Gremstellar

Prologue - The Past Stays in the Past

Inseparable. Thatʼs what some may call you. The three of you were a tight trio, growing up together. Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, and you, Abukara Sakuro. At least, you were inseparable.

Times change. Especially in middle school.

The three of you all attended the same middle school: Kitagawa Daiichi. But honestly speaking, you were really only able to spend one year of middle school with them. While Oikawa and Iwaizumi were beginning their first year of middle school, you were just starting your last year of elementary school. Yes, you were one year behind them. But, you didnʼt mind. You were all still great friends, and you all kept in contact with each other, even when attending different schools.

Then came your first year of middle school. You saw Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi was just fine. But Oikawa... Oikawa was acting different. You, surprisingly, paid no mind to it. You soon realized, however, just what exactly was different, when you decided to watch one of their volleyball practices.

You were very familiar with volleyball, considering you grew up with two volleyball fanatics. You practiced with them in your childhood, and you werenʼt too bad yourself. However, you werenʼt able to join a volleyball team in middle school, as Kitagawa Daiichiʼs Girlʼs Volleyball Club wasnʼt exactly prospering. As you watched their volleyball practice, you immediately spotted Iwaizumi and waved. On the other hand, Oikawa seemed to be preoccupied. With other... People.

He was surrounded by girls, presumably fangirls, who were all swooning over him.

"Ahh, it ʼs Oikawa-san!"

"Youʼre so cool, Oikawa-san!"

"Oikawa-san, we should go out sometime!"

And all the while, Oikawa only laughed and smiled. Something inside of you burned. Jealousy? Most likely. But not in a romantic way or anything. Itʼs just that it seemed like he had no time for you or Iwaizumi anymore. Not wanting to stay in such an atmosphere, you turned around and headed for the door. You didnʼt care if you had come here to watch your friends. Your chest just... Hurt.

After that, you noticed a decline in interaction with your setter friend. He seemed to be on friendly terms with Iwaizumi, but it wasnʼt surprising, considering they have volleyball practice together. But he always seemed to ignore you, like you didnʼt mean anything to him. You would pass each other in the halls, and of course, Iwaizumi would acknowledge your presence, but Oikawa did absolutely nothing. It was painful to say the least. It was like he was getting caught up in his fame and popularity, and he started to ignore anyone who he didnʼt think was on his level.

By your second year, you decided you didnʼt care. You only ever said hello to Iwaizumi and ignored Oikawa completely, just like he did to you. You just decided that your life didnʼt need Oikawa anymore. And by your third year, you felt a wave of relief. Oikawa had graduated middle school and moved on to Aoba Johsai. As did Iwaizumi, much to your discontent. You did miss Iwaizumi, but you couldnʼt care less about Oikawa.

Your third year was like a highlight of your life. You made more friends than usual, including a second year named Kageyama Tobio, Oikawaʼs former Kouhai. With Oikawa gone, you would go to the volleyball practices to watch and cheer on Kageyama. You even helped him a few times to help polish up his techniques. Not like it did much anyway; he was a natural. Your grades in your third year were some of the best, when comparing them to your past years. You moved out of your house to live with your older cousin, who you missed dearly. Not only all of that, but you even found a part- time volleyball club outside of the school to practice on your own! You graduated middle school, a content and happy student.

"Wow! This place is so much bigger than I thought itʼd be!"

And there you stood, looking up at your new high school, Karasuno. You unconsciously smiled, your grip on your bag tightening, as you stepped onto your new campus. Who knows what awaits you in high school?