"I'm (L/n) (F/n), I hope we all could spend a wonderful time together." I bow, keeping the smile on my face.
"So you finally joined?" Kuroo gives me a smirk, both his hands on his waist; he makes crazy gestures as he walks up to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder which made me smack his head. "For a tiny girl, you hit hard." He says while rubbing the spot I hit him.
"You're like the female Yaku-san!" A boy with brown hair smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up, getting a smack from the player that I saw wear a jersey with a number three on it, yesterday. "This was my first! Yaku-san don't you give first times a warning only?" The shorter male glares at the brown haired kid, making him flinch and hide behind my back. Uhm, I'm shorter than you...
"Never try to insult me, even without directly saying it." The short one says..
I don't know their names and everyone is talking, telling me and Honami some information that I can't comprehend anymore. I run to my friend and hug her arm, feeling the pressure build up inside of me. This all seems so familiar. Honami looks at me and lets out a sigh.
"Don't uhm.. If you may uhm, don't surround her?" Honami says, looking at me then to the boys to give them an apologetic smile. I bow a little, keeping my eyes on the floor for me to try to calm down. "I know it's kinda sudden or I don't know?? But just don't." Honami pulls me away from them and brings me to the bench. She gives me a blue pill and a bottle of water, showing a reassuring smile like she was telling me that I'll be fine.
"I'm sorry.." I tell Kuroo, who walks up to me as he eyed me head-to-toe. He brings his hand up, making his chin rest on his palm and his elbow rested on his other arm. What does he want?
"Just a tip, don't ever wear school uniform. We're still men before we are your friends." He ruffles my hair and gives me a cute smile, turning around to go back to his teammates. Men before friends... what?
After I calmed down, they all introduced themselves to us. I had to write their names down for me to remember; I jot down everything about my day or the people around me so that I'll be able to remember once I forget them. Everyone seems nice so I think I won't have trouble with getting closer and more comfortable with them, all of them except Kenma.
Kenma seems so uninterested with having managers or new club members, he's just casually minding his own business while everyone tries to entertain us and gets to know us better. Actually.. maybe he really thinks that I'm a nuisance, he's talking to Honami but not me. I'm not jealous. I just hate myself. I troubled someone I'm not even friends with; it would be easier to apologize if he was just a lot more like Inuoka or Kuroo-san or even Kai-san. But he's that gamer boy that's not sociable, and I have to deal with it.
Kuroo-san's the captain and as far as I can remember; he's a bedhead, a kid who laughs nonstop that sounds like a hyena, someone that's such a tease in so many ways, a heartthrob, a player (someone just told me this), likes to smirk a lot, but is kind and reliable. He seems a little irresponsible but I've hungout with him and he is a pretty decent guy. I approve of his position as captain, though I'd probably approve Kai-san more.. hehe he's a lot more reliable, I think.
I watch them play in awe, just like how I watched them yesterday. Their moves are just amazing and their receives are so solid and sturdy; I believe they're the best when it comes to defense, that's what Nekomata-sensei said. He also said something about the brain and veins, blood and whatnot; all I can think of are veins now.
"It may not seem like it, but once you see them play a match against a real opponent.. the brain functions differently and he observes more than he does now." Nekomata-sensei tells us, looking so proud and happy about their brain uhhh— I mean, the brain.
"Inuoka, you're a little slow when it comes to blocking Tora. He's not that hard of an opponent anyway." I turn my head to hear a soft voice that was complaining, it's Kenma. "Our blocks need work." He adds, drinking from his bottle; we met eyes and shivers went down my spine when I saw the dominating look in his eyes. He's a cat that's eyeing his prey— that's how he looks like. I turn back to Nekomata-sensei, getting a smirk when he saw the look on my face.
I jump out of my thoughts when Honami pinched my cheeks, I smile apologetically and help her get the bottles from the boys. My eyes doesn't want to leave the court, they're all so amazing, they're individually so skilled. Perfect Defense. Honami suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me out to get the bottles refilled.
I tell her how excited I feel about being in the club with her and everybody else, Honami would chuckle seeing how I'm so enthusiastic about the sport. This is really my first club and I'm really enjoying it, though, I know that this is just the beginning. I kept rambling on that we came back a little late. My eyes and all of my other senses are so locked into watching them play.
