Best Friends (Kuroo/Kenma x Reader)

Part 7

-Practice, the following day-

You organized notes on Lev's abilities and what he needed to work on, so that it was easy for Coach Nekomata to read and understand. He told me to start working on a practice and exercise list for Lev, and to ask him about his eating and sleeping habits. We agreed that for this week, we could alternate Lev between one on one practice with Kenma and basic practice with everyone. Once he started to understand more, and once we understood what he was really capable of, we could go more in depth on what we should do with him, and how to approach what position he should hold on the team. Ideally, Nekomata sensei wants to train him to be a middle blocker and strong spiker, like Hinata. But, if that didn't work out, we'll have to brainstorm other ideas.

You sat on the bench and started working on this weeks practice list while the team was warming up. Since Kenma will be one on one some days this week, you figured this would be a good opportunity to focus on the teams individual strengths and weaknesses, and maybe have some players experiment with new techniques. It wasn't a bad idea, and coach actually praised you for your idea, but you seemed to be struggling with who should practice what, getting into your head and overthinking. You decided to ask the captain. You stared at Kuroo until you guys locked eyes. He stuck his tongue out at you and you motioned for him to come sit by you. He nodded, excused himself from his conversation, and jogged to you. 

"Whats up, chibi-chan?" you huffed at the name but didn't comment any further.
"I'm struggling trying to decide what individual practice everyone should take part in... I have all their paperwork and a rough draft on who should do what, but I wanted to get your opinion before handing everyone their sheets..." you showed Kuroo what you had in mind.
After reviewing it, he ruffled your hair, "You never fail to impress me, (F/N)-chan."
You smiled, "Should I make any changes?"
"Nah, this is solid work. I have a few things in mind, like, I might want two on two practices as well, some together instead of alone, stuff like that. But I'll talk to the team about that after thinking on it some. Great work!" he gave you a thumbs up and ran off. 

You finished today's list quickly, just in time for practice to start. Kuroo stood by you and called everyone over, "(F/N)-chan has created some practice drills for this week." While I was handing out the papers, he explained that Kenma and Lev will be working together some days, for this next week, maybe two, and that during these days, for them to follow the drills they'd been given. "While I have confidence in our team, and we are strong, there is always room for improvement. Make sure to capitalize on this time and continue to grow."
"Hai!" 

Kenma took Kuroo's place next to you after his little speech. You handed him his water bottle as Lev walked up. "You're the manager, right?" Lev asked.
I nodded and handed him a sheet of paper. "When you have time, please fill out your normal eating and sleeping schedule... also, what you normally eat, for meals.."
"You have that much interest in me already, (F/N)-senpai?" he said with a cheeky smile.
"It's not for me..." you nearly whispered. He was even taller up close. You felt like you were face to face with a giant. Meeting new people was hard enough...
He laughed and touched your shoulder, "I'm just messin'! Ready to get started, Kenma-san?" Kenma nodded and they walked off. 

After about 30 mins passed, you sat on the bench, cringing. This duo was going to be a problem. Not gonna lie, the practice wasn't going too well... not well at all, actually. Kuroo caught on to this and tried to intervene, to help them get synchronized, but to no avail. After a while he came sit down next to you, and sighed dramatically.
"He really has no technique... it's hard to watch," you said quietly. He nodded and put his hands behind his head.
"I knew it wouldn't be immediate, but Kenma is getting annoyed. The last thing we need right now for the newbie is an annoyed setter who doesn't want to work with him. Hopefully we can get more into his head and what he's thinking when we leave. We have about an hour until we can go." You nodded and continued observing the two. Kenma definitely seemed aggravated, you could see it on his face, and the sighs after every missed spike didn't help.

The time to leave finally came, Kuroo left the team, cleanup, and locking up to Yatu.
"Next time, Kenma, I'll hit a bunch! I'm gonna be the ace!" Lev delcared. A few members held back laughs and you raised an eyebrow. Bold statement.
"You have to be good to be the ace," Kenma said flatly. A few people gasped and you turned to him with wide eyes. Kenma having an attitude? That's new. Kuroo elbowed him.
Lev just laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "I will get good! Believe it!" Kenma just nodded, and the team waved the three of us off as we headed to the grocery store.

"So Angry-Kenma-chan, how was it?" Kuroo asked, poking the back of his head. He sighed heavily and looked up from his phone with a serious face.
"He sucks. I don't want to work with him." You and Kuroo stopped dead in your tracks, both super shocked at his response. After standing for a few seconds, Kuroo nodded and continued walking as we followed.
"I could tell it wasn't going well, but I didn't expect you to be that fed up after only a few hours." Kenma shrugged. We walked most of the way in silence until we reached the store. We decided it would go faster if we split up. You and Kenma will be on one side of the store, Kuroo on the other. We meet back at the front. 

"(F/N), can I ask you something?" Kenma asked, sounding nervous. 
"Always."
"Am I a bad volleyball player?" You looked at him and punched him softly on the shoulder.
"Why would you think something ridiculous like that? Of course not," you said. He nodded and was silent for a few minutes.
"I cant sync up with Lev. What if I'm never able to?" he asked quietly. You shook my head and looked at him.
"You cant make bold assumptions like that based off of one practice, and not even a full one, at that. Also, he has no experience. He probably has no idea what he's doing, as of now. Teamwork and learning will take time, you just have to be patient."

He nodded and looked down, "You're right..." he started playing his game as he followed you around the store. Once you were done, you all met up at the outside of the store. We made our way back to Kenma's to drop off what we bought. You made sure to have everything prepped and ready to go for the next night ahead of time, and Kuroo offered to walk you home. You agreed, said your goodbyes to Kenma, and left. 

"So, did pouty baby say anything?"
You nodded and looked at him. "It wasn't very good." Kuroo looked worried as you explained more, "He asked me if he was a bad volleyball player since he couldn't get in sync with him." Kuroo face planted.
"Great... not good at all," he whispered. You nodded in agreement. The last time he asked that question, was during his first year when he wanted to quit because of his superiors.

"It'll be okay," Kuroo said confidently, "We just have to be there for him an extra amount while he gets used to Lev. We cant let him spiral. Hopefully tomorrow will show promise of their growing teamwork." We reached the door and Kuroo gave you a hug. "He especially likes to talk to you about his feelings, make sure to always give your best advice, okay?" he whispered in my head. You nodded. He pulled away and sighed. "See ya tomorrow, chibi-chan. Lets hope for better practices." You waved as he jogged down the road, and once he was out of sight, you walked inside. Once in bed, you stared at the ceiling with some music playing for a little while. You silently hoped we wouldn't have a re-run of Kemna doubting his abilities and not getting along with team members, because who knows if we'll be able to pull him out of that rut again.

"Do your best, pudding..." you whispered to yourself.