F̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶ Fuck the Rulebook - Kenma Kozume

C18 - Another

Akasuki pushed the door open, the distant squealing of children and parental chatter, sliding her shoes off as she placed her bags against the wall, gesturing for Kuroo to come in. Stepping in he glanced around whispering under his breath,
“it’s so,” he gave her a soft glance, “warm.”
Warm? Alright sure, she didn’t understand what he meant by that. He started to walk down the corridor slowly running his fingers against the photo frames of Akasuki and her family,
“you were a cute child.”
“Thanks,” Akasuki scoffed joining his side looking at the photo he was staring at.
She was sat in a picnic blanket with the boys on either side of her, her father crouching behind them with a large smile across his face, her mother leaning over with a soft smile. She hasn’t looked at these photos in a while, it was a while ago before her father had moved away for his job. She softly hummed, a sudden squeal from behind her,
“Sis!”
She glanced down to see Tatsuo, his hands covered in a sticky mixture, are they making something?
“Hey Suo,” she moved towards him glancing into the kitchen, her mother and Reiji stood with a bowl between the pair, “what ya making?”
Her mother lifted her head grinning,
“Reiji wanted to show us a new recipe he learned for bread!”
“Wow,” Akasuki exclaimed with joy, he picks up his recipes quickly, “you’re gonna become a professional baker if you keep going at this rate!”
Reiji lifted his head with shimmering eyes,
“really?”
She nodded, they could do anything they wanted these boys, they both have prosperous lives ahead of them, Akasuki felt this in her bones. There was a soft elbow against her leg as she glanced down to see Tatsuo staring at Kuroo stood behind her. Oh, right she should probably introduce him. Akasuki cleared her throat,
“mum, this is Tetsurō,” she gestured to Tatsuo, “this is Tatsuo,” she then gestured to Reiji who was mixing the dough with his hands, “and that’s Reiji.”
“It’s nice to meet you Mrs Au, Reiji and,” he crouched down to Tatsuo, “Tatsuo.”
Tatsuo’s face turned red, moving behind Akasuki’s legs. She should’ve suspected that, Kuroo is a stranger after all. There’s one thing that might calm his nerves,
“Tatsuo,” Akasuki spoke crouching down beside Kuroo, Tatsuo clinging onto her shoulder staring at Kuroo, “wanna know a secret?”
Tatsuo expectedly nodding taking Akasuki’s bait, she leaned in whispering into his ear,
“he’s the captain of our sports team.”
Tatsuo's eyes widened,
“really?”
Truly. Akasuki nodded eagerly,
“he’s good competition,” she glanced at Kuroo who was trying to make the confusion on his face, “I think you should confront him.”
Tatsuo gazed at Kuroo before nodding rapidly, whispering to Akasuki,
“how do I do that?”
“I can think of one way,” Akasuki rose to her feet leading Tatsuo into the kitchen to the freshly mixed dough in a bowl, “you challenge him to a bake off,” Tatsuo listened, his interest spiking further, “who can shape the most bread rolls quickest, can you do that?”
Tatsuo nodded rapidly,
“I can!”
Akasuki grinned, let’s hope Kuroo is up for some competition,
“Hey Kuroo, come here, we have something to tell you.”
Kuroo made his way over to the pair glancing at the dough then at Akasuki.
“Tell him Suo,” Akasuki insisted.
Tatsuo turned to look up at Kuroo furrowing his brows,
“I demand a bake-off challenge! Who can make the most bread rolls quickest!”
There was a chuckle from their mother as Kuroo nodded with a smile,
“I accept the challenge!”
Thank you Kuroo. Akasuki moved the bowl over to a clear counter splitting the dough in half,
“okay, no cheating, hands to yourself and,” she smiled at them both, “you can begin!”
The pair started to pull apart the dough, rolling the segments into balls, this was entertaining, Akasuki watched Tatsuo keeping a heavy eye on his dough, while Kuroo kept glancing over adjusting his speed to Tatsuo's success. He’s a good team player, she glanced at Tatsuo, maybe he can learn from Kuroo's confidence. 
“Done!” Tatsuo exclaimed pulling his hands, glancing over to Kuroo placing his last roll to the side, “did I win?”
