Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Summary: With each passing day he found himself liking her more and more. Too bad she was already taken by his best friend.
Pairing: Kageyama/Kagome
Suggested Listening: Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld
Touch of Black
Part I: For Want of a Paper
Kageyama dropped his head onto his desk. This was a nightmare. He'd managed to get into college but his grades kept slipping the further into the semester he got.
"That bad, huh?" Sugawara glanced over his graded paper. His friend cringed at the sight of the red ink that marred more than seventy-five percent of the pages. "…Oh." He set it down, scratching at his chin thoughtfully.
"I'm doomed." The younger setter muttered into the surface of his desk. "I have to rewrite the whole paper."
The light-haired male looked at him, "Have you tried the tutoring center?"
Kageyama threw a blistering glare at him, "They laughed at me."
Sugawara raised his brow at the comment, "Are you sure you weren't just feeling self conscious?"
His glare sharpened, "No. They literally laughed before handing my paper back." He thought back to that incident in particular. "I think one of them might've been crying, too." But he couldn't be sure though. They'd been curled up into a fetal position in the corner.
The older setter sighed, "Listen, I think you should try to find someone that can help you with this." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not very good at English or languages in general, so I'll see if a friend of mine can help." A wide grin broke across his lips, "She's really good with this kind of thing. Saved my grade a few times."
Kageyama lifted his head from the table. A red mark splotched over his forehead, "Seriously?"
Sugawara nodded, "Seriously."
Dark eyes narrowed at the older setter, "She won't laugh?"
His friend grinned, "She won't laugh. She never did with my attempts and those were pretty horrible."
Now he was interested, "You have her number or something?"
Sugawara threw a confident grin at him, "We're actually going to meet up a bit later today, so you can just tag along then."
"Okay." He nodded at him. "I'll go with you." What could it hurt? His grades were already in the single digits. It'd take a miracle to be able to pass at the end of this semester. This was only his first semester to boot! He couldn't fail out before he had a chance to get on the university's starting line up!
"Alright, I'll text you the time and place in a bit. I've got to go take care of something for now." Sugawara gave his shoulder a rough slap. "See you tonight!"
He dropped his head back onto the desk. Yeah, right. Now what was he supposed to do in his free time? His gaze slid to his textbook. He could study but his brain was already on the verge of bursting at the seams. His eyes slid down a bit further, landing on the volleyball perched on the corner of his bookcase.
What the hell. He needed to practice his serves anyways.
"Hey! Are you going to keep practicing or what?"
Kageyama paused at Sugawara's exasperated tone. The ball fell from its high arc, landing perfectly on top of his head before bouncing to the ground. Oh right, he agreed to meet his friend for a tutoring session. His expression dropped. Great, he'd just gotten into the groove of practice. Now he had to switch gears entirely. He grasped the ball and tucked it under his arm.
"Don't look like that. Come on, it won't be that bad." The third year pushed at his shoulders, forcing him to walk away from the court. Many of the other players from Karasuno had gone on to separate universities. It'd only been by a stroke of luck that he ended up at the same one as Sugawara. The older setter had quickly fallen into an old routine with him; their friendship becoming even stronger as a direct result.
Kageyama reluctantly dragged his feet back to the dorm. He needed to change before going to meet anyone at this rate. The September heat had him drenched in sweat.
Just as he was about to go inside, a young woman waved her arms emphatically at them.
"Koushi!" She called out, "Good timing!" Black hair fluttered behind her as she ran up to his friend. His eyes were drawn to the university's emblem sewn onto the space above the collar bone of her shirt. Did she play volleyball as well? It was definitely a sports jersey with the number four on her back. Was she on the Girl's Team starting line up?
He cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb. Had he ever even seen the Girl's Volleyball Team? They had completely separate gyms and coaches. He didn't recognize her at all.
"Thanks for coming, Kagome!" Sugawara smiled brightly. "This is my friend, Kageyama Tobio."
He froze as her eyes met his.
They were blue.
"He's going to need some help on his paper, if you don't mind." The older setter gave his back another rough pat. "He's just as clueless as me so you'll have your work cut out for you."
Kageyama scowled at him from over his shoulder, "You make me sound like a dumbass!"
His friend raised his hands placatingly, "Hey now, that's not what I meant! Anyways," He turned back to the young woman. "Think you're up to it?"
She grinned brightly at them, "Of course! I'm Higurashi Kagome by the way. It's nice to officially meet you."
He felt his face flush, "Likewise." His gaze moved to look at anything but the girl in front of him. She was cute.
"Alright! Let's get started!" She cheered excitedly. Just like that, they made their way up to his room and began to tackle the beast that was his paper.
Kagome looked between his work, Sugawara then to him. His stomach coiled nervously at the building tension.
She was going to laugh.
"Kageyama-kun," She met his eyes directly. "Would you mind showing me your prompt?"
He blinked. No laughter? No tears of soul wrenching sorrow?
Had he struck gold?
"Here," He passed the dog eared paper over to her. It was worse for wear since he'd accidentally left it in his pocket, but it was still legible.
Azure eyes read over the assignment entirely. Then she looked back to him.
"The good news is that you don't have to worry about length too much. Three pages is easy to hit so long as you keep on point." She pulled his pathetic excuse of a paper back towards him. "Grammar aside, your main problem is the fact that you divert away from your thesis easily."
She settled into a comfortable zone. His eyes watched with rapt interest. In the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of Sugawara leaning against the ledge of his window and smiling warmly.
This girl was incredibly smart. In a matter of minutes he'd not only comprehended the prompt in a way he hadn't before, but he also had a firm outline planned for the rewrite.
"Don't fret too much about your thesis from the get go," She pointed towards the beginning paragraph. "Sometimes it's easier to write out the body and conclusion first before you add in a thesis. That way you can configure it to make sure your essay stays on target." She looked at him curiously. "Will this help?"
Kageyama nodded vigorously, "Yes! Thank you!"
That time Kagome did laugh. It wasn't insulting though. In fact the sound was quite pleasant.
"Don't thank me. You should thank Koushi. He's the one who convinced me to come." She smiled brightly at his friend who was still standing in the corner. "Kept pestering me about it too until I agreed."
Sugawara threw a wide smile at her, "It didn't take much to convince you. Besides, you love this sort of thing." He glanced down at his watch. "Oh, speaking of, I should walk you back." The light-haired male offered his hand to the girl. "It's getting late and I know you have your own exams to study for."
She shook her head, "No don't worry. I'm just glad to help." Kagome gathered up the last of her belongings. She slid the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. "Just let me know if you need more help, okay?"
His back straightened, "Yes!"
Kageyama watched as the two left his dorm. He was still for several seconds. Then he looked at his paper. It was time to finish this thing.
A small smile pulled at his lips. Suddenly, he wasn't dreading it so much.
