You hated everything. You hated how she defended him over her own daughter. You hated how they got special treatment. You hated how he decided you were too much for him to handle anymore, so you were shipped off. You hated how he disliked you because you looked like your father. You hated that your father would leave you all alone with a woman who didn't care for her own child.

The only thing you didn't hate was your team, but even they could get on your nerves. You took solace in the fact that when it all became too much, you could vent to Otohime, your betta fish.

"You're always a good listener..." You sat alone in your dorm. It had been a rough day at the all-girls boarding school you attended. "Kinda sad that I have to talk to a fish though..." Otohime flitted in her tank. She had an extravagantly decorated tank, only the best bubbler, and her hidey holes were well crafted from concrete. No plastic for Otohime. "Jeez, I spoil a fish..." You grimace at the deplorability of your life. You were thrown out of your home into a boarding school because you were the stepchild, the child of another man. Frustration welled up inside you and you felt your aggression build. "I need air. I'll be back Otohime." You call to your fish. Not like she had the ability to be aware. You liked to think she could, but that was a little fantasy you had.

As you made your way out of the dorms, you passed by several girls who were being visited by their families, whether it be siblings, mothers, fathers, grandparents, it didn't matter to you. It tortured you. You clicked your tongue as you glared at them for no other reason than being more fortunate than you.

You somehow made your way to a little hill. It was a popular place for sports teams to gather and train during the spring. It was also a popular date spot in Miyagi, but that's probably because there wasn't much else around. You weren't initially from Miyagi, so you got to the hill by pure luck. You were observing the large open space. The breeze cooled your head, but even the smallest of provocations might still throw you into a fight. Maybe you should channel your aggression into volleyball practice. You were an up and coming ace and a powerful wing spiker, but your team doubted your reliability. You were so lost in your own anger and frustration that you failed to notice a group of boys approaching the hill for an outdoor practice. They mostly ignored your sulking underneath a tree, but when some caught sight of you, they grimaced at your glare.

"Jeez, she's pretty scary looking." One smug looking boy commented. His brown hair was swept to the side and well combed. "She's as scary looking as you Aone!" he elbows a tall boy with broad shoulders and white hair. You immediately glare behind you and click your tongue. The boy with brown hair jumps slightly. You looked ready to kill him, even if he was taller than you. You decide he wasn't worth it however and continue glaring forward.

"Alright, set up the net! Let's get practice going! Be careful with the equipment! Remember, we're borrowing this stuff from the girl's school nearby!"

"Girl's school! I wonder if I can talk to a cute girl while I'm here..." You glare back again. These boys were gross. You would teach them a lesson, but you began to think that they weren't worth your time. Besides, if you got into another fight, the captain would skin you alive.

"Hey! Watch out!" You heard and turned your head. That was a bad decision, as a volleyball smacked you right in the face. The volleyball team that was visiting all gawked as the volleyball rolled away from you.

"H-Hey, sorry!" One of the boys called to you, but you were already standing and pissed. Your angry face was reddened by the impact of the volleyball. You could feel blood starting to drip down your nose. You began making your way down to where the ball came from. You didn't care how tall he was, he was going down. From what you could judge, it was the boy who was insulting you earlier.

You clenched a tight fist as you reeled back, only to be stopped by large hands grasping your arms. Your anger built as you whipped your head around, bloody nose and all, to face a boy, but something wasn't right. Usually, you had no problems with throwing the first punch. You had no trouble starting fights, but one look at the tall, fair-haired boy before you, and you couldn't bring yourself to raise your fist at him. He held you firmly and silently. You stared at him silently, and he did the same.

"Good job Aone-kun. She looked ready to throw down!" a voice called to him.

"Nice senpai!" a more excited voice called. You continued to have a staredown with the boy who held you. You expected him to only stare, but then he did something different, he grabbed his white jacket and wiped your bloody face. You widen your eyes at him as he continued to treat you with his white jacket.

"Aone-kun, you know that blood isn't gonna come out of that jacket easily, right?" another voice called to him. He continued regardless until your nose was no longer bleeding. He continued to have a staredown with you, but his gaze revealed itself to be gentler than what you originally thought it was. Once the bleeding stopped, he held your face as he checked to see if there were any more injuries. You began to blush profusely. Why was he being this nice? He didn't need to be. You were about to beat up one of his teammates, and he treats you with kindness. You took a look at his bloodstained jacket and felt something you didn't normally feel.

