Prologue 2 : Kuroo

It's a warm afternoon in a middle school in Tokyo.

Test results are released. The students gathered in front of the bulletin board to check out their rankings.

Some students have seen jumping in joy, but some are looking devastated.

In the middle of the crowd, stood a boy towering over other students of the same age as him.

He has his usual messy hair that stands up without the help of any hair products. His hazel-colored eyes scan the list of names until he found it sitting above the list beside the number 2.

#2 Kuroo Tetsuro

His face lit up. "There it is!" he smiled.

"What number?" A shorter boy with long black hair and slouched posture asked him. You can't tell if he's really interested or not. His name is Kenma Kozume, 1st year.

"It's number t—"

"Wow! Yoko-chan! You're amazing!"

Kuroo was interrupted by the group of girls screaming just a meter away. At the same time, Kenma's skin crawls like a surprised cat because of the sudden noise.

"Hssh! We're in the hall!" A girl in the group hissed with a gentle smile on her face. Her long index finger is resting on her lips.

She's taller than the rest of the other girls. Her hair is long and black with tiny curls on ends.

The young Kuroo looks at her with his mouth slightly open. He could hear their conversation loud enough because of the few distances between them.

"You're on the top the ranked again!" A shorter girl beside her said. Kuroo looked at the board in front once again. He checks for the name that's written just above his.

"Yoko Tamami..." He unconsciously utters the name. He looks back beside him, and his eyes met with the girl's blue eyes that are looking directly at him.

Her eyes are as blue as the sky. Her lashes are long, and her face is innocent with a wondering expression sitting on it. She just heard a stranger said her name out of nowhere.

"Kuroo!" Kenma called for his friend for the nth time.

Kuroo jump in surprise. He blinked his eyes twice and met Kenma's worrying look.

"You're spacing," Kenma said.

"Kuroo, right?" the female voice echoes and goes straight into Kuroo's ear like music. He looks in the direction of the voice. Once again, their eyes met. "Kuroo Tetsuro?" She continued with a sweet smile.

Kuroo nodded. He then recovered himself. He stands straight and pats his uniform twice and with his signature killer smile, he introduced himself.

"I'm Kuroo Tetsuro, and you're Yoko Tamami isn't it?"

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yes, nice to meet you." She said and offered her hand for a shake which he accepts.

Just after that, they both realized that the crowd is unusually silent. Kuroo looks around only to meet their gaze. Everyone is circling them. Some even held a phone to capture the moment.

Since that day, the Kuroo x Yoko ship started to sail. Almost everyone in their grade is talking about that encounter.

Kuroo is known to be the smart kid in their grade. He excels both in academics and sport. Since his first year, he became the starting member of their school's volleyball team in official matches. Not to mention, he's also good-looking and friendly.

On the other hand, there is Yoko Tamami. She's known for being a prodigy in gymnastics. She even competes in professional competitions for her age group since young. She's also attractive and smart.

For everyone's eyes, they are both perfect. It'll be like a fairy tale if both of them end up together.

From that encounter, Kuroo and Yoko became friends and officially date before the winter starts. Everyone is delighted with that news. It easily spread like a wildfire. Well, everyone is on watch about their relationship like they are campus celebrities.

At first, Kuroo and Yoko are not bothered by too much attention, but it weighs more as time progress.

During their last year in middle school, they started to have little conflicts. Thankfully, it usually doesn't last long. They continue hanging out together. Every day, Kuroo will walk her to the class. Eat lunch together, waiting for each other after club activities to go home together. During weekends they will also go out together for a date. But without them realizing it, everything started to feel more like an obligation to both of them.

It's turning to be like a responsibility to please the people around them, including their parents. They also think that it'll be best if they end up together. Well, they even start acting like in-laws. Unknown to them, they're just adding weight for their children with all their expectations for the future that is still too early to conclude.

Graduation came. Yoko decided that she'll continue her studies in her grandparent's hometown, Miyagi. Part of her just wanted to escape their relationship that is starting to confuse her.

Her parents object to her decision, but she insists. Kuroo also tried to convince her, but it's not enough for her to change her mind.

Later on, they end up with a resolve that they will continue their relationship. Kuroo promised to visit her as often as possible if he got a chance. She's an important part of his life and it hurts him that she'll be far from him. But he agreed as it may help Yoko and himself to grow.

"I'll promise I'll wait for you. I'm sorry if I make you feel confused," he said while holding her small face between his hands. His eyes show pain, and they're shaking as his tears are starting to building up.

That'll be his last moment with her before she leaves.

Yoko smiled and tried to hold her tears. "It's not your fault. I just need some space and rest. Maybe also time far away from the busy streets of Tokyo. We're still young." She paused and held both of his hands and gently pull them away from her face.

"I promise. I'll be back." She smiled before letting go of his hands.

• • • • • • • • •

The new school year is just in a week.

Kuroo asked Kenma to meet in the park to play volleyball. He's in his room gathering the stuff he needs and preparing. They can no longer play as often as they like after the new school year starts. They'll be in a different school now.

"Only for a year." He whispered to himself. He thought that once Kenma graduated he will go to Nekoma too.

Kuroo's train of thought interrupts when he realized that he's spending almost a million years already, only trying to fix his hair down but it still sticks up.

"Come on." He tried once again. Even knowing he never succeed even once in his lifetime.

His phone beeps showing Kenma's message.

Kenma: I'm here. Where are you?

He starts to panic. But someone from the window across his room caught his attention.

Her h/c hair is tossed by the air and her round eyes are looking straight at him. For a second the time seems to slow down a little.

"Hey!" He fixes his hair and looked at her with his signature killer smirk. "The new girl next door."

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