And now, I give you this gem. Sail with the ships!

Btw, the game used for reference here is Flyff Legacy, if anyone has trouble with game jargon, let me know and I'll include a small glossary :D

Chapter 21: Inter-High begins!

Kenma held Akari's hand oddly tightly for his taste. But, he felt uneasy holding it loosely. It was like the girl would simply float away if he held that hand with any less force. Not that he was being very forceful. He was gentle with her delicate fingers. They were so soft and smooth against the callouses that volleyball had caused on his own hands. He had to hold those fingers delicately.

"Are we gonna play Lost Kingdom?" Akari had ended up coming over, for some reason, and he had quietly led them both to his room through the empty house. Kenma nodded. He would play whatever she wanted. It was weird, irrational. He didn't like irrational things. But, Akari was pleasantly irrational. She was interesting.

The door to his room opened and they entered, Kenma leading the way. He walked to the TV that he had been allowed to buy the previous year after working for the money for a while. Since then, he'd gotten smarter with his cash. He knew how to earn without breaking a sweat. He didn't need to apply to cafés or department stores. Instead, he got his money online, easily, in his opinion.

"Do you have anything I can wear?" Akari asked, already sitting on his bed. It was odd how quickly the girl had gotten used to being in his personal space. As Kenma walked over to his dresser he recalled the first time she'd been over. She'd been so nervous and on edge, bumbling with her words and flushing every few seconds. He'd found that adorable about her, too. Yet, this Akari, who didn't mind the mess of his room or his eyes never straying far from the screen, was even more endearing.

Though, what he found extremely attractive about her, and rather unhealthy for his heart, was how good she was at games. She had told him how it was due to her brothers. Yet, Kenma doubted that it was only that. The girl liked gaming. She appreciated some good PVP. She liked being the strongest and helping out other people online. Akari was quite the sight with a controller in her hands. It was like the whole princess thing that seemed to be her signature left her and she became this force of nature, quickly working out the best strategy to get strong and pass the levels.

"Will this do?" Kenma handed her a T-shirt and some shorts and she nodded. She didn't even bother leaving his room. Instead, as he was turning on the TV and hooking up his system, she pulled the shorts on under her dress. He turned just in time to see that pink lacy dress go up, leaving the slight girl in her white bra and his dark shorts which hung low on her hips. Kenma felt his cheeks go red, but he was mesmerized. There was no looking away.

Akari didn't let the attention he paid her escape her eyes. She smirked at him knowingly and then pulled the T-shirt over her head. His eyes carefully followed her hands as they went under the shirt, to her back. Then, with a little bit of maneuvering which seemed too graceful to be called a wriggle, she pulled out that lacy bra through one of the sleeves. It was one of the most sensual things he'd ever seen. She paid him one more knowing look before folding her things together and placing them on his desk chair.

"Shall we play?" Akari asked him, hopping onto his bed. Kenma nodded, quickly joining her. They both logged in, her on the tablet and him on the TV.

"How do you think it went till the end?" He asked as his character appeared, Kenma immediately recruiting for a dungeon.

"They seemed to have good chemistry," Akari's character appeared in his group and he started the dungeon, partying with her on an option that gave her the gear for her class which they collected. "Did you see her flirting back?"

"Mhm." Kenma nodded, going deeper into the dungeon and slaying the monsters in his way. He took note of his HP. "I need a healing spell."

"Already on it." His HP jumped back up as Akari's character danced around his, then moved back, letting him tank.

"They still need a small push," Kenma told her in a mildly irritated voice, which made her groan and nod. "Akari," at that, the girl actually looked at him. Kenma was on autofight, killing the final boss. As the congratulations screen came up, the characters picking up loot, he spoke again. "Go out with me."

"Sure," the girl smiled, moving to sit closer to him. "I need another dungeon to get that enchantress suit. I need a better suit if we're going to go into the next area." Kenma nodded, recruiting. Akari joined him and they entered, partying instantly.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked as he clicked the autofight. He looked at the girl, who was smirking, her face illuminated by the tablet. She also clicked autofight and then leaned in, on all fours, their faces on the same level.

"Whenever you want to." And he did. Though it was Kenma who actually initiated the kiss, her soft lips moving against his own and causing his whole body to heat up in a weird way that he hadn't experienced before short of a really exciting game, Akari quickly took the lead. She settled between his legs, her own folded under her, hands taking his and pulling them to her waist, under the borrowed shirt. Her lips showed his what to do, how to maneuver in order to make the kiss a cooperation, almost like a conversation. She nipped and licked at his, happy that he was such a quick study and returned the favor. Her hands were in his hair, undoing the band that she'd tied it back with earlier that night, planning on never telling him that it had been a bright pink one. Instead, she let her fingers burrow into the strands, going from scratching his scalp, which seemed to make him groan and squeeze her waist, to pulling at the locks, which made him sigh. A sound rang out through the room, telling them the dungeon had finished.

