I'm not okay. This much writing isn't good. I'm so happy to be doing it though xD Everyone, feel free to thank moonlightshadowxiii for Kuroo in this chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter 9: A pair of Oni

She couldn't breathe. There were hands around her throat, holding it tight, restricting the airflow. As any normal person would do, in such a situation, Haru panicked. Her eyes snapped open and were met with a pale face, almost see-through, staring down at her. The woman was, in short, breathtaking. She had the features of one of those princess portraits Haru had seen in her history books, eyes dark and mouth small, in a serene expression. Yet, her hands were still tightly holding onto the girl's throat, making her unable to pull oxygen into her lungs.

Haru glanced to the side, trying to call for help, but her voice was gone and what came out of her was a mere squeak. She almost sighed in relief when Kenma's familiar dyed head moved, the boy turning over to see her from the middle futon. But, it wasn't his face that she saw. It was the face of a man who had been in the sea for too long, dripping wet and skin peeling.

With a squeak of terror, Haru sat up in her bed, gasping for air. She quickly looked around the room, realizing that she couldn't see a thing in the dark. Yet, right in front of the bathroom door, she could make out a silhouette of a person, standing tall. When it moved, heading for her, her heart thundered and she backed away, messily crawling off her futon backwards.

"Shhh, Haru, Haru," Kuroo's voice managed to break her from her delusion, causing her to squint in order to see his familiar hair sticking up even more insanely than usual. "Wake up." He whispered. "Are you alright?"

"Kuroo." The girl gasped out. "Oh, God, Kuroo." The boy reluctantly came closer to her and she left all the politeness she'd been taught behind, grabbing onto his extended arms. "It's just Kuroo." The girl was aware of her trembling, which just wouldn't stop, no matter how much she willed it to.

"Are you okay?" He asked from the dark, his low voice a comforting note. His arms were warm, going all the way around her, but not pressing her trembling body to his own. "Do you want some water?" There was no reply, so he slowly pulled away. "I'll go get you a glass." As he was getting up, though, two small hands grabbed his shirt like a vice.

"No…" Haru's voice was so small he barely heard it. It was cracking and she sounded on the verge of tears. Kuroo sat back down, pulling the girl closer to him and giving her a tight hug. "I'm sorry." She mumbled into his shirt. "Please don't go. She might come back." At that, Kuroo tilted his head to the side, processing.

"Who?"

"The ghost woman." When there was no reply, the girl elaborated. "The one from Kenma's story. She was choking me." Kuroo held in a chuckle that threatened to come out. Could the girl get any more adorable? She'd actually dreamt of the scary story their setter had made up.

"Don't worry, she won't come back." Kuroo's hand found her loose hair, gently going through it, working on untangling one curl from the other. He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but his legs were slowly falling asleep in the uncomfortable position. "Haru, we need to go back to bed, we should be up in a few hours." When he slowly let go of the girl, her head rose in order for her to look at him. Even in the darkness of the room, he could see how terrified she was. "C'mon. You can sleep in my futon tonight. That should keep the ghost at bay."

"Are you trying something?" The girl's voice was on edge, defensive.

"To get both of us some rest?"

"Alright, then." The girl agreed, letting him pull her up and lead her to the other side of Kenma's sleeping form. She didn't dare look at the setter, fearing the horrible vision from her dream. Kuroo crawled in, holding the covers up and letting her shimmy into the warm space, as well. Her body came to rest against his front, facing him.

"Are you alright?" He asked again softly when he noticed that the shaking of her body was slowly receding.

"I'm sorry." But her voice still sounded on the verge of tears. "I'm not good with ghost stories." Kuroo pulled her closer, cursing himself for enjoying the way her warm skin touched his own in the places his usual nightwear left bare. Haru's head ended up on his arm, then wriggled all the way to his shoulder, one arm circling his middle.

"I guessed so from your expression at the beach." He patted her hair with his free hand, realizing that he loved the crazy curls that were always messy. "Why didn't you object to the idea when the boys asked to do it?"

"They were so excited." Haru spoke up after a minute. "They had just had a lot of harsh training, I couldn't deny them some ghost stories." Kuroo sighed, his eyes closing and his mouth tugging into a smile. She was too good. She was too good for him. For anyone. Haru was too kind.

"Next time, when you're uncomfortable or scared, you say so." He gently scolded. "Trust me, the boys will care more about your comfort than a few ghost stories."

