[prologue]

"Arisa-nee-san!" a voice called, causing the said girl to turn. A smile plasters on her face at the sight of a raven-haired boy walking her way.

Lowering her camera, she greeted the younger boy. "Oh, Tobi!" she called, using his nickname.

He flushes, maintaining his ever awkward-yet-stoic-looking-expression.

Tobio Kageyama was her cousin, two years younger than her. She was rather fond of the raven-haired boy, probably because he was closest to her age, the rest of her cousins (especially from her father's side) were a lot older. Also, it's no secret that she cared a great deal to him and him to her – being an only child, she was the closest thing to a sister he's ever had.

Tobi, as she fondly called him, was a rather awkward child. He had a hard time communicating with people, making socializing a problem for him. Thankfully, his older cousin was there for him.

"So how'd it go?" the equally raven-haired teen asked, leading the two to sit on a nearby bench. Their surroundings were abuzz, as it was lunchtime.

"Um…I got in."

"Yay!" she squealed, pulling him into a hug. "They'd be stupid not to!"

The young boy's face reddened at the affection – face scrunching to a weird expression that almost resembled joy – not that he was complaining. "But I've only started since second grade-"

"Shush! Don't ruin the moment!" giggling, she pulled away, ran towards the vending machine and dropped a few coins. Hearing the familiar drop, she quickly picks the drinks and runs back to her waiting cousin, practically shoving the yogurt milk in front of him. "This calls for a celebration!"

Pride swells her chest as Tobio takes the carton in his hands. Unable to control herself, she ruffles his raven locks, she was just so proud of him! "Do your best, okay?"

At that, he flushes, eyes sparkling, before nodding. "I will do my very best!"

His enthusiasm made her laugh.

Since when did he become this awkward?

Despite her hectic school life, she always made sure to check on her dear cousin. And ever since Tobio joined the volleyball club, he seemed different. Somehow. Arisa couldn't put her finger where, but it was there.

Although aloof and painfully blunt, he still had a hard time making friends. It worried her so, even at his new club! Painfully honest as he was, he was never aware of the extent of his words. Someone had to point it out to him.

She still ate lunch with him and they still walked home together, and at times, she'd pay him a visit to the gymnasium to watch him practice every once in a while. Arisa knew that her cousin was an amazing player – a genius in the making. She could tell that the future was looking bright for him, yet she couldn't help but worry about him.

"Tobi, look here!" she called out, camera in hand.

The said boy turns, surprised to find his cousin inside the gymnasium. Usually, she'd wait for him outside, taking random photos outside, until his practice ended.

"Arisa-nee-san, you shouldn't be here!" he scolds, cheeks tinted. Some of his teammates stopped and stared at the girl – who was almost identical to Kageyama in terms of appearance (the dark hair and eye shape ran in the family), save for the fact that she was a girl and had gray-blue eyes – he was talking to.

"Why not?" She pouts, a hand on her hip.

"Because- "before he could finish, a stray ball was flying her way.

Before anyone could call out to her, she reacted on instinct; turning her body, she received the ball with ease, camera carefully slung behind her. The ball bounces back to a certain brown-haired boy.

Sighing, she fixes her camera, directing her attention back to her cousin when Tobio calls, "Ah, Oikawa-san!"

Oikawa?

Following his gaze, she found the same brown-haired boy – with a floppy hairstyle, watching her.

And that's when she met Oikawa Tooru.

One thing was certain; Oikawa Tooru was the strangest boy she's ever met. She just met him – even though they've been classmates for years (according to him) – and already, he was making her uncomfortable. Did she mention that she was classmates with him?

The only thing she knew about him was that he was in the volleyball team together with Tobi; they even play the same position, he was in an honor's class like her, he was friends with Iwaizumi Hajime, and that he was annoying as he is famous.

Ever since she waltzed in the gym, wanting to see how her dear cousin was doing, he had been very interested in her. It didn't help that he sat behind her in class, leaving him to ask pesky questions of 'do you play volleyball', 'what position do you play' and the like. One time, because he had pestered her so much, she yelled at him in the middle of class earning her detention. Needless to say, her impression of him wasn't very good. But he was sure persistent.

He was handsome – she'll give him that – but he had a strange fascination with space ('Do you believe in aliens?'). Also, he liked to be around her.

For some reason, his presence was something that didn't faze her at all. And strangely enough, she liked him being around, except for the fuzzy feelings he brings with him every time they were together.

Arisa would never imagine that Kitagawa Daiichi's star setter would be so childish and clingy. Every lunch break, he'd come to her table unannounced and practically eat all her food. He was always around her, wherever she went, never failing to pester her or compliment how she looked today.

One day, she asked him: "Is there a reason you're always hanging around me?" She was waiting for Tobio to finish changing so they two would walk home together, leaving she and the setter at the gym. Thankfully, it was after class that she free from Oikawa, who lived on the other side of the district.

"Because we're friends!" he'd answer her with a smile.

"But you have Iwaizumi." She told him rather bluntly, back against the wall as she admired the silhouettes on the ceiling.

"Ah, but Iwa-chan's my best friend."

