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Chapter Text

The Fukurodani Group Summer Training Camp has officially started, but we seem to be missing a certain horned owl ace.

The doors of the gym open loudly and someone walks in proudly smiling and yelling.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!"

Everybody stops what they're doing and looks in the direction of the sound.

"Yo Bokuto, Nice to see that you've finally arrived…. and…. Uhhmm ….. Who's that?"

Kuroo was kind enough to say out loud the question on everyone's minds. Bokuto looked down at the girl in his arms, his smile growing wider and the confusion of everyone else deepening. All except one person.

"Bokuto-san…. What did you do?" Akaashi inquired, walking closer to the ace.

"Nothing~" replied Bokuto, still with that idiotic smile on his face.

"Is this the reason why you said you wouldn't travel with us here?" Akaashi further questioned, now gradually glaring at his simpleton of an Ace and Captain.

Clearly he was right in his accusation, as the Ace was now looking anywhere but Akaashi and beginning to fidget slowly.

"You do know that she's going to be furious right?" Akaashi now fully in front of Bokuto, and his irritation growing with each passing second the ace was not answering.

Every single one of the others watching in the background could see how Bokuto was now sweating, his fidgeting getting worse by the second. But was still confused as to whom the mysterious girl in the Ace's arms was, and how Akaashi seems to know her.

His team members, feeling like they should somehow lessen the suffering of their Captain and finally get answers to feed everybody's curiosity, approached the two.

"Ano… Akaashi-kun just who exactly is she?" Akaashi turned around and faced his teammates. Opening his mouth, but the Ace behind him beat him to it.

"She's Bokuto Kanna, My precious baby cousin!" Bokuto proudly stated earning the surprised looks of everyone and an irritated look from Akaashi.

"HAH?!"

"How come we've never known/met her before?" Inquired their members.

"That's because she's extremely shy and just generally not good around people." answered Akaashi.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain the fact that he's panicking and you're irritated by all this." Kuroo now questioned, finally getting over the shock of finding out that the girl Bokuto was carrying was his cousin.

With a sigh Akaashi began to explain. "You see, Bokuto-san most probably took her here without her knowledge. Him panicking is because once she wakes up, he's bound to deal with the consequences. I'm irritated because he was stupid enough to bring her, and totally forgot about how she would feel about all this."

Looking at Bokuto he quickly added "And just so we're clear Bokuto-san, I am not helping you with this."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, right?" Konoha dryly chuckled.

Everyone looked at Bokuto again and snickered as they could see the colors on his face starting to drain.

"Just how scary can this sleeping girl be to make the Ace and Captain of Fukurodani be in this state", they all thought.

"Anyways, why don't you lie her down inside so we can officially start practice." Nekomata-sensei said with a closed eye smile.

As Bokuto followed his managers to the girl's sleeping quarters, the others had been ushered by their team's respective coaches to warm up. Akaashi followed him with his eyes, shaking his head and moving towards the others to warm up.

Chapter Text

Kanna slowly awoke, rubbing her eyes and taking in her surroundings. Confused and wondering how she was laying on a futon inside a classroom, when the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch. Getting up and tidying up the futon, she wandered around the grounds, slowly coming to the conclusion that her mysterious teleportation to this unknown school, most definitely had something to do with her irritating volleyball idiot of a cousin.

With a sigh, she found herself outside beneath a hill on her left, and on her right, what she assumed to be the gym, with all the sounds and voices coming from it. She was about to walk past the gym and somehow find her way home, when all of a sudden someone yelled.

"BOKUTO-SAN!" Startled, she stopped, looked to her left and found a group of boys running down the hill and an orange haired boy jumping towards her. She was beginning to panic when a voice came from her right this time.

"AH! KA—" Koutarou didn't even get to finish calling out to his cousin, when she glanced at him for a second and suddenly took off. Startled and confused for a minute he just stood there, until he collected himself and dashed off after his cousin. The others looking at the place both Bokutos once stood, confused as to what was happening.

Akaashi sighed "Here we go"

After a few minutes, the older Bokuto came strolling through the doors with the younger Bokuto on his shoulders screaming and struggling.

"LET ME GO. PUT ME DOWN BAKATARO!" Kanna yelled while she squirmed, kicked and repeatedly slammed her fists on her cousin's back.

Meanwhile, the idiot continued to walk carrying her like a sack of potatoes with that idiotic smile still on his face.

"How often has this happened that he's not even fazed with her struggling at all?" They all thought at the same time.

"Ugh, huhuhu… Keijjiii~" Finally fed up with the uncomfortable position she was in, Kanna called for help, nearly sobbing.

"Bokuto-san. Please put Kanna-san down, that position is making her uncomfortable." Akaashi sighed and helped the girl to her feet.

"Ha. Now." Kanna sighed and charged at her cousin, but was held back by Akaashi.

"Let go of me Keiji, I need to teach this dumbass a lesson." Kanna kept demanding but Akaashi didn't let go. Koutarou was now hiding behind his teammates, as the glare his cousin was sending his way terrified him to the bone.

"Let go. I'm gonna kill him. How dare he drag me here. I don't even know where I am." Kanna wasn't yelling, but the venom that dripped from her words made everybody in the room gulp and take a step back.

Well except Akaashi, cause he still had to keep her from murdering his Captain, though he would've wanted to let her do as she pleases, he still had a duty as the teams' Vice Captain. Instead he brought her back down to reality knowing that it'll make her calm down at least.

"Kanna-san." Akaashi calmly called her. Kanna looked at Akaashi, blinked and suddenly realized that a lot of people were in the gym and they were all looking at her. Anger towards her dumbass cousin long forgotten as her face flushed and she hid behind Akaashi letting out a small squeak.

Surprised by the sudden change, nobody said anything and just kept staring wide-eyed at the blushing girl.

"She's sooo adorable."

"How can someone be so cute?!"

"Well I wasn't expecting that." Several of them thought to themselves.

Hinata being Hinata, was the first to break the silence bouncing up to Fukurodani's Setter and the girl hiding behind him.

"I'm Hinata Shouyo, Karasuno 1st Year Middle Blocker. You are?" Hinata said and looked at poor terrified Kanna with sparkling eyes.

Said girl just hid herself more behind Akaashi's back and glanced at the floor. Akaashi nudged her as an encouragement to answer. She looked at Akaashi and with a nod of his head she looked at the ground again. They all waited with baited breath slowly thinking that she wouldn't introduce herself, when she took a deep breath.

"I—Bo….Boku…to…..Kan…na…..2nd…..Year." She barely finished in such a quiet voice you normally wouldn't be able to hear. But the gym was silent so they all heard her.

"Oh, you're a 2nd year Bokuto-san ah—uh senpai!" Hinata said, embarrassed that he just assumed again and casually addressed a senpai.

Kanna though flinched, "Ka—Kanna…is …fine."

Hinata beamed, "Hai, Kanna-senpai!"

This is the moment when Kanna realized that this orange bouncing fluff ball would just call her whatever he wanted, so she just gave him a nod.

The others smiled at the shy girl's adorableness, all the while thinking how someone as sweet as her could ever be related to the simpleton Ace and Captain of Fukurodani.

Feeling the girl starting to fidget again, Akaashi glanced towards the managers and made eye contact with Shirofuku. With a nod, she looked at the other managers and signaled for help. A nod from the others, and she proceeded with what Akaashi asked of her as a favor while the girl was still sleeping.

"Ano….. Kanna-chan?" When said girl looked at her, Shirofuku continued.

"Would you like to help with setting up dinner?" She said with a smile, the other managers shooting her encouraging smiles of their own.

Feeling at ease with the warmth they were all emitting, Kanna thought it'd be better with them than in here with all these guys staring at her, so she nodded. With her nod, the manager's smiles grew and ushered Kanna to follow them to the cafeteria.

On the other side of the gym various people were talking about what just happened.

"You would've never thought such a sweet and shy girl would be so scary. If I didn't know better, I would never believe someone if they told me she had that side to her." Sugawara pointed out.

"I wouldn't believe it either, coming from such a small girl like her." Yaku agreed.

"You call her small, but aren't you just a few centimeters apart, senpai?" Lev said, earning him a kick from said senpai.

"Apparently, her fury overpowers her shyness when it comes to her overly irritating and childish cousin." Sarukui snickered, insulting his Captain at the same time, earning a laugh from the others.

Hearing the laughter Kanna glanced around, assuming nobody was now staring at her. She scanned the gym, silently giggling at the antics of that silly orange fluff ball and raven haired boy with a scowl on his face.

Just as she was taking a step outside, golden cat-like eyes caught her sight before she looked away and scrambled after the managers.

"Interesting."

Chapter Text

Kanna helped the other managers prepare for dinner. They were all nice and understanding. She noticed that Karasuno's 1st year manager, Yachi Hitoka, was also shy at first. But then she started to animatedly talk about the other 1st years in the team, and how amazing they were with her hands going everywhere. She couldn't help but giggle alongside the other managers. Although she wasn't a manager herself, Kanna felt welcomed. It's been so long since she chatted with other people besides her cousin. While doing their respective works, she reminisced about the time she first met Akaashi Keiji.

Kanna wasn't really bothered by the fact that she didn't have friends, but it was nice to have Keiji to talk to besides Koutarou. Kanna met Keiji in 1st year, they were seatmates. He recognized her last name and asked her about it, being in the same volleyball club as the person having the same last name as her. She found out that he was a setter, and with her knowledge of her cousin, bid the guy good luck even though she didn't really know him. Akaashi thought it was just with volleyball in general, oh boy was he wrong.

Akaashi soon realized that Kanna was wishing him luck not with volleyball, but with her cousin, the Ace of Fukurodani Boys Volleyball Club, Bokuto Koutarou. Every time Koutarou would come to their classroom asking (demanding) Akaashi to toss to him, Kanna was nowhere to be found. Akaashi guessed that the younger Bokuto could somehow tell if her older counterpart was near or approaching, since before the latter was even within hearing radius, she would be long gone. Having to tolerate the older Bokuto as their common ground, the two became really close and would converse on just about anything, while also ranting about their frustrations for said male.

Koutarou didn't even realize the two knew each other until the following year, where they were classmates once again. He suddenly showed up at their classroom at lunch. The two stopped talking, startled, almost dropping their chopsticks at his sudden intrusion. Kanna most of all, having been too engrossed in their conversation, wasn't able to avoid the encounter. Needless to say it was a very loud lunch, with nobody but the owl-like 3rd year talking nonstop about how amazing the other was, not knowing they'd already known each other a year prior.

The managers calling Kanna's attention broke her out of her thoughts.

"There's only a few left needed to cook. Do you think you can handle them, Kanna-chan?" Miyanoshita asked, scratching her cheek with a sheepish smile.

"I'm afraid we have to return to help the teams with practice. But we'll be back once you're done so we can call everyone to eat." Shimizu added with a small smile

With a nod from Kanna, the managers smiled brightly at the girl, and told her that if she ever needed help she could always just call either one of them. A wave to her, and they were out the door.

Now alone at the cafeteria, Kanna began to hum to herself as she steered the pot of miso soup. Watching it boil at the same time, turning off the fire on the chicken. Too into her own little world she didn't hear the door open, nor heard someone walk in and sit down on a table near the counter behind her, separating the kitchen area from the dining area.

Seeing as the miso soup has now finished cooking, she turned off the heat and turned around. Only to almost drop the ladle she was holding and nearly have a heart attack. She stared wide-eyed at the boy sitting in front of her, preoccupied with his phone. She took a deep breath trying to calm her heart down.

"He looks like a pudding with that hair."She thought with a silent chuckle.

Figuring that he wouldn't want to converse and also relaxing at this, she turned back around to continue the finishing touches with dinner preparations.

Golden cat-like eyes looked up from the game he was playing, to stare at the back of the raven haired girl that was humming to herself. With a small smile, he went back to playing on his phone, occasionally glancing back at her, the smile not leaving his face.

Soon enough the managers came with the others, and chaos ensued. Loud was an understatement, they were extremely hyper for a group of young boys who should be tired from their respective training sessions. Well not all of them, and it gave Kanna some peace of mind that not everyone is like her idiot of a cousin, and that orange fluff ball with endless energy. Finishing before the others, Kanna silently stalked out of the chaotic cafeteria to tuck in for the night. Not noticing the same golden cat-like eyes had watched her sneak out of the cafeteria and out of his sight.

Chapter Text

It's the second day of the training camp and Kanna was still confused. She thought about it yesterday and still couldn't come up with a reason as to why Bakataro (courtesy of her irritated mind) would even bother to bring her here. And why now, when he didn't even bother her the past times he went to training camp. Kanna was determined. She would get answers, even if she had to force it out of her cousin. Though she would have to confront him with all the attention, which was her biggest hurdle at the moment.

So here she was standing outside the gym, poking her head inside while hiding behind the doors. Her eyes scanned around the gym for either Bakataro or Keiji, silently hoping not to be noticed. But as misfortune sure did love her, a giant silver haired boy noticed her, much to her horror.

"Ah! The small Bokuto, about the same height as Yaku-san." Said Lev she would assume, as that's what she also assumed to be the Yaku-san he mentioned, called him as he kicked the back of his legs.

Before she could retreat however, her cousin was already in front of her.

"Oya, Oya. Is there something you need Kannnnaaaa-chaaaannn~?" He said with a big smile on his dumb face, purposefully dragging out her name like usual.

Fidgeting from all the attention now focused on her, but still filled with resolve to find the answers she needed. Kanna took a deep breath and looked up at her irritatingly tall giant of a cousin.

"Um—Uh…. I was… just wondering..." Koutarou encouraged his cousin on as she was taking her time.

"Why am I here?" She finally finished looking back at him, only to slowly grow irritated with the slightly confused and blank look on his face. That is until…..

"Ah!" He suddenly exclaimed as if he just remembered something, making her jump a little. But still waiting for his answer, she kept quiet.

"Right! I brought you here 'cause I wanted you to see Karasuno's 1st year weird combo." Koutarou proudly stated.

Kanna, confused beyond belief, couldn't help herself. "HAH?!"

The others couldn't blame her, they were confused as well.

"What the hell's happening again, what kind of reason is that?!"

"Bokuto-san wha—" Akaashi started but was cut off by his Captain.

"Come one Kaaaannnnaaa~ You have to see it! I mean you're amazing and I want to know what you think about it! And they have to see how amazing you are! You just need to show it!" Koutarou whined, pointing randomly around the gym to further make his point clear.

"I'm…not amazing! And there's nothing to show!" Kanna said, now red faced from anger and embarrassment at being the center of attention once again.

"Pleasssssseeeee~ Just once. You just have to be there on the other side of the court." He said trying to convince her.

"Kanna-san, why don't you agree? I think it'll really help us all." Akaashi said suddenly, making Koutarou beam while turning to his cousin and nodding profusely.

This just confused the others more.

"What's up with Bokuto insisting on her seeing the Karasuno 1st year weird combo?"

"Well if Akaashi says it's alright, maybe it is."

"What did he mean by it'll help us all, though?"

"Just what are those two planning?" They all thought.

A sigh escaped Kanna's lips, and Koutarou knew that she was caving in to his request. Jumping in excitement he ushered her to the court and soon dragged the two 1st years of Karasuno on the other side. He then took a ball from the floor and was in position to toss it to Kageyama. Everybody else surrounded them with their curiosity picked.

"Ready?" Koutarou asked as he turned to his cousin. At her nod he tossed the ball.

Everything happened so fast. Nobody realized it was already over until they saw and heard the ball drop in the setter position. ON KANNA'S COURT.

"WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!"

They all stared at Kanna, wide-eyed with jaws to the floor as said girl straightened her back. They just witnessed a perfect receive that cut off all momentum and rotation, while sending it back perfectly to the setter. The shock was too great that not a single one of them could utter a word. Even the coaches were speechlessly staring at her.

Koutarou and Akaashi were staring at her wide-eyed but with proud smiles on their faces.

"I knew it."

Chapter Text

"Tsk. If I get a bruise from this, I'm seriously considering making one appear on your face Bakataro." Kanna huffed after dusting arms. She then realized how quiet it was. As she glanced up and surveyed the gym, she took in their expressions and began to fidget.

"Uhm….Uh…Di—Did I do…..something…wrong?" Kanna asked as she avoided everyone's line of sight.

Her question seemed to break everyone out of their trance. The first ones to address her of course would be the biggest volleyball idiot trio from Karasuno.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE SAVE THOSE TWO'S QUICK ATTACK THE FIRST TIME THEY SEE IT!"

"PLEASE TELL ME JUST HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO SAVE THIS DUMBASS' SPIKE?!"

They said to her all at once. A cough from their Captain and a point to Kanna, made them notice that they were a little too close, making the girl uncomfortable. His glare made them back up a bit.

Before anybody could say another word, Koutarou hopped excitedly around his cousin.

"So! So! What did you think?!" He questioned with sparkling eyes eagerly awaiting her response.

At his question everyone once again had all their attention directed towards Kanna.

"Uhmm Well….. He sucks." Kanna said as she turned towards her cousin pointing towards Hinata, who deflated at her words.

"Yeah, He has decent jumping power, and I'm assuming stamina too." She added as she glanced towards Hinata's legs.

"But other than that, he's pretty worthless and lacks a lot of the basics. As for him (points at Kageyama), he's talented all right, but I have a feeling he's somehow holding himself back. He must have some reason for doing so. But I'm not one to pry on someone's personal issues, as they should deal with that themselves. The intended purpose of the attack sure is amazing, but they're not using it properly. Well they'll just get better from this, so I have no complaints." Kanna finished with a small smile towards Koutaro. Whom she now realized was staring at her with a surprised but proud look on his face.

Realizing what she had just done, she started to lower her head, when they all flooded her sight with endless questions sprouting from their mouths. Akaashi being Akaashi, broke the circle formed around her and tried to calm them all down, when an even bigger problem made his way towards Kanna.

"A GAME!" Koutarou shouted, amidst the crowd.

They all stared at him confused, all except Kanna who stared at him horrified. Oh did she know just where this was heading, and she didn't like it one bit.

"No." Kanna stated firmly, hardening her gaze towards her cousin so he would get the message.

But Koutaro was not a simpleton for nothing. Of course he wouldn't be able to get the underlying message.

"Oh Come on Pleaaaasssseeee~" He was now begging with puppy eyes, which wasn't really working for him.

"You said once, and nothing about playing in a game." Kanna argued back.

"But—" Koutarou started.

"And how do you even expect me to play when I'm not dressed properly?! You didn't even bring me clothes?!" She exclaimed.

True enough to her words, she was wearing one of Koutarou's extra shirts that's too big for her and jogging pants one of the managers had as an extra. Koutarou had to admit, in his rush and excitement he totally forgot about preparing a bag of her own necessities for Kanna. Being guilty, he couldn't find any words to say.

Kanna huffed. She really didn't want to play, but oh did she now regret glancing around the gym. Expectant sparkling brown eyes now stared at her with so much determination, she jumped a little. She shouldn't have looked, she really shouldn't have. Now this orange fluff ball was going to be the death of her.

"One." She said with a sigh, while Koutarou looked at her confused.

"Just one game, and that's it." She finished making Koutarou light up. He opened his mouth to speak, but she clearly wasn't done.

"You get to pick the teams and members. But I'm playing as the Libero." Once she was finished stating her terms, Koutarouu frowned.

"But—" He started but got cut off again.

"No buts, it's either this or I won't play at all." Kanna firmly stated, her tone making it clear that there was no room for argument.

The coaches, realizing this would be the best they'd get out of her, well for now at least, agreed to her terms in place of the players. With everything decided, Kanna took a seat at the side to prepare herself as they discussed who would play and who would be on whose team.

After a thorough discussion, the players and teams are the following:

Kanna's Team

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Konoha Akinori (WS)

Washio Tatsuki (MB)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Akaashi Keiji (S)

Bokuto Kanna (L)

Koutarou's Team

Bokuto Koutarou (WS)

Gora Masaki (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

It took them some time to formulate the teams cause most of the players wanted to play against Kanna, Koutarou being the No. 1. To appease the others, Koutarou countered that they would get another chance tomorrow, to which Akaashi just shook his head. He didn't know what his Captain had in mind, but he knew he would find some way for Kanna to agree to another game tomorrow, one way or another.

Akaashi on the other hand along with a couple of his team members decided to help the younger Bokuto, Sawamura included. Tsukishima apparently got roped into playing by one of Kuroo's schemes again. Akaashi thought it was quite unfair to match up the other team's powerful servers against Kanna. First there was Shinzen High's Gora Masaki-san, and then there was Karasuno's Kageyama, although the latter's control and power isn't as great as the former, it was still a weapon on its own.

Once everyone was in position they all glanced at Kanna, to their surprise she had her eyes closed. But the moment she opened them they couldn't help but shudder, including the people watching at the sides. The same thoughts running through their minds.

"What terrifying concentration."

"It's like she's an entirely different person."

Koutarou stared directly at Kanna with a proud smile, a challenging look in his eyes. He softened his gaze as she looked his way, accepting his challenge head on.

"That's right. This is where you belong. On the court is where you shine the brightest."

As the whistle blew, Koutarou shared a glance with Akaashi. He would keep his promise, and he was sure Akaashi would help him. Akaashi might not know the whole story, but he cared about Kanna as much as Koutarou did. Koutarou was determined.

"I will bring her back. No, we. We will get her back."

Chapter Text

Kanna was drained, her arms hurt like hell. That one game lasted so long, she felt like she played a full set instead of just one.

"This is the punishment I get for suddenly engaging in a high caliber play, when I haven't done anything as active for some time."

She was starting to regret getting taken in by the genuine anticipation in the eyes of an overenthusiastic orange fluff ball. As she was making her way to help with the managers, before she dropped from exhaustion, a certain charming Libero slid (yes slid) in front of her.

"Oh, my cute angel~. Why haven't I seen you in any games? Cause I'm sure I would've remembered someone as good and as beautiful as you." Nishinoya said, kneeling on one knee with his right hand stretched out to her.

Kanna avoided his gaze not knowing how to respond. Thankfully, Akaashi came to her rescue.

"That's because she doesn't." Akaashi answered on her behalf.

Ennoshita came behind Nishinoya, and hit the back of his head, apologizing to Kanna as he dragged the Libero away from her.

"What? Why?" Several of them asked at the same time, looking between Akaashi and Kanna.

Akaashi now had a troubled look on his face, not being in the position to explain, but not wanting to deal with the chaos that would ensue if not answered. He looked at the Bokuto cousins, noticing Koutarou looking at Kanna with a solemn look, and the latter avoiding everyone's line of sight, with all emotion void of her face. He sighed. He really didn't know what to do, but luck seemed to be on his side for this one.

"Guys, she must have her reasons right? And we don't really need to question it any further." Yaku said, interrupting Akaashi's silent battle.

"Right, so can you guys leave them alone and start getting back to practice. You'd all be left behind even more so, if you don't." Sugawara said with a slight glare. Getting the message, they all scrambled to their respective individual practices.

Feeling thankful to the two, Akaashi shot them both a thankful nod and made his way towards the Bokutos, wordlessly leading them outside and away from curious and prying eyes.

"Are you all right?" Akaashi asked Kanna, once they were outside the gym.

"I'm fine, I was just gonna go and see if the managers needed any help." She answered

"Are you sure? Shouldn't you rest for a bit?" Koutarou said, taking a closer look at his cousin, noticing how much she was sweating and how equally red her face and arms were.

"Akaashi's right Kanna-chan. You look exhausted. You should rest for a while." Shirofuku interrupted, coming closer to the trio with Shimizu and Otaki behind her.

"Yeah, we'll just wake you up when it's time to prepare for dinner." Otaki added.

"But I'm really alri—" Kanna tried to reassure them, but their glares made her stop and agree.

"Third years are scary." She thought with a shiver.

