Genius (Kageyama Tobio)

11

After the Mario Kart matches, Tanaka had the wonderful idea to play truth or dare. "It's a classic!"

Everyone got comfy on the couches and some of them got more drinks, including Hirose who got herself a cider. 

"Who's asking first?" Hirose asked.

"Well, you can, since it's your house." Suga suggested.

Hirose nodded, narrowing her eyes at all the people she could ask. She smirked at the tall blond whom she was excited to embarrass. "Tsukishima. Truth or dare."

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Tch. Truth."

Hirose thought for a few seconds. "Out of all the guys in this room, which one is most attractive?"

"Are you serious?" His voice remained deadpan, but the sarcasm was evident in his expression. Hirose nodded firmly. "You're the girl, you would know better than me."

"Your opinion, Tsuki." Hirose emphasized.

Eventually, Tsuki muttered, "Yamaguchi." The boy in question was very happy at the answer.

"Your turn to ask now, Tsuki!" Noriko grinned, happy he'd actually answered.

"Pipsqueak. Truth or dare." Tsukishima smirked, a plan forming in his mind. One look at his expression and half the group sweat-dropped, wondering how much trouble he would cause.

"Dare!" Hinata replied, not bothering to comment on the nickname.

"I dare you to... kiss the manager." 

"What?!" Noriko, Hinata, and Kageyama all yelled at once.

"Shoyo's like my little brother, that would be too weird." Noriko said, before an idea hit her. "Sho, kiss Kiyoko instead."

"What?! But Kiyoko's..." Shoyo yelled again, looking between the two managers as if wondering which was worse to kiss.

"No." Kiyoko vetoed immediately.

Suga rolled his eyes gently. "Just kiss Hirose on the cheek. He didn't specify the lips. It's an easy fix."

"Huh." Noriko and Hinata said in unison.

"Yeah, that's fine." Noriko admitted. 

As Hinata pecked her on the cheek, Kageyama glowered at him, and he scooted away as quickly as possible.

The truths and dares continued around the room, Kiyoko opting to take a drink rather than choose which of the boys was most attractive. Hirose wanted to scold the boys for reusing her question, but didn't bother since the game moved on pretty quickly. 

Soon enough, it had come back around Noriko, and Tanaka was the one asking. Judging by the look on his face, Noriko was sure she didn't want to do whatever he had in mind and mentally debated whether truth or dare would be worse.

"Truth." She finally decided warily.

Tanaka smirked. "Who was the crush that guy on the phone was talking about? And that includes what he looks like." 

Weighing the question in her drunken mind, Noriko found she didn't care that much, whereas she would've gotten flustered in a more sober state. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her camera roll until she found the picture she was looking for. 

"The guy on the far right, Kasamatsu, is the captain of Kise's basketball team." Noriko explained briefly.

The phone was passed around, everyone analyzing the ex-crush. 

"So, this guy is your type, then?" Suga asked, looking between the picture and Kageyama a few times. 

Noriko nodded. "Pretty much. Well, until he said basketball was better than volleyball, then I lost all interest."

"So, you would say you like the combo of dark hair and blue eyes?" Suga clarified, making eye contact with Kageyama, who was sitting up pin straight with a blush on his cheeks.

Noriko hummed. "I mean, yeah, blue eyes are pretty, but that's not why I liked him. You can tell he's really passionate about his sport, and he's confident. I mean, as a captain he kinda has to be, but in general, I'm not really into soft-spoken guys." Noriko almost continued, but seemed to realize where she was in a moment of clarity. 

"If he was a volleyball player, then he'd be your ideal man, is what you're saying?" Tanaka hinted, winking heavily at Kageyama. Noriko frowned at the gesture, thinking he was winking at her for no reason.

"Sure. Now, I'm done with that question, so no more questions about it." Looking around the room, Noriko searched for a face that wouldn't harass her. "Yamaguchi! Truth or dare?"

Yamaguchi froze nervously. "Uhh, truth?"

Noriko paused, contemplating. "Damn, I should really come up with questions beforehand."

"Umm, I can do dare if that's easier for you." Yamaguchi replied.

The way he said that suddenly reminded her of her one girl friend, and it gave her an idea. "This is random, but can I set you up with my friend? I just had a sudden thought that you guys would make the cutest couple." 

Yamaguchi seemed even more scared than before, until Noriko showed him a picture of Yachi and noted the slight flush in his cheeks. The flustered boy didn't seem to be able to answer, so Noriko just continued.

"I'm taking that as a maybe. I'll have her come sit with us at lunch a few times and you can see if you hit it off. Don't worry, I won't be overbearing or anything, I'll be classy about it."

Suga then piped in, rescuing Yamaguchi from saying anything more. "Just out of curiosity, what's your obsession with being classy? You don't really seem that way at school."

Noriko hummed, trying to find the words to describe it.

"She's always been that way at home because of all her mom's high-class parties growing up." Kageyama explained naturally.

The girl nodded enthusiastically, pointing at Kageyama. "Yeah, that! Besides, being classy is the most important trait when hosting anyone over, otherwise your parties are just tacky and embarrassing."

Kageyama was unaffected by her explanation, but the other boys sweatdropped. Tsukishima especially took note of the wording. "So, basically, you're a stuck-up rich kid then?"

Kageyama seemed ready to fight for Hirose's honour as he stood up from the couch, opening his mouth to yell at his teammate. The girl harshly pulled him back down by the hand to sit next to her, stuffing a chip in his mouth.

"Sure, if you wanna think about it that way!" Noriko replied cheerfully, though her eyes were twitching with annoyance. "But I think it's pretty closed-minded to be so against presenting yourself in a way that makes others comfortable and happy in your home." Somehow, she managed to keep in her comment about it being better than his own attitude, though it took all her willpower.

"And you." Noriko then turned and narrowed her eyes at Kageyama, who looked away innocently. She grabbed his face to make him look at her and smiled menacingly. "Don't start a fight in my house, got it?"

Some of the boys choked out laughs at the flush on Kageyama's cheeks and how suddenly her face became relaxed again as she changed the subject and let go of him. "It was Yamaguchi's turn to ask, wasn't it? Unless anyone else wants to suggest anything else?"

Kageyama had not yet looked away from Noriko, for some reason, and he felt a strange, but not unfamiliar, tightness in his chest. It had always been that way with her, or at least, since they'd made that pact in her kitchen the previous year. Not that he could define what it was, of course.