Chapter Text
“Ughhhh, are we almost there yet??” Kuroo asked for the tenth time as he was avoiding the low branches that seemed never ending. A scowl popped up on his face as the branches went from being eye level to shoulder level. Why the hell am I squatting through the woods for some miniscule village?
Tsukishima grumped in return, as he too had to duck underneath the bare branches. “Shut up. It has only been 15 minutes since we left Shiratorizawa. If your lazy ass wasn’t straggling around so much, we could have been there already.”
“Why don’t you shut the hell up Tsukisima,” Kuroo growled. He was too distracted with Tsukishima and the branches that he overlooked the log buried underneath the red and yellow leaves. With a loud yelped, Kuroo fell forward into the pile of leaves and branches. The sound of snapping did not sound pleasant; and actually didn’t feel pleasant at all.
Tsukishima held back a snort; a condescending look appeared on his face as he looked down at Kuroo. “Maybe if you fixed that bed head of yours, you could have seen that log.”
Kuroo lifted his head from the bed of leaves, his hair littered with them, and gave Tsukishima a nasty glare. “Fuck you.”
“Damn it! Will both of you guys shut the fuck up. God.” Iwaizumi whipped his head back to where a fallen Kuroo and a pleased looking Tsukishima stood—or sprawled. The furrow between his eyebrows grew deeper with each passing second. “Hurry the hell up will ya? It’s not like I enjoy having branches whip me in my head either.”
A light chuckle was heard from the very front of the pack. Sugawara’s silvery hair slightly bounced with each chuckle. How he could deal with us. Kuroo will never understand.
“Calm down Iwaizumi. We’re almost there, so don’t get all grumpy now,” Sugawara said as he patted Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Iwaizumi turned his head to the left to meet Sugawara’s face, but was greeted by Sugawara’s index finger instead as it poked him between his eyebrows. Iwaizumi flinched in response, which elicited another chuckle from Sugawara. “Stop furrowing your eyebrows. It’s barely 9 in the morning and too early to get stressed.” Iwaizumi turned his head away from Sugawara with an upset face, but no furrowed brows.
Sugawara turned towards Tsukishima and Kuroo with a placid smile and a tilt of the head that indicated that he was waiting. Without another word, Kuroo quickly got up and scuttled alongside Tsukishima, both with flat expressions, to catch up to where Sugawara and Iwaizumi were standing. Once all 4 members were together, Sugawara flashed a brief, but genuine smile before turning around to resume their walk to the village. The other 3 were rooted in their spot as they stared at Sugawara walking ahead.
“We’re totally whipped,” Kuroo said aloud to no one in particular, although they all knew what he was talking about.
Sugawara paused and looked over his right shoulder, the smile still on his face. The sun was perfectly behind him, highlighting his hair to create an ethereal combination of silver and gold. The 3 boys had to squint now that the sunrays were reflecting off of Sugawara’s perfectly white teeth.
“Well, are you guys coming or what?” Sugawara said in a light tone. He faced forward once more, disappearing into the light.
“Extremely whipped,” whispered Iwaizumi as he followed Sugawara.
“How?” sighed a nonplussed Tsukishima as he trailed right after Iwaizumi.
Kuroo suddenly became haggard as he went after Tsukishima. I don’t think I can every win against Suga.
_________________________________________________________________
Kuroo ran a hand through his hair to get rid of all the leaves. After the last leaf, he moved his hair back into its original position before the embarrassing fall. He liked his ‘bed hair’ or whatever Tsukishima wanted to call it. A smirk appeared on his face. Regardless of anything, Kuroo knew he was still hot.
Kuroo’s gaze jumped from one member to another as he stared at their face. Sugawara’s short, silvery hair complimented his pale skin. The fluffiness was an added bonus. His skin itself basically reflected light, so he always looked like he was glowing. Aside from Tsukishima’s douchebag attitude, he was (regrettably) an attractive man. His short blond hair was a bit boyish for a guy his height, but somehow the contrast with his hair and resting bitch face worked well. And Kuroo’s smirk turned a bit lecherous when he focused at the last guy in their pack, Iwaizumi. That dense block of lean meat didn’t realize how much attention he garnered from everyone in city. His short black hair was a bit rough, but no one could deny the fact that it matched the perpetual serious look he harbored on his face all day. The intensity of his stare was frightening, yet captivating at the same time.