"Alright, alright. I'll go nap for a bit. I count on you to wake me up when it's time. I would really like to help reduce the work you have to do." Kanna said with a sigh. This made the others smile.

"She really should be caring more about herself than helping us." They all thought as they watched said girl drag herself to the sleeping quarters.

When Kanna was out of sight, Shirofuku turned to her team's Captain and Vice Captain. She saw how the Bokuto cousins reacted to the others' questions about Kanna not playing in games. She sure was silly at times, but she wasn't blind. She wanted answers, and she would get them.

"So mind telling me what all of that was about?" She questioned the two, earning curious looks from the two managers behind her. Obviously, they too saw and wanted to know, but weren't in any position to ask.

At her question Akaashi looked at his Captain, Koutarou on the other hand was looking at the door Kanna walked through not too long ago, with a longing expression and so much sadness in his eyes. Shirofuku was taken aback. She'd never, in her 3 years as a manager and his friend, ever seen that expression on his face.

"Whatever must have happened greatly affected them both." She thought sadly.

"Ano….Bokuto you don't have to. If it's too much, I won't bother you any further." Starting to feel guilty that what she said caused her friend to make such an expression.

Koutarou sighed as he turned to look at all of them. "No. You guys have to know, you were going to find out about it anyway, sooner or later. But there's a favor I would like to ask of you before I explain." He paused for a few seconds before he continued

"I need your help." He finished, determination replacing the sadness once in his eyes.

Shirofuku glanced at her fellow managers then at Akaashi, a smile overtaking her features.

"Seems like we're all in agreement."

"What do you need us to do?" She said, with an equally determined nod.

"Actually, I would need everyone's help on this one." Koutarou said with a sheepish smile while scratching his cheek. He didn't exactly have a plan as to how he was going to do this, he wasn't even sure if the others were going to agree to helping him. He couldn't help but feel queasy about all this.

Shirofuku shot a nod towards Akaashi to go on ahead of them, as she began to push her troubling friend towards the gym. She was going to help with whatever she needed to, and she was sure the others would agree, especially if it had anything to do with the younger Bokuto.

When they entered the gym, the teams were already gathered with Akaashi in the center. Apparently Akaashi asked for the others to gather for a minute, since they were all resting from training. As they got nearer everyone turned their attention towards them curiously.

"Bokuto-san." Akaashi said as he gestured towards the others, he gave a nod of encouragement before he went beside Shirofuku, behind Koutarou.

"What's up Bokuto?" Kuroo spoke up. He was curious at the reason behind all this, but it was starting to turn to gradually intensifying irritation with every passing second and every fidget of the Horned Owl Bastard.

"Um…I….. PLEASE HELP ME!" Koutarou suddenly shouted, bowing towards them.

Every single one of them was shocked speechless, his teammates most of all.

"WHAT THE HECK'S HAPPENING?!"

"SINCE WHEN DID THE BOKUTO BOW TOWARDS OTHERS?!"

"AND HELP HIM WITH WHAT?!"

Sawamura, being the most civil and mature of the bunch, recovered first. "Help you with what exactly?" He asked.

"It's about Kanna." Koutarou said with a sigh.

Chapter Text

Kenma sighed as he walked the silent halls of the school. The others were currently in the gym discussing how they would execute whatever they planned to do to help Bokuto. And here he was wondering, just what a bunch of idiots could possibly come up with in such a short period of time. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize that he'd arrived at the cafeteria.

She was there on her own again preparing dinner, seeing as the other managers were with the others. He slid the door silently, and soundlessly took a seat as he had done the day before. Took out his phone but didn't play a game in it, instead he stared at her back once again deep in thought.

She was quiet like him, slightly shyer, but wouldn't hesitate to speak her mind if annoyed by a certain horned owl Ace. He had noticed a lot about her in just a day and a half, though not enough in his opinion. There was just so much about her he couldn't figure out, which was why he observed her attentively in that one-set game. The way she played showed that she knew what she was doing and was good at it, even her comment on the Karasuno 1st year duo showcased the depth of her knowledge and how perceptive she was. But her movements were kind of lagging and sloppy.

Unlike most of the simpleton population in the gym, Kenma didn't bombard her with questions like the rest of them. He just stood there in the background, which was why he was able to pick up on the change in atmosphere around the Bokutos and Akaashi. It made him curious, but it wasn't like him to just ask an obviously sensitive question to a person. He was just going to forget about the whole matter altogether, when the eldest of the three willingly told them all himself.

But that's just the thing. A lot of what Bokuto said didn't make sense to Kenma. He had glanced around the gym to see if anybody noticed, but none of them did. He figured that even Bokuto respected and cared for his cousin enough to omit parts that he thought would make them ask more questions, which they definitely would. And here he thought that Bokuto was just a simpleton Ace and Captain just like everybody else.

Kenma came back to reality, as the others came flooding in the cafeteria. He looked between the Bokuto cousins, and now had a new found respect for the older Bokuto. It was clear he cared about Kanna a lot, otherwise he wouldn't be doing all this for her. But with each passing second, he was starting to lose what little respect he had for the people he was training with, including his teammates. Thinking that they were in fact without a doubt, absolute fools.

When they came to pick up their trays and were served by Kanna it got worse, they were just being plain weird. He wondered for what exact reason did they even hold a meeting, if this would be the outcome.

"With how strangely they're acting towards her, I wouldn't be surprised if she questioned them all right to their faces." He thought with a shake of his head.

After that they were whispering amongst themselves and occasionally glancing towards the manager's table, where Kanna was seated. Kenma had a great view of everything from where he sat, and he was sure the managers were trying to distract her from all the stares, by continuously talking to her.

"It's obviously not working." He thought, as he observed how stiff her back was.

Thankfully, their focus on her was overcome by their need for replenishments. Food seemed to take priority, as they did tire themselves out on training.

"I never thought there would come a day, wherein I'd be so thankful for their appetites. I'm feeling embarrassed and I'm not even at the center of it all. I can't even begin to imagine what she feels like right now." Kenma thought whilst glancing Kanna's way.

After a rather rowdier than normal dinner for everyone, Kenma was glad to finally be out of there. A majority of them had already turned in for the night, only a few were left in the cafeteria. Sometime in the middle of the chaos, he didn't notice Kanna sneak out, being preoccupied with Kuroo's annoying ass. He only realized she was gone, when he looked around after finishing his meal.

Here he was now walking the empty halls once again, enjoying the night breeze while looking out for a certain raven haired girl. It didn't occur to him that she might've already tucked in for the night like the others, no. He somehow had a weird feeling in his gut, that she was still awake and out somewhere.

After walking for quite some time, Kenma noticed that the doors to the 1st gym were open. There he saw her seated at one of the open doors facing the hill, admiring the moon. He approached her, but didn't say anything. He just stayed there behind her silently observing. He thought that he went by unnoticed with how long he's been standing there, until she spoke.

"Is there something you need from me?" She started, turning around to face him. "Kozume-san?"

"Just Kenma is fine, Kanna-san. You don't mind me calling you that right? I figured you didn't want to be called by your last name, and nope, nothing in particular." Kenma answered.

Kanna observed him for a few minutes, before she nodded and turned back around returning to her previous position. A few moments of silence passed when,

"He told you, didn't he." She suddenly said,

Kenma felt like she knew for sure that her cousin would do so without a doubt with the way she said those words.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Actually, I think I'd be more surprised if he didn't." She said with a light chuckle.

She turned back around to face him. Kenma suddenly got nervous as she stared at him directly in the eyes, like she could see through him. After a while she broke the silence once again.

"But you think he didn't tell the whole story, did you." She said, not breaking eye contact.

Kenma couldn't help the slight widening of his eyes. Once again, there was that tone, that tone where you felt like she was so sure of whatever she said.

"This girl is seriously something"

Kanna slightly smiled at his reaction. As she turned back around, she patted the space beside her gesturing for Kenma to take a seat. This confused him, he was about to open his mouth to ask why, but turns out he didn't have to.

"You want to know, don't you?" She said, staring at the moon as she waited for him.

Kenma didn't know if he was just that easy to read, or Kanna was just good at reading him. Either way, Kenma'd be damned if he didn't take this chance, so take a seat beside her he did.

Chapter Text

Kenma was confused as to why she was willing to tell him all this, they haven't even said a word to each other ever since she got here. But he wasn't going to start questioning it now as he watched her silently collect her thoughts.

"Hmmm….Where should I start?" Kanna said as she turned to gaze at the ground. After a few minutes, she started.

"When we were little, Koutarou dragged me to every sport he took an interest in. Being as enthusiastic as him, I was always right behind. We've tried practically everything, but we eventually lost interest and dropped them all to move on and find something much better. That was until we came across Volleyball."

A small smile started to graze her face as she continued on.

"It was hard and hurt like hell, but I couldn't give it up, and I knew Koutarou felt the same. There was just something about this particular sport that all the others we've tried didn't have. I still didn't know what it was that drew me into volleyball, and neither did he, but we both knew that this was it. We played together, and against each other with the neighborhood kids. And eventually, we vowed to one day be in a team and play in an official match, even if we wouldn't be in the same team."

"When Koutarou had his first official game, I was just as ecstatic and nervous as he was, even though I wasn't the one playing. More so when they won, I couldn't contain myself. I listened attentively as he narrated how awesome and how different it was to be officially on the court. I imagined myself in his position and could hardly wait any longer."

Kenma watched as her expression changed from nostalgia to a troubled one.

"But everything was so different from what Koutarou described as being in a team. Sure we trained together and worked to improve ourselves, but it felt nothing like a team. It felt like every single one of them was always at each other's' throats, constantly competing against each other. The other first years couldn't take it, and quit not long after they started, but I didn't."

With every word and every passing second, the creases on her forehead continued to deepen.

"When you have a cousin like Koutarou, you have to be able to do stuff normal people wouldn't even think of. But that's also the reason why I didn't have a specialty. I was great as an all-rounder, I knew I was. It was my greatest pride that I could keep up with my outrageous cousin, and his equally outrageous antics. I worked myself hard. It didn't matter to me that this wasn't my ideal team, I just wanted to be given the opportunity to play in a game. It wasn't long before I was noticed and put in as a regular to be. I was beyond excited, I was finally going to stand on an official court, and be in an official game. Sure I was worried, but had hoped that they were only behaving like that in practice, and that I could count on them in an official game. Boy was I naive, oh so naive."

"They were even worse on the court."

She stopped and took a deep breath to gather enough courage to push through before continuing.

"I was devastated. It wasn't even close to how I imagined my first ever game to be. They would taunt each other, instead of focusing on the other team. And in between breaks, all they did was complain about how horrible the other's play was. To make matters worse, this happened not only for my first game, but for every single game after. I had come to the realization that this has been going on for years. Sure we had won games, but I didn't feel any of the thrills Koutarou talked about."

"I had thought that was bad, but it was even worse when we lost. Being a first year and the most inexperienced, I was always the main target. I attended the practices and the games because I had to, not because I wanted to. The joy of volleyball was starting to become a distant memory to me."

"Koutarou didn't know. I didn't want him to. I never told him, but I knew he was starting to notice something was amiss, when I didn't reply to his messages as much as I used to. I would use practice as an excuse, it felt terrible to lie but I didn't have a choice. I grew thankful for his own practice keeping him preoccupied even on the weekends, making him unable to come over and see how pathetic I was becoming. It always relieved me that my parents were too busy to watch my games and that Koutarou's games happened at the same time as mine."

"I didn't want them to see me like that."

She was now shaking, struggling to continue.

"But then there was that game, the one game where they just had to finish early, enabling him to watch. We'd lost so terribly, with a huge gap in scores. The others got so mad, they took it out on me. I didn't even know he was there until he appeared in front of me, protectively shielding me from my teammates. I wasn't sure just how much of everything he saw, but it didn't matter. Koutarou was furious. If it wasn't for his team, he might've done something irreversible. I couldn't register anything they'd said afterwards. All I could think about was, he had just witnessed everything I was trying so desperately to hide."

"He had won, their team had won. I didn't have to actually be there to know, he wouldn't have rushed to come see me if he didn't. Despite the differences in our games I didn't hate him for it, no. I couldn't, not when I knew that he valued volleyball as much as I did, maybe even more so. No, I hated the situation I was put in. While he was celebrated, I was condemned for being useless. All my hard work in conditioning and training my body, had been labeled worthless. That day, in the aftermath of that game, was the day volleyball became an entirely different sport to me."

"After everything that happened, Koutarou refused to let me stay in a club that didn't see how amazing and capable I was. "They don't deserve her" were his exact words. I've never seen him that mad and I hoped to never see it again. Eventually my parents agreed to transfer me to his middle school so that he could keep an eye out for me. He had tried everything to make me come back to volleyball again. He even tried to make me their manager, but I just couldn't look at volleyball the same way again. I still attended his games though, because despite what happened, I loved my cousin and seeing him so happy made me happy too."

She finished. After a long silence she looked Kenma's way, slightly nervous about what he'd say after she spilled everything. She wasn't prepared for the look he had on his face. He had his eyebrows scrunched up, lips in a thin line, as he stared intently at her. She was beginning to worry, when he suddenly lifted his hands, and swiped both her cheeks with his thumbs. Surprised and confused, she was about to question him, when she saw his fingers. She lifted her hands to her cheeks, surprised to feel them damp. She started to wonder when she had started to cry, she didn't even notice.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn—" She started to apologize, when Kenma suddenly pulled her into his arms.

They both stiffened up at the contact, Kenma mostly because he didn't know why he suddenly did what he just did, when he was emotionally constipated. But he started to relax when Kanna positioned herself comfortably in his arms. He started to caress her head softly. He didn't know exactly what he had to do. He just acted upon instinct, hoping that whatever he was doing somehow gave comfort to the girl in his arms. He was instantly relieved when said girl snuggled into him, though he couldn't help the slight blush that colored his cheeks.

They sat there for a while in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's warmth on the cold summer night. Eventually they both agreed that it was getting late, and they should seriously be heading to bed. After Kanna's many thanks to Kenma, they bid each other a good night.

Kenma didn't always enjoy being in close proximity with others, but what just happened made him think.

"That, That was nice." As he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

It was a great morning. The sun was shining brightly. You could hear all the energetic chatter coming from the cafeteria. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. And then there was Kanna.

All chatter stopped as the doors of the cafeteria opened to reveal a disheveled Kanna. Everyone watched as she dragged herself to sit down at the nearest table with a flop and matching groan. Not really paying attention and minding whose table she sat at, when she had other priorities to attend to. Like stopping the world from spinning.

"Whoa..." Somebody said.

"What happened to you?" Followed by a voice she recognized to be Akaashi.

"You look horrible." Of course, Koutarou wouldn't waste an opportunity, albeit worried about her current state.

"Gee, Thanks." She said, still face down on the table dripping with sarcasm.

Akaashi, being used to the cousins, spoke first "Did you stay up late last night?"

Kanna looked up for the first time to survey the people sitting at the same table, her cousin, Akaashi, the rooster head Kuroo and Kenma. Though it surprised her to find out that she was sitting right next to Kenma, and really close at that. Averting her gaze back to Akaashi to answer his question.

"Nope, not really. I wasn't even up that late and my headache stopped already."

From the corner of her eyes she could see Kenma studying her closely. "I hope he doesn't think any of this was his fault."

"I'm not even that tired. My eyes just feel heavy though." She finished trying to reassure them.

"Must've been from all the crying." Kanna and Kenma both thought.

Having been reassured that his cousin was in no imminent danger, Koutarou beamingly spoke "You're okay, right? Then that means you can play today."

Kanna didn't know just how far anybody could go with their randomness, but this was just beyond her. She couldn't imagine just how she was able to go along with this anomaly when she was little. She made a mental note to thank and treat his teammates sometime soon after the camp.

"On second thought, I think I might be coming down with something. Maybe I should go lie down and rest." She said, trying desperately to avoid getting roped into Koutarou's crazy antics.

"Nope, no take backs." He argued, his stupid smile widening with every passing second.

Kanna stared at him visibly fuming. Everyone could practically feel the dark aura surrounding her. They couldn't blame her though. She just woke up, hasn't even eaten and now was irritated beyond belief.

"I didn't even agree to this. Where did this even come from?" She said, glaring so hard at Koutarou it made them all flinch, even the coaches.

Seemingly having been unaffected by Kanna's glare, Koutarou persisted.

"Pleeeeeaaaassssseeeeee~ Just a few games." Begging on his knees, looking pleadingly at Kanna.

Unexpectedly enough or should I say expectedly enough, fellow simpletons joined the Ace. The simpleton squad consisting of Hinata, Nishinoya, Lev and Kageyama, though Kageyama bowed instead of kneeling.

Kanna looked around to the more reasonable bunch in the room, only to find them having the same expressions on their faces and staring at her pleadingly. She then felt a nudge on her leg and looked to her right to see Kenma silently encouraging her with his eyes to go through with it. With a sigh she nodded her head and agreed, already dreading the impending pain her body would be in.

After a couple of discussions, it was agreed that the games with Kanna were to be held in the afternoon, as the coaches have yet to decide who would get to play. They got her to agree to a full three set game with interchanging players. They planned to get the best out of those mere three games, and they would do so by choosing wisely.

Everybody left the cafeteria to let Kanna eat her breakfast, and to start their respective training sessions. Well all except one inconspicuous pudding head who remained in his seat, unnoticed by the others.

After a few minutes of silence and letting Kanna have a few bites of her food, Kenma asked "Are you really alright?"

Kanna swallowed before looking at him and answering "Yeah I think so, though I'm not sure I will be after what's about to happen."

She finished with another groan, which brought a smile to Kenma's face and made him laugh a little. Having heard his laugh and assuming it was for her misery, she glared at him and nudged his arm.

"You're at fault here too, you know. You dragged me into this. And here I thought I could trust you." Kanna said pouting and sulking while turning her attention back to finishing her food.

"And shouldn't you be heading to the gym? They're probably looking for you." She said, suddenly remembering that the person beside her was an important team member.

"I don't think they'll really notice if I was gone for a few minutes." Kenma said so carelessly it made Kanna turn to him with an 'Are you kidding me' expression.

Kenma almost wanted to laugh, almost.

"She's too adorable for her own good"

"Hmmm I don't think so. You are their brain are you not?" Kanna said as she placed her utensils down on her tray.

"A vital member in the team, that means they would definitely notice if the smartest and most reliable member isn't there." She finished as she stood up to bring her tray to the sink.

Kenma watched her in silence as she started to wash her tray, before he began. "I was wondering if I could watch you play a different position. From what you said, I gathered that you could do so much more."

He paused before continuing, cautiously observing her for any form of discomfort. "And from what I saw, you were unconsciously holding back a lot in that game yesterday."

Kanna stopped cleaning her tray to look up in thought for a minute, before going back to what she was doing.

"Really, I didn't even notice." She said with a shrug.

Once she was done, she placed her tray on the drying rack and wiped her hands on a wash cloth before turning back to face Kenma. Looking down at her feet and anxiously rubbing her hands, she asked. "You think I'll do the same thing later?"

"I know you won't, because I'll be there." Kenma started as he stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards her.

"And I look forward to playing in a game against you to see just how great you really are, so no holding back." He finished.

Surprise took over Kanna's features as she lifted her head up to look at Kenma. She was opening her mouth to question him when she took notice of his eyes. They shined playfully, almost mischievous.

"Oh~ are we doing this Kenma-kun?" Kanna said, challenge in her voice, a smile on her face.

"Hmm, I guess we are Kanna-chan." Kenma answered, mimicking the same smile on his face.

They shook hands, and with one last nod they went out of the cafeteria to do their own stuff. Totally unaware of the internal turmoil the other person was having.

"She called me Kenma-kun." Kenma thought with a little blush.

"He called me Kanna-chan." Kanna thought, red starting to tint her cheeks.

"This should be fun." They both thought.

Chapter Text

Kenma wasn't having a wonderful morning, contrary to everyone else in the room. The reason being, he awoke to Kuroo kicking his sides.

"A nice way to wake up isn't it?" He said. "Kuroo that bastard."

As he brushed his teeth, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to last night's events. From what Kanna explained in their conversation, Kenma gathered that there was a high possibility that Bokuto wasn't told the whole story. And if he read Bokuto right, which he did, Bokuto was probably aware of this fact himself. Kenma understood why she would feel the need to do what she did, and he couldn't blame her. He would've done the same thing if he was in the same position.

He'd been informed beforehand by his team about what they had planned the previous night, seeing as he just disappeared. Anyways, the plan was to get Kanna to play volleyball with them, as simple as that. They reasoned that it would help her interact with the others better. And according to Bokuto, her insights on what they could all improve on would immensely help them all out. He agreed with the fact that her criticisms would truly help them all out, so he didn't really question how they planned to ask or more like convince her in agreeing to play a few games with them.

In hindsight, maybe he should've questioned it even a little bit.

He really should've asked what the plan was. Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation right now. Admittedly, Kenma was worried about the current state of the girl sitting beside him. She looked exhausted. And although he wanted for her to agree like the others do, he just couldn't help but feel slightly guilty and partially responsible.

That's why he decided to stay behind.

Kenma studied her as she silently ate her food. He'd wondered about how he should approach the situation. Countless scenarios plagued his mind, but he didn't deem them to be appropriate, so he opted with the one he viewed to be most sincere but still straight to the point.

He'd asked her if she really was alright, to which she responded with a groan. The small crinkle of her nose as she did so made him chuckle a little. She then went on to slightly nag him about how he should be in the gym training with the others. He wasn't really thinking much when he responded, so he was quite intrigued and equally delighted to see such an expression on her face.

"She's too adorable for her own good."

Kenma didn't know what came over him to say his next few words. Maybe because he was unconsciously starting to get comfortable being in her presence, or maybe he was just so interested to see her play to her full potential. Maybe even both, but he was not going to back out of what he said now. He decided that he was going to go all out on this, and for once maybe he wouldn't even mind if he lost. If it was to her.

And he found out that he really didn't mind her calling him Kenma-kun.

"She called me Kenma-kun." He thought with an accompanying slowly growing blush, but then he suddenly stopped walking.

"And Holy Game Gods, I called her Kanna-chan!" Now his blush was full blown, even covering his neck.

"What the hell was I thinking?!" He slapped both hands on his face and groaned as he tried to recollect his thoughts. After a few minutes, he started walking again in the direction of the gym. But not before stopping by the sinks, to splash some water on his face.

By the time he reached the gym, he'd already willed his blush nonexistent. He made his way to Nekoma's corner, Kuroo immediately taking notice of him.

"Oy, Kenma where were you?" Kuroo asked.

"Nowhere." Kenma answered, making his way to pick up a ball from the basket.

Kuroo along with the others just looked at Kenma's back puzzled.

"What exactly happened to put him into such a good mood?" Yamamoto wondered.

"He isn't even noticing the smile he has on his face." Yaku pointed out.

"Kenma-san's in a good mood? He's smiling? Where?" Lev asked.

"Haha he is. Although it's slight, he's definitely in a good mood today." Kuroo answered with a hidden smile of his own. He watched his childhood friend glance outside, raising an eyebrow as he witnessed Kenma's smile get slightly bigger as a raven haired figure jogged past the entrance.

"Hmmm~"

Chapter Text

It was time and Kanna was prepared, well kind of. Unlike yesterday, today she had stretched and was all warmed up. She was still in one of Koutarou's big and baggy shirt though, but now she adorned the shorts she wore when she arrived, for added mobility. Silently thanking the heavens that she was wearing sports shorts despite the unexpected turn of events. Physically she knew she was ready, mentally though was another matter altogether. Not to mention she was worried about how hot it was getting.

"Today has got to be the hottest day since I got here." She thought as she made her way back inside the gym. As she stepped inside she could see the Karasuno team doing flying receives.

"They must've changed the penalty. Good for them. I'd only been jogging around the gym for a few minutes and I could already feel a headache coming. Even I wouldn't want to keep running up such a steep hill in this heat." She thought as she walked to a corner silently cheering them on in completing their penalties.

