This was quite the chapter… I feel like I might get ganged upon by some of the reviewers, you know how you are, if I don't get these two together sometime soon xD Gosh, you guys crack me up! Enjoy!

Shoutout to everyone who's chatted with me on Tumblr so far: you guys are the bombs! Hope you liked listening to Haru's playlist :D

Chapter 19: Buzz buzz

"Cover!" Kai shouted, Kenma not moving a millimeter to give the necessary help. Instead, Kuroo rushed, raising the ball and Lev got the last, tossing it over. Haru looked away from the mock match that Nekoma was playing divided into two teams, going to the coach on the bench.

"Nekomata-sensei," she spoke up, getting his attention instantly. "I've been in contact with the coaches from the National Teams under nineteen from Cuba and Brazil, they have both agreed to play matches with us."

"Ooh, that's quite a catch, right there," the old man nodded, eyes widening. "Where did you manage to get into contact with them? The sports benefit?"

"Yes," Haru blushed, looking down at the clipboard in her hands. "I've gotten a hold of their schedules and we can make those two practice matches happen if we just edit the schedule a tad." Nekomata nodded, looking back to the practicing boys.

"It would be good for them to face a strong opponent before the Inter-High," he told her. "Have you done any research on the teams which will be included in those matches?"

"Yes," Haru sat down, flipping the clipboard. "I have five tapes from the strongest teams during their last matches in official games. I also went to check out their practice," at that, Nekomata laughed, gently patting her on the shoulder. "I know they're not supposed to be recorded because of the courtesy rules, but I did take some notes."

"Who do you think will be the most troublesome for us?" The coach asked, then turned to the court as Yaku started screaming at Lev about his receive.

"Nohebi looks bad this year," Haru read from the clipboard. "Fukurodani is strong as always. But, I think that Itachiyama is the biggest problem."

"They will be seeded, though," Nekomata said.

"Let's hope that they won't be in our side of the bracket." The coach laughed, looking at the girl.

"Now that you've said it, it's bound to happen."

"I'll pray!" Haru replied with a grin, going back to the clipboard. The coach couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Alright, you and Kuroo go over those tapes and he will tell you what plays you will need to discuss with the team," Nekomata instructed, Haru taking notes. "If you need a strategist for the counter-plays, rope Kenma into it, no matter how much he objects. Lastly, do your best to wriggle around our schedule and set up those matches with the Cubans and Brazilians."

"Yes, sensei." Haru nodded and fished out the team's phone, as well as her own. She needed to do some scheduling. Just as the boys took a water break, having a small meeting together to discuss the plays, someone burst into the gym, grabbing their attention.

"Haru, why's your phone off?" Satoshi stood there, in all his I-just-left-a-concert glory. Heads turned to Haru who seemed shocked to see the man. He stood out somehow, a part of her work life in her school life. She wasn't sure she liked them mixing.

"I put it on silent, cause of practice?" Satoshi stomped over, a grin on his face. He grabbed her hands, ignoring the water bottles in each of them which she'd started distributing to the boys.

"I'm swamped and Miki can't come in today, can I steal you?" He turned to the coach, letting go of the girl's hands to bow to him. "I'm sorry for barging in, sensei. Please, let me kidnap your manager for today." Nekomata laughed, then waved a hand off, telling the younger man not to worry.

"You can take her, we can do the rest ourselves," then, the coach turned to Haru while Satoshi seemed to be crying of joy. "We agreed on everything that needs to be done. Kuroo," he looked to the captain, who broke from his blatant staring at the handsome manager of the photo studio. "Can you meet with Haru later and go over some tapes with her?"

"Yes, coach." The boy replied and instantly, he noticed a sly look coming from the newcomer in the gym. Satoshi was looking him up and down, smirking. Haru politely excused herself, grabbing her things and the manager helping her.

