Ready, Set.

Unexpected

He was amazing, it was like we were in slow motion to him. I could see him reading everything in the room as the ball floated into his hands and then, he set it. Perfectly back to Yama, then didn't even turn to see him smack it past the net and into the gym floor.

"Yeah!!" Yama shouts as his feet find the ground again. I could see Kenma tug back the half smile trying to pull at his lips. He didn't want to get too confident in himself. Fair enough, but I could tell this was only a fraction of his talents.

"Where'd you play before?" I asked as Lev and Yama still reeled about the potential new setter.

"Doesn't matter, there weren't any players like you guys." He muttered,

"Like us? What does that mean?" I asked. I assumed he'd say tall, Nekoma had a knack for pulling in the tall ones.

"Well, talented." He turned as quick as he said it and Yama ran up to him before I could process. Talented? He must've been playing with some real duds then.

————

The way the tall one, Kuroo, looked at him made him uneasy. Something darker lurked in his already black eyes and Kenma wasn't sure he could handle working with someone who seemed to wear a dark facade over a darker persona. The Mohawk, Yamamoto, was kinder though. Made Kenma feel like a young boy again, as if everything were a joke and they could laugh. He could see being part of his team.

Deciding between some good laughs and one scary shadow wouldn't be easy, the next set would go to Kuroo.

The skinny boy on the sideline tossed up the ball, Kenma took in his surroundings as usual, Yama was heavy on his left foot but Kuroo was balanced, ready to go where he was needed. The ball was at its peak, falling into his hands in another second, Yama looked back to Lev, but dark eyes burned a whole in Kenmas' forearms. He felt the weight of the ball on his hands, pushing it forward he watched those thin lips twitch into a devilish grin before kuroo sent his body through the air.

Kenma wasn't one to follow the ball, but rather the bodies and as Kuroo jumped his shirt fluttered away and his stomach was exposed to Kenma only. He saw the curves and cuts of years of training engrained in every muscle as his arm pulled back and then forward to meet the ball. Kenma felt the heat rise in his cheeks as his eyes followed Kuroos feet to the ground, the muscles in his leg rippling to steady him again. The sharp smack of the ball on the floor brought Kenma back.

"Another." Kuroo said, turning away from Kenma

————

That ball in my hand felt perfect, more perfect than I knew it could feel. He was a hard setter to read, he'd been watching Yama as the ball was being tossed, but then those bright eyes found me and his finger tipped the ball forward. It felt good to be on the same wavelength as the setter.

I knew he could see my torso when I jumped, I'd forgotten to tuck in my shirt, so as soon as I hit the ground I turned away, my face getting hot. I wasn't shy but something about those sharp eyes that saw everything seeing me...

"That was incredible, you have to say you'll join." Lev said in his usual monotone voice, Kenma twisted to look at the half Russian middle blocker. The three of us towered over Kenma, but he didn't seem intimidated by Yama or Lev. In fact he seemed like he enjoyed them already.

"I would have to think on it, I don't want to step on anyone's toes" He was a quiet talker, but maybe he just didn't have much to say.

"Nonsense, sometimes you've gotta cut off a bad toe or two to save the foot right?" Yama bursted into laughter as Lev delivered one of his startling metaphors. I couldn't hide the grin that came with suppressing my laughter. Lev always said the weirdest shit since he joined us this summer.