"Can we all collectively agree to never do this again? Ever?"

Akaashi was met with a chorus of agreement as we all sat in the ramen shop, licking our wounds. Seven matches, and we were near bruised to the bone. All except Kenma, who had shot himself in the foot at the beginning of each and every round.

Team The Best had won four to three, but at what cost? I could barely move, and I knew I'd be finding new bruises for days to come.
"This victory tastes bitter-sweet..." I mumbled, poking at the runny egg atop my ramen before stuffing a chunk into my mouth.

"At least you didn't get shot in the butt. Six times." Lev muttered from across the table, sitting awkwardly. The poor guy was going to be struggling for the next week after that.
"How's your thigh?" Kuroo nudged me in the arm, and I scooted back a little to pull the leg of my shorts up a bit. The mark was already purple, and I snorted.

"It kinda looks like a heart. A gross, painful heart. That got hit by a truck. A truck full of elephants." I hummed, stupidly poking at it and uttering a small hiss of regret. "How's your back?" I'd managed to shoot him again a few days after, right in the middle of his back. No dirty tricks that time, just pure skill.

"I dunno, but it hurts though. What does mine look like?" He leaned forward, still chewing, and lifted his shirt for me to take a look. I wouldn't lie, his back was nicely toned, but I tried to ignore that in favour of studying his bruise.
"Damn. It's like, perfectly round. That just proves I have talent."

Reaching up, I gave it a poke, and when Kuroo jolted he slightly knocked the table, sending everyone scrambling to save their meals.
"Watch it!" Shirofuku whined, clutching her bowl to her chest.
"Can you two quit flirting at the table?!" Washio added, and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"W..We aren't flirting." Kuroo replied with a slight stammer, ears growing pink.

He's so easily embarrassed.

"You're always flirting. It's kind of gross." Kenma piped up from Kuroo's opposite side, and pink quickly turned to red as the ravonet used his knee to knock into his best friend.
"Yeah, can you guys just like hook up already?" Yamamoto pointed his chopsticks in our direction, and I laughed, knocking them away with my own.

"I flirt with everyone, Tiger. Remember how I buffed up your ego in front of those Karasuno guys?" I reminded him, and he quickly shut his trap. "Or on the way to ice skating. I flirted the hell out of Bokuto." Face stuffed full of noodles, the captain in question tilted his head.
"You were flirting with me?"

Thankfully, that redirected the conversation to how clueless Bokuto could be, but when I glanced back to Kuroo, something seemed off. He looked almost...upset. His lips weren't downturned, but in a flat line across his face, and he just kept his eyes focused on his food, not joining in on the chatter.

Shit...I didn't want to hurt his feelings...

"Wait, so when you called me a tall drink of water, were you flirting with me?" Inuoka pulled the conversation right back to where it had started, and I decided to try to use it to fix things.
"Platonically, yeah. Most of the time I just flirt because it's fun, like that, but not all the time..." I purposely bumped my knee against Kuroo's, and when he looked up, I made sure to meet his eyes. "It isn't really a great habit, though. Obviously, it can send the wrong signals to people who don't know me well enough."

"So, basically everybody?" When Yaku spoke up, I leaned far back to glare at him at his place about four people up along our row.
"Did I ask for the input of someone who still gets offered the children's menu whenever he walks into a restaurant?"

Yaku mimicked my lean, forehead creased with a frown.
"Shut it. I'm just saying you could try acting a little more mature for a change. It'd stop giving people the wrong ideas." It wasn't just the words he said, but the way he had delivered them, along with that look on his face. Even though I knew for a fact he had no idea how often that had been a serious problem, it still felt targeted.

Biting my tongue between my teeth, I gently placed my chopsticks down and stood up. I didn't want to cause a massive scene, especially somewhere so public. Yaku flinched when I started towards him, but I just walked right past and out the doors to go and sit on the edge of the sidewalk out front.

As I fumed, my mind returned to the conversation I had had with Bokuto out on the paintball field. This was just another reason why I didn't want to get into a relationship with Kuroo or with anyone else. I was a naturally playful person, and it could come across as actual, serious flirtation. It had caused arguments in most past relationship attempts, and it was easier to just avoid the risk.

I felt someone approach me from behind and sit down at my side, and I expected it to be either Kuroo or Yaku, but when I turned, I was met with the side of Kenma's face.
"I was done eating. It smells like crap in there anyway." He said before I could ask why he had followed me.

"Yeah. Sweat and furikake aren't a great mix." I replied with a sigh, wrapping my arms loosely around my knees.
"So, you like Kuroo, then." It wasn't a question, but a statement, and I flinched a little.
"Why is everyone on me about that today..?" I muttered, hoping to get a proper answer. It couldn't just be the flirting, because it would have become a hot topic a lot sooner.

"You nudged him under the table when you said that your flirting wasn't platonic all the time. I do have eyes, you know..." The blond deadpanned, insinuating that I was kind of stupid. It was definitely not unwarranted. "You wouldn't have done that if you didn't like him in a different manner."

Boy, you're creeping me out, being all aware 'n shit...

I could have denied it, arguing until my face turned blue, but what was the point?
"Alright, you caught me. He's cute, what can I say? It's just a passing crush, so it isn't a big deal." That was the way. Just brush it off as nothing, and the problem would eventually go away all on its own, like that strange lump Great Grandma Michiko found in her armpit that one time.

"Sure, whatever, but you better let him know that if that's the case." Oop, there it was. The inevitable, vague 'you hurt my friend and there will be consequences' insertion, which somehow felt more intimidating coming from a guy like Kenma.

"Kuroo's a big boy. If it ever comes to it, a discussion can be had, but I'm not the type to make things awkward just for the heck of it." Leaning back on my hands, I could feel the heat of the sidewalk seep up through my skin, warming my bones.

"You told Tora he looks like he'd whimper real loud." Kenma's brow creased as he recalled one of the many comments I had made out of the blue, and I shrugged, shoulders tapping my ears.
"That's not my fault. If anyone felt awkward about that, then that's on them."

We settled into a nice, though somewhat stiff quiet. The sky had begun to melt into the colour of diluted honey, an orchestra of cicadas droning their song to ensure there could be no true silence.
"You told Lev that you want to crack him open like a creme egg and devour his insides because he's so sweet."

It took me a moment to recall, but when I did a little snicker-snort tumbled from my throat.
"You can't tell me you don't think about doing that on a daily basis too, right?" I was met by a particularly perturbed glare, which nearly sent me into a bout of hysterics.

"What about when you described, in extreme detail, the consistency of your...monthly girl stuff...and nearly made Inuoka throw up?" I sat up straight when hearing that accusation, wagging my finger in his face.
"Oi, he asked about it! It's not my fault the education system failed him. Bro thought it was like a waterfall."

Kenma puffed out a little air, and it was hard to tell whether it was his introverted genre of a laugh or if it was just, you know, breathing so he could stay alive.
"You're weird." He rested his cheek in his hand, and I mirrored him, just for the hell of it. Kenma had such feline features, it was almost too uncanny, considering our team was referred to as cats.

"Thanks. I actually put a lot of effort into it." A flashed a small smile before relaxing back to my resting expression, which wasn't something I did often. "I promise I'll talk to him if it's needed, okay? I don't want him to get hurt either."

He scanned me head to toe with those lazy, critical eyes before sighing, reaching into the pocket of his shorts and pulling out a set of keys.
"Wanna go sit in the car and watch me die over and over on the same level?"

"Uh, do Morisukes get constipated whenever they eat dairy? Yes."

".....Does he actually?"

"Yup. He's a real baby about it, too."

"Heh."