At this time, I have to thank Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging the wonderful book which I live by with the 10 steps to a relationship progress. If you haven't read it, I fully recommend it with passion. It is everything a teen coming of age story should be, and it is positively hilarious!

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 22: The Inter-High continues

Kenma was extremely comfortable. He was lying down, his head on Akari's stomach and her legs around him, as she fed him snacks while he played his game. She had chosen to sit that one out, because it wasn't a genre she enjoyed tremendously. Kenma, on the other hand, was owning the first-person shooter game, plowing through the enemy team with incredible skills. Every once in a while, during the time it took to recruit a team, she would bend down, kissing him upside down. Sometimes it was slow, butterfly touches of lips molding together. At other times, when the team recruiting took some time, she pressed harder, more insistent kisses on his mouth, which he was more than happy to reciprocate.

Their new relationship status hadn't really changed their dynamics much. Akari still went to her own club and did her own thing at the mall. Sometimes Kenma would join her, helping her pick out outfits or accessories. At other times, it would be Haru who would do it, still not knowing the fact that Akari was now attached. Kenma, on the other hand, enjoyed their time together, which mostly consisted of her bounding over to his desk during lunch or hanging out at one of their places, playing games. They both weren't big on PDA, so they took their time to enjoy each other's company when they were alone. It was mostly spent in tender kisses, hand holding and leaning on one another, desperate for that skin to skin contact. It was, long story short, perfect, in Kenma's opinion. There was no pressure to rush, no nagging and most importantly, it was always interesting. He felt like he was being led through a tutorial of what a relationship was like by a sensual NPC.

"Do you think it worked?" Kenma asked once they broke for air, and for another run at the game. Akari hummed, the sound vibrating through her stomach and caressing the back of his head. He shamelessly snuggled into her.

"She was pissed," the girl said. "That should be motivation enough to do something."

"Kill me?"

"Or me," Akari laughed. "I'm not really sure who she's going to murder, though." Kenma's eyes peeled off the screen as he stood behind a wall, in deep cover, to give her a loving look and a small smile. Then, he was back in the game. "But, she definitely won't take this lying down. I just hope that it fuels jealousy and not homicidal tendencies."

"Me too." Kenma replied, sighing as her hands burrowed in his hair, definitely one of the favorite things that she did in their time alone together. "That feels good." Akari had told him that he needed to communicate what he liked and what he didn't like, and he was doing his best. She pressed a soft hiss to his forehead, not bothering his game.

"You've told me that one before." She giggled.

"It also feels good when your hands are under my shirt." Kenma coyly commented. Akari's fingers slid from his hair, going down his shoulders and then sliding to his chest. He took in a shaky breath, watching as his character got killed for the first time that day.

"But, it distracts you too much," Akari giggled, pulling her fingers back up and resuming playing with his hair.

"It makes my fingers freeze up." The boy admitted.

"We'll have to work on that, I suppose." Another kiss pressed to his temples, before the girl grabbed a snack for herself from the bowl, giving him half. Kenma continued gaming, almost falling asleep to the nice movements of the girl's hands in his hair. She was a welcome distraction from the game, which he never thought he would say.

The café was a rather nice little place in the wall, away from prying eyes. It was decorated with white wooden tables and chairs, giving it a rustic feel. Though, the tablecloths made up for the overly girly set-up with a nice dose of elegance in black and white. The menu was rather good, featuring a list of delicious drinks and food at affordable prices. Haru wouldn't have been able to pick a better place herself. She was glad that Akaashi had taken the initiative, telling the trio that was going for drinks in the group chat about the small café.

So, after a long day of matches, which had both tired the team out and made them revel in the victories, Haru had taken an hour to go home and clean up, before heading out to meet the two Fukurodani players she had begun calling her friends. It was in an instant that she knew they had arrived to the café. All heads turned to look at Bokuto, who, even in his casual clothes, drew attention to himself.

"Hey hey hey!" The wing-spiker walked over, taking a seat on the opposite side of the girl. "Haru-chan! Looking good."

"Thanks," the girl smiled, standing up to give them both brief hugs. "What would you like? They have shakes here which sounds absolutely delicious!" Akaashi sat by the window, pulling the menu to him, Bokuto forgoing his own to look at his instead.

