F̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶ Fuck the Rulebook - Kenma Kozume

Searching - C1

She nodded; she hadn’t seen these boys before so in the process of elimination, they must be third years.

“Well, like I was saying, we’re looking for a manager,” his eyes were staring softly at her face, “are you already with another club?”

Never. She shook her head again, her neck beginning to ache at the constant nodding and shaking. Maybe she should use her voice. But that would involve potential embarrassment. Morisuke lips spread into a smile,
“perfect,” he gestured to the intimidating boy, “that’s Tetsuro Kuroo, everyone calls him Kuroo, our captain and middle blocker,” he then gestured to the buzzcut boy, “Nobuyuki Kai, our wing spiker and obviously”, he gestured to himself, “Morisuke and I'm our libero.”

Middle blocker? Wing spiker? Liberio? She assumed this could be positions within the team but other than that, she had no clue what they were talking about. He continued to hold the paper out, his grasp wavering momentarily. She felt bad for making him hold it for so long. Shit, she took hold of the paper lightly holding it in her hands. She skimmed over the paper detailing what the club does, and what their aims were for the following year and much more. She glanced up briefly to see the glimmer in their eyes. They look so hopeful; can she just crush their hopes like that? She cleared her throat,
“I,”

“You’ll do it for us, right?” Tetsuro asked crossing his arms with a light glare.

Help run the club? She wandered for a moment whether it was actually possible for someone as unsocialised and independent as her, to potentially be a part of something bigger. But. It’s not possible, it’s a good dream for her to hope for but, that’s what it is, only a dream. She shook her head biting her lip as she forced her words out,
“I can’t.”

Morisuke slowly nodded glancing at Tetsuro turning to face Akasuki fully with a large smile,
“how about you pop by at the end of the day and meet the team?”

Meet the team. That’s exactly what she needed, the potential for more people to reject her from their social group.

“I think,” Tetsuro cleared his throat a smirk forming on his face, “you’re exactly what we need.”

Exactly what they need? They must have pretty low standards if all they’ve been searching for was her. She shook her head, it’s ridiculous for her to hope for another group to accept her. Right?

“Look,” Tetsuro spoke slowly, “I get it if you don’t,” he raised his hands to do air quotes, “fit in,” he lowered his arms crossing them, “but you don’t exactly look like you’re even trying to make an effort.”

Is he serious? She tried to the last of her ability to fit in. Morisuke caught the glimpse of mischief in his eyes. Trying was all she could ever do, but what she did, was never enough for them. She couldn’t help but scoff at him,
“look,” she set a tight gaze on his face, “I get if you,” she raised her hands to copy his air quotes, “always get your way as captain,” she lowered them, the paper still in her hand, “but you can’t dictate my life as well as theirs,” she went to turn on her heels glancing over her shoulder at them, “sorry, not sorry.”

She glanced forward, a smirk forming on her face from self-pride. Wow, that was kinda cool. The adrenaline pumping through her body sent her into a rollercoaster of narcissism and self-defence. She would’ve never normally done anything like that, but arrogant kids like that irritated her to the bone. As she strolled through the crowd, her eyes set on the floor, deep in her mind, she couldn’t help but picture herself amongst a fully accepting group. It was an envy to be accepted by others, not even accepted, it was an envy to have an unbreakable bond with others. Even just one person would make her world of envy end. A sudden whisk of air flew past her, the sight ahead of her becoming completed darkened. Huh? She lifted her sight from the ground to meet the grinning faces of the three boys, blocking the way for her to move forward. What did they want now? Tetsuro held out his hands motioning her to stop. As she did, she wondered why they went through the effort to chase after her.

“Akasuki, right?” He spoke with new found confidence.

She nodded, least he remembered her name.
“I, I want you to come by the gym. You,” he grinned with a half-hearted shrug, “are the kinda girl we’re looking for.”

The kinda girl they’re looking for? Again? He must be joking, he’s doing this on purpose to mess with her, he had to be.
“Look,” Akasuki frowned, “you know when we first met and you had no idea who I was?”

Tetsuro nodded slowly.

“Good, because that’s the way I preferred it,” she stepped to the side sliding through the gap between Tetsuro and Morisuke.

Her own world of solitude, that’s the way it’s meant to be.

“Hey!” Tetsuro called after her.

She glanced back at the three as she continued to walk, what in the world made her look back? Tetsuro gave her a double thumbs up,
“I’ll see you at practice!”

She scoffed shaking her head, turning away from them. It’s so stupidly ambitious of him to think she would actually consider going after class. Yet, she wasn’t able to shake the picture of herself among the team she hadn’t even met. It’s, ridiculous for her to even consider going. They’re athletes, all they want is attention and glory. They don’t need her. But, would it hurt to just pop by to meet the others? Maybe, just maybe, they might accept her. The spark of hope began to light within her, excitement coursing through her veins.