Yabai Koi Series

A/N: Hi! I decided to write up another AU. I'll be writing this one in separate parts instead of one long entry. Just because, hihi. Hope you enjoy this one.

#10: She wondered what it would have felt like to be the same age as him.

"I'm sorry?"

Kyoko sighed softly as she glanced at the woman next to her, the crystal glass clinking as she placed her whiskey down onto the bar. She asked again, knowing that her friend had heard her the first time but couldn't quite wrap her head around it. "I said, doesn't that mean you're interested in him?"

Her full red lips kicked up a notch into one of her rare mischievous smirk when she studied her friend's reaction. She never got bored from watching Hitoka's face turn red in a matter of seconds.

"I don't- I'm not… wha- I mean… I'm a teacher, Kyoko-senpai! I'm his teacher!"

An elegant dark brow rose as the older of the two shrugged a shoulder. "So? He's still a man, regardless of age."

Hitoka shook her head, and downed the rest of her Martini in a single gulp, regretting it a second later. The frown on her forehead deepened considerably when she thought of the situation. "But I'm a teacher. I'm supposed to be teaching at that school, not get myself tangled in a relationship that's frowned upon in society." She worried her lips at the mere thought of it.

"Oh? Relationship?"

"Yes. That."

Kyoko tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing the thin silver necklace her boyfriend gave her a year ago, and playfully nudged her former high school junior with her elbow. "I didn't say anything about a relationship, Hitoka-chan. But if that's what you want then…" she gave another shrug as she left her words hanging.

That was enough to make Hitoka burn up again. The poor student teacher buried her face in her small hands, embarrassed beyond repair. "I-I didn't mean that! Aw geez! Senpai! Stop teasing me! You know what I mean. I just can't…" She bit her bottom lip, and looked like she was about to cry. "I can't fall for a student." She finished her words quietly, meekly.

They stayed silent for a while, Kyoko letting Hitoka cool down for a few moments before she pulled her friend in a side hug. "I'm sorry… it's just that you're too gullible I can't help it."

"Hm… okay… but what should I do? I can't let myself be like this. I think… I think I might need to change schools."

There it was again. She hadn't seen Hitoka reverting back to her teenage ways since she graduated high school; afraid to face things head on and always try to avoid problems. But it seemed that whoever had caught her eye was quite something to be able to make her revert to being her old negative self. Hitoka might deny it but Kyoko had a feeling that this time it was a matter with a little more weight than she originally thought it was.

"You don't have to. Come on, you won't be seeing him every day, right? You're still a student teacher. You're gonna finish your training in no time and end up teaching a different school." She turned to Hitoka, trying to make her feel a little less worried. "And you're teaching chemistry. They can't be learning chemistry the whole time."

"Well, they don't…"

Kyoko sensed a 'but' there.

Hitoka twiddled her thumbs when she peeked up to look at her friend, "…but I'm his club advisor."

"…Okay."

"Why were you hesitating, senpai?"

She shook her head a little. "No it's just that for Seijoh to need to use a student teacher to be a club advisor… then that means they're short on people huh. So what does he play?"

She didn't miss the sudden jump in the younger woman's shoulders, and couldn't help feeling worried for Hitoka. The student teacher was still twisting her fingers, her cheeks suddenly coloring a faint shade of red, before she squeaked out, "…volleyball."

She blinked, and for a second couldn't form a word when she looked at Hitoka.

"Well that… doesn't sound so good." In fact, things would be a bit harder than she thought.

The blush on Hitoka's cheeks turned darker, so she buried her face in her hands again. Kyoko knew for sure it wasn't the alcohol that made the petite teacher red in the face. If anything, it was the fact that the high schooler who caught her attention played volleyball. It was a known fact to anyone who knew the young woman, that she was crazy for volleyball since her first year of high school. What are the odds, huh.

"So um… what do you think I should do?"

Resignation poured on her as she shrugged again, downing her second shot like it was nothing. "Just go out with him."

"But I told you, it's impossible! I'm a teacher so I need to maintain a professional relationship. Besides, even if he's not a student, there'd be no way he'd look at a person like me." Without realizing it, her lips pouted when she thought of that fact. Frustrated, she called for another martini. It was actually her first time drinking, and she shouldn't have picked that particular day as well since the next day was school day. But she couldn't resist the temptation of using alcohol as an excuse for her asking Kyoko about her love life.

Kyoko's warm hand gently squeezed her shoulder, "Don't say things like that. You're a great person, don't put yourself down." She decided against calling it quits, so she asked for another shot. "You came to me today asking about a boy, don't you back out now after saying this and that about him. Is he even that charming anyway?"

She chanced a sideward glance at her friend. Hitoka was silently sipping on her drink, then as she carefully put it down, a little smile adorned her slightly flushed face. "He kinda is, you know. I mean, he's a really good player. And he studies well, too. It's too bad the school's not that supportive of the volleyball club, because he's talented I'm sure the team would win a lot of games if they were given the chance."

