F̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶ Fuck the Rulebook - Kenma Kozume

Chap 42 - Admiration

The pair sat across from one another digging into their desired plates of breakfast. Akasuki sinking into the pancakes before her. Fuck, these were amazing. Maybe she can bring Kenma here some time. She took another mouthful grinning up at her father who was watching her laughing to himself. She swallowed laughing along with him,
"what?"
"Nothing," he shrugged, "I, just," he leaned forward holding his mug of coffee in his hand, "are you okay?"
Huh? Well, of course she is. She nodded,
"I thought that was obvious."
"Well," he kept eye contact with her, "the air around you feel, more, confident and identifiable."
Confident and identifiable? Is he okay? She shook her head,
"I think there's something in your drink."
"Hey, no," he laughed, "I'm serious, have you, maybe," he lowered his voice, "met a boy?"
A boy? Kenma's sacred smile face appeared in her mind, her cheeks hurting as she helplessly beamed,
"I, have, but," she cleared her throat, "I have met many boys and each of them make me equally happy."
"Wow," he leaned back kissing his teeth, "my daughter is a player, I did not see that coming."
"No!" Akasuki quietly exclaimed, "I," smiling to herself, "I joined a boys’ volleyball team, as their manager."
"A manager? That's more like my girl," he remarked, "always knew you had the brains for business."
Brains for business? Is that what he seriously called it? She shook her head beginning to detail the story of how she met the boys and the no detailed version of how she met Kenma. He tapped the table quietly thinking to himself,
"so, Kenma and you are, what, dating?" 
“Yes.”
“That was,” he leaned back frowning, “confident.”
Why wouldn’t it be? They were dating, that was all there was to it.
“It’s just, you know how the last one ended,” he claimed taking a slow sip from his steaming coffee.
Wow, seriously? Out of all people that could’ve brought up her past, it was her father. Her fucking father. He noticed the miffed expression on Akasuki’s face as she subconsciously chewed more roughly,
“I know I’ve taught you never to give up but,” he paused placing his cup down slowly, “maybe relationships could wait a little longer.”
“Well,” she spoke, her mouth partly full, “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she knows her father cares about her, but these things were her own decision, not his.
He sighed rolling his eyes obviously. Alright, Akasuki furrowed her brows,
“okay what?” 
“Nothing,” he shrugged.
Right, like she was going to fall for that bullshit. She cleared her throat with a sip of juice, 
“come on, I’m not a kid, just tell me what you’re thinking.”
He leaned forward on his elbows, thought twinkling in his eyes,
“you remind me of myself at your age.”
“What?” she blurted, almost letting her glass slip through her fingers 
He pulled back with a distant smile,
“I trust you. You know where I am,” he paused momentarily, “you are my daughter after all, what’s there to worry about?”
Right. She smiled softly at him shrugging,
“probably thinking back to the stories mum has told us.”
His eyes widened as he hastily averted his gaze,
“oh.”
She stifled her chuckle glancing at the time. As fun as this was, it’s time to get back on the Road. She pushed her chair out shoving the last of her pancakes in her mouth,
"I should go."
"Right," he nodded following her suit, "let's get you to your team."