"So, that's him?" Kuroo managed to hear Satoshi ask in a low voice as the two left the gym, the older man's head too close to Haru's for his liking. But, he still enjoyed the way the girl blushed and elbowed him into the side, telling him to shush.

"What.. was that about?" Yaku asked, tilting his head as he drank from his water bottle. Nekomata grinned at the boy.

"Haru told me that work might get a bit busy for her in the next few weeks," he told the curious group. "Their photos just got published in a well-known magazine and they might get a bit more work than normal."

"Oh, Haru does photography?" Inuoka asked, eyes wide. "I didn't know!"

"Me neither!" Lev piped up, the two first years looking at each other. The whole team was silent as they drank their water for a moment. Then, Kenma spoke up.

"Perhaps we don't know as much about her as we thought we did." The setter voiced what everyone was thinking. Kuroo smirked, motioning for them to get closer. The boys huddled, Nekomata only hearing them quickly whisper amongst each other. Then, they cheered together, determined.

"Okay, back to the game, boys!" Naoi called for attention and practice resumed.

Haru was tired. In fact, she was beyond exhausted. She has understood as soon as they'd arrived at the studio why Satoshi had come to fetch her in such panic. The phone was ringing off the hook, even his cellphone while he had been driving them back to the shop. There were requests coming in left and right and the two weren't sure which to accept and which not to. They couldn't possibly handle all of them at once with just two people. So, in the end, they'd called their boss.

Hino Yuko was a name that everybody knew. She had become famous at just nineteen, her portraits of common Japanese and Vietnamese people, just on the street, doing their own thing, had taken the world by storm and gone viral. At the age of thirty, she had a solid career and her own studio. She spent most of her time outside of Japan, taking photos across the world. During her absence, she had instructed Satoshi, a promising wildlife and portrait photographer, to take care of her studio. He hadn't called her once within the last seven years of being in charge. But, he had called her that day.

In the end, Yuko had told them to do as they best saw fit. The ones they liked, they could accept, the jobs that felt sketchy, they shouldn't. She also told them to be careful not to accept any requests from rival companies and groups to the one they had just gotten their success with. Then, she'd congratulated them and told them to put their own names, next to the studio title, on each picture.

Satoshi and Haru had ended up splitting up, going separately to locations and taking photos, staying in touch by phone. A few times, the manager would pick her up and drive her to her next gig, while at other times, she'd taken the train. He had promised to include the price of the tickets into her overtime bonus, so she wasn't really complaining.

Most of the sets where Haru had arrived that day had been quick to dismiss her as a youngster without much experience. She'd had to prove, through her professionalism and good pictures, that she was a solid photographer despite her age. In the end, with just a tad of arguing and a lot of showing off her skills, Haru had earned her place twice over at the studio.

She arrived home late, with the studio Nikon camera still at her hip, legs feeling like jelly. With a sigh, the girl unlocked her front door and entered. Instantly, she knew she wasn't alone.

"I'm home!" Haru called out, toeing off her shoes and walking into the hall. She dropped off her book bag and the camera on the shoe storage, going to the kitchen where the light was shining. Her heart was racing, as there was only light and no music, and she was honestly hoping that it was either of her parents who were home, and not her sister.

"Finally!" Tough luck. Haru sighed, walking into the kitchen more confidently on her shaky legs, opting to ignore Chihiro and her new boyfriend who were sitting at the table. "Chiharu, where have you been? I've been waiting for hours!" Haru grabbed some of the leftovers from the previous night, putting them into a bowl and tossing them into the microwave. She turned to her sister, taking a deep, calming breath. On most days she could deal with Chihiro's attitude. On most days, she could handle the rudeness and general disrespect of her sister. But, it was late, she'd been working for hours, and she didn't have her filter functioning just right. And, perhaps the boys from the volleyball team had influenced her just a bit in not taking anything lying down.