Kyoko chuckled. "That kinda sounds like our school back then."

Hitoka laughed as well. "Yeah, kinda."

"Hitoka-chan,"

"hm?"

"Just go and confess already."

Hitoka hadn't known that she didn't have hangovers. If she had then she would've drank a lot more the night before. But her mouth still felt dry even after chugging down a gallon of water before coming to school. Even then, as she watched the boys play against the visiting school for practice, she was still sipping water from her trusted bottle.

She made another circle in the test pad clipped to her red clipboard, recording the number of points when Oikawa managed to score the last point for the first set with his serve alone. A smile lit up her face when his teammates patted him on the back, congratulating him. "Good serve, Oikawa-kun!" She called out of habit.

He turned to her, remnants of his smile still there when he nodded to her. She couldn't stop the sudden jump in her heart when he did that. Then she realized she must have reacted a little too childishly, and quickly looked down to her clipboard, her face heating up.

She looked back up just in time to see the managers pass the cooled towels for the players, and noticed one of the girls affectionately drying the sweat on his forehead using an extra towel. He was pouting a little, and the girl giggled at something he said, and for a moment Hitoka wished she was born a few years later. During her high school years she had been a manager herself, but she was too busy and preoccupied with club activities to even notice other boys her age. Thinking back on it, she envied the girls who came to cheer on the boys in her club. At the very least they were able to show their feelings properly.

Unlike herself. Even if she wanted to, people would look at her weird.

Some of the boys were teasing the girl and Oikawa. He turned a deaf ear as he went to talk with one of the players from the visiting school, but the girl was giggling, happy for being the center of attention.

Hitoka sighed softly. How brazen of that girl. She kind of admired that.

"Yachi, come 'ere a bit." The coach motioned for her to come help him with a player who pulled a muscle, and distractedly she went to his side. The boy sheepishly thanked her as she started to massage his calf, and she nodded a little, still thinking how good it would be to be the same age as the girls.

"Take care of yourself better, alright? We don't want you guys to injure yourselves when the spring prelims are just around the corner."

He nodded shyly, and proceeded to rest at a corner of the gym with a few of the benchwarmers. The second set was already starting, so she stood to the side, clipboard in her arms. The coach, a man in his thirties, stood next to her. "You're quite confident they're going to the prelims, huh."

She dropped her clipboard when she avoided a stray ball darting her way, and smiled up at the older man. "Yep. I told you, didn't I? I managed to convince the Vice-principle that the boys are gonna make it through the preliminaries since they're talented."

The man snorted as he straightened the nametag that read 'Mizoguchi' on his jersey. "They're a bunch of talented brats alright. But it's been a few years since the school sent our boys out to matches. How did you manage that?" The wide grin she gave made him raise a brow. "Don't tell me-"

She held up an 'ok' sign. "Let's just say dogeza works a long way when you know where to use it."

Mizoguchi laughed out until tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Man…" He breathed out a sigh, shaking his head while the bits of laughter still remained. "The former advisor gave up ages ago, and here you come and suddenly our boys have their schedules packed with practice matches. And even an official tournament to prepare for." He motioned for a fist bump, and she complied, laughing a little when her small fist awkwardly collided with his larger one. "I thought you were just some boring replacement. Sorry 'bout that."

Hitoka circled the paper for another score. "Well, I just can't let talent go to waste. The same thing happened to my old school, but we pulled through. And now Karasuno's well-known all over town. Besides, Mizoguchi-san," She looked up at him and held up a thumbs up, "You didn't give up on them either, right?"

"Of course. The old man would chew me up for abandoning this school, after all he's done."

"Old man? Do you mean the former coach?"

"Yep. Oh, Oikawa messed up in his serve." He yelled at Oikawa and the others, and walked nearer to the side of the net to call for a timeout.

Hitoka watched silently as Mizoguchi smacked the boys on their head for a mistake they did a while ago on the court. He turned to Oikawa to ask about his blunder, who merely shrugged and gave one of his witty replies, which earned him a noogie. She covered her mouth to hide her giggles at the way the coach and the players fooled around comfortably. As they filed back into the court, she called out to them. "It's okay! You guys were doing well!"

They thanked her, and before the match resumed, she caught Oikawa's eyes. She could feel her cheeks warm up for a moment, before she held up her fist and mouthed 'Fight-oh!' He blinked at first, and for a second Hitoka felt embarrassed for doing something so childish. But then he smiled back and nodded at her.

When he started to move around again on the court, Hitoka forgot all about the scoreboard.

She yawned for the nth time as she walked past the school gates, clad in her pair of jersey wear. The game ended a little later than she expected. The boys won the match, and it was a good start to prepare them for the coming Spring Tournament. They even managed to squeeze the boys into a week-long training camp with the visiting school. Watching their grins and excited faces was worth her tired legs. To thank her efforts, the boys had promised to score above-average marks for their coming exams so that they could all train together without her having to worry of the ones left behind.

