't get it but it didn't mean he didn't really want it to go away.

He felt that when you were next to him, his heart would thump, threatening to jump out of his chest but it stopped when you left his side. He also found that only when he was thinking about you; your smile, your hair and your slightly chubby and pink cheeks, his mind would turn fuzzy almost like that feeling you get when you stand up too fast and almost lose balance, that annoying black fuzz appearing in your vision as a result.

He found that none of this happened when he wasn't thinking about you - which was highly unlikely but it still occurred like, say for example, when Kageyama was playing volleyball with his team mates. He found that besides Oikawa Tooru, he was also a decent setter - for a first year, that is. He was fond of asking his senpai how to set and how to calculate where the ball should be thrown, he found that despite Oikawa's childish attitude, the older male would still be up for teaching his kouhai and after sticking his tongue out at the poor first year, Iwaizumi Hajime would slap him across the back of the head and hence the teaching began.

Other than those times on the court, Kageyama always had you on his mind. He wasn't sure why though but it wasn't as if it was a bad thing. He was just scared. You could say he was scared of you getting hurt because he was terrified of how that would make him feel. He wanted to always protect you and keep you out of harms way because the stress it gave him was almost unbearable, perhaps you could see it - perhaps you didn't notice but all in all, Kageyama didn't want to think about how observant you might have been and how there could be a possibility that you picked it up from him but he let that slip to the back of his mind.

But something had happened of that day and Kageyama knew he never wanted to feel that way ever again. It was how his blood seemed to immediately freeze when you told him what happened. He, of course, had seen it happen but he was a little to naive to realise what it was. It was something that An had said that made him confused but your words made his heart stop for a second.

He had walked to school with you by his side, walking as you talked about the english homework that neither one of you had completed. You had failed to complete it when you became lost in another anime last night, almost managing to complete the series consisting of twelve episodes while Kageyama listened intently when he also realised he was screwed. He knew that you would get the answers from Rika and he would also copy those answers from you as you wrote them so he headed to class, letting you go through the door before him; because to him, chivalry (although not exactly knowing what it meant as he was thirteen) was not dead.

A boy had stopped you, making Kageyama bump into your back and he glared at the boy mildly when you smiled so carelessly, "Good morning.."

"Uh- Good morning [Lastname]-san, my name is Fujimoto, Fuj-Fujimoto Kei."

He was small - in Kageyama's opinion, letting himself look this boy up and down as he noticed that even you were taller than this Fujimoto, and he even thought you were small. You had moved to the side as you had noticed that both you and Tobio had been blocking the door and this boy from the next class caught your attention enough to keep you in front of him even though you knew the siren would be ringing very soon, "Fujimoto-kun, was there something you needed?"

'So cute...'

His face burned, Fujimoto didn't know what he was doing but at the same time he knew he had to do it, he was so so nervous and the way your wide eyes seemed to stare into his, made him melt inside while he was almost tempted to run away before blowing a fuse. He only noticed Kageyama had followed you when he stood right behind you, chest touching your back when you had moved out of the way from the classroom entrance. Fujimoto shivered at the look Tobio gave him, the raven-haired boy towered over both of them and Fujimoto was seriously tempted to leave for his class.

He wouldn't do it though, he wouldn't allow himself to get teased for not following through with his initial plan. He clearly remembers strictly telling his friends that he was going to do it and he wouldn't come back until it was done. He had had enough with the pining and thoughtless words of affection leaving his mouth as he stared at you longingly from the other side of the halls. His friends always heard him, leaving him blushing so bad that he wished he could disappear every time.

"I- I uh-" His eyes spasmed from Kageyama's odd glare and then to your adorably oblivious face - that is, until you had caught on with an unnecessarily loud gasp, "Tobio-chan, you can go inside, I'll be there in a-"

"Bu-"

"Tobio, it's fine." He huffed, you bit your lip to hold in the smile when you felt his harsh breath on the top of your head and he was gone, stomping into the classroom swiftly and stubbornly. Once you knew he was in the room, you had looked back into Fujimoto's eyes and his cheeks were even redder than before, smiling, you prompt him to continue, "Yes?"

The clueless look upon your face, the shameless smile and those wide eyes made his insides wild. It was now or never.

"I really like you! Like, really, really like you!" He took a huge inhale, his eyes budging at the look of shock that sprung itself across your face and he continued, preferring to not get rejected before expressing everything he felt, "I-I know you have u-uh T-tobio?! But I r-really like you and I want to b-be with you and your smile is-uh it's uh-well really pretty- I me-mean it's better than pretty uh-"

He was at a loss now, he had no idea what to say but he also had so, so much to say. He was about to combust on the spot, he was sure of it. He was sure of it when you hadn't said anything or even moved since he began his short rant that weirdly left him puffing a little.

