Chapter Text
Kenma Kozume was lost.
His volleyball team had been invited to a practice match with Karasuno High, and as usual, Kenma found himself engrossed in his video game.
Before he knew it, his team was nowhere to be seen.
Kenma settled on a ledge near some gates, bag discarded beside him. He sat with a slouched back, holding his reassuring handheld device.
Patiently, he waited, confident Kuroo would find him eventually. Until then, Kenma was content lost in his game, immersing himself in his focus. He ignored the meowing cat at his feet or the single feather of a crow lazily descending from the sky.
Kenma was deeply engrossed in his game when the sound of footsteps suddenly caught his attention. Before he could look up, a cheerful female voice pierced through the air.
"Hey!~ What are you doing here all by yourself?" the voice inquired.
He looked up, a look of surprise crossing his face. Kenma was caught off guard by the idea of someone, especially a girl, engaging him unexpectedly.
Kenma observed the girl before him, taking in her short and thin figure.
The girl's orange hair, short yet captivating, appeared like a living mix of sunshine and dancing flames. Each strand exuded a lively, playful energy that reflected her enthusiastic nature.
However, what caught his particular attention was her shirt—the Karasuno logo boldly imprinted on it. Given her appearance, it was logical to assume she was a member of the Karasuno Women's Volleyball team.
Kenma found himself struggling to articulate his thoughts, his usual composure thrown off. He was not accustomed to people, especially girls, initiating conversations with him.
"Um...I’m just..waiting." He answered in a small voice.
Kenma assumed the girl would have taken her leave after his awkward response. However, to his surprise, she continued to engage, displaying genuine curiosity as she inquired, "Waiting for who?"
Kenma found himself becoming increasingly puzzled. He initially suspected that the girl had come over because he was sitting in an unusual location. However, their continued conversation indicated a genuine curiosity rather than mere nosiness.
"For my classmate to find me." Kenma muttered, returning his attention to his game in hopes to put an end to this odd interaction.
It wasn't that he had anything against the girl; he had just met her after all.
However, there was an uncomfortable feeling within him, as he wasn't accustomed to receiving attention off the court, let alone from a girl.
She continued to talk, asking if he was lost. In response, he merely hummed, acknowledging the question. His focus remained fixated on his video game.
Was his behavior coming across as impolite? He silently hoped she didn't perceive it that way. It was just his nature to be a bit awkward.
"Is that a fun game?" She inquired, moving closer. Her curiosity was evident, her eyes wide and bright as she flashed a warm grin.
Kenma found himself uncertain how to respond to this unexpected interaction.
"Not really... I’m just trying to pass the time." He said as he continued to play his video game without much expression on his face.
Kenma wondered why she wouldn't simply leave him alone. It wasn't that he was angry; he just felt uneasy.
He doubted she was flirting with him; girls never showed interest in him compared to someone like Kuroo. But he didn't particularly mind since he was more engrossed in his video games and volleyball.
The girl continued to catch him off guard, and he found himself blinking in surprise when she exclaimed, "Oh! Are you a volleyball player?? Those are volleyball shoes."
Her excitement was palpable, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Kenma was unmistakably out of his comfort zone.
He muttered a brief response, "Uh. Yeah," barely concealing his growing discomfort. He averted his gaze, keeping his focus on the game rather than maintaining eye contact.
The Karasuno member's grin widened with excitement, and she introduced herself, "My name is Hinata. Shoyo Hinata. Nice to meet you! What’s your name?"
Kenma caught himself looking at her once more, but his gaze swiftly averted, hiding behind his locks of hair.
Shying away from the bright, eager brown eyes, he offered a soft response, "Kozume.."
Hinata posed a question, her head tilted with innocent curiosity. "Kozume? Is that your first name?"
To Kenma's surprise, he found himself actually responding, his gaze flickering away. "No..It's actually Kenma." His voice tinged with a hint of unease.
"Are you in high school?" She posed a question, her voice filled with an unyielding enthusiasm,
It was a strange occurrence. Despite displaying zero enthusiasm throughout the conversation, Hinata continued to display a genuine interest in him.
"Yeah." Kenma then answered her question simply.
Hinata, then revealing herself as a first-year, followed by asking him about his grade. Kenma calmly replied that he was a second-year. To his surprise, Hinata began profusely apologizing due to the difference in their grades.
