Blazing Heat

Day Two

Kuroo's eyes trail Tsukishima's retreating form. Confusion and a little remorse pool in his stomach, he probably should've been more careful with his word choice. The guy looked like he was enjoying himself, but his mood immediately shot down when Kuroo brought up Hinata. Do they have some sort of beef? Kuroo doesn't think so. They do argue, and Tsukishima looks like he wants to die just standing next to him sometimes, but they both just seem like argumentive people and argumentive people argue, it's sort of in the title. They mesh well together otherwise. Or, sometimes they do. He's kind of contradicting himself. Tsukishima and Hinata get along fine, Kuroo doesn't think there's any bad blood between the two. Nothing bigger than annoyance.

Tsukishima's eyes had glazed over and his entire body went still, meaning he stopped flexing his fingers at his sides and his eyes stopped darting all over Kuroo's face like they hadn't a clue where to look, like he was thrown into a flashback. He swayed a little, too. It concerned Kuroo, who thought he'd be carrying a lanky beanpole back to the first gym, where the rest of his team were practicing. He doesn't know where Karasuno's dorm classroom is.

Just when Tsukishima turns out of their view, Bokuto speaks. "Aw, man!" He drags his hands down his face, they rest just below his chin before he fixes his posture and looks back to Kuroo. "C'mon, Kuroo. I thought you had better people skills than that!" His tone is teasing and his face is smug. Kuroo sighs.

Akaashi fixes him with a flat state. "You have got to stop prodding at people's weak points. It's a wonder you have any friends."

"Wha- HEY!" Kuroo crosses his arms over his chest and tries to stutter out some sort of retort, but comes up empty. Instead, he simply glares as Akaashi snickers at his sputtering. "First of all, I am a delightful person! My friends are blessed to have me!"

"Blessed is a bit of an exaggeration." Kenma quietly cuts in from where he stands at the edge of the court. He doesn't lift his eyes from his phone. Lev is standing over him, Yaku right next to him, inquiring about every aspect of whatever mobile game Kenma is so engrossed in. Yaku seems less interested in Kenma's game and much more interested in trying to get Lev to move his lanky ass back to the court so they can practice their receives because Lev still sucks and one fluke every fifteen tries won't cut it in a real game.

"Don't listen to Kenma, he's an unreliable source." Kuroo uncrosses his arms. "Anyway, I didn't know he would react like that."

Bokuto tilts his head and moves his hands to his hips. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's obvious Hinata's a serious threat on the court, and he's improved a lot since the last games we played, but he's got a lot to learn still, y'know?" Kuroo isn't lying. With Hinata's wicked speed, agility, raw talent, and stamina he's genuinely a force to be reckoned with, and with every match Nekoma plays against Karasuno, he seems to grow and grow. "Tsukishima on the other hand is way taller and much smarter than him, I think if he put his mind to it he could be a force to be reckoned with, but I think he thinks he's inferior to Hinata."

Tsukishima seems steady. He's on a steady road of improvement, and he too picks up new tricks when they go head to head on the court. Kuroo knows that with the right push, he'll grow his wings and fly with the rest of his team, but he doesn't seem interested in that. He seems so aloof, Kuroo sometimes thinks he doesn't even like volleyball.

"Dang, depressing."

Yeah, Bokuto is right. Depressing seems to fit Tsukishima's whole vibe.

(Stuck up too.)

---

Karasuno's third years, Daichi, Suga, and Asahi sit with second year Tanaka on the slope of Shinzen's grassy hill, eating the watermelon they were so graciously provided by some sort of Gods and Goddesses known as the Shinzen High PTA. Beads of sweat roll down their foreheads, and if Kuroo were being totally honest their legs looked amazing, presumably from all the running they've been forced to do, but he won't comment on that.