Actually, everyone in this troop is pretty hot if I say so myself.
Kuroo’s smirk became more lopsided as he thought about the perspective of cute, innocent village girls. “Hey, hey, hey,” he said in an inquisitive tone. The three men ahead of him looked back with a look of anticipation. “Do you think I could score a chick in that village?”
Tsukishima’s face contorted in disgust, “With your bed head—no. And how the hell did you get there? We’re trying to find some treasure: gold, silver, and whatnots; not a place for you to stick your dick in.”
Kuroo laughed out loud, patting Tsukishima’s shoulder as air escaped his lungs. He didn’t notice the glare Tsukishima was giving him since laughing made his eye close. After a substantial amount of time, Kuroo opened his eyes, a glint present. He spoke with an inconspicuous seduction, “Oh, this hair definitely gets me some action in bed.” He ended his sentence with a wink and walked past Tsukishima to Iwaizumi and Sugawara.
Tsukishima looked forward and muttered, “I can’t deal with you,” and regretfully dragged his feet to where Sugawara was.
Still looking ahead at the sun, Kuroo’s grin become thinner and wider. “I’m a 20 year old male. Let me and my horniness rage on.” Kuroo almost skipped the rest of the way to Iwaizumi and Sugawara.
Sugawara shook his head is disapproval, but not without a slight tug on his mouth, “Enough Kuroo. We can talk about your sex life at another time. We’re supposed to meet Kageyama at the outskirts of the village by 9am.” He looked up at the sun, raising his right hand to shield his eyes. “It’s already a quarter past nine.”
“Oh crap,” Iwaizumi said with the faintest sign of surprise on his face,” I forgot about Kageyama.”
Kuroo head tilted to the side, a quizzical look appeared on his face. “Why did Kageyama go so early?”
Suga answered without looking back or stopping, “Apparently, he’s been scoping that area and village for the past few months.” His voice lowered to a barely audible whisper, “I think he got a bit attached, although he’ll never admit that. He’s probably preparing himself for today.”
The sound of crickets and birds filled in for the silence that enveloped them. The sun shone brightly, not aware of the sins they were about to commit.
Kuroo released his sigh up, causing his bangs to flutter in the air. “We’ve been doing this for 2 years now; he shouldn’t let this get to him.”
Iwaizumi muttered from the front, “It happens.”
Kuroo felt anxious and fiddled with the hilt of the sword hanging off his right hip. He brought his shorter and duller blade on purpose. He might be robbing them, but he definitely had no intention of hurting them. He knew no one in his troop wanted that to happen.
The next 10 minutes of the walk was also in silent, but a heavy air of understanding surrounded them.
“Found him,” Iwaizumi said calmly, arm extended.
Kuroo followed Iwaizumi’s index finger, and his eyes landed on Kageyama sitting on a tree stump overlooking the hill. His medium length raven hair billowed from the slight breeze. He looked over the edge of the hill with a disturbed scowl, not his usual neutral and infamous scowl.
“Ayo Kageyama,” Kuroo shouted.
Kageyama turned his head back to stare at the source of sound. 2 years together made it easy to recognize one another’s voice. His face softened into his usual scowl as he tersely nodded his head in acknowledgment. “Hey, took you long enough.”
Tsukishima quickly replied, “Kuroo’s as slow as a turtle, so blame him.”
Ignoring Tsukishima’s comment, Kuroo cheerily replied to Kageyama with a soft grin, “So how are you faring?” It only took as few strides for Kuroo to reach Kageyama. He slammed a hand on his left shoulder. His sly and expecting grin indicated that he wanted an honest answer.
Kageyama glared into Kuroo’s dark eyes, not wanting to answer. Seconds passed before a second, gentler hand found its way onto Kageyama’s right shoulder. His glare automatically faltered as he met Sugawara’s honey brown eyes. He pursed his lips; his conviction wavered. It wasn’t until Sugawara gave him a light squeeze and a smile as warm as the sun did he acquiesced.