"That one has biscuits! I want that one!" Bokuto was always loud, but it was a nice change of pace. His energy was contagious and soon Haru found herself giggling at his goofs. As the server left after taking their orders, biscuit shake for Bokuto, a banana one for Akaashi and a blueberry one for the girl, she got to the gist of their meeting.

"Say, Bokuto-san, I've been thinking of what you told me that time at the sink," that made the wing-spiker lean forward, a spark in his eyes. "You said Kuroo liked me and talked about me in annoying amounts."

"Of course, he does! He's smitten!" Bokuto laughed, making Akaashi sigh. "He kept texting me about the new manager the whole April, after he met you. He's always been jealous that we have two and you guys had none."

"Let her speak, Bokuto-san." Akaashi intervened, making Haru smile and Bokuto pout.

"Well, I was hoping that you could tell me what exactly it was that he said that he liked about me?" Haru told the wing-spiker with a coy smile. Akaashi instantly grinned, catching onto her plan.

"Wait, why don't you just ask him yourself?" Bokuto frowned, making the setter frown at him.

"Because she wants to use those preferences to her advantage, right, Haru-san?" Haru nodded in glee.

"You see, he's been on my case, always teasing me and he knows exactly which buttons to push," she explained as their shakes arrived. "So, I was hoping to give him some of what he dishes out back?" Bokuto grinned at her.

"Alright, alright, I don't quite get it, but it should help my Kubroo, so I'll tell you!" He, however, got distracted by his shake, trying it and then gushing about how good it was to Akaashi.

"Do you have something painful planned for Kuroo in order to force him to make the first move, Haru-san?" The setter seemed rather used to Bokuto's short attention span, ignoring his excited dissection of the shake and focusing on the topic at hand.

"Well, I'd definitely prefer it if he would make his intentions clear to me himself," Haru laughed. "I mean, being asked out by a proxy," she nodded at Bokuto, "is pretty lame don't you think?"

"You were doubting the integrity of his actions?" the wing-spiker seemed to have been paying attention to their conversation despite his fascination with the newly arrived shakes. "Did I use 'integrity' right?" He asked Akaashi and after the setter nodded, he pushed the tall glass away from him, leaning in to be on the same level as Haru's face. "I'll tell you something about Kuroo. I've known him for more than a few years and I know that he doesn't do anything half-heartedly. If he'd been waiting, he's been waiting because he thinks you need it." Haru felt herself blush, eyes wide at the confession. "Besides, he's a horrible coward when it comes to girls because he doesn't have experience."

"Don't say it like that, Bokuto-san," Akaashi gently scolded.

"What, I'm just being honest?" Bokuto defended. Haru, on the other hand, was in her own mind, dissecting the memories. True enough, Kuroo had shown interest. But, it seemed that whenever it got a bit too dicey and intimate, he would pull away again. Was it really inexperience?

"But, he's been in a relationship before?" Bokuto scoffed, waving her off.

"That thing in first year?" the wing-spiker asked. "That was a joke. I don't like to diss on my bro, but that was a bad call. That girl, Matsuko? Mariko? Whatever," he abandoned his search for the name in his head. "She wasn't interested in him as much as in the status which the relationship gave her. She was always nagging at him and complaining about one thing or the other."

"Ah," Haru hadn't really planned to hear all about Kuroo's ex, but apparently the conversation had gone there.

"It was a good thing when they finally broke up," Bokuto nodded. "Now, you, on the other hand, we all approve of. I mean, isn't that the first step, being approved by all of the friends?" Haru's head tilted to the side as she mulled over those words.

"Bokuto-san, you're surprisingly thoughtful today." Akaashi jumped in, reminding them all of his quiet, banana shake eating presence.

"Akaashi, how can you say that?" Bokuto whined. "I'm always thoughtful!" Haru couldn't help laughing at their antics. Then, Bokuto looked at her again, seemingly recovered from the low blow of the setter. "So, here's what he won't stop talking about…" And Haru got all the dirt on Kuroo, so glad that Bokuto was as much of a gossip as she had pegged him to be.