"Next area, now?" Akari asked as she pulled away, both of them breathless with bruised lips. Kenma's eyes were analytical as he weighted the pros and cons.

"Sure," he nodded, giving in. Akari took the tablet into her hands, not moving from her position. She tapped on the screen, setting her character to autoquest and opening a party. Quickly, Kenma's character joined her. Just as he entered her party and joined her in killing the monsters she needed, her hands caught the edge of his shirt.

"Next area?" She asked again and Kenma smiled, putting his hands up and letting the girl take off the baggy shirt he'd worn. Instantly, those delicate fingers were on his flesh, the band aid scraping his skin as Akari explored the new area. He dove for another kiss, hands going back under her shirt, not wandering any further than the expanse of her soft back and her waist. They both leveled quite a bit through questing that night, too busy exploring new areas, finding out what the other liked, to play the game as they'd originally planned.

The match with the Cubans seemed to arrive in a blink. The team had watched some of their games, getting familiar with their plays and starters. However, it was one thing to watch the tall, dark-skinned boys play on a screen and a completely other to find them walking into the Nekoma gym. Haru and the coaches immediately went to greet the newcomers, who seemed rather excited to be there.

"Thank you for the game." Haru bowed, speaking in English with the Cuban coach. He grinned back at her, shaking her hand politely when she offered it.

"We're delighted to," the man replied. "The boys were quite excited to see exactly how a Japanese high school was, otherwise we would've booked another gym. Maybe we could even bother you for a tour after the game?"

"Of course!" Haru smiled and then left them to prepare. Nekomata made their team gather with a single wave of his hand, the boys standing around the old coach.

"This will be a hard match for you. These boys are the under nineteen National Team. Don't give them any loopholes to explore and be confident in what you do best," the coach smiled at all of them. "Most of all, don't forget to try out all the new stuff you've been practicing and keep in mind that this is a friendly match."

"Osu!" The boys yelled, gathering together with their hands in the middle, Kuroo taking over the lead word.

"We're like the blood in our veins. We must flow without stopping. Keep the oxygen moving and our minds working." He quoted their team motto, making the boys all grin and get motivated, yelling out and cheering when he was done. With a nod, the boys dispersed, the starters going onto the court and the rest of them either to the bench or to the scoreboard.

"Thank you for the game!" Two sets of languages shouted from their own sides and the game started. Haru sat down next to Nekomata, taking out her clipboard to keep score. The first to serve was Kai, who skillfully tossed the ball into the far back corner of the opposite side, making the receive awkward. Though, the Cubans didn't hesitate with getting it to their setter, who perfectly tossed it to a spiker on the left. The ball hit the other side of the net with force.

"And, there comes the experience." Nekomata nodded. The game progressed quickly during the first set. The Cuban team had turned out to be one with a rather strong attack power. As they rotated, not letting any of the Nekoma serves or spikes deter them in their usual pace, each player proved that he could both spike and dig for a ball. It was a seamless machine, one that didn't appear to have a chink in it. Nekomata called for the first timeout when the score was at 19-8, for the Cubans.

"Their height is intimidating," the coach nodded, "However, it's only height. You've played against these kinds of teams before. Keep connecting and don't forget to breathe. We need our brain working at top efficiency if we are to do something about those fluid plays." Kenma started giving instructions to the team as Haru got distracted. The Cuban team was sitting on their bench, not talking or strategizing. Instead, they seemed calm, drinking water and chatting casually. She caught a part of their conversation in Spanish, from the two members closest to her.

"She's hot man," the libero said to his friend.

"Yeah, there's definitely Japanese in her." The wing-spiker who served mostly jump floaters replied, glancing over to Haru and then giving her a wide, innocent smile. "I like them like that, all petite."

"You reckon she would go out with us after?" the libero joined in the wordless conversation of smiles and polite waves.

"We can definitely ask," the wing-spiker turned back to his teammate. "In the meantime, stuff that setter good. We can't have him making any tricky plays like on that tape." Haru looked to her board and then stood to collect the water bottles from the boys as the break was ending. She came close to Kenma and Kuroo, whispering.

