Akaashi's 18th (and the events that followed...)

24. Kuroo - Next Generation

"Where's Kenma?"

"Huh? Wouldn't you know?" Lev asked dimly in response. "He's your best friend."

"And he's your teammate!" Kuroo practically groaned in frustration. "I didn't see him leave so I couldn't follow him - I've looked in all the empty corridors and cleaning cupboards, and I can't find him anywhere."

"I think I saw him leave out the back corridor, the one that leads to the toilets." Kuroo spun around to find Akaashi and Bokuto standing behind him. Akaashi was still panting from the match, leaning slightly against Bokuto, who had his arm supportively around his kouhai.

"Ooh, we'll help look for him!" Bokuto grinned.

It didn't take them long, as they ended up in the small corridor, quiet and deserted. Akaashi was correct, Kuroo thought; Kenma would definitely come down here, prone to discovering the quietest places in the vicinity and sliding into their surroundings. He spotted a bathroom sign near the end, and headed down the corridor.

Kuroo stopped outside the toilet door, hearing two voices inside, both of which he recognised. He nodded to Akaashi and Bokuto, who turned around and headed back to their friends. Kuroo pushed open the wooden door to the bathrooms, finding two heads pressed together, leaning over a tiny phone screen. The blond's gaze was fixed on the phone, sharp eyes concentrating. Kuroo could hear the man's mind whirring. However, the orange head poked up at the intrusion, looking severely befuddled. "I still don't get it, Kenma," he said, once he had recognised Kuroo.

"It's like an online market, Sho, what isn't there to understand?"

Kuroo sniggered. "What doesn't he get now?"

"The stock market," Kenma answered with a small smile. "He doesn't understand how it works, and what people sell on it."

"Oh, that is kinda confusing though, Kenma. You gotta admit."

Kenma rolled his eyes. "Well then you're both dumbasses. The stock market, Sho, like I said, is where people from all parts of the world trade by 'investing' - that means 'giving' - a set amount of money into companies so that they have funding to expand their business. The amount of money you pay into the company determines what portion of the company's profits you get, which is your 'share'."

"Woah! That sounds so cool!'

"It might, but you have to be careful. If you don't know what you're doing, you could invest in stocks that are declining in price, and you could lose money. Sometimes you can invest in start-ups and small companies if you see potential in them, and then that helps them to grow and make more money. If you buy shares when the company is small - although the shares you get may be tiny at first - you can make a lot of money if their business suddenly booms."

Kuroo smiled as Kenma animatedly continued his explanation, pushing his bangs out of his face as he showed Chibi-chan some graphs on his phone screen. "Here, this is the net worth of Facebook over time. It was rising rapidly, but it declines sharply once every couple of years as new social media platforms come into existence. You have to be able to predict whether the profits are increasing or decreasing."

"You know," Kuroo says with a laugh, breaking Kenma off from his speech. Whilst it was brilliant, Kuroo wasn't quite sure that Hinata was fully comprehending everything the further Kenma travelled down his rabbit-hole of an explanation. "If you know so much about the stock market, perhaps you should invest yourself." He shrugged.

Kenma looked at him as though he had forgotten to gel his hair, but Chibi-chan's eyes widened. "That's such a cool idea! Kenma you should do that!"
Kenma shook his head. "No. That's a bankruptcy waiting to happen."

"But you're so good at it!" Hinata exclaimed. "You explained it to me like it was nothing."

Kuroo gave his best friend a 'he's right, you know' shrug. "I think you could do it. You're dedicated enough - I mean, you already have Kodzuken and your channel. You could grow that so much if you had better recording equipment. And think of all the gaming stuff you could buy - not to mention the fact that you could easily get decent university accommodation if you had some cash on you."

Kuroo stiffened as Kenma studied him for a moment. It was as if he wasn't sure whether to take Kuroo seriously or brush off his statement. "Perhaps," was all he said, seeming a little nonplussed. Kuroo smiled slightly, pleased at the possibility of Kenma heeding his advice for once.

"Congratulations on the games as well, you two. Both made it through the first game, and Fukurodani as well." Kuroo wiped a fake tear from his eyes with a smirk.

"Thanks - Ennoshita-san is a great captain, and Kageyama was on great form today!" Hinata said with a grin, his eyes shining in a way that meant he could only be thinking about the setter's immaculate tosses.

Kuroo grinned back. It was hard not to be bedazzled by Chibi-chan's smile, and even if you weren't you would still be intrigued at his ever-cheery nature. "Eto..." Kuroo paused, suddenly realising something. "Why are you in the toilets anyway?"

"Oh, I needed to pee, and Kenma was sitting here on his phone, looking at the stats for his YouTube channel," Hinata suddenly gulped. "Oh I remember now... I still haven't gone to the toilet-"
Kuroo cackled uncontrollably as the cubicle door slammed shut.

(Word count: 891)
(Total word count: 27,268)