Haru was sitting at the salon on the chair, ready to get her hair all pretty. Nana was on her left and Akari on her right, the girls hanging out. Yet, there were more silences than there had been the last time they'd done that. And, those quiet moments in conversation came up between the two high schoolers. Nana had done her best to laugh the tension off and try to keep the talk flowing, but at that point, the three girls were just sitting there, in silence. The model was glancing at the two friends every now and again, waiting anxiously for the explosion that was sure to happen.

"So," Akari began in an uncharacteristically even tone. "Are you going to enlighten the classroom, Haru? What's the problem?" Haru took a deep breath and then looked over to her friend, not noticing Nana wince in the background.

"Why?" The girl asked.

"Why what?" Akari fired back with more anger to her tone.

"Umm, girls, let's not fight." Nana tried to buffer, but got ignored.

"Why are you going out with Kenma?" Haru asked, frowning. "Is this some form of payback? Punishment? Showing me that I was wrong to doubt Kuroo? Are you just messing with him? Cause if that's so, then-"

"I really like Kenma." Akari cut her off with an icy tone. Haru nodded, then waited. "I really, really like him. I might even love him. He makes me feel like me, more than anything else. It's like coming up for air after diving for a long time, if you know what I mean?" Haru nodded again.

"Okay, I approve then." Nana let out a sigh behind them, noticing that both girls were seemingly dropping their fight. "I'll give him a stern talking-to, though. I can't have him hurting you." Akari grinned, leaning back in her chair and letting the hairdresser do her job more easily. "Of course, consider this your own talk. Don't hurt Kenma."

"I won't consciously hurt him." Akari replied. "I mean, he's so sweet. Do you know he goes to buy extra strawberry milk before lunch because I like it? And he just gives it to me, too!"

"Oh, gosh, how did he ask you out?" Nana gushed, sensing that the whole thing was over. Akari's smile shone like the sun.

"While playing a game," she told them, making the two girls balk. "He just went 'Akari, go out with me' all stern and serious like it was some kind of a business deal." Then, the girl blushed, her hands going to her cheeks and she squealed. "Gosh, I would let him do whatever he wants!"

"Whatever, eh?" Haru asked, smirking.

"Oh my God, Haru!" Akari blushed even more, slapping her friend's arm. "Okay, maybe."

"You're kidding!" Nana peeked out from her seat, eyes wide. "High schoolers sure move fast!"

"We haven't, like, done it or anything." Akari shook her head, the smile still present on her face.

"That means they got close to it." Haru smirked at Nana, making Akari blubber in embarrassment and Nana gasp.

"How close?" The model asked.

"Well, we went to like to…" she trailed off.

"Okay, okay, let me help you focus," Nana took pity on the girl. "So, there are ten steps to every relationship activity. One is hand holding."

"Done, even before we got together." Akari nodded. Haru realized that she, too, had passed that stage.

"The second step is arm around shoulders or on the waist." Nana sagely nodded.

"Done," Akari grinned. Haru made a mental note that she'd done it, too.

"Next is a goodnight kiss and then four is a kiss lasting over three minutes." Nana told her. Luckily, Haru didn't immediately flash back to anything that time. She released the breath she'd been keeping in.

"Well, we haven't done any goodnight kissing, but we've made out before?" Akari piped up. "Does that count?"

"Oh yeah," Nana grinned. "Then, step four and half is hand action, as in, you know, kissing and stuff. And five is open mouth kissing."

"We haven't done any of those." Akari admitted.

"Shot up to number four, then." Nana nodded sagely. "And you've been together for?"

"A week or so officially."

"Akari! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Haru complained.

"Because I knew I would have to deal with grumpy Haru, and I don't like her." Akari grinned. "Say, Nanacchi, what's the rest of the list?" The girl didn't let her friend go into a rant she knew would be coming.

"Well, there's six, which is tongue action, so French. Then, you have six and half, ear action!" The two high schoolers made sounds of disgust. "You won't know you like it until a boy sticks their tongue in your ear, don't worry," Nana laughed. "Six and three quarters is neck nuzzling and kisses."

"Oh, we've done that one!" Akari piped up with a grin.