Naoi-sensei blows the whistle, indicating that it's break again. I hand out the bottles, smiling as each one of them tries to impress me, describing how they played earlier. I look around to look for my friend, seeing her talking to the mohawk; I think she'll have a boyfriend before me, they look cute.
"(Y/n)." A familiar voice calls out, making me turn to him, seeing that he doesn't have a bottle yet; I give him a bottle and a smile, he just nods and walks away. Does he hate me? He's quite cool though, the brain.. I'll write all of these in my journal once I get home.
Naoi-sensei blows the whistle again, it's time for them to get back on the court to train. I hurriedly go to all of them to get the bottles, pausing before I turned around to go and get them refilled again; they just got back on the court but they're presence is so huge and noticeable that I can't even make myself turn around and leave. I had to force myself to go because my eyes were glued onto them.
Yamamoto got called out by Kuroo-san, apparently him and Honami were having such a great time talking to each other that they didn't even notice that Naoi-sensei had blown the whistle. I smirk at my friend whose cheeks were so red after they got called out; Honami buries her face in my shoulder from the embarrassment. I am happy with the amount of love we have felt for today.
I drag Honami out of the gym as I also carried the basket that's full of bottles; my best friend rambled on about why she wasn't able to pay attention, I just nod my head and try to keep a straight face on. Honami looks like a tomato right now, fits her perfectly. She was distracted to the point that she already filled the bottle but she still kept on filling it up.
"(Y/n) will have a boyfriend before us." I mimic my best friends' words, making myself sound annoying for me to tease her. She pouts her lips and tries to hide the smile that was forming on her face, I laugh while I pointed at her; she's so cute! "I can see chemistry, so don't worry." She gives me a disgusted look after I rhymed three words, I didn't mean to though.
"Don't tell Maki yet, okay?" I shake my head, earning a frown from her. I can't exclude Maki, she's our best friend. Honami gave me the puppy eyes, pouting as she begs for me to not tell our other friend; I shake my head again, not wanting her to experience pain like I did. "You really won't keep it a secret from her... you're the best." She gives me a thumbs up, looking like a proud mother.
I try to fill them up as quickly as possible, we've been out for a while since Honami was just telling what she and Yamamoto were talking about earlier. She looks so happy as she cheerfully continues to speak about it; I ended up doing all the work by myself but I'm fine with it, I got to see her smile a lot so I'm okay.
We go back to the gym, finding them still going on with their 6v6. The mohawk caught my attention because of Honami's stories, he's very serious and passionate about the sport, he might just be the same if things happen. I laugh at my friend, catching her trying to fix herself up; she was applying lip balm and looking into her pocket mirror, I'm still curious why she has that with her every time.
I watch the boys play; their spikes, blocks, receives and sets are perfect, but something seems wrong, I can't say for sure since I'm not an expert. I look at all of them one by one, trying to point out what I was missing; Kuroo-san delayed his jump... delay.. I get it now!
Ever since Kenma told them to work on their blocks, telling Inuoka to speed up for them to secure their defense against the spikers; their pace quickened too. The moment Inuoka tried to move quicker, he affected the others. Yaku-san who normally never makes unnecessary moves, steps a bit too ahead or behind; Fukunaga, he didn't quicken up much but there was still a slight change in his speed; Yamamoto was the most riled up aside from Inuoka.
I take out my notebook (I use it for raw notes), jotting down the things I noticed after Kenma's observation. Their speed affected their balance; moving faster made their moves a bit flimsy and unstable. The pressure you put into your legs depend on how slow or how fast you walk/run; when we walk, there's more weight all over our feet but when we run... our weight is only concentrated into a particular spot of our feet. If you don't connect your brain with your speed, you won't be able to balance yourself while you run. Presence of mind..
Naoi-sensei blew the whistle; time to go home. Honami and I went to Nekomata-sensei, he gives us a smile before turning to the boys. I look at them one by one, remembering the notes I jot down while watching them earlier.
"I think your lovely manager, (Y/n), has something to tell you." Nekomata-sensei chuckles, gesturing me to tell them. He put so much pressure just by saying that. I calmed down a little when Honami held my hand, smiling brightly to tell me it's fine.