"F-Fujimoto..-kun.."

He didn't dare look into your eyes but it happened anyway because was too scared. He was terrified, really. His eyes met yours as soon as his last name left your mouth and he almost choked on the air in his throat at the sight of your glossy eyes as they were matched with amazingly red cheeks. Your pretty, little pink lips held your mouth open, agape in amazement or shock - he didn't know if it was good or bad. He was still panicked.

He noticed that your breath had stopped and he was a bit puzzled, he didn't know such a bold and pretty girl could react in such a way to a confession that he was sure you'd received more than once. And he was for sure that that confession was from Kageyama.

"I-Uh- thank you..? I'm really happy you've told me this- I-uh-uh.. I don't know what to say.."

He reveled in the way you seemed to become so flustered. But he was also confused, it was as if you had never received a confession before, "-Uh class is.. class is star-"

The siren rang, the teachers were on their way too and you began freaking out which in turn caused a ripple effect onto Fujimoto as well as he flinched at your suddenly explosive behaviour, "UH I ha-have to go- I'll talk to you later!"

You had left him in the hall, completely flipped in his mind as he stood as if he was a new mannequin at the mall. His mind couldn't process what had happened and his mouth just opened and closed resembling a fish as a result. His cheeks burned red and his hands were shaking, 'Was that your first time receiving a confession?!'

In class, three students couldn't not focus on the girl who was burning like a candle, her (your) face was red the entire time, the tips of your ears felt hot as well. You couldn't concentrate on your work because his words just wouldn't stop replaying in your mind. It was terrifying in all honesty and yet you'd still had to talk to him after class as well. After watching a decent (an overload) amount of romance anime, you knew that you had to give him a reply; either yes, you'd hang out with him and become friends but the thought of doing that while knowing he had feelings for you was petrifying.

But otherwise you'd have to reject him and that was equally (actually even more frightening than the first option) scary and it made you feel gloomy because doing that would be rejecting his pure and extraordinary feelings for you that you had never even experienced before.

If you reject him then you'd be hurting him more than you knew and you couldn't even empathise and try to make him feel better. You knew that that decision would hurt him, you never wanted to hurt anyone and it made you feel really troubled. You knew you had to consult with An and Rika but class was far from over, allowing these dull and downcast emotions swallow you whole despite the compliments throughout his confession ringing through your mind.

Lunch rolled around pretty fast but it was most likely because you had been doing nothing but daydreaming, Fujimoto's words ringing through your mind uncontrollably hence making you increasingly restless to leave the class, leave the school and go home. An and Rika jumped from their seats to approach you with worried looks across their faces, curious yet unsure of what had happened. Nervous of thinking it was another boy who wanted to tease you just like the ones in your own class or if this boy had different intentions.

They didn't even make it to your desk when you were up and running at them, dodging the corners of the desks to grab their wrists and drag them right out of class. Your classmates were shocked, silent in question before resuming back grabbing their bentos as Tobio grabbed his own bento from the bottom of your bag at your desk. He was worried a little, hungry as well. He was thinking about what had happened but he also wanted to let you do what you had to, he didn't want you to be as nervous as you looked but he also couldn't help wishing that you chose to confide in him instead of the two girls.

Rika and An found themselves in the girls toilet, standing beside the sinks and the mirrors as they took a quick glance at themselves; Rika had the audacity to wink at her own reflection before listening to your rant, "Woah, woah, woah- you're telling us that Fujimoto-kun confessed to you!? And he said you have a pretty smile?!?" Rika was beaming, An was as well but she also didn't understand the freak out you were going through, "Well it's true, You're su~per cute [Name]-chan~!" Rika hugged you into her breasts, laughing as your cheeks turned pink again, "St-no Rika-chan~ Guys, help me! What do I do?!"

"What do you mean? You have Kageyama, right? You have to reject Fujimoto-kun." An-chan was a little puzzled by your behaviour, wondering why it seemed like something rather difficult for you, "I-Uh what, wh-"

"Or.." Rika smirked a little, her eyes brights with mischief to make light of the situation (which you deemed was very unneeded,) "Has our little [Name]-chan never gotten confessed to before?" A squeaky yelp left your lips and An sighed, "[Name]-chan- " Neither could ignore Rika's wiggling eyebrows, "Rika-chan you aren't helping- [Name]-chan, you don't like Fujimoto, do you?"