"I didn't know Kenma moved that fast. He doesn't look like it." Haru laughed.

"Sure doesn't! But, he is super good at it. Like, he had me the other day with his mouth on my neck and God! He does miracles with that tongue! It should be illegal."

"I hope you know that I won't ever be able to look at him the same again." Haru grumbled, shaking her head.

"What's number seven?" Akari asked through laughter.

"That would be upper body action, outdoors." Nana told the girls through her own laugh. "Then you have eight, upper body inside, with or without the shirt." When she didn't get interrupted, she continued. "There's also a fantasy eight, which is when you know your partner is thinking about the actual eight." That made both girls laugh. "Nine is below waist activity, can include some flashing of the panties. Finally, number ten is all the way, or the full monty."

"We also may have done number eight, fantasy eight and some of the nine." Akari admitted, her cheeks going red again.

"Oh, God, I'm definitely not going to be able to look at Kenma the same again!" Haru whined, but Nana was already on another page, asking Akari to show her pictures of this Kenma that she was going out with.

Haru ended up texting with Shimizu Kiyoko that evening. The Karasuno manager and her had exchanged numbers during the practice games and they had regularly been talking, mostly through instant messages. Shimizu had told her that their team had been defeated by Seijō, a powerful high school in Miyagi, just a few days ago. Now that their own matches were being held, Haru made sure to update the girl.

They had become quickly comfortable with each other, talking about the managerial duties they each did for their boys. Shimizu had even asked her if she was dating Kuroo already, which had made Haru blush and deny it vehemently. Though, on the third day of Inter-High selections, the Nekoma manager walked into the large gym comfortably and with confidence, the last text she had received from Shimizu still on her mind.

"Boys!" Haru called out, getting the Nekoma team's attention. "Campfire!" Instantly, she was crowded by their tall forms. That would've bothered her a while back, but she found the action comfortable these days. It was like she was surrounded by her own personal guard squad. She took out her phone, opening the picture. "Karasuno sends their congratulations and wishes us luck!"

"I wanna see!" She didn't know who took her phone, but it got passed around, the boys all looking at the image. They started cheering, high-fiving each other and generally getting pumped, like Haru knew they would. Finally, the group wandered away, discussing the best strategies for the upcoming match, leaving her and Kuroo standing there, alone.

"Here you go." The third-year handed her her phone, grinning.

"Thanks." Haru said as she made certain to brush her fingers against his while taking it. "Good luck out there." The girl knew she would have to do it. She needed to do it for all of this to work. She leaned in, circling her arms around Kuroo's middle and squeezing. It took him a second to hug her back, but she was already pulling away from his embrace. She gave him a smile and then bounded off, ready to do the next step in her coy plan of retribution.

Kuroo decided that Haru had been possessed, or something. She had to be. There was no other explanation. Other than the playful flirting they had been exchanging, she had begun doing other things. Like that hug before their first match. She'd given him that tight embrace on her own, pulling back too quickly for his taste. But, the action had done two things. She'd pressed the length of her body against his, letting him feel every curve of her form on his own. The other was the fact that she'd left his jersey smelling like her signature scent for a long while. Even that afternoon, when he'd put it on to keep warm in between two games, he could smell the coconuts and coffee.

It was during the first match that she'd dealt a horrible blow to him, though. A very annoying, horrible blow. She'd given him numerous coy looks from under her long lashes, which made him certain that she knew how much he liked the fact that she had large doe-like eyes framed by thick lashes. But, the looks he could handle. It had been the wrapping of his finger which she'd done, after he'd jammed it on a ball and had to get swapped out that had done him in.

"Does it hurt?" The girl asked, checking it for breaks and stopping the blood coming from the nail with a focused expression.

"Not that much," the captain knew he would get subbed out for the rest of the game in case it did hurt too much. "It's nothing I haven't done before." Then, she proceeded to pull on the finger lightly, making certain that any dislocations would snap back into their place, before wrapping it with tape securely. Not too tight and not too loose, just perfectly.

"Be careful with it." She told him, giving him one of those eyelash looks. Then, she seemed to change her mind and didn't let go. "A little painkiller for the rest of the match." And Haru pulled his hand up, gently pressing a kiss to the taped finger. She'd done him in with that single action, making him a blushing mess. Though, he'd managed to finish his game alright.