You felt guilt.

That was your blood on his sports jacket. His white sports jacket.

As he continued to check your face, you began to form a slight plan in your head. You blush as you look to the side. You knew that if that jacket wasn't washed soon, it might stain. You wanted to do something for him, which in itself was odd, let alone your guilty feeling. You take one last glance at him, he was handsome. He made your heartbeat just a bit faster. You had to do this for him.

With quick hands and even quicker legs, you snatch his jacket from his hands and begin running back to your dorm. Some of the boys immediately started screaming at you, telling you to return with 'Aone's jacket.'

So his name was Aone.

You shook off the small daze that you had developed and continued running. You hoped that he wouldn't hate you after this, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he did, people who you wanted to be close to hating you was nothing new. You gripped the jacket closer to your chest as you burst into your dorm. Your roommate was back at this time, and she jumped at the door slamming.

"(L/Name)-chan? What is going on? Where did you get that jacket? Wait... W-why does it have blood on it?!" She panicked, but you ignored her and ran into the bathroom. You immediately douse the sleeve with cold water and begin lathering it with soap.

'Why am I doing this? I just took off! He has no idea what I'm doing! For all he knows I stole his jacket just for the hell of it!' You let out an anxious sigh. You look up again and see that the blood was almost fully out just a little more effort.

It was a miracle that you got the stains fully out. You probably caught it at just the right time. The only problem now is that it was soaking wet.

"(L/Name)-chan... why do you have a Date Tech varsity jacket, and why was one of its sleeves covered in blood?" You look at your roommate.

"... A boy helped me. He stopped one of my nosebleeds with this." You hold up the sopping wet jacket.

"Judging by the speed you came in, I'm gonna guess you weren't given permission to wash it."

"... No."

"So did you steal it?"

"... Yes." You tilted your head down. You were subconsciously ready for a smack across the face or a punch to the stomach.

"... You should go dry it and then return it." She says before patting your head. You flick your head up in confusion. "It'll have a greater impact if it's dry." She then returns to her desk and continues with her homework. You stare at her for a few seconds, but then decide to rush down to the dryers before it was too late.

After a quick dry, the jacket looked better than when it started. You folded it and quickly made your way over to the hill, once you got close, however, you began to slow down. Your nerves started to get the better of you. You could feel your knees tremble slightly as anxiety got the better of you. You swallowed your fear as you made your way up the hill. The brown-haired boy spotted you as soon as you came into view

"It's the jacket thief!" He yells and begins to run over to you. You put on a brave face and brace for the worst, but the boy is grabbed by familiar hands.

It was Aone. With gentle steps, he walks over to you. You look up at him and fully expect him to hit you, but his face is full of surprise. You blush. It was cute.

"You brought it back..." he says as he blinks at you. Your face reddens a little more at his voice. It was strangely sweet. You could probably listen to it for hours.

"... If it didn't get washed soon, it would have gotten stained. So I washed it." you shove the jacket into his hands as you look away. His entire team gawked. You looked like any other girl right now, you looked like you had just confessed to your crush, but not 20 minutes earlier were you ready to throw down with a member of their team.

Aone continued to stare at you as he blinked. His team was about to call him back over, but then his face began to steam. He trembles slightly at the sight of your blush. You were too cute. You had run off with his jacket just so you could wash it for him. He didn't even know your name, but you were stealing his heart.

"Y-Your name..." He almost demanded. You flinch. Why did he want your name? Was he going to report you? You back up slightly. He flinched as he reached a hand out to you. His team begins to chatter in the background.

"What is Aone doing?"

"I don't know, but her face is really red..."

"She also gave the jacket back, do you think she was told to?"

"Aone-senpai's really brave!" Aone heard his team talking and turned his head to them. You took this chance to run.

"EH?! Look at his face! Look how red it is!"

"Uh... she's running away again..." Aone then whips his head around to see you far off in the distance, sprinting for your life. He held out a hand as a silent plea for you not to leave, but you ignored it and ran back to the dorms.

You slammed the door behind you again with a burning red face. Your roommate jumped again as she looked at you.