Kenma, genuinely not caring about the concept of hierarchical status within athletics, stated that he found such distinctions utterly pointless.
"Oh, is that so? Um, do you like volleyball?"
"Not particularly." Kenma found himself continuing to answer her questions despite not caring about the topic at hand.
He noticed a change within himself. Typically, when faced with uncomfortable situations, he would simply stands up and leaves.
Yet, in this instance, his body remained still, and the words just kept flowing out of his mouth.
Kenma answered with surprising honesty, his usual apathy somewhat softened. "I kind of just do it." he admitted. "I don't dislike it, but I don't like getting tired. But uh, my friend likes to play and he needs me. So I play too."
Hinata leaned back against the fence, assuming a comfortable position next to him as she remarked, "Ah... Well, once you get used to it, I'm sure you'll like volleyball too."
Despite Kenma's gaze being fixed on his game, she still sent him a warm smile.
"I don't really care, It's only while I'm in high school." Kenma responded, his apathy evident.
Hinata, intrigued, inquired, "What position do you play?"
"Setter."
To his surprise, Hinata got extremely excited upon his answer.
"Really?? You're a little different from our setter. Our setter is so more intense." She moved her arms around in a chaotic manner as she attempted to convey the energy and intensity of her teammate.
It was almost funny. Kenma nearly chuckled at Hinata's animated movements.
With more energetic gestures, Hinata exclaimed, "I'm a middle blocker!"
She then appeared a bit downcast, adding, "Oh, you probably think it's kind of weird, right? It's normally a position for tall guys, after all."
Hinata graced him with an awkward smile.
Kenma met her gaze as he responded honestly, "Nah, I don't think it's weird."
His words seemed to catch her off guard, and he continued to share his perspective. "I get told stuff when I go to matches too. They say: 'The setter position is for the most talented player, but why him?' Because I'm not particularly athletic to begin with, you see."
Hinata empathically responded, "Oh, that's mean."
Kenma nonchalantly resumed playing his game and stated, "I don't care."
Hinata offered him a smile and encouragingly stated, "That's the spirit."
Hinata's curiosity piqued once more as she inquired, "So does your school have a good volleyball team?"
Kenma casually continued playing his game as he replied, "Well, I heard we were good a long time ago. But we fell into decline."
"As of recently," For a split second, Kenma noted a change in his own tone, a hint of self-assurance emerging.
As he locked eyes with Hinata, his gaze was intense ever so slightly, and he declared,
"I'd say… we're pretty good."
Hinata's face was filled with surprise for a brief moment.
She couldn't help but wonder what caused Kenma's brief shift in demeanor. The declaration he made echoed with a newfound confidence, as if his words were backed by a hidden strength she hadn't seen before.
She pondered if it was the mention of his team that triggered this change, a subtle indication that Kenma cared more about this sport than he initially let on.
“Hey, which team do you play for-“
Hinata's words were abruptly interrupted by a male voice calling out, "Kenma!"
Both Kenma and Hinata turned toward the source of the sound with surprise etched on their faces.
Kenma then exclaimed, "Kuro," before swiftly standing up, grabbing his bag and said, "Gotta go."
Hinata attempted to say something, but everything happened too quickly. Kenma was now standing beside his friend. Half-turned toward her, he waved goodbye with a smile. "See you later, Shoyo."
Kuroo raised an eyebrow at the exchange.
Hinata was left watching the departing figures of Kenma and his friend, still taken aback and slightly bewildered.
Kuroo walked alongside Kenma, still astonished. "What was that?!" He chuckled, a mix of surprise and amusement in his voice.
"What?" Kenma responded with a nonchalant eyebrow raise.
"Don't 'what' me! Did I just catch you flirting with a girl?!"
"It wasn't like that." kenma stated, maintaining his aloof and unbothered demeanor.
Kuroo looked at him in disbelief and retorted, "Seriously? Then, what about that 'See you later, Shoyo,' together with that flirty smile on your face?"
Kenma responded to Kuroo's statement with a nonchalant shrug. "It was just a friendly goodbye." He stated matter-of-factly.
Kuroo remained unconvinced.
Not buying that at all.
"Just a friendly goodbye? Since when do you give friendly goodbyes like that to girls? No, scratch that, since when do you even give attention to any girl?!?"
Kuroo couldn't help but get excited, exclaiming, "I never thought I’ll ever see the day when you will willingly converse with a girl.”
