A/N: Hey everyone, if you like this story please review and let me know! Thanks to those that have favorite/alerted it. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu nor any of the characters/dialogue you recognize.

By the time Kuroo and Kenma made it to school in time for the new term, Kuroo as a third year and Kenma as a second, the bond had fully formed between the two. Kuroo was right – Kenma was no longer upset about the constant pull in his chest. However, he was anxious. Anxious because he now had to actually had to pay attention to people outside of the volleyball team. He had known after practice the first day that he didn't feel drawn to anyone on the team. Kuroo had looked at him questioningly after practice and seemed to wilt slightly when Kenma shook his head. He had asked Kuroo if there was anyone he thought Kenma should…look into, thinking that maybe Kuroo had maybe felt drawn to someone else. It wasn't odd for an alpha to be pulled toward someone other than an omega. When that happened, the omega traditionally looked at the two as a pair. It was what his mother had hinted at, if Kenma hadn't been an omega. But Kuroo had denied it, saying that he never really contemplated anyone outside of Kenma.

So, here was Kenma, sitting in his class and letting his eyes slide from one person to another. After a good week, he was convinced that no one in his class would be a good fit in his circle. He had noticed more than one alpha eye him questioningly and Kuroo had said there were even some alpha's and beta's that had questioned him, but so far Kenma hadn't perused any of them. And he didn't think he would.

"There's no need to rush," Kuroo told him on night a month into the new term. "The first pairing is usually the ones that happen somewhat quickly. It isn't weird for the circle to take up to a decade to form completely."

Kenma turned to his mate with a glare. Logically, he knew that was true. But he felt something in his chest twist at the thought. Kuroo merely laughed, wrapping him into a hug. "I'm sure we'll find them soon enough. For now, let's just focus on us and volleyball."

Kenma rolled his eyes. Of course volleyball was on the top of Kuroo's list – especially now that he found out they were having a practice match against Karasuno. He was fixated on the "battle of the garbage dump" or whatever it was called. Kenma would do whatever he could to make that happen. Kuroo wanted it badly and Kenma didn't want his mate to graduate without it happening.

Coach set up a group of practice matches before the match with Karasuno. After the first school they played against, Kenma somehow found himself separated from the group. He let out a sigh and wearily sat down, pulling out his DS. He might as well do something as he waited. Kuroo would be along shortly, he could already feel him panicking and then following the bond. He just had to wait.

He glanced up quickly once he heard footsteps, but they belonged to someone much smaller than Kuroo. The boy seemed around Kenma's age and even seemed to be shorter than Kenma himself. He had a fiery head of hair and wide eyes that stared at Kenma the moment he noticed him. For the first time, Kenma felt his omega prick up slightly in interest. Kenma fought back a groan. His omega was interested in this kid?

The boy bound over to him, smiling brightly. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Um," Kenma looked away from the boy, not exactly sure what he should be doing. "I – uh – got lost."

"You're from out of town?"

Kenma nodded, still playing his game. What should he do? He couldn't believe the boy next to him was an alpha. He couldn't believe his omega was taking a slight interest. He wasn't sure what to do. "Is that thing fun?!" The boy asked, leaning down beside Kenma and staring at him with wide eyes.

Kenma jerked back slightly at the sudden closeness. "Uh, not really," he answered as he turned his attention back to the game. "I'm just passing time."

"Oh," the boy answered. There was silence for just a second and Kenma wracked his brain, trying to find something to say, when the boy shot straight up with a little yell. Kenma stared at him, eyes wide. "Are you a volleyball player?"

"Huh?"

"Those are volleyball shoes!" He said, pointing toward Kenma's open bag.

"Oh…yeah," another volleyball player? Really?

"I'm in volleyball club, too! I'm Hinata Shoyo!"

Kenma winced. He was always so bad at this. "Kozume…" he muttered.

"Kozume? That's your name?"

"Kozume…Kenma," he said, glancing up at the alpha momentarily before looking at the ground.

"So you're Kenma. Are you in high school?"

"Yeah."

"What year? I'm a first-year."

"I'm a second year," Kenma muttered, watching in slight amusement as Hinata began to freak out over his words.

"Crap! You're older than me. Pardon me!"

"Don't worry," Kenma said, wrinkling up his nose. "I don't really like that kind of status stuff in athletics."

"Really?" Hinata asked, seemingly relieved. "Um, do you like volleyball?"

Why is it that every person he knows only wants to talk about volleyball? "Not particularly," he answered, turning his attention back to his game. "I just kind of do it. I don't dislike it, but I don't like getting tired. But my friends play and they probably can't without me." Nekoma really should get another setter.

"I think it'll be more fun if you get to like it," Hinata said, having moved to lean against the fence behind Kenma.