"I'm guessing everything went over okay?" You look at her with your red face and then immediately look down. You touch your cheek and rush to hide your face in your pillow. "Is he cute?" You respond with steam rising from the pillow you currently had your face in. "I see... I'm gonna let you handle your feelings alone then. I'll be back in a few." She then got up from her desk and left the dorm room. As soon as the door shuts, your head shoots up and you look over at Otohime.

"He asked me for my name! Can you believe that!?" you fell back on your bed "I don't know what's wrong with me! His voice though... his voice was... soothing. Sweet. I want to hear it again." You admit to Otohime. The beta flitted in her tank. "Ah.. no... I didn't tell him my name. I was afraid." You look down at your sheets. You grip them tightly "Maybe... he wasn't mad... maybe he wanted to know my name because..." You stopped yourself. That was impossible. No one could think of you like that. What was wrong with you? "I'm gonna go to the gym. I need to spike a few." You quickly changed into your athletic wear and knee pads.

The gym was empty. It usually was around this time. You set up the net by yourself and rolled out some volleyballs. You sigh as you spin a ball between your fingertips. You practice jump serves for an hour. You wanted to improve them and become a reliable ace.

As you hit the balls across the court, you couldn't get his voice out of your head. You wanted desperately to know his full name. As you hit a ball across the court, your eyes widen in realization.

"He's getting into my head! I just met him today! Why aren't you leaving?" you grip your head and began to shake. 'Was it because of the kindness he showed me? His teammates mocked me... but when my nose was bleeding, he was willing to sacrifice that pristine white jacket... not just any jacket, a sports jacket! You don't get multiples of those...' tears then spill from your eyes. 'Why was he nice to me?'

You sat in the gym for a while as you begin to let your tears flow. It had been years since anyone had shown you affection like that. It had been years since you had emotions like this. The way he acted and showed you kindness sparked something inside you.

The next day you were out in the town near your school. You had the urge to roam after practice, so you decided to go someplace you had never gone before. You looked at a ramen shop and decided to stop in and get some. You walk in and sit down, and since there was only one other group of people there, your order was taken immediately. Their chatter was loud, and they seemed to be apart of a sports team. You ignored them at first until you heard one of them choke as they gawk. You lazily turn your head to face the source of the disturbance, and then choked yourself. It was the boys from yesterday.

"I-It's her!" You had already ordered, and you didn't want to be rude to the owners. You were cornered. You stared at them with blank eyes. The boy who had used his jacket to clean your face was there too. His face was bright red as he bit his lip.

"AH! Aone-senpai is blushing again!" a tall boy with blonde hair yelled. Of all your luck...

"Go sit with her Aone!" a boy with brown hair pushes the object of your affections towards your table. You felt like you were about to bolt. You shivered as you felt the entire team's eyes on you. Your flight or fight instinct was refusing to tell you which course of action to take, as both sides made an argument for you to follow their instructions. Aone then did something unexpected, he glared back at his teammates once he noticed you were absolutely terrified. They jump and face forward instead of staring at you. You took notice and blinked several times before looking up at him. Once he caught you staring, he blushed and looked away.

Once a server came around, he quietly requested that the two of you be moved to somewhere a little more secluded. You desperately listened for his voice again, but his quietness made it difficult for it to be heard.

Once you two were alone, however, you finally heard his voice again. He began blushing as he held out his hand to you.

"Aone Takanobu." He tells you, and you feel your heart explode. Takanobu... it suited him. You slowly reach out a shaky hand to him, and he gently holds it.

"(L/Name) (Name)." You provided as you stare at the ground. You internally began screaming at yourself

'(Name)! What the hell is wrong with you?! Pull yourself together!' You gripped your cheeks as you attempted to hide your blush.

"...Sorry..." you looked up at Aone. he looked to be blushing as heavily as you were. You took a closer look at him.

'He was probably apologizing for how awkward this is.' you decipher. You then nod at him to accept his apology and to also say not to worry about it.

Once your food arrived, you wasted no time in eating. You wanted to finish as fast as possible and leave this awkward situation, despite wanting to stay forever with Aone. You barely looked at him.

He wanted to say something else to you. He quietly ate as he began to try and think of words to say to you, but he was never good at conversation. He disliked excessive talking in general, but that day on the hill had him smitten with you. You didn't have to do anything for him, and yet you showed kindness by washing his jacket for him. You even dried it and folded it for him.

