If someone would've told Hayami that she'd became the manager of a volleyball team she wouldn't have believed them.
And there she was.
Becoming a manager, a teammate, a friend, a sister.
But mostly, an ice skater.
A strong one.
A National Star.
She...
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"So, what's your friend's problem with me this morning?"
"You woke him up too early, he said."
"No need to be a bitch about it, though." "I forgot to mention he's also moody."
"Ooh, I figured it out, Kuroo."
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't," some locks were falling out of the bun after practice, mostly because she didn't get one of the twists right, slamming her butt straight on the ice, "maybe I shouldn't have done that either. I think I'm not suited to respect boundaries."
Jogging beside her, he took a glimpse of her face, lightly flushed from the hard work and the morning sun hitting on it, "You guys need to figure yourself out. You get it? Try to find a connecting point that is not school or video games."
Hayami nodded, drawing an imaginary circle around the boy, skating backward, "I don't think he cares though. We're barely friends. I talk more to you and Yaku," realizing how mean her words sounded, she quickly apologized, "I like you guys, I lot. I have fun, it's nice to have someone to rant with, who does their best to understand you! But I wish I could be this spontaneous also with Kenma."
"Girl, I've spent years of my life digging up inside that boy, just to set my spot very radically in his cold heart," Kuroo's mind traveled back in time to when they were kids, remembering how hard it was to get to know him even a little bit, "he could ignore me for days to play at that stupid console, sleep through the day and stay up all night, he's analytic and critic in every aspect of his life, he's almost...Machiavellian, no one else wanted to have anything to do with him as a little kid, he might seem the biggest red flag you could ever encounter, but I swear to my most dear belongings, that when he cares...he cares deeply."
Hayami had to stop talking for some meters, carving those words inside her brain.
She trusted Kuroo, 'cause he couldn't lie, and neither had a valid reason to tell her bullshits. He was a good kid, funny, extrovert, an amazing friend and so damn sweet when he wanted to show that side of his.
"He cares about you."
"Hey, I was thinking about how you would never tell me a lie..."
"I'm not lying."
"And how do you know this?"
Kuroo wondered if it would be a good idea to tell her everything.
Maybe not.
He would break Kenma's trust.
But just something could be enough.
"The little stuff he says when you're not around," it was the brief explanation, "the small gestures. How he tries really hard to remember everything you say to him. He cares. He doesn't know how to show it nor how to be completely himself in front of you. It's hard for him as much as it is for you."
