Reignition (KurooxOC)

Melting Ice and Raging Fire

"Why did you do that?!" I snapped angrily on the walk to my house.

"I knew you were going to turn the offer down," Kuroo shouted with me, "I wasn't going to let you make the same mistake again."

I entered my house and let Kuroo enter knowing that we couldn't let this conversation rest, "I can't do it, Kuroo. That performance was just a fluke."

"Ayame, you are a talented and skilled libero," the boys captain told me. 

"Am I really?" I protested, tears threatening to fall, "What if I choke? I'm going to be the sole reason the team would work. Everyone already hates me."

I didn't forget the look Etsuko gave me after the game ended. The annoyed look that said I wasn't welcomed. I was an outsider. No doubt the others felt the same. They were probably putting up a friendly front in the presence of their captain.

"No they don't," Kuroo said cooly, "You are overreacting. Yua sees great potential in you and they need another libero on the team. You could have a starting spot in the lineup."

"I don't deserve that," I told him, "Those girls have been there much longer. Who am I as the outsider to go in and take one of their hard earned spots. Why should I give them another reason to hate me?"

"That is just how sports works," Kuroo told me, "It is something you will have to live with. And if they are upset that you took their spot as a regular, than they can just train even harder."

I sat down in the living room and tucked my legs close to my chest, "Kuroo, what if I can't do it?"

Kuroo frowned at my words and said, "What if you can?"

I looked at him and muttered, "Look at this house, I live alone. At school I sit alone. Even when I was on the track team I was alone."

"What about Naomi?"

"We weren't in the same events so we never saw each other during training."

"What about those girls on your relay team, they seemed okay," kuroo suggested and that was all it took to set me off.

"Those girls were nothing more than vicious shrews," I hissed, "They made sure I knew where I stood in the team. They trashed my bag, called me names behind my back."

Tears now flooded my face, "They broke me inside. I never felt so alone. They made me know that I was the ugly duckling among their group of their group of ducks. It didn't matter how hard I worked, I would never get their approval."

"Ayame," Kuroo's voice cut through the haze in my mind, "Look at me."

His hands went to my face and my eyes were full of tears that he wiped away with his thumbs.

"Listen to me," Kuroo said in a quiet voice and I froze, "You are never alone, Ayame Kokoro. Kenma and I are always here for you. You can come to us. We're your friends."

For how long, I thought in despair, Everyone leaves you one day.

"But," I wept, "They'll be a time where everyone leaves and I'll be alone again."

"Just because you'd be on your own doesn't mean you'll be alone," Kuroo flicked my forehead, "I'll always be with you."

"Really?" I wiped my eyes.

I  stood in the school hallways. It was dark and I was scared. the shadows of people casted over me. I felt small, alone. Even Kuroo and Kenma's figures faded into the darkness. No matter how much I tried to reach out to them, I always came up short. 

Suddenly, I saw a glowing light and something encased in glass. I picked it up and smashed it to the ground. When I did, the scene lit up around me and I saw the school. I saw Naomi, the girls volleyball team, Kuroo and Kenma. They were reaching out to me and my once lead legs became as light as a feather. I was free.