"You think?" He looked at her, seeing her eyes wide, still misty from her nightmare, looking up at him invitingly. Kuroo inwardly groaned, telling himself that he wouldn't take advantage. He wouldn't. He wasn't that kind of a person. He wouldn't.

"I'm sure." He replied as gently as possible. Haru's eyes wondered down and then back up at his own. She had just looked at his lips. He wouldn't.

"Thank you, Tetsurō." Oh he would. Kuroo's free hand came up to tuck the stray curls behind her ear and then trailed his fingers down to her chin. He felt, more than heard, the sharp intake of breath that the girl took. His thumb came to brush the very edge of her bottom lip, gently, as if it would vanish if he pressed any harder.

Kuroo looked at the girl's eyes, which were watching him in rapt attention, then wandering to his lips quickly, then back to his eyes. He threw caution to the wind and leaned just a few centimeters further in, placing a gentle kiss to the very edge of Haru's mouth, right at the corner, his own skin touching his thumb. He heard another sharp inhale, felt it on his skin as her mouth parted. But, he'd already snapped his personal chains of self-control back on. This wasn't taking advantage. This was… this was… When he pulled back, desperate to not do so and simply kiss the girl senseless, he found her eyes closed, mouth partially open, as if waiting for his own. He wouldn't.

"That should chase the spirits away, don't you think?" He was an idiot. A huge idiot. Haru opened her eyes, giving him a gentle look, before reaching up with her hand, kissing her fingers and then placing them on his cheek. His body was on fire at the innocent action.

"It should." The girl agreed and then proceeded to turn around, fingers intertwining with the hand that was being used as her pillow. Kuroo's head, though, was on fire. He was painfully aware of the heat in his lips, where he'd pressed them to the edge of her mouth. He couldn't stop the tingling in his cheek, where she'd given him an indirect kiss. He was all too aware of her head on his shoulder, the messy curls smelling of coconuts and coffee. Her back, legs and behind were the worst, though. Her backside was pressed against his front, making him imagine anything disgusting and not at all attractive that he could in order to not make his predicament of obsessing over the girl obvious to her. Her legs were intertwined with his, smooth warm skin sending small jolts of electricity up and down his body. And those fingers, as they played with his longer ones, were horribly distracting. Kuroo waited until Haru's small touches stilled, deeming her asleep, before he dared to breathe a bit deeper. He was in so much trouble. He was in so much trouble. This had nothing to do with mere physical attraction and he was in so much trouble.

Kenma shook Kuroo awake at half past five that morning, making the captain jump up and look scandalized, before realizing that he had nothing to be scandalized about.

"Haru was gone when I got up." The setter clarified, making Kuroo sigh and drag his hands across his face. "Did you do something?" The captain looked up at his friend, to see the dubious expression on his face.

"Honestly, no," Kuroo shook his head. "Well, yes. No, maybe?" Kenma's expression got more and more amazing as the tall third year backtracked.

"Did she see it as maybe?"

"I don't know what she saw it as!" Kuroo's hands went up in exasperation, making Kenma frown even more.

"This is going to be trouble." The setter concluded in a tone which held finality to it.

"You think?" Sarcasm was Kuroo's only defense as the telltale sound of 'Game Over' came from his friend's PSP, making him groan and dive back into the covers of his futon. They smelled like coconuts and coffee. Kuroo's groan was muted by the covers.

Haru had always found cooking somehow comforting. It was a steady pace of peeling, washing, cutting and mixing in a different way. It was always definite, certain and kept her grounded. She'd learnt to cook from both of her parents, so she was able to make both Cuban and Japanese dishes. Though, most days, it was only her in the kitchen at home. Everyone else was busy. Her mother traveled with different sports teams around the world, reporting live from different locations. Her father was almost always somewhere with his soccer boys, keeping them in top form. With her brother at living on his own, only visiting occasionally to grab a family meal, and her sister working as a model, the house was empty. So, with the volleyball team, Haru had the noise that she had been missing. The boys were rowdy, but generally nice. When she needed silence, she sought out Kenma. When she was looking for comfort, Yaku was the perfect choice. When she was looking for troublesome teasing and unpredictable situations, Kuroo was the option. The first years were by far the loudest, their company always welcome when it came to volleyball explanations.

The girl stirred the food in the pot, replacing the glove on the counter as she turned to the other side, cutting more vegetables for their breakfast. Kurosaki, from Okinawa and not from work, had been kind enough to provide her with a kitchen she could work with. She had bought the ingredients she'd needed at the odd hours that morning, getting directions to the local store from the receptionist, a quiet girl a tad shorter than herself.

