The Cat and the Crow

Honestly, he didn’t know why he’d gone through the trouble of trying to forget, but Kei was at a loss. When the bus pulled up to the curb at Nekoma High, the first person he saw was the captain. Dressed in a black t-shirt and red shorts, his dark hair still messy, and that smirk on his face… nothing had changed about him. And from what he could see, the captain was watching everyone as they got off the bus. Surely he wasn't looking for him? They’d only met once, and briefly at that, two months ago.

“Tsuki, you okay?” Tadashi asked from beside him. He was already standing, waiting for him to move. “I know you didn’t sleep much last night, but you were able to sleep on the way here, right?”

If only he knew, Kei thought as he looked up at his best friend. “A little bit,” he said, which was mostly true. He slowly rose to his feet, retrieved his bag from under the seat, and followed Tadashi off the bus. He made a show of yawning, and Noya-san started pushing him from behind. Kei could literally feel when the captain looked at him. He shivered and felt his face heat up; he almost looked back.

Instead, he hid behind another yawn.

Another Nekoma player came up and escorted them to the room they’d be spending the night in, and after everyone had changed and put their things up, he and Tadashi made their way down to the gym. It looked like the other teams were warming up, ready to start camp.

“I’m so nervous,” he heard Tadashi mutter from beside him. “But also, kind of excited. I still can’t believe we’ve been invited to play with these powerhouse schools.”

“Yeah, same,” Kei replied, though not necessarily for the same reasons. He started to go join the others for warm-ups, but he was stopped when Tadashi grabbed his arm. When he turned to face his friend, his arm was released.

“Sorry, Tsuki,” Tadashi said, mostly out of habit. “But… something is up with you, and I don’t know why you’re not telling me.”

Had he really not told Tadashi? Usually, he’d be the first person to go to when Kei needed to talk. They’d practically grown up together, and lived within walking distance of each other. But thinking back on it, it was clear he’d kept it all to himself.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “There isn’t really too much to tell, but I promise I will once I figure things out.”

“Okay.”

Moments later, Daichi called for everyone to gather around Coach and Takeda. As they jogged over, Kei noticed Tadashi looking at Yachi, a slight blush on his face. Well, now. They really did need to talk, it seemed. He grinned at his best friend as he glanced around at all the other teams again. For a few moments, his eyes met those of the Nekoma captain, and he quickly looked away.

[We need to talk]

“Hey, Tsukishima,” Suga got his attention as he was swapped out for Tadashi. Kei entered the warmup box and stood next to the upperclassman. He said nothing, but waited patiently for whatever Suga needed from him.

“You seem to have caught the attention of Fukurodani’s setter and ace,” he mentioned casually. “Any idea why?”

So, he wasn’t the only one to notice, though to be fair, the two hadn’t really been that secretive about their curiosity. During each rotation, when he’d be opposite one (or sometimes both), the two would ask little questions, or offer tidbits of info. They were brief exchanges, and sometimes Kei would reply, but the game was only a set long, and he wasn’t about to be the slacker of his team.

Kei shrugged. “None, really,” he answered Suga. Although, by now, he’d gathered that those two were friends with the Nekoma captain.

Suga merely stared at him, and Kei knew he wanted more of an answer than what he got. Team Mom, indeed. Kei noticed Tadashi had served another ball, but it grazed the net. Fukurodani saved it, and the rally started. He didn’t have much time. “I think we have a break after this set, yeah?”

“Yeah. The other teams will be playing each other for a short set before lunch.”

“After our penalty lap, we can meet somewhere. I’ll explain to both you and Tadashi.”

Suga blinked. “You haven’t told him?”

“No,” Kei said simply. The rally was over, he was being called to be swapped back in. “Later, okay. And thanks.” He jogged over to the bench and took Tadashi’s number from Coach. At the line, he waited for Tadashi to meet him. Once he did, he said in a low voice, “We’ll talk after the set. Okay?”

Kei didn’t hear his answer, but knew Tadashi would be there.

After a few rotations, Kei found himself opposite the setter, once again. Kageyama was going to serve, so there was a brief amount of time to speak. Which is what the setter did.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions to ask us, too,” he started. “We can explain better at lunch. Meet us in the cafeteria, okay? Only if you want to, that is,” he added quickly.

Kageyama served the ball, sending it over the net to their back court. There wasn’t time to answer, so Kei didn’t. But after the set finished, and Karasuno started their penalty lap, he looked over to find both the setter and ace watching him. It was obvious they wanted an answer, so Kei nodded slightly before diving to the floor.

[Blessings]

“So, what it sounds like to me, is that you have a crush on Nekoma’s captain. Am I right?” Suga asked as soon as Kei was able to explain everything.