As Kanna sat to put on a pair of knee pads Fukurodani's Libero had lent her, she began to observe the games still taking place, gathering information to help coordinate with the people she might team up with and of course information to use for countermeasures. Soon there was only one game left, Nekoma against Shinzen.

Kanna's eyes scanned each player on the court, but no matter how hard she tried to look away her eyes seemed to be drawn to a certain pudding head. The whole Nekoma team was great and they surely live up to their title as a stubborn team to deal with, but Kenma was on a whole other level.

She's been here for three days but she'd always been asleep for most part of the trainings, and only awake when she'd have to help with dinner, so this would be the first time she'd actually get to watch him play. And Kanna was mesmerized.

Kenma's play was calculatingly ruthless. From what she was told he was very observant, she could see that. But the way he utilized his observations was hauntingly captivating that it gave her goose bumps. She just couldn't look away.

"The stories Koutarou and Keiji told me didn't do justice to how good their team actually is. Damn it. Why couldn't I have been there to watch their matches against Nekoma? I've watched majority of their matches, so how come the matches I missed were specifically against Nekoma?!" She was so distracted that she didn't even realize she was clenching her fists, only noticing when the whistle blew bringing her back to reality. She flexed her fingers to bring back the feeling in them as she made her way to the coaches calling her attention.

While the others took their small break from their respective games, she began discussing with the coaches on how to proceed with the games for a smooth transition with the players and how to better maximize the opportunity (mainly on the coaches' side).

She didn't know what was wrong. One minute everything was fine and dandy, and then the next second Koutaro was running towards her with an incredulous look on his face followed closely by Akaashi right behind him.

"What do you think you're wearing?!" Koutarou yelled frustrated at his obviously oblivious cousin.

She looked down at herself wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Uh, Clothes?" Came her confused answer with an equally confused expression.

Koutaro would have found it endearing, if it weren't for the fact that his cousin looked like that at the moment.

"Why do you look like that?!" He asked once he was standing right in front of her and making sure to block his cousin from the view of all the others entering the gym.

"Like what?" Kanna questioned back.

"THAT?!" Koutarou said as he gestured up and down her body with both hands for added emphasis to his point.

Kanna really couldn't understand what the problem with her clothing was. She's not even wearing something inappropriate and was quite presentable 'to her standards'. But seeing as she wouldn't get anywhere with how ridiculous Koutarou was being, Kanna looked to Akaashi for help.

"*sigh* Keiji?" She asked.

"Kanna-san, I think what Bokuto-san meant to say was, how you look like you don't have…..um…. anything underneath that…" Akaashi answered red starting to slightly tint his cheeks.

Kanna wouldn't be related to Koutarou if she wasn't in anyway totally oblivious or careless in something, it just so happens to be with regards to her appearance, much to Koutarou's dismay. To be fair, she really didn't think that there was anything wrong with what she was wearing. Her shorts weren't the standard short volleyball shorts, her shorts ended up about 5 inches above her knee, so technically not too short. It just so happened that Koutarou's shirt is just really too big on her that it reaches nearly past her knees completely concealing her shorts, so it is understandable that they would think that way.

"Uh, I'm wearing shorts you know." She said as she lifted up her shirt to show that she was indeed wearing shorts.

"OY!" Koutarou yelled, surprised and forcefully yanked her shirt down with a matching bop to her head.

"Ow! Whaaaatttt you said-" She whined as she rubbed her aching head.

"YEAH BUT I DIDN'T MEAN YOU HAD TO DO THAT?!" Koutarou responded back, to which Kanna just pouted.

By this time everybody's already in the gym and bearing witness to a different side of the usually laid back captain and one of the struggles he has to endure being the older Bokuto.

Shirofuku, feeling the need to be responsible of her members, approached the trio.

"Uhh Kanna-chan? Why don't you just tuck your shirt in, yes?" She said as all three of them looked at her.

Kanna did just that but not without Koutarou blocking her from the view of the others once again and dragging Akaashi with him.

"Well? Am I good?" Kanna asked once she was done fixing herself.

After giving her a once over, "Yes, yes you're good." Koutarou answered with a nod.

"Great, then let's get started, shall we." She said with a familiar glint in her eyes.

Chapter Text

To say that Kanna wasn't nervous was an understatement. Yesterday was a miracle beyond miracles. She didn't know how she was able to pull it off, but today was different. She would have to do this right or risk all the time and effort everybody put into planning this.

Currently, she was standing in a corner watching, as the coaches briefed the teams about what she and the coaches had discussed earlier when they all had their breaks. Appearance wise she was watching, but in actuality she was just staring absentmindedly in that direction, as she sweated anxiously and kept on restlessly rubbing her upper lip with her finger whilst biting her bottom one.

She was far enough for the others not to really take notice, whether it was a conscious decision to position herself there or not, she didn't know. She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize just how fidgety she was getting. No matter how far she was from the others, a few of them surely were bound to notice.

The first one to notice her was Kenma, the second being Kuroo as he saw the troubled expression on the former's face. He then gently nudged Koutarou and directed his head in Kanna's direction, once Koutarou turned to him with an inquiring face. Once Koutarou realized what the problem was, he didn't care that the coaches weren't done explaining, he got up abruptly and made his way to Kanna.

The others noticing the sudden action didn't say anything and just listened to the coaches as they continued to explain, once they saw what the reason was.

Well except for a few who had to be stopped by their respective senpais. *cough* Hinata and Lev *cough*

They all just hoped that she was alright.

Kuroo then glanced back at Kenma. He wasn't looking in Kanna's direction anymore, but instead in front. It could've fooled him into thinking that he was listening to the discussion, but the barely noticeable stiffness of his posture and slight furrowing of his eyebrows didn't escape Kuroo. He's known Kenma far longer than anybody else and he was clearly not paying any attention to what the coaches were saying.

He gave a slight nudge to Kenma's shoulder and said. "Don't worry too much."

Kenma then looked at him and said. "Worry about what?"

"Her." Kuroo didn't say nor did he point to any direction to indicate who he was talking about, because he knew that Kenma would know regardless.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm thinking about what strategies to use for the game." Kenma argued and turned to face forward once again.

Kuroo could only sigh at his totally in denial and equally transparent childhood friend. "I'll just let him deal with it on his own then."

Koutarou on the other hand had just arrived in front of Kanna, snapping her out of her daze.

"Oh Kou-nii, shouldn't you be listening to the coaches right now? What are you doing here?" She asked puzzled as to why he was suddenly in front of her, when she was sure that she was totally alone a moment ago.

Koutarou stared at her in silence as her words sinked in. "Kou-nii", she called him "Kou-nii". That in itself, was a big indication that she clearly wasn't as comfortable as she wanted to appear.

"You. I'm here because of you." Koutarou answered.

"What? Why?" Kanna questioned nervously.

"You're thinking of unnecessary stuff again. If you keep that up, you'll be spiraling down that hole like last time." He reprimanded.

"Wha-I'm not." She tried to argue.

"Yes, you are. There's nothing to worry about, because these people are not like them." He said whilst gesturing to the seated bunch.

Kanna turned in their direction. She glanced around at all these people who have all been so nice to her these past few days, despite her not really able to talk to them properly yet. Even though they've all met just recently, they have done nothing but be supportive and encouraging towards her.

As her eyes kept wandering, they landed on one particular pudding-head. As their eyes met, his reassuring and uplifting words echoed through her mind. And she knew then that she would be fine, that everything would be just fine.

Kenma watched as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath before opening them again, but with new found conviction. He knew without question that whatever doubt was still lingering in her mind, had now all but vanished. He was proud of her and he'd be sure to tell her that, but right now they had a game to play.

With all conflicts resolved and instructions given the coaches began to list down the names for the teams for the first set. As Shinzen High and Ubugawa High relinquished rights to play in favor of observing instead, the schools participating were able to put their strongest players into good use and see how they would be able to work with other players and also find hidden weaknesses to improve on.

Game 1

Team A

Bokuto Koutarou (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Tanaka Ryuunosuke (WS)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Haiba Lev (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Yaku Morisuke (L)

Team B

Azumane Asahi (WS)

Yamamoto Taketora (WS)

Fukunaga Shouhei (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Akaashi Keiji (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

Kanna silently seethed. She was forbidden to choose her own position and was stuck being a Wing Spiker for this game, and for the next two.

"That idiot definitely said something unnecessary." She thought, as she sent deadly glares towards Koutarou.

Meanwhile, the said person was just jumping and screaming around being utterly unaware of the impending doom that's coming his way. She made her way towards her gathered team members, all the while sighing to herself.

They were all given a few minutes to somewhat formulate a plan of attack against their opposing team. But since Kanna hasn't been able to watch the others play, all she could do was listen as the others relayed her information they'd gathered from watching each other play.

That said it was harder than she'd originally thought it would be, especially when you have such complicated team mates. Out of all of them, only one person seemed sane enough.

"Better stick to him then. If I ask him something, I'd probably get an answer better than all of their answers combined."

Kanna shook her head and turned to face Yaku. "Uhm… Yaku-san" She paused slightly, before bowing and continuing. "I'll be in your care."

She may have gotten somewhat used to the others to hold a conversation, but the hesitation and slight stuttering was still there. Plus her starting a conversation first has not yet happened so far (as far as the others were concerned), so Yaku was quite surprised.

Nevertheless, Yaku smiled and said "Sure thing."

"Don't worry too much, we'll do just fine." He added as he watched her make an annoyed and distressed face while watching the others.

"I sure hope so."

"Is completely written on her face." Yaku thought with a slight chuckle.

"Well, better lessen her worries then."

Chapter Text

Turns out Yaku didn't have to worry about anything. He should've prepared himself instead. Sure they had an inkling that she was skilled, not a lot of people were able to respond to the Freak Quick on the first encounter, but she did and so perfectly at that.

Yesterday's short game allowed them a glimpse of what she could do. But it was so much of an understatement, it was almost laughable. The game started pretty slow. Nobody was yet used to the line ups, so they were still testing waters. Mistakes were inevitable. But when dealing with hormonal teenage boys with huge-ass prides, it's bound to be one hell of a ride.

It happened just after the second time-out of the first set was called. Asahi had called for a toss. As Akaashi set the ball, Lev moved to block. But he had jumped too early, his block wouldn't make it. So she ran and jumped, gritting her teeth as she lightly collided with Lev.

She couldn't block for the life of her, but she could most definitely change the course of the ball to make it easy for the others to pick it up. She smirked in satisfaction as she heard Yaku receive the ball.

"Bless him and his incredible reflexes."

Her smirk became a full blown grin once the ball Koutaro spiked landed right in the middle of the opposite court.

Meanwhile, Lev was shaking in anxiety. He'd just been told to watch the timing of his jump and yet he still messed it up.

"I'm going to get yelled at."

"OI LEV—" Yaku called to his visibly trembling kouhai, only to be interrupted.

Kanna delivered a loud and very painful strike to Lev's back. No words were exchanged as she made her way back to her position. And just like that, Lev felt so overwhelmed that tears were threatening to fall. He knew, as well as the others that that gesture by no means meant that his mistake was forgiven. But that if he ever made any, she'll be there to back him up.

Yaku, along with the rest of their team stared at Kanna's back in astonishment. That simple action wasn't meant for Lev only. It was a clear message to the rest of the team, the same goes for them.

"Such a small body and yet so dependable."

They thought, as determined grins broke on their faces.

"We can't leave all the hard parts to her now can we."

The opposing team watched this all happen in wonder. The Bokuto cousins sure do have the super power to lift up morale in the team without even doing anything special.

"Truly troublesome."

Determination only wasn't enough to win a game. Kanna's team had lost the set. Although the momentum of the previous set was with Team B, at the start of the second set, Kanna's Team soon took control. With a renewed and calculated attack strategy, they won the second set with a 5 point difference.

As the second set ended, the coaches came together to discuss what has happened so far. They agreed that it was a good thing that at the end of the first set, Bokuto gave his cousin free reign on the team. The change was instant. The coaches couldn't believe what they were seeing. And immediately regretted on not taking into account that possibility, they would have missed out on something truly outstanding.

The Bokuto cousins were truly on a level of their own. But unlike her male counterpart who leads his team to victory by continuously pushing for points, Kanna leads her team on by strengthening any holes that appear while within game. She might as well be the living embodiment of what Kageyama once hoped to be, a one-man team.

Her awareness on court, from her teammates to the opposing team, is remarkable. She has the speed and technique to greatly utilize her incredible game sense, and she adapts. Adapts so fluidly that it's frightening, enough to make a chill run up their spines. But that's just what these boys need.

But the coaches had a feeling that not all of her cards were on the table. Even though they couldn't wait to see what more she has in store, the shock to actually witness it was still huge.

It happened on the third set, just after Kanna's team achieved the set point. The opposing team managed to make Kageyama take the first touch, which scrambled their formation. They all watched as Kanna ran in position to receive the ball, expecting her to simply return the ball back over the net, when the unexpected happened.

As she was reaching her position below the ball, she called "Kageyama!"

Kageyama, albeit startled, immediately reacted upon instinct and ran to spike. Once he was in the air awaiting the ball, Kanna tossed. She watched in satisfaction as the ball made contact with Kageyama's palm, and proceeded to land precisely where she knew the opposing team wouldn't be guarding with a resounding thud. A satisfied grin broke on her face as the whistle blew, calling their point and ending the match.

Kanna walked towards Kageyama and slapped his back as she complimented him with a, "Nice Spike Kageyama-kun!"

Her action seemingly broke whatever spell over came the group, as Koutarou ran to squeeze the two in his embrace, followed by the others on his tail. By some miracle Kanna managed to escape just in time to not be trapped by her giant of a cousin, Kageyama though, was not so fortunate.

Kanna's Team had won the first game with a 2:1. Her grin was as big as Koutarou's. She couldn't help but be consumed by the adrenaline of playing volleyball. Koutarou was right. She truly did love this sport, no matter how much she tried to say otherwise.

They take a 30 minute break after the game for Kanna's sake, as she isn't used to playing as rigorous as she used too. While she sat down catching her breath, the other gathered to discuss the game that just took place. Discuss was a pretense though, as they all looked too lost in a daze to even begin.

The Shinzen and Ubugawa boys looked at them with sympathy, for they felt it too even if they weren't actively playing with them.

"Damn Bokuto what's your cousin made of?" said Kuroo, breaking the silence as he wiped his face of sweat.

"With the way she played you wouldn't even think, much less believe that she hasn't played in years." Kageyama said, dumbfounded as he still couldn't believe what just happened.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" asked Tsukishima as he turned directly at Akaashi. Akaashi's affirming nod did nothing to quell their anxieties and only made them groan in frustration.

"Did you see the way she handled that screw up?" Sawamura asked.

"Which one though?" Yaku inquired.

"I would have to agree with that one. She quite literally saved our asses on more than one occasion." Tsukishima surprisingly complimented.

"That toss she sent to Kageyama-san was perfect too." said Akaashi.

"Yeah, I still have goose bumps." Sugawara said, causing the others to absentmindedly nod their heads in agreement while the event replayed in their minds.

"So what do we do?" asked Sawamura.

Hearing the continuous compliments being dished by his peers towards his precious baby owl, Koutarou glowed with unabashed pride. His whole body was buzzing with barely contained excitement, satisfied that she was getting the recognition she so rightfully deserved. His eyes softened as he turned to Kanna happily chatting with the managers. She truly did glow when she played volleyball. He'd do everything in his power to keep that smile on her face, no matter what.

Chapter Text

"You doing alright there Kanna-chan?" asked Shimizu, as she and the other managers attended to her.

The coaches decided that Kanna needed the managers more than the boys did. So they placed the responsibility of giving water bottles and towels to the teams that weren't participating.

They watched as she took big deep breaths before nodding at them, and taking the towel being offered to her by Yachi.

"You have to tell us if you can't handle it anymore okay, we'll let the coaches know immediately." Suzumeda said with concern flooding her voice.

"I'd be bad if you pushed yourself too hard." Miyanoshita said equally concerned for her well being.

Kanna gratefully smiled "Thank you, really. But I'm still good."

"If you say so, but we'll continue to monitor you in case you show signs of over working yourself. But if we say you're done, you're done alright?" Shimizu clarified.

"Yes maam." Kanna said with a matching salute, which made the girls laugh.

Despite the genuine concern of the managers, their bubbliness managed to alleviate some of the fatigue Kanna was feeling. She truly was grateful, for she needed to have a clear mind in the next game. She was after all, going against the best tactician in the camp.

Game 2

Team A

Fukunaga Shouhei (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Yamamoto Taketora (WS)

Onaga Wataru (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Sugawara Koushi (S)

Nishinoya Yuu (L)

Team B

Kai Nobuyuki (WS)

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Yamato Sarukui (WS)

Washio Tatsuki (MB)

Inuoka Sou (MB)

Kozume Kenma (S)

Komi Haruki (L)

The whistle blew, signaling the start of the second game. The managers bid Kanna good luck as she walked towards the court to take her place.

The guys on Kanna's team were on high spirits and raring to get the game started. The same could be said for the opposing team. Determination set on their faces. It's to be expected, with how Kanna handled the previous game. She clearly showed how capable she was. Despite the differences in how long they've all been playing in the sport, it's a huge honor for the guys to play against and alongside someone as skilled as her. So the least they could do is play their utmost best, no matter the results.

From just the first set, Kanna knew that this game would be a hard one for her. The rallies were taking much longer than she would've liked. It was extremely difficult to just land a point, much less get a considerable lead. In the end it ended with the opposing team winning only a single point away.

"I might just have to sub-out of this one if I want to be able to play on the last game. But I'll wait and see for now." She thought as she listened on the others discuss strategies, while she drank from her water bottle.

Meanwhile the guys on the opposite team were having a discussion of their own.

"It's like playing against Kenma, but worse." said Komi, who earned a couple of nods from the guys.

"I can't even imagine just how much worse she could possibly be from Kenma." Ogano said, with a shake of his head.

"You have any tips on how to deal with yourself?" Kuroo asked as he turned towards Kenma, only be rewarded with a really peeved expression from the said person.

"Oohhhh nice expression you have there." snickered Kuroo, as he guffawed taking pleasure in his friend's misery.

"Tsk. Alright, how about if we…" Kenma said as the guys huddled closer to listen to his strategy for the next set.

The set went the same way the previous one did. Except there was a minor problem, the game was starting to take its toll on Kanna. She was beginning to feel the start of a headache. She needed to finish this now, for she felt like if she didn't, it was going drag even longer. And she wouldn't be able to last if it did. Thankfully, the opportunity she's been waiting and anticipating anxiously for, finally came.

"This is it. Flawless as always." She slightly chuckled as she admired Kenma's set.

"I'm sorry Kenma, but we're winning this set." She thought as Nishinoya received the ball.

Kanna had informed Sugawara ahead of time about the plan, so he was able to react immediately on her signal. They both moved quickly towards the ball, not missing a beat. As Kanna jumped to spike, time seemed to stop as they became mesmerized by her form in mid-air.

"She wasn't kidding when she said she was great as an all-rounder. But she sold herself too short by saying she didn't have a specialty, like it was some sort of badge. She didn't even need one, this is her own specialty. And I have a feeling this was the real reason why her old teammates used to target her." Kenma thought, as he became captivated by her movements. He didn't even notice the ball as it whizzed past his head until he heard the sound of it colliding with the floor, followed by the whistle blowing, bringing him back to reality.

Kenma turned to look at the ball and slowly replayed what just happened in his mind, only to gasp and whip his head to stare at her in bewilderment. "It couldn't be…."

Kanna returned his look, with interest and amusement swirling in her eyes. "You're good Kenma, really good. Patiently watching and calmly calculating every movement."

She smiled as she said, "Thank you for being so attentive, Kenma-kun~." Before turning and skipping her way towards the benches.

At her words, Kenma's eyes widened along with a few of the others. "She read me."

"Uh….What just happened?" asked Komi, to no one in particular.

"No—" started Kuroo

"—way" finished Yaku

"What? WHAT?!" Inuoka asked, confused from all the reactions.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" beamed Nishinoya as his eyes sparkled.

"THE BALL WENT ALL SWOOSH!" Hinata excitedly claimed, following after his senpai as they both jumped around the gym discussing the play in their own incomprehensible language.

"I didn't just imagine that right?" asked Kai bewildered, who got equally spaced out confirmations from the guys.

"Kenma?" Kuroo called out to his friend as he's the only one left standing on the court, only to smirk in amusement. Kenma sported the look he once described as, 'Kenma when he's excited to play a new game he just bought'.

Kenma on the other hand was lost in thought as he stared at Kanna. For once, he didn't know what to do. Before, if there was a level he couldn't clear, he'd just play it again and again until he got used to it enough to win. The same had been for games wherein he'd encountered teams or players with a different play style, like Karasuno. He'd adapted to them. But there has never been an occurrence wherein his prediction had been used against him in a play. On top of that, it was so fluid. He didn't even know he'd been caught, until it was all over.

"Frightening. She's truly frightening."

Chapter Text

Unfortunately after the second set, once Kanna explained her current state she was immediately forced to sub-out of the game. She received highly concerned, but mild scolding from the managers and coaches. They all talked it over, and Kanna was to sit out from the third set, up until the first half of the first set for the last game. The guys were clued in on the matter, some of them over-reacting a bit (I'm sure you already know who they were). But they unanimously agreed it would be the best course of action.

And so the third set started and went with Kanna on the sidelines. But it was clear that her team was not doing so well, being down on manpower. Despite Kanna giving pointers to her team every time-out, it was still not good enough as her playing and actively giving adjustments. Which resulted in their loss.

Even though they lost, Kanna was quite proud of her team for pulling through to the end. It seemed that Kanna being taken out of the game, made all the guys even more determined to win. The set went up until the 30's mark. The guys were clearly exhausted, so the coaches ordered a longer break to rest the guys playing again in the next game. They tried to replace them with different members, but that was met with explicit disapproval, so they opted for the next best thing.

Akaashi made his way to where Kanna was silently sitting, away from all the others huddled together resting and idly chatting.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked clearly concerned.

Akaashi could see just how much playing was taking its toll on her. She tried to mask it, and in fact was doing a decent enough job in doing so. Except he wasn't a setter for nothing, and he was sure a handful of very observant people have noticed too. Evidenced by the fact that some of them would glance her way every now and then.

"Positive." Kanna replied.

He stared at her quizzically. She gave him an extremely awkward attempt at a reassuring smile, which didn't really reassure him in the least bit. But despite this, he kept quiet and nodded his head. Kanna could only sigh in relief of him leaving it alone. Though she was sure she was going to get some major scolding later on.

"I can deal with that when it comes." She thought as she made her way outside to get a breath of fresh air, away from the stuffy gym.

As the wind ran around her, she could feel some of her fatigue being carried away with it. She always did love the feeling of the wind as it kissed her skin and swept her hair. Closing her eyes and just letting the wind carry her wherever it wanted, was such a healing experience unlike any other.

In the silence of the wind and the small chatter coming from the gym, Kanna was undoubtedly startled to suddenly hear a voice speak.

"You seem better."

Kanna jumped, with an accompanying small shriek as she turned towards the culprit.

"Geez, you scared the living daylights out of me." She said, as she took deep breaths to calm her palpitating heart.

"Sorry." Kenma sheepishly apologized.

Kenma stood there behind her in silence. He'd noticed her talking with Akaashi, and soon after leaving the gym alone. He'd followed after her out of curiosity but also concern, mainly concern, though he'd beg to differ.

He observed how peaceful she looked just standing there as the wind danced around her. He marveled as he saw the exhaustion practically vanish from her whole form and a content smile blossomed on her face.

He was awoken from his stupor by the whistle sounding from the gym, indicating the end of their break. He opened his mouth to call out to Kanna, when she beat him to it.

