Hello my dear readers, and welcome to another chapter. If you're interested in the aesthetics, I've began uploading them on my tumblr page styomi dot tumblr dot com

Chapter 15: Horrible

Haru sat in her usual chair at work, frozen. Akari was settled on the table next to her, her own coffee in hand. She had a troubled look on her face, watching Haru's reactions carefully. Satoshi seemed to have stopped working on the PC, as well, but was still turned towards the screen.

"W-what?" the girl finally spoke after a minute or so, her face muscles making an amazing expression. Akari sighed, her head dropping down before she quickly raised it.

"He was out with Megumi," she told her friend slowly, like Haru had suddenly forgotten Japanese. "On a date." Haru's hands began shaking and she placed thee coffee down, her head going to her hands, fingers messing up her curls.

"Are you sure?" There were sounds of a mouse clicking and Satoshi doing some work in the back.

"I tailed them for three and a half hours!" Akari whined, making the man try to hold in his laughter, but not quite make it. "I have skills, alright?!"

"Are you sure it wasn't just a casual date?" Satoshi turned his chair around, leaning on one armrest. "I mean, we do it a lot in college. If you don't know someone, you go out with them to get to know them, before you make a commitment. It's so sad how you youngsters forego the whole dating process and go straight into a relationship." Satoshi laughed.

"I don't know," Akari shook her head. "They went to stores, held hands and she kissed him at the end."

"Oh," Satoshi frowned. Haru's soul seemed to have left her body, making the girl look like some form of a weird statue.

"I talked to Kenma earlier, he said that Kuroo-sempai thought that you two were dating." Her fingers went between the other two people in the room. Satoshi started laughing, bending over in his office chair.

"No way," the manager said, waving his hand in a denying motion. "Haru's cute and all, but a tad young for me. I prefer mature women."

"I'm plenty mature!" That comment seemed to bring the girl out of her shell-shocked state as she turned to her manager, pouting.

"Wait, wait, what brought him to that idea, though?" Satoshi looked at Akari, choosing not to retaliate.

"Apparently, you did," when Satoshi shrugged in question, the girl elaborated. "You drove her to school and Kuroo-sempai saw that. I didn't know if you were or weren't together, so I said that to Kenma when he asked."

"Aaaah, a silly little misunderstanding," Satoshi shrugged again, swiveling his chair back to face the PC. "Just talk to the boy." Haru didn't reply. Akari, when she looked at her friend, somehow doubted that that talk would go too well.

Haru didn't end up going home that evening. Her mind, even after Akari left, was in complete disarray. She kept making elementary mistakes while editing and then going back to fix them. Satoshi, in the end, offered to drive her to his apartment where they could keep working and also freshen up. Familiar with that happening while work was busy, Haru accepted.

Satoshi's flat wasn't too far away from the studio, it was only a twenty-minute drive. It was a rather spacious space for someone working in a photo shop, too. There were three rooms and a bathroom, all of which Haru knew by heart. So, after a small meal and working the majority of the time, the two took their showers and went to bed in separate rooms.

The morning was spent in a similar fashion. Shower, small meal and lots of work. Satoshi had been given a deadline to have the pictures of the dance group ready to publish, which was that weekend. In just a few days, they had to make a miracle happen. And, Haru was working in her free time on a personal project.

"Ready to go?" Satoshi asked, grabbing his keys and walking into the small living room. Haru saved her work and got up, her uniform already on and book bag packed.

"All set," she followed her manager out, giving him the specifics of her work. "You just need to do a few finishing touches on that picture with Nana doing an arabesque and it should be ready. Though, check the one with the whole group on the stairs, where they're holding the candles," Satoshi opened his car door, sliding in. Haru rushed to the other side, getting into her seat as well. "I left it open in the program for you to look over."

"Alright, sounds like we're almost ready." The manager turned on the music and pulled out of the parking spot, joining the slowly moving line of cars. "You just focus on school and rest for a bit. We can do some more stuff tonight or tomorrow."

"Okay!" Haru grinned and then the two fell into easy chatter, the ride going by quite quickly.

