Kenma hadn't heard from Ameri at all after giving her the letter, and the dread that she might choose to give him a taste of his own medicine had been impossible to overcome.

He knew she was capable of it; she was petty like that.

He hadn't caught a whiff of respite that entire night and had gone over his entire collection of video games to make time fly and chase the intrusive thoughts but to no avail.

But luckily, sleepless nights weren't a new occurrence to him, and by the time the sun had settled halfway across the sky, he was waiting outside of the station, apprehension still bubbling in his veins.

He was never one to care about his appearance nor aim to impress anyone, but that Saturday morning, he made an effort to look more than just presentable.

Kenma busied himself with fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie while internally fighting the urge to fish out his console and lose himself in a world where he was invisible. But any inhibitions vanished when he lifted his gaze and caught sight of Ameri approaching in the distance.

He was never one to stare either, as he knew just how discomfiting that could make one, but given that he'd only ever seen her in their school uniform, it was hard for him not to take in her attire. She looked even prettier in a light blue summer dress, her signature ponytail bouncing behind her.

Ameri halted before him and greeted him with a broad smile.

"Hey," he replied, for a moment evading her eyes but drawn to them again when they remained unabashedly fixed on him.

"I bet you thought I wouldn't show up, didn't you?"

Kenma nodded.

"Can't say I haven't thought about it," she laughed, "but my curiosity to know what happened was stronger."

"So, you're gonna leave after I tell you?"

"No, dummy," Ameri rolled her eyes, "ugh, why do I even bother with you? Let's just go."

As they made their way inside, Ameri made small talk before Kenma took the initiative to explain why he hadn't seen her letter: "I dropped it in the locker room, and Lev thought it was for Yaku and put it in his locker."

"Oh my god!" Ameri cried out. "Did you use to read the ones I gave to Yaku?"

Kenma shook his head.

"Liar!"

"I swear I didn't. I never really cared, to be honest."

"Promise me that you never will! Ask Yaku to burn them!"

"I promise. And will do."

"God, that's still so embarrassing!" she whined. "Misaki was right. Letters are outdated. I should've never given you one."

"No, it wasn't a bad idea, I guess. Just make sure to give it to me directly next time."

Ameri's face brightened up, the connotation of his words making her heart flutter. "Okay! And yours wasn't half bad either. Though you need to work on your handwriting. It was hard to decipher."

"Actually, that's Kuroo's. Mine is even worse."

Ameri then apologized to him for having shunned him instead of simply inquiring about what had happened. Kenma admitted that he should've come to her earlier as well, and a second promise was made that from now on they would go to one another with anything bothering them, no matter how trivial, instead of unnecessarily complicating things.

When they took their seats on the train, Ameri by the window, Kenma remembered that his friends had insisted he shouldn't forget to compliment her. He tapped on her shoulder and, when she spun around, drew closer to whisper in her ear that she looked nice.

If Ameri didn't know any better, she would've sworn that he was well aware of the magnitude of his charm and was using it to fluster her on purpose. Her cheeks reddened as she thanked him and, to swiftly surmount her shyness, praised his look as well, accentuating her liking of his new hairstyle.

It was initially Yamamoto's idea for him to tie his hair up. And Kenma could only imagine how ecstatic he would've been to know that his suggestion was acclaimed.

"You should get some sunlight more often," she said. "You're so pale."

Kenma smiled, and so their date began.

The rest of their morning was spent weaving the bustling streets of Shibuya. Kenma wasn't one for shopping or aimless wandering as he easily got tired, but the city's ambiance matched Ameri's bubbly personality, and he was left with no choice but to keep up as she ran off to every store and boutique that caught her interest.

When she finally declared herself hungry, Kenma couldn't have been more relieved, and they stopped by the first ramen restaurant they came across for lunch.

"So, where do you want to go next?" Ameri said as she placed her chopsticks down and reclined in her seat. "How about Karaoke?"

"I already have something planned."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? So you've really thought this through, huh?"

"Kind of," he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Kuroo and the others helped."

"That's so nice of them."

"Yeah, they were too into it all. It was creepy," Kenma said with a grimace, and Ameri chuckled as she imagined how uneasy the process might've made him. That he had been willing to go through with it for her sake though had butterflies swirling in her stomach.

Their next destination was only a thirty minutes walk away from Shibuya, and Ameri voted against public transport. They chatted comfortably as Kenma led her through the area till the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium came into view.