"Do you need a hand?" Haru looked to the door to find Yaku standing there, giving a big yawn, his hair messy.

"If you'd like, I won't say no," the girl smiled. She liked Yaku. He was reliable, friendly and by far the fastest friend she'd made in a while.

"Just promise me two things," the libero walked over, taking one of the aprons and tying it behind his back expertly. "Never room me with Lev again and never let them tell those crappy stories again." Haru giggled.

"That bad?"

"Worse." The libero looked around the kitchen, not asking her where he could be useful, but taking up the task of peeling vegetables on his own. It had been the perfect choice to help her, too.

"I can promise that those two won't happen again, then." The two settled into a comfortable silence, only talking when they needed to switch tasks or give each other items. Soon enough, food for the team was ready. "Morisuke, am I doing alright?" Yaku glanced at the girl who was setting tables, placing napkins and glasses perfectly in front of plates.

"I'd say yes, but everyone has their own opinion." The libero turned the stove off, deeming the food thoroughly cooked. "I mean, my muscles are sore all over, in a good way. That's just a testament as to how well you planned the first day." He took off the apron and placed it back on the hanger.

"Oh, good," the girl smiled. "Please give me more direction as I go. I want the year to be successful."

"Yeah…" Yaku murmured, looking at his wet hands and dried them. "It's our last chance to go to the Nationals. Well, the third years." Kuroo's face from last night, all to close to her own, invaded her thoughts and Haru blushed profusely.

"I'll do my best to help you get ready."

"That's all we can ask for, really." Yaku plopped down in one of the seats, trying to find a comfortable position due to his sore muscles. "And a massage. I need like ten sessions to get rid of this soreness." Haru chuckled, walking over to the boy and placing her hands on his shoulders, her fingers settling in a comfortable rhythm of undoing the knots which had built up there. "Now, that's heaven." The boy sighed.

"No fair, Yaku!" Yamamoto walked into the kitchen, frown coming to his face. There was a group of chattering first years following him. "I want a massage, too."

"Hell no!" Yaku complained, but Haru gave a smile and nodded.

"I'll go around the tables as you guys eat, don't worry Yamamoto-san." The boy frowned, walking over to sit across from the libero.

"Say, why does Yaku get to be called by his first name by a Goddess?" Yamamoto pouted, just as more of the team entered. "Call me by my first name, too, Haru!" He requested, causing the girl to giggle.

"Sure, Taketora-kun." That, unfortunately for Haru, caused a chain reaction. Soon enough, the majority of the team was requesting that she call them by their first names, too. Haru was more than happy to oblige.

She was pulling away from him. He could tell. It was a subtle motion, but it was there. Haru was turning her back to him, putting another person in between them or just plain avoiding him. It was annoying and made him want to catch her by the arm, drag her into a secluded spot and then... yell at her? Maybe. Maybe toss his moral compass out the window again. He definitely wasn't sure. Haru had become, in a span of just a few days the only person in the world that could successfully unsettle him. Make him do something crazy without a single rational thought in his head. He loved it, yet feared it.

"Please split up into teams," her voice did things that no voice should have power over. "Red team: Morisuke, Lev, Kenma," Was it the fact that he had admitted to himself what was going on? "Green: Taketora, Tamahiko and Kai," Definitely, something had changed. He was more aware of her, too.

"I'm not playing today?" Inuoka piped up, coming up next to their manager and giving her a pleading look.

"If you would just let me finish," Haru gently bonked him on the head with her clipboard. "The rest will make up different teams and fight the winner. But, you will all start with running before that! Players to the court, runners follow Kuroo-sempai."

Kuroo...sempai? Why? The whole team was on first name basis with her. Why was she calling him Kuroo? And sempai, of all things. Yes, he definitely wanted to grab her and drag her off somewhere secluded to yell at her.

"Running group is a go!" Kuroo whipped around, pushing his discontent down and putting his usual smirk on his face. If there was one thing he could do, it was hide how miffed he was, despite the level of discontent. He had always been good at that. But, by the look that Kenma gave him as the boy led the barefoot group to run across the length of the sandy beach, the setter knew him too well.

"She's a demon." Yamamoto whined, managing to plop down into one of the comfortable sofa chairs in the lobby. Soon, he was joined by the majority of the team, none of them able to feel their legs.