"Chihiro, honestly, I don't care," Haru told her sister, almost reveling in the way the girl gaped. "I'm tired and don't have the energy for this today. Besides, you can always just text me with your demands, like you usually do."

"Oh, is this going to be a domestic?" The boy whom Chiharu didn't know asked with a grin, making her sister glare at him. Haru decided to ignore him, instead grabbing her warmed up food and tossing some cold rice into it. She grabbed a pair of clean chopsticks as her sister ranted at her in a raised voice and headed upstairs.

"I'm going to eat in my room." Haru took her books and the studio camera with her, not really sure how Chihiro would lash out this time.

"You little brat!" Her sister yelled after her as she climbed the stairs. "I'm telling mom!" Haru couldn't resist being petty.

"Go ahead!" She screamed from the door to her room, then slammed it shut. The girl stood completely still for a split second, breathing slowly. Her eyes prickled with tears and her throat constricted, as it always did when her sister was over. Then, after collecting herself, Haru walked to her desk and placed her dinner and her things there. She sat down and picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks. It was nice, tender and moist from the gravy. The rice that she picked up next perfectly suited the taste, the hot food filling her stomach comfortably. She could hear Chihiro yelling in the living room, angry about the whole mess from before. Haru could tell that she was the main topic and that her new boyfriend was simply fueling the fire. She wished Chihiro had stayed with Takashi, from high school. He has always been kind to Haru, despite her sister's attitude or the family quarrels.

The chopsticks in her hand seemed to fade, her fingers going numb as a dull buzzing appeared in her ears. Ah, it's happening again, Haru realized. She'd learned years ago not to fight this event. But, rather, to embrace it. It helped, after all. Chihiro's voice became a distant, muted sound, almost like a TV in the background and the food in her mouth lost its taste. She saw the tears more than she felt them, dropping into the hot gravy and onto her hand. But, she kept eating, completely numb, embracing the buzzing.

Her phone was ringing in her pocket, she could mutely hear it, but Haru didn't have the strength to pick up. Instead, she cried, eating her now tasteless dinner, for what seemed like hours. Finally, when she was done, she and the buzzing in her ears made themselves comfortable in the bathroom, lowered into a tub of warm water and coconut scented foam. There was no music. She didn't have the heart to play any. There was just silence, as Chihiro had finally stopped yelling.

She didn't know how long she was in the tub. Time seemed to simply float away, washed by the coconut scented foam just like the aches in her body from the hard day. But, Haru was almost content. The buzzing in her ears had appeared a long time ago. She has been barely ten when she'd first experienced it. It had been so frightening when she was young. She would run and hide or turn her music up as loud as she could, just to escape the numbness that it brought.

Though, with the years, she'd embraced it. When her sister started her usual routine of menace, Haru was glad that the buzzing came to her aid. It was a welcome friend whom she embraced with open arms. It made the noise of the yelling almost bearable and it made the time fly by. Her mind would go completely blank and she loved those moments with bittersweet attention.

"Haru?" The voice made her turn, the muted tone still audible. Then, the buzzing stopped, like it had been cut off by a knife. "God, are you alright?" Kuroo was at the bathroom door, now hurrying forward and kneeling down next to her bathtub.

"Eh, I'm fine?" She was confused. Why was Kuroo there? They hadn't had anything planned for that night that required him to come over? Why did he look so worried? He was wearing his home clothes, too, he must've rushed over. Her hand extended from the water, wet fingers touching the bangs that always seemed to hang over the third-year's right eye. Kuroo followed her motion, but let her play with the hair for a second. His hand reached up to grasp hers and then he gasped.

"You're freezing!" True, the water had gone cold. Haru suddenly became aware of the chill in her skin. Her bare skin in front of him. And, despite the foam, she became quite conscious of her lack of clothes. "Get up, c'mon." Kuroo stood, grabbing and then extending one of the light blue fluffy towels to her, back still turned. She didn't move. "Chiharu, let that water out and rinse, then put this on, c'mon. You'll catch a cold."