Kageyama close his eyes and released a sigh as large as his pride. Kuroo gave Sugawara a quick wink, causing Sugawara to giggle a bit. Even Kageyama is whipped.
Kageyama opened his eyes, his face naturally adopting a scowl. “I’m alright,” he muttered. “But whatever. This has to get done or else Ushijima will have our heads.”
“Oh ho ho, no honorifics I see,” commented Kuroo.
“Oh shut up Kuroo,” Kageyama seethed.
Ah, that’s more like it. An amused smile appeared on Kuroo’s face.
“What the hell are you smiling about?” Annoyance was obvious on Kageyama’s face.
“Oh nothing~” The devious smile on Kuroo was now directed at Sugawara who returned the smile.
Iwaizumi stomped towards them, snapping the branches under his feet. He folded his arms over his puffed out chest, head slightly tilted up. “So lets get to the point here. How is this going to work Kageyama?” His right eyebrow rose a bit towards the end.
Kageyama focused his attention towards Iwaizumi. “Do you mean the raid or the people?”
“Both,” everyone said in unison.
“Well, it seems that everyone had some kind of goods in their homes. Either silver, ore, jewels, the basics. I don’t think they have the golden ore. Actually, I’m positive they don’t. They aren’t materialistic like that, so the golden ore would mean nothing to them.” A sigh escaped Kageyama’s mouth, his eyes turned a bit solemn. His next words came out a little louder than a whisper. “The people of Karasuno Village are good people. Not like the other assholes of villages we raided. I didn’t give a shit about them, but this one isn’t going to be easy.”
Tsukishima looked at him straight in the eye. “There’s something else.”
Kuroo blurted it out, exasperated with hands flailing everywhere, “You’re attached to someone didn’t you.”
An amused smirk appeared on Tsukishima’s face.
Kageyama pursed his lips and looked down, placing an abnormal amount of attention on a beetle rolling in the leaves. The tinge of pink on his cheek said it all.
“WOO! Kageyama got himself a girl? What?!” Kuroo’s grin would have taken up half of his face if it were humanly possible. He took a more dominant stance, feet shoulder width apart with his tan muscular arms crossed over his chest, “You gonna introduce us to her?”
Kageyama snorted. “Yeah right. ‘By the way, here are the people who are about to raid your village. We’re complete assholes, especially the blond one and one with bed-head, but we’re not that asshole-y.” He ended his tirade with him drawing an imaginary rainbow.
Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows, a smirk accompanying him, “So does that mean there is someone?”
Tsukishima chipped in, “Knowing Kageyama, he probably scared her into a relationship.”
Kuroo and Sugawara chuckled. Kageyama gave a terse “Shut up,” and then whispered, “We’re not dating.”
Sugawara gave Kageyama a warm smile, the one that didn’t show teeth. “Sorry Kageyama, but who knows—maybe this can be something.”
The faint pink on Kageyama’s cheek turned full on pink.
Kuroo dropped the topic for now, but boy was he determined to find the girl who could make the stoic genius Kageyama flustered. He clapped his hand loudly and cheerfully, “Okay ladies, are we ready to go?”
Tsukishima sucked his teeth. “Can we just get this over already. Why are we prolonging the inevitable?”
“Shall we Kuroo-chan?” giggle Sugawara.
Iwaizumi huffed; the wrinkles reappeared between his eyebrows. “Whatever, lets go. And don’t get carried away.” He said that every time they were going to invade a place.
“No need to tell us twice,” hummed Kuroo. It went silent once again as everyone descended the hill. The quaint little village was now in sight.
It was an unspoken rule that lingered in the air—a secret that dictated them. As indifferent as they seemed, reflected Kuroo, they all hated this. This ‘business’ or whatever it is. Kuroo’s face unintentionally turned sour.
Once we have the golden ore, we’re home free.
