Kissing For Dummies

“Alright, bring it in!” The heavy breathing in the gym proved how hard the coach of Karasuno pushed his volleyball players. All around the court, hunched over bodies and kneeling players tried to catch their breath, some leaning against each other to keep themselves up.

“One more toss!” Only one mop of orange still sprung with energy that was almost demonic in nature. His jumping was enough to irritate the tall dark-haired setter next to him, who let out a weak growl before he yanked on the collar of his teammate.

“Idiot Hinata!” Even with the huff of annoyance, the setter looked well beyond tired. Hinata glared down at his partner, puffing his cheeks out before he placed his hands onto his hips.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired, bakayama,” Hinata teased, snickering when he avoided a few swipes from the larger hands.

“Knock it off, you two.” A harsh command from the captain of the team made the two grumble but stop, Daichi letting out a long sigh before pushing up onto his feet. He took a glance at his exhausted teammates, a weak smile etching itself onto his lips before turning his attention to the coach. “If we keep this pace up, we’ll be in good shape for the next competition.”

“Or dead.” Tanaka’s groan from where he laid sprawled out on the court was followed by Noya’s weak laugh next to him.

“Maybe we should just send coach to the other team’s gyms and have him kill them with practice.” The pair snickered at the image, though the blonde haired first year only tsked in annoyance.

“You two are idiots.” Tsukishima ignored the heated glares from Noya and Tanaka to shove his hands off his knees, walking toward their smirking coach. Yamaguchi gave a helping hand to Sugawara before following his scowling best friend. The team slowly filed in to form a semicircle in front of Ukai.

“I guess we should end practice for today, seeing as half of you can’t even walk.” Ukai sent a pointed glare to Tanaka and Noya, both army crawling over the dirty court to plop into the circle. Hinata laughed while he watched his senpais, Daichi rubbing his temple in slight embarrassment. Ukai shook his head, then spoke to the group. “Your recieves are getting better, and the quick attack between Hinata and Kageyama is just as effective as ever. I’d like to work some more of group blocking next practice, and our serves could use some practice.”

“Yes!” The group chanted together, Ukai nodding once to show his approval before he glanced to the teacher standing beside him.

“Alright, that’s all I’ve got for today. Takeda’s got the floor now.” A hard slap to the back of Takeda made the smaller man stumble, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose from the movement. He coughed as he shoved his spectacles back up, coughing a few times before he glanced down to the clipboard in his hands.

“Ri-Right! As you all may know, the town festival will be held this weekend in honor of our town’s anniversary.”

The perk of energy in the tired teenagers was apparent from how they rose to their feet, Hinata seeming to vibrate in his spot in excitement. The only thing keeping the middle blocker in his shoes was Kageyama’s strong hand on his shoulder. Even the condescending glare from the setter couldn’t dampen Hinata’s mood. The Karasuno festival was one of his favorite times of the year. Even though he hadn’t gone to school in the town, he knew about the big celebration since he was a child. His mom used to bring him and his sister to the festival every year to enjoy the little booths and watch the annual fireworks. This was the first time that he’d be able to wear his sports jacket into the festival, and though it didn’t seem as impressive to Kageyama or Tsukishima, the little spiker was more than ready.

“So many pretty girls,” Tanaka cooed, Noya laughing as he punched his arm.

“I’ve always enjoyed the fireworks,” Asahi said, jumping a bit when Daichi laughed and slung an arm around his friend’s shoulder.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” The team laughed together when Asahi blushed, his hands fiddling in front of him. Yamaguchi tried not to show his interest in the event when he glanced to his best friend, the blond only sighing and glancing out the gym’s high windows.

“Why do I feel there’s something more to this announcement?” At the blocker’s muttering, Takeda’s smile brightened.

“Good observation. Though we encourage you to enjoy the festivities, each club in the school is required to run one stand for the day in order to promote fellow students to the festival,” Takeda explained, Hinata blinking once before he tilted his head to the side.