"Uhm.. I don't know anything about sports or how everything actually works... But, when Inuoka sped up, so did everyone else. Well, except Kenma and Kuroo-san." I gulp seeing their eyes widen just from that, even the pudding head looks surprised. "I-I think.. the reason why most of you made more mistakes than actual attacks and receives, is because you sped up unconsciously when Inuoka started moving faster." I look at them, seeing Kuroo-san smirking so I look away quickly.
"How do you think we could solve that?" I turn to the quiet voice, seeing Kenma with his cat-like eyes.
"While you run, use your brain. That's how you'd solve it. Coordinate your thoughts with your actions." I answer and turn to my best friend, seeing a smile on her face; I actually did it. I said it!!
"Then how about we coordinate two of our brains and turn them into one?" Kuroo-san smirks, wrapping an arm around Kenma's shoulders before turning to me.
"Do you mean us?" I ask, pointing to Kenma and myself. Kuroo gives a nod and a smile, looking at his friend with amusement. I turn to Honami, eyes asking if it was a good idea; I'm not even a manager for a day yet, but they're already asking me to become their brain along with the pudding head. "If he's okay with it then, okay.. but this might only be a one time thing.. Don't expect anything from me." I play with my lips as I avoid eye contact. I look up when I felt someone ruffle my hair, it's Kuroo-san.
"Two heads work better than one." He scrunches his nose as he smiles. I guess I'll be their second brain.
Everyone started cleaning up; some went for the rugs and the mops, and some went for the balls and the net. Honami and I did our job; we gathered all the bottles and the towels, going to get the bottles washed and to put the towels into the laundry basket. I slit my finger with the bottle, I wince in pain as the open wound came in contact with the water; that's probably the only sound I ever made after the whole brain thing. I take a bandaid out of my pocket, somehow there was one— this is probably from last school year, well whatever.
Honami didn't bother me, I guess we're both tired for today that we just let each other stay quiet to at least regenerate our energy. I can hear Honami humming though, she's probably happy about everything that's happened today. We joined a club and became managers, she got to interact with the mohawk, we experienced new things; I'm quite happy too, despite the job being so tiring for coming back and forth to refill them. I kinda just realized that most of them really drinks the whole bottle, how can their bladder not explode? Males.
We went back to the gym to get our bags for us to go home, finding the boys changing their shirts; I was surprised but a guy stripping his shirt off isn't new to me, dad always does that and so does my cousins. I nonchalantly enter the gym, taking both my bag and Honami's; she froze. Then I realized, we had club rooms..
"Uhm.. Guys?" They all flinch upon hearing my voice, no one noticed we came in? "We do have a club room, right..?" I ask, looking at Kuroo-san and he nods. "I just think it'd be more appropriate and appreciated if you guys would change in the club room. You guys do have managers now so, a little adjustment?" They all look at each other, turning back to me, nodding their heads.
"Awe, (Y/n)-chan, are you uncomfortable with seeing my abs?" Kuroo-san turns to me, completely shirtless. I tilt my head to the side, eyes going from his face to his abdomen; he does have abs.
"Not a sight I'm not used to. I have cousins, and they're mostly boys. They do this thing every time, it doesn't really matter to me— Honami's a bit uncomfortable though." I explain with a straight face on. I didn't get what Kuroo-san wanted to get out of me but I just answered with how I understood him. He sighs and bends down to get his shirt, wearing it to cover his body.
Kuroo-san told us girls to wait for them, he said it'd be dangerous for us to go home on our own. I don't really need help since my house is just near the school but Honami still has to go to the station; I'm pretty sure she'll have Yamamoto bring her to the station. I'm kinda anxious though— not to the point where I'd have to be taken care of but, I'm just nervous. It's my first time coming home late, everyone else seems to live nearby.
As we wait for them, I write what I've learned today, on my phone. I want to make sure I have copies of everything, I have to still write everything on my journal; everything is I've learned to day is worth journalizing for. Honami taps my shoulder, making me look at her and I could see the boys behind her already. I smile and we all walked home.