"They're planning to hold Kenma down with the players in the front," she told them, noticing the majority of the team listening. "They're afraid of Kenma's feints." Kenma nodded, giving her his water bottle and went back into the game.

In the end, the first set ended up at 25-18, the Cubans winning rather easily. It was in the second set that Nekoma boys finally kicked into gear. They started having less and less trouble receiving the balls, used to the new angles which the tall team would hit them from. Yaku even picked up a lot of jump floaters confidently. But, the turning point of the match had definitely been Kenma and Fukunaga. With the setter feinting here and there, he was being watched closely, the Cubans trying to maximize read-blocking. While Kenma was marked, that left Fukunaga free to aim for the back line, scoring points one after the other. The set ended at 25-20 for Nekoma.

Again, Haru shamelessly listened to the Cuban team talking in Spanish about their strategies. However, when she went to Kuroo and Kenma to tell them of the plan, the captain put a finger to her lips.

"We need to try to do this without knowing their strategy," he smiled. "We appreciate the effort, really, but this is a practice match and we need it to evolve."

"Okay," Haru nodded, collecting the water bottles once again. "Good luck! Go and win!"

"Osu!" And Nekoma lost the third set after making it a deuce numerous times, at 35-33 for the Cubans. Yamamoto had done great work scoring. Kuroo and Kenma had been brilliant at the net. Yaku had picked up all the balls he could. Inuoka had been a complete beast, spiking and commit-blocking the toughest players. Fukunaga's shots perfectly landed on the back line. Kai did quite a few wipe-outs. In the end, the Cubans had simply been better.

"Thank you for the match!" All the boys yelled, shaking hands and then going to the coach of the other team for final comments. Nekomata praised them, giving them some tips on what they could work on, while Haru stood to the side, smiling. As the Cuban boys were going towards their own bench, she tapped the wing-spiker and libero she'd heard talking earlier on their shoulders.

"Thank you for the compliments," she told them in Spanish after they had turned to her. "I'd love to go out with you sometime, but you need to keep in mind that I have school." The look on their faces was priceless, but then they started laughing.

"Jesus, this is embarrassing!" the wing-spiker laughed it off, then gave the girl a strong, confident handshake. "Let's go out for coffee and some Japanese food sometime! We're in desperate need of a guide here, nobody in our group speaks much Japanese." And they all exchanged numbers merrily.

The gym was huge. Haru turned in a circle, her head spinning, as she took in the whole area. There were people all around, mulling, pushing, talking. But, what interested her more were the tall ceilings of the dome and the numerous banners of all the schools that were participating. The Inter-High was starting, and she was probably the most nervous member of Nekoma. Yet, despite all that, she couldn't help but stare.

"You'll get lost, Haru." Yaku managed to notice her gawking on time, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind their team and towards gym number four, where they would play their first game against Matsubara High.

"Morisuke…" Haru's voice trailed off, wide eyes meeting the inquisitive stare of the libero. "Are all official gyms this big?" he laughed, shrugging.

"I haven't been to all of them," they walked through the sea of people, spectators and players alike, trying to keep up with Kuroo and the team who seemed to be cutting the crowd in half with confident strides. "But, they are all pretty big. You should see the Nationals, though," Yaku grinned at her, excited. "Now, that's a big gym." Haru nodded, mouth still open as she took everything in.

They arrived at the gym door, finally away from the crowd. Kuroo was turning in circles when the last two people joined the group.

"Ah, there you are," he nodded at the libero and the manager. "Have you seen Kenma?"

"Not again." Yaku groaned.

"Eh?" Haru looked from the libero to the captain and then back to Yaku.

"Kenma always gets lost," Kuroo sighed. "Chances are eighty percent he'll get lost before the first game and fifty-fifty for the next one." Haru quickly spun in a circle, standing on her tiptoes, trying to find the familiar pudding head.

"I'll go look for him." She told the two team members and with a nod from Kuroo, she was off. She was certain she heard Yaku telling her to be careful, but she was already back in the sea of people moving to the stands. Haru pushed her way through to the entrance and then mapped out their route towards the gym. She didn't see Kenma anywhere. She'd texted him multiple times and called twice. It hadn't worked. She would have to do it by foot, then.

Haru finally spotted the sign for a bathroom near gym three, deciding that perhaps he'd headed there. She unashamedly walked straight into the men's bathroom, surprised looks following her. But, she didn't care at that point. Checking her phone, she saw that Kenma hadn't replied to any of her calls or texts and that they still had fifteen minutes. The girl noticed that all the urinals were empty and then bent over, looking under the stalls for feet. Sure enough, there was someone in the last one. But, not just one pair of feet, but two.