"You ready to do this Kenma-kun?" Kanna asked as Kenma turned to face her.

"No Mercy?" Kanna said with a resolute look in her eyes.

"No Mercy." Kenma answered, straightening his back and mirroring the same look she had.

They both smiled wide at each other as they made their way inside the gym. Oh were they in for a game they'll never forget.

Game 3

Team A

Sawamura Daichi (WS)

Bokuto Kanna (WS)

Azumane Asahi (WS)

Kuroo Tetsurou (MB)

Onaga Wataru (MB)

Kozume Kenma (S)

Komi Haruki (L)

Team B

Bokuto Koutarou (WS)

Konoha Akinori (WS)

Kai Nobuyuki (WS)

Tsukishima Kei (MB)

Hinata Shouyo (MB)

Kageyama Tobio (S)

Yaku Morisuke (L)

As per the agreement, Kanna would enter the game halfway through the first set. It would seem that the opposing team's strategy is to score as much points as they possibly could to create a significant lead. Because no matter how much they tried to convince themselves, their minds were not ready to confront the reality of Kenma and Kanna being in the same team. Fortunately that strategy worked out for them and they soon won the first set. But the excitement was short-lived. Kanna's team had won the second set by a landslide.

It was harrowing for all of them. They let their guard down. Despite knowing they shouldn't, they subconsciously did. The physical battle was one thing, but the mental battle was taking too large of a toll for them to manage. No matter what they tried to do, they could see nothing but complete and utter despair in their future.

"Those two really shouldn't have been paired together." Said Tsukishima, irritated with their current predicament.

"Well there's nothing we can do about it. Everybody agreed that the liberos and setters would all get a chance to work with her." Said Kai. He along with a few others were anticipating for this to happen when they saw the roster. But they gravely underestimated just how much synergy those two would create.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to pave the way for our spikers, but I just can't see a way out of this." Kageyama said grimly, frustration evident on his features.

Hinata and the rest of Karasuno stared at Kagayema in wonder. For the very first time, they are witnessing Kageyama admit that he can't do anything about the situation they're in. The seniors marvel at how much growth Kageyama has undergone, but that's not what bothers them. If even the genius Kageyama can't find a way, just how terrifying of a team are those two.

"Oy Bokuto, stop admiring your cousin and help us think." Konoha exclaimed towards his Captain. The others turned too, and sure enough the Fukurodani Ace was not paying a single bit of attention to what they were all discussing.

"Man~ how can I not be proud of her? I mean look at her." Said Koutarou, a little dazed as he gazed at his cousin discussing with her team members.

"I felt and I knew that she was capable of so much more. But this…." Koutarou said as he shook his head in disbelief. "Akaashi—"

"I know Bokuto-san." Akaashi interrupted as he too gazed at Kanna.

"Guess she just needed the right kind of people to bring that out of her." He said with an expression none of the others had ever seen on his normally expressionless face.

"I knew I did the right thing in bringing her along with me." Koutarou proudly stated.

"You did." Akaashi affirmed.

"She looks so happy." Koutarou softened as he gazed lovingly at his cousin.

"She does." Akaashi confirmed.

It was heartwarming watching the exchange between the two. Despite felling like they shouldn't interrupt the moment, they still had a game to get back to.

"Alright you two, enough with all the sentimental stuff, we still have a game to play." Yaku interrupted.

"HAHAHAHA RIGHT." Koutarou agreed bellowing in laughter as he turned back to his own team. They were right after all. He'd make sure to deal with the matters concerning his cousin later. Right now he had a game to finish.

Chapter Text

Every single one of the players were in high spirits despite the exhaustion, for this last set will decide the outcome of the game.

Currently the tallies for the previous games are as follows:

Game 1: 2 : 1 In favor of Kanna's team.

Game 2: 1 : 2 In favor of the opposing team.

Game 3: 1 : 1

No matter what the outcome of the game may be, the coaches were incredibly satisfied with today's practice matches with Kanna. For once they did not regret indulging the player's requests. They've already decided on what reward they will give out on the last day for all their hard work. But before that, it's time to find out who the victor of the last game will be.

"LEFT!"

"HERE!"

"BOKUTO-SAN!"

Kuroo and Asahi reacted and moved to block. Koutarou slammed a cross passed the block, determined in securing the point. Only for the ball to be picked up by Sawamura. Which in turn caused both Koutarou and Kageyama to click their tongues in annoyance.

The last set had barely even started, and already it was torturous. Every point earned, was earned painstakingly slow from a long rally. To top it all off, it was such a close game that nobody could get even a single point lead. Now they were entering the endless deuce territory.

A time-out was called and the teams gathered to discuss.

"This is too much." said Asahi clearly exhausted.

"We have to do something to end this." Sawamura stated as he wiped his face off of sweat.

"We're going to end it." Kenma declared.

"Oh?" Kuroo and the rest of the group's curiosities were peaked.

"What are you planning Kenma?" asked Komi intrigued, as he capped his water bottle to listen attentively to what the setter has to say.

"The rest of you just have to make sure to keep the ball in play and to keep attacking. The moment we gain a point." Kenma stopped and turned to look directly at Kanna and said.

"I'll leave the last toss to you." The others just nodded their heads in agreement, even though they didn't clearly understand. Knowing it's those two, they could pull anything off. Meanwhile, Kanna was freaking out.

"You—Why are you assigning such an important task to me?! What if I don't make it?!" She exclaimed.

"You're going to make it." Kenma immediately responded.

"But—"

"You will." Kenma interrupted with finality in his tone, which caused Kanna to pout at him.

"How is it possible to be so cute even in distress?" He thought, whilst struggling to keep his face neutral and preventing a blush from blooming on his face.

Kenma sighed and grabbed Kanna's arm, then proceeded to drag the both of them a little away from the rest of the team.

"Look you can do this. I know you can." He encouraged.

"But what if I get blocked?" She asked with downcast eyes and slumping shoulders.

"Every block has a weakness. You have good eyes. Even if you haven't played as a wing spiker that much, I know you'll be able to see it." Kenma said, with determination burning in his eyes.

Before Kanna could respond to Kenma, the whistle blew signaling the end of the time-out. Kenma lightly squeezed Kanna's arm in reassurance, and then made his way to take his position on the court. Kanna just sighed and followed after him to do the same.

After a few long rallies and multiple tries later. The opportunity arose in the name of everyone's favorite glass-hearted ace Azumane Asahi, along with the ever dependable pain-in-the-ass Kuroo Tetsurou. A glorious attack and block combination that gained them a one-touch from Kuroo.

Kenma signaled Kanna in his peripheral vision, and she proceeded to make her run up for the spike. The opposing team reacted and moved to block.

"Three Blockers!" warned Sawamura

Kanna took a deep breath before putting all her weight in the balls of her feet and jumped with all her might. To her, everything that happened afterwards was like watching it all play out in slow motion. As she was suspended in mid-air, even with the block in front of her, she could see clearly.

Maybe she really did have it all in her this whole time. But she never would've ever known if it wasn't for the amount of belief Kenma so blatantly wanted to shove unto her face. She supposes she should thank him. It is a great honor after all to have someone like him expect her to succeed, even if she herself doesn't.

"Please accept this as an answer to the confidence you have in me, Kenma."

Kanna thought as the ball hovered over her. She raised her hand and spiked the ball into Koutaro's fingertips with all her might. Yaku had moved to try and save the ball, but the trajectory of the ball made it impossible for him to reach.

Kanna stared at the ball in bewilderment as it smacked loudly on the gym floor. She then slowly turned her head to look in Kenma's direction and let out a gasp.

"KENMA! KENMA! KENMA! HAHAHAHAHA!" Kanna exclaimed as she ran and jumped to envelop Kenma in a hug, squeezing with all her might.

"I DID IT! I DID IT! HIHIHIHIHI!" She beamed as she continued to jump in delight in Kenma's arms.

"Yes, yes. You did." Kenma responded to the enthusiastic girl.

The others stared at the two. They didn't know how to react and what even to react to. First of all, that was an insane move they managed to pull off. And secondly, Kenma was returning Kanna's hug with a small smile on his face.

"WHAT?!" They yelled, but the two seemed to be too lost in their own world to care about the others. As Kanna continued to excitedly yell while Kenma nodded and responded quietly.

"THAT WAS SO COOL! KANNA-SENPAI! YOU'RE SO COOL!" Hinata's booming voice pulled everyone out of their trances and back into reality.

Kanna, ever to be swayed by the orange fluff-ball of sunshine, turned towards him and laughed along with a few others. She was in the middle of explaining what happened, when she began to sway, startling everybody. Kenma, Koutarou, Akaashi, and Kuroo the ones closest to her, reacted upon instinct to grab hold of her. Koutarou, being the fastest was the one who caught her. His anxious and worried expression was mirrored by every single person inside the gym.

"Kanna-chan?!" Koutarou exclaimed as he held her steady in his arms.

Kanna shook her head and pushed Koutaro with what little strength she could muster.

"I'm fine, just got to—" She tried to argue, but soon she was falling back into Koutarou's arms, unconscious.

The last thing she saw before everything went black, was Kenma's incredibly distraught face.

The others ran towards them, fussing over Koutarou holding the unconscious girl. The coaches tried to calm them down and instructed Koutarou to take his cousin to the sleeping quarters. Koutarou moved to properly carry Kanna and proceeded to follow after the managers.

Meanwhile at the gym, since the previous matches were rigorous enough, the coaches decided that the players were done for the day and instructed everyone to have ample rest before they had their individual practices. After giving out their warnings if they should catch any of them overworking themselves, the coaches left the gym to check up on Kanna.

After everyone did their cool down stretches, instead of moving around, they all gathered around in a large circle in the middle of the gym waiting for Bokuto or anyone of the managers or coaches to walk through the doors.

Each and every single one of them were beyond amazed at what just happened, but the concern for Kanna's well-being currently overpowered any other emotion.

"Hey guys."

They perked in attention at the sudden voice in the silence of the gym and turned to look in the direction it came from, only to see Shirofuku and Kiyoko standing by the doors.

"What did they say?" asked Sugawara breaking the silence.

"Overwork. She just needs to rest for a while so she's bedridden for the rest of the day. But she'll be fine." Kiyoko answered

At this, all the guys heaved a sigh of relief.

"Where's Bokuto-san?" Akaashi questioned

"Still there. He refuses to leave until she wakes up." answered Shirofuku pointing behind her.

"I'll go talk to him." replied Akaashi, as he left the gym to do just that.

The managers left after him while the others talked among themselves.

"Hopefully she'll be fine by tomorrow." Said Yaku, earning a nod from Sugawara as they continued to talk about how reckless some people could be.

Kuroo turned away from the conversation and noticed Kenma deep in thought.

"You good? Kenma?" he asked.

"Huh?" Kenma answered

Kuroo sighed. "They said she'll be fine. So you don't need to worry too much."

Kenma just deadpanned at him and said. "I wasn't." And then leaving to his own devices.

"This guys seriously." Kuroo just shook his head at his best friend's behavior.

Chapter Text

It's been a roller coaster of a day for everyone. First the intense practice matches, and then the matter of Kanna fainting. Now there was nothing they wanted more, than to relax. Most of the guys were already getting ready for bed, only a few were still left in the cafeteria. Kanna quietly entered with her tray, and made her way to the remaining managers cleaning trays and utensils. Shimizu noticed her and took Kanna's tray off of her hands. She'd protested at having the third year clean her tray, but Shimizu wasn't having it and shooed Kanna away to rest.

Kenma had just finished showering and was in no rush to go to bed. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, not with his fellow teammates currently wide awake and talking about the games that happened earlier today.

"A normal person would be exhausted after everything we did." He thought with a heavy sigh.

So here he was, silently roaming the halls to pass time. He'd just walked past the corridor leading to the cafeteria, when he had to pause and back track a bit. Kanna just walked out of the cafeteria and was making her way somewhere. Being himself, he quietly followed after her.

If someone saw and pointed out that it was because he was worried about her, he would gladly prove them wrong. He was only curious. That's all, nothing more. There was no way in hell it was because he was worried or anything of the sort. Nope.

Meanwhile, Kanna was deep in thought walking around the school aimlessly. When she finally came to, she realized she'd ended up in an area where the moon was quite visible. Wanting to enjoy the calming scenery, she walked forward a bit and took a seat on the grass, not minding the slightly cold breeze blowing. She sat there relishing in the silence and appreciating the beauty of the night, which one can't do as much in the bustling city of Tokyo.

Unlike the previous night, Kenma didn't hesitate much to join Kanna. He wordlessly sat beside her also taking in the beauty of moon in its full glory. Both of them sat in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the night for once, away from overactive and loud players with seemingly endless energy supplies.

After a few minutes, Kenma asked "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?" Kanna simply questioned back in a playful tone, which caused a smile on both their faces.

"But seriously, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Kenma says, after getting over how even in her tired state she could still be so snarky.

"I'm alright. I've rested enough. I wasn't even able to help with dinner preparations today. When the managers woke me up they said, that it wasn't necessary and me getting enough rest was more of a priority." She said with a shrug.

"They're right you know. You really scared all of us back then. You should've notified any of us if you were getting that tired. You didn't have to push yourself too much." He reprimanded.

"I know…." Kanna looked down dejectedly and apologized. "…I'm sorry."

She had caused a lot of inconvenience for everybody with her carelessness.

"If only I had been more careful and attentive, none of that would have happened." She thought, unconsciously making a frown appear on her face.

Kenma knew that face, he knew it all too well. And from firsthand experience observing her, he knew that she makes the same face every time she doubts her capabilities.

Kenma raised his hand and placed it on her head, caressing gently.

"Hey, don't think too much about it. I bet you didn't even realize you were actually getting that tired, until it was happening. You were running on adrenaline after all." He said as he tried to encourage and reassure her.

Kenma wasn't really one to just go ahead and actively go out of his way to comfort someone. Yes he cared for his team. But he was usually more annoyed with them when they would worry about something, rather than feeling the need to reassure them. So he really hoped he was doing this right.

"That seems to be a recurring thought I have recently whenever I'm around her." He thought, internally sighing at his incompetence to function emotionally in situations.

Kanna smiled slightly at the gesture, which caused Kenma's shoulders to lose the tension he didn't know he had and to retract his hands back to his sides.

"You know, I'm going to miss this. I know I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, but I've met and gotten to know such amazing people. And as ridiculous as they are at times, they've made me realize a lot of things I would've never thought about before." She said smiling with a fond expression.

"Especially you, Kenma." She thought as she glanced at him for a second, before looking back ahead like nothing happened.

"Even though I was dragged here against my will, I'm glad I stayed. It's going to be a little lonely going back after all the craziness that's happened or will still happen." She said chuckling at the end of her statement, making Kenma slightly chuckle too. Both of them silently agreeing that even though there was only 2 days before the end of the camp, the lovely occupants of the camp would surely end up doing something one way or another.

"I'm sure the others feel the same about you. I'm glad you came too." Kenma said, and for some reason he couldn't seem to understand, his felt his cheeks burning a little. Thankfully it was dark and his hair was shadowing his face so he didn't have to worry about Kanna taking notice. Unbeknownst to Kenma, his words made a bright smile to bloom on Kanna's face.

"You know, I don't really have anyone to talk to besides Keiji and Kou. And I don't really want to add anymore unnecessary stress on Keiji, as he already has a whole lot to deal with regarding Kou. So I just end up drowning myself in my own thoughts. That's why I genuinely enjoy this. You're really easy to talk to, really attentive too. Thank you for listening to me Kenma. I'm really going to miss this." She finished with a smile his way.

Kenma thought for a second before he held his hand out to her and said "Hmm, give me your phone."

Although a little confused, Kanna still reached into her pocket and placed her phone onto his hands. She watched in curiosity as he tapped on it a few times and then heard a sound come from his pocket, before he handed it back to her.

"There, so you can just talk to me whenever you want to." He said as he reached for his own phone behind him.

Kanna's eyes widened as she stared at her phone, before returning her gaze back to Kenma.

"A—Are you sure? Wouldn't I be a bother? I—I wouldn't want to bother you especially when you're playing your games. A—And besides I might not even have anything to talk about and—" Kanna began to ramble when Kenma cut her off.

"You would never be a bother. And it doesn't matter if you have nothing to talk about. As long as you want to, I'll always be here to listen." He said with a small smile, which earned him a teary eyed gaze from the grateful girl.

Kanna smiled brightly and wiped her eyes, before turning back to look at the moon. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the cool night breeze and each other's warmth. Just letting the time pass by.

They must've been sitting for far longer than Kenma realized, because next thing he knew a light weight dropped on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kanna leaning on him, sleeping peacefully.

"She really must've been exhausted. I would be too, given just how rigorous each game was. And she played for all three."

Kenma couldn't help but admire her features as she slept. He'd always known she was beautiful, from the moment Bokuto walked through the gym doors with her in his arms. He didn't need the others telling him to realize that. He wasn't blind, nor was he that ignorant. But as they sat there alone together, he couldn't help himself. She had looked so tired earlier, and yet the moonlight made her look ethereal.

He brushed a strand of her hair that fell out of place, behind her ear. He didn't mind the closeness, and sitting there with her. But he figured that if they stayed any longer, they would both catch colds. Which was not good. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, so he did the next best thing he could think of at that moment. He angled himself and proceeded to scoop her up in his arms.

Kenma, admittedly wasn't considered strong. But he wasn't weak either, contrary to popular belief. But he was still surprised with how light she was. Despite not having played volleyball for years, she still had the muscles to prove. So it took him by surprise that he could easily lift her up.

Nevertheless, after adjusting his hold on her, he started walking towards the sleeping quarters. Careful to keep a watchful eye for any sign of Kanna waking up, which he figured wouldn't be anytime soon, with how comfortable she looked. It made him blush seeing how adorable she could be even in her sleep. He didn't make any attempts to hide it though, seeing as there wasn't anyone else present.

He'd arrived at the girls' quarters after taking another flight of stairs. There he stood contemplating whether he should open the door and walk in or not. Clearly remembering the coaches telling them that they weren't even allowed a foot on the floor, but here he was. Seeing as there was no other way he could do this, he decided to just go ahead and get it over with.

He opened the door as quietly as he could, making sure to leave it opened to let some light illuminate the dark room. He scanned the room for any sign of the managers being awake. Feeling satisfied to find that they were all fast asleep, he made his way inside towards the futon on the far left. It was the only one unoccupied so he figured that was hers.

He gently kneeled down and slowly lowered Kanna onto the futon. Once she'd settled down, he covered her with the blanket and started to make his way out. He took one last look at her before he silently shut the door, and started making his descent to his own floor.

He was physically tired, but the earlier events had him thinking. Being with Kanna had made him feel so at ease, and not even Kuroo could make him feel that way. This newfound discovery was still puzzling to him, but he couldn't help but admit that whatever it was, he wouldn't want it to end anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Training, training and more training. Yesterday had been nothing but, yep well you guessed it, training. And now it's the last day of the training camp.

Despite what happened the day before, with the collapsing and losing consciousness and all that. Kanna still wanted (more like demanded) to help out. And because the coaches didn't have the heart to refuse the kindhearted girl, she was placed on watch by not just the coaches and managers, but even the players as well.

In the early hours of the day, she observed every single practice match and did duties as a manager would do. In the evening, she helped the players that came to her for inputs in their individual practices. The likes of which mainly centered around the always-hungry-to-be-better-trio: the-ever-enthusiastic-to-improve-his-skills-for-his-team, Guardian Deity of Karasuno Nishinoya Yuu, the-constantly-striving-to-sharpen-his-skills-nothing-close-to-perfection, Kageyama Tobio and the-bearer-of-boundless-energy-and-drive-to-limitlessly-evolve, Hinata Shouyo.

Though she also helped with receiving and spiking practice for the others, her help was mostly needed and greatly appreciated by the Karasuno team. Because unlike the other powerhouse schools who have developed a style they are known for, Karasuno who didn't have one, had that much more room to experiment and mature. So Kanna eagerly supported them as they practiced their endeavors, like correcting the timing of their synchronized attack, along with the timing of Nishinoya's set-up jump.

After all the minor flukes and setbacks, finally they were able to connect as one. It was such a beauty to watch, truly an achievement worth noting. Now all that's left is to indulge in some well deserved protein. Praise the holy meat God!

The barbeque was a success, as one would've expected. Although there were a few mishaps, like Kageyama almost chocking which thankfully was solved by Akaashi. And then there was the matter of Bokuto stealing a bunch of meat on the grills, which was then solved by a peeved Kuroo. No fights broke out, which the managers were grateful for. All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon of meat and mingling for everybody.

Meanwhile, the Nekoma team was making their way to join their very own pudding head, when something made them stop in their tracks.

They watched as Kanna walked towards Kenma, who was silently sitting at a corner playing games on his phone. As Kanna sat beside him, they almost fell in surprise as they witnessed Kenma put his phone away. They all stood there unmoving, astounded as to what just happened. Being too distracted, they didn't notice the two get up and leave.

Kuroo having noticed his team members staring at nothing with expressions ranging from surprised to utter disbelief, walked up to them with Akaashi and Bokuto following behind him.

"What's with you guys?" Kuroo raised his eyebrow questioningly, once they were standing directly in front of the team, curious as to what was making his teammates make such faces.

"Kenma….." Yamamoto started, but was still too shocked to finish.

"He….. He…" Fukunaga, who rarely spoke, tried to explain but couldn't find the words to.

"stopped his game." Kai finished for them.

Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi looked among themselves confused beyond belief.

"What?" Akaashi deadpanned.

"Kenma stopped his game…." Yaku paused before he declared. "….for Kanna-chan."

Once he finished, Kuroo lost his marbles. Bokuto and Akaashi was just staring at him and back at the team trying to understand what was happening, and how it all involved Kanna.

"This can't be happening. Please tell me you're joking."

"That doesn't happen okay. Kenma doesn't ju—."

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?"

Kuroo questioned, well rambled. And with his teammates' absentminded nods, he began once again. He was now walking in back and forth with hands in his hair as he continued to mumble incoherent words to himself. Next thing you know the whole Nekoma team was following after their captain.

Bokuto and Akaashi looked at each other in confusion, and they weren't the only ones. With how loud and hysterical the bunch was getting, they would undoubtedly attract attention. The others all gathered around and asked Bokuto and Akaashi what was going on, but they too didn't know. Of course a none-Nekoma team member would never understand just how insane and nearly unimaginable it all was.

As everyone's curiosity grew, so did their impatience. It's been 10 minutes and the Nekoma bunch were still lost in their own world. The rest were starting to get twitchy from all the waiting and the still unanswered question of why they were acting like a bunch of lunatics. If nobody from the distraught team starts explaining soon, pretty sure someone's going to get hurt.

Who could blame them though? Even Nekomata-sensei had this weird expression on his face. If the team's reactions didn't send a red flag, their coach's reaction sure did. Sure enough like a bomb, Bokuto exploded, his patience being shorter than everybody else's, particularly so because it apparently involved his precious baby cousin.

"DUDE! JUST tell us what the heck's wrong already?!" He shouted as he frantically shook Kuroo.

Akaashi and his teammates tried to calm him down, but they couldn't deny that they too were worried given the reactions of the whole Nekoma Team.

Bokuto's frantic shaking and hysterical shouting seemed to snap the rooster-head captain out of his daze, as he stopped rambling and stared straight at Bokuto.

Kuroo looked around, sweat dripping from his forehead as he looked back at Bokuto and swallowed.

"How the heck am I supposed to explain this to HIM?! There isn't even any other possible way to easily explain this?!"

"I mean, I've had my suspicions but I didn't—"

"…I haven't even talked to Kenma about this."

He heaved a heavy sigh before he started.

"Okay look, I'm gonna try my best to explain this so that you'll understand. It might seem a little weird, but bear with me please." Once they nodded he started his explanation.

