Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these characters. Any use of the anime or manga in this story is not mine either. They belong to their original creators.
It was safe to say that Kenma was actually looking forward to the practice match with Karasuno in two days' time. After he got lost before the practice match that the team had, he ran into one of the members of the Karasuno team. That brief interaction—and just the very energy that Hinata Shoyo had—was enough to gain Kenma's interest. That and there had to be some special reason that Hinata was placed as a middle blocker.
Before he could get too deep into his thoughts about what possible strategies that Karasuno could employ, he was interrupted by Inuoka and Shibayama talking about how they were going to go and help Kagome with the grocery shopping.
Yaku looked up from the book he was reading to glance at the two first years, "Just be sure to keep an eye on Kagome while you're out."
The two boys straightened up and announced that they would make sure no one harassed her. Yamamoto sniggered, "It's not just the guys you have to look out for."
"Eh?"
Kenma heaved a sigh as he looked down at the video game he was playing before he became distracted. "Last year, our former captain grabbed Kagome's shoulder. When he didn't remove his hand as she asked, she flipped him over onto his back."
"WHAA—?!"
Kai shook his head at his teammates as he smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about that. The likelihood that she would do that in the store is incredibly slim."
The two first years began to relax until Yamamoto grinned evilly, "It's outside that you need to be wary of."
As the younger boys' eyes began to widen, Kuroo stepped into the room and frowned in confusion as he took in the scene. "Do I want to know?" Kenma shook his head, causing Kuroo to shrug off the strange energy in the room. "Ne, Inuoka. Shibayama. Send me a text when you are almost done with the shopping. Some of us will run over to help carry the bags."
"Hai, sir!"
Kagome stood in one of the aisles of the grocery store, looking over the list of items that were still needed for dinner and breakfast. As Inuoka and Shibayama returned with their assigned items, she gave them new ones as she made her way through the store. She did notice that the two boys were a little more twitchy than usual, but she figured that it was just due to the anticipation of tomorrow's 'fated rematch' with Karasuno.
Continuing down her list, she failed to notice the eyes that seemed to follow her as she weaved her way through the aisles.
"Iwa-chan! Why did we have to come all the way over here?!"
The spiky haired teen gritted his teeth at his best friend's continuous cries as their teammates sighed in exasperation. "I told you, Trashykawa! This is the only store that carries the flavored chips that I want."
"Well why did I have to come with?"
"No one told you to come along, dumbass! You insisted, remember?!"
"Are you saying you don't want me around, Iwa-chan? You're so cruel to me!"
Just as the ace of Aoba Johsai was about to throttle his longtime friend, he was interrupted by a teen in red scooting past them with a quiet, "Excuse me." The teens watched the boy and read 'Nekoma' on the back of his track suit. However, any questions about the school he was from flew from their minds as they saw him approach a petite girl in a similar outfit.
"Who is that?"
"She's cute."
Oikawa shrugged off his curiosity and grinned as he ran a hand through his hair before heading towards the girl when the boy ran off to another area of the store. "Ne, I'll see you guys later."
Iwaizumi and the others frowned as they watched their setter dart around to place himself in the girl's path. He posed with a hand to his chin as if he was thinking long and hard over the food options before him. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as he knew that his friend was going to try to time his turn to look at the girl when she gasped for optimal effect. Sadly, it was a tried-and-true method that Oikawa used to 'lure' his fanbase to him—it was seriously annoying that this trick worked as well as it did. So, when the beauty looked up at Oikawa, the boys were stunned when expected reaction never came.
Instead, the girl had paused, tilted her head and then simply moved around Oikawa's form without a word. The confusion on the setter's face as he looked up to see an empty space instead of a love-struck teenaged girl was enough to make the team nearly collapse in hysterics. Finally! Pretty-boy Oikawa didn't have a girl instantly fawning all over him. They were never going to let him live this down.
"Looks like the dumbass finally met his match, or he's losing his touch."