"... you attend Kumayama..." Aone says quietly. You stop eating. Your glare was fearful of him. You were afraid of him attempting to get close, but at the same time, you wanted him to be close. You wanted him to keep chipping away at your wall. It was confusing, conflicting, frightening, exciting.

"...yes..." You reply quietly. He blushes slightly. "... You go to-" you tried to spit it out, but it was impossible.

"D-Date Tech." He finished for you. Your entire body was turning red at this point. That stutter was adorable, what was with him? Why were you like this?

You finished your meal as quickly as possible, slap down money for both meals and bolt once again. He attempted to chase you, but he only got as far as the front door before he lost sight of you.

"What was THAT!?" One of his teammates gawk.

"Was that blur that one girl? She ran again?!" another questioned with a surprised look on his face. Aone looked back at them with a worried look on his face.

"... She paid before I could." He muttered and one of his teammates laugh

"Dang, she must like you. That or she's absolutely terrified of you!" Aone glared at his team but focused his attention back out into the night.

You slam your dorm door shut once again, making your roommate jump. She turned to you again with a slight glare.

"You look flustered. Did you see that boy again?" You shivered as you had your back against the door. She sighed and raised an eyebrow at you. "I'm gonna take that as a yes. I'm gonna leave you be for a little bit. Be back in a bit." She then made her way past you as you lifted yourself from the door. She left, and as soon as the door clicked shut, you rushed over to Otohime.

"I saw him at a ramen shop, he asked me about school! Can you believe it! He actually WANTS to talk to me!" You grab your face as you lean back "AAAUGH! What is this!? What is he doing!? I don't understand! I got so flustered that I paid for both of us, and then ran out! Why am I such an IDIOT!" You threw yourself onto your bed and screamed into your pillow. Your precious Otohime flitted in her tank. She seemed indifferent. "What am I going to DO! I didn't even ask him for his contact information! I probably lost my chance to ever speak with him again!" you then began wildly rubbing your head out of frustration as you make a complete mess of your hair. You then flopped on your bed once again and sighed. "Date Tech isn't too far... maybe I'll see him again..." You said with a hopeful tone in your voice.

Unbenounced to you, Your roommate was sitting outside with her ear to the door. She knew you would never open up to her, so she used your venting sessions with Otohime to see inside your head. She didn't like doing it, but it sometimes allowed her to think of ways to help you. She took a silent sigh before placing a hand on her chin in thought.

"Thanks again for letting my girls practice with the famous Iron Wall! This will be wonderful for them!" Your coach spewed praise, but you shook as you stared right at Aone. Aone stared right back at you with the same shiver

"It's no problem at all, I've heard your girls are quick and reliable when it comes to blocking recovery." The Date Tech coach smiled and nodded at your coach. Your captain extended a hand to theirs

"Let's have a good practice." You were ready to bolt again. As you slowly back up, your captain and setter grab your arms, holding you in place. They both turn to you and give you an overly sweet and suspicious smile. Did they set this up!?

"Where's our ace going? We need her to try and break through the wall!" Your captain tells you.

"That's right! Who am I going to set to when the ace isn't there?" your setter chimes in.

"Yeah! We need our strong ace!" Another player calls.

"Where are you going ace?" They were in on this. Someone told them about your run-ins with Aone, and they must have set this up. Your coach turns and smiles at you as well. Damn, she was in on it too! You begin to glare at your team, but your blush masked a lot of the anger.

Aone was absolutely head over heels at this point. You were cute, sweet in your own little way, you weren't afraid of him either, and now you play volleyball too?

"Hey, Aone, you have a thing for aces, don't you? Why don't you practice with her?" one of his teammates pushed him towards her.

"Yeah (Name)! You need to learn how to break through those blocks! Practice with him!" Your captain and setter push you. You both trembled like leaves in the wind. You look at him and blush an intense red.

"...H-Hello again..." He starts. Your heart nearly explodes. You look away and lift a hand to greet him.

Your spikes were especially aggressive that day. Your setter noticed and used that to her advantage as she constantly set you up against Aone. whenever you got blocked, a teammate was quick to pick it back up and have you set up all over again. Eventually, you had hit over 10 spikes against Aone's wall, and you were getting restless.