"Exactly." She points out, frowning at him.

"That's true. Hmm, well…" he pondered, hands on his chin, eyeing her carefully. His eyes dropped to her camera, which she's been fiddling for the last minute, then took a step forward. Without a word, he takes it in his hands and quickly snaps a photo of her. "Hey!"

"You're so pretty, Yoshizawa-chan~" he says with a laugh, especially when she tried to snatch her camera back but failed because of their height difference, snapping more photos of her.

And there it was – that strange feeling in her belly. He says it so easy, she hated it. No way was she going to fall for his charms.

She was sure that she was blushing now as she snatched her camera from him.

"Stop playing with me." She grumbled, lowering her head to stare at her shoes.

"I'm not playing with you," Oikawa smiles, taking another towards her. His smile was not the usual smiles he gives to others, especially his fans, rather, this was a genuine smile. One that was always so rare to find. He was right in front of her. She looks up into his brown eyes, gulping at the intensity of his gaze, even though her throat was dry. "I like you, Arisa."

Before she knew it, Oikawa Toru became her boyfriend. And boy, were her parents happy. Never mind that they were young, so long as their only daughter has a boyfriend. (Yes, her parents were weird like that)

Toru was strange – childish at times, ridiculous always, very vain, and always with his weird fascination with aliens and the universe (although, that was something they both shared).

Nevertheless, he was the sweetest most thoughtful boyfriend ever.

Arisa loved how passionate he was about volleyball, how smart and snarky he was, his little quirks, adored how he and her cousin got along. In addition, it was amazing how Tobio agreed to all this, but how awkward it was at the same time. ('But where Arisa-nee-san is happy, I'm okay with it' he said) Although, Toru was such a brat when it came to Tobio.

She knew almost everything about him, but she had a hard time opening up to him. But Toru was patient, never forcing her and understood that she was closed off.

Eventually, after their loss to Shiratorizawa, when she saw how distraught he was over their loss, she opened up to him.

"I had a younger brother," she says quietly, sitting across him as she took his hand in hers. He was so lost in thoughts that she wasn't sure if he was listening, but the way his hand wrapped around hers said otherwise, so she continued. "his name was Takeru." An image of her younger brother popped in her head. "My earliest memory was him, in my mother's arms. I thought he was the tiniest thing." She laughed at the memory. "Of course, that was until Tobi was born. Because my mother and his father were siblings, and because we didn't really have a house then, they welcomed us into their home." Her voice was thick with emotion, recalling her childhood; Toru couldn't help but watch from the corner of his eye, hanging onto every word. "Since then, I took it upon myself to look after them. And I enjoyed being the big sister. Those two were such rascals, Takeru most especially. Tobi was such a quiet boy – curious, yes so terribly quiet, and aloof. And surprisingly, he seemed older than his age. We were inseparable." At this, her voice began to choke up a bit, but she continued. "Takeru had leukemia."

Toru looked up; her gaze was on their hands. "It broke me when mom and dad told me that, he was so young. And Tobi…" she swallowed, unable to finish. "Takeru died two years ago. And I could remember, as they threw dirt on his coffin, how Tobi held my hand as I cried." Breaking into fits of laughter, she wiped her face with her free hand. "Sorry, I'm supposed to cheer you up but here I am- "

"No, it's okay." He says, pulling her to him, engulfing her in his embrace. "This is okay, Arisa."

She buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I'm a terrible girlfriend."

"No, you're not."

Arisa breathed in Toru's scent, relishing in the comfort of his arms. Lifting her head, she met his gaze. "But you played great, Toru."

He laughed, really laughed; it was music to her ears. "I was, wasn't I?"

And suddenly, he was alright.

A few days after that, she opened up to him again.

"My parents are avid sports fans." She shares over a plateful of cookies she made during home economics. "When I was younger, they'd grab every chance to enroll me in different sports – basketball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, even triathlon!"

"Heh, so that explains it!" At that, Toru laughed, she laughed along with him. "Well, your mom's a nurse, so she probably wants you fit. And your dad used to be an athlete." She groans though it was true.

"So, what was your favorite sport?" There was something in his tone, making the question seemed to have an obvious answer. But she wasn't going to fall for it.

She hummed, feigning that she was in thought, busy with her camera. "I don't have a particular favorite…"

"Eh? That's too bad." He pouted, munching on another cookie. "But you should at least like volleyball, right? Since you, your cousin, and handsome boyfriend are into it!"

Scoffing, she pokes his cheek.

"Of course, you'd think that," she shrugs. "I'm not a sports freak like you or Tobi, even though I'm blessed with athletic prowess." Toru rolled his eyes at that, especially with the way she easily said it with no qualms whatsoever.

"I'm teasing!" she laughed, taking a photo of her boyfriend's childish expression.

Young as she was, she never thought that having a boyfriend would be this blissful; to be this amazing, incredibly cheesy, yet could make her unexplainably happy just being around their significant other. She could see it in her parents, how disgustingly in love they were. But it was nice. What they had was amazing, nothing anyone in the world could take from them. It was theirs.

What they had didn't feel like infatuation at all, but she didn't want to think about it too much. She was young, and something like love would sound like child's play.