Everyone seems to be speaking of something to a teammate, I can hear the third years talking to each other; I avert my attention to them when I heard Kuroo-san's laughter, I almost dropped my phone. I look at all of them and they're all talking to each other, but none of them to me. I stop walking, remembering how painful this scene is. Their voices starts to become inaudible as I recall how it felt to be alone..
"Let's leave her out!"
"She's a loser, just leave her be."
"No one wants you here, so why are you here?"
"(Y/n)." I jump out of my thoughts, looking in front of me to see a piece of tissue. I turn to my side to find Kenma, he just looked at me like how he always does; nothing new. "You're crying." I raise my brow at him, bringing a hand up to my cheeks only to find them wet. I take the tissue from him and wipe my cheeks with it.
"I'm sorry." Honami walks up to me and hugs me tight, I let out a chuckle and pat her back; it's fine. There was just a trigger, it unexpectedly came. "I'm sorry for leaving you out. Maki won't forgive me for this.." She backs away, biting her nails from the thought of Maki getting mad at her.
"I'm fine.. Something just triggered me, but I'm fine." I say, smiling at all of them to let them know that I really am alright. Kuroo-san looks at me with worry, letting out a long sigh as he walks up to me.
"I'll get you home, let's go." He takes my bag from me, carrying it with his shoulder. I furrow my brows but he just smiles at me and ruffles my hair; how many times has he messed up my hair today? "Kenma, are you coming?" I look to see the pudding head nod, turning to his phone after we met eyes.
I just walk to my house like how I usually do when I'm alone, they just follow me. Kuroo-san tries to brighten up the mood by telling me embarrassing moments of himself, he just laughs it off; I wish I could laugh them off too. He continues to tell me stories, finding out that the two of them are actually childhood friends and that Kenma only played because of him. Kenma's a thoughtful friend after all.
Walking home today, it was longer than it usually took me. I look around and find that we're still a few streets away, I guess we're walking slowly since we're talking about random things. This really feels nice, having friends walk with me. I hope I can find friends who'll bring me home everyday or even just, walk home with me.
Every now and then, I would glance at Kenma to see if he's still with us. He's playing on his PSP and sometimes the sound disappears so I check on him; he's such a game addict, I'm surprised that he's not kidnapped yet. If I were on my phone and it was this dark out at night, I probably would've been sexually harassed, worse is get kidnapped. Also, anyone could think Kenma's a girl: long hair, short, and looks timid; but if you just have seen him without a shirt he's a man— that guy has abs, the least I had expected from him. Well he's an athlete, that's normal..
"Sweetheart?" I turn my head from Kuroo-san to the familiar voice, seeing my mother in front of us. I smile and hug her, Kuroo-san bows, pushing Kenma to bend over to bow as well. "Are they from the volleyball club?" I nod and smile, looking at Kuroo-san and giving him a thumbs up. "Thank you for bringing her home, I was about to fetch her.. Her father got worried."
"We couldn't let her go home on her own, it's dangerous and she's a girl. We had to at least bring her home." Kuroo-san says, smiling at my mother. "I'm Kuroo Tetsuro and this is Kozume Kenma. Oh right, (Y/n) here." He gives me my bag, elbowing Kenma in the process. I know Kenma's paying attention to us but most of his attention is on his video game. "I'm sorry about my friend, he's not really sociable.." I chuckle, seeing Kenma glare at him for a few seconds.
"Thank you. I'll see you two tomorrow, be careful on your way home." I bid goodbye to the two of them, waving and smiling as I backed walk to my house. My mother carried my bag for me, she's in a good mood, what's she thinking of? "Mom, you seem happy?" She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm happy you have more friends than I thought, handsome ones too." She smirks and gives me a smug look as she said the last line. I distance myself from her, only to hear her chuckle. "Sweetheart, I always thought that I would never see little (Y/n)'s running around once I get a lot more older." I tilt my head to the side, blinking as I am confused about what she just said. "So which one of them makes your heartbeat race? Or butterflies in your stomach?" Finally understanding what she meant, I blush.
I didn't answer. The moment we got inside the house, I gave her a kiss on the cheek, taking my bag and running to my room after taking my shoes off. I lock the door behind me, throwing myself to my bed as thoughts clouded my mind. My mother's question just made me think for no reason.