Kagome was a little confused at the taller teen's sudden appearance in front of her. But that didn't confuse her near as much as the boy's apparent deep contemplation over rice. She guessed that he just wasn't sure what sized bag he needed to purchase. In an attempt to not disturb his decision-making process, she quietly maneuvered around him and continued on her way. Inuoka and Shibayama should be heading back her way soon. The last thing she wanted was for the two excitable cats to interrupt the poor shopper behind her.
As the two younger teens in question ran up to her with their finds, she checked the items off of the list. "Well, that's just about everything. Thank you both for your help. I can grab the last few things while we wait for Tetsu-kun and the others to arrive. Why don't the two of you go grab whatever else you want."
The two boys cheered and ran off towards the magazine racks, wanting to find one that talked about the volleyball teams in the area. Coincidentally, those very magazines were on the other side of the aisle from where a certain setter was being mocked by his teammates.
"Hey stupid. Looks like you're losing your touch."
"Shut up Iwa-chan! I have not!"
Oikawa's team mates snickered at his pouting. Inuoka and Shibayama glanced at each other in confusion at the conversation that they overheard, but once the other boys mentioned 'pretty blue eyes' and how the cute girl didn't give one of the boys much of a look, they realized who they were talking about. The two first years crept along the aisle to watch as the mentioned ignored teen declared that he would try once more and made a beeline towards their oblivious manager.
"Shouldn't we do something?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno—just something?"
Inuoka was conflicted. They were warned by their upperclassmen to be wary of the wrath of the Tiny Tyrant—whatever that meant. To be honest, none of the first years really knew what that warning really meant. Kagome always seemed calm and sweet—very much an older sister figure to them once they got passed the fact that she was really pretty and dating their scheming captain. However, the looks of terror mixed with humor on their upperclassmen's faces when the advice was given was enough to frighten the rookies into believing that ignorance was bliss. So here they were, in a position that could unleash that side of Kagome that they've only heard whispers of, and they weren't sure if they wanted to watch it unfold or run and hide.
"Kuroo-san and the others should be here anytime now. And they did say that she wouldn't toss anyone while we're inside…"
"That's if she even realizes what he's trying to do."
As the duo snickered in nervous anticipation, the group of teens that they had been listening to earlier noticed their presence.
"Oi. Who's your friend over there?"
The boys looked over at the spiky haired teen and blinked. He was obviously older than they were—in fact all the teens in his group looked like they were upperclassmen. The two cats glanced at each other before Inuoka took a deep breath to answer. "That's our manager—"
"Ne, Inuoka. Shibayama. Where's Kago-chan?"
Kuroo strolled into the grocery store with Fukunaga, Yamamoto, and Kai in tow. The boys looked around for their younger teammates and manager before the rookies were spotted. Seeing the two in a conversation with a group, Kuroo tilted his head as he observed the situation—the younger cats were seemingly uneasy and Kagome was not with them. Calling out he grinned at the fact that the duo just about jumped out of their skin.
"Kuroo-san! Umm…" Inuoka paused and shared a look with Shibayama. Taking a deep breath, the boys pointed, "She's over there."
Blinking with a small frown at his underclassmen, Kuroo looked over their heads and sighed. Once again, some guy was trying to flirt with Kagome—and she was completely oblivious. He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled in exasperation. The brunette was trying to 'lure' Kagome in with his looks, and all he was getting from her was looks that screamed that he was some science experiment that went wrong and she didn't know why.
Yamamoto struggled to keep a straight face as he needled the rookies. "Weren't you two supposed to keep an eye on her?" Bashfully the younger players squawked about how they were watching her, and they were told to make sure she didn't unleash her wrath on anyone. With that, Yamamoto lost his fight and held onto Fukunaga as he laughed.
"Yamamoto, shut up. I'll go get her."
All the boys watched as Kuroo strolled up and wrapped his arms around Kagome's shoulders from behind. Dropping a kiss on her cheek in greeting, he guided Kagome towards the register to purchase the food. The frozen look of disbelief on the poor setter's face was enough to send his teammates back into hysterics.
Oikawa slunk back and acted like he had been struck by an arrow when Kagome's voice drifted towards them. "That guy seemed to really take his shopping seriously. I've never seen anyone think that hard over rice and tofu."
