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Suggested Listening: Crystals by Of Monster and Men

Chances, Chances

Chapter Four: Small Talk

Iwaizumi knew he had a temper. It worked to his advantage in most cases. With Oikawa's childish antics someone had to be able to hold the reigns and maintain control. His eyes darted towards the captain of Nekoma. In this situation, he realized that letting his temper get the best of him would be an unwise idea.

"I believe that we've met before." He kept his tone even. Kagome interlaced their fingers together loosely. A calming sensation spread through him at the simple touch. That alone was enough to keep his frustration from rising.

She'd warned him about this. In many of their conversations, she'd told him about Kuro and how their relationship was more akin to that of siblings. He could definitely see it in the way he'd teased her, however he still felt the slight twist in his stomach at the way the other male had held her somewhat intimately. Even if it had little meaning to them, it still bothered him a bit. He just wasn't going to let that show.

"Yeah, you were her stalker." There was a sly grin playing upon the other male's lips. He was attempting to goad him.

Iwaizumi smirked in return, "Sorry about that. My friend is a bit stupid sometimes and that was his bright idea." He wouldn't fall for it. He had enough confidence not to get flustered at this provocation. Kagome was with him, Oikawa was back in Miyagi and therefore he had nothing to fear. "Anyways we should probably get going. It's going to get busy soon with the lunch rush." The young man managed to redirect the conversation.

Kagome grinned brightly up at him, "That sounds great to me! The rest of the boys are going to meet up with us at the restaurant." She tugged him by his hand.

Iwaizumi followed after his girlfriend without hesitation. He didn't bother to look to see if Kuro was still behind them. He had more important things to focus on. Besides the guy was either going to like him or he wasn't. He just wasn't going to jump through ridiculous hoops to appease the other team's captain. His eyes settled on Kagome's hand. He just wanted this relationship to work without interference.

They made their way across the town without much incident. The young woman had led them exuberantly through the thick crowds that mottled the over sized streets. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't subtly awed by the massive amount of people. Miyagi was a small, somewhat mountainous prefecture to the north side of Japan. It took almost two hours by bullet train just to make it to Tokyo. The distance between them was vast but, his grip tightened around her slender fingers, he was willing to try.

"Didn't miss me too much, did you?" Kagome teased, swinging their interlocked hands between them. He felt his smile soften.

"Did I?" He pulled her closer to his side. "You tell me." Okay, so maybe he was being a bit obvious. Kuro trailed behind them. A small smirk pulled at the other male's lips. Just as expected, he wasn't perturbed by their antics. Which meant that he had little to feel jealous over.

"Not fair, Iwa-kun." Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't read minds."

"No? But I thought you could." He released her fingers in favor of wrapping his arm around the slope of her waist. It felt nice having her beside him like this. "You don't even want to guess?" He pressed his lips to her temple affectionately. They'd only been together for a few weeks. Officially this was perhaps their second date. Yet they'd already kissed once, quite vigorously he might add, and now she was letting him hold her so closely. Their relationship was moving faster than he'd anticipated.

"Hey love birds, we're here." Kuro jutted into the conversation. "Think you two can peel away from each other just long enough to grab a table? I've got to round up the troops." There was a joke hidden in that sentence somewhere.

Iwaizumi shrugged his shoulders, "We'll see about the peeling apart thing." His arm around her tightened its grip, "But we'll definitely grab that table." Kuro grinned at him before he took off, his cell phone in hand. With that they made their way inside the restaurant. It was busy as expected. People were packed into every corner possible and the loud chatter reverberated in his ears—making it hard for him to think clearly.

"We have fourteen with us." His girlfriend greeted the hostess politely. "Is it alright if we take the patio?" For just a second he thought he saw a flicker of relief over the other girl's face. Given how insane this rush was, he'd assumed that it'd take a good thirty minutes at least for another table inside to become available. Going outside not only made getting seated faster, but there'd be less of a wait time.

"Of course, right this way." She grabbed the necessary menus and tableware, leading them through the thick crowds to the outdoor patio. Iwaizumi pulled a chair out and paused until Kagome took the seat. Once she was settled he grabbed the spot beside her. It didn't take long for the rest of Nekoma's team to show up. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It was less about possessiveness for him and more because of the fact he simply wanted it there.

"Hey, what's this?!" A rough voice called out. A male with dyed blond hair and a scowl scrawled across his face marched towards them furiously. "What's that doing there?" He gestured towards his arm around Kagome's shoulders. "Move it before I do it for you!"

Now Iwaizumi wasn't a patient man. He never had been, never would be either. More than that though was his own sense of pride. He didn't give a damn who it was. He wasn't about to let someone shame him for his relationship with his girlfriend. They were being obscene. So he wasn't about to back down. His eyes narrowed at her teammate. He couldn't pick a fight, but he wouldn't let this behavior stand.

"Is that really the kind of impression you want to give?" He kept his tone low. "I came here today because I wanted to start this off right." Iwaizumi leaned forward. A confident smirk played across his lips, "But if you don't want to make this easy then I don't mind. We can always sort this out later." The young man fully understood what he meant by 'later'. He wouldn't fight in front of his girlfriend. But if the guy kept pushing then he'd be more than willing to wait until after this little get together to sort out those differences the best way he knew how.