________________________________________________________________________
“KENMA! Kenma Kenma Ken—“
“What is it Shouyou?” sighed an exasperated Kenma. He faced away from the map he was recreating. His empty, gold eyes met Hinata’s warm brown eyes. They were in the committee house, centered in the middle of the village. Barely enough light made its way through the windows, but Kenma wasn’t complaining. Even with the dim light, it was easy to make out the excitement on Hinata’s perpetual smiling face.
“Look at what I caught!” Hinata proudly held up a large bass that measured at least 3 feet. His smile grew even larger to the point his eyes were closed.
Kenma turned back towards the map he was making and said with blatant indifference, “Nice job Shouyou.”
Hinata smile turned into a pout, but the excitement in his eyes lingered. “Aww, Kenma! Come onnnnn~ You could have been a bit more excited for me. Look at it! It’s like wahh!” At the ‘wahh,’ Hinata jumped up and landed with legs spread apart, squatting a bit. He used his right hand and moved it in a manner as if he was presenting Kenma with a life long supply of apple pies instead of a regular fish in his right hand.
Kenma released a sigh. It’s the same thing everyday. “It’s the same thing everyday,” Kenma said with his back still facing Hinata.
“No it’s not! Yesterday, I caught a rabbit. The day before, I trapped a deer. And now it’s a fish!” Hinata moved towards Kenma and peered over Kenma’s left shoulder to stare at his face.
Kenma slightly tilted his face to lock eyes with Hinata, who broke out into a large smile at the eye contact. “Please don’t get the fish near me. I showered this morning,” Kenma said, mouth in a straight line.
Hinata jumped back and looked around the room, searching for a place to keep the fish. He looked oddly serious for a miniscule task such as that. His furrow eyes grew large, and he ran over to the corner of the 1-room house to then toss the fish in a bucket of water in the corner.
Kenma’s eyes followed his actions the entire time to only sigh again once he saw where Hinata put the fish. “Shouyou, Yamaguchi was going to use that water for the stew tonight.”
Hinata only smiled to Kenma’s comment. “Well, now he can make a fish stew!”
Despite shaking his head, a tiny grin grew on his face. “Fair enough.” Kenma then turned back to his map, again, and stared at it intently.
Hinata skipped back to his previous position before finding the bucket of water. His fluffy bundle of orange hair slightly tickled Kenma, who flinched at the touch. “Whoops, sorry Kenma.” At the apology, Hinata made no effort to move, which elicited another sigh from Kenma.
After a few seconds of silence, Hinata finally asked a question. “Is this another map of the area?”
Kenma shook his head. “Yeah…” A good minute passed before Kenma continued speaking. “This is the fifth I’m making. It covers a 25 mile radius of the area surrounding the village.” Kenma pointed to his right, not removing his eyes from the map in front of him. Hinata followed his hand to find the other four completed maps rolled up on top of another table.
Hinata quickly shook his head before asking another question. “Why are you making another one?”
“Because there are five committee members.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Hinata giggled.
At that time, the other committee members filed into the room/house for the meeting at 9am. Laughter filled the room as Yamaguchi, Oikawa, and Sawamura naturally settled down at their respective spots at the medium sized round table Kenma was using in the room. Kenma rolled up the map and placed it on the adjacent table with the other maps. Almost done. I just have to mark everything at the 24 and 25 miles radius.
The laughter subsided and Sawamura turned his attention towards Kenma and Hinata, giving them a comfortable smile. “Hey Kenma. Hey Hinata. How are things going this morning?
Hinata hopped a few times as he was answering, “I caught a bass fish thiiiissss long,” and proceeded to approximate the length with his hands.
“I was just finishing up the pocket size maps I told you about. It only covers a 25 mile radius, but I think that’s good enough,” Kenma said nonchalantly.
“Oh nice Hinata!” Yamaguchi replied cheerfully, the grin on his face large and genuine. The freckles on his face made him seem only more innocent. “I can use it for the stew tonight.”
“See. I told you it would be fine Kenma,” said a too prideful Hinata as he nudged Kenma’s waist.
Kenma let out a squeak and quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment. He glared up at Hinata and hissed, “Don’t do that again.”
Hinata giggled and put up his hands, “Sorry, forgot you were ticklish.”