Still, something had changed. It was like she was more confident about doing little things that seemed all to innocent to be unconscious. She had planned it all, he was certain. During their second match, her hairband had come off, hair loose down her back. That had proven to be a huge distraction anytime they called a timeout. He couldn't stop looking at those locks, for once properly groomed, swaying hypnotically. Kenma had even given him a knowing smirk. He was being quite obvious, Kuroo had realized.

But, not even the teasing look from the setter could help him stop. Kuroo was painfully weak to what Haru was doing, and she seemed to know that all too well. He cursed himself, wondering if she was actually more perceptive than he thought. The final straw, though, had been when she'd congratulated them on their victory, giving them all some kind of a reward, from hugs, to messing up their hair and finally, when she came up to Kuroo, a soft kiss on the cheek. Just as he was about to comment on it, she went and did the same thing to Yamamoto, making the boy almost pass out. That was definitely when Kuroo had had enough.

"Haru," he grabbed her wrist as they were leaving the gym, pulling her to the side. The girl looked up at him through her lashes, very innocently. She even went as far as to bite her bottom lip gently with her teeth, making his eyes focus on it and his brain promptly clock out.

"Yes, sempai?"

"Erm," Kuroo started, then tried to force his brain to work. "Urgh, you- I mean- erm-" Haru was looking at him expectantly. She let those straight teeth unhook her lower lip, making it pop out and slide into place, glistening. Nope, his brain was out for the day. "Never mind." Kuroo, blushing profusely, walked away. He could hear her laughing in the background, following him to the team van.

"There is an unfortunate fact that we need to face," Nekomata said at the meeting after the day of matches. "Itachiyama has been sorted in our bracket." He glanced over at Haru who had a complete 'yikes' face on and then apologized with a bow. "No, no, that jinx has nothing to do with it, I'm sure," Nekomata waved her off. "But, facts are facts. Tomorrow, we will be playing Jindai, and if all goes well, we will face Itachiyama the following day." The boys looked discouraged, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Boys," Haru got their attention, speaking up from her spot next to Naoi. "You've done so well so far. If you manage to beat the next opponent, you will be entering the best six schools in the area!"

"Jindai has some of the best combination attacks in the prefecture," Yaku piped up. "They're very fluid and always make it look like you need two liberos to deal with them."

"So, like the Cuban team that we played?" Haru asked with an encouraging smile. "You have experience with a team that has both high attack power and great fluid plays! You'll be alright tomorrow, I believe in you!"

"Osu!" the boys chorused, their mood changing. Nekomata gave Haru's shoulder a tap, signaling she'd done a good job at keeping their spirits up.

"Then, go home, eat a good, home cooked meal and rest up. I will see you here tomorrow at seven sharp. The match begins at eight thirty." The coach gave them all a nod. "Dismissed." The boys started packing up, Kenma walking over to Kuroo as they exchanged the items they had lent each other for the match.

"Kenma," the tall captain straightened, his eyes wandering to Haru before going back to his friend. "I got it." Kenma nodded with a small smile. "Tomorrow, if we win, I'll ask her out."

Story time: I had this friend back in elementary, a guy, who was totally one of my best friends. And, I have to say, this is where I learnt that boys are horrible gossips. Like, they relish in it, it's insane. I couldn't resist making Bokuto a total gossip, too xD

Reviews:

KirikaAndo:
Thanks for the review!
Akari and Kenma are like, both steering this ship going crazy xD Kuroo and Haru left behind at the shore, waving xD Wait, were Kuroo and Haru even the ship here? :P
Cheers!