"Kenma?" Haru raised her hand to knock, recognizing the bottom of the Nekoma red jersey. The door of the stall opened under her gentle tap, showing her a rather interesting scene. Kenma was there, sure enough. But, so was Akari. In fact, the boy seemed to have his hands under the girl's shirt, their lips locked tightly together. Haru felt herself freeze, face blushing. Akari came up for air, turning around and grinning at her casually, as if she'd just greeted her at school.

"Hey, Haru!" There were a few seconds where Kenma seemed to sigh and Akari continued shining brightly at Haru. Then, the manager came to her senses.

"Hi Haru?!" She yelled, face flaming red, in anger this time.

In the end, Kenma was on time for the match, though he couldn't stop sighing and his lips were a tad red. Akari, on the other hand, had had a quick hushed conversation with Haru, promising to have a longer one later. She was now in the stands, just behind their team, yelling encouragements. Haru had also spotted a young girl with pigtails there, and was told by Yaku that it was Yamamoto's little sister. But, not even the fact that her friend and the cute little girl seemed to be chatting animatedly and that their team seemed to be in peak condition could deter Haru's onset of being simply pissed. She didn't know why she was so miffed. She had reasoned to herself that it was because Kenma and Akari had behaved rather irresponsibly before a big match, despite the fact that the girl had called it a 'good luck' kiss. It had been more like a 'good luck' make out session. Haru had witnessed their passionate lip lock, too, which was an image that wouldn't leave her mind soon.

"Where'd you find him?" Kuroo asked, wandering over to the girl who was arranging bottles with precision, which could only spell trouble. The third-year could tell that she was pissed off about something.

"In oral surgery." Haru remarked, tossing a glare at Kenma who had the audacity to blush and sigh, before walking out of earshot.

"Errr, what?" Kuroo asked and Haru shook her head.

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Go win!" She yelled to all the boys as the start of the match resounded through the gym, the starts being called to the court.

The match was going well. They pulled ahead early and managed to get it over in two sets. It wasn't that their opponent wasn't skilled. It was just the difference of having the chance to play against both the Cuban and the Brazilian National Team in practice matches. The struggle of the two intense games had made the Nekoma boys focus in a way Haru hadn't seen before.

Yaku seemed to be in top form, not letting any balls escape him. Kuroo and Kenma were in perfect sync. Kai was in peak condition at the net and in the back. Yamamoto seemed to be on fire. Fukunaga only had one out on his pinpoint balls. It was all falling into place perfectly. At one time, they even let Inuoka and Lev switch, the tall half-Russian making many mistakes, but also dealing quite a few blows with spikes from an enviable height.

"Congrats!" Haru was enveloped in a sweaty hug from all sides, the Nekoma team rejoicing as they left the gym. She immediately gave them all food, granola bars, and some juice, making sure that it had all the necessary ingredients. Kuroo wandered over, stepping next to the girl who didn't slow down, instead digging through the bag, searching for other items they would need for the next match, which was in three hours.

"How're you handling the official matches?" He asked her conversationally, eating his bar. Haru pulled out the bananas next, breaking one off the stem and giving it to him. She liked that about the captain. He always made sure that she was comfortable, despite all the grief he gave her with his teasing. Kuroo was very attentive and had stepped in numerous times when she'd looked out of place or lost.

"I'm managing." She winked and walked around, before rejoining him. Kuroo looked at peace, eyes gazing at the crowd of players around them. "Are you doing alright?" The third-year looked down at her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I was thinking, I'll stay on the team, no matter how the Inter-High goes." Haru's head snapped up. She knew that it was normal for the third-year players to quit clubs mid-June, letting the newer generations take care of the rest. Mostly, it was because of their exam prep.

"But, if you want to enter college…" Kuroo looked at her then and grinned.

"I've worked out a schedule that I can follow alright," he told her. "I should be fine. Kai and Yaku are going to stay, too," Haru nodded. "They agreed to follow my study schedule, so we will all be pretty busy soon."

"I bet," Haru said quietly. She looked up at him to find his gaze on the gym door, almost nostalgic. "Will you major in biology in the end?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I didn't get scouted and it looks like I won't until the end of the season. Biology is what I have left." When he noticed her looking at her feet, fingers clenching tightly together in front of her, he lowered his hand to them, taking hers into his one. Her hands were so small compared to his. "I love biology, I don't mind studying it. Besides, there will always be college volleyball club."

"I'm going to be sad to see you leave," Haru admitted, letting him intertwine their fingers together. Kuroo smiled at her coyly.