Kenma scoffed at Kuroo's incredulous remarks, rolling his eyes at his friend's exaggerated reaction.
"You're overreacting." He said, his tone tinged with annoyance. "It was just a friendly conversation, nothing more."
Kuroo smirked at Kenma, finding all this so amusing and adorable.
"Oh, come on, don't give me that 'it was just a friendly conversation'. I saw the way you were smiling at her."
"You're seeing things." Kenma grumbled at Kuroo's relentless teasing, his annoyance growing. "I was just being polite. It's not like I was flirting or anything."
Kuroo chuckled. "Come on, man. You were totally playing it cool, pretending to act all shy and cute. I could almost see the hearts in your eyes."
Kenma groaned, exasperated by Kuroo's relentless teasing.
"You're delusional." He muttered, sighing in frustration. "I was just being friendly. It's not like anything romantic was going on. I literally just met her. And besides, I'll probably never see her again. She is from Karasuno High volleyball team, as you sure noticed. Anyway, I don't care. Like I said, I was just being polite. So, drop it already."
Kuroo raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. "Relax, man. I was just messing around." He chuckled, unable to resist teasing his aloof friend.
"But seriously, you really were being all shy and cute with her. It was kind of adorable, to be honest."
Kenma's irritation intensified, and he sped up his steps, determined to distance himself from Kuroo's relentless teasing.
Kuroo chased after him, laughing and exclaiming, "Alright, alright! no more teasing! No need to be so grumpy, Kenma~!"
"Shut upp!"
__________
That night, at Nekoma's dorm, Taketora was engaged in conversation with Inuoka and Shibayama.
"About our destined opponent, Karasuno. Do they have a female manager or not? I bet a yakisoba bread that they don't."
"What? I'd prefer that they did, so my bet is that they do."
"Me, too."
"Jackasses! Won't it make you mad if they do? Uh, What if they had a beauty for a manager? I won't ever forgive them! I never will."
Kenma attempted to ignore Taketora's loud voice, focusing on his video game.
However, when Yamamoto mentioned a rumor about Karasuno having a female member in their team, Kenma suddenly froze.
"What?" Kenma uttered, his shock evident. "Did you just say Karasuno has a female member?"
Yamamoto was surprised that Kenma had actually been listening to their conversation.
He then nodded slowly and said, "Yeah. But I'm sure It's just a false rumor. It's too ridiculous to actually be true."
Yaku walked by and interjected, "I didn't expect you to be anti-girls, Yamamoto."
Yamamoto protested in a melodramatic fashion, exclaiming, "It's not like that! I meant it's just too unrealistic. Just what kind of girl would want to join a team full of boys when she has the option of a women's team."
"He does have a point." Kuroo remarked casually.
The other team members joined the conversation, sharing their thoughts.
Some expressed excitement, claiming it would be every boy's dream to have a female teammate on their team. Others were more skeptical, responding with comments like "only in your dreams". Others stated that there were co-ed volleyball teams where both genders played together.
Kenma didn't pay any attention to the ongoing conversation.
His mind was consumed by thoughts of Hinata Shoyo.
He remembered her mentioning she was a middle blocker and that people often assumed the position was meant for tall guys.
Kenma now realized that she had said "guys," not "players."
Could it be that Karasuno did actually have a female member, and that girl was the very same one he met?
"I'm kind of looking forward to it. Our match against Karasuno."
Kenma didn't even realize he had spoken aloud until the room fell into a profound silence.
He became acutely aware of the eyes of his teammates fixed on him, their expressions a mix of disbelief and surprise.
Yamamoto was the first to speak up, his voice tinged with shock as he exclaimed, "K-Kenma, who has no will to play, is actually looking forward to a match?!?"
Kenma rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Yamamoto's outburst, redirecting his attention back to his video game.
Kuroo found himself smirking, sensing that Kenma had been behaving strangely since meeting the orange-haired girl. Kuroo was already looking forward to tomorrow, eager to witness how Kenma would continue to surprise him.
Yamamoto continued to demand answers from Kenma, his loud voice getting on Kuroo's nerves.
The captain finally snapped, shouting, "Shut up, Yamamoto! If you've got so much energy, I'll make you run 20 laps outside!"
"S-Sorry!"
And indeed, Kenma was looking forward to tomorrow match.
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