Was there a way to stop one's mind from going into overdrive? Haru discovered that there really wasn't. She knew that she should be happy about her work and the important assignment she had. Satoshi was counting on her majorly and the success of the whole thing depended on the both of them equally. She knew that Ikki was counting on her and Akari to go to his game and that he was so excited about the Inter-High preliminaries that weekend. She knew that her own team was also looking forward to, if not a bit anxious about their own matches which would happen soon. She also knew that her father was counting on her to make him proud during the sports benefit. She knew that her mind should be in a good place, looking forward and working hard towards all those things. Yet, all her stupid brain could do was think about Megumi and her grabby little hands all over Kuroo.

It didn't have anything to do with Kuroo, Haru had rationalized to herself. It wasn't like she was dating him or wanted to date him. It was just… just… the way the boy behaved made her think that there could be something there. She had simply been too scared to admit it and give a push from her side. Yet, what really made her almost physically sick was the fact that Kuroo had chosen Megumi of all people. Why couldn't it be some nameless third-year she didn't know? But Megumi.

Haru had gotten over her inferiority complex to the girl just a while back, only for it to come back full force with this unfortunate event. She could see them, together, in her imagination like a twisted image of beauty, walking hand in hand and laughing. And, that hadn't been that bad. Haru could survive if that was the only image it saw. But, during the lunch break she heard two girls whispering to each other in the bathroom, saying how Kuroo had slept with Megumi on the first date. As silly and highly improbable as it sounded, Haru's mind had taken it under consideration, shooting out one after another sickening picture. She couldn't stop imagining the two, barely clothed, in highly intimate positions.

Her mind knew just what to picture, too. She'd had the misfortune of stumbling into the boys' locker room more than once, catching them all in some state or the other of undress. She'd seen quite a bit of Kuroo's body when he changed his shirt before a practice match at the gym, right there beside the bench. She knew what to put into her sickening image. Megumi, she'd had the opportunity to see changing into her PE uniform a few times last year. It wasn't that Haru had been looking for that, either time, it had simply happened. And, what an unfortunate fact that was. Her mind was on fire and she just wanted it to stop.

She wanted to go back to visualizing her brush working over troublesome parts of an image on her computer. She wanted to see Ikki's sweaty body yelling for a ball and jumping to do a dunk at the basketball gym. She wanted to see the volleyball team celebrating after a win. She even wanted to picture the wardrobe that she'd torn apart, looking for a suitable outfit for the benefit. There were so many positive images that she could see in her head, yet her mind kept disobeying, as if saying that she should care about Kuroo and Megumi more. Finally, Haru snapped during one of the short breaks in between classes, getting up from her desk so quickly that her chair slammed violently into the desk behind hers. Akari jumped up to the right of her, almost dropping the phone she'd been using to text even in class.

"Ha-Harucchi?" her friend's voice didn't manage to pull her back from her task and the second-year girl stomped towards the door. "Harucchi? Where are you going?! Don't do anything stupid, Harucchi!" But it was stupid. She knew that it was stupid. Stupid and irrational and could probably get her a suspension but she was far beyond that point. Haru stomped into class 2-3 with vengeance on her mind, this time not only for herself.

"Megumi," the girl called out in a surprisingly calm tone, making the small group of girls around Megumi's desk turn around to look at her. She could feel Kenma's inquisitive stare on her face, but she didn't dare look up at him. Instead, she slowly walked over to the girl she couldn't get out of her mind. "Lying again?" Haru asked, stopping in front of the desk then.

"About?" Megumi looked like some kind of a queen, sitting there, legs crossed and skirt worn short. Her hair and makeup were perfect, as always. She was sneering at Haru as if she was some kind of a peasant coming for an unwanted audience.

"You know what I'm talking about," Haru said, doing her best to keep her tone calm. When she looked at the girl all she could see was those tiny pale hands all over Kuroo's lanky form. "I warned you not to spread lies again, didn't I?"

"But, I'm not spreading any lies, Sakurano-san?" Megumi had the audacity to play innocent, tilting her head to the side and looking cutely at Haru, her whole demeanor changing. When she thought back to that moment, months later, she could plainly see that the girl had had some kind of ulterior motives. She should've noticed that then. Yet, at those words, all Haru's brain did was go back to that image of Kuroo and Megumi together, on some foreign bed, half-clothed in the dark.

