"does it make you...scared?"
"i'd be scared anyway."
⇒kenma kozume (haikyuu) x fem!oc
⇒lowercase intentional
𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕤:
strong language
social anxiety
⇒haikyuu characters do not belong to me
⇒all gifs used do not belong to me
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"that was all she wanted: a fresh start."
it had been a few days since kenma had seen the small display between hanako and sakurai. since then, the former had been much happier. even kuroo started to notice the subtle changes within her speech; there was smiling, laughter, and she even involved herself in their conversations without waiting for them to talk to her directly.
to kenma, it was heavenly.
he loved listening to her speak, and felt almost embarrassed at how often he would get lost in his thoughts when they were about her. during this particular lunch, kenma took a leap of faith.
"so they just got rid of the club?" kuroo asked, concern settling his features into a frown. hanako nodded, fiddling with her fingers as she sighed.
"i don't mind that much; i can just practice at home. it's upsetting for maki, behind president and all." she responded, voice quiet as she averted her eyes to the football club across the field.
kenma hesitated, before adding to the conversation. "do you wanna join another club?" ripping her eyes away from the barbaric high schoolers screaming at each other, she looked at kenma inquisitively.
"i suppose i should. i can't just wait two hours every day for katsuo to finish practice." she mused, anxiety seeping into her at the thought. oh my god. what if i had to go home on the train...alone? the very idea made her shudder.
feeling awkward with kuroo next to him, kenma tried to ignore the questioning gaze from the tall middle blocker. "you said you managed the volleyball team for your old school, right?" there it was. the leap. hanako, dense as ever, nodded, not seeing his train of thought.
holding back an exasperated groan, kenma glanced at the boy he had desperately tried to avoid the eye of for help. thankfully, he understood what the setter had meant. "why don't you become our manager then?" he asked, and a bitter smile tugged at hanako's lips.
"i, uh, only did that for my friend. i wasn't particularly good...and i was assistant manager anyway so i didn't really do anything." she quickly pointed out, exhaling deeply at the heavy feeling in her stomach.
"well," kenma started, a small smile on his face as he made eye contact with her, "maybe you could do this for your new friends."
kuroo grinned, eyeing kenma proudly. hanako looked stumped, a rare blush prominent on her features. she never liked showing her emotions, but times like these were too difficult. "i-"
"don't be worried about the team." the third year cut in, wanting to quickly abolish her fears and insecurities on the matter. "they're all fine, and we'll protect you anyway." he boasted, leaning forward and giving her a heart-clenching smile.
"you've met lev." kenma commented, a strange, and almost bitter undertone to his words. kuroo's genuine smile twisted into an amused smirk. jealousy, the older boy thought. in reality, kenma just felt irritated his the silver-haired junior.
placing the backs of her cool hands on her burning cheeks, she squished her face slightly, mulling it over. fuck.she's so cute. "and you guys don't have a manager?" she asked, somewhat hopefully. she quite liked having things in her control, and she never got to experience first-hand managing at karasuno.
"yeah! sorry if that sounds kind of stressful." the bed head chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand as he searched hanako's face for some kind of telling expression. having a manager would make life much easier for him, and he knew kenma would want her around more often too.
she thought for a moment, anxiety creeping up in her as she thought about it. although she wanted to accept the position immediately, a small part of her was worried of the potential outcome. i'll have to talk to them a lot.
mentally groaning, she swallowed thickly and took out her phone to play temple run. it was relaxing. "okay." she said, voice small and soft as she focused on her game. the two boys couldn't believe she'd actually agreed.
"really?" kenma asked, mouth agape as both him and kuroo stared at the girl in shock. feeling their intense gaze on her, she froze, and her thumbs halted, causing her character on the screen to run into a tree. crap, kenma thought, did i mess up her game?
"did you," she started, awkwardly swallowing as she glanced back at the boys through the thick curtain of her hair, "did you not want me to agree?"
quickly, kuroo shook his hands before him, and kenma felt guilty for making her insecure after she'd just said yes to becoming their manager. it must be difficult for her too. god, i'm such an idiot.
"i was hoping you'd say yes, but i didn't think you'd agree!" the volleyball captain laughed happily. "this is great! after school, kenma can take you to the gym and we can introduce everyone to you, and you can watch us play." he said, making hanako's shoulders tense slightly.
meeting more new people was bound to be exhausting for her. it had taken her weeks on end for her to start speaking to the two boys she spent her lunch with somewhat normally. "uh, okay. y-yeah. sure." why the fuck am i stuttering?
internally groaning in frustration, hanako loaded a new game. she never needed to release stress through running away from creepy gorilla-sloth monsters so badly.
glancing over at her, kenma's golden eyes trailed over her hair, and caught on a small cherry blossom leaf in it. pretty. instinctively, he reached over and plucked it out of her hair, looking down at it in his hands as her head snapped to him.
green eyes wide with shock, hanako's mouth dropped open slightly. what did he do? "uh-"
"you had this in your hair." he cut her off, holding up the pink leaf as he pulled his knees up to his chest. kenma didn't look away from the leaf in his hand, afraid that if he so much as skimmed over her face then his would turn the same colour as the foliage.
"i see. thank you." she said, relieved. it was slightly weird to feel someone touch your head with their thumb and forefinger, almost as if they tried to pinch you but missed the skin.
leaning back against the base of the tree, kuroo smirked, not understanding his junior's weird ways of flirting. then again, i can't really say anything; it's not like i've ever had a girlfriend. at the thought, he sat up a little straighter, glaring at kenma slightly from the corner of his eye. it'll be totally embarrassing if this guy gets a girlfriend before i do.