Oikawa giggled along with Hinata and annoyingly said, “Oh Kenma. If you still want to keep up this apathetic attitude, you’re going to need to fix your ticklishness. You’re really cute when you giggle or squeal or whatever you do, and it totally contradicts your image and ours.” Oikawa ended his speech with a hair flick and leaned forward on the table to rest his chin in his propped up right hand.
Kenma quietly directed his glare to Oikawa, “First, I’m not cute. Second, since when did we have an image?”
Oikawa straightened his back, and he slammed both his hands on the table with a loud smack. The hyperbolic look of surprise on Oikawa’s face made Kenma even more annoyed, “Don’t tell me you don’t know about our ‘image?’ Come onn~ Sawamura here is the bossy, but respectable and dependable Head of the village. He’s in charge of wooing the men of the village. They sure have some weird taste, but hey, everyone has their kinks.”
Sawamura kicked Oikawa’s leg underneath the table with an offended face, but Oikawa showed no sign of pain and continued. “Yamaguchi’s the awkward and lanky 18-year-old treasurer whom people, more specifically, the older women, find endearing. Hinata’s our stupid and hyperactive coordinator who attracts every kid in the village. You, my friend, are the indifferent and mysterious one of the group. You’re the one everyone talks about on down low. And I, the love interest of every single female in this village, am your beautiful, talented, smart, gorgeous, charismatic, amaz—“
“Geez, we get your point already Oikawa,” said Hinata with a pout.
“—ing Assistant Head of the Village.” Oikawa finished his explanation with a smirk and his satisfied look still focused on Kenma.
“Oh—kay. Gee, thanks Oikawa for that… explanation I guess,” Sawamura said hesitantly.
“Oh! No problem Sawamura~”
Hinata found his seat to the left of Kenma, and locked eyes with Yamaguchi on his left. Both parties shrugged their shoulders, and Kenma just sighed.
“Now moving on. Lets get this meeting started,” Sawamura sternly advised. “Oh, and thanks for the pocket maps Kenma. They’re going to be really helpful when we spread out for reconnaissance.”
“Mhm, it’s fine. Just don’t forget to mark down new spots you find, so I can add it to the master map,” Kenma calmly said.
Yamaguchi softly and Hinata loudly said, “We promise!”
“Says the two people who forgot to do it the last two times,” Oikawa retorted with a smirk.
Yamaguchi blushed a bit and looked down while Hinata stood up in all his 162cm glory. “Hey! We just forgot! I’ll do it next time,” Hinata defended.
“Yeah, you will,” Sawamura said. He continued, “And it’s because you guys won’t be paired up next time. Oikawa will go by himself as usual, and you Hinata will go with Kenma. I’m taking Yamaguchi.”
“Aww, how come I can’t get paired with Yamaguchi,” complained Hinata with an obvious pout on his face.
Yamaguchi finally spoke up after sighing, “Hinata. Going with you is fine and stuff, but admit it. We never get anything done together.”
Kenma shook his head. “It’s because Yamaguchi easily agrees to do whatever you want, which is never a good idea.”
Hinata sat back down with a loud thud. He crossed his arm in defense, but said nothing back.
Sawamura smiled a bit before speaking. “Okay, lets do a quick recap of the week.”
Kenma quickly recapped, “I made the maps, the itinerary for this weeks harvest and planting, and kept inventory of all our supplies—weapons included.”
Oikawa spoke next, “I’ve been mostly hunting this week. Oh, I went to the ugly shed to—“
“You mean our weaponry?” Sawamura tried to correct.
Oikawa shook his head in acknowledgement. “So the ugly shed. I went there to test out all the weapons. They all came out pretty nice. Especially the ones Yachi made. Oooo!” Oikawa straightened his back, and his eyes grew with excitement. “There’s this sea-green bow and arrow she made, and I have to get it.”
Hinata complained, “But you always get the new weapons. That’s no fair.”
Oikawa scoffed, “What are you talking about. I’m testing them out. I’m definitely taking that bow and arrow.”
Hinata’s eyes started glowing, “So does that mean the new sword you took last week is up for grabs?!”
“Yup. It’s all yours shrimp, but it might be a bit too long for you,” Oikawa said with an amused smile.