Without replying, Haru obeyed. Her fingers found the plug and the water slowly drained. She quickly showered the foam off with lukewarm water, careful not to splash the boy in the bathroom who stayed turned around rather respectively. Then, she grasped the towel from his hand. Their fingers brushed, his like fire to her icy ones. He turned around just as she was tucking in the edge of the towel together above her chest.

"Come here," Kuroo grasped her hands, then seemed to change his mind and lowered his grip to her waist gently, lifting her out of the bath and onto the towel in front of the tub with ease. "You need to get warm." He took her hand, leading her into her room. There, he proceeded to open her closet and toss her a long pair of sweats and a sleeved shirt. Haru caught them, still shocked that he was there.

"Will you choose my underwear, too?" She managed to ask him coyly, but she could see that he'd seen right through her when he turned. Her heart wasn't in the playful flirting line.

"I can, I don't mind," the third-year fixed her with a stern look. "Do you want me to?" Haru conceded the challenge, abandoning it.

"No, I can do it myself," she joined him at the closet and gently closed his eyes with her icy fingers. "Don't peek," she warned him and the boy nodded. "Why are you here, Kuroo?"

"I called you multiple times, you didn't pick up or text." He told her, eyes still closed. Haru took the chance to look at his face while he wasn't aware of it. Kuroo had a boyish kind of handsomeness to him. His cheekbones were high and his hair was messy, bringing his features into focus more. The smirk that he usually had on his lips, typically showing his straight teeth, was gone. In fact, he looked rather troubled then and there. She wished that she could see his eyes. She could always tell at least a bit of what he was thinking when she saw his eyes. "Are you really taking so long to choose your lacy panties?" He reminded her of the task at hand with the usual banter.

"You came over just because I wasn't answering my phone?" Haru cut him off, picking out a set of light blue comfortable, yet pretty undergarments. She didn't take off her towel as she pulled them on, then threw the shirt over her head and placed the towel onto the heater by the window.

"I called Akari and Kenma first," Kuroo told her in an even tone, leaning back onto the dresser in a way that showed off his long legs. "Akari told me you had texted her when you got off work, but she couldn't get through to call you either. You worried us, Haru."

"Oh," the girl turned to him then, inspecting the lean frame and the almost relieved expression on his face. "I'm sorry." His eyes opened and he blushed, noticing that she only had the shirt on, which fell just long enough to hide her underwear.

"Shit, sorry." He quickly closed his eyes again, and Haru chuckled.

"You can open your eyes now, you know," she told him. "It's not like you haven't seen a girl in a bikini before, right? Underwear's the same." Kuroo's amber eyes opened, fixing her with some unknown heat in them.

"It's not the same at all." He told her in a low voice. Haru blushed, grabbing the sweats he had tossed her and quickly pulling them on. "Haru," she looked up at him. "Are you alright?" When she opened her mouth to tell him that she was fine, he interrupted. "Don't deflect or lie. Tell me honestly." Kuroo's perceptiveness made her stop short. She took a breath and then replied with complete honesty.

"No." His expression softened.

"Can I do anything?" She looked at him and realized that this was a side of Kuroo she hadn't seen before. He seemed almost tender in the way he approached the topic. "Do you want to talk? Or prefer not to?" Haru realized that her throat was closing in on itself, tears brimming in her eyes once more.

"I don't know." Kuroo closed the distance between them in what seemed like milliseconds, wrapping his arms around her. Despite the heat of the late summer evening and the warm clothes which were on her chilled form, Haru welcomed it. In fact, she would've liked to have had a T-shirt, so that she could feel his skin on hers. She needed some human contact, oddly enough. The hug was helping her. It did wonders, like some kind of a magical spell. Why did Kuroo seem to be the only one who had these amazing powers with her?