"Alright, well, you see... Kenma doesn't just pause, much less stop playing his game for anybody. And by that I mean nobody. Heck! Hardly anyone in the team can make him pause his game. And he'll only ever put his phone or console down when he either finished the game, or died trying to. But never in the middle of it." Kuroo finished. He really didn't want to have to say it out loud, so trying his best in explaining was his best bet. And by the looks of most of them, they seem to have an inkling as to where he was going with this.

"And so, I don't understand? How is that a problem?" Came the confused voice of one very concerned and distressed cousin.

Too bad the one person who needed to understand it most, couldn't. Kuroo was extremely conflicted as to what he should do. He tried looking around in hopes of someone, anyone, who could tell him what course of action would be best to take. Instead, all he got were what he assumed to be the same expression he currently had on his face. Completely and utterly frustrated, he turned to the one person who he was sure would know just the right thing to say and how to properly deal with the anomaly that is Bokuto, Akaashi. He silently pleaded with his eyes to save him from the trouble he was currently in.

"Bokuto-san." Akaashi said as he stepped closer to Bokuto and placed a hand on his shoulder. He then leaned in and whispered something to him

Kuroo along with the others bared witness to the gradual changes in Bokuto's facial expressions and body language. They watched as his puzzled expression turned to somewhat akin to understanding before it morphed into one they could no longer decipher. He'd also turned rigid straight that it was starting to make them all uneasy.

Nobody knew what Akaashi had said to Bokuto, and they would never know because said person refuses to tell them. But he didn't have to. They all figured it was the same conclusion that they had all came up on. They just hoped that Bokuto wouldn't do something he would end up regretting one day.

Chapter Text

After a tiring week of training and the high from eating all that protein, everyone had begun to settle down. Majority of the teams have also started cleaning up. Kanna went to help the managers with the cleanup, while Kenma stayed seated in his place and resumed playing on his phone.

Once Kanna was far enough from hearing range, Kuroo, Akaashi and Bokuto approached Kenma. Kuroo being genuinely curious about his friend, Akaashi was just there to keep an eye on his Captain, but he was just as curious to know if he was right in his assumptions. Bokuto on the other hand was determined for answers and he was willing to do what he can to get them.

"So Kenma." Kuroo started once they were close enough. Having known Kenma the longest, he knew that he needed to approach the topic slowly or else Kenma'll just keep evading their question. Especially so when it's a question about him, he'll keep giving insignificant answers or asking irrelevant questions that by the time you're annoyed you would've forgotten all about what you wanted to ask him in the first place.

"Since when did the two of you become so close?" The other two stayed quiet, observing Kenma, intensely awaiting his answer.

Kenma looked up from his phone for a second to glance at the three of them. Still having his neutral face on, he questioned "What are you talking about?"

The trio looked at each other before Bokuto spoke."You and Kanna."

"What about her?" He asked curtly as he returned to tapping on his phone.

"Ken—" Kuroo started, clearly seeing that Kenma was avoiding answering their question, when he was cut off.

"You can't get out of this Kozume. I saw you carrying her the other night." Akaashi blurted making Kenma glare at him.

"WHAT?!" yelled Bokuto, he was totally losing it.

"YOU WHAT?! YOU?! WHAT?!" Inquired Kuroo wide-eyed and pointing at him.

"They really won't let me play my games in peace, will they." With a sigh, Kenma pocketed his phone and started to explain as they all listened.

Kuroo's never been more surprised and confused in all his life. He'd noticed Kenma acting differently these past few days (which he hoped to be a good different), but now so was Bokuto. He'd never seen the Ace so quiet and deep in thought. After the silence that passed once Kenma finished explaining, Bokuto spoke.

"Has she told you?" Bokuto asked seriously, staring straight into his eyes. Meanwhile, Kuroo and Akaashi stood there looking at the exchange with equal parts confusion and intrigue.

Slightly uncomfortable with how intense his gaze was, Kenma averted his own.

"She did, didn't she." Bokuto stated firmly, as he continued to study Kenma's expressions.

Kenma glanced back at him and from the expression on his face he knew. He knew, that there was no doubt in Bokuto's mind that she did. This trait was probably what the Bokuto cousins had the most in common, as Kanna was the same. So he nodded in confirmation.

Bokuto sighed tiredly as he took a seat next to Kenma on the grass, scanning his eyes around the group and then stopping at his cousin.

"I'm assuming she told you the whole thing then." He closed his eyes and knitted his eyebrows before continuing.

"We will never know the whole truth of what happened, because she wouldn't speak about it. No matter what we tried, she just kept on refusing to tell anyone."

"Anyone but you." He finished, opening his eyes as he turned to face Kenma.

Kenma, Kuroo and Akaashi were not prepared for the depth of sadness that could be seen in the Ace's expression, shifting the air around them to a solemn mood.

Bokuto's expression then suddenly changed, allowing the atmosphere to take on a more serious tone, as he started.

"I don't know what you did, but I want to thank you." Bokuto gratefully said with a bow of his head, which stunned the three.

As he lifted his head, he asked. "Now I want to know what you plan to do from now on."

Kenma looked at him confused, along with the duo.

"I don't understa—" He started but was cut off by Bokuto.

"She obviously trusts you a great deal, and I'm not planning on taking that away from her. Especially after everything she's been through. So I want to know how you really feel. I want you to be completely honest with me Kenma, and I mean it." Bokuto declared as he leveled Kenma with an unwavering stare.

"Dude, I thought you'd be the one against this the most. I didn't think you'd be the one to directly and openly say that you're okay with agreeing to all this." Kuroo said confused.

"I don't. Not a 100%, no." He answered simply, but the confused expressions on their faces made him clarify himself.

"Look, all I'm saying is, if you're the person who can bring the light back in her eyes, then maybe I could consider it. But don't get me wrong. I won't hesitate to bring hell with me if you hurt her."

"So?" He questioned once again.

The three of them watched as it was Kenma's turn to look Kanna's way, with an unreadable expression.

"I don't really know.… I've never met someone quite like her before. There's a lot about her that I don't understand, which makes me all the more curious." Kenma quietly said.

"Curious? About what?" asked Akaashi.

Without averting his gaze from Kanna, Kenma answered.

"I'm curious about what goes through her mind when she makes that face. I want to know what she thinks about when she stares at the moon, as if it holds all the answers to, well everything. I wonder how she could care for someone so deeply, even if they've just met. I think about how something as simple as a passing breeze could easily bring a smile to her face. And how someone as strong as her, could be so restrained by something that was out of her control. There is nothing I desire more, than to witness the day she's finally freed from the shackles that bind her to her past."

His facial expression didn't change, but the trio could clearly see the multitude of swirling emotions in his eyes as he continued to watch Kanna from afar.

Suddenly, Kanna turned her head and made eye contact with Kenma. She smiled brightly at him before turning back to the conversation she was having. Unbeknownst to Kenma, it caused his body to visibly relax and a small smile accompanied with a fond expression to bloom on his face.

This interaction though, didn't escape the watchful eyes of the three. They stood there astonished. They never even imagined that he would give them that kind of answer when Bokuto asked such a question, much less that little moment they both had.

"Man…" mumbled Kuroo.

"Kozume…" Akaashi whispered.

The three couldn't seem to wrap their heads around what just happened as they glanced between the two, studying them. There was silence for a few minutes before Bokuto broke it.

"I see." He vaguely said, seeming to come to an answer. As to what, the others would never know. His brain works in inexplicable ways after all.

"Well, we better go. The Karasuno lot will be leaving soon." He said as he stood up to see if anyone needed anymore help. The others followed after him, effectively ending the conversation.

Kenma didn't know what this conversation meant to them, and how it would impact his current relationship with Kanna. He understood where they were coming from, and he was perceptive enough to know what they were implying. But he stands by his answer of uncertainty. As only time will tell, if Kanna and him would ever be comfortable enough to pursue more than what they currently have.

Chapter Text

It might be the last day, but the managers were especially busy today. After preparing and cleaning up from their lunch, the managers were now preparing for the barbeque party, while the coaches and Kanna were keeping the guys busy with practice matches and drills. After they'd finished washing the vegetables and made a bunch of onigiris, they carried all the ingredients outside where all the grills, set up by the coaches, were. They were chatting idly while doing their respective works, when suddenly Shirofuku brings up a conversation topic that peaks the interest of the others.

"So~ anyone else notice the new development~?" Shirofuku asked in a playful tone.

"New what?" Otaki asks confused.

"She means our two love birds." Suzumeda says with a roll of her eyes.

"Ooh~ Who~?" Yachi asks bouncing in excitement.

"Oh my dear child, we are talking about the small owl and kitten." answers Shimizu with a fond smile.

"Ooooh Kanna-chan and Kenma ey~" Miyanoshita says with a mischievous smile, mirrored by Shirofuku.

"YES! So are we going to do anything?" questions Shirofuku waving her arms eagerly.

"No, we will not." Shimizu firmly opposed.

"Buuuut~ Whhhhyyy~?" whines Shirofuku, deflating at the shut down.

"We should respect their boundaries and trust that they'll move things at their own pace." Shimizu states.

"You're no fun Kiyoko-chan~" pouts Shirofuku.

"To be honest, I'm trying my hardest to restrain myself from doing anything. Their interactions are just so incredibly adorable. But I am devoting myself to seeing this through to the end. They will get together in the near future. I'm sure of it." Shimizu says as she clenched her fist and her eyes shined with certainty, making the others chuckle at the normally stoic third year being passionate about love matters.

"Hey you think we should call the president?" Suzumeda suddenly suggests turning to Shirofuku.

"OH! We probably should." Shirofuku agrees clapping her hands gleefully.

"Okay~ I'll go call him then." Suzumeda then proceeds to go to the gym, to call whoever they were talking about. As she does so, the other girls turn to Shirofuku in question.

"President of what?" Otaki asks.

"Of KENNA of course." Shirofuku states as a matter of fact, which causes understandable surprise to come from the others.

"There's a fan club?" Yachi questions in wonder.

"OOOHHH SHIP NAMES!" Miyanoshita exclaims as she jumps excitedly in delight.

They chat for a bit before Suzumeda returns and cuts the conversation.

"I have brought him everyone! Tadah~" Suzumeda cheers as she moves to the side with a show of her hands for added dramatic flair.

"Akaashi-san/-senpai?!" They exclaimed in shock, staring at the raven-haired teen looking at them in amusement.

"Fufufu~ Yeah we were like that too. He caught us gossiping about the two and unexpectedly joined in. Who would've known right? Oh! And I believe it was because of him that Kanna was wearing Kenma's shirt today~" Shirofuku cheekily said in a sing-song voice.

"THAT WAS KENMA'S/-SAN'S SHIRT?!" The girls yelled in surprise.

"Yep, pretty sure it was, with how red Kenma's face was and how much Kuroo and Yaku kept on glancing between the two." Suzumeda supported, shooting a look at Akaashi who nodded in confirmation.

"So that's why Kenma kept avoiding looking at her." Otaki commented.

"Oh! And also Akaashi has a collection of pictures he's taken of the two~!" Shirofuku remembered. As her words registered, the girls collectively turned their heads towards Akaashi with a look as if to say 'really?'

Akaashi was trying his hardest to keep a calm façade, but the enthusiastic twinkle in their eyes was proving to be hard not react to. "Do you want to—"

"YES PLEASE!" The girls unanimously exclaims, cutting Akaashi off and causing a few chuckles to escape him as he brought out his phone and handed it to them.

As the girls browsed through his gallery, various comments were being dished out with each swipe about the photo they saw.

"Oh my goodness, these are so cute!"

"When was this?!"

"You take really good pictures Akaashi-san."

"I can't believe you were able to capture such a golden moment."

"Oh! Would it be possible for you to send me this one, and well a few others? I'm going to need them when I bring this up to Suga." Shimizu asks gesturing to the currently displayed picture.

"Sure, I can send it to all of you if you want." Akaashi answers, much to the delight of the girls.

"That'd be great, thanks!"

"Thank you very much!"

"You're the best!"

The amount of enthusiasm and bright energy being released by the group, caused a fond smile to bloom on Akaashi's face. He makes sure to note that although what his Captain did was ill-advised, it did reap results that were beneficial to Kanna, such as meeting and having the support of all these remarkable people by her side from here on out.

"He really did do a good one this time. Though I probably shouldn't tell him more than I already have, it'll only inflate his ego, which I could really use less of right now." He thought with a wry smile.

"I should probably inform you that Sugawara-san already knows and has a copy of some of them, Shimizu-san." Akaashi interjects.

"Huh?" Shimizu tilts her head at him in question.

"Yes, they created a group chat. He and Yaku-san were gossiping about the two, and I somehow ended up sharing a few photos. That's also how we got Yaku-san to acquire Kenma's shirt for Kanna." He explains.

"Oh you mean the Mom Chat?" Shimizu smirked, looking at him with mirth.

"How do you— Never mind." Akaashi says with a shake of his head and instead asks. "Shouldn't we start calling the others?"

"Oh yeah we should. If you would be so kind to inform the coaches, Akaashi-kun~" Miyanoshita kindly asked, to which Akaashi nods and proceeds to go into the gym alongside Otaki.

Soon enough a hoard of hungry athletes are storming through the doors, and in the blink of an eye the mountains and mountains of food had all been consumed. It was safe to say, that all their efforts had paid off.

The players thanked the Coaches and the managers for all the hard work they put into preparing the food, and looking after all of them throughout the duration of the camp. They also paid special thanks to Kanna, for despite her unexpected addition to the camp, was a tremendous help to everyone. And the guys wouldn't have improved so much in such a short time, if it wasn't for her.

After all that was said and done, the teams sans Shinzen High proceeded to pack up their stuff and got ready to leave. All the teams gathered at the entrance where they arrived, next to their school buses. The first group to leave was Karasuno High, as they were the ones who would have to travel the furthest. The remaining teams waved them off, with a few excited whoops here and there from a select few. Following after them was Ubugawa High, then Fukurodani High and lastly Nekoma High. Marking the end of the training camp, and the beginning of their battles for the national stage.

Which also unexpectedly marked the start of something else, the birth of the KENNA devotees club. Though the two mentioned would never know, unless they get careless of course. But a unanimous agreement was issued that they would prevent that from happening at all costs. Which led them to create a dedicated group chat where they would pester Akaashi and Yaku for updates. Kuroo was included at one point, but he flooded the chat too much that they had to kick him out.

They held a competition at the start, a few days after the training camp, on which one of them took the best photo of the two. Which ended up with a bunch of complains about "How come Akaashi always gets the best angles?!" and "It's so unfair~!", and so on along those lines.

Akaashi was the indisputable winner, as he had more material than all the others. But even if they did, he'd still be the winner and the others would never know exactly why. After all, he kept the two most important pictures of all.

It was taken the night he saw Kenma carrying Kanna. In the first picture, Kanna, peacefully asleep, was leaning against Kenma. The look of absolute adoration in his eyes, was magnificently captured as the moonlight illuminated them both. The next one shows Kenma carrying Kanna with the same look in his eyes, but this time it was accompanied by a bright blaring flush on his cheeks and a loving smile directed towards the sleeping girl in his arms.

He'd be sure to give it to them as a gift on their wedding day. He has no doubt in his mind that that day will come, in due time. For now, it was safe in a scrapbook filled with pictures of the two and its copy that he gifted to Kanna's mom, who was beyond elated. He would have to ask Kuroo for Kenma's mother's number to ask if she wanted a copy, in the future. But he had little doubt that she would refuse the offer once given the chance.

Chapter Text

Throughout the duration of Kanna's stay in the training camp, her wardrobe had been a collection of what she originally wore when she came, to spare pants from the managers and spare shirts the guys had. Additionally, there was also laundry, a whole lot of laundry. You can just imagine the amount of irresponsibility Koutarou's impulse decision had, when you think about her need for day and night clothes. Which would've been avoided, had he properly planned it all out.

Though on the bright side, an unexpected opportunity arose.

As per usual every morning, Kanna made her way down the stairs towards the Fukurodani quarters to meet up with Akaashi, who was left with the responsibility of asking the guys for extra shirts for Kanna, seeing as his own captain just couldn't. She smiled and greeted Akaashi with a wave of her hand, to which he nodded his head back in greeting. Once she was close enough, Akaashi extended his arm to hand her the shirt in his hand.

"Thank you Keiji. But is it really necessary? I could've just used the shirt I'm wearing right now, right? It's the last day anyway." Kanna questions, as she pinches a fabric of her shirt between her fingers as a gesture to further explain her point.

"Nonsense. You're a lady, Kanna-san. You shall do no such thing." Akaashi chides disapprovingly at her.

"Okay…." Kanna cringes guiltily at the look she was currently receiving from the taller male, as she reluctantly accepts the shirt being handed to her.

"I was just trying to be efficient here…. He doesn't have to give me the look." Kanna pouts as she turns away from Akaashi and the scolding look being directed at her.

A few meters ahead, she sees Yaku who just came out of the bathroom.

"Good morning Kanna-chan!" Yaku greets with a wave of his hand, as he walks towards her to go back to his team's quarters.

"Good morning to you too, Yaku-san." Kanna greets back with a bow of her head, before she turns to make her way back up the stairs to the manager's floor.

Missing Yaku shooting Akaashi with a questioning look and receiving a thumbs up in response, both of them with equally wide grins on their faces.

The morning proceeded as usual with the girls preparing breakfast, and the guys gradually being awakened from their slumbers by their respective early bird members. It's the last day, but Nishinoya still shows no mercy. On the bright side, Asahi and Sugawara don't have to suffer any longer than they already have.

As the first few start trickling into the cafeteria, Miyanoshita and Otaki get ready to serve them on the front. While Suzumeda and Kanna were at the back washing the equipment they used to prepare the food. Yachi, Shimizu and Shirofuku were currently eating, as they came down later that the others to clean up and put all the futons back where they should be. After they're done, the three of them will switch with Miyanoshita and Otaki so those two could then eat their breakfast. Suzumeda and Kanna would join them once they're finished with their respective tasks.

Soon enough the cafeteria is filled with everyone, from the Coaches to the players. Everyone was up and buzzing to get in last minute practice before the end of the camp. After a while Suzumeda and Kanna finally emerge from the back to join the rest to eat, joining the table with the other managers.

Kuroo was just sitting there eating, chatting and listening quite entertained by the chaos of his team and the single-brain celled group. Beside him sat Kenma, already finished with his breakfast and as usual glued to his console, busy ignoring everything around him in favor of the game he was playing. Kuroo looked around to survey who was still in the room, when he saw something that made him choke on the food he was chewing on.

Yaku looked towards him in alarm, passing him a glass of water as he smashed his band on Kuroo's back. Kuroo spluttered in response to the harsh treatment, shooting Yaku a disgruntled glare. Only to receive a single brow raised in response. Kuroo just shook his head as he chugged the water to force the food down and out of his windpipe.

When he was finally stable, Yaku opened his mouth to ask. "What was that?"

"I got distracted, okay." Kuroo shrugged as he once again continued to his eat food, finally sure he was capable of keeping everything where they're supposed to go.

"By?" Yaku further questioned.

As Kuroo chewed, he inclined his head towards where the managers were sitting. He leaned in closer to Yaku and briefly glanced at Kenma before he swallowed his food and opened his mouth.

"That's Kenma's shirt. Kanna-chan's wearing Kenma's shirt. How?!" He whisper-yelled, looking absolutely ridiculous as he gazed back and forth between Kanna and Kenma.

"Oh, that~" Yaku laughs with a mischievous smile, earning him a look full of suspicion from the taller male.

"It was me. Akaashi and I were hoping to get a reaction out of Kenma. Looks like he hasn't noticed it yet though." Yaku explains, side eyeing Kenma who was still engrossed in his game.

"Akaashi, huh….?" Kuroo hummed in thought as he finished what was left of his food.

"Bokuto doesn't know, does he?" He asked looking amusedly towards the said male, currently entertaining the orange-haired shrimpy.

Yaku shook his head. "Nope. And neither does Kanna."

Kuroo thought for a moment before turning towards him to speak again. "You just playing or playing cupid?"

"Cupid. Between those two? Who wouldn't?" Yaku answered immediately without a second thought.

"Fair enough." Kuroo nods his head at the justified answer he got from the shorter male.

It was only a little later, while they were playing a match against Fukurodani, that Kenma noticed. Now he realized why Kuroo was being even more of a dumbass than usual. He had to constantly avoid looking her way to keep his face from exploding in a bright red flush. Unfortunately, this resulted in him being extremely rigid in his movements, which didn't go unnoticed by a select few.

"Guess he finally noticed." Thought Akaashi, Yaku, Sugawara and Kuroo, silently chuckling in satisfaction at the reaction they elicited from the normally indifferent setter.

Though, they weren't the only ones who took notice of the unnatural behavior.

"Is something wrong?"

Kanna shook her head and instead re-focused on the drills the players, she was assigned to monitor, were doing. She could always ask him about it later.

But for some reason, she didn't know, she felt like he was avoiding her line of sight every time she tried to get his attention. She finally resolved herself to question him when she found him sitting by himself, away from the rest enjoying the barbeque near the grills.

"Hey, Kenma?" Kanna called out as she approached the setter. Kenma raised his head, acknowledging her presence.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asks as she sat down beside him.

"Huh?" Kenma said confused, as he pocketed his phone away to better listen to what she has to say.

"It just kinda feels like…..you're avoiding me for some reason." She says dejectedly, looking down at her hands.

Kenma sighed as he stood up and gently lead her by the arm to somewhere more private, away from the prying eyes of his nosy team. Once they were far enough for his sanity, he let go of her arm.

After a few seconds, Kanna decided to break the silence. "Is something wrong?"

"No—Uh… Just—Um…. That shirt…" Kenma stutters, turned slightly away from her to hide his flushed face (he knew 'cause he could feel it).

"Hm?" She tilted her head at him in question.

"I didn't know you were the one who needed the extra shirt, when Yaku asked for mine." Kenma mumbles, but Kanna was still able to catch what he said.

"Oh..." Kanna utters, realization dawning upon her in the resounding silence.

"No wonder he kept insisting I use the shirt! Curse you Keiji!"

Kanna quickly bowed, flustered as she splutters. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I—I—I—"

"It's fine. You don't have to say sorry. You can just return it to me the next time we see each other." Kenma cuts off, trying to console the flustered girl, as he lifts her up from her bow.

"Okay then… if you say so…." Kanna concedes and follows after Kenma as he turned to make his way back to the others.

They part ways with Kenma finding another place a little away from the others, where he could play his games in silence and Kanna heading to the managers talking amongst themselves.

Kanna arrived just in time to witness Shirofuku showcasing how many onigiris she could eat in a second, causing her to laugh along with the other girls. They were all chatting for a while, being silly and enjoying the atmosphere of the barbeque, when Kanna felt a gaze on her. She turned her head and locked eyes with Kenma. She smiled at him briefly, before turning back to the conversation she was having with Yachi.

Not realizing that her simple gesture caused a great shift to occur.

Chapter Text

It's been roughly two months since the end of the training camp. Kanna and Kenma had kept in touch. They chatted and even video called at times, as she does her homework and Kenma plays his games. They'd talk about the troublesome people surrounding them, Kuroo and Koutarou, Kenma's teammates annoying him, and just whatever topic Kanna has on her mind on that specific day.

Much to the delight of Akaashi, who found out they kept contact, despite Kanna trying her best to hide it (she still doesn't know that he knows). It wasn't really that hard for him to figure it out though, what with how much she's recently been glued to her phone and all the smiles she tries oh so terribly to not make them notice. Koutarou maybe, but not him. But in the meantime, he'll keep this all to himself and he'll let the others find out on their own. It's more fun this way anyway. Plus, he gets more pictures for the scrapbook and to possibly bribe Kenma with in the future.

Currently Kanna and Akaashi were at Kanna's home/apartment doing their respective assignments. After a straight hour of continuous studying, they decided to take a break, which reminded Kanna of an upcoming special occasion.