“HEY!”
“BE QUIET,” Sawamura firmly yelled. He glared at Hinata, who sat down immediately, and then to Oikawa, who only shrugged his shoulders. “Oikawa, can you just choose one already? And Hinata, you can take the sword, but you better practice with it.”
Both offenders were satisfied with the outcome and didn’t fight for the rest of the meeting.
Yamaguchi spoke next, “I went out to Shiratorizawa to trade our harvest. We made a lot this time since winter’s coming up in the next few weeks. I took inventory with Kenma, and now I’m making a plan of our spending for the next month.”
Sawamura nodded his head in approval. “Nice job Yamaguchi. Now Hinata.”
“Me next!!” Hinata waved his right arm in the air. “Some other villagers and I went to the mine to gather coal. Right now, we have enough coal for the first half of winter!” His grin turned wide in anticipation for his next words. “And Kageyama is brought me tamago kake gohan the other day.”
Kenma lifted his left eyebrow up. Something’s up with that Kageyama guy, Kenma thought.
“Hey Hinata,” Yamaguchi started, “I know you’ve been getting along with him for the past few months, but do you have clue as to who he is? Like honestly.”
“Of course I do!” replied Hinata indignantly. “He said he a traveling fighter, and he likes pork buns.”
Kenma spoke up this time, “If he’s a traveller, why does he keep coming back here?”
“Hinata, you know he’s not a traveller, so please be more wary of him,” admonished Sawamura.
Hinata became even more indignant. “You guys don’t even put in any effort to talk to him, so how would you know?”
Oikawa leaned back in his chair, “You guys already know that Hinata’s not going to listen right? I mean, I wouldn’t either if people were suspicious of my boyfriend.” He ended his sentence with an all-knowing grin.
Hinata immediately turned pink and screeched, “He is not my boyfriend! And I’m not into guys!” He ended up whining a bit at the end, which didn’t help his defense at all.
Oikawa flipped his hair once again. “It’s fine to be into guys. I had a few guys into me before,” he said with a wink.
Everyone else at the table harbored a dubious look before Kenma spoke up. “Being gay isn’t a problem. It’s just not common here since there aren’t many males in the village Shouyou.”
Hinata grew an even darker shade of pink and then he started rubbing his hair. “Ughh, I don’t even know. I’ve always thought girls were cute, but I didn’t expect to get turned on by a guy.” Hinata slammed his forehead on the table before mumbling, “Are you gay Oikawa?”
Oikawa scoffed with indignation, “I would like to say my sexuality is attractive people.
Oikawa’s response made Hinata giggle into the table. He lifted his head up with a newfound glint in his eyes.
Oh no.
“Hey, what about you guys?!” Hinata looked around to all the other committee members.
Kenma looked a bit too knowingly at Sawamura, his eyes a bit too intense. Sawamura stared back, but his determination was no match for Kenma, and he sighed in defeat. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before looking at Hinata’s expecting eyes. “Well, I’ve dated a few girls in the village.” Hinata’s eyes grew large at the confession. “But I didn’t really feel anything, so I don’t know? I was never attracted to females, but I have yet to be attracted to a guy either, so I really don’t know.”
Hinata snapped his head to Oikawa’s direction. Oikawa chuckled as he put both his hands up in a defensive manner. “Hey, I already spilled. I’ve been with both genders, but I was never in a serious relationship. Sex was great regardless, so it didn’t matter to me.”
Everyone besides Hinata turned pink. Hinata seemed too fascinated at the word ‘sex.’ He nodded his head as if he understood. Oh god. Why the hell did Shouyou have to ask.
Oikawa’s grin turned sly, “Hey Sawamura, why are you blushing. You’re probably the only other person here who could testify how great sex is.”
Sawamura turned into a mess. “I, did-dn’t, well. Umm.”
Kenma sighed and began speaking, the pink still hasn’t left his cheeks, “Sawamura did it once, but he didn’t really enjoy it, so yeah.” Kenma adverted his gaze from everyone at the table by looking down at his feet.