"I don't care," Kenma answered, tired of the subject. "It's only while I'm in high school."

"What position do you play?" Came the next question.

"Setter."

There was amazement in Hinata's voice, "Really? You're a little different from our setter. Our setter is a little more…intense." Kenma turned his head to see Hinata mimicking a monster as he talked about his setter. "I'm a middle blocker."

"Wow…" Kenma replied, mentally comparing the boy in front of him to Kuroo.

"Do you think it's kind of weird?" Hinata asked with a smile. "It's a position for tall guys."

"I guess…but I don't think that," Kenma answered after a moment. Sure, Hinata was smaller than the other middle blockers he had seen. But did that truly matter? "I get told stuff a lot when I go to matches. They say, 'the setter position is for the most talented player, why him?'. Because I'm not very athletic to begin with."

"Oh," Hintata sounded as if he was in awe. "Is your team good?"

"Well, I heard we were good a long time ago," Kenma answered. "But we fell into decline. Recently though…I think we're pretty good," he added with a smirk toward the other boy.

Hinata blinked in surprise. "What's your school?"

Before Kenma could answer, he felt the bond pull tight. "Kenma!" Kuroo said, his voice instantly soothing Kenma.

"Oh, Kuro," Kenma greeted, placing his game back in his pocket and standing. He moved instantly toward his mate, turning one last time to Hinata and waving, "See you soon, Shoyo."

Hinata looked after him in confusion but Kenma turned and began to follow behind and irritated Kuroo. "Don't wander off by yourself!" Kuroo chastised.

"Sorry."

"We're strangers to this place, you have to be careful!"

"I know. Sorry," he said once again as they continued to walk.

Kuroo just let out a deep sigh, "You really freaked be out. One second you were there and the next you were gone."

"I just stopped for a minute," Kenma muttered.

The two walked in silence, Kuroo eventually sliding his arm around Kenma's shoulders. "Who was your friend?"

"Hinata Shoyo. I think he was lost too," Kenma answered, thinking back to the interest his omega showed the younger boy. "Karasuno middle blocker."

Kuroo stopped and turned his head toward Kenma with his mouth hanging open. Then he began to laugh. "Trust you to run into a middle blocker from our rival school! And that kid? A middle blocker?"

"Be nice, Kuro," Kenma muttered. Kuroo apologized but continued laughing as he led the way back to the school they were playing that day.

The match was finished quickly, with Nekoma winning the set, and the boy retired back to their assigned quarters of the night. Kenma lounged on his mat and pulled out his DS as others began to joke about the matches that day. Kuroo was beside him, reading something that Kenma didn't care to look at. Kenma tuned them out, knowing most of their conversation wasn't going to do anything but annoy him. He only began to listen when he heard a familiar name.

"About our destined rival, Karasuno," Yamamoto said seriously. "So they have a female manager or not?"

Of course that was what was worrying him.

"I bet a yakisoba bread that they don't," he continued.

"What? I'd prefer that they did, so my bet is that they do!"

"Me too!"

"Jackasses!" Yamamoto responded. "We don't, so won't it make you mad if they do?"

"Uh…"

"What if they have a beauty for a manager? I won't ever forgive them!" he cried out. "And if that's the case, you'd better watch out, Karasuno!" Kenma turned his attention to his mate, feeling the irritation through the bond. He watched as Kuroo's hands tightened on his papers.

"Shut up, Yamamoto!" Kuroo finally snapped.

Yamamoto ignored him, instead turning to face the room once again. "Hey, Kenma, what do you think?"

"I don't care either way," Kenma replied. He had come to that conclusion months ago. No matter the second gender, he just wasn't interested in females.

"I knew you'd say that," Yamamoto huffed.

Kuroo rolled his eyes but turned to Kenma with a small smirk. Kenma knew what he was thinking. He probably took this as some sort of progress.

"But," Kenma continued, receiving surprised glances as he continued the conversation. "I'm kind of looking forward to it. Our match against Karasuno."

Every eye in the room stared at him in shock. "Kenma, who has no will to play, is looking forward to a match?" Yamamoto exclaimed, jumping back from him like an idiot.

" Yamamoto, you seem full of energy," Kuroo cut in, danger ringing in his voice. "You can practice double the amount if you'd like."

"S-sorry," Yamamoto muttered.

Kenma turned his attention back to his game, but Kuroo slid closer to him. "Something you want to tell me, Kitten?"

Kenma sighed, "I felt a kind of…pull toward Shoyo," Kenma admitted.

Kuroo's hands were on his shoulders instantly, forcing Kenma's attention away from the game. "The shrimp? Why are you telling me now?"