The teen's expression grew darker, "You son of a…"

"Yamamoto, please stop picking a fight." Kagome interjected. "Iwa-kun just came here to meet you all. He was polite enough to agree to come all the way down here for that." Her tone took on a disappointed note. "Please don't get worked up and cause a scene this time. He's trying to meet you guys halfway."

Yamamoto flushed with embarrassment. He scratched at the back of his head as he took his seat, "Okay. Since you're asking I can't say no." The ace of Nekoma shot him one last glare. It was a warning but Iwaizumi didn't feel threatened. It'd take a lot more than that to chase him off.

More of their group slowly filtered in. A few he recognized from previous games against each other and some he did not. The spiker settled in comfortably beside his girlfriend. They put in an order for their drinks as Kuro rounded out the last of their group, taking the spot directly next to him.

"So, how's that captain of yours been holding up since the loss?" The small smirk on the dark haired teen's lips told him everything he needed to know. It was another play to try to get under his skin. These guys were something else. They were definitely overprotective over their little manager. His eyes fell to the small smile on her lips. Not that he could blame them.

"Oikawa's an idiot through and through. He's got a crappy personality to boot so as expected he's only rooting for Karasuno just so he can claim that he was bested by someone better than Ushijima." Iwaizumi fought the urge to sigh. Really, the guy was a damn handful. They hadn't let up on their practices. Just as Kagome had said they'd still have college to prepare for. The November Nationals were just around the corner for Nekoma who'd secured their spot in the prefecture though. He glanced back at Kuro. He hated to admit it, but he was slightly envious of that fact.

"Sounds about right. Met him once. He wasn't exactly a pleasant person." The captain closed his eyes as if in deep thought. "Doesn't surprise me that a guy like that came up with the stalking plan. He seems like the creepy type."

He probably should've said some—defended his friend against that sort of allegation. Instead he simply took a drink from his glass. He spoke nothing to affirm or deny the claim. What could he say? It wasn't as if there was any grand excuse for their actions besides sheer stupidity. Besides Oikawa did have a habit of obsessing; typically over volleyball but his perfectionist attitude could easily get him into trouble one day.

"Speaking of," Kuro rounded on Kagome. "No more unattended excursions for you, kitten. Nearly got yourself into trouble last time."

Kagome turned a bright red, "Hey that wasn't my fault! You guys were busy and I still had to help clear the court." She looked away from then as if embarrassed. It was cute.

The captain drew his brows together in a sharp knot, "Yeah but you got yourself another admirer. Come on kitten, don't be stubborn. This is a serious issue."

His instincts kicked into gear. Admirer? Come to think of it, the guys from Nekoma acted as if they'd done those sorts of interrogations before. Just how often did she get followed at those games? Most of them were probably harmless hopefuls but a knot twisted in the pit of his stomach at the thought. How many of those hopefuls couldn't take no for an answer? How many more had ill intentions?

"I know, I know." Kagome leaned further into his side. "But it's not like I can help it all the time. Anyways, didn't you guys want to have this lunch date to learn more about Iwa-kun? Let's focus on that!" The young woman avoided the topic in the least subtle way possible. He didn't blame her given the circumstances. Still, he definitely wanted to hear more about this 'admirer'.

Kuro shot her a baleful glance, "We're not done with this conversation, kitten. We'll resume it after this." She blanched and he couldn't help but pull her deeper into his side.

"I heard you guys made it to the Nationals. Congratulations." It sounded forced even to himself. Why was it so hard to just fake it for a few minutes? He blinked as he felt his girlfriend's palm upon his knee in a reassuring manner. He tried to keep the flush from overtaking his face entirely.

"Yeah, thanks." Kuro eyed him suspiciously. "Anyways what do you plan on doing after this? You already find a university?" He was needling for information.

The spiker relaxed his shoulders. He diverted his attention away from the hand still on his knee. That was a dangerous territory he didn't want to tread with the rest of her team here.

"I've already signed up for the entrance exam. So far there's a school near Fukurodani that I was interested in." Kagome blinked in response.

"Oh, you've got your sights set high." The one he recognized as Nekoma's newest member began. He was tall with pale colored hair and a sharp gaze. "Think you've got a shot?"

It wasn't an insult. He could tell just by the curiosity pouring off of the other male. Iwaizumi closed his eyes, "It doesn't really matter. I've got a pretty good handle on the academics part and I've already gotten a recommendation."

The young man gave a low whistle, "So you're pretty set. Hey wait," those eyes shifted towards his girlfriend. "Weren't you going to go to a similar school? Ah, what was it again?"

Kagome smiled widely, "Yup! I'm heading to that university as well. They have an awesome teaching program. Looks like we'll be going to the same place." Her grin grew impossibly wide. That time he couldn't keep the blush from his face.

They would be going to the same university. The two hour train ride would become nothing more than a five minute walk. He found himself smiling back at her.

"What are the chances?" Iwaizumi tangled his hand into the threads of her hair. He hadn't known that she'd intended going to the same college as him. He'd simply assumed that she'd go to the college closest in distance from Nekoma. Although that particular school was only known for its medical program.

"Now I am suspicious." Kuro leaned forward on his forearms across the table. "I think it's time we learned more about you." The captain shot him a rather impressive glare. "What do you say, mister stalker?"

Iwaizumi felt his shoulders sag. Somehow, he had a feeling that the nickname was going to stick. His brows furrowed steeply. This was definitely going to devolve into an interrogation. A slight smirk pulled at his lips. It was a good thing he came prepared.