"Hey Keiji, you know how its Kou's birthday next week right?" Kanna brought up the topic, earning a nod from the male.

"We should really do something, even if it's small. Or else he'll whine about it." She grimaces, to which Akaashi shows a sympathetic expression of agreement.

"Small party after school at the house?" Akaashi suggests.

"I'll talk to Aunty then. We should invite Kuroo right?" She nods and adds in question, sure that her cousin would be delighted to have his best friend there.

Akaashi nods. "You can ask Kenma if the both of them are free."

"Hm. I'll ask then." Kanna then got her phone out and proceeded to type a message to Kenma.

—Hey, Kenma

—Are you free to talk? Keiji and I were wondering about something

She had just pressed send, when she suddenly realized something. "Wait, how did you—"

Only to be cut off by the sound of her phone ringing, indicating an incoming call. She pressed accept, and put it on speaker phone so Akaashi could be included in the conversation as well.

—Call—

"Hello, Kenma?"

"Yes?"

"Ah! Keiji's here with me and we were just wondering if you and Kuroo would be free next week for Kou's birthday?"

"Hmm... That's on Thursday, right?"

"Yes"

"I'd have to ask Kuroo if we have practice on that day. Though I'm sure he'd want to attend, since it is Bokuto's birthday. But we might be late in case we do have practice."

"That's alright Kozume. I'm sure Bokuto-san would be glad with just the mere fact that the two of you are coming to attend." Akaashi interjects.

"I see. Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you so much. I'm sorry if we interrupted anything." Kanna replies in a grateful but apologetic tone.

"Its fine, you didn't. I'll just message you when I have Kuroo's answer."

"Okay! Thank you again! Bye~"

"Hn"

—Call End—

"That went well." Kanna smiles looking towards Akaashi, only to see him staring down at her phone with a contemplative expression.

"Ken-kun?" Akaashi asks, lifting his head up and looking at her highly amused with the unexpected discovery.

"W-h-a-t~" Kanna drawled, looking away from Akaashi in embarrassment.

"Dang it! I was hoping he wouldn't notice it. But of course, he did!" She thought, slightly troubled.

Akaashi merely shook his head in mirth at her denial. "So, plans?"

"Right! Hm~ It's his last birthday before he graduates, so we need to do something a little special. It doesn't have to be big, just, I don't know… memorable?" Kanna vaguely reasons.

"We could have the usual team celebration moved to the morning instead of morning practice. We would have to get the coach's permission, but I'm sure he could make an exception." Akaashi offers.

"That works. You'll inform the rest?" Kanna asks and Akaashi merely takes out his phone to inform the rest of the team the change of plans for the set date.

"Then we'll have a second party in the afternoon, but this time along with Kuroo and Kenma." Kanna confirms, earning a nod from Akaashi.

"…..What else can we add?" She says as she closes her eyes, deep in thought.

"There's that cake shop downtown that does crazy cakes on request, we could ask them to make one." Akaashi proposes, remembering the shop he walks by every day.

"That's… a wonderful idea Keiji! I'm sure he'd be over the moon! We could split the cost once we get all the details down." Kanna sits up and clasps her hands in delight at the proposition.

"We could go there tomorrow after classes, since we don't have practice." Akaashi suggests, to which Kanna nods in approval.

"Hmm…. Presents?" Kanna asks, wondering if she'll even be able to.

"I don't think we'd have enough money to buy him a separate present. I'm sure the cake would cost a lot, it would be customized after all." Akaashi reasons

Kanna shrugs in response. "Knowing him, he'll be happy with just the cake, so we probably don't even need to get him anything more."

Seeming to come to an agreement, they end the planning there. With that they returned to finishing their works in silence.

—~~~—

The day is finally here. Kanna, along with the Fukurodani Team (minus Koutarou), woke up extra early to get the gym ready for the celebration. Kanna arrived on school grounds at about the same time as the rest of the guys, who were carrying a couple decorations, as well as a medium sized box of cake. They hurriedly shuffled towards the gym and quickly got started on things, as it was only a matter of time before the guest of honor arrived.

Meanwhile, Koutarou was having a very good morning. Why, you ask. That's because it's his special day.

"Happy~ Birthday~ to~ me~" He sings in his head. If you squint, you'll see the glowing flowery background surrounding him, as he skips down the street with the biggest and dorkiest smile on his face.

As he reached the school grounds, he began to wonder if his team had remembered the special occasion.

"It's my last year… wonder what I should do with the team?" Koutarou thought as he opened the doors of the gym, only to be greeted with a loud.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPTAIN!"

There the team, plus his cousin, were gathered as a group in the middle of the gym, wide smiles on their faces. A whiteboard covered in decorations was behind them with the words 'Happy Birthday to the Bestest Captain', in front of them was a table with a medium sized chocolate cake with a single lit candle on top, waiting to be blown.

"YOU GUYS~~!" Koutarou exclaimed as he ran up to join the group.

"Oy Oy! Don't get mushy now!" Konoha yelled alarmed at Koutarou as he got close enough to see the glazed eyes of his Captain.

"Come, blow the candle before it melts on the cake." Shirofuku herds, effectively gathering all of their attention.

They sang him a 'Happy Birthday' with Koutarou enthusiastically joining in. He childishly closed his eyes as he made a wish, smiling brightly as he blew the candle. After a round of clapping and another 'happy birthdays', the group happily cut the cake, excited to dig in on the sweet treat.

Koutarou looked on fondly at every single one of them, saving to memory every single smiling face. He really was glad to have been a part of this team. And he wouldn't trade them for the world. With a big bright smile on his face, he joins in on indulging himself with the chocolate cake in his hand.

—~~~—

That afternoon, Akaashi walked with Koutarou back to his house, making sure to keep the older male distracted to not question anything. Though it was proving to be an even easier task than he had anticipated, as Koutarou was much too engrossed in his good mood and was continuously blabbering about to notice anything amiss. Like his currently absent cousin.

Kanna had left early to pick up the cake and prepare for the second part of their surprise, Akaashi only hoped that he was able to stall enough time for her to finish. Nonetheless, Akaashi was thankful as they arrived at the Older Bokuto's household without a hitch.

They walked up to the house, with Koutarou opening the door and greeting in his usual highly enthusiastic way.

"We're home!"

With Akaashi quietly voicing an almost nonexistent, "Excuse me for the intrusion."

"Welcome Home! We're in the kitchen dear!" His mom answers back in the same volume.

They took their shoes off and made their way to the kitchen to be greeted by the two women of the family busy cooking, Koutarou and Kanna's moms.

"Kou-kun! There's the birthday boy! Or should I call you birthday Man~" Kanna's mom exclaims teasingly, causing a loud and jolly laugh to burst from the aforementioned male.

"Hello Keiji-kun, so nice of you to join us again." Koutarou's mom greets with a smile, earning her a respectful nod from the raven-head.

"Kanna-chan's not here?" Koutarou asked as he looked around not noticing any sign of his cousin.

"Oh, she went out to buy matches, saying we ran out. She should be back any minute now." Kanna's mom answers as she goes back to preparing and plating the food.

"Oh—" Koutarou began only to be cut off by the doorbell ringing.

*Ding Dong~*

Koutarou looked questioningly at his mom and aunt, and lastly Akaashi. He knew it wasn't Kanna as she wouldn't have any need to ring the bell, so he wondered if they were expecting anyone. The three only gestured for him to go on ahead and open the door. Shrugging as he complied, Koutarou made his way towards the door. He opened it to see Kuroo and Kenma in front of him, causing him to exclaim.

"Bro!"

And Kuroo answered in equal enthusiasm. "Bro!"

"Bro!"

"Bro!"

This went on for a minute or two, before Kuroo decided to break it.

"Happy Birthday!" Kuroo says.

"Hahahaha! Thanks!" Koutarou chuckles in response, as he ushers Kuroo in so he can close the door behind him. "Come in! Come in!"

Only to freeze along with Kuroo once they turned around. There was Kenma, out of his shoes, looking at them, waiting.

Kuroo recovered first and broke the silence. "Kenma? When did you get there?"

"When you were having your idiotic moment." Kenma deadpanned. He'd sidestepped and chose to ignore the duo sharing a single brain cell, in favor of stepping inside and out of the cold night air.

Koutarou merely shrugged and ushered the two along. "Come, they're in the kitchen."

"Mom! Kuroo and Kenma are here!" He yelled as he skipped in front of the two.

"Hello! Excuse us for the intrusion." Kuroo greets as they came into view, Kenma bows in greeting to the group.

Kenma scans the room and notices Akaashi along with two older women, one who he knows to be the older Bokuto's mom. He glances to the other and thinks. "….she must be Kanna's mom."

"Hello boys! Thank you for coming." Koutarou's mom greets back to the two with a smile.

"Oh! Hello there, I don't believe we've met before?" Kanna's mom looks curiously between the two, making Kenma twitch.

"Aunty, this is my bestest bro Kuroo and this is his childhood friend Kenma. Guys this is my Aunt Kumiko, Kanna-chan's mom." Koutarou introduces, gesturing to each person as he named them.

"Kuroo Tetsurou, Nice to meet you Kumiko-san!" Kuroo respectfully bows.

"Kozume Kenma." Kenma softly says, bowing along with Kuroo.

"So this is him…" Kumiko thought with a warm smile.

"Not much of a talker, are you. Well that's alright, my dear Kanna's the same with people she just met. Nice to meet the both of you too! Thank you for looking out for my baby at the training camp." She nonchalantly waves her hand and fixes the two with a grateful smile.

"It was nothing, Kumiko-san! If anything we should be the ones who are thankful, as she helped us. Speaking of which, where is the little owl?" Kuroo respectfully answers, and wonders as he hasn't seen the younger Bokuto anywhere.

"She stepped out for a bit, she should be back—" Kumiko explains only to be cut off by a loud yell.

"I'm back!" Kanna exclaims, the door closing shut behind her.

"I got the—" She started, but cut herself as she came into view and saw the new additional people.

"Kenma!" She says with a wide smile.

As their eyes locked, the visible change in the male didn't escape those watching the two. He might've been facing away from the group, but they could clearly see how he was much more relaxed than when he first arrived.

"Kuroo-san! You guys made it!" She continues as she turns to the taller male.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world." Kuroo replies with a chuckle at the enthusiasm, and secretly at how Kenma reacted to Kanna's arrival.

"She still calls me with a '-san' though..." He inwardly sighs. "Guess she's not that comfortable with me yet."

"Did you find some, dear?" Her mom interrupts.

"I did!" She answers, brandishing the box of matches in her hand "Let's start?"

"Alright then, Kou-kun close your eyes." Koutarou's mom orders with a clap of her hands.

Koutarou follows, eagerly waiting. Kanna nudges Akaashi and gestures towards the other room for help with the cake. He walks over with her and lifts the cake, with Kanna's guidance, he carefully places it on the table along with the others. Kanna lifts off the covering, causing Kuroo to whistle and Kenma to widen his eyes.

Kuroo's whistle, of course, caused Koutarou to fuss. "What?! What?! I wanna see~!"

"Shh! We're almost done." Kanna remarks as she carefully places the candle on top and lights it. "Okay, done!"

Koutarou opens his eyes and glows—literally glows—in utter delight as he joyfully cheers in happiness. There, in front of him, was the coolest cake he has ever seen. It was an owl cake, but most of all, A Horned Owl cake in his likeness.

"THIS—IT'S— IT'S—WAAAA~!" Koutarou sobbed as he fussed over the cake. Everybody laughed at the birthday boy's antics.

"Alright enough of that, dry your tears Kou-kun and blow the candle or else the it'll melt on the cake." His mom playfully chides.

Koutarou reigns in his composure and closes his eyes to make a wish, before he opens them and blows on the candle. Afterwards, the two ladies ushers the group of teenagers for a picture, laughing at Koutarou's snot and tear stained face.

They all sat down to eat, saying thank you to the two lovely women who prepared everything. A little while after, they were joined by Koutarou's Father who had just gotten off of work. They laughed as Kumiko-san scolded her brother for being late to his own son's birthday party, but it was all in good fun. After the meal, the adults ushered the group into the living room as they cleaned up, refusing help along the way. The five of them sat around the living room as Kuroo presented him his gift.

"My Dude, My Man, My Bro…" Kuroo started, earning groans from three individuals at the side, which he pointedly ignored.

"Kenma and I pitched in to get you this extra special birthday present. And I know you'll love it, so here you go!" He finishes as he hands Koutarou the wrapped present.

Koutarou eagerly rips it open and he beams. Kuroo and Kenma had gifted him a pair of Kneepads. But not just any old pair of kneepads. It was a pair of Owl Kneepads. He laughed and glomped Kuroo, spluttering his many thanks with a big smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Akaashi's eyes twitched in slight irritation, already picturing the impending chaos he'll have to deal with at practice with the addition that's bound to double—if not triple—his Captain's already boundless enthusiasm. Kanna sweat dropped at Akaashi's expression, while Kenma merely looked on unbothered.

"Why, did you agree to that?" Akaashi sighed exasperated, looking at Kenma with a betrayed expression.

"It's what he wanted to get. Kuroo said he found it a while back but didn't have enough money to buy it. So when I proposed on pitching in for a birthday present for Bokuto, he jumped on the opportunity." Kenma shrugged, pointedly ignoring the light glare he was receiving from the taller male.

Kuroo, Kenma and Akaashi didn't stay for long as it was getting late and they all had to take a couple of train rides back, not to mention they still had school early the next day. They all said their thanks to the Bokuto family, and excused themselves. Kumiko-san offered to drive them to the station on their way home, they wanted to refuse, but ultimately they couldn't decline Kanna's mom. So they all piled into Kumiko's car with Kanna on the passenger seat, and the trio at the back.

As Koutarou, his mom and dad, waved watching the car pull out of the drive way. Koutarou began to ponder, he really was blessed. The three years in Fukuroudani had been nothing but wonderful, but this had been the best year out of all for him. And that was because finally. Finally. He'd get to see Kanna, his precious baby cousin, genuinely smile and be happy again.

"Thank you all so much!"

Chapter Text

It's a month before the Representative Playoffs, and Kuroo had an idea he pitched to Bokuto and Akaashi. Kenma's Birthday is coming up, and as the 'good-if-not-the-bestest-best-friend-he-is', Kuroo obviously had to organize a surprise birthday party for him. Despite the other's blatant refusal to participate in such events.

Since Kenma's birthday falls on a school day, Kuroo had to plan it accordingly. His original plan was to have a small team celebration, but opted against it as Kenma might react badly, especially with the ever-unpredictable-current-cause-of-Kenma's-headache, Haiba Lev. As such, he just decided on a private celebration at Kenma's house (permission from his parents are not needed, he's basically family), with a special guest of honor, of course. All he had to do now was plan how he was going to get said guest of honor to come. After all, they were the most important factor needed. And that's where those two come in. Bokuto and Akaashi said they had it covered so….. guess he doesn't have to think about that now then.

—~~~—

It's officially D-day, and so far everything's been going according to plan. He'd managed to prevent his teammates—who remembered Kenma's birthday—to not throw him a party. It came as a surprise though, even to him, that they would gift Kenma a whole pan of Apple Pie. And for the first time, the pudding-head wasn't annoyed with the team as they greeted him with a 'Happy Birthday'. He's obviously too distracted with the Apple Pie to care about anything else.

Kenma's good mood was surprisingly constant throughout the day. Well… he wasn't exactly in a good mood, per say. He was just not in an irritable mood as he usually is this time of the year, which counts as being in a good mood in Kuroo's book.

They were currently chilling in the living room of the Kozume household, playing one of Kenma's video games, while his mom was in the kitchen preparing. After losing so horribly for the fourth consecutive time, Kuroo sinks into the couch with a heavy sigh. As he straightened back up, he chanced a glance at the clock.

"They should be arriving any minute now—" Kuroo thought and sure enough the house bell sounds off.

*Ding Dong~*

"Go on Kenma. Open the door. I bet that's Bokuto and Akaashi with your present." Kuroo smiles mischievously as he pauses the game, and eagerly shoos Kenma to the door.

As Kenma gets closer to the door, he hears an embarrassed and highly flustered voice that he recognized to be Kanna's, exclaim.

"What the hell you guys! I—"

Kenma opens the door to be greeted by the image of Kanna being securely held by Koutarou on his shoulder, and Akaashi behind them.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Koutarou cheerfully exclaims as he sets Kanna down in front of them.

"Happy Birthday Kozume." Akaashi greets with a nod.

Kenma merely spared them both a glance, as he was too distracted by the girl in front of him. There was Kanna standing in front of him, wrapped in a big red bow, wearing a black over-sized hoodie with what he could only guess, as a bunch of gaming icons decorating the sleeves. There was something in front, but he couldn't really make out what it was, with the bow in the way. (art)

"Um…" Kanna mumbles looking everywhere but Kenma.

"Happy Birthday?" She sheepishly smiles at him and opens her palms in a 'ta-dah' motion, though not really doing much as her arms were bounded to her sides.

Kenma chuckled at the endearing image, the sound causing a bright blush to bloom on Kanna's face. Kenma recollected himself, before extending his arm to gently pull her inside the house and out of the cold night air.

"My gift?" He teases good-naturedly, highly amused.

"Um… the hoodie was my mine. I wasn't aware I was going to be the one to wear it, and end up being the gift though…." She sheepishly answers, still avoiding his line of sight.

She twitched lightly, when Kenma suddenly came even closer to her and pulled the bow off. Now that it was off, he could finally get a closer look at the hoodie. In front were the words 'KODZUKEN' in pixel font, in the shade of Kenma's iconic pudding hair, and he was right about the gaming icons on the sleeves. All in all, it was a very well thought out design, Kenma couldn't help but note. And it looked absolutely adorable on Kanna's small stature.

"I like the hoodie. Thank you." He comments as he puts the ribbon aside.

"But I think you should keep it." His words caused Kanna to look up at him and meet his gaze. Only to regret it soon after, as he had that 'look' on his face that did weird things to stomach and made her chest hurt.

"It looks better on you."

She's positive she just turned to jelly. She's wondering how she's still standing, when she can barely feel her legs with the sudden onslaught of emotions.

"Wha—What is wrong with me?! I don't understand what's happening?!"

—~~~—

Akaashi and Koutarou who had long since left the two and sneaked their way inside, were spying on them—along with Kuroo—on the couch.

"Ngghh~ Why does he have to speak so softly?! I can't hear what he's saying!" Bokuto grumbles gripping down hard on the couch.

"That's the exact intended purpose Bokuto-san. So you don't hear." Akaashi states pointedly ignoring his incessant twitching.

"But—" Bokuto was going to argue, but stopped with a look from Akaashi.

"Oh, come on Akaashiii~ Don't tell me you aren't curious about what Kenma's sayin—look—look, see~ Kanna-chan's face just exploded. I want to know why~" Kuroo whines along with Bokuto.

"The both of you are hopeless." Akaashi resignedly sighs as he stands up from his seat and proceeds to walk towards the kitchen, calling out to the older male. "Come on Bokuto-san, we haven't even greeted Mrs. Kozume yet."

Bokuto springs up and follows quickly after Akaashi, they come into the kitchen to see Kenma's Mom placing a plate filled with food on the table.

"Hello Aunty!" Bokuto cheerfully salutes.

"Hello Mrs. Kozume." Akaashi greets with a respectful bow.

"Hello to you too Koutarou-kun, Keiji-kun!" Kenma's mom addresses, happily welcoming the two boys.

"Mrs. Kozume, this is for you." Akaashi steps forward and hands her a small rectangular box.

"Hm?" She hums questioningly as she accepts.

"I'm sure you'd be quite pleased with it." Akaashi lightly smiles, encouraging.

She opens the box and sees what appears to be a scrapbook. She flips the cover and giggles. "Oh, dear! Thank you so much! I'll be sure to treasure them."

The two bowed and walked back towards Kuroo on the coach just as Kanna and Kenma turned and made their way to the kitchen, probably to say their hellos as well.

—~~~—

"But as I said, I really like the hoodie. Did you design it?" Kenma asks, he really did like the hoodie.

"Yeah… I even had to ask Kuroo if you had a favorite food so I could include it in the design." Kanna bashfully nods.

"Oh? Where is it?" Kenma asks intrigued, as he didn't see it anywhere.

Kanna turns around to show him the back, where a big slice of Apple Pie was plastered right there in the middle—pixilated—still keeping to the game theme of the hoodie. And here Kenma thought it couldn't get any better. It just did.

Kenma shakes his head in fondness and gently ushers her along. "Come, I'll introduce you to my mom."

They walk, passing by the trio on the couch, two of which had just started playing games on the TV with the other just watching over the impending chaos. They pointedly ignored the shouting and shoving, and continued on their way.

"Mom." Kenma calls, as they come into the kitchen.

"Hm?" Kenma's mom turns, and smiles widely at the sight before her. "Hello dear! I believe this is the first time we've met."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Kozume. My name's Bokuto Kanna, Kou's cousin." Kanna bows, returning the smile.

"So this is her…"

Kenma's Mom beams even brighter as she exclaims. "Oh! Tetsurou-kun's told me all about you! You're even cuter in person!"

Her words caused Kanna to jerk in surprise and shuffle closer to Kenma, keeping her head down to try and hide her tinted face.

"Mom. You're overwhelming her." Kenma admonishes, with a scolding stare.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear. I didn't mean to." Kenma's Mom apologized, smiling softly in seeing how her son was quick to defend the girl.

"It's alright, Mrs. Kozume." Kanna reassures as she lifts her head up to meet her gaze.

With a delighted smile back on her face, Kenma's Mom states. "Dear none of that, call me Mom instead!"

Before anything else can happen, Kenma quickly took hold of Kanna and steered her back out of the kitchen.

"Okay, that's enough. We'll be by the couch if you need us." He says with hurried steps.

Kenma's Mom giggles, at the sight of her son's frantic actions. She could get used to this new side of Kenma that Kanna has managed to bring out.

"Welcome to the family Kanna-chan~!" She hollers mischievously, after them.

"Mom!" He calls out, then proceeds to grumble about 'embarrassing moms' as he walks alongside Kanna.

"Your mom's very… um…" Kanna mumbles, not sure what to make out off of the interaction she had just had.

"Don't mind her too much." Kenma responds as he continues on his way towards the others on the couch.

Only for them to arrive to the scene of Koutarou wailing on the floor, Kuroo standing triumphantly smug above him, and Akaashi on the side looking like a resigned mom so done with her two children.

Koutarou notices the two and proceeds to crawl towards them, he then extends his hand holding the controller as he dramatically pleads "Avenge meee~~, Kanna-chaaaaannn~~~"

Kanna doesn't know whether to be exasperated by the theatrics, or laugh at the utter stupidity and level of brain cells absent in the room.

"Okay… I guess." She appeases, to stop and rid them of his incessant 'I'm dying' groaning.

"Oh~ So the little one has come to avenge its fallen, now has she." Kuroo challenges with his irritatingly signature smirk.

Kanna doesn't rise to challenge and merely shrugs at him as she makes her way towards the open space on the coach, and sits. The rest of the guys follow soon after, and Kuroo starts the game.

Everyone was zeroed in on the intense match between the two. For once, Koutarou was silent.

They were finally nearing the end of the game. Both of them had been fighting a close match throughout it, so whoever manages to take this, wins the whole thing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kanna executes a high level move that surprises Kuroo and almost made him lose, but he perseveres. Kuroo swivels his head to look at Kanna in shock, only to realize what just happened.

"Kenma! Tha—Stop telling her the cheats! That's cheating!" Kuroo complains, startling Akaashi and Koutarou—who laughs loudly at Kuroo's misery at being played.

"You're supposed to be my best friend! Kenma!" Kuroo continues to grumble, whilst trying to evade and counter Kanna.

Meanwhile, Kenma continues to lead and instruct Kanna on where to go, where to aim and what buttons to push. Kanna gladly listens and eagerly does as she's told.