"I didn't know I could hurt like this." Yaku groaned, his head thrown back over the headrest, eyes closed. "Can someone carry me to bed?" Haru had made the boys switch between playing three versus three games to running the length of the beach until the game was done, all barefoot. Their steps were much harder on the uneven, constantly shifting surface. Digging for balls had to be done precisely and with careful calculation, otherwise one of them would end up with either scrapped knees of with a mouth full of sand. The whole team was exhausted, like they had played multiple consecutive games, little grains of sand clinging to their sweaty bodies.

"I don't ever want to see a beach again in my life." Shibayama murmured, a set of agreeing groans ringing out.

"And Kuroo, what the heck was with that pace." Kai complained, his hands going over the sore muscles in his legs. They wouldn't stop trembling no matter how much he massaged them.

"Demon captain." Lev agreed.

"And demon manager." Inuoka added. The group groaned again, deciding to just stay where they were until they could wobble their way to the elevator.

Kuroo showered rather quickly, eager to get all the sand off of his body. He left the bathroom in a pair of clean shorts and a t-shirt. He saw Haru packing a small backpack next to her bag.

"Going somewhere?" the captain asked casually, toweling his hair off.

"The store," the girl didn't even look up at him. "We need groceries for tomorrow." She stood, finally turning to look at him. She was wearing a tiny thing that shouldn't be called a shorts. Her legs were surprisingly long and shaped attractively, not too thin. But, what fascinated him the most was her hair. As always, it was messy and in a bun. Yet, a few stray curls had managed to escape it, framing her face and sticking to her damp neck.

"Do you want some company?" Haru seemed to consider his offer for a second, before nodding quickly. "Just give me a second." Kuroo had been trained through various 5-second changing routines at volleyball practice to be ready in no time. He pulled on some flipflops and tossed his towel on the drying rack on the balcony. Grabbing his cellphone and wallet, the boy walked up to the girl who had been waiting by the door. "Ready."

She didn't speak and stood at arm's length away from him as they took the elevator down to the lobby. The duo passed the team, half of them asleep on the sofa chairs next to the reception. Haru giggled at the sight, pointing it out to him. Kuroo stifled his laugh, catching Kenma and Kai's glares from their half-dead, cooked noodle like positions on the comfortable two-seater.

"Head upstairs before you all fall asleep." The captain reminded, giving them a wave and ignoring the couple of groans and muted complaints that got him. Haru couldn't stop giggling until they were on the paved road, ready to walk about half a kilometer to the closest store.

"Do you think I overdid it?" She spoke to him, finally.

"Nah," Kuroo shrugged. "It will be good for them in the long run." He fell into step with her, sparing her a glance. She was looking out towards the water, pensive. "Ever gone for a night swim?" That had her head spinning to look at him.

"What?" Haru almost shrieked, her cheeks going an attractive red color, despite the natural tan. "No, I haven't."

"Do you want to?" At his question, she looked back out at the sea.

"You wouldn't be scared?"

"Nah," Kuroo watched her reactions carefully. "It's just water, same as during the day. Whatever is in it now, is in it at all times." The girl turned to him, as if mulling over the possibility of going for a swim.

"But the sharks…"

"Are there in the afternoon, too." Kuroo told her. "It's true that sharks are most active at night, dusk and dawn. However, they are rare in this area. The last few sightings were near Cape Zampa, and they were small ones, maybe 1.5 meters or so." He noticed the way Haru was watching him in wonder. "They aren't the kind that attack unprovoked, so if we don't bother them they won't bother us."

"You…" Haru began, pausing. "Know a lot about sharks." Kuroo almost sighed.

"I'm not just a pretty face, I'll have you know," He teased. "Biology is my thing." At that, she seemed more interested.

"Is that the field you're interested in working in?" Kuroo shrugged.

"Maybe that, maybe professional volleyball." He told her. "I've been scouted a few times, but nothing serious yet. So, maybe I'll major in bio at college. Who knows…" His hand came up to rub the back of his neck, a little embarrassed at the topic which was centered around him.

"You're surprisingly modest, Kuroo-sempai." Haru giggled.

"What's with that?" His almost offended statement got her to look at him, eyes wide in question. "Call me by my name, like the rest of the team. I'm feeling rather excluded, you know?" She didn't laugh, but looked at her hands, fingers playing with each other nervously. "Or, am I different?"

"Honestly, I don't know what to make of you, Kuroo-sempai." When he didn't reply, she continued. "One second, you're teasing me and flirting casually, and the next you're all professional, helping me with my duties as a manager. And then, you're being too forward again."

"Sorry," Kuroo laughed, trying to ease the tension. "I guess that's just how I am?" He saw the way she stole a glance at him. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"No." She immediately replied. "Okay, maybe a bit sometimes."

