Chapter Text
Summer 2012
The training camp at the Shinzen High School in a suburb of Saitama always felt a bit like a school trip, Kuroo thought. It was like herding cats that had gone wild and some of Nekoma's kittens seemed to take the saying too literally. It was really exhausting after a full day of training - and training days with Bokuto were always even more exhausting. Kuroo liked to play against or with him, he also liked to get involved in the other boy's nonsense, but god damn, the Fukurodani captain could be such a pain in the arse sometimes.
After dinner, Kenma had once again semi-isolated and immersed himself in his handheld console. At least he hadn't completely shut himself away and was basically approachable, which Kuroo counted as positive. In the meantime, Lev had once again put Yaku on the spot. It would be really helpful if their new middle blocker would waste one or two thoughts before he started talking. Anyhow, it was no secret that Yaku's short height shouldn't be mentioned. To make matters worse, Yamamoto was completely over-excited. Kuroo had already told their ace to shut up, after all, they weren't alone in the accommodation. His lecture had an effect for exactly two minutes. After a long day, the rest of the team was also a little agitated and generally restless.
Finally, Kuroo had had enough and put Kai in charge as vice-captain. He had headed outside, saying that he needed to get some fresh air. Otherwise, it was not unlikely that their team wouldn't be complete tomorrow, although as captain, he had no desire to wring the neck of one of his slobs on the very first evening of the week-long camp.
He had been strolling around the quiet grounds for a while now. It was still warm, but no longer as oppressive as during the day. Moths buzzed around the cones of light from the lanterns and looked like flickering clouds. Even here in Saitama, stars were rare in the dark sky, but you could hear the cicadas chirping at every corner. He had taken a few deep breaths to clear his head. Another five minutes and then he would go back. Hopefully everyone would have calmed down a bit by then. They would need their energy for the rest of the camp.
A low rumble and a disappointed “oh no” snapped him out of his thoughts. Puzzled - Who else was out here besides him? - he walked in the direction from which he had heard the noises. He turned the corner and saw a young girl with blonde, chin-length hair standing in front of the beverage machine. On the left side of her head she had her hair tied back in a small plait with a pink star clip. She was wearing black trousers and a white T-shirt. This was the new manager of Karasuno. Yamamoto had almost freaked out when he had seen her. He thought it was incredibly unfair that the crows now not only had a beautiful manager, but also a second incredibly cute one.
Kuroo approached her and offered, “Do you need help?”
Startled, the small manager, who measured just under 1.50 metres, flinched and jumped back. Her light brown eyes widened and she looked up at him like a frightened deer. Kuroo stepped further into the cone of light from the lamp hanging diagonally above them. A guy almost 1.90 metres tall in the semi-darkness was perhaps not so confidence-inspiring, he thought. At the moment, she stood petrified in front of him and pressed her folded hands nervously against her chest, but she looked as if she was about to flee at any second.
“You're Karasuno's new manager, aren't you?” he asked in a friendly tone. “I saw you in the sports hall today. Kuroo Tetsurou,” he introduced himself. “I'm...”
“The captain of Nekoma,” she whispered and seemed to relax a little. She bowed and replied, “My name is Yachi Hitoka.”
Kuroo's lips formed a mild smile and as Yachi straightened up again, a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.
“What are you still doing out here, Yachi?” the sportsman enquired.
“I... I just wanted to get a bottle of green tea and...” Her eyes flitted to the vending machine. “There was no more tea in the vending machine inside the building. I saw that there was another one here this afternoon, but...” Kuroo nodded at her when she hesitated. Yachi narrowed her eyes. “Something's stuck. The bottle won't come out,” she quietly explained her dilemma, which she obviously didn't want to bother him with, because she quickly followed up with, “But it's okay.”
That didn't sound like an unsolvable problem, so Kuroo looked at the machine thoughtfully for a moment. Then he finally squatted down and examined the dispensing compartment. The bottle was stuck just in front of the flap. But the angle was too steep, he couldn't even reach it with his fingertips. He stood up again, put his hands on the machine and shook it gently. He didn't want to make too much noise - after all, it was already late - or accidentally damage the machine. So he left it at that and hit it a few times with his flat hand. Yachi watched him shyly, but also curiously.
Kuroo finally dug a few coins out of the pocket of his training trousers. Yachi continued to watch him.
“Maybe it will come loose if a second bottle falls on it,” he explained his idea to her with a wink, inserted the cash and pressed the button for the chilled tea. It rumbled, there was a dull bang as plastic hit plastic and finally a single bottle rolled into the dispensing tray. Now the other one was stuck. Kuroo bent down and handed the blonde girl the drink.
“I'll let them know so that it can be fixed tomorrow,” he assured her. “Something must be jammed. Is everything okay?” he asked when he noticed how she was staring at the bottle in her hands, depressed.
“I can't give you the money back. I only carried the amount for one bottle with me,” she explained. She seemed uncomfortable.
“Nonsense. You don't have to give me back the 100 yen. Besides, you only got one bottle,” Kuroo waved it off.
“I do,” she replied emphatically, now looking at him seriously. “I want to give it back to you, no matter how small the amount.”
Somewhat taken by surprise - he hadn't expected her to be so persistent - the volleyball player scrutinised her briefly, then he thought of something and suggested: “If you insist,” she nodded vigorously and faltered when Kuroo leaned down towards her and came closer, “then you can buy me a bottle of tea tomorrow.”
“O-okay,” she agreed cautiously and the blush on her cheeks intensified as the black-haired teen grinned mischievously at her in response. Yamamoto was right, she really was too cute. He kind of liked her.
“Well, same spot tomorrow evening at the same time,” he decided. “Come on, I'll walk you back to the accommodation.” He had to go in the same direction anyway and even if it was barely 250 metres, he wouldn't just leave her standing outside alone in the dark. That wasn't polite.
Yachi felt a little shaky when she returned to the room she shared with the older Karasuno manager, Shimizu Kiyoko. The third-year student was already lying on her futon, going over a few notes. The schedule for the training week with all the important organisational points.
“Is everything all right?” Shimizu enquired after Yachi had sat down cross-legged on her futon and seemed somewhat absent-minded. “You look kind of drained.”
“Oh, it's all right,” she reassured the other girl and ran a hand over her face. Her cheeks were all warm. “It was just exhausting today. The long journey, all the new people and almost everyone is so huge.” Yachi felt really dizzy again just thinking about how lost she seemed among all the tall athletes. “And then the beverage machine just caused problems too,” she concluded, finally taking a sip of the cooled tea.
“Don't let yourself get so stressed,” Shimizu tried to calm her and gave her a good-natured smile. “I'm sure the boys are all nice, whether they're 1.60 or two metres tall."
Yachi nodded. Shimizu was right, of course, but strangers made her nervous and Kuroo had scared her earlier, even if that hadn't been his intention. She finally changed her clothes and lay down. Shimizu decided it was enough for today, took off her glasses and switched off the light. The girls wished each other a good night, but Yachi lay awake for quite a while longer. A pair of hazel cat eyes had burnt themselves deep into her mind.