"You think it's funny, right?" Haru walked forward, her hands going to the desk, spotting the girls around Megumi move back from her from the corner of her eye. "Talking absolute crap and bullshit about people who are kind and won't retaliate? You think it's funny that you can ruin someone's life with only the lies that you spread, you poisonous snake?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Megumi's voice trembled and there were tears in the corners of her eyes, but Haru simply didn't give a damn anymore. She just wanted to hurt the girl like Megumi had hurt her the previous and then that very same year. And, she wanted to protect Kuroo, as well, just like he had protected her that April.

"You little lying-"

"You!" Haru was stopped by a booming voice at the door before her hand could make a grab for Megumi's shirt, which it had been aimed at. It was like cold water had been poured over her anger, stifling it. She slowly turned around, barely registering the victorious smile on Megumi's face, the frown on Kenma's and Akari's own expression of almost annoyance from outside the classroom. "What's your name and class?" The teacher standing at the door had a fierce look on his face.

"Sakurano Chiharu, 2-2." Haru knew it was over, Megumi had won that round. She had been stupid enough to fall for it, too. There was no use in trying to wriggle out of it.

"Go to the principle's office!" The teacher sounded furious. He looked around the class, then called out. "Kozume, see that she does it." Then, Kenma was standing next to her.

"C'mon, Haru." His voice was low and somehow sympathetic, which almost made her break down then and there. Kenma took her hand gently and pulled her towards the exit, meeting Akari outside.

"Do you want me to come with?" The silence was stifling around their words and Haru felt her throat constrict and air leave her lungs.

"No, I've got it," Kenma murmured to the girl. "You should go to your own class." Akari was gone and they were in a different corridor. They were walking to the principal's office. There was a warmth on her hand and Haru looked at it, seeing Kenma's still tightly holding hers.

"Kenma," she murmured, voice breaking. The setter looked slightly up to meet her eyes for once. "Am I a horrible person?" Her voice finally broke and she knew that she was crying. "Is being in love going to make me like this forever?" Haru didn't register what she'd uttered, but Kenma never let anything escape him. His eyes wide, he looked at the girl properly. She was blushing, crying, but looking finally less out of it.

"You just did something stupid," he told her, his free hand digging into his pocket to pull out tissues. He took one out and carefully wiped the tears which wouldn't stop rolling down the girl's cheeks. "You're not a horrible person but you just feel like that right now. It's because jealousy makes us ugly and horrible." The teary brown eyes met his own and then, Haru was hugging him, in the middle of the corridor, crying loudly. All Kenma could do was keep handing her tissues and hold her trembling body tightly.

In the end, she had gotten lucky. The principal had agreed to let her off with a stern warning due to her previously exemplary record. Though, Haru had been reminded that petty rumors shouldn't be something to make her resort to violence with a rather meaningful look. It was as if the principal had given her the final hint and permission. Haru walked up to Akari first, after class and took her sleeve pulling her into the girls' bathroom.

"Haru!" her friend swiveled to check her over, touching her cheeks tenderly. "Have you been crying?" Akari asked.

"It's fine," Haru nodded at her with a determined look. "I just wanted to tell you that Megumi was actually very fat in middle school and everyone hated her and I have pictures." Akari tilted her head to the side, looking at her friend expectantly.

"I…see?"

"Do what you will with that information." Then, Haru turned around and left the girls' bathroom, heading to her next destination with a finally clear head. She spotted Kuroo's messy bedhead easily in front of the boys' locker room next to the gym and called out before he could enter.

"Kuroo!" He literally jumped, turning around. Was that a blush on his face? "Just wanted to let you know that Megumi has been telling everyone how you slept with her after that date you had yesterday!" Kuroo's expression, unlike what she'd expected at the loud comment made for anyone nearby to hear, changed into pure glee.