“You won,” Kuroo admitted, “you were pretty fast.”
Tatsuo beamed proudly up at Akasuki before turning back to Kuroo holding his hand out,
“thank you, you were good competition.”
He’s so adorable, he’s learning slowly how to be a good team player, she’s proud of him.
“Okay boys, go clean up, let the women work,” her mother claimed with a smirk.
The boys nodded scampering out of the kitchen, they’ve also learned to listen when told to do something. She probably wants them out of the way to put the bread into the oven, Akasuki placed the rolls onto a tray sliding them into the oven, her mother handing her another to slide in, she closed the oven. Her mother brushed herself down wiping her hands on her apron turning to Akasuki with a grin,
“how was your day honey?”
God she’s going to ask about Yamaguchi.
“It was good,” Akasuki insisted leaning against the counter.
She leaned opposite her, glancing at Kuroo who was silently watching the pair,
“And your date?”
Her date wasn’t exactly a date.
“Told you it was a date,” Kuroo smirked, moving beside Akasuki.
“It wasn’t,” Akasuki muttered, “but,”
“There’s a but,” her mother grinned.
Yes, there’s a but,
“he asked me out, for next week.”
Her mum cheered reaching over to squeeze her shoulders,
“that’s good right!”
Right, Akasuki frowned dropping her gaze to the floor, was it good?
“Akasuki,” an assertive voice spoke.
Hm, she glanced up to see Reiji holding a small work book in his hands,
“I’m stuck on a question; can you help me?”
Akasuki nodded, Reiji opening the book to show her the page, she glanced at the page as Reiji held out a pencil to her, it was maths. Right, this is probably confusing even though it’s easy for her. She slowly started to explain the concept of the question doodling across the page, Reiji nodding as she stopped talking, he flipped over the page deciding to complete the next question himself,
“is that right?”
“Perfect,” Akasuki grinned scuffing his hair, “are you helping Tatsuo with his?”
Reiji nodded, good, they have to be there for one another,
“good, make sure he does some work and you aren’t just doing it for him, okay?”
He nodded removing himself from the room leaving the three alone.
“You’re so smart,” Kuroo breathed, “I wish the boys were like you.”
“I’m already tutoring Sō,” Akasuki chuckled, “do you want a drink?”
“Yeah sure, I’ll just take some juice,” he insisted, “Yūki is keeping his grades high so he should be able to attend the camp.”
Akasuki moved to the fridge pulling out orange juice holding it out to him, he nodded,
“if they don’t have high grades, they won’t be able to attend the camp?”
She poured a glass for him handing it to him, as Kuroo nodded. Guess she should probably try to help the others then.
“So,” her mother spoke watching the pair, “who’s the mystery boy?”
Shit, she should’ve known her mother would say something like that. Either on purpose or by accident.
“There’s a mystery boy?” Kuroo questioned eyeing up Akasuki.
“There’s not a mystery boy,” Akasuki stated.
“Sure,” her mother claimed with raised eyebrows, “explain the dress then?”
“Mum!” Akasuki hissed, “you persuaded me to meet Tadashi!”
Her mother smirked quickly running out of the room, Akasuki went to run after her but Kuroo casually grabbed her wrist,
“there’s another boy?”
Ah fuck,
“don’t worry about it,” she slipped from his grasp and out of the room into the living room, “mum!”
“I’m only playing honey,” she chuckled.
She frowned whining,
“god, I’m so confused,” she plopped down on the sofa.
“What’s his name?” Kuroo teased plopping down beside her.
She can’t tell him.
“It’s Kenma,” Reiji spoke.
What, the fuck? Akasuki kicked her leg out softly kicking Reiji,
“seriously!”
“Hey, no fighting!” Her mother warned shoving Akasuki’s leg back.
“But mum!” Akasuki whined.
He has no filter.
“You like Kenma!” Kuroo blurted, his face paling at the sound of his name.
“Is Kenma his name?” her mother asked.
“No!” Akasuki argued covering her face, “yes, no, shit.”
“Akasuki!” her mother warned.
What else was she meant to say? She groaned,
“sorry.” 
