I Can't Say "I Love You" | Kuroo Tetsurō

Chapter 2: Vending Machines

The following day had been a blur. Mirai became extremely quiet since the events of yesterday. She didn't even notice the curious glances of her half-Russian friend during class.

Students began to stand up and head out as soon as the lunch bell rang. A tall student poked her on the cheek as he called her for the seventh time. Mirai jumped in her seat, blinking away the drowsiness from her eyes as a pair of green ones began to focus in her view.

"Mirai-san, come on! Let's eat lunch!" Lev grinned. "You've been staring at the board this entire time."

A light blush made its way to her cheeks as she realized that she had been mindlessly sitting in her chair for the entire class hour. She sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry, I was just deep in thought." She told him and took out her bento.

Lev tilted his head to look at her face more carefully, eyeing the off look her eyes were giving. His friend was definitely deep in thought again. So he pulled his table closer to hers and opened his bento.

"So, Mirai-san, are you going to be joining us then?" Lev spoke up after a moment, cutting the silence.

"Huh?" Mirai stopped eating midway and turned her head to blink at him. "Join what exactly?"

Lev grinned widely and leaned closer to her.

"The volleyball club, obviously!" He exclaimed with much enthusiasm. "Didn't you see how excited everyone got when I told them you would be manager??"

"Not this again, Lev..." She sighed.

"But why not?! Why won't you join??" The taller one of the two began to whine like a child. "You just seem perfect for the job! Taketora-san even said that you were cute!"

"B-Being cute has nothing to do with the position!" She retorted.

He pouted at her and began eating his lunch. The two fell into a comfortable silence for a while.

Lev couldn't understand why Mirai was so hesitant about joining. Everyone was really welcoming too!

It's not like the team actually needed a manager. They could take care of themselves pretty well. It's just that they wanted a manager.

"Everyone in the team seemed happy too!!" Lev grumbled as he thought this.

Mirai peeked from the corner of her eye and saw how Lev was chewing his food with a childish scowl. "Is he thinking about it still?" She sighed and continued to eat quietly, hoping she wasn't right.

It was nice of him to invite her to his club and all...but she wouldn't be able to handle such a responsibility. Especially since she has zero experience with volleyball or being a manager. She'd just get in the way.

"I'm going to get a drink." She announced and stood up from her seat. Lev nodded as she walked out of the classroom.

Passing through the corridors of the school, Mirai had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was it guilt? Doubt? She wrapped her arms around her stomach and groaned.

"I hate this kind of feeling..." She thought to herself and walked downstairs.

"Huh?" She froze when she turned a corner.

Two people stood in front of the vending machines, one of them was getting a drink from the slot at the bottom. The shorter student with dyed blond hair noticed her presence and glanced her way. Upon recognizing her face, he turned away and mumbled something to his friend.

"Hm? Where?" The other one asked.

What was his name again? Ah, right. It's Kuroo.

"Hello again, kitten~" He waved as soon as he saw her.

"Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic." Mirai told herself as she visibly panicked.

Kenma followed the third year as he made his way over to the girl. He observed Mirai carefully, noting her uncomfortable expression when they were walking towards her. He sighed, feeling sorry for her.

"You planning on buying a drink?" Kuroo asked, head tilted slightly as he watched her internally panicking at their presence. Her eyes were wide and her jaw hung open as she tried to speak. He found it hilarious!

"Kuro, stop scaring her..." Kenma lightly scolded.

"Hm~? I'm not scaring her." Kuroo smiled, a halo effect seemed to radiate off him. "I'm just asking if she was planning on buying a drink since she looked like she was about to head towards the vending machines."

"Urk- I- That's- That is accurate-!" Mirai stuttered helplessly. The uneasiness in her stomach grew bigger and bigger. She wished that a hole would just open below her feet and swallow her up.

"You sound like a strict teacher. Relax." He laughed, ruffling her hair playfully. "What were you planning on buying anyway?"

Kenma narrowed his eyes, suspicious of his best friend's question. Mirai shakily pointed towards the vending machine.

"I-I just wanted to buy some milk..." She said.

"Okay then," Kuroo nodded and walked back to the vending machine, inserted some coins and pulled out the carton of milk as soon as it was deposited.

Kenma glanced at Mirai as she stood frozen on the spot. Her expression was a mix of confusion, worry, and...even more confusion? Kenma blinked twice, unsure of what to say to her. He knew all too well that Kuroo had a certain effect on girls, but this time it looked like the effect was more of fear than admiration.

"What is she thinking about..?" Kenma wondered.

Mirai's arms and legs were trembling in fear. She looked like a newborn doe about to take its first steps.

"He bought the frigging milk oh my gosh what do I do he's gonna dump it all over my head because I got his hopes up yesterday isn't he no wait he's probably gonna shove it in my mouth and choke me because of how much of a loser I was back then with Lev what do I do someone save me God Buddha Allah anyone...!" Mirai began to pray inside her head as Kuroo stopped in front of her.

He smiled and held out the carton of milk, "Here. My treat."

"...Wha?"

She blinked and he simply placed the milk in her hands when she made no move to take it from him.

"Err, uhh, thanks???" She said, puzzled. "Wait. You're not mad or anything..?"

"Mad??" The two boys questioned in unison. Kuroo looked at Kenma, who shrugged back at him.

"Well, I thought...that you'd be mad at me for what happened yesterday because...you all seemed really happy when Lev told you guys that I'd be joining..." She confessed and awkwardly looked away as she remembered the events of yesterday.

"I'm not mad." Kuroo told her, then turned to his best friend. "Are you, Kenma?"

"No, not at all..." Kenma averted his gaze from Mirai when she looked at him.

"Oh. Umm. Okay." She nodded. "Thanks for the milk, I guess...... Is there some way I can repay you, Kuroo-senpai?"

Kuroo smiled. "Ah, so you know me." He chuckled. "Does Lev talk to you a lot about volleyball?"

"...Yes?" Mirai confirmed, sort of unsure of her own answer. "He, uhh, kind of has a unique way of explaining things to me. Like 'Yaku-san dove after the ball like shwoom' or 'Kenma-san gets annoyed when I miss the spike and my arm just goes whoosh at the air.'

"It seems Inuoka influenced him somewhat...." Kenma sighed and shook his head. Kuroo laughed.

"Well Lev is just a rookie so it can't be helped. We're gonna need to drill this training into his head though." He told them. His eyes glanced back to Mirai, who flinched when she saw him smile suddenly. "By the way, kitten, to answer your question from before..."

Mirai waited for him to continue, holding her breath. For some reason, she had an idea where this was going.

"If you're serious about repaying me then how about joining the volleyball club as our manager?"