“I’m not completely certain that’s it,” he replied carefully. “But yeah? Maybe I do. I mean we only met once, and even though I tried to forget him, he seems to always just… be there. I don’t know whether to be happy or frustrated.”

“How about both?” Tadashi jumped into the conversation. He was grinning at his friend, clearly happy for him.

Suga watched him for a few minutes, and then he started smiling too. “Well, from where I stand, I can see you’re at least curious to find out what’s there.” He reached over and patted Kei on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think you should go for it.”

“I don’t know…” Kei said quietly.

“Well, you said they invited you to sit with them at lunch, right?” Tadashi asked, referring to the setter and ace of Fukurodani. “Maybe they can help.”

“Somehow, I think they already are,” Kei replied sardonically.

“Tell you what,” Suga added. “Just go. Find out what you need to find out. Afterward, if you still need to talk to us, then we’ll make it happen.”

“Okay, but, what about practice?”

“I mean, I doubt they’ll do anything to interfere with practice, so you’re safe there.”

“Tsuki, are you really considering not going?” Tadashi asked, irritation in his tone.

“No, I want to go…”

“But you’re nervous,” Suga continued. “Just go. Tell us about it later.”

“Right,” Kei said. He took a deep breath and let it out. He wasn’t normally this nervous about meeting new people. But, this was different. He grinned at Tadashi and Suga. “Talk to you after lunch.”

“You got it. We’ll also make sure no one misses you,” Tadashi said.

“Thank you.”

[We Meet … Again]

Since there was still time before lunch, Kei went to the team’s room and rummaged through his bag. Aside from all his volleyball gear, shower things, and his tablet, he’d also packed up a casual outfit. He hadn’t any idea why, but there it was. Now, though, he suspected he might actually need it.

Grabbing a towel, he went to the bathroom, and ran his head under cool water. He could at least wash off some of his sweat, even though the effort would be futile later. Even so, the thought occurred to him that maybe he was also freshening up, and making himself presentable, before meeting the setter and ace.

Scrubbing the towel through his hair, he left it on while splashing water on his face, and then dried off completely. Then, he went back to the room, hung his towel so it could dry, and then made his way down to the cafeteria.

Kei didn’t see anyone from Karasuno on the way. In fact, once he entered the cafeteria, he saw all of them sitting at various tables with other players. No one saw him, or even turned to look. Well, no one from his own team did.

They were seated at a table near a set of doors. Both were watching him. As he neared the table, he saw that they had loaded up a pair of trays with lots of food. Once at the table, he stopped and then sat down next to the setter.

“Thanks for coming.” he said quietly. “We actually aren’t going to be eating here, though. We’ll leave in a few minutes.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Kei replied. “Is it alright if I ask a few questions, first?”

“Sure, but let me introduce myself. My name is Akaashi Keiji and I’m a 2nd year.” He glanced at his friend and chuckled. “The one hovering over our lunch is Bokuto Koutaro, 3rd year. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Tsukishima Kei, 1st year,” Kei replied. “Also a pleasure.” A small awkward silence followed. “What’s his name?” he asked quietly.

“Kuroo Tetsuro. To be honest, he wanted to tell you himself but, I figured you needed to know,” Akaashi told him with a shrug.

“Kuroo Tetsuro,” Kei repeated the name softly. It sounded good, felt good. He wanted to say it again, but he noticed Akaashi taking hold of the tray in front of him, and Bokuto grabbing the other.

“Come on. I think someone has waited long enough,” Akaashi said with a grin.

“Why didn’t we just… wait, where are we going again?”

“There’s a small courtyard right behind the cafeteria. He went ahead to make sure we’d be the only ones there.” He turned and put his back to the door, pushing it open wide enough for Bokuto and Kei to pass.

“And we didn’t go right away because we wanted to meet you first,” Bokuto finally said.

“Technically, they already met two months ago, Bokuto,” Akaashi deadpanned.

“Whatever,” Bokuto started moving faster. “I’m hungry. Let’s go.”

“This isn’t just about the food, you kn -,”

“How long have you known?” Kei interrupted.

“Two months, actually,” Akaashi answered. “But he only mentioned that he’d met someone, and that he wanted to meet them again. We found out it was you this morning.”

“Oh.” Kei muttered.

He wasn’t quite sure what to think about it all, but he didn’t have time to consider it. This time, Bokuto was the one to open the door for them, and Kei let Akaashi pass first, trying to prolong the inevitable. This is what he wanted, he reminded himself. He wanted to meet Kuroo again. It’s why he made the choice to come here with Akaashi and Bokuto in the first place. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the door and out into the sunlit courtyard.

Standing there, his arms at his sides and his eyes focused solely on him, was Kuroo. And he wasn’t smirking; he was smiling. Kei knew it was at this moment that he might’ve just fallen for the captain of the Nekoma volleyball team.