“Do we have to bake stuff? I’m not allowed to touch the stove.” Kageyama snorted at Hinata’s honesty, knowing exactly why the shorter boy was banned from the kitchen. It still amazed him how something a simple as making macaroni and cheese nearly burned down Hinata’s kitchen. His mother had been home to save the day, but the fear of what could have happened was enough to keep Hinata away from anything that required cooking.

“Don’t worry; I’m sure the King can get some of his servants to cook for his queen.” The snarky comment from Tsukishima made Yamaguchi laugh, both Hinata and Kageyama sending a growl toward the smirking boy.

“Let’s pay attention to our teacher, okay?” Sugawara’s sweet voice contradicted the harsh tug on Tsukishima’s ear, making him wince before the blocker was quick to swallow his complaint. While Daichi was the commander to be feared, the vice captain was no pushover.

“You won’t have to do anything until the festival; Yachi and Kiyoko are working on decorating the booth and getting any materials we’ll need.” Takeda’s smile wavered a bit as he glanced back down to his clipboard, his eyes seeming to re-read a sentence a few times. Taking another slow breath, Takeda looked back to his team and continued. “Every year, the booths are rotated through the clubs to be fair. As some of you may remember, last year the volleyball team was given the Kingya Sukui station.”

“I hate that game!” Crossing his arms to show his disdain, Noya scrunched his nose. “I can never get a fish.”

“Luckily Asahi is so gentle; he caught more than anyone else.” Sugawara’s compliment revealed the sheepish smile of the spiker, Noya’s grin returning as he elbowed his friend’s side.

“Catch me another one this year and I’ll win one of those stuffed animals at the gun shooting game.”

“Alright,” Asahi agreed, Hinata whining as he squirmed under Kageyama’s hand.

“All this talk about the festival is making me want food!”

“That’s pretty normal for you when you’re not obsessing over volleyball,” Daichi supplied, another set of laughs spreading through the team at Hinata’s expense. Once the team had settled down, the captain turned to the teacher. “So what booth are we in charge of this year?”

“Oh man, this is going to be funny.” Takeda jumped when Ukai’s voice curled around his ear, the taller man peeking at the paper on Takeda’s clipboard. With a grin that didn’t sit well with the teens, the coach let out a hearty laugh before he spoke. “You’ll be participating in the same booth that the little giant did for his first year of school.”

“What?! No way!” Hinata’s burst of excitement nearly shook the gymnasium as he grinned, a reaction that was all too common for the teenager when hearing of his idol.

“Well, what is it?” Tanaka asked, Takeda fixing his glasses once again.

“It’s Karasuno’s Kissing booth.” The silence that spread through the gym was quick, every pair of adolescence eyes wide in shock. Takeda took a quick look back to Ukai, who nodded his head with a smug smile. Worried that he had broken the team with the announcement, Takeda tried to ease the silence away with a smile. “Normally this isn’t something the school would allow, but since it’s a tradition for the festival, and one of the more popular attractions for the students, it’s been approved again this year. If there’s a serious protest-”

“This is awesome!!” The loud roar from Noya and Tanaka shocked the teacher, who watched at the two clasped their hands together and jumped around the gym. Hinata was quick to shrug off Kageyama’s tense hand to join his senpais, jumping onto Noya’s back with a giant grin.

“What the hell…” Tsukishima shook his head once before he shoved his hands into his short’s pockets, trying to show his indifference. Yamaguchi, however, didn’t follow suit, a look of terror crossing his face as he stepped forward.

“Why was that given to a bunch of guys?!”

