Serendipity: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 19: Winter Shennanigans

"Kuroo? What are you doing here?" Jun says, her speech muffled by a thick scarf around her neck.

It did not take long before the cold, windy rains of the fall time to go away — time passed by quickly as winter came around. Snow drifted slowly down the skies, covering the streets.

It's that time of the year. The club members usually hold a small karaoke party on the day before winter break and hold a Secret Santa— it's the club's tradition. Unfortunately, he happens to receive the person he knew the least: Jun Amemori. There's still a lot of things he's not quite sure about that kid.

Kuroo and Kenma had intended to visit the home goods store, perhaps they have something in the baking section that Jun may like.

Unfortunately, he bumps into someone — and he apologizes curtly before he hears that familiar voice.

Jun stands with her hands inside her pockets, her thick scarf hiding half of her face.

Her style is so... old fashioned. She has a thick, long skirt on with a worn pair of boots. She's also wearing her thick-rimmed glasses, something that she doesn't normally wear to school. She's hardly recognizable from the Jun he knows from school.

He decides to tag along with Jun, keeping a close eye on the things that she looks at. It's quite funny — she would pick up some sort of baking accessory (a star cookie cutter in this instance) and look at it from all angles. She would scrutinize it carefully before placing it back on the shelf with a frown. She finally stopped when she found a rolling pin, made entirely of heavy wood.

And that was all she bought. Judging from Jun's fickle tastes with baking accessories, Kuroo decides against buying one that she would possibly dislike.

Jun and Kuroo leave the store. However, Jun stops and turns around, taking one last look at the storefront.

The front of the display showcased a recipe book with a cover of a picturesque slice of chocolate cake, garnished with a dollop of meringue and confettis of gold foil.

[Look Inside: Show-stopping Chocolate Cake Recipe, from This Year's Patisserie Winner Rei Takanawa!]

Kuroo looks sideways to expect some kind of awed expression in Jun. But instead she looks dissatisfied and confused, her lips drawn to a tight line.

"What's up?"

There was a pause.

"In volleyball," Jun says pensively, "you win if the ball doesn't touch the floor, right?"

Kuroo shrugs. "Essentially, yeah. Why?"

"In baking, you win if your plate has the best flavors. Simple." She keeps her eyes on the glass. "But I guess my baking has to look glamorous like that to be recognized."

Kuroo looks closely at the book through the glass. "Well, who cares? your food tastes good, doesn't matter if it looks good."

"The judges care," Jun says bitterly.

"Well, your baking tastes really good, it should compensate. It's obvious that you've work hard in perfecting the taste. " Kuroo says, recalling the cakes that he buys at the bakery. He doesn't know much about the technicalities, but he knows that the cakes just feel right in his mouth. The texture, the flavors, the icing... it just goes together so perfectly.