Then your setter slipped up, and set one in an inopportune place,

And you spiked it

Right into his face.

His nose immediately started bleeding and you freaked out. Lucky for you, you had some tissues in your pocket, and you had him lean down so you could clean his face and stop the bleeding properly. His eyes widened as you expertly stopped his nosebleed.

Oh, the irony. Oh, the irony that it was you that caused his injury. He thought back to the day he met you.

"Aone-senpai try this one!" The young setter called out for his senior, but the ball was a little off. He didn't want to just let it drop, however, so he went for it anyways.

Bad decision.

The ball went flying. It went flying towards a nice shady tree where a girl with a killer leer sat.

"Hey! Watch out!" That's when you turned your head and was smacked right in the face with his spike.

"I-I'm sorry!" He looked at you, blinked, and thought some more. You were terrified of what he would do next, but he blushed. It made you blush and you shook some.

"You can go take care of him on the bench (Name)-chan! Sorry, that was an awful set!" Your setter tells you as you continue to care for the nosebleed. She was worried she had ruined the possible relationship you had in the makings with this boy, but when she saw him blushing at your touch, she knew it might be better this way.

"Yeah, go sit down for a bit, okay Aone?" His captain tells him, slightly catching on to what the girls' team was trying to do.

Once seated on the bench, you continue to hold the tissue to his face, but you refused to look at him, only lifting your gaze every once in a while to check if the bleeding has stopped.

"... Your phone number..." He whispers as he shakes slightly and begins to blush a more intense shade of red.

"Eh!?" You look up at him with wide, empty eyes. You were shocked. No one has ever asked for your contact information before. It could only mean one thing.

He wanted to continue talking with you.

You look at him again and for the first time since you sat down, you looked him in the eyes. Your face was flushed, and you trembled slightly. Aone knew that if he let you bolt now, he might never see you again, and he couldn't live with that. He spotted your other hand on the bench and firmly placed his on yours. You jumped and began to turn even redder, but he was just as red and shaking slightly.

"I-I'll give my number to y-you after p-practice..." He had made his point. He wasn't going to harm you. He wanted this. He wanted to talk to you. It felt unreal, it felt like a fairy tale.

But he was sincere.

Months have passed since that string of awkward days. Takanobu checked on you whenever he could, and he would be the one to visit you when no one else would. The first time he held your hand in public nearly killed you both, but eventually, you were almost never seen without your hand in his. His first kiss with you was even more awkward, but when you took charge of it, it went smoothly. He eventually introduced you to rival teams he had friends on, and you nearly scared a 5' redhead shitless when you looked at him, but Takanobu did his best to try and demonstrate you were gentle.

You made him happy, and you were there when volleyball got rough. He did the same for you. When you were beaten by your rivals in the finals, you full on cried into his chest. He hadn't seen you cry much before that, but after you opened yourself wide open to him.

When holidays came around and no one was there, he offered you to stay with his family, and you accepted. You were nervous at first, but with Aone there, the world was less scary.

Years after that, he stuck with you. You had decided to open up a little restaurant called Otohime, and Takanobu was always helping you whenever he could, you didn't want to distract him from his higher education.

Then he asked you to be his wife.

He nearly killed you with that question. You had tripped over a crate as you backed up out of surprise. You ended up falling face-first onto the floor, causing Takanobu to panic as he rushed to your side, ring in hand. You immediately became embarrassed and flustered as you shot up, accidentally headbutting him in the process.

"T-Takanobu! I-I'm so sorry!" You tell him with a nosebleed dripping down your face. You shook and feared that he would leave you now as blood dripped out of his nose as well, but he stared at you. He looked at your face, felt the sensation in his, and couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation. "T-Takanobu?" You question as you got a napkin to clean his face

"It's Irony." He tells you, and you realize what he meant. The first day you both had met, he had caused you a nosebleed with a stray volleyball. On the day he got your contact information, you spiked a ball directly into his face. Anything significantly romantic was preceded with a nosebleed.

Now here he was, proposing to you as you both dripped blood from your noses. He lifted the ring box to you again, and you exploded into a blushing fit. You then lifted your left hand to him, he took it and gently slipped the ring on your finger.

"I'll try not to get a nosebleed at the wedding." You tell him. He smiles and embraces you, bloody nose and all.