"You're fucking kidding!" she squealed when it finally dawned on her. "Are we going to watch a volleyball match?"

Kenma nodded and couldn't help but softly laugh at her excitement. She kept leaping around like a child for the rest of the route, only calming down once they were inside.

The gymnasium was gigantic, with the court standing so small in the center, buzzing TV crews and blinding advertising boards surrounding it. Kenma took hold of her wrist to keep her close as she incredulously took everything in, her astonishment amplifying when he guided her towards the front row.

"These are amazing seats," she whispered in awe. "How much did they cost you and how did you even manage to get your hands on them?"

"Coach Nekomata has friends over here."

Ameri gasped. "Even your coach got involved in this?"

"Yeah, you'd be surprised at how excited he was."

It was astounding to Ameri how spectators kept filing in till the stands were packed and no spot was left empty, and Kenma explained that while the league usually drew larger crowds than she was used to, the high attendance was due to both teams' reputations. The Schweiden Adlers vs. MSBY Black Jackals was the biggest derby in Japan's V.League.

Not having had much interest in the sport beyond her high school's team, Ameri had never heard of them, but as soon as the game started, she could instantly tell why the clash was so renowned.

She'd always believed Nekoma's matches to be intense, but an official one with professional players was even more bewildering. The atmosphere was simply thrilling, and it was all frantic at first. The ball was traveling faster than she'd ever seen any of Nekoma's players hit it, and it took her the entirety of the first set to adjust to the pace and power of the plays and be able to keep track of it.

Kenma said he liked the Adlers because of their setter, so to keep things balanced, Ameri swung for the Jackals. Once she got the hang of what was going on before her, she went all out, cheering and screaming after every service ace, landed spike, and dug-out ball.

It was physically impossible for Kenma to match her energy, but it was dangerously contagious and stirred his competitive side, and he found himself more engaged than usual. Her pouts every time his team scored and he sneered at her were delightful, and her confusion about some of the plays was endearing.

The Adlers eventually came out on top, and Ameri sulked on their walk back to Shibuya, only cheering up when Kenma treated her for takoyaki before they headed back towards the station.

"Even you have to admit that we played better," she said when they got on the train.

"Will it help you sleep tonight?" he teased.

"No, I'm serious. If it weren't for the net, we would've won."

"Luck is part of sports. But still, the better team won today."

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered as she rested her head against the window, and Kenma chuckled lightly. He particularly liked it when she was being petty.

As he leaned back in his seat, he rested his hand on the armrest, immediately retracting it when it brushed against Ameri's. His touch made her swerve to meet his eye, and he scrambled out an apology with burning cheeks.

Without a word, Ameri lifted the bar between them and snuck her hand in his, bringing them to sit on her lap as she interlocked their fingers before redirecting her gaze outside and leaving Kenma to overcome his panic and fluster in peace.

She didn't release it when the train came to a stop nor when they stepped out of the station to start their walk home. When they neared her neighborhood, however, the wind picked up, and she was forced to let go to snake her arms around his waist.

"Why didn't you bring a jacket?"

"I didn't think we'd stay out this late," she whined, snuggling against him as he draped ar arm around her to keep her warm.

Upon reaching her apartment building, they stood by the entrance as Ameri rummaged inside her bag for her keycard.

"Oh, I got you something," she said as she fished out a small package and handed it to Kenma.

"Did you get this earlier?"

"Yes."

"Where was I?" he asked as he opened it and pulled out a phone charm.

"With me. Just too exhausted to pay attention to your surroundings," she laughed.

As he inspected it, he realized that it was one of the characters from the game they'd spoken about in their first conversation, months ago.

"Do you like it?" she asked, and he nodded. "I got a matching one." She showed him hers that had the same character but in a different design.

When they connected the charms to their cells, Ameri tucked hers back into her bag and moved to stand before him. "Thank you for today. This was the best date I've ever been to," she sheepishly said. "Though, to be honest, this is the first real date I've ever been to."

"That makes two of us then."

Ameri chuckled softly as she glanced up at him, her eyes brimming with anticipation, his own momentarily traveling to her mouth when she bit on her bottom lip. And at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to know how it'd feel to be the one biting down on it.

His mind raced as he tried to decide whether this was the right moment to kiss her and whether he should ask first or simply go with his instinct, but he wasn't given time to as Ameri stood on her tiptoes and left a long kiss on his cheek.

"Text me when you get home," she said before turning to go inside, leaving him to shadow her retreating form with a burning face and palpitating heart.