Iwaizumi was having a hard time breathing he was laughing so hard. "Oi, dumbass! Not only you couldn't get her attention, but she's taken and thinks you can't shop worth a damn."
"Shut up Iwa-chan!"
Kai smiled and shook his head at the situation. "Don't feel too bad. She doesn't realize that many guys are interested in her, and she and Kuroo have been together since they were kids. Just be glad you aren't the aggressive type when flirting."
"Yeah, it didn't end well for our old captain!" The boys began to wander off after giving the players of Aoba Johsai a farewell nod as Kuroo waved them over.
All the boys began to settle in for their last night in the Miyagi Prefecture, chatting away about the fated match with Karasuno the next day. Yamamoto was probably the most amped out of the team—basically his usual enthusiasm as he held court of the two rookies.
"Now the real question is, does Karasuno have a female manager? My yakisoba bun says that they don't!"
Inuoka frowned up at the ace, "Aww, but I want them to have one. So, I say yes."
"I agree with Inuoka."
"We don't have one, so it would be unfair if they did! And worse, if they did have a female manager and she was beautiful? I would never forgive them!"
There was silence in the room as the boys glanced at Yamamoto in confusion as he yelled out the window of their room about how he would unleash his wrath upon Karasuno if that were to happen. Maybe he hit his head? Shibayama scratched his head in bafflement, "Ano, Yamamoto-san. You do realize that we have Kagome-san, right?"
With a scoff, he waved off the question. "Bah! The Tiny Tyrant doesn't count! And she's been claimed by Kuroo."
"Eh?"
Needless to say, that the ace's logic did not make sense to everyone in the room. And Kuroo was already annoyed with how loud Yamamoto was being, but that comment was just ammunition now.
Inuoka began to shake off the shock of Yamamoto's declaration and turned to Kenma. "Ano... Why is Kagome called the Tiny Tyrant?"
"Because she's our conditioning coach as well as our manager."
"WHA—?!"
Yaku nodded at the wide-eyed looks, "You wouldn't notice it much at the moment because it's all routine now. But the stair master and playing in the sand pit is all Kagome's creation. Be sure to play at your best tomorrow, or she'll put you through the ringer."
With a horrified 'eep' the rookies shuddered—they were right, it was better not knowing.
Wanting to return to the original conversation, Yamamoto coughed into his fist as he turned to their dispassionate setter. "Ne Kenma! What's your thoughts about Karasuno having a female manager?"
Kenma heaved a sigh and found the topic to be pointless as he looked up from his game. "I could care less either way. But I do have to say, I am looking forward to the match tomorrow—just a bit."
Once again, a stunned silence descended upon the room, before Yamamoto regained his ability to react. "What?! The usually unmoved Kenma is suddenly looking forward to a game?!"
"Yamamoto. If you have this much energy, then I'll have Kago-chan put it into good use by increasing your training." Kuroo slowly allowed the maniacal grin to creep across his face at the ace's sheepish apology for his volume. "That is of course, after I tell her that according to you, she doesn't count as a girl."
All the blood drained from Yamamoto's face as he now realized why the team looked at him funny when he said Kagome didn't count. "Th-th-that's not what I meant. Please Kuroo-san, don't tell her that! I don't wanna die!"
Yaku shook his head at the panicking second year, "I guess Lev will have a chance a becoming the Ace now."
"Noo!"
"YAMAMOTO! SHUT UP!"
"…sorry, sir…"
As the sun began to rise, the team packed their bags after eating breakfast. Today was the day that they faced their destined rivals and then head home to Tokyo. Double checking the rooms to make sure nothing was forgotten or missed, the boys made the journey to the gym that they would be playing in. As they reached the front of the building, they could see a group dressed in black steadily approaching. One by one, each member lined up to face their opponents as they, in turn, did the same.
It was time for the fated rematch to begin.
Author's note: Well, it took a lot more chapters to get here than I had expected. But it's finally happened. Karasuno has arrived!
Thank you once more to everyone who has followed and favored this story. And a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review! They have really helped my brain think of various scenarios to add! Until next time!
