Lights Down Low (Adult Tetsurō Kuroo x OC)

Somebody That I Used To Know

It'd been a while for Tetsurō Kuroo to have played volleyball and the fact that it still felt like it was a part of him, even after quitting volleyball the moment he joined the JVA, surprised him. Volleyball was one of the constants of his life.

Even when his parents were arguing to a point of no reconciliation, his sister and he would go out of the house and play. He'd found a refuge in volleyball. Through it, he'd formed friendships that'll last a lifetime.

The Nekoma team that he captained, Bokuto and Akaashi, Tsukishima, the tall salt shaker who became his mentee and Kenma, his first true friend.

So, having involved Akira into this part of his world through this game was the first step of letting her know that he wanted her.

He wasn't sure how or in what way, but he was certain that he was at a stage where he was ready to bare himself to someone. Emotional scars and all. He just needed to find more reasons to be in awe.

And that he did. It was the final play of the final set of the beach volleyball game. Akira and Bokuto v Kuroo and Kenma. This was an interesting game for Kenma as he seemed to have a perfect plan on making her lose this point. It was not that Kuroo wasn't a master strategist, it's just that Kenma was better at analyzing from afar like how tigers eye on their prey. This was supposedly Kenma's turf. The perfect team.

It was however Akira's turn to serve. This was something she'd always believe that she could never master. Because of how limited her moves were, she didn't feel the need to practice it. But while she was in Rio with Hinata, she understood that it was okay to be flexible in your game style. Learning how to serve would enhance it for her.

She felt her heart thumping yet again. Sweating profusely from everywhere, she looked tired, but on the contrary, this moment was where she believed she'd shine.

To ground herself, she closed her eyes, took deep breaths and employed the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. No sooner did she finish than she said a small word of prayer, and performed a well-executed  underhand serve that cause KuroKen to lose their formation.

She knew Kenma's weakness: he didn't like physically exerting himself and she played that to her advantage. Making Kenma run, and avoiding Kuroo along the way. Because she seemed to be losing concentration, Bokuto would chime in with his receives towards Kenma, and this time, the ball landed in Kenma's hands, only to pass it to Kuroo, so that they employed their trick: the personal time difference attack.

Akira would go in front, jumping as high as possible, with Bokuto behind, but Kuroo remained kneeling down. No sooner would Akira slowly come down than Kuroo jumped to spike, for the win. But, having expected this, Bokuto was able to receive it on time, then passing it to Akira who perfectly executed a spike with her left hand for the win.
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In a total of four sets, Akira played each set with Bokuto, Akaashi, Kuroo and Kenma, and won those with them. Kuroo may have been a scheming captain, but none was as cunning as "Volley Flash" Akira Yöki, deceiving them through her moves and using their blocks, sets and spikes against them.

They were shocked as to how their skills on court were elevated just by her mere presence. Her keen eye on the direction of the ball as it moved with the wind, her impeccable sense of timing amazed them, even causing Kenma to be excited to play after a long time.

During the breaks, Akira would bond with Yukie and Kaori and they'd love the fact that conversations were effortless with her. She made everyone feel seen, and they always had something to talk about, so the conversations went with a smooth flow.

Until now.

"So, Akira," Yukie nudges her arm, "I see Kuroo stealing glances at you quite often. Is there any tea that we're missing?" Both of the former Fukurodani managers were smirking at her.