"Then tell me." Haru looked up at him, seeing his serious expression. "When I'm making you uncomfortable, you tell me upfront. I'll stop doing whatever is making you uneasy." She nodded, her eyes wondering to the sea again.

"Have you ever done it?" He had to focus his brain away from inappropriate thoughts and figure out what she was talking about. "Swimming at night, I mean."

"No."

"Do you want to?" Kuroo smiled at the flipped conversation.

"Yes."

"Let's do it, then." There was a mischievous glint in Haru's eyes when she looked up at him again. He liked that look on her. He had seen it only a few times, but he definitely liked her like that. Bold, confident, mischievous. That was the part of her that he absolutely adored.

"Let's." She grabbed his hand, pulling him off the road and onto the sandy beach. His legs protested the walk, but he begged them to last until the very edge of the sea. There, the girl finally let go, making him miss her warm palm in his. She had small hands, he realized.

"Don't peek." Haru scolded him, dropping her backpack onto the sand. Next, she pulled the edges of her white shirt up, making him quickly look away and slip out of his flipflops, as well.

"Only if you won't." He cheekily replied, making her chuckle. His shirt was off, folded on his sandals, when he heard her wade into the water. His capris came off next, followed by his boxers, and then he was also walking into the dark water, following the sounds of Haru staying afloat. "You can turn, you know." He commented when he was in waist-deep, nothing of importance in view. He doubted that she would've been able to see anything in the dark night anyways.

The girl turned and he realized that she had her hair down, for once. It moved like a cloud of messy curls around her head, still dry, and clung to her bare shoulders in the water, drenched. She looked like some kind of an exotic sea Goddess and Kuroo cursed himself for thinking like only Yamamoto could.

"Your hair looks nice like that." He commented, pushing off the sand and coming to float close to her. Haru giggled, coming a bit closer on her own.

"Like a wild child?"

"Like you."

"Thanks." Then, her shy smile turning positively devilish, she reached over and dunked him under the surface, her laugh ringing out even underwater.

I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did… I love writing Haru and Kuroo, I'm hooked xD

As for the questions from last time, thanks Valen Goncalvez for participating!

1. Then, I shall do my best to prepare another bit of one-shots soon :D

2. Oikawa's one-shots are in progress… Shamelessly.

3. This, I won't promise soon, but there will definitely be some tumblr activity regarding Haru and Kuroo :D

4. Bingo for Valen Goncalvez! Nekomata is arranging matches for after the Golden Week, so he's late :P

5. Haru addresses the boys with various degrees of respect (from their first name to last name + san / sempai)

6. I've, so far, paid homage to Ghost Hunt and Kuroko no Basuke, both great anime!

Reviews:

Valen Goncalvez:
Thanks so much for the review! You're awesome :D
I'm on fire with writing! I feel the inspiration going nuts xD
To be honest with you, I'm a little afraid of writing the Karasuno boys… They are all so peculiar in their own way that I'm scared to mess their characters up xD Dreading, yet awaiting with glee, those chapters xD
Thanks so much for your answers! I can't express how much that meant to me!
Hope you enjoyed the update!

Omake:

Haru giggled as the Kuroo pushed the door to the lodge open with his body, holding it open for her and giving her a mock bow with his head and torso. They each had numerous bags in their hands, full of groceries. Her hair had left a dark trail of wetness down the back of her shirt, from the sea, and his still somehow managed to stick up weirdly.

"Ladies first." Kuroo mocked her, but Haru went along with it, bowing to him politely as she passed, giggling all the way. All the awkwardness she'd been feeling that day had been cleared with a simple skinny dip at night and a trip to the store afterwards. Who'd have thought?

"Oh gosh!" Haru lowered her voice, instantly moving towards Kuroo to whisper to him. "They're still here!" He looked up from her and to the object of her mirth, finding it easily. The Nekoma volleyball team was still sprawled where they'd left them hours ago, sleeping messily on the comfortable sofa chairs in the lobby.

"Should we leave them?" Kuroo smirked.

"Oh my God, no!" Haru whipped her head to him, but didn't have the heart to glare at him. "They'll be so sore in the morning!"

"They'll be sore anyways."

"True." Haru shrugged, then turned to him as she led the way towards the kitchen they had been using. "Did you hear what they called you?"

"Mmm?" Kuroo was right behind her, helping her put away the groceries into the fridge.

"Demon captain."

"You're saying something, demon manager."

I think… I might be a little obsessed with this ship now…