AmIValid2:
Thanks so much for the review and for all the PMs we've been exchanging xD Makes me want to write like a madwoman xD
I'm happy to send you some revive spells in order to torture you again with this slowpoke couple :P Glad that you enjoyed the chapter :D
KenAri is, like, on fire right now xD They aren't even looking back at the shore xD I love how they ended up getting together before Kuroo and Haru hahahahhaa It made me laugh evilly at my screen while I was typing it :P
Oooooooh Kenmaaaa! Gosh, I love the fact that you mentioned you enjoy my interpretation of him xD I've also noticed that a lot of people write him as very shy, standoffish or submissive. However, I don't think that he's like that. There is actually a whole analysis on his character done on YouTube by a psychiatrist. She noted that he had 'spoiled kid' syndrome regarding his indifference towards things and that he's probably an introvert. That definitely doesn't make him submissive or super shy, though. So, I think he'd be pretty forward when it came down to someone he cared about genuinely, like for example with Hinata and Kuroo.
KenAri smut definitely coming sometime soon :P They ready girl, they ready xD wait, weren't they the intended ship in this story? xD
I honestly loved making that contrast, between the teasing and the flirting and on the other hand, their genuine innocence. Like, most of the outspoken and very flirty people are actually rather vanilla. So, I wanted to be as realistic as possible in the interpretation there :D
As for them having their own things that they do separately, I think a lot of authors forget an important detail: a relationship where two people are completely immersed only in each other is, almost always, dysfunctional and quite commonly abusive, in some way. Isolation is never good, especially not in a relationship. I'm not going down that road, nuh-uh!
The fact that the third years are leaving kinda breaks my heart, too T_T
Thanks so much for leaving me a note, it really helps T_T I love reviews, they make me so happy. I feel like Takeda-sensei after the Shiratorizawa match on most days while reading them xD
I hope you're feeling better! Take care with those meds :D

Rosto'sGirl:
Thanks for the review!
I'm glad that you like Kenma and Akari together :D I was having a lot of fun with them, as you can see :P
Kuroo is a total sweetie xD He's a marshmallow which thinks it's super duper hot xD I love writing him like that hahahahha Together? Maybe… together? Hmmm soon? Ish? Perhaps? xD I'm kidding, soon xD
Urgh, I'll take some jerseys too xD
Best!

Madama Crimson:
Gosh your review cracked me up xD Thanks so much for the comment!
A little bit of spice, a little bit of sugar, I like to keep you guys on your toes :P Though, as we progress, there should be more spice, just fair warning… I mean, if we're going to be realistic with relationships, it's kind of a necessity xD
I'm so glad that you liked the way Kenma asked Akari out! I was thinking how to do it and that scene just… I could see it in my head xD It seemed really realistic :D
I loved writing the Haru and Bokuto scene xD They make me so happy when they're hanging out xD We will see yet who will make the first move… for now, we torture Kuroo some more xD
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Kimikokimono:
Thanks so much for the review!
I'm glad that you're enjoying the chapters :D I'm doing my best with the matches, but I feel like I have very few for 22 chapters xD I promise there will be more when we get to the Fukurodani group camp… I'm having a bit of a hard time making up games on my own xD
Akari and Kenma are like, breezing through shit xD I love it! They're both no-nonsense people xD Kuroo is a slowpoke on the other hand xD
Kenma and Akari fic urghhhh well idk? Maybe some drabbles? xD It wasn't planned! It just happened xD Idk what to do with myself now hahahahah
Cheers!

Myherogal22:
Hey! Thanks for the review :D
I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and think that it has potential :D I'll do my best not to disappoint :D
Best!

Omake:

Yaku caught up to Haru on his way out of the gym. He fell into step with her and immediately got her to take her earbuds out, giving him a smile.

"Are you trying to kill him or get him to snap?" The libero asked. Haru shrugged.

"Either works for me." She replied with a coy smile, making him laugh.

"Well, he deserves it, let's be honest," Yaku agreed, the two walking to the school gates. "But, it looked like he was in physical pain. Kuroo, the Master of Provocation finally getting a taste of his own medicine. I kind of like it."

"Oh, he came up to me after the match today, pulled me aside," Haru gushed, looking around to make certain they were alone. "He didn't end up saying much though, just 'erm, urgh, ergh'. It was hilarious!" Yaku couldn't help himself, he bent over, guffawing.

"I'm going to treasure that image in my head, you know." He told her, then waved, leaving to the left for his train stop. "Never going to stop teasing him about it, either!"

"Make sure you don't!" Haru waved, then leaned on the gate, waiting for Kuroo and Kenma.

Hope you guys enjoyed!