Kenma shrugged, "It isn't like it's a sure thing. I mean, I just met him. He's just…a possibility, I guess."

Kuroo's arm slid around Kenma's shoulders, pulling him tightly against Kuroo's warm chest. "Well, I guess we'll just have to pay him a little more attention during the match tomorrow. But, even if you don't think he'll be a good fit, just the fact your drawn to him means that the two of you will get along. Don't worry about it too much."

Kenma nodded, then tension in his shoulders easing. "Now," Kuroo said, his hand suddenly there and pulling Kenma's game away. "Time for bed."

Kenma avoided Hinata's gaze the next day as the two schools stood in front of each other. He knew Hinata was surprised to see him. He didn't know how to respond to the blatant shock on the other boys face. Kenma managed to escape, making his way toward the gym, only to stop when he heard said boy calling his name. He turned to see Hinata running toward him, "Hey, you're with Nekoma?"

"Yeah."

Hinata wilted, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you didn't ask…" Kenma responded, knowing he was being difficult.

"You said 'see you soon'!" Hinata accused, "You must have known something!"

"Your t-shirt said Karasuno High School," Kenma responded.

Hinata blanked and Kenma turned as Yamamoto stepped up to them. He mentally sighed as he saw the boys 'thug' face. "Hey, hey, hey. What business might you have with our setter?" He demanded.

"It's fine," Kenma told the other boy as Hinata took a startled step back from the other alpha.

"S-sorry!" Hinata muttered, taking another step back. He ran straight into the bald player from Karasuno.

"You too," baldy commented. "What business might you have with our first year?"

Kenma watched, stoic, as Yamamoto and baldy began to argue. Kenma watched with interest as a grey haired boy from Karasuno told the bald guy to stop, and only seconds later Yaku did the same to Yamamoto. The two boys began to talk to one another, both apologizing for how their teammate acted.

Kenma jumped as Yamamoto began to scream, his gaze fixated on Karasuno's female manager. Kenma let out a sigh, taking a step away from his teammate. He really didn't want to deal with this. His back stiffened suddenly and he turned around, only to see a tall, dark haired boy talking with Hinata and glaring at him. Kenma blinked, suddenly wondering if the dark haired boy was an omega. Was that why he was being glared at? Did this boy have some sort of claim on Hinata?

Instincively, Kenma moved into the gym and looked for Kuroo, wanting to step behind the much taller boy, but stopped when he saw Kuroo and Karasuno's captain doing some sort of showdown a few steps away.

Kenma moved to start warming up, knowing Kuroo would yell at him if he didn't stretch properly. Soon enough, it was time for the pre-game talk and Kenma sighed deeply, knowing what was coming. Every member put their fists in the circle and Kuroo began to speak. "We're like the blood in our veins," he began. "We must flow without stopping. Keep the oxygen moving and your mind working. Let's do this!"

"Can you stop doing those speeches?" Kenma muttered to his mate as they walked onto the court. "They're embarrassing."

"Who cares?" Yamamoto cut in as he walked passed. "They help set the mood."

Kuroo smirked as yet another person put in their own thoughts, "They're supposed to be thought-provoking."

"And that's that," Kuroo said with triumph. Kenma sighed yet again and moved into position.

The two teams lined up and Kenma looked toward a clearly excited Hinata. However, his eyes had barely touched on the other boy when he felt his omega jump in his chest and his eyes instantly flickered to the person beside the redhead. The boy was tall – taller than Kuroo – with blond hair and glasses. Kenma felt his own eyes widen as they landed on the blond. What – what was this?

The blond clearly didn't notice his attention. He was too busy glaring first at the floor, then at people around him. Kenma forced himself to pull his own eyes away, frantically looking down the line toward Kuroo. Kuroo, who had been studying the team in front of him, obviously felt Kenma's panic and turned his head to look at him. Kenma flickered his eyes toward the blond but Kuroo only followed his gaze, clearly confused. Kenma realized that Kuroo must have thought Kenma was looking at Hinata.

Kenma moved into position his brain moving rapidly. He didn't feel a pull toward one Karasuno member, but two? And toward the blond even more than Shoyo? He swallowed hard, forcing himself to put it from his mind. He could deal with it after the game – Kuroo would be upset if he was distracted enough to make them lose. "Shoyo," Kenma called, not looking up. He didn't want to see the blond again. Not now. "I told you I thought we were a strong team, but it's not me that's strong," he flickered his eyes toward the redhead slowly. "It's everyone together."

Kenma served the ball and the game began. In the first minute, Karasuno had scored. Hinata had scored. The ball had flown past Nekoma's defenses before they even knew what happened. "That was amazing," Kenma said, walking toward the net. He needed some sort of explanation. Shoyo hadn't even been looking at the ball…Kenma could have sworn the boy's eyes had actually been closed. "I'm shocked."

