It's been a roller coaster of a day for everyone. First the intense practice matches, and then the matter of Kanna fainting. Now there was nothing they wanted more, than to relax. Most of the guys were already getting ready for bed, only a few were still left in the cafeteria. Kanna quietly entered with her tray, and made her way to the remaining managers cleaning trays and utensils. Shimizu noticed her and took Kanna's tray off of her hands. She'd protested at having the third year clean her tray, but Shimizu wasn't having it and shooed Kanna away to rest.
Kenma had just finished showering and was in no rush to go to bed. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, not with his fellow teammates currently wide awake and talking about the games that happened earlier today.
"A normal person would be exhausted after everything we did." He thought with a heavy sigh.
So here he was, silently roaming the halls to pass time. He'd just walked past the corridor leading to the cafeteria, when he had to pause and back track a bit. Kanna just walked out of the cafeteria and was making her way somewhere. Being himself, he quietly followed after her.
If someone saw and pointed out that it was because he was worried about her, he would gladly prove them wrong. He was only curious. That's all, nothing more. There was no way in hell it was because he was worried or anything of the sort. Nope.
Meanwhile, Kanna was deep in thought walking around the school aimlessly. When she finally came to, she realized she'd ended up in an area where the moon was quite visible. Wanting to enjoy the calming scenery, she walked forward a bit and took a seat on the grass, not minding the slightly cold breeze blowing. She sat there relishing in the silence and appreciating the beauty of the night, which one can't do as much in the bustling city of Tokyo.
Unlike the previous night, Kenma didn't hesitate much to join Kanna. He wordlessly sat beside her also taking in the beauty of moon in its full glory. Both of them sat in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the night for once, away from overactive and loud players with seemingly endless energy supplies.
After a few minutes, Kenma asked "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Shouldn't you?" Kanna simply questioned back in a playful tone, which caused a smile on both their faces.
"But seriously, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Kenma says, after getting over how even in her tired state she could still be so snarky.
"I'm alright. I've rested enough. I wasn't even able to help with dinner preparations today. When the managers woke me up they said, that it wasn't necessary and me getting enough rest was more of a priority." She said with a shrug.
"They're right you know. You really scared all of us back then. You should've notified any of us if you were getting that tired. You didn't have to push yourself too much." He reprimanded.
"I know…." Kanna looked down dejectedly and apologized. "…I'm sorry."
She had caused a lot of inconvenience for everybody with her carelessness.
"If only I had been more careful and attentive, none of that would have happened." She thought, unconsciously making a frown appear on her face.
Kenma knew that face, he knew it all too well. And from firsthand experience observing her, he knew that she makes the same face every time she doubts her capabilities.
Kenma raised his hand and placed it on her head, caressing gently.
"Hey, don't think too much about it. I bet you didn't even realize you were actually getting that tired, until it was happening. You were running on adrenaline after all." He said as he tried to encourage and reassure her.
Kenma wasn't really one to just go ahead and actively go out of his way to comfort someone. Yes he cared for his team. But he was usually more annoyed with them when they would worry about something, rather than feeling the need to reassure them. So he really hoped he was doing this right.
"That seems to be a recurring thought I have recently whenever I'm around her." He thought, internally sighing at his incompetence to function emotionally in situations.
Kanna smiled slightly at the gesture, which caused Kenma's shoulders to lose the tension he didn't know he had and to retract his hands back to his sides.
"You know, I'm going to miss this. I know I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, but I've met and gotten to know such amazing people. And as ridiculous as they are at times, they've made me realize a lot of things I would've never thought about before." She said smiling with a fond expression.
"Especially you, Kenma." She thought as she glanced at him for a second, before looking back ahead like nothing happened.
"Even though I was dragged here against my will, I'm glad I stayed. It's going to be a little lonely going back after all the craziness that's happened or will still happen." She said chuckling at the end of her statement, making Kenma slightly chuckle too. Both of them silently agreeing that even though there was only 2 days before the end of the camp, the lovely occupants of the camp would surely end up doing something one way or another.
"I'm sure the others feel the same about you. I'm glad you came too." Kenma said, and for some reason he couldn't seem to understand, his felt his cheeks burning a little. Thankfully it was dark and his hair was shadowing his face so he didn't have to worry about Kanna taking notice. Unbeknownst to Kenma, his words made a bright smile to bloom on Kanna's face.
"You know, I don't really have anyone to talk to besides Keiji and Kou. And I don't really want to add anymore unnecessary stress on Keiji, as he already has a whole lot to deal with regarding Kou. So I just end up drowning myself in my own thoughts. That's why I genuinely enjoy this. You're really easy to talk to, really attentive too. Thank you for listening to me Kenma. I'm really going to miss this." She finished with a smile his way.