“What’s wrong with guys running a kissing booth?” Sugawara asked, seeming to accept the news much easier than some of his other teammates. Daichi looked displeased with the decision, though he would never speak up against his coach or teacher. Asahi didn’t look quite comfortable, yet he struggled with most social interactions that didn’t involve his teammates. The three rambunctious teenagers now dancing around the court were quite open with their opinion, making Sugawara laugh as he watched on amused. Some of the other teammates didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it, Ennoshita conversing with Kinoshita and Narita with a smile. Kageyama’s glare at the clipboard in Takeda’s hand made the teacher fear it would catch on fire, while Tsukishima looked as bored as ever.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just how the rotation has worked out this year. You’ll only be asked to participate for two hours at a time, and you’ll be put into pairs to help ease the awkwardness.” Hoping to calm down his less willing students, Takeda flipped the page to read some more information off his itinerary. “The booth will open at eight in the morning, and will be open until eight at night. Everyone will have time to enjoy the festival, as well as see the fireworks.”

“Can we pick our time slots?” The odd question from the tall blocker made Takeda nod, holding up a sign up sheet.

“That’s why I wanted to gather all of you here today. I would like to ask Daichi and Sugawara to pair you off, first.” Both third years looked to their teacher in surprise, Takeda quick with his reasoning. “You know your teammates chemistry best; I’d like you to pick pairs so that it’ll be a fun and comfortable experience for everyone involved.”

“I could only imagine what a kissing booth with Kageyama and Tsukishima would look like,” Tanaka teased, Noya covering his laugh with his hands when both first years sent a glare toward their older teammates. Tanaka whistled as he looked away from the glares, Hinata falling off of Noya’s back from how hard he was laughing.

“Would there even be a booth left?” Asahi’s quiet question to Sugawara didn’t miss the troubled pair, who then turned their sharp eyes on the ace. He let out a quick laugh to prove he was only joking, though he took a step closer to the vice captain.

“Everyone settle down,” Daichi scolded, gaining the attention of most of his teammates. Hinata choked on his giggles until Daichi snatched the back of his shirt, lifting him into the air. “I’ll keep our pairs simple. Hinata and Kageyama will work as a team just like on the court.”

“Awesome!” Hinata shouted, Kageyama’s eye twitching as he dropped his head.

“Awesome.” Yet from the dry tone he used, it was quite obvious he didn’t have the same high hopes as Hinata.The ball of energy hanging in Daichi’s hold frowned at Kageyama’s reaction, but didn’t dwell on it as Daichi dropped him back to his feet.

“Tanaka will work with Ennoshita, Noya with Ahasi, and Tsukishima with Yamaguchi. Kinoshita and Narita will be a pair, and I’ll work with Sugawara. Everyone understand?” Daichi glanced around the court, as if expecting his teammates to protest. When everyone seemed comfortable in their pairing (or just didn’t care, as was the case with Tsukishima), Daichi looked back to Ukai and Takeda with a bow. “Then I leave it up to you two to schedule our time slots.”

“Thank you for your hard work!” Takeda was instant with his reply, Ukai chuckling as he ruffled the teacher’s hair with a grin.

“Stop acting like this is such a burden for these guys.”

“Says the guy not doing anything.” Tsukishima’s dry comment while he signed up for a slot with Takeda made Yamaguchi snicker.

“Nice one, Tsukki!” Daichi let out a long groan before he rubbed his palms into his eyes.

“How did I get such insolent first years?”

“Must be your good luck,” Suga replied with a smile, rubbing Daichi’s shoulder in sympathy. The two watched the ruckus increase when Hinata bounded over to Kageyama, his shouts of ‘let’s practice some more’ making the taller teen smirk. Their team was ready to take on any task, whether it be all star volleyball teams or a simple festival attraction.

Nobody knew the consequences for taking on this challenge. Not Ukai, who was shouting at the backs of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi as they walked toward the locker room. Not Takeda, signing Noya and Tanaka’s groups up for their kissing slots. Not Daichi, who had snagged Hinata and Kageyama under each arm to break up their daily fight. Not even Suga, who watched his volleyball family with a motherly smile. Nobody knew how the bonds of the Karasuno volleyball team would soon be changed.

But it all could be blamed on one small kissing booth.