Shaking your head, your wide eyes seemed to resemble a lost puppy though you couldn't help speak your thoughts to the girls you confided in, "I don't but I could right, like if I got to know him I me- I don't wa-want to hurt him.."

A look appeared on their faces and they didn't speak either, after a couple of seconds as you stared at their high eyebrows and their lips turned to soft smiles, their eyes becoming more gentle, "[Name]-chan.. It's gonna hurt him if you don't answer either, you have to reject him but it doesn't have to be as hard as you think."

"What.. what do I say?"

An looked to Rika, the girl having been watching the interaction before noticing the attention on her, beaming once again at the look of hope and admiration glittering in your eyes, "First call me your Sempai! And I'll tell you everything!"

"E-eh? but we're in the same year?"

"You're literally a couple months older than her.."

"Older, which means you're my kouhai, [Name]-chan you're like.. You're like a sweet strawberry tart."

"Wh-what?" Rika was shining with smiles with a cheeky aura surrounding her, "Your so sweet and tiny so that's why everyone knows that you are Kageyama's and Kageyama is yours. No one messes with it because it is so clear to see, you have to approach Fujimoto when we leave the toilets and then tell him that."

".. I have to tell him that I'm Kageyama's and Kageyama is mine? T-That's a lit- a bit embarrassing.."

An-chan's eyes were glowing, catching onto what Rika was saying and hence agreeing eagerly, "She's right, but be soft on him," She gave a tentative look to the other girl and looked back to you, "You have to just say that you can't reciprocate his feelings but I wouldn't recommend telling him that you'd still like to be friends with him.. The friend zone is really not a place anyone wants to be."

"I can't be friends with him? Bu-"

"No, you can but it will hurt him.. Unless he wants to.. But I doubt it."

Nodding, you took what they said into a account and looked to the mirrors on your side, subconsciously patting your hair down while exhaling loudly, "I'm hungry.."

An-chan muffled a laugh, grabbing your shoulder reassuringly, "You'll eat with Kageyama after, I bet he's already eating his bento, okay?" Another breath was taken into your lungs when Rika mocked wiping a tear from her eye, "My little girl is growing up!"

Walking around the corner, you swung open the door, startled to find that Fujimoto had already been looking around outside of your class. His eyes were wide, his cheeks were pink once again and he was staring right up at Kageyama as the raven-haired boy watched with an odd look.
You couldn't help think it was pretty cute, "Fu-.." Steadying yourself, you spoke up louder, "Fujimoto-kun!"

Kageyama's eyes met yours right when the sound left your mouth but only Fujimoto moved, flinching to see you staring at him, your own cheeks seeming to mirror his when he hurried right towards you. An-chan and Rika-chan stared from the side, giggling in amazement when you tried and almost failed at ignoring them just as Kageyama stood by the wall, glaring at both of you as he tried to perhaps read your lips.

He wanted to ask what was going on, hence why he was suddenly beside An as she watched next to Rika when they thought it would be better to give you some space. He didn't understand it so he didn't know what An had meant by, "She's finally growing up, right?!"

He was just confused, he really wanted you to come to him. He wanted you to smile at him and talk to him, confide and vent or rant to him. Watching you, his heart thumped but he didn't like the bright look in the other boy's eyes.
That is, until they had gone dull. Despite having spoken a couple of words, Fujimoto's expression darkened after a flash of what looked like shock had crossed his face. He nodded and your face seemed to turn sour, ears turning red while your hands fidgeting nervously. Tobio couldn't hear anything that was being discussed but he brightened up inconspicuously when he noticed your flustered expression directed right at him.

He straightened up, inhaling nervously for whatever you had to say - it was almost as if he felt whatever was being radiated off of you (what was up with that?) and he looked down at you expectantly when your eyes flashed from An to Rika and to him again, "I-I said it."

They smiled and Rika grabbed your arm, "See, it was for the best [Name]-chan."

"Wa-what? What happened?"

Both Rika and An noticed the hard look in his eyes and you tugged the bottom of his shirt a little, the two girls walking back to class to fish out your bento for you as you spoke with wide eyes, flashing with what he thought was excitement, "Fujimoto-kun confessed to me! Like, He told me that he likes me and I have a pretty smile! It was super cute.."

Feeling his blood grow cold, he huffed in reply and questioned you to ease his uncertainty, "What'd you say to him?"

He didn't make eye contact, and suddenly, you didn't either, "OH- uh it was just- you know, I don't really know h-him so I can't give him fa-false hope, I said no.." He nodded, he thought you knew that he realised you were sort of lying but he was overall glad to know you said no. It was only a second that he felt the dread, he didn't want to know it was happening when you and Fujimoto were speaking, but he knew he didn't want to feel that way again.