Hinata was puzzled. “How did—“
Sawamura spoke again, this time without any trouble, “Kenma noticed I did it the day after, so I kinda just told him. How he knew, I have no idea.”
Oikawa grumbled, “No fair. I want to know too.”
“Hey,” Sawamura said in defense, “it’s not like I wanted him to know in the beginning. Kenma’s way too perceptive. And you shouldn’t be complaining Oikawa; you’re almost as perceptive as him.”
Hinata smiled largely at the exchange. “Wow, this is so interesting. I didn’t know you guys would have a love life.”
“More like sex life,” Kenma interjected quietly.
Sawamura groaned, “Ughh, can you not call it that. It makes us seem like we’re only interested in sex.”
“Speak for yourself Sawamura. I think that’s a very accurate description for me,” Oikawa commented.
Kenma looked at Oikawa dumbfounded. Oikawa winked back at him and turned his head towards Yamaguchi. “So, Yamaguchi, you got any stories you want to share with us.” He cocked his head at an angle and took on a devious smile.
Yamaguchi awkwardly smile, “Umm, not any I want to share…”
Hinata booed, like, verbally booed. “No fair Yamaguchi. Everyone talked about their experience already.” Hinata’s knees were now on the chair, and his hands were flat against the table.
Everyone besides Kenma could have bored holes in Yamaguchi with the intensity of their stares. Tough luck for Yamaguchi, but it was going to be found out eventually. Kenma locked eyes with Yamaguchi and shook his head, to which Yamaguchi responded by also shaking his head.
“Fine, but once I say it, no comments,” were Yamaguchi’s words.
Hinata rapidly shook his head, and even Oikawa and Sawamura looked on with curiosity.
Yamaguchi played his hair a bit, the pink if his cheeks spread out to his ears. He cleared his throat, but his gaze never left the table. “So, um, yeah. I might have had a thing with a knight in Shiratorizawa.”
“Whatt!?!” exclaimed both Hinata and Oikawa. “How di—“
“No comments Shouyou,” Kenma reiterated.
“But—“
“No.”
“But Kenmaaaa.”
“Shouyou, Yamaguchi said no comments already.”
Hinata looked at Yamaguchi with puppy eyes and fake quivering lips.
Yamaguchi tilted his head up in time to see Hinata’s desperate attempt to get more information out. He giggled at the sight and relented. “We met in Shiratorizawa a year and a half back as I was trading in our goods. He kept coming back to my stand every week to buy our strawberries. He wouldn’t say much, so I did a lot of the talking; but surprisingly, he was the one to ask for a date. Nothing much happened. He took me around the kingdom and bought me some food.” Yamaguchi smiled at the memories, and even Kenma was smiling at the happy Yamaguchi.
“So what did you do after that?” Curiosity got the better of Sawamura as he leaned in to hear the answer.
Yamaguchi smile turned a bit solemn. “Well, nothing to be honest. He wanted to meet up again afterwards, but then I said, ‘Sorry, but I can’t do this with a knight from Shiratorizawa.’ I left and have been avoiding him ever since.”
The other committee members’ mouths were agape.
“What?!” shouted Oikawa.
“Why?!” screamed Hinata.
Yamaguchi looked shock. “But. Umm. Well.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “He’s from Shiratorizawa.”
“But, but but,” Oikawa was trying to say something. “Ughh!” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, both hands cupping his cheeks. “Ughh,” he said again. “Fine, but at least tell me you gave him a romantic fleeting kiss on the lips at least.”
“Does the cheek work?” asked Yamaguchi.
“Yes,” Oikawa stated as he stared directly at Yamaguchi’s eyes. “Yes it does. Good job leading him on. You should have gone farther though to get some money from him.”
Kenma sucked his teeth. “Oikawa, that’s horrible.” Oikawa only shrugged at that statement.
Kenma turned his head towards Yamaguchi. “How have you been avoiding him if you still go to Shiratorizawa?”
“Oh, that’s easy!” smiled Yamaguchi. “I get someone else to man the stand I usually use. I go to the shady areas in the kingdom.”
Sawamura had on a worried look. “Don’t you think that’s a bit dangerous?”
