COMFORT CROWD ᵏ·ᵏᵒᶻᵘᵐᵉ

08 | the boys

16:30 / TUESDAY.
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Youko put away her phone when her name was called out, a boy standing in front of her with a look of uncertainty. If it wasn't for the red uniform he wore, she wouldn't have guessed it was one of Kuroo's teammates.

He had round eyes with short black hair, the number six printed on a blue jersey. Youko couldn't put a name to his face yet, not recognizing him from the photos Kuroo shared with her.

"Yeah, that's me," she chuckled nervously, the boy humming in response.

When Kuroo texted her about everyone's behaviour in advance, Youko was expecting chaos. Yet, as she walked in complete silence with this boy in particular, she was confused. She thought she did something wrong, the urge to break the ice with questions gnawing at her. However, maybe he liked the silence and if she said anything she would just come off as annoying. So instead, her lips become a straight line as her words die at her throat.

Fukunaga caught sight of her hesitations, stealing subtle glances in her direction as they both walked towards the gym. Everyone on the team knew that Kenma was somehow acquainted with her, but during this short time he's been with the new transfer student, Fukunaga wasn't sure why Kenma would even involve himself.

Youko was definitely awkward, and knowing Kenma, he just isn't the type to get along with those types of people. If anything it would annoy him.

"I'm sorry for not asking sooner, but what's your name?" Youko managed to ask, the boy glancing at her side.

"Shōhei Fukunaga," he replies, the sound of his voice levelled and clear.

She nods to the information, mumbling the name to herself a couple of times. Despite her anxious tendencies, Youko still wanted to make a good impression on the team. She knew that it meant a lot to Kuroo, and as his best friend, she wanted to get along with everyone to the best of her abilities.

She huffed in triumph. "It's nice to finally meet you Fukunaga-san," Youko said. "Oh wait! Are you my senior!?"

He smiled at her sudden question. "No, we're the same age."

"Oh okay... I didn't want to seem disrespectful," she sighs, placing her hand over her heart. "It's important to me to get along with everyone on Kuroo's team."

Fukunaga purses his lips as he contemplated her words, wondering why it's caused her to be so distressed. It didn't make sense as to why she was so set on getting along with everyone, she only got here less than a week ago. Was she interested in volleyball? He wasn't so sure either. And even if she was, it was too late to become a manager from what he heard.

Fukunaga was just beyond curious as to why Kuroo invited Youko in the first place. Not understanding what their relationship was like since she arrived.

"Is this it?" Youko stopped in front of the main door of the gym, the boy beside her startled to have arrived so shortly.

As the door creaked loudly, alerting everyone inside of their arrival, Youko swallowed down her nerves and walked through with Fukunaga. Hopefully, everyone else was just as well-behaved as him.

Instead of the warm welcome, Youko was expecting, all the boys seemed to have been preoccupied with their own drills. "I thought Kuroo said practice doesn't start for another half hour."