[ a/n i haven't read this manga chapter in a while, so apologies for any mistakes

also, i know that the argentina vs japan results were never told and it wasn't the grand finals, but i'm making it so that it is the grand finals of the olympics and argentina wins :)  ] 

SPRING HAS COME AGAIN. 

a total of ten springs have passed ever since that night kichona and oikawa had spent in the gym together, the former comforting the latter after his loss. 

in the ten years, several things changed. oikawa moved to argentina for his university, and then later on his job as a professional volleyball player. kichona sold her house and moved back to miyagi, initially to leave gokana and join the others in their third year of school.

but her mother fixed her relationship with her sister, and kichona suddenly found herself calling miyagi home not just for oikawa, especially when she became a well-known therapist, specializing in children. 

however, kichona and oikawa's relationship changed too.

the happiness of kichona living in miyagi was short lived as iwaizumi's predictions since the beginning came true and both of them began to make too many of the same mistake; oikawa, still seeking validation subconsciously surrounded himself with girls and kichona, desiring to regain her good grades started to push everyone away in her pursue of higher achievements.

iwaizumi was right. at that moment, the both of them were still too broken to be dating. they had recklessly decided to love each other before loving and learning about themselves, and their relationship ended in an inevitable break-up, which lead to a falling out, especially when oikawa moved continents. 

and they had broken their promises to each other.

kichona lets out a heavy exhale as she observes the landscape from where she is standing at the bus stop. the tokyo metropolitan stands tall and proud, a bright white glow surrounding it and the steady sound of applauds and cheers emitting from it. 

it is late at night and impossibly dark, but even so, kichona finds herself fixated on the flowers that had sprung up around the bus stop, green buds unfurling to produce beaming flowers of different shapes and radiant colors. 

a strange kind of solace came from it; no matter everything that happened in her life, no matter the strong feelings of both happiness and despair she and other humans felt, spring would always come and blossom great amounts of beauty. the seasons never changed. 

feeling a pang of irrational annoyance at the flowers for blooming, kichona crumples one with the sole of her foot before gazing at the gymnasium once again.

why am i...nervous? 

is it oikawa? it must be. kichona is certain she's fallen out of love with him (for she never gets those butterflies and that warmth anymore when she hears his name), but here she is, feeling anxious about seeing him. the person who had so much impact on her life. 

another pang of irritation leaves kichona walking hurriedly towards the stadium. she's not even here to see oikawa. she's just hear to cheer on her cousin and the team of monsters he had trained up. 

the shouts are deafening when she enters the stadium. it's the last set after all, and emotions are running wild from both sides of the stadium. she spares a quick glance over to the court, where oikawa is going up against all the people wo had been ahead of him in high school. conversations spent late at night about him ranting about them pops into her head.

kichona swallows before continuing to make her way to one of the front rows in the middle, where etsuko (along with matsukawa and hanamaki) is with a spare reserved seat besides her. upon seeing her, the three of them greets her in unison. 

"sorry i'm late," she smiles apologetically. "my last patient was being a pain."

"it's fine," etsuko grins. "you didn't miss too much. japan's in the lead. oh look, oikawa-kun's about to serve!"

kichona's head spins to look, and sure enough, the ball is in his hands and flies up seconds after the whistle is blown. his muscles flex and stretch as he jumps, and to her it seems as if he's about to fly and soar up to the heavens. 

then the ball lands on the other side of the court, too fast and too strong for anyone to receive. his brown eyes light up and her heart swells, for it seems as though he's finally having fun again.

kichona had forgotten how beautiful oikawa is when he's drowning in happiness. 

she's supposed to be cheering for iwaizumi and his team, so it feels slightly traitorous of her to feel relieved when the ball drops in japan's court and the game concludes in argentina's favor. 

both national teams line up, silver medals draped around japan's necks but bright gold glimmering around argentina's, the trophy being held tightly in their hands and they boast it off to the crowd, especially their families and supporters.

oikawa is smiling, overflooding with joy that his hard work had finally paid off with a bonus slap to the face to everyone who had looked down on him during high school. he's beaming; and kichona is certain that for a few moments, oikawa, who had been forever greedy for victory and glory, is content with all that he is and wouldn't dare try to take more.

but then their eyes lock and oikawa sees her for the first time in a decade, and it's obvious that he's shocked that she's here even though they were so incredibly intimate in high school. 

kichona hopes that he sees how very proud she is of him; for after all those nights of talking over the phone, she too had longed for this moment when he finally reached the top. 

but oikawa leaves the court and goes who knows where, only to pop up and scream her nickname a few meters from the left, running towards her.

"ki-chan," he repeats again, this time whispering it as though this moment belongs to only the two of them, as if everyone else in the stadium isn't curiously watching on. he grabs her hands, fingers weaving together too quickly and hands fitting together too perfectly. "look, you're up in the night sky again."

kichona follows his gaze to see a bright star, twinkling with all its might. her breath hitches. 

 "have i finally become someone you deserve?"

it feels like a slap in the face, his sentence referring to one of the heaviest lines in the break up as oikawa had thought the reason why kichona was pushing him away was because he wasn't good enough. and after all this time, he still thinks its his fault.

"you were always the only person," kichona whispers back before taking her hands away, because it's too soon. way too soon. "but can we just...start again? from the very beginning?"

"yeah," oikawa nods before relaxing. "i think i would like that."

kichona smiles before glancing to the court where his team is waiting. "why did you run from your moment of triumph just for me?"

"because i promised you. that there will always be a next time with us. and that i'll stay besides your side forever."

oikawa outstretches his hand. "but only if you want to."

"of course," kichona says, dizzy from him. "of course i do."

he grins, even bigger than he did all those years ago. 

[ his smile is so beautiful, it hurts. ] 

and kichona accepts his hand with a smile of her own, ready to fall in love all over again.

[ a/n 

it's finally finished! 

thank you to everyone who stuck around to the very end despite the slow updates :)) this story has been one of my favorite to write, so i hope you enjoyed it too. for my next book i'm going to be writing an iwaoi royal au enemies to lovers in which they want to kill each other so please check that out. it'll be out in a week or so on ao3.

again, thank you for everything ! ]