Yamaguchi, looking a bit sheepish, shrugged his shoulders. “It’s alright I guess. I’m scared, but being tall helps since everyone else gets scared of you first.”
Sawamura still had a disapproving look on his face, but said nothing else.
Then it was Hinata’s turn. “Yamaguchiiii. Who cares if it’s Shiratorizawa. If you liked him, you should have gone for him.”
Yamaguchi shook his head with his lips in a tight line. “No way. Shiratorizawa? Don’t you remember what they did two years ago? They burned the village and took everything we had. Oikawa and Sawamura were doing reconnaissance at the time, so our fighting power was limited. We were lucky they didn’t kidnap anyone. I don’t want to be involved with that Hinata. I didn’t tell him where I was from, so don’t worry Sawamura.” Yamaguchi saw the distressed look on his face when he began speaking.
Hinata visibly deflated at the explanation. Oikawa peeked over at Kenma to observe his reaction, but as usually, his face gave away no feelings. “Hey Kenma, are you fine with us talking about Shiratorizawa?”
Yamaguchi turned pink and flustered at the realization. “Oh no Kenma! I’m so sorry! I forgot like, I’m so sorry. Oh my gosh.” His hands started flailing around in the air.
Kenma didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and the air turned into an awkward silence. His heart began pumping faster, and he started sweating a bit, well, a lot, more. Darn it. This shouldn’t bother me anymore. An annoyed look appeared on his face, and he didn’t know what to do.
Without looking at Kenma, Oikawa quietly said, “You know. You don’t have to force yourself to get over it. It was a big deal, so why treat it as if it was small.”
Kenma visibly relaxed at Oikawa’s words. He then looked at Oikawa, who was now staring at him. “Thanks,” he muttered.
Oikawa returned to his flamboyant self and gave Kenma a peace sign and a wink. “No problemo.”
Sawamura chipped in, “We’re here as friends for a reason Kenma, so I hope you don’t feel uncomfortable with us. If anything, we actually want you to tell us everything.” He ended with a soft smile.
Kenma felt a bit overwhelmed at the support and didn’t know how to respond aside from nodding his head. He looked over at Yamaguchi, who was still pink from being embarrassed earlier. “I’m fine Yamaguchi. To be honest, I can’t stand Shiratorizawa, so I’m actually really glad you stopped anything from happening. Sorry if you really liked him, I just—I really do not like them, but don’t stop talking because of me please.” Kenma tried his best to keep his face devoid of any feelings. It worked because no one pressed the issue anymore.
When Hinata began asking more questions about the knight, Kenma released a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. What am I going to do if I see Shiratorizawa knights again? I can’t even handle thinking about them. Shaking his head side to side, Kenma pushed these thoughts away to listen to the conversation.
“—blond.” Yamaguchi was now describing the knight. “He wears glasses and is really handsome; and he’s tall, even taller than Oikawa.” That comment elicited a surprise and unhappy look from Oikawa. He really hates losing. Kenma smirked a little at Oikawa for being so competitive.
Yamaguchi continued, “He looks really mean and is really sarcastic, but he’s really nice. Apparently, he’s a part of the top troop in the Kingdom, and his specialty is the spear.”
Tall and a spear? That’s a really effective combination.
Everyone at the table was thinking the same thing as the simultaneously nodded their head as if they were saying, ‘Good choice.’ Since every member of the committee was a fighter themselves, they were well aware of potential enemies.
They spoke about random topics for the next ten minutes before wrapping up the meeting.
“Okay guys,” Sawamura was saying, “we’re going to have another meeting four days from now, so Friday at the same time, 9am.” As everyone got up, ready to leave, screams from the other villagers stopped everyone in their movements. They stared at one another with a serious glint in their eyes.
“Don’t kill them, but don’t let them escape either. You got that?” Sawamura commanded. Everyone shook their heads in agreement and drew their weapons. Someone else screamed and at that sound, they all rushed out the room, ready for a large invasion from some annoying village. They definitely weren’t expecting just five extremely attractive males dashing in and out of the houses in Karasuno. But they were not prepared at all to see the crown in the middle of their burgundy capes—the emblem of Shiratorizawa.