I have no experience in romance, I don't know how it feels to like someone, I don't know how it feels to have butterflies in my stomach; are there really even some inside of me? Anyway, I just never thought of it, that's why I was unsure with what Maki and Honami planned on doing. Getting a boyfriend.. Honami seems to be sprouting already, my plant probably died, and Maki... I don't know yet.
I go to my desk, taking my journal out to write what I've learned. I start off with their names, I write Kuroo-san's first since he's the captain ball, going on to Kai-san then Yaku-san.. I had them in order the same way their jerseys are. I'm happy seeing so many names written on my journal, I've only ever written Maki's and Honami's; I really have taken such a big step.
I pause for a while, thinking of what to write down next. I suddenly remember the brain, I'm contemplating whether I should include myself or not. Originally it's just him who's the brain so if I added myself, it'd be different.. In the end I only included him, Kozume Kenma. I've never really interacted much with him when it comes to academics so I never knew he was smart; just by being able to observe as he plays, he's definitely a lot smarter than me. I doodle the brain, drawing veins on the side that would connect to the other players.
I jump to my bed, falling on my back as I raised my arms above me, holding my journal; I'm happy, I've said it already but I really am happy. I hope that I could meet more people through this club like... when they'd have a practice match with a different school. I would love to meet other people, I hope I won't be too nervous.
I went downstairs when my mom called me to eat dinner. Mom told Dad how two boys brought me home, mentioning how handsome they are; I thought Dad would be worried but he started teasing me too. I guess they're just happy to see me with other people, and not just Honami and Maki. I hurriedly finished my food (I had to run away from my parents' teasing), going to the bathroom to take a shower.
I went to bed, unable to sleep because of earlier. I don't know.. should I even give it a thought? Like who makes me feel all weird inside? It's not like it's an important part of my life, or is it? But what makes me happy even if I don't like having them tease me is that.. they're happy. They look so proud of me and that's what matters the most to me— their smiles and their happiness. But really.. a boyfriend.. Even my parents are kinda expecting me to have one now.
Kuroo-san.. Kenma.. Kuroo-san.. Kenma.. Kuroo-san.. Kenma.. Who makes my heart race? I don't know.. Well if we talk about making my heart race from nervousness then definitely it's Kenma. Shit. I still have to apologize to that pudding head for acting innocent and burdening him. Kenma... You don't hate me, do you?
Kozume Kenma; a pudding head that likes to play video games, not sociable, very smart, has a dominating aura, kinda scary, and looks like a cat. He has helped me twice, with my attack and by walking me home; though he played his video games most of the time. He's my seat mate but our conversations so far are just, one or two lines or three. I wonder how he'd look like when he's smiling; he never puts a different expression except those of being irritated or annoyed and confused. I bet he'd look good with a smile on his face.
Somehow, I was tired by just thinking of him or maybe because I'm just trying to find answers to my questions; I fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up feeling so energized after sleeping; I check the time, it's 6 AM. I go to the bathroom, taking a shower to get ready for school. I return to my room, my body only covered by a towel wrapped around me; I hear repetitive vibrations, going to my desk to find 10 messages on my phone.
"Hey (Y/n)~ It's Kuroo, can you come early today? There's a meeting for a practice match this weekend. The meeting starts at 7:20 AM, go straight to the gym once you get to school. Be careful on your way here, see ya kitty~" — XXXXXXXXX
I look at the time and it's 6:17 AM, I still have time. I dry my hair with a towel and got changed into my uniform. I put all my things in my bag, bringing it with me downstairs. I greet my parents good morning, I take a seat at the table and thanked the gods first before I started to eat my breakfast.
"You look like you're in a rush, slow down Sweetheart." Dad says, looking at me while I stuffed my mouth with pancakes. I try to speak but none of my words came out well, I drink water and turn back to my Dad. "You should tie your hair." I nod.
"We have a meeting by 7:20 so I have to leave earlier." I answer my Dad's question, looking at the wall clock, 6:39.
I drink my milk and run to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I quietly tell myself my motivational lines, smiling at my reflection as I braid my hair. I split my hair in the middle, braiding each side from the top down to the tips. I finish braiding my hair and it's already 6:56. I grab my bag and my phone, going to the door to wear my shoes.