“You like a boy who does nothing but ignores you?” Kuroo scoffed.
He’s not wrong, but she didn’t think he ignored her, muttering,
“I don’t like him.”
“Why did you get the games then?” Reiji piped up.
“I swear to god,” Akasuki removed her hands to glare at Reiji.
“Akasuki,” her mother warned more seriously, “he’s just trying to help you.”
Help her? Help her do what? Confess everything to Kuroo? Fuck.
“You can’t like Kenma,” Kuroo muttered.
She frowned because she knew she shouldn’t, it was right,
“I know, he’s just fun to be around,” she sighed rubbing her temples, “Yaku and Yūki already pointed out the fact I give him special treatment, so don’t give me a lecture.”
Tatsuo lifted his head from the floor to Akasuki,
“during practice matches, sometimes one person does the drinks, one day, this boy gave everyone else a drink and would talk to them, but once he got to me, I was last, the water had gone warm.”
That’s, how was that relevant to the situation? God, this kid, yet, it’s kinda actually sad, who would do something like that? Right, it clicked in her head, she was that boy, favouring Kenma over the others for selfish reasons.
“It made me sad,” Tatsuo remarked quietly.
Their mother rubbed his back,
“it’s okay honey, it’s in the past now.”
Akasuki turned to Kuroo who had his arms crossed and brows furrowed, Tatsuo was right. She parted her lips to speak but Kuroo started to speak,
“there’s a reason we have the rule book,” rule book? “liking members on the team can cause disruptions and cracks in the foundations,” he glanced at her, “you need to be honest with me, Suki.”
Honest? Cracks in the foundations? She doesn’t want to break the team, that’s the last thing she’d want.
“The act of denial is pointless,” Reiji spoke slowly turning to Akasuki, “it’s a simple yes or no thing. Make your decision, go through with it, deal with the consequences.”
What the fuck? How can a kid say those things so easily? Their mother lightly lifted the two boys to their feet,
“go get ready for bed, okay?”
The boys nodded, her mother turning to her,
“do you like Tadashi?”
Tadashi? She glanced up rolling her neck, she guessed, she wasn’t sure, she didn’t feel the way she felt with Kenma, but she’s only met him twice so it might change more they meet,
“I guess.”
“And Tadashi likes you back,” her mother claimed.
Possibly?
“I’m gonna be honest here,” Kuroo admitted turning to Akasuki, “the team really like you, and so do I, but this imaginary relationship you’ve built up with Kenma,” he paused, “which can I just add, Kenma? Seriously? He’s,” so enticing, “weird,” weird wasn’t the word, “might jeopardise what you’ve built with them, do you understand?”
She nodded, unfortunately, she knows what she has to do, but she didn’t want to do it,
“it’s just some stupid feelings.”
“Maybe you can try to put those stupid feelings towards this Tadashi boy,” her mother suggested.
Could she do that? Is that okay? Kuroo reached over squeezing her shoulder,
“I agree, he seems to really like you.”
“How do you even know that?” Akasuki glared at him suspiciously.
“I know everything,” Kuroo claimed smirking, “Yaku obviously.”
Right, she nodded with a scoff, that makes sense, he’s like a little spy for Kuroo.
“No, but seriously,” Kuroo smiled weakly, “I think you should focus on Tadashi, plus Kenma doesn’t do girlfriends.”
He doesn’t? She felt a shock of pain spread through her chest, and that sucked, she leaned forward onto her knees,
“you really think Tadashi likes me?”
“Yes,” Kuroo admitted, “if he didn’t, he wouldn’t ask you for another date.”
Really? Maybe he’s right, she glanced at her mother smiling softly at her, maybe she was too, she knows more about relationships than Akasuki did, she knows these things. Akasuki furrowed her brows, the thing she had on Kenma was just a stupid crush, that was it, nothing more, there’s potential with her and Yamaguchi, she needs to work towards that,
“okay, I agree.”
Kuroo smiled at her with reassurance,
“you and him both are my friends I know what’s best for the team and the two of you.”
She really hoped he did, she was trusting both of them now. The path she was clearing for herself was covered in thorns and brambles, blocking her sight to the other side. All she could do was hope she’s made the right decision.