"I'll show you a trick I use when I'm like that if you promise not to tell the team?" He asked her in a low voice, and she could feel the vibrations on the top of her head, where his chin rested gently.

"Promise." She replied, muffled by his shirt. Kuroo gently let her go, taking her hand and leading her to her own bed. He sat down, propped up by her pillows in a half-lying position. Then, Kuroo tapped the spot between his legs and Haru scooched onto the bed on all fours, sitting there. He pulled her back to his chest, legs closing around hers in a secure, comfortable hold. Then, there was his phone in front of her and he was opening the YouTube app. "Are you going to play me dirty videos?" She teased, looking back. But, Kuroo's face had quite an unusual smile on it. It was an open, honest one, unlike his usual smug grin.

"Nope." Then, he placed his head comfortably on her shoulder and played the first video, making Haru focus on it. Soon enough, they were both guffawing at the long line of funny videos the boy was playing for them, stopping the clips now and again to discuss, comment and wipe the tears from too much laughter.

"Wanna watch the tapes?" Kuroo asked as he put his phone to charge on Haru's desk, using her charger. They had completely drained his battery, going from funny videos of animals and toddlers to volleyball plays from famous teams and finally to beauty routines, where the third-year criticized with hilarious commentary, making the girl go from trying to take in the information to rolling in his embrace, laughing loudly.

"Sure," Haru hopped up from her bed, as well, feeling much lighter somehow. "But, we need to go downstairs…" She hesitated, thinking back to Chihiro who was probably still home.

"Does your sister bother you?" Kuroo asked, tilting his head. Haru remembered that he had come upstairs on his own, somehow entering her home. He has probably met her sister. Horror settled in.

"Oh, God, did she say anything to you?" At her wide-eyed look of fear, Kuroo smirked.

"Please," the third-year grinned wide, his teeth glinting in an all-too-familiar smile. "She isn't on my level. They don't call me the Master of Provocation for nothing." He shrugged confidently as Haru laughed.

"What did you do to her?" She walked over, fishing the tapes out from her desk drawer. Kuroo put his finger up to his lips, smirk still present. "Well, if you don't mind doing your magic with Chihiro one more time, I'm alright with going downstairs."

"Shall we?" Kuroo extended his hand and she didn't hesitate to take it.

"I'm already sorry about the family arguments you will witness." The third-year shrugged, and they were off to the living room. Chihiro spotted them as soon as they came into the hall, from her seat at the kitchen table where she'd been fiddling with her phone.

"Chiharu," she motioned for the girl to come to her. Haru sighed, handing Kuroo the tapes from her hand.

"Can you feed these to the player under the TV? I'll just be a minute."

"You okay on your own?" He was more than perceptive, Haru mused. She nodded and then let go of his warm hand, walking to the kitchen table. Chihiro had a peculiar sly smile on her face.

"That your boyfriend?" She immediately asked when Haru was close enough.

"No, just a sempai from my club." Chihiro nodded, still looking too smug for Haru's liking. Her sister licked her lips, looking towards the living room.

"You don't mind if I give it a go, then?" Haru's heart fell. "I mean, he's hot. I'd climb that boy like a tree."

"But, Chihiro, you already have a boyfriend." If there was one thing that Haru knew about her sister, it was that she always got what she wanted. She could still remember the first time it had happened. Haru had brought her friend from school home for the first time ever. She had been a first year in junior high back then, just entered. Chihiro, on the other hand, had been finishing high school. Her sister had joined them during their chatting, casually saying that she was a model. Pretty soon, Haru's friend had switched the attention onto her sister, not wanting to play with the girl anymore but always asking about her cool older sibling. And, that had just been the first time.

"Eiji? Who cares about him," Chihiro shrugged. "Now, that boy is hot. Besides, I like them a bit young and inexperienced. Gives you a chance to teach them how to pay good attention to you." Haru frowned, but didn't react. The worst thing she could do was show Chihiro that she was angry about the idea on its own.