"She has, has she?" He asked, making Haru's determination waver. She'd thought he hadn't slept with Megumi. But, by the reaction, perhaps he had. After she gave him a small nod, the boy started laughing his weird guffaw though. "Oh, I thought-I thought, damn this is golden! Wait for me a second, alright?" Kuroo tossed his bag into the locker room and ran downstairs, coming up to grab Haru's shoulders in excitement. "What should we do?" the girl was baffled.

"Wh-what should we do?" she repeated uncertainly back to him.

"I personally don't condone revenge, except in volleyball, but after she's pulling this stunt again, I'm not against it." Kuroo shrugged. "I really thought she was honest in her feelings and wanted to respect them, you know?"

"R-respect them?" Haru was, once again that day, left completely baffled and semi-frozen. "Kuroo, I'm not following…" The captain seemed to be on cloud nine, but he made an effort to explain.

"The most power you can give someone over your reputation is if you lie that you'd slept with them," he told her with a smirk. "Typically, I wouldn't take advantage and just wave at the BS as it passes, but I'm honestly tired of always being in the center of the rumor mill, even if it's all false."

"But, you did go out with her?" Haru tilted her head.

"You jealous?" That smirk made her snap.

"No!" Haru's hand slammed into Kuroo's chest and she turned around, walking towards the gym.

"Woah, woah, woah!" He was too quick for her. Catching her wrist and spinning her around, Kuroo had her trapped once more. "You're actually jealous?" she shook her head and he sighed. "Let me explain," Kuroo led her away from the gym and out by the currently empty soccer field, plopping down and patting the ground next to himself. Haru obliged, sitting down as well. "Now then, we should clear this mess up. I know Megumi's your nemesis and all, but I didn't think that it would bother you that much."

"I hate her," Haru interrupted. "She's probably the only person I hate in this world." Kuroo leaned back onto his arms with a sigh.

"Have you ever confessed to anyone?" He asked her in a different tone, much calmer. Haru looked over at him, seeing those eyes watching her tentatively, like he usually tracked their opponents during a match.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Have you?"

"Once."

"Was it hard?" Haru thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"I was scared that I'd get rejected." Kuroo nodded to her and then gave her a smile.

"I have a friend in my year, Misaki, she'd the class president and one of the best students we have at Nekoma," Haru wasn't sure where he was going with his story again. "She was really confident and headstrong in first year and it made her rather popular. After a while, she had a boy whom she liked. A sempai. So, she went and confessed."

"Did they get together?" Haru asked, fully forgetting the confusion from earlier and focusing on Kuroo's story. He shook his head.

"The sempai's friends recorded her confession and passed it around for giggles. And, he said quite a few mean things to her," Kuroo looked at Haru with some kind of strength that she wasn't familiar with. It was a completely new expression on his face. "I promised that I would never reject a confession unless I was already in a relationship back then."

"Oh…" Haru nodded, eyes going to her hands.

"Besides, it was stupid to accept to go on a date with Megumi, even though I like someone else." At that, Haru's head snapped back up, looking at him in shock. So, there was some nameless third-year that he liked. "But, I couldn't refuse getting to know her, at least."

"Kuroo-sempai…" Haru murmured. "You're too kind."

"Back to the sempai thing!" Kuroo groaned, arms giving in as he flopped back onto the grass. "I thought I'd just cleared a level, too!" Haru giggled, shaking her head at his antics.

"But, what did you mean about revenge?"

"Oh, I could say whatever I want about how Megumi is in bed, now that she's told the whole school we slept together." Kuroo had a pensive look on his face. "Do you want me to?" He looked at her, fixing her in place. Haru thought about it for a split second before she shook her head.

"We have a choice to give in to the horrible," she told him. "I choose not to." She missed the way he smiled at her, like he was proud, because the girl gasped and jumped up. "I need to talk to Akari!" And she was gone.

Her mind was finally quiet, for the first time that day. Satoshi had called to tell her he was dead tired and needed a break that afternoon. She had managed to catch Akari and swear her to secrecy on the Megumi thing. She had caged the horrible thoughts inside her head yet again with two conversations, one with Kenma and the other with Kuroo. She even felt good, sitting on the bench, watching the boys go crazy when Nekomata had let her tell them about the invitation to the benefit.