"Stop ignoring me, dammit!" And…. he loses. Not surprisingly so.

"That was a low blow, man." Kuroo sighs dejectedly as he deflates on the couch.

"You were taking too long." Kenma nonchalantly stands up and takes the controller from him, and returns to his seat beside Kanna.

Kenma—the gaming master/expert that he was—then proceeded to obliterate them multiple times in the half hour they were waiting for Kenma's Mom to call them to eat. They were so wrecked that by the time they were called, they were quite literally relieved and thankful to be out of Kenma's mercy.

They chatted some as they ate. Though they didn't say it out loud, Kuroo and Akaashi were well aware that Kenma had gone a tad easier on Kanna, than the rest of them. And the both of them were constantly observing how the two were interacting with each other. It's only been a few months, but the two don't seem to realize the amount of chemistry that oozes from them whenever they're together. They're pretty sure that Kenma's Mom—and Kanna's for that matter—are more knowledgeable in what's up, than the two of them.

Its equal parts amusing and annoyingly cute. It's amusing because their little interactions are just so wholesome, and annoying because they want them to be together already. Heck, every single one of them already consider them official, they only need the two to finally confirm it. And they know, when that day comes, a huge party/celebration is going to be thrown— or at least attempted.

After dinner, they thanked Kenma's Mom for the lovely meal, and then got shooed back into the living room. Where our favorite trio sat on the couch behind the two on the carpet, and watched as Kenma tried to teach Kanna how to play the game he just loaded. Kuroo comments 'it's his favorite game to play' and 'how unbelievably patient he's being'. Which is unprecedented in Kuroo's book of 'Kenma's personalities when he plays'.

Eventually, they had to leave as it was getting late. Kanna and Kenma wrapped up their game, and everyone said their thank you's once again to Kenma's Mom for having them. Kuroo was outside chatting away with Koutarou and Akaashi, as they waited for Kanna. She said she had to go to the bathroom before they go. She wasn't sure how busy the trains would be, so she'd rather be prepared than regretting the entire time.

Kanna walked towards Kenma at the door, and as she moves to open it, he stops her with a touch of his hand on her arm. She turns to him in question at the gesture.

"I'll see you this weekend?" Kenma asks in a soft, unsure voice.

Kanna blinks for a second before responding. "Oh! Yeah! Of course! Yes! Yep!"

Kenma nods and releases her arm. But Kanna doesn't make a move to open the door, instead she turns fully to him and asks.

"But are you sure I should keep this? I did order this just for you." Gesturing to the hoodie by lifting her arms.

"Yes, I'm sure." He assures with a soft smile, then looks away to hide his blush from seeing a pouting Kanna.

"Okay….." Kanna concedes, though still doubtful. They conclude the conversation there, as they both walk out the door, joining the others.

—~~~—

It's finally the awaited weekend, and Kanna didn't know why she was feeling so weirdly the entire time leading up to it.

(But let's be honest, we all know why, right? Of course, we do.)

Kanna was walking by herself, on her way to Kenma's house. He'd offered to meet her at the station so she doesn't have to walk alone, but she kindly declined. She didn't want to trouble him by having him walk back and forth just for her. As she was walking up to the door of the house, for some reason, her palms were getting sweaty, and she had this inexplicable urge to turn and just hightail it as far as she possibly could. But she stood her ground and continued forward, even managing to ring the doorbell without any further interruptions.

"What's wrong with me, really? Am I sick or something?"

Kanna was deep in her thoughts, when the door opened, and she was greeted gleefully by Kenma's Mom.

"Hello, dear! Come in, come in!" She ushers Kanna inside and as they walk further inside, she calls out. "Kenma! Kanna-chan's here!"

Sound of footsteps could be heard thundering down the stairs, and Kenma appears from the corner leading up to it.

"I'll leave you two to it then. I'll be down here if you need me. Have fun!" She waves them off as she makes her way to the couch and continues watching her show.

Kenma walks towards Kanna and guides her up to his room. As she walks in, she looks around and sees; a modest sized bed, across from that is a flat screen TV equipped with multiple game consoles, next to that is a shelf of what she guessed were the CDs for the games. On the other side was a bookshelf with a couple of mangas, next to that was a desk with a few cat trinkets and school books. She realized how dark the room was when he closed the door and the room was only illuminated by the TV, guessing it was because of the black-out curtains.

Kenma sat at the edge of his bed and patted beside him, gesturing for Kanna to sit. She complied and appreciated how soft the bed was as Kenma handed her the other controller.

"So what are we gonna play?" Kanna asked looking at him eagerly.

"We can play some PvP games or some one-player ones. I could also teach you how to play my favorites if you like." Kenma suggested, standing up and making his way to the collection of games at the side.

"That's great and all, but are you sure? I know I've mentioned this multiple times, but despite doing well in academics, I really can't understand how most of these work." She voices looking unsure, as she fidgeted with the controls.

"You'll be fine. Why don't we start with the basics, I'll pick a few and then you can decide which ones you like." Kenma assured, doing just that and holding up a few he'd selected in his hands.

"Okay!" She nods.

And so they proceeded to play a few simple games that didn't require Kenma to explain much, and it came as no surprise that her favorite ones were a couple of idle games. Afterwards Kenma showed her his collection of favorite games—the ones he keeps coming back to. He played a few rounds with Kanna watching amazed at how he played, before he handed the controller to her and guided her through it.

Kenma was lying behind Kanna as he watched her attempt to copy what he previously did in his demonstration and ceremoniously fail, causing him to chuckle at her frustrated groans. He continued watching her as she tried again multiple times, simply reveling in the range of emotions her face expressed. When she suddenly whopped and giddily turned to him with shining eyes and a bright smile, and Kenma was hit with a sudden realization.

He stared at her wide-eyed as she turned back to continue playing, unaware of what Kenma was currently going through. After some time, he sat up from his position and wordlessly inched closer to Kanna, and gently—albeit a little unsure— wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in.

The reaction was immediate. Kanna froze, completely forgetting about the game as she asked in a soft and slightly worried voice. "Kenma?"

Kenma respond by bending his head and placing his forehead on her shoulder. They sat in silence for a moment before Kenma's voice broke through.

"Would you….."

"Hn?" She encouraged when he stopped, feeling the apprehension in his voice.

"Would you say yes…." He started again, then paused and let out a breath. "…if I asked for me to be yours, and you to be mine?"

Kanna flushed terribly as his words registered. She turned her head and stared wide-eyed at Kenma's head, who was quite adamant in burying his head into her shoulder.

"Ke—Kenma I—" She spluttered not knowing how to respond.

"It's alright. You don't have to say anything." He assures, yet sounding small and hesitant. But before Kanna can say anything, he continues.

"I just—um—don't…know….." He stutters, tightening his hold on her. "…I've never actually been in this situation before so—um—But I feel comfortable around you, much more than I do with Kuroo, and I don't feel like I have to constantly worry and I can just be… And it's alright if you don't agree, I just—….want to be allowed to stay by your side….Please…."

He finishes, screwing his eyes shut and further curls in on Kanna in apprehension as silence envelops the two, letting his words hang in the air.

Kanna turns her body around, in his embrace, to face him. "Oh, Kenma…."

With his head still down, Kanna cups his face as she contemplates. "I'm such an idiot. Of course that was the reason! This must be why Keiji keeps making fun of me. Because I'm dumb when it comes to my own feelings."

She steels her resolve, despite the uncertainty, and takes a deep breath as she says. "I'm not sure how this works too, but….. I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out together, right?"

He lifts his head up and stares at her wide-eyed. "Is she…..?"

She smiles at him as their eyes lock. "Does this mean you're going to let me cuddle you then?"

Kenma's face explodes at the unexpected question. He surges to bury his head once again in her shoulder from the embarrassment, as well as preventing her from seeing his reddened face.

"Kenma?" She asks in confusion, trying to move away but is locked in place by a surprisingly strong grip.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

—~~~—

Kenma loves his hoodies. I mean who wouldn't right. They're so soft, warm and just downright the epitome of comfort. But for some reason, recently when he's browsing through shops for new ones, he keeps on wondering if they would look cute on Kanna. All because of that damned birthday party.

"I'm losing my mind." Kenma shakes his head as he wills his blush to be gone from his face.

Chapter Text

The Karasuno bunch had secured their place in the nationals, now it was time for our Tokyo teams to do the same. The Nekoma team had just arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, although they didn't have a game till tomorrow, they still had to scope out their possible opponents in preparation.

With Kuroo taking the lead, they made their way through the halls towards the big bulletin board showing the team rosters for the day and the rest of the week. Normally the Representative Playoffs would've been held for only three days, but because of the number of teams in Tokyo it had to be extended.

Kenma had just sat on a bench near the team, when his phone suddenly started ringing. Taking his phone out of his pocket to answer, he then turned confused. Kuroo having noticed his expression, after glancing briefly at the line-ups, went up to him.

"What? Who is it?" He asked.

Kenma looked at him still confused but answered nonetheless. "Bokuto."

Kuroo became confused as well as the others who were in the vicinity. "Well~ answer it."

And answer it he did, after all, the Fukurodani Captain doesn't normally call him. He had a terrible feeling about this. And turns out his instincts were justified. He had barely even made out a greeting, before he was dashing out of the hall leaving behind his team, all because of two words.

"It's Kanna."

He almost didn't catch the location Bokuto had told him to go to, because he was too focused on speeding down the halls of the stadium. Thankfully, it was just the changing rooms for the Fukurodani team, which was just around the corner at the end of the hall he was coming into. He saw the whole team outside the door looking conflicted between being enraged—for what reason he didn't know, but he sure was about to learn—and being concerned for what he assumed to be the person behind their door.

Akaashi noticed him first, and made his way to approach Kenma before he was near the door. He wanted to put some distance to door, before being able to start the explanation as to what happened. Kenma took notice of this as he slowed down.

"We ran into them."

That was all he needed to hear as he made his way past Akaashi, and headed straight towards the door. He didn't need to hear the rest of that explanation to know who Akaashi was talking about. The Fukurodani members stepped away as he neared the door, a nod from Bokuto and he also stepped back along with his members. Kenma felt slightly relieved to know that Bokuto trusted him enough to allow and ask for his help with this. But he was undoubtedly unsure of how much help he'll be able to give. He didn't even realize that the rest of his team followed after him, until he heard Yaku's voice.

"What happened?!"

He didn't need to look, as he knew that Akaashi would explain it to them. And it looks like Akaashi wasn't the only one, as he felt majority of the people behind him move towards the group. After the explanation they all quieted down and just stood there in the halls watching and waiting.

Kenma could feel just one person behind him. He figured it was most probably Bokuto, and he was thankful for the silent support. Knowing that the others had his back in case something goes wrong he took a deep breath and lifted his hand up to knock at the door.

When he didn't hear anything from behind the door, he tried again. "Kanna?"

"It's me….."

"Would you mind opening the door for me...Please?" Kenma glanced at the others as silence enveloped the group, but not a moment later a sound was heard, making them all jump.

Bokuto made a move towards the door, but decided against it in the last second. Instead he made his way beside the door to a blind spot, so that when Kanna opens the door, she'd see that Kenma was the only one there.

After a few minutes, they all heard the twist of the door knob and the slow squeak of the opening door. But Kenma was the only one who saw the face behind the small gap within it. When she had confirmed it was Kenma, she moved back into the room and left the door open for him. Kenma looked to the others and lastly to Bokuto, whom he received an encouraging nod from, he then made his way inside through the door. Bokuto may not have said it out directly, but his eyes told Kenma all he needed to know, and he was not one to disappoint.

As he closed the door behind him, he looked at the girl hunched on the floor in the corner of the room. He wordlessly made his way towards her, and sat right beside her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Kenma released a sigh.

"Kanna?..."

Kanna lifted her head to regard the other when he didn't continue speaking like she expected him to, only to be stunned. There was Kenma, body turned towards her with his arms wide open in an inviting gesture, as his head was turned to the side in an attempt to hide his visibly flushed face. He kept on glancing towards her every now and then as the seconds ticked by.

Kanna, all of a sudden was overwhelmed by so much emotion at the simple gesture, that she surged forward and flung herself in Kenma's arms. Kenma had to quickly orient himself to keep the both of them from falling, but he tightened his arms around her and brought her closer to him. They repositioned themselves to a more comfortable position, and she sunk in to the warmth of his body as he cradled her in his lap. Kenma caressed her back as her body shook with sobs, resounding loudly in the silence of the room.

After a while, her sobs died down and her breathing slowed. Kenma adjusted his hold on her to check, that his suspicions were in fact correct. She fell asleep.

He frowned as he studied her face. Crying really didn't suit her. He's beginning to hate the sight of tears on her face, especially if he's powerless to do anything about it at the moment.

"I hope you'll finally be able to move on after all this. But for now, I'll do what I can."

With that Kenma carefully stands up, and walks out of the room to the rest of the guys.

Bokuto perked up at the sound of the door opening, and all of them simultaneously turned towards it to see Kenma with a peacefully sleeping Kanna in his arms. They crowded around the two, and their hearts clenched at the sight of the tear-stricken girl and her puffy eyelids.

"Kenma... How is….." Kuroo hesitates with a conflicted look on his face, mirrored by every single person present.

"She fell asleep after crying too much. She'll be fine." He answered as he gently handed Kanna over to Bokuto.

Bokuto gazed down worriedly at his cousin, but nods in gratitude towards the male. Kenma returned the nod, before turning to regard the others with a serious face.

"Do you know the name of their team?" Kenma asked them, knowing for sure one of them saw the name of the team while the whole fiasco was happening.

He might not have gotten an explanation as to what happened, but he didn't need to. He already had an inkling as to what happened. Kanna had mentioned it once in passing, that although she wasn't sure if all of them continued playing or not, graduated members of her team usually ended up going to the same high school. Though from what Kuroo is currently whispering to him, it's obvious one of them decided a change in career, but still chose to stick around.

"Yeah, we already re-checked the line-ups." Kai answers.

"We're playing against them in the next bracket if they win their game." Yaku adds, slowly growing alarmed at the sudden change in Kenma.

"Then let's pray they do. I sure do want to play with them." Kenma said with a dark glint in his eyes.

"Sadistic Kenma came out."

They all shivered in fright at the look in his eyes and the aura he was emitting. They were glad it wasn't directed at them. They made sure to note and remember, to never bring about the wrath of the usually calm and collected setter.

They decided that it'd be best if they send Kanna back to their accommodations first, before they would join the Nekoma team to assess the pompous team, seeing as both teams didn't have a match till tomorrow afternoon. With that, both teams left Kanna to Koutarou, Shirofuku and Coach Yamiji. Meanwhile, the rest headed to the court—where the wretched team would be playing in—and to find seats to better observe their movements.

They sat in their seats where they were far enough so that the players wouldn't be able to identify them, but still provided themselves with a perfect view of the whole court. The trio arrived just as the match was starting.

"Oy Bokuto! Is that her?" Kuroo exclaimed as soon as the said male was close enough, gesturing down to the person in question.

Bokuto turned towards the direction as he sat down. He squinted his eyes as he took in the girl Kuroo was pointing at. "Hn. Yeah, that's her." He said with a deep frown marring his usually cheerful face.

He leaned forward in his seat and tightly clasped his hands in front of his face, as he spoke. "If I remember correctly, that was the senior I caught spouting horrible things about Kanna, that one time. I was really angry then—and still am—because she said something about how Kanna should know her place, and not drag the team down. That she was better than her, because she actually knows how to play. And is not an embarrassment to her brother, who's the Captain of the boys volleyball club, unlike Kanna."

The guys, as one, clenched their jaws at his words, and the image it painted in their minds.

Bokuto's vision clouded as he continued, voice filled with barely suppressed rage. "She was pushing her and yelling about how, that was probably why I never attended her matches. Because I was embarrassed to be seen/known as someone related to her."

Every single one of the guys, listening carefully, snapped their heads in Bokuto's direction, wide-eyed in disbelief of what he'd just said. They all vibrated with promised fury as they turned back towards the court.

"Let's focus first on the task at hand, and plan accordingly. Shall we?" Kenma, surprisingly, cut into the tension with his calm words.

"Right." They all nodded in understanding and relaxed in their seats.

As time went by and the game progressed, Kuroo could feel a gradually increasing overwhelming pressure beside him. He turned his head, only to sweat drop at the aura surrounding his friend, while the others shivered.

"He's raring to go. Hehehe…."

Kuroo simply turned his head back to focus on the game, and tried his hardest to pretend that he couldn't feel the creeping danger beside him. He noticed, with some form of morbid satisfaction, as the team bellow shuddered for a reason unknown to them. He knew he didn't just imagine it, because the rest of the guys surrounding him, either smirked or snickered loudly in response.

The match wasn't much to watch for the boys. It was well, just too plain. Maybe because they've been hanging around Karasuno too much, that normal plays just end up being boring to them.

Despite the nature of the game, Kenma kept his focus and loaded up on all the weaknesses he found, which were a lot. The team had decent fire power, but he was sure Kuroo could easily block those hits. And just like that, the match ended.

"Ohoho~ Would you look at that Kenma~ Our prey was oh~ so~ gracious enough to hand themselves over to us on a silver platter." Kuroo remarks with a mischievous smirk as he stands up, the guys following after him seeing as they had no more purpose to stay any further.

"We'll be sure to enjoy the meal then." Kenma says looking down at the court with a look that promises hell for whoever was on the receiving end.

The rest of the guys smirked dangerously at the celebrating team below. Looking like a bunch of predators ready to devour their prey. They sure can't wait for tomorrow to come sooner.

"Itadakimasu~"

Chapter Text

That night Kenma received a message from Kanna. He moved without a second thought, grabbing his jacket and making his way down to the lobby, where he knew Kuroo would be. And true to his assumptions, the rooster-headed male was there sitting with Kai, talking. He approached the two, who acknowledged his presence by turning their heads in his direction.

"I'm going out for a bit." Kenma informed, getting straight to the point.

Kuroo nodded his head in response, saying. "Okay. Be sure to walk her back and return before lights out."

Kenma stilled and frowned at Kuroo. "I didn't say I was meeting anyone."

Kuroo merely raised an eyebrow in amusement as he continued to stare at him. "But you are, aren't you?"

Not wanting to deal with his insufferable friend any longer, Kenma kept his mouth shut and abruptly turned around to make his leave. Just as he walked through the doors, Yaku arrived and joined his fellow third years.

"Checking on her?" asked Yaku as he sat down beside Kuroo, who hummed in confirmation to his question.

"I hope she'll feel better soon." Kai voices, clearly still worried for her, the sentiment being shared by the two.

"We still have to do our part tomorrow though." Yaku reminds with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Oh how fun~" Kuroo slyly drawled as he smirked wide and mischievous, actively looking forward to tomorrow's grand event planned by their resident notorious Nekoma Brain.

—~~~—

It didn't take long for Kenma to spot her. She was sitting on a bench, comfortably layered in bundles of sweaters to shield her from the cold, quietly staring at the moon, as she usually did while they were still at the training camp.

Kenma walked up to her, and as he sat down, he gently placed a warm can of tea in her clasped hands. Kanna jolted at the sudden warmth and immediately looked down at her lap. She smiled as she took hold of the beverage and raised her head to glance at Kenma, who was looking ahead while drinking his own can of hot cocoa.

She inched closer to him as she commented. "Not drinking coffee?"

He pulls the can away from his lips and scoffs. "Hn. You know I hate that stuff."

Kanna giggles in response, knowing full well of his aversion to anything and everything bitter.

Kenma relaxes further into the bench, and releases a relieved sigh at the sound. It seems that, despite what happened earlier, she's, at the very least, not as bothered with it as she was before.

Kanna clicked her can open, slowly taking a couple of sips, and sighing in satisfaction at the warmth it brought her. A moment passes before she breaks the silence.

"Thank you."

Kenma turns to her in question and she simply smiles at him in return.

"No matter what I say now, you've already decided that you're going to interfere, right?" She states with not a sliver of doubt that, that is just what he has decided. And sure enough, Kenma nods his head in agreement.

"That's why… Thank You." She tightens her hold on the can and fiddles with it a bit, before taking another sip. She breaths out and watches the fog in silent contemplation.

"If I hadn't met all of you, I probably would've been even more affected and reacted worse than I had. But because you were there, you reminded me that I'm not alone anymore, that I could be happy again. That I have a reason to be happy again." She confesses as she lifts her head and smiles softly at the moon.

Kenma gazes at her for a moment, before he voices. "If that's the case, then you don't need to tell me what happened."

Kanna perks up and turns her head towards him. "Huh? Are you sure? I was certain you'd be curious."

"I was." He agrees, as he turns his head to look back up at the moon. "But it doesn't matter anymore." He concludes, lifting up his can to finish the rest of his drink.

"It doesn't matter, because you're happy. And that's all that matters."

—~~~—

It's time. Today's the day, and the cats are out to play.

Surprisingly though, they gained two more members who were more than willing to put the opposing team in their place, in the name of Haiba Arisa and Yamamoto Akane.

The two had been told of what happened, because they got curious as to why the team was acting differently than any other match they've had. They were introduced to Kanna the morning of the day, and had immediately connected. They adored her lively personality, and couldn't imagine how anybody would ever think of doing such a thing to her.

Bokuto was happy for his cousin, gaining more friends who could understand her, and would support her no matter what. He'd talked to the whole Nekoma team, thanked them and apologized that he had to leave everything in their hands.

"What are you apologizing for?" Kuroo raises an eyebrow as he questions.

"Yeah, you don't need to apologize, Bokuto." Kai agrees, nodding along.

"We're more than willing to stand in for you and do this for Kanna-chan." Yaku declares as he slams his hand on Bokuto's back, causing the other to splutter.

"Oof—! Thanks!" Bokuto beams back at them. He really was thankful, though it was regrettable that he wouldn't be able to watch it all go down.

It just so happened that their game was happening at the same time, so they couldn't be there. But he had no doubt, only all the confidence, that the Nekoma guys would pull through.

"Good Luck you guys!" He exclaims as he runs and waves at them from down the hall.

"Good Luck on your game too!" They shout at him as he goes.

—~~~—

The guys really couldn't take the opposing team seriously, what with all the nonsense sprouting out of their mouths. The annoyingly high pitched yelling at the side, was only adding to their disdain. Even their name was laughable. They really wouldn't want to be known with such a weak sounding name for a team. Who would? Guinea Pig? Who? To have such a tiny herbivorous mascot and have the gall to be obnoxious with no substance, is just plain distasteful.

Even Nohebi was better than them. Those snakes might be repulsive, but at the very least they were crafty with their skills. The guys could only shake their heads in disappointment at their useless attempts at baiting them.

It was well known that Nekoma intentionally played slow for the sole objective of observing the other team. But this time, that was not the case. Today's Nekoma had a purpose, and fulfill it they shall.

Kenma wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to 'play' with them. He'd instructed the spikers to aim for specific spots that were a huge disadvantage on the opposing team. While at the same time, purposefully allowing them a chance to counter, keeping the scores close. He had no qualms about dragging the game. After all, they're not the ones frantically running around the court.

He's in control, and yet, he was not happy. The rest of the guys couldn't say they don't feel the same.

"These guys…." Kuroo grumbled irritably.

"They're terrible, yes!" Lev comments, nodding his head.

"How did they get this far?!" Yaku yells, angrily capping his water bottle.

"Tsk!"

A loud clicking of one's tongue was heard amidst the discussion, silencing the team. They turned as one in the direction it came from, only to jerk in surprise.

"Ke—Kenma-san?!" Lev, Shibayama and Inuoka squawked, with varying degrees of frightened expressions.

"Kenma?!" Kuroo, Yaku, Kai and Yamamoto screeched, cowering slightly from the expression on his face.

Amidst all this, was Coach Nekomata was laughing heartily from the sidelines, genuinely enjoying the show. "Go show them Kenma."