"Do what you want," she honestly hoped that Kuroo would see right through her sister's fake flirtation. "We need to do some work for the club anyways." Haru walked into the living room with a heavy heart, but Kuroo managed to work his magic yet again, soon having her smiling at his lame flirting one-liners.

Gosh, this was fun to write! I've noticed that my chapters have started mirroring day to night routines, which is probably because I write throughout the day myself, so they follow my timeline hahahaha Sorry, the next one will break that mold!

Reviews:

Bookdragonslayer:
I know right! I love having fun with writing their parents, especially Kuroo's mom! :D Mine are super embarrassing, too xD I felt like writing something similar hahahaha
Bokuto is THE wingman. He is the MVP, all the way!

Rosto'sGirl:
Thanks so much for getting in touch with me over tumblr T_T Conversations like that feed my soul :D
I'm always semi-cruel to all characters :P It's gonna get better, though :D
Oikawa is tough to get warmed up to xD He's such a brat xD But, like, you end up sympathizing with him eventually lol xD
The dynamics have changeeed! It's gonna be super fun to write them soon :P Both cheeky idiots :D Give him a solid kick, I support it! xD
Cheers!

Valen Goncalvez:
Thanks so much! Glad that you're enjoying yourself :D

AmIValid2:
Death it shall be. For now? xD Wait, ain't that a coma? Smut coming to wake you up from it soon enough, though :)
I had a ton of fun writing the humor scenes, I'm glad that you enjoyed them :D Kuroo's mom is like urghhhh yas woman xD From condoms, to walking in on those two to torturing Kuroo together with Haru xD She makes me super happy! xD
KenAri is life now. I'm sailing with that ship like a fast-paced yacht, please, easy cruisin! I promise soon more on that front :D Kenma is definitely such a character that deserves so much love :D Like, he needs someone to pamper him :) Akari is the pamper queen, hint hint :P
Hahahaha nah, just mentions of an ex, none of her coming into play anytime soon. At least, not in my plans so far? Maybe, though, I could take this as a hint of you wanting more drama? Postponing the smut it shall be, I suppose… Lol, jk, I've teased you enough xD Developments in their relationship soon :D
Cheers!

Omake:

Kuroo dialed the number again. After the line cut off, he frowned at his phone. More than five calls would be too much, he decided, and switched targets. He dialed a different number.

"Hello." Kenma's bored voice told him that the setter was playing a game.

"Kenma, have you heard from Haru tonight?" Kuroo immediately asked.

"No." Was the short reply.

"She isn't picking up her phone, I'm worried." He heard the game sounds pause on the other end of the line. There was shifting as Kenma sat up.

"Maybe she's in the shower?" Kuroo groaned.

"But, it's been over twenty minutes?" Kenma took some time to think and then replied.

"Wait a second," then, Kuroo heard him talk in a muffled voice to someone next to him. Well, that was odd. The setter had someone over so late. If there was one thing that Kenma liked, it was playing some games alone after a stressful day of practice and school. He never gave that time up for anyone, not even Kuroo. If it was who he thought it was, gosh, it would be amazing!

"Akari says she hasn't talked to Haru since they texted earlier," there was a girl's voice talking and then shuffling. Kuroo guessed that Kenma's phone got hijacked as soon as the voice at the speaker switched.

"She texted me on her way home from work, but I know that she was planning to call you, sempai," Akari said into the microphone, making Kuroo's smirk widen to an almost impossible size. "Just go bug her at her door, if she's asleep the bell will wake her up."

"Alright, will do," Kuroo couldn't resist adding. "Don't go above PG-13 and scar Kenma now, Akari." The girl sounded like she chocked on the other side of the line.

"We're playing games, I'll have you know! Games!" That was just too good to pass up for him.

"Oh, is that what you call it these days? Ah, youth…" He hung up the line as Akari started hyperventilating some denials into the phone.

Thanks for reading!