She was smiling, for the first time since she'd heard about Kuroo and Megumi's date and there were no foul images in her head. Haru even shared a small knowing smile with the captain as they bantered during a water break, as usual. The peace in her head was broken when a certain too loud presence entered the gym as the boys were getting ready to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto entered, wearing his school uniform for once, Akaashi in tow. Haru was pretty certain that she heard Kenma exclaim something close to 'geh' and duck towards the bench.

"Hello," the setter offered the group a nod, almost apologetic for his teammate.

"Kuroo, up for after-practice practice?" Bokuto's question caused mayhem as the majority of the Nekoma team made a quick escape. Nekomata handed Haru the keys, clapping her gently on the shoulder and leaving her in charge of the rowdy boys who'd chosen to stay.

"I promise we won't be too long, Haru-san." Akaashi tried to console her, but Haru just sighed and shrugged. She already knew from her last experience with Bokuto that he had endless stamina.

"It's alright," she plopped down onto the bench, taking out her homework. "You guys play till you're happy, just don't hit any strays at me, please. I have to study."

"Alright! Let's go, Kuroo!" Bokuto led the mismatched team into a small three on three, despite the Nekoma captain's protests.

Haru left the gym to refill the bottles sometime after the fourth time Kuroo had started yelling at Lev about his 'banzai block'. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she listened to them, trying her best to focus on the homework. As the girl emptied, washed and then filled the bottles on autopilot, she saw a tall shadow at the outside sink. Someone had come up behind her. Someone big. Haru spun around, water bottle in hand, ready to smack the person.

"Hey, Haru!" Bokuto's loud tone made her immediately lower the poor choice of weapon. "I'm going to die, move please." She obliged, scooching to let the older boy dunk his head under the stream. He sighed and then moved to the side, drinking deeply from the tap.

"Don't drink too much cold water at once or you'll get sick, Bokuto-san." Bokuto's face came out of the water and he shook his head, splashing drops of water everywhere. Haru moved a little to the side to attempt to evade them, but some still caught on her red Nekoma sweats.

"Oh, you sure are knowledgeable about doctor stuff, Haru." Bokuto told her with a wide grin.

"Doctor stuff?" The girl frowned. "Wait, isn't that common sense?" Bokuto shrugged.

"Cold water just tastes better and feels better after a hard day of training in the summer." The third-year grinned. "Besides, I've never gotten sick before!"

"Never?" Haru's eyebrow rose. Bokuto's face scrunched up, thinking hard. The girl couldn't help giggling at that. She liked the loud Fukurodani ace, he was very honest and direct in his feelings and thoughts, which put her at ease. "Cold water is a shock to your insides, which are warm from the work out, Bokuto-san. That's why it's suggested that you take cool or room temperature beverages after training." Bokuto's hand came to give her a hard clap on the back which made her stumble forward.

"Kuroo said you were smart!" that shocked her.

"Kuroo-sempai talks about me?" she murmured, mostly to herself, in shock, but the boy caught her words.

"Of course he does, won't shut up about the new manager," Oh, the position, of course. Haru's heart somehow sank. "At first it was all, new manager new manager. Then, it was oh, she's pretty and exotic. Now, he won't shut about how smart you are or how good your hair looks when you wear it down." Haru's heart did a backflip in her chest and she felt her cheeks blush. "He keeps talking about how you smell like coconuts and coffee."

"C-coconuts and coffee?" Bokuto leaned in, sniffing at her neck, which made her giggle.

"And tangerines, how did that idiot not get that right?" Haru laughed, gathering the water bottles.

"My perfume has tangerines in it." She grinned at the third-year. He took some of the water bottles from her hands and then caught her wrist.

"He really likes you, you know," Bokuto said, looking at her seriously. "But, Kuroo is an idiot and can't make the first move. He's too scared." And after dropping that bomb on her so casually, the ace walked away with a few parting words. "Don't make him hold it in for too long, he'll go crazy." Haru was left blushing and grinning to herself, the whole incident with Megumi already forgotten.

I'll be honest, I'm not happy with this chapter… I think Kuroo was a tad out of character in it… What do you guys think?