As lunch went on for a while, you still had time to go inside and eat, to tend to your empty stomach and subconsciously grabbed Tobio's warm hand to take him with you. He felt his breath stop, his heart skipping a beat at the feeling and suddenly his ears were turning red when he figured you had felt the sweatiness of his palm.

Despite that, you didn't look back and held his hand tightly, he felt a stare and turned around to find the same boy that had him fearing for losing his bestest friend, staring back at him. There was a look in Kei's eyes as he looked back at both you and Kageyama, he didn't know how to explain it but he did notice the way Fujimoto's eyes went from your connected hands and then onto Kageyama's dark blue eyes.

After school, just as the final bell rang, Tobio was out bringing class work to the teachers office so when he walked back, he was a little surprised to find Fujimoto sliding the door to his class closed with his foot as he held a stack of books in his hands. He had stopped, waiting for the other boy to notice him before Kei's eyes landed on him, surprising him with a little lift of his lips.

He appeared defeated in a way, a little nervous too, "Kageyama..? That's your name, right?" The taller boy wasn't expecting Fujimoto to say anything but in response he nodded, watching his body language and scanning him up and down once again, "I- Uh, I'm sorry about what happened today, I mean It must've worried you but... you surely knew you had nothing to worry about, right?"

Bewildered, Kageyama raised a brow as he listened, "You're a really lucky guy.."

By now, Fujimoto had stopped in the hall, his arms already feeling the effects of carrying a stack of books though he; for some reason, still wanted to stay and talk, even for a little while and even if it meant nothing to either of them, "You like [Name]."
Fujimoto was a little (a lot) shocked when hearing your first name with no honorifics, he didn't realise he might've been getting in between a serious relationship like that, but he had to say what he was feeling.

"Yeah.. You can r-relax I guess? I won't come between what you both have, I guess you deserve each other.." A melancholy expression passed over the face of the first year before he was smiling a little, half a smile as his eyes fidgeted towards everything but Kageyama's soft glare, "What did she say to you?"

'OH- uh it was just- you know, I don't really know h-him so I can't give him fa-false hope, I said no..'

"Huh? She didn't tell you?"

He looked to the side, his blue eyes unsure as Fujimoto caught on but he still huffed out a tiny laugh, something along the lines of a laugh and it caught Kageyama's attention, "T-O-B-I-O~?!"

They both heard your scream from the class, the teacher scolding you after as more kids were getting ready to leave their class after cleaning up and just as he was about to bypass Kageyama, he uttered those seven words and went on his way, silencing Kageyama for the rest of the day.

The next morning, the first year Kageyama of Kitagawa Daiichi left his home, heading down the road to go straight to yours, his hand not once loosening around the piece of jewellry in his pants pocket. He couldn't stop his heart from thumping wildly and he hated how it seemed as if he couldn't focus, his thoughts becoming everything and nothing all at once.

'She said 'I'm completely devoted to Tobio'

In class, you sat in the back. Your desk was small, a different colour that you knew but you had grown accustomed to it. It was drawn on with black permanent marker, marked with awful words, curses and foul language that you didn't even know the meaning of. It was weird, sitting in an assigned seat to accommodate with your disability but you had to do what you could with what you were given.

Sometimes a student in class would turn to look at you, sometimes they had a smile on their face and sometimes they had a smirk or they just leered at you with mischievous eyes that; although it made you curious, you still didn't bother making any indication to question their actions. It had become the norm now, snickering at the disabled student in class because these people were different, they were a lot different to the classmates you had in Japan.

It had been three years and the necklace around your neck still gave you comfort, it would never, ever fail to anyway. It was the source of your energy to get out of bed and to do something instead of lounging away as the misery and the despondency ate away at your mind each day. It was an object that held more meaning than anything else in your life. A simple thin gold chain that went around your neck while, sitting on your chest comfortably, was a thin golden ring, an effortlessly elegant, shining diamond attached to it.

Forlorn and friendless, desolate and unwanted - it was the emotions felt in your heart causing your limbs to become heavier as the time you recalled so vividly saying farewell to your bestest friend grew increasingly further away. The necklace still let you have hope that you'd see him again and that he wouldn't forget about you. It was the necklace that had a ring looped through the chain and the words you said, you remembered and trusted them with your whole heart,

'I'm completely devoted to Tobio.'

Everything was so quiet apart from the voice inside your own mind.