"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I'll be home late again!" I yell as I open the door, dashing out to go to school.
I plug my earphones in my ears, listening to music as I walk to school. I met people along the way; they wave and smile at me but they stayed with their friends. I remember last night, Kuroo-san and Kenma walked me home. We were noisy from chitchatting and got scolded by an old lady at some point, but that didn't stop Kuroo-san from being so noisy.
I change into indoor slippers, seeing a pudding head when I looked up. I give him a nod and he does the same, why is it so awkward when it's him? I put my shoes back into my locker, holding on to the locker door as I contemplated whether I should ask him to come along with me to the gym. I look to my side and he's gone, he probably went ahead already.
"(Y/n), what are you staring at?" I turn around to see Maki, I smile and she hugged me tight. Honami arrived and we all linked our arms together after they changed into indoor slippers. "How was (Y/n) yesterday?" Maki asks, looking at Honami. I look at her too, wanting to know how well I did as a manager.
"She's perfect for the job, she even gave them a suggestion.. She's their second brain now." Honami looks at me with a smirk, wriggling her brows like she was teasing me.
"Well, Honami.. She has a friend— is he just a friend?" I return the same look, making Honami turn red and panic. "She and Yamamoto got called out for not noticing the whistle, they were having fun talking to each other; honestly, they look cute together." I turn to Maki, smiling as I recall how happy she looked like while talking to the mohawk.
"(Y/n), Honami." The three of us stop walking, seeing Kenma in front of us. "We have a meeting." Oh right. We give Maki a kiss on the cheek, going ahead to the gym with Kenma.
I can't help but stare at his back, he looks like a girl from behind. The first time I met him when we were first years, if I hadn't heard his voice then, I wouldn't have known he was a boy not a girl. I caught a glimpse of his side profile, he is good looking, maybe if he styled himself he would've been the campus crush or something.
We got to the gym, seeing everyone else inside. Honami and I bow to the coaches, giving apologetic smiles to the boys. We were gestured to sit on the floor, us girls are wearing skirts so I hesitated before trying to sit. Yamamoto had given his blazer to Honami, making me kinda envious; I now feel like I want to have a guy care for me too. Everyone had some sort of reaction towards Yamamoto's actions, the team approves their relationship.
"Fukurōdani will come here this Saturday and we'll be having a practice match the whole day." Nekomata-sensei starts— I feel uncomfortable with sitting on the floor wearing a short skirt. "Everyone should be here by 8 AM for us to start early and finish early." I hold on to the hem of my skirt, making sure it won't fly. Suddenly, a blazer's in front of me, I look to the person and see Kuroo-san. He gives me a smile and turns back to listen to coach.
The meeting ended after Nekomata-Sensei said a few more things about the team. We were asked to stand already, I struggled. Kuroo-san helped me up, chuckling and smiling at me. He was about to ruffle my hair when I avoided his hand. Naoi-sensei gave us warnings before dismissing us.
We all headed back to class, walking slowly because of us just talking to each other. Kuroo-san made me tie the blazer around my waist to cover my lower area even for the slightest bit. Inuoka made a few jokes that made all of us laugh, except for Fukunaga and Kenma. Yamamoto and Honami had their own world so they weren't really paying attention; Kenma played video games on his phone and walked slower than everybody else, he's at the back.
Everyone headed to their respective classrooms, except for Kuroo-san, he said he'd walk us second years to our rooms. The only ones left are me, Honami, Yamamoto, Kuroo-san and Kenma. The first one to get to their room is Yamamoto, Honami looked kinda down but immediately smiled when she caught me eyeing her; they're too obvious. We got to our room, I stop by the door to give Kuroo-san back his blazer.
"Thank you for this, I really appreciate it. I was really uncomfortable back there." I chuckle to myself, holding it out for him to take. He shakes his head and smiles. "Why? Don't you need this?" I flip the blazer in all directions, smelling his scent— smells good. I was taken aback when Kuroo-san stepped forward, his hand on the back of my head, pulling me closer to him. His mouth is by my ear, I can feel his breath.
"That's Kenma's, kitty."
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