Hitoka wished she would be there long enough to see them make it to the finals, but that wasn't going to happen. She wondered how she'd break the news to them. She wondered what she would do about her feelings for Oikawa. The third year setter was popular with the girls, even outsiders knew about him. He probably wouldn't take her confession seriously if she were to tell him.

She sighed. Maybe it was best for her to forget about him.

Remembering she needed milk, she made her way to the convenience store nearest to her apartment. Just as she checked out her items, her plastic bag filled with a lot more stuff other than milk, she heard a very familiar voice calling out to her.

"Sensei?"

Her eyes widened as she turned around to see Oikawa, still in his jersey and shorts. He grinned as she looked at him confusedly. "Oikawa-kun? Why are you here?"

He walked up to HItoka and took the heavy plastic bag from her. "I live here. A few block down this store. But I've never seen you here, Yachi-sensei." She sheepishly thanked him. "I always stop here for some stuff. It's really weird, because I haven't seen you either. I live near here as well. At the apartment complex near the main street."

They started to walk towards the main street. Hitoka fiddled with her thumbs, trying to think of something to say. He beat her to it. "Coach told us that you pulled a lot of strings for us to be able to join that tournament."

Hearing the mention of the tournament, her face immediately lit up. "Oh, I didn't do much, really! I just wanted you guys to play in the tournament so I just did what I could." She tilted her head a little to the side, smiling a little more. "You practiced a lot for that tournament, didn't you? And the others too. I think it's a waste not to show what you're capable of."

Oikawa smiled back. "Thank you for that. I thought the teachers have given up on us." She nodded enthusiastically. "Not all teachers have given up, you know. This is just my job, I'm a teacher after all."

They were waiting to cross the road, when she finally noticed that he had been holding her stuff all the while she walked home. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I can carry my things, you must have wanted to go back home. Gosh, I'm such an airhead." She was about to reach for the plastic bag when he took her hand in his free one instead and led her across the street. "O-Oikawa-kun? Um… my… my things are…"

When they had crossed safely to the front of her apartment building, he raised a brow while holding up her stuff in one hand. "Do you think I'd leave you to walk alone holding all these stuff, sensei?" She blinked, not knowing what to say to that, and came up with a meek, "Um… yes?"

The easy smile he had on his face dropped, and he looked like he was done with her. "Really, sensei. What kind of man do you think I am?" She blushed when she realized she must have offended him. "I didn't mean to upset you. Gosh, I'm so sorry. And here you are going out of your way to help me."

She was fretting over herself, and a few seconds later she managed to calm down and thanked him for his help.

He finally gave her stuff back. "But I wasn't going out of my way or anything like that." She looked up at him, and blushed again when she noticed how tall he actually was when he was standing really close to her. She stepped back a few, not knowing what else to say but not wanting to just go home yet. She still wanted to talk to him.

She dug around in the plastic bag, and pulled out a small bottle of milk. She extended it to him, "Here." He blinked at the offered bottle before finally taking it. "Thank you." He couldn't help himself and ended up chuckling at her antics. "You're really something else, Yacchan-sensei."

Hitoka blinked at the nickname. "Yacchan?" Oikawa was already chugging down the milk. He tossed the bottle into the trashcan just a few feet away. "Everyone's calling you that. Isn't that neat?"

She frowned as she held her chin. "That's not good… not really. I mean, I'm not supposed to be too friendly with the students." He shrugged, "So? I don't think it's a bad thing for teachers to be close to students."

Hitoka could feel herself heat up at his last comment. She was sure he didn't mean anything more than that, but it hit her like a freight train. She cleared her throat. "Y-yeah but… I need to be the kind of teacher that my students can look up to. If they start to treat me like a friend then doesn't that beat the purpose?" She looked up from staring a hole into the pavement just in time to see Oikawa walk up to her. He was sporting a smile that she found very hard to look away from. "You're fine just the way you are, Yachi-sensei."

Somehow hearing him call her Yachi caused even more damage to her heart than the playful Yacchan. She shook her head, unaware of how he was watching her amusedly. "Well, thank you for that. You, too, are fine just the way you are." His smile turned to a grin.

She didn't know how it was possible for someone four years younger than her to look so cheeky yet charming at the same time.

Just seeing the mirth in his eyes and the dimples on his cheeks when he smiled that smile of his made her forget that she was a teacher. It made her think of the fact that she was hopelessly head over heels in this boy that probably had no idea of her feelings for him. It made her, an adult, jealous of the manager who had been openly flirting with him a few hours ago.

"I like you."

She realized a bit too late that she had accidentally said that out loud when she saw the change in his facial expression.

"Eh?"

A/N: I know. You're probably hating on me right now, huh. XD

Dogeza = it means to grovel.