—~~~—

It was now the third set, and all jokes were out the window. The Nekoma boys were fed up, and couldn't bear to deal with the insufferable team any second longer. They were determined to end it, and end it quickly.

Nekoma was leading by a landslide, with no foreseeable chance for the opposing team to catch up. They needed only one more point to end it all. But despite lacking skills, the opposing team was frustratingly unwilling to give up. The rally was going on for forever.

But just as the ball was heading his way, Kenma noticed the Captain (the brother of the manager—Kanna's main torturer), directly opposite of him. The Nekoma guys got in position and ran up to the net, awaiting for Kenma's toss. When out of nowhere, Kenma does a setter dump right in front of the guy's face. The court stilled at the unexpected turn of events.

The guy looked up from the ball, only to freeze when he made eye contact. Despite being physically taller, Kenma seemed to be staring him down. A cold shiver ran down his spine when Kenma spoke those three words.

"Who's worthless now."

As Kenma was turning his head, he pointedly made eye contact with the opposing team's manager, having purposefully said it loud enough for her to hear. He reveled in the ghostly pale, horrified expression on her face.

He turned fully with a proud and accomplished smirk on his face, not quite hearing the blow of the whistle, nor the loud cheering of his teammates behind him. He was too preoccupied with one girl at the sides sobbing her heart out. He'd noticed her come running in, along with the Bokuto and Akaashi, just as they scored their set point.

Kenma's face softened as he saw the seemingly endless tears streaming down her face. His lips quirked upwards when Kanna waved his way, giving him a watery, but nonetheless, cheerful smile. Kenma huffs good-naturedly upon hearing her light and joyful laugh, as the other two attempted to comfort her.

Unfortunately, his silent moment was interrupted by Kuroo and Yaku glomping him and furiously ruffling his hair in their excitement, making him snap at them.

This event once again, in the minds of those knew him, further solidified why Kenma could truly be a terrifying person when he wanted to be.

Chapter Text

The awaited match, for a place as one of the three Tokyo Representatives, is finally happening. Our two teams have made it this far. Their painstaking hard-work and perseverance have garnered such results. Now, they're only two games away until Nationals. The goal is within sight. But first,

Semi-Final Game 1: Fukurodani VS Nekoma

Kanna sat with the rest of the Fukuroudani Cheer Squad, though her seat was quickly vacated in favor of leaning on the railing for a better view. She excitedly waved at both teams as they entered the court. Bursting in laughter at Koutarou's excessive response, who managed to hit Konoha who was passing by and got scolded for doing so.

She turned her head when she heard a familiar voice yell through a megaphone. "Go! Go! Nekoma!"

"Akane-chan's all fired up!" Kanna couldn't help the smile that adorned her face. "So CUTE!"

Not even a second after, another voice was heard cheering with such tenderness. "Good Luck, Levochka!"

Kanna didn't know whether she should cringe, laugh or be impressed. "Ahaha… Arisu-nee...That only works because she's…well…Her. Had it been Kou doing that to me, I would've died from embarrassment."

Looking back down, she made eye-contact with a certain pudding-head fidgeting with the ball. She blinked in surprise, lowering her head slightly, giving a shy wave in his direction. But then broke out in a blush, when she caught his tiny, tiny, discreet smile, before he turned around to line up with the rest of his team.

"What the heck?!WHAT THE HECK?!" Kanna panicked, cupping her reddened cheeks.

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

The whistle has been blown, the match has officially begun. She lifts her head in attention, gripping the railing in apprehension.

As she watched, Kanna couldn't help but feel conflicted. This was the match that really tested, and pulled on her heartstrings. She didn't know whether to cheer or to feel disappointed whenever either team scores. She settled instead on being critical, and hoping her cousin doesn't pull an unexpected stunt out of nowhere.

But truthfully, she just really wants all of them to go. So no matter who wins, she hopes that the team who doesn't, would come out victorious in their next game.

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

Nekoma 16 : 18 Fukuroudani

After a continuous rally, finally, a break point for Nekoma.

"Everyone's in top condition, I see."

She thought, chuckling at Koutarou's face after being caught by Kuroo and Kenma switching block positions.

When Koutarou's spike was called out, she couldn't help but feel like a shift has occurred.

"Hmm~?" Narrowing her eyes as she hummed, surveying the court.

"Do your best, Levochka!"

Kanna heard Arisu cheer. She turned to see that indeed, Lev was going in due to the rotation.

"Oh Lev's in, let's see if he's improved."

Kanna guffawed at Lev's utterly failed attempts, causing a few people around her to look her way. On the opposite stands, she could see Akane-chan trying to comfort an embarrassed Arisu-nee.

When she finally caught her breath, she turned back to look down at the court, only to see Kenma scolding Lev with a really scary expression on his face.

Kanna shivered and lit a candle in her heart for him. "Lev, you will be remembered."

Though as the game progressed, he did manage to get a hit in. That is, before he botched his serve, ending the set in Fukuroudani's win.

The second set was going great. Neither team was letting up on their attacks and receives. And just when she thought nothing major was going to happen.

Bokuto's Weakness #37: If he becomes too fixated/If he excels on one thing, he'll completely forget how to do anything else.

Kanna groaned in shame, collapsing behind the railing and hiding her face from second-hand embarrassment, as she heard the team call for a time-out.

"Ugh, Why~~~ Just, whhhyyy~~~~"

After a few minutes of recollecting herself, she let out a breath as she straightened. Looking down once again, she took a glance at the Nekoma bench.

"You sure got him good, Ken-kun." She thought fondly, resting her head on her arms over the railing, trying to hide her smile, as she admired the play-out of his tactics from his earlier observations.

Tearing her eyes away, she studies the rest of the Fukuroudani team huddled together in a heated discussion. Her gaze zeroes in on one particular person.

"Now, how are you going to put him back in order, Keiji?"

Currently, Nekoma was two points ahead. Considering Fukuroudani's current dilemma—in the name of their Ace—Kanna thought they would need some time to recollect themselves, and thus proceed to do what they did at the training camp. So you can imagine her surprise at the following events.

"Hm~?" Kanna hums curiously, taking notice of Akaashi's unnatural movements, and then proceeding to burst out in chuckles at Lev's reaction to his switch. "Hahaha, he got him."

She refocused as Akaashi tossed the ball towards Koutarou, who was ready and in position to attack. She watched as he spiked a cross directly into Yaku, who managed to receive it, but wasn't able to direct the path of the ball due to Koutarou's power.

Seeing Koutarou's shift in mood, she couldn't help but sigh in ponder. "Haahh~ He actually managed to get him out of it. I wasn't expecting it to be this quickly. Damn Keiji, how much cooler can you get?!"

From then on, Fukuroudani steadily caught up. But for every point gained, Nekoma would counter just the same. The intensity of the game could be felt throughout the gym, both team's cheering squads were up and doing their best to encourage and send their support.

And as the tensions continued to rise, Koutarou—out of nowhere—delivers an astonishingly tight cross shot that managed to land 'right in front of the attack line'.

"Oh~ What a beauty." Kanna couldn't help but gush.

Fukuroudani was now at their match point, but Nekoma wasn't planning on just letting it end like that. Both teams continued to push through, not letting up for even a second. Tiredness and fatigue couldn't even deter them from their goal. They just couldn't afford for the ball to land on their side of the court. But alas, end it they must.

After a continuous rally, Fukuroudani has once again nabbed their match point.

Nekoma 28 : 29 Fukuroudani

The ball has been set. Koutarou ran, each step with a purpose. He jumped, never taking his eyes off of the ball. He lifted his hand, tensing, and launched yet another incredible cross shot. The sound of the ball colliding with the floor boomed loudly, stunning the crowd into silence.

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

And with that, the match ends.

Set Count 2 : 0 — Winner: Fukuroudani Academy —has now secured a spot as a representative for the Spring High Volleyball Tournament.—

While the teams exchanged greetings and handshakes, Kanna sprinted down the stairs to meet the guys outside. When the boys exited the doors, Akaashi was the first to notice her. But before either of them could say anything, a loud voice bellowed.

"KANNAAAAAA-CHAAAAN~!" Koutarou barreled through the group, heading straight for her with his arms wide open.

"Wait! Wait—" Kanna pleaded, holding out her hands in a 'stop' motion.

"Bokuto-san, please—" Akaashi tried to interfere, but was promptly ignored.

"Did you see my awesome, awesome, incredible, cross shot?!" Koutarou urged, inching closer and closer to her.

But before he could pounce on her, he got pulled back by the collar, courtesy of Konoha—ever-the-saviour. Kanna sighed in relief and shot him a thankful nod, of which he returned.

After some minor struggling, Koutarou finally gave up and just let himself be held. He turned his attention back at Kanna, as he continued.

"SO, DID YOU?!"

"I did," She confirmed, and despite knowing it might make his head grow larger, she still couldn't help but compliment. "You were really cool Kou-nii."

Koutarou vibrated with barely contained excitement, whopping in glee at her praise. Meanwhile, the rest of the guys watched the scene smiling and laughing along.

Kanna smiled back at them proudly. "Great game, you guys! I better leave you to rest now before your next games. Good luck!"

"Right then, off you all go!" The coaches exclaimed, ushering their respective teams along.

"But I didn't get a hug yet~!" Koutarou grumbles, once again, attempting to reach for Kanna.

"You're covered in sweat! Change first, you big idiot!" Komi chides, pushing him from behind as he's dragged along by Washio and Sarukui. All three of them pointedly ignoring Koutarou's whining, as they waved back at Kanna.

"We'll see you later!"

—~~~—

Kenma sighed as he left Kuroo to deal with a brooding Lev. He nodded back at the others in a circle on the floor, as he took a sandwich from the food pile. Sandwich in hand, he made his way down a few corridors filled with people, before he arrived at a relatively quiet area. He approached the bench and sat down. Opening the wrapping, he took a bite, leisurely chewing as he listened to the humming of the person beside him.

After a while, he crumpled up the wrapping and stood up to throw it to the nearest trash bin. Sitting back down, Kanna handed him a bottle of water, which he took with a grateful nod. Seeing as he'd forgotten to take one before coming.

Kanna waited a few, before speaking.

"Nervous?" She asked, inclining her head to the side as she looked at him.

"Not particularly." Kenma answered as he fiddled with the bottle.

"But you want to win, right?" Kanna gazed at him with a smile. Despite not outwardly showing it, it was clear that he desired to. He could be quite competitive when he wants to be, especially if there's an outside factor edging him on.

Kenma stilled, thinking back to Hinata's text, and their challenge to one another. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He answered, looking back at her.

Kanna's eyes sparkled, as her smile got brighter seeing the tiny smile he rarely showed. All while willing her face to calm.

"Gosh, Ken-kun~ If you keep doing that, I'm going to melt!"

Voices from down the hall broke the comfortable silence surrounding the two. Kanna glanced towards it, before looking back at Kenma.

"Aren't you supposed to go? They should be looking for you." She voiced, genuinely worried for him.

"It's fine. There's still time." He calmly answers.

Minutes pass, and he finally rises from the bench, holding out his hand for her to take. Kanna looks down at it, and then up at him in question. After hesitating for a few seconds, she places her hand in his and stands.

Kanna thought he'd let go of her hand right after, but he proceeded to take hold, and guide her back along with him. Her eyes widened in realization, face blooming a blaring crimson, as her heart thundered in her chest.

"Aaaahhhh! What?! WHAT?!"

Meanwhile, Kenma buried his face in the collar of his jersey jacket to hide his equally flushed face, as he threw the bottle in his other hand when they passed by the bin.

"What am I doing? What was I thinking?!"

But neither of the two made a move to release the other. They only broke apart—albeit a little hesitantly— when they reached the corner leading to where the rest of the Nekoma team would be.

Kanna wished him luck before he turned the corner, leaving her where she is. Walking away she could hear the voices of the team calling out to him.

"There you are!" -Yaku

"Kenma! Hurry, come on!" -Yamamoto

"Where were you?" -Kuroo

"Nowhere." -Kenma

Kanna giggled as she skipped down the hall, not paying any mind to the stares she got. How could she, when something incredible just happened.

Chapter Text

Kanna couldn't focus. She didn't know which way to look. Both games were happening at the same time—thankfully—in the same gym. Strategically, she sat right in the middle of both courts, so it'd be easier for her to watch them simultaneously. But it was proving to be too difficult of a task.

She'd be watching one game, and then suddenly hearing the whistle blow from the other. It was hard. She felt like she was missing a lot by watching the other side play—which she was—and it was making her feel more than a little frustrated.

Though she was trying her best to multi-task, she was mainly tuning into the Nekoma vs. Nohebi match. Seeing as Fukuroudani has already secured a position to play as a representative, she was more concerned about Nekoma possibly not making the cut.

"I'm sure Kou's going to forgive me for missing a few of his hits. Hopefully." She thought, cringing slightly upon hearing his cheering voice after an attack she didn't catch.

Not to mention, Nekoma's opponents were those troublesome snakes. Which wouldn't be much of a problem, if there weren't any easily provoked/swayed members in the team. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

"Come on, you guys! Yamamoto-san, Lev, hang in there!" She quietly cheered, watching worriedly as their faces contorted in agitation.

To top it all off, Nohebi's totally managed to take control of the atmosphere, and convince not just the referee, but the crowds as well, that they're 'righteous'. When they're far from it.

"If only they knew what those snakes were really up to. They wouldn't be saying all that." She sneered in response to the comments of the people around her.

On the other hand, if they manage to stay level-headed, they just might be able to push through without any major setbacks.

"Okay, I take that back." Kanna thought, flinching heavily when Yamamoto got hit on the face by the ball. "I hope he's alright. That's got to hurt."

Hearing the whistle blow, calling for a time-out, she turns her attention back to the game happening on the other side of the court. Cheering loudly along with the stands, when she witnessed a great team play of Konoha saving one of Sakusa's spikes and Koutarou landing a counter.

Her thought process was interrupted when she heard a loud yell from the side.

"I don't know what happened to make him yell like that, but Yaku-san, that's not the right response. You're losing your 'demon senpai' image."

Kanna shook her head at their antics and refocused on the games. For a while, she went back and forth from the both courts, gripping the railing in anxious anticipation. But then her attention was once again caught by shouts and murmurs from the Nekoma/Nohebi side.

"What? What happened?" Curiosity getting the best of her, she surveyed the court, seeing what all the fuss was about. "Oh no. He got hurt."

Seeing Yaku collapsing into Yamamoto, broke her heart. From what Kenma has told her, Yaku has not once been seriously injured, nor sick all year. She could only imagine the amount of frustration he must be feeling at the moment.

"Yaku-san, are you going to be alright?"

She tore her eyes away from the third year, as the game resumed, looking down anxiously at Shibayama's form. When Nekomata-sensei called for a time-out, she narrowed her eyes to study the rest of the members. They weren't looking too good. It was clear that they were all greatly affected by the loss of one of their core members. But if they want to win, they have to get through this.

"Hn?" Kanna hummed curiously, feeling a shift in the team's mood as Kenma joined the circle. "He must've said something."

And seeing as they chose to bench Shibayama right after the whistle blew, Kenma clearly wasn't playing around. She continued to observe for a few seconds, when a light-bulb occurred.

"Ahaha….He's planning to work Kuroo-san to the bone, isn't he?" She looked down at the said male sympathetically, offering her condolences. "May Ken-kun have mercy on you."

Coming to the conclusion that Nekoma would be doing alright for the time being, she changed her focus back to the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama match. Although the stakes weren't as high as Nekoma's game, it didn't change the fact that watching them play still made her nervous.

She had all the confidence in their skills, but what worried her most, would be Koutarou's reaction should they lose. And just when the thought crossed her mind, Fukuroudani was now at set point, with a 2-point lead.

"What the—?! When did that happen?! I was only looking away for a second!" Her eyes widened in shock.

Then she was jumping excitedly, and cheering along with the band when Koutarou landed the final point, ending the set. Her legs almost gave out in her relief, managing to grip the railing and somewhat catch herself. She leaned her forehead against it, to try and regain her composure. After a moment, she finally rose. Looking down, to see that the second set has begun for the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama match.

Kanna turned to the other side, just in time, to witness Kenma perform a flawless setter dump, causing her to cheer in surprise. Then immediately covering her mouth and ducking down, feeling a little self-conscious, hoping it wasn't too loud. Which was wishful thinking, as she clearly yelled before the crowd did.

Meanwhile, down below, Kenma was trying his hardest not to burst into laughter at hearing her voice be suddenly cut off. And Kenma wasn't the only one who took notice.

"Wasn't that Kanna-san's voice? Something must've happened at the other side." thought Akaashi, as he jumped to block the ball heading his way.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to pay it much mind, which greatly relieved her. Eyeing the score board and seeing Nekoma in their set point, had her anxiously chewing on her lips.

"Come on. Come on. Come on—" Kept on going through her head like a mantra.

She then watched the Nohebi setter fail in his attempt to do his own setter dump, when Lev's hand got in the way. As the spikers ran up to the net, Kanna couldn't help but take notice.

"Aah~ So that's what he was aiming for."

Lev jumped, just as Kenma tossed the ball. Only for Nohebi's blocker's to notice—a second too late—that they were lured in by the two in front. Thus, allowing Kuroo—who was camouflaged behind Lev— to score.

"What a wonderful back attack."

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

"YEAH!" Kanna cheered, this time, along with the crowd.

Nekoma had won their first set, but they couldn't relax just yet, as the next set is bound to be trickier than the first. They have to be much more vigilant, who knows what ploys Nohebi might pull.

As the Nekoma/Nohebi side were currently in a little break before the next set, Kanna switched her attention back to the Fukuroudani/Itachiyama game. And it wasn't looking good.

Itachiyama had a huge point lead. Even from her position, she could feel the frustration radiating from Fukuroudani's side of the court, from a certain loud individual to be exact. Who, is currently yelling about some things she wishes she could have been far enough not to hear.

"God, he's so embarrassing~" She groaned, using her hair as a shield to hide her face.

Kanna lifted her head when she heard the whistle blew, "and there goes another point for Itachiyama."

She continued to watch as the boys tried to closen the gap, only to be stopped short, by a particularly difficult spike by none other than, Sakusa.

"Damn, Sakusa-san sure is cool." She gushed, admiring the way his hits curved off of the receiver's arms.

"I wonder if I can replicate that. The possibility is low, but I think I can get close, probably. Hm~ Now that's a thought. I should ask Keiji if he's willing to try it out with me sometime."

Kanna shifted her attention to the other side of the court, and winced at Kuroo and Kenma's attack that barely made it in.

"I hope he holds on for a little longer." She thought, looking concerned for Kuroo and the amount of weight he's currently holding for the team, with Yaku out of the game.

"But Lev seems to be all fired up." Seeing him be so active, surprised and greatly amused her.

Though the amusement was short-lived, as she caught onto what Nohebi was trying to do.

"Yamamoto-san…." She narrowed her eyes, anxiously drumming her fists on the railing as she gazed at his hunched form.

But it seems like her worries were all for naught. As he was able to save what would've been a block out, and went straight in for the attack, landing the point perfectly.

She giggled in relief at his antics of antagonizing Lev. "Good to know he's holding on well. That's the Ace for you."

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

A time-out was called, she used this chance to tune back into the opposite side. A glance at the score board showed that Itachiyama had reached the 20 point mark first, and their lead doesn't seem to be shrinking.

She flinched at a particularly hard hit by their captain, that Komi wasn't able to keep afloat. The guys were able to score in a few points, but it wasn't enough. And just like that, a couple of rallies later, Itachiyama had won the second set.

Set Count 1 : 1

Kanna observed as the team converged to strategize on their approach for the last set. As serious as the atmosphere surrounding the team might've been, her eye twitched in annoyance as she took note of Koutarou's body language. "He's so close to throwing a tantrum."

She closed her eyes for a second, choosing to ignore whatever it is that might be happening down there, and turned to the other side of the court.

Nohebi had just subbed in a pinch server, who's serve almost didn't make it in—but it did— along with Kuroo barely managing to save it. Fukunaga was on the attack, and it looked like the trajectory of the ball was spot on. But alas, the snakes had other plans.

Kanna clicked her tongue as she scrutinized the Nohebi team. "I never did like how Nohebi did things. But then I guess, there are people, who would do whatever it takes to create opportunities for themselves. Doesn't matter how, just that when it comes down to it, the outcome would be favorable to them."

Shifting her gaze to the Nekoma bench, her eyes gleamed."Good thing Nekoma's smart, and more than skilled enough to find a way around their tricks."

And right after that thought process, Nohebi's No. 4 delivers a service ace, landing near the edge of the backline.

"O~kay~ I might have jinxed it. Ugh…"

Good thing Fukunaga managed to save the day again, with his incredible ball control.

"His courses are so satisfying, what the heck?!"

Nekoma managed to stop Nohebi from scoring more service aces. Along with that momentum, Kuroo pulled off an unexpected one-man time delay attack.

Kanna could barely breathe from all the tension in the air, and she wasn't even the one playing. The amount of pressure the guys down there are currently under, oh how she knows. She can only hope that they can hang on just a little bit more.

As they got closer and closer to the end of the set, Kanna solely focused on the Nekoma/Nohebi game. She just couldn't handle having to switch her attention away, not when they're so close. So close.

"Please let them win this set. Please let them win this set. Please—" She chanted desperately.

And her restlessness only seemed to amplify, as Kuroo switched out with Shibayama when his finger got busted.

"Oh goodness, I can't take much more of this! Please!"

Her death grip on the railing lightened a little bit when Lev scored their match point. But her relief didn't last long, when Nohebi's No. 12 managed to counter back.

A deuce. This is it. The last stand. A race to score the two points that will lead them to victory.

Kanna cheered along with the stands when Yamamoto scored Nekoma's match point. But she couldn't relax just yet, as these moments are normally where anything could happen.

She was proven right the next second, with how unbelievably ridiculous the rally was going. Despite the current situation, she couldn't help but respect the unyielding determination of both teams, as well as their absurdly quick reflexes.

"To be able to respond to mere seconds of movement, 'instinctively', Oh~ you've got to admire the amount of work they put in to be able to achieve such a feat."

"Oh?" Kanna voiced, noticing Lev's position.

"Well, would you look at that~ He's evolved quite nicely. Well done, Lev. And you too, Shibayama-kun." She thought, smiling down at them proudly.

And thanks to their combined efforts, Yamamoto was able to deliver a wonderful block-out, earning them the last point needed, ending the match.

*Phwwwhhhhttt!—*

Set Count 2 : 0 — Winner: Nekoma High School —the last representative spot for the Spring High Volleyball Tournament, secured—

When it finally registered that Nekoma had won, Kanna collapsed behind the railing once more. All the tension in her veins seeped out, and weakened her legs to jelly.

"Oh, thank goodness." She whispers, letting out an airy laugh in her relief. "I'm gonna need more than a few minutes to recover from all…that…"

True to her words, she sat there with her eyes closed, drowning out the world. And for some inexplicable reason, she felt this sudden surge of emotion welling up in her chest. She tried to take a deep breath to somewhat get a hold of herself, but failed when it resulted in tears building up in her eyes.

She gathered herself up—clumsily—to sit in one of the chairs, so as to not attract attention. Settling down, she shuddered a breath as the tears flowed. Her hands latched onto the arm rests in a bruising hold, biting her lip trying to keep herself from making a sound.

She knew why she was feeling this way. She was well aware. But what she couldn't comprehend was, why now?

After a while, she was able to calm herself down enough. Wiping her eyes as she sniffled, slumping into the chair with her eyes closed. She tuned back into the world when she heard cheering.

"Looks like I missed the whole set." She sighed, wondering who might've won, when she was answered with her cousin making a proclamation and being cut short, making her laugh.

She took a deep breath and stood on shaky legs. Grabbing the railing once more and looking down at the court— for a minute or two—with a wistful smile, before turning and making her way down to meet with the guys.