Kenma thought for a second before he held his hand out to her and said "Hmm, give me your phone."
Although a little confused, Kanna still reached into her pocket and placed her phone onto his hands. She watched in curiosity as he tapped on it a few times and then heard a sound come from his pocket, before he handed it back to her.
"There, so you can just talk to me whenever you want to." He said as he reached for his own phone behind him.
Kanna's eyes widened as she stared at her phone, before returning her gaze back to Kenma.
"A—Are you sure? Wouldn't I be a bother? I—I wouldn't want to bother you especially when you're playing your games. A—And besides I might not even have anything to talk about and—" Kanna began to ramble when Kenma cut her off.
"You would never be a bother. And it doesn't matter if you have nothing to talk about. As long as you want to, I'll always be here to listen." He said with a small smile, which earned him a teary eyed gaze from the grateful girl.
Kanna smiled brightly and wiped her eyes, before turning back to look at the moon. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the cool night breeze and each other's warmth. Just letting the time pass by.
They must've been sitting for far longer than Kenma realized, because next thing he knew a light weight dropped on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kanna leaning on him, sleeping peacefully.
"She really must've been exhausted. I would be too, given just how rigorous each game was. And she played for all three."
Kenma couldn't help but admire her features as she slept. He'd always known she was beautiful, from the moment Bokuto walked through the gym doors with her in his arms. He didn't need the others telling him to realize that. He wasn't blind, nor was he that ignorant. But as they sat there alone together, he couldn't help himself. She had looked so tired earlier, and yet the moonlight made her look ethereal.
He brushed a strand of her hair that fell out of place, behind her ear. He didn't mind the closeness, and sitting there with her. But he figured that if they stayed any longer, they would both catch colds. Which was not good. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, so he did the next best thing he could think of at that moment. He angled himself and proceeded to scoop her up in his arms.
Kenma, admittedly wasn't considered strong. But he wasn't weak either, contrary to popular belief. But he was still surprised with how light she was. Despite not having played volleyball for years, she still had the muscles to prove. So it took him by surprise that he could easily lift her up.
Nevertheless, after adjusting his hold on her, he started walking towards the sleeping quarters. Careful to keep a watchful eye for any sign of Kanna waking up, which he figured wouldn't be anytime soon, with how comfortable she looked. It made him blush seeing how adorable she could be even in her sleep. He didn't make any attempts to hide it though, seeing as there wasn't anyone else present.
He'd arrived at the girls' quarters after taking another flight of stairs. There he stood contemplating whether he should open the door and walk in or not. Clearly remembering the coaches telling them that they weren't even allowed a foot on the floor, but here he was. Seeing as there was no other way he could do this, he decided to just go ahead and get it over with.
He opened the door as quietly as he could, making sure to leave it opened to let some light illuminate the dark room. He scanned the room for any sign of the managers being awake. Feeling satisfied to find that they were all fast asleep, he made his way inside towards the futon on the far left. It was the only one unoccupied so he figured that was hers.
He gently kneeled down and slowly lowered Kanna onto the futon. Once she'd settled down, he covered her with the blanket and started to make his way out. He took one last look at her before he silently shut the door, and started making his descent to his own floor.
He was physically tired, but the earlier events had him thinking. Being with Kanna had made him feel so at ease, and not even Kuroo could make him feel that way. This newfound discovery was still puzzling to him, but he couldn't help but admit that whatever it was, he wouldn't want it to end anytime soon.
Notes:
*Rejoice! Lovely People! For my lovely babies are making leaps of progress. I built it up for too long and I know you were all waiting for it so here it is. FINALLY! HOOT! HOOT!
*Had too much fun writing the chapter that without realizing it, it ended up being a long one. But I'm quite proud of how it turned out. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do~
*I would like to thank kaylee. dowell96, OurAria, vanellie2005, perseusdiangelo007, Sonchaeyoung, zvther, 431252, genny1095, KotoriZ, Thornsilverfox and Peony Springs for favoriting and following; mvanrensselaer607, Lyisle Lualdi, hazelasian19, Raven-Renae-Lynn, QueenBxybgurl070, Aria868, maniiig and girlwhoneversleeps for favoriting, and evieballi59, Cipher1233, Lyryenn, waterpheonixdragon, Vixxkay, liquid squids, D41nty, HoneyGrl and onceinabluemooncosmo for following after my last post.
*Also thank you for the review dear Thornsilverfox. I'm glad that you enjoy it and honored that you described it as "amazing". I hope you continue to enjoy and tune in to it in the future too.
Thank You So Much