Hinata looked flattered and Kenma noticed the flush on his face. If Hinata had closed his eyes, if he had just swung, then that setter had…

Karasuno was good, unpolished and not quite working as a team yet, but they had potential. And Hinata… Kenma saw it. Hinata jumped. Hinata ran. Hinata swung whether the ball was tossed to him or not. Hinata didn't even know when he was going to get the ball. Hinata swung and that setter was the one that controlled it.

Coach called a time and Kenma followed his teammates toward the coach. "Their libero and spikers are good," coach admitted. "The most ridiculous of all is that setter. He's a monster. He tosses with incredible speed to the highest spiking point. His control is as if he's threading a needle. So he's a genius. We can't help that. But, a genius in their midst doesn't guarantee victory." His eyes slid toward Kenma, obviously waiting to see what the boy had picked up.

Kenma's own eyes slid to the side. "If Shoyo is the heart of their offense… all we need to do is stop Shoyo."

"Shoyo?"

"The speedy #10," Kuroo answered for Kenma.

"That #9 and #10 are, in a manner of speaking, an oni and his iron club," coach cut in. "For starters, we steal the oni's iron club."

"We can't let Shoyo move around so much," Kenma said slowly, "From what I've seen, Shoyo simply dashes to where there are no blockers. So if the blockers move to one side, he'll move to the opposite side. Then all we have to do is chase him. I think anyone would be shocked the first time they saw that attack. But even if we can't clear the first round of the game…as they keep repeating the same move…we'll get used to it."

The team nodded and moved back toward the court, ready to implement their plan. It was working well and the score was closing. It wasn't until later, when Kenma was standing across from the blond, that Kenma realized they might have another issue. This guy is intelligent, Kenma thought, glancing at him from the corner of his eye and that jumping feeling in his chest returned. He observes and thinks carefully. The complete opposite of Shoyo. The blond noticed him looking and Kenma jerked his gaze away.

On the next move, Kenma purposely looked to the right before tossing to the left. He saw the blond had moved to the right. I knew it. He's watching me. He also responds quickly… With those few thoughts, Kenma felt himself being drawn to the blond even more. To a person he had never spoken to. Kenma quickly shook the thoughts off and continued with the game.

By the end of the match, Kenma was completely worn out. Playing always exhausted him, but now, with him trying to avoid the blond and the setter that kept staring at him, Kenma really just wanted to curl up with Kuroo and sleep.

And then Shoyo asked for another game.

And another.

And another.

By the time they finally called it quits, Kenma wasn't the only one exhausted. He saw most of the players on both teams, minus Shoyo, lying on the ground, to exhausted to move. Finally, the two teams huddled up to talk to the coaches and then they began to clean up.

Kuroo snuck up behind him as he was pushing the ball cart, "Okay?" Kuroo asked, slowly pulling him against his chest. Kenma frowned and pulled away.

"Too hot," he muttered, earning himself a smirk.

"So, what do you think about shorty?" Kuroo asked quietly.

Kenma shook his head. As the game continued, his omega had slowly lost interest in Shoyo. He felt a fondness for the boy, but that was all. Kuroo gave him a small smile, "Okay. Remember, you two can be friends."

He started to walk away but Kenma moved, slowly holding Kuroo's jersey. Kuroo stopped instantly, "What is it?" He asked gently.

Kenma didn't look up from the floor, "I – stopped feeling it when…when I saw someone else."

Kuroo turned instantly, leaning down to make Kenma look at him. "And?"

Kenma shrugged, "Still there."

"Hmm," Kuroo stood, turning to face the teams that were still cleaning, "Which one?"

"Blond," Kenma muttered, turning on his heel and continuing on his way. He would let Kuroo deal with it for now. They could talk later.

He returned to the gym only to freeze when he felt a cold aura directed toward him. His eyes darted to the side, only to see Karasuno's setter staring at him and muttering to himself. Kenma watched him from the corner of his eye, suddenly remembering Shoyo's monster impression. He was talking about him, Kenma realized. He instantly began to run, figuring it was better than being under that intimidating gaze.

He moved to Kuroo but froze when he saw his mate talking to the blond. The blond moved away and Kuroo stood there, staring after him with a smirk. Great. Who knew what Kuroo had said. Kenma might love him, but he didn't make the best first impression.

Not that Kenma made a better one.

Kuroo saw him looking and quickly made his way over. "You sure have a gift, Kitten," he said as he came to stand in front of him.

"Hmm?"

"That one is a handful," Kuroo said with a mischievous grin. "I think I could enjoy this."

Great. He wasn't sure if 'gift' was the word he would use.