"I can talk to hundreds of people in one day, but none of them compare to the smile you can give me in one minute."

-Kuroo's POV-

I'm not quite sure why Bokuto, Akaashi, and I got dragged along on this adventure Lev wanted to go on. But for once, I'm very glad I came along with the talkative kid. As soon as Lev called out to Endou, my eyes went to her and I didn't hear much of anything else for a minute. I know I've said it before, but the woman in front of us was stunning. This time though, it wasn't her physical appearance that got me. It was the pure unwavering tenacity and focus that reflected in her eyes.

Her posture was relaxed but firm, but as she looked at Lev, her eyes widened in surprise. Part of me worried she would panic at seeing us but she seemed confused, not on edge like she had the last time we saw her. Did she get away from whoever was hurting her? I sure hoped so. She looked a lot happier and at peace at the moment, and it suited her much better than the paranoia that had been evident in her body language last time. It was almost like meeting a completely different person.

Anyways, after our interaction with her, which ended with some foreigner who I guess was her teammate dragging her away to where the rest of their team waited, I let myself focus back on the conversation going on with the people around me.

"Wow, her Russian has gotten much worse," Lev commented causing Bokuto, Akaashi and I to all look at him in shock, "What? She used to come for tutoring every week if not every day. It doesn't make sense why she would stop." At that comment, Akaashi and I's gazes met for a moment before he shook his head slightly. He was right. It wasn't our place to tell Lev what we figured was the real reason Endou quit showing up to tutoring.

With that, we found some seats where we could clearly see the matches as they happened. Keizai did pretty well, especially their short first year, I think the announcer said his name was Inoue? What the hell is with short first years being ridiculously talented? Anyways, most of the matches went to timer with no one scoring a full point that would automatically end the match. Finally, it was Endou's turn to fight. I felt myself getting a bit nervous for her when I saw that the man in front of her was a bit taller than her and clearly bigger than her muscle wise. The whistle blew, and to my surprise, I swear I blinked and Endou had the guy pinned. In no time, the whistle blew signifying Endou as the winner.

"Psst, Kuroo," Bokuto whispered getting my attention and talking where only Akaashi and I could hear, "If she's that strong, why the hell is she letting some guy beat her up?" At that question, I could feel the fury radiating off of Akaashi, and if Bokuto's nervous expression was any indication, he could too.

"Koutarou," Akaashi began still quietly so Lev couldn't hear us, causing Bokuto to look even more nervous as from what I understood, Akaashi almost never used his first name, "Abusers don't stay in power just because of physical strength. They use emotional and mental tactics too. Also, did you notice that Endou-san immediately released her opponent and went to help him up? Even though the guy slapped her hand away, she didn't show any type of aggression after the match was done." I swear every time this topic comes up, I see Akaashi in a different light. As much as I know I get on his nerves, I really can't help but respect the guy, not only for putting up with Bokuto's crap but also for his intelligence. It was on par with Kenma's.

"Gomen, Akaashi," Bokuto mumbled looking a bit like a kicked puppy to which Akaashi sighed and rubbed his back discreetly.

"Just don't assume things like that again, okay?" Akaashi instructed softly to which Bokuto nodded.

"You think she's still in that situation, Akaashi?" I asked quietly. Akaashi nodded but didn't elaborate. I hoped he was wrong.

We continued to watch the matches. Most of the Keizai team members made it to round three in their divisions but lost in their final matches, except for the foreigner from earlier, I think they said his name was Castillo. Endou was in the top division apparently because of her belt ranking from what the tournament program said.

Endou's other two matches had gone similarly to her first one, in that they lasted less than a minute. On her second match, Endou had a flipped a guy so hard onto his back that the match ended right then, and on her third match, she got the guy in something called arm bar that you knew left the guy sore. It was mesmerizing to watch her. Not only did she look some calm and focused out there, but she never seemed to move in a way that was egotistical or indicated that she believed she had already won.

As she entered the mat for the last match, my confidence in her faded a bit as my concern for her increased. Her final opponent was a guy that was even taller than Lev and as built as Bokuto was, if not more so. She looked tiny and fragile next to him, but despite that, her expression and posture did not change. Endou looked just as calm and ready as she had before every other match.

The whistle blew and unlike the last couple of matches, her opponent moved first, causing them to be engaged in a grappling match for at least 30 seconds before he managed to get a good grip on Endou, lifting her up and throwing her. I held my breath as she fell on the mat, not flat on her back but at an angle. To my surprise, she rolled shortly after hitting the ground and stood up. There was clear bruising starting to form where her face had hit the mat, but that didn't seem to slow her down. This time, instead of letting him lock her into a another grappling match, she moved quickly, blocking off his attempts at grappling before finally managing to get behind him and grabbing him in a choke hold. Both competitors fell to the mat, but Endou's arm that was performing the choke hold did not budge from its place around her competitors neck. In seconds, the other competitor tapped out and the whistle blew, declaring Endou the victor.

"So what are you thinking about her now, ehhh bro?" Bokuto questioned with a smirk. She's perfect. I know a lot of guys get turned off when a girl has that amount of muscle or strength, but damn, that whole display was more of a turn-on for me than I'd like to admit. What can I say? Fuck gender roles. If a girl a wants to be a badass in martial arts, then she should be.

"I knew it. You're simping already, you rooster-headed bastard," Bokuto answered his own question causing me to roll my eyes at him. I opened my mouth to speak, but Lev had unfortunately heard this conversation.

"Wait! Kuroo-senpai, you like Mikia-chan?" Lev asked loudly causing me to whack him on the head.

"Enough, Lev. I've only met her once, so I don't know if I like her. Plus, she has a boyfriend," I pointed out bluntly. It was a bit of an assumption, but Akaashi seemed fairly confident that she did because he'd seen them together around the apartment complex a couple of times.

"Well, you're probably way better than him anyways, Senpai. Plus, I think you and Mikia-chan would get along. Especially since you don't care if her Russian sucks. Which it totally does," he rambled with a huge grin on his face. At this point, I ignored him, my eyes drifting back to Endou, and my face flushed ever so slightly at the sight in front of me.

In the midst of her teammates giving her high fives and congratulating her, Endou had a grin that looked almost completely carefree. Seeing that expression, I found myself even more drawn to her, and I seriously debated going up and congratulating her, that is until I saw her check her phone and the grin leave her face for only a moment. The moment passed and the grin returned to her face, but this time I noticed: the smile didn't reach her eyes anymore.

-

Song: You're Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring