I do not own Haikyū!
It is by pure chance that Kuroo Tetsurō meets Nekoma High's sweetest female student. And by sweet, he means pure cane sugar coating her cells from head-to-toe sweet.
By whatever grace of the gods that are out there, Tetsurō is paired up with this one person he never would have thought he would ever interact with. Until today, at least.
Tetsurō sits at his seat near the back of the class right next to the window having decided that if he is going to be attending high school, he might as well make it out to be some slice-of-life manga and live life to its fullest (he hopes). He has his chin resting in his hand while the other one loosely holds his pencil to his notebook, absently doodling little spirals over and over while he waits for class to begin.
His teachers switch out, from History to Science I - one of his better subjects. It is during this time when Sakamoto-sensei announces that students will be paired together for a three day long assignment. Excited whispers erupt inside the classroom of who is going to pair up with who, friends choosing friends, or girls and boys wondering if they can pair up with their crushes. However, it is quickly shut down when their science teacher declares he will be picking the partners.
That is when Tetsurō hears his name being paired up with a name he does not expect:
Chitōse Akiko.
He is surprised to say in the least. Chitōse Akiko has been going to the same schools as him for as long as he can remember. Hell, she lives in the same neighborhood as him. There have been times when he and his best friend Kozume Kenma have seen her walking down the same road as each other, or they would pass one another in the halls.
In fact, he can spot her sitting just one column to his right and situated in the middle a few rows ahead.
So, despite all the years he has known of her, no matter how many times their paths cross, they have never interacted before. Until now.
Akiko is the first one to make a move. The moment that Sakamoto-sensei excuses them to get up from their seats and interact with their partners, she gathers her belongings and heads over to an awaiting Tetsurō.
"Hello, Kuroo-san," she greets, her lips upturned into a small, genuine smile. Tetsurō grins back in response.
"Chitōse-san."
"I am looking forward to working with you." Akiko bows, her long brown hair spilling over her shoulder, narrowly missing from sweeping across his forearm. "Please take care of me."
"Maa- maa; no need for such formalities, Chitōse-san."
"Ah- I see. . ."
A beat of silence passes between them before Akiko smiles warmly at him again.
"May I please sit here," she gestures to the empty seat to Tetsurō's right that is currently vacant since his table neighbor left to work with their own partner.
"Go ahead," he grins.
It prickles something in Tetsurō to think that Chitōse Akiko is very formal and polite. Nice, yes- but perhaps even too much.
She is a friendly person from what he's seen throughout the years. Smiling and talking with other students, helping peers out with their studies, and he's even seen her helping out and giving company to Yū-san, the 90-something years old woman in their neighborhood.
The analytic boy believes that no one can possibly be so altruistic. To go about their day with nothing but a smile on their face, with patience hardened and unmoving as a mountain; because not once has he ever seen her with anything less than a smile on her face and kindness in her voice. Not once has he seen her annoyed or mad. Not once has he witnessed her cry or be sad.
So perhaps he is going a bit out of his way, but he wants to see just who this Chitōse Akiko is; wants to see what makes her tick.
It's during their lunch hour that Tetsurō confronts Akiko. She is sitting by herself in her class seat with her bento open up in front of her when he walks up to the quiet girl. Normally, he is out the door by now to eat lunch and socialize with his volleyball teammates outdoors in the grassy grounds of the school; but he has other plans in mind for today,
"May I join you for lunch, Chitōse-san," he asks her, his typical small smirk in place.
She gives him a small, but kind smile. "Of course."
Tetsurō makes work of turning the empty desk chair in front of her around, and takes a seat across from her at the desk, his own bento out and open. He eyes her lunch, looking very much how he expects. The container itself is a light pink, the contents inside of it arranged in a cute fashion with a panda face and flowers.
Cute and soft, he thinks. Like her.
"So," the dark-hair boy starts before taking a bite of his rice, "we should figure out when and where to meet up to complete the project."
Fortunately for them, they were able to discuss their topic and methods during their Science I class time, effectively cutting the time on making decisions about the assignment. Now they just need the logistics of it all, something he believes will be an easy feat.
Akiko makes a soft humming noise in the back of her throat, acknowledging and thinking about what Tetsurō said while she chews on her vegetables.
"You're on the volleyball team, right? Maybe we should meet during lunch or after practice."
A small ding goes off in Tetsurō's head, recognizing that she knows about him and his extracurricular activities. It unconsciously causes the corners of his lips to curve upwards in response. It is only their first year at Nekoma High, as well as the fact they are only a few weeks into the school year. Yet, somehow she knows that he is a member of the school's volleyball team. (Now, him being a starting member on the roster is another matter entirely, but that's besides the point).
"Hih? I didn't know that you knew I am on the team."
Akiko giggles, a blush rising on her cheeks as she looks at Tetsurō from beneath her eyelashes.
"I guess that does seem a bit strange. It's just that. . . I've seen you with all the other players and sometimes in the track uniform, so I just assumed you were a member as well."
"Ah, well you're not wrong; I am. Are you in any clubs?"
"Not right now, I'm still looking. . . I was a part of the calligraphy club in middle school, but I felt like doing something else this year. I just don't know what yet."
The messy-hair boy takes a sip of his milk drink, hazel eyes taking in the girl before him. She is soft. Mannered, kind, and just plain soft. Like a marshmallow.
"Why don't we walk together after school," he suggests, leaning forward in his seat with his Chesire grin back in place.
Akiko looks at him with wide eyes taken by surprise. "Oh- are you sure? I wouldn't want to take you out of your way."
"Not at all," he says. "We both live in the same area and that way we can go ahead and start on our project."
She smiles and nods her head. "If you insist."
I do, he thinks. Because Kuroo Tetsurō wants to know just who Chitōse Akiko is.
(Edited 09/23/2020)
Hello! I'd like to thank everyone for reading this story, and that I appreciate every single one of you!
So, this is like the 3rd time I've edited this story. Just making a few changes here and there but nothing major; mostly with grammar, tenses, capitalization. I've also added a few different sentences but nothing that makes a big difference. This is going to be the last time I edit this chapter even though I'm not entirely in love with how it's written, just for the sake that it's been posted a long while now.