Reviews:

Moonlightshadowxiii:
Glad you enjoyed the chapter, even if it was an anguish kind of enjoyment xD
I hope this chapter cleared Kuroo's motives regarding the date a bit? But, yep, he's totally into Haru and can't help himself xD
Glad you liked Akari's chapter :D I had so much fun writing her! She's really similar to one of my bffs and always cracks me up :D
Akari and Kenma xD Gosh, how did I not see how perfect they would be together earlier xD they're gonna be so much fun to write! I honestly think Kenma would be panicking when he gets to the 'meet n greet' part xD Poor thing xD
Kuroo the Traitor hahahhaah omg xD I'm sorry I feel like I made half of my readers dislike Kuroo with that date scene xD But, poor boy has his reasons… and it's tough having a one-sided love, tbh… I understand him a bit too much xD
Glad to have you enjoying the story so much, even if it's conflicting feelings xD
Hope to hear from you again soon :D
Best! :D

Rosto'sGirl:
Hi! Thanks for the review :D
Kenma and Akari hit me out of the blue and they're so cute I just couldn't help myself xD
I agree. Kuroo is stupid, but he has his reasons for stupidity. I hope this chapter cleared that up a bit :)
Oh, I thought you'd already read that one? xD It was the drabbles that started this one actually hahahaha
Soon, I promise :D Especially with this bomb that Bokuto dropped so casually xD
Best!

KirikaAndo:
Hi! Thanks so much for the lovely comments :D
Oh, they're appearing now… Maybe it just takes a while for them to register on the site? xD
Of course she likes him xD Maybe too much? I hope this chapter cleared up as to why Kuroo accepted to go on the date in the first place :) Don't be disappointed in him, he always has good reasons, that scheming captain!
cheers!

Valen Goncalvez:
Thanks for the review!
Akari is the best, isn't she? xD
Glad you like the new, though unexpected, ship xD

AmIValid2:
Oh gosh your review made me laugh so much xD Thanks! I'm always happy to keep you entertained, even during Friendsgiving :P
Yeah yeah, I totally know the feeling! It's like when you're wading into water and the ground just suddenly drops and your stomach goes down with it? xD I promise Kuroo isn't weak xD He has his reasons, the poor sod xD He is kind :P Well, and maybe a tad ticked off that Haru got driven to school? xD Poor thing, I love him and like support his actions on one hand, but on the other I just want them to move forward xD
Oh, I'm so glad people like this impromptu pairing xD I wasn't planning on it and it just kinda happened, but I like it now and I'm sending that ship sailing without regrets xD They totally complement each other, I agree! She's bubbly enough to keep him entertained :P
Best!

Omake:

Kenma opened his phone, clicking on the new text. It was from Akari.

How are you today?

That seemed to be an awkward conversation starter. He typed a reply back, asking her politely how she was. His phone dinged with the reply almost instantly. It was littered with emoji that somehow seemed to fit the girl.

Did you clear up the mess with Haru and Satoshi?

He typed back, and his phone dinged yet again. Glancing to make certain the teacher was still explaining something on the board and not looking at him, Kenma read the reply.

They're not dating. We're free and clear to finally set those two up! Btw, nails this afternoon?

Kenma smiled at the reply to himself. She didn't forget and wouldn't let him off the hook. He appreciated the attention to detail, even if he was a little anxious about it. Kenma liked people who could pull him by the hand, getting him into situations he wouldn't usually get into. He appreciated the change of pace.

After practice. How do you want to set them up?

The reply, again, took little time. Kenma didn't even look to see if the teacher was paying attention to him this time.

I just want to lock them in a room together and wait, but that would be counter-productive. We will have to think up a scheme. Maybe ask them individually to meet up somewhere and just leave them there alone, see what happens?
Your place? My bothers are home today.

Kenma typed an answer quickly.

I'll see if there is a better way, concerning volleyball. It could be easy to get them a task they need to do together for the team and then try to set the situation so they have to talk it out.
Sure, I'll see you after club activities.

"Kozume, stop texting," the teacher scolded, making Kenma jump in his seat. "You're supposed to know this for the test." Despite the laughter of the whole class and the attention on him, the setter felt that those text messages were worth the trouble.

That's all folks!