For now, she would settle for Toru's clinginess, his hands in hers, the occasional pecks. They were young; they had all the time in the world so long as they were together.

It was something to look forward to every day.

Arisa should've realized the old saying, 'not everything lasts forever'. Because, just a week after the finals, they somehow made it to a point where their relationship was in shambles. Here they were screaming at each other's faces, of how Tooru despised Tobio.

The truth that he despised her cousin was like a train wreck – unexpected, uncalled for, and painful. Never had she imagined that he'd come to this, out of jealousy.

Arisa had been there when he was about to backhand Tobio, he hadn't noticed her presence at the time, thankful that Hajime stepped in. After that, she had avoided Toru for a while. She couldn't get the scene out of her head, of how the sweet, childish, and adorkable Toru would go mad. She almost didn't know him! Apparently, this was a side of Toru she never knew – maybe she already did, but just refused to see it.

When she confronted him, he tried to hide it. It was then that she saw his carefully hidden cracks crumbling.

Arisa tried to goad him to talk, sincerely at first. He played it off, switching to another subject. She didn't follow, pushing him even more. He snapped, just as she mentioned his plays.

And then, here they were at each other's throats – throwing heated words after another.

"The only reason you're fond of Tobio is because you see Takeru in him!" he yelled, triggering something inside her. "Just accept the fact that he's not Takeru! Tobio is not Takeru! He's not your brother! He's dead!"

Brought by rage, she slapped him across the face, tears spilling.

She knew that her brother was long dead, she knew that. Tobio was her cousin, but she was like a brother to her. And despite what people say, he was still Tobio!

Toru held his bruised cheek, turning to her in shock.

"You have no right to say that…" she seethed, body shaking violently. "You have no fucking right, Oikawa."

His eyes widened at that, taking a step towards her. "A-Arisa- "

"SHUT UP!"

Angry blue-grey orbs met his chocolate ones; her vision was a blur, hot angry tears spilling down her face.

"We're done."

The moment she turned her back on him, her heart broke into a million pieces. It shouldn't end this way, yet she hated how everything's reduced to a sick competition of the bests – of him letting his insecurities win over him and them. But family came first, Tobio came first.

Over the course of middle school, Tobio had changed significantly. He was sterner, stoic, but still that awkward little bean of hers. She hated how people were quick to judge, but never made a point to reach out to him.

After watching that one match – with that interesting orange-haired boy, she wished the best for Tobio. The matches after that were heartbreaking, especially for Tobio. He was benched, and it absolutely crushed him. No amount of words of encouragement from his dear cousin could help him.

Against her will, she was to separate from Tobio.

Her paternal grandfather's health was getting worse; someone had to look after him. And her father, being the eldest took it upon himself to do just that.

According to her aunt, Tobio got accepted at Karasuno, Arisa laughed at that remembering that he originally planned for Shiratorizawa but couldn't pass the entrance exam. The former was his other resort; she remembered the enthusiastic look on his face when he shared stories of Coach Ukai.

Regardless of where he'd go, she wished the best for him.

Though he was blessed with athletic prowess, what he needed, more than anything in the world was a friend.

Aoba Johsai Private School.

A sigh escaped her mouth, hating to start all over again. She missed her friends in her old school, her old town, and Tobio, most especially. Who was going to look after him now?

Warm spring wind gushed, whipping strands of her dark hair to her face; she tucked them behind her ear, making her way through the crowd to the post to find her name and class.

There was a clamor of cries behind her; urging freshmen to join their club, old friends greeting, excited chatters, and then there was her.

Arisa was close to the board when she spotted a familiar figure; a smile grew on her face. "Hajime!"

The dark-skinned teen turned, familiarization in his eyes when he saw her. "Oh? Yoshizawa!"

"Hey!" relief washed over her. Though their talks had lessened over the last months of middle school, they remained good friends.

"What brings you here?" he asked rather bluntly.

Jokingly, she punched his arm (a bit too hard, but she didn't hear his pained 'ouch'). "What's that supposed to mean?" then laughed.

He grumbles under his breath, rubbing his arm. "You and Kageyama are inseparable; I'd thought you were going to stay in Torono."

"Well, someone needs to look after my stubborn grandpa. Plus, my dad's family were all graduates of Seijoh and were adamant on keeping it that way." She explained. "How 'bout you?"

Iwaizumi suddenly flinched at that, shifting in place. His eyes darted from the raven-haired girl to something behind her, looking uncomfortable for some reason.

Before she could ask, she heard a familiar voice call. "Iwa-chan! What class are we in?"

And then a familiar brunet appeared, freezing, too, at the sight of her. She felt her heart drop, body running cold, muscles tensing.

Because standing there, equally shell-shocked as she was, was her ex-boyfriend – Oikawa Tooru. And they were in the same school.

Shit.

A/N: So this was honestly supposed to be a reader x Oikawa, but I have an image in my head of what the character is supposed to look like and reader-shots are just not my forte (altho i did make that one with bokuto)

So yes, here it is. It's going to be a three-shot (hopefully)

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT AND OC