"Then, you'd better use the time you have left with me to enlighten yourself further," he cheekily tapped her nose, before walking off with a shrug. "Ah, youth, so inexperienced."

"I have plenty of experience, I'll have you know!" Haru couldn't resist yelling after him, making the tall boy laugh.

It was right before their second match that Haru spotted Bokuto and Akaashi. They were walking around the stands full of T-shirts with different volleyball-related prints on them, picking and choosing. Haru had been on a similar hunt herself.

"Bokuto-san, Akaashi-kun!" She greeted happily, waving at them with a smile.

"Hey hey hey! It's Haru-chan!" Bokuto came over instantly, drawing attention to himself, as always, to give her a tight hug and ruffle her hair. Akaashi simply nodded, quietly greeting her back.

"Picking out some shirts?" The manager asked conversationally.

"Bokuto-san always gets one or two." Akaashi nodded, pointing to the wing-spiker whose head seemed to be spinning in all directions as if he couldn't choose.

"Ah, Bokuto-san, I was wondering," Haru began, making his gaze focus on her. "Do you have some time tomorrow to go for drinks? My treat." Suddenly, the tall wing-spiker put his hands on her shoulders, stepping back to an appropriate distance from her, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Haru-chan, I must decline your confession," he replied solemnly, making Haru frown. "I can't do that to my Kubroo."

"Eh, what?" Haru asked, confused.

"I don't think she's asking you out, Bokuto-san." Akaashi piped up. That made the girl laugh.

"No, no, I'm asking you out, definitely," the statement made both boys frown. "But not in a romantic sense. Of course, Akaashi-kun, you are invited, as well." Bokuto's head tilted to the side. "I actually wanted to talk about Kuroo…"

"Give me your phone!" Bokuto instantly revived, eagerly waiting for the girl to hand over her cellphone so that he could punch in his number. "Akaaaaashi, you too."

"But, Bokuto-san, we've already exchanged numbers." The setter replied calmly.

"Eh, when?!"

I. Had. Too. Much. Fun. With. This. Chapter. Hope you all did too!

Reviews:

AmIValid2:
I shall always call you out on your smut hahahhaha Though, it did inspire the beginning of this chapter :P Jesus, you need to write your own fic! I wanna read more of it! Stop writing fanfiction for fanfiction xD
Awwww thanks! I really enjoy playing around with my OCs and canon and seeing how they fit together :D I swear Kuroo and Haru are getting there… soon… ish? KenAri is on fire though xD I loved writing the start of this chapter cause I can't wait to hear what you'll say! Hahahahaha
I need to show more Chihiro, I feel like, since I've made her out to be completely evil xD
And Yamamoto is such a dork! I love him xD I was laughing my arse off when I made Kenma trip him xD
Hope you enjoyed the new chapter :D
Cheers!

Rosto'sGirl:
Hey there thanks for the review!
I don't like her either, but I love her? She's an OC in the end hahahaha Kuroo did good, didn't he? Urgh, if I can send in some orders too… A Kuroo, a Kenma, a Noya, an Akaashi? Gosh, wait, there's more xD An Oikawa? No, wait, we'd kill each other… oops xD My friend calls me Crappykawa LOL xD Oikawa and me together, someone would get their eyed pecked out… Well, anyways, let me know if you find an ordering place for them boys xD
Aren't they cute xD I think they're cute too xD I just couldn't help myself today :P Hope you enjoyed a bit of spice :)
Cheers!

Valen Goncalvez:
Awww come now, she's not that bad I promise xD But, she did deserve that a bit xD

Omake:

Kenma was walking behind Kai, keeping track of the red jersey through his fringe so that he knew which way to go. It was early in the morning and he still felt half-asleep. Then, a hand caught his elbow, pulling him to the side. When the movement finally stopped, he found himself pressed back against the wall, Akari in front of him.

"Good luck today." She smiled, leaning in and he met her halfway. Their lips molded together perfectly, like they always did. It was a move that always made him feel all too aware of every single part of himself and he relished every second of kissing her. When she finally separated from him with a sigh, Kenma opened his eyes, looking at her.

"Another one?" He asked, hopeful. "For a lot of good luck?" Akari giggled, letting the boy pull her into the closest men's room, scaring a poor guy who was using the urinal. Soon, the door of one of the stalls shut behind the couple, the two forgetting to lock it. Instead, Kenma was already pulling the girl in for another kiss, her hands twisted in his jersey. He really hoped that she would tie his hair for him again.

I'm sailing. I'm sorry. KenAri sailing. Byeeee!