Sometimes in a game, there are special events available for a limited time.

If you can capitalize on the event, you can drastically increase your level in a significantly shorter time.

~~~

Once again, on Monday after practice, Kuroo and Kenma were the last two left in the club room. Kenma was long done changing out of his gym wear and volleyball shoes, but Kuroo was taking longer since Coach Nekomata had pulled him aside after practice to talk about something. The pudding haired boy was sitting on the table waiting for the third year to change as he sat on top of the table in the club room with his PSP in hand.

Kenma glanced at the battery life of his PSP out of habit. The number read 70%, which was considerably higher than it usually was. Part of the reason was because Kuroo had forced the team to do conditioning today, but not just any conditioning. He had made them run twice as much as he usually did with the reason that he just felt like it. Kuroo knew that Kenma already hated running the normal laps despite still forcing himself to do it for the sake of the team. To run more just because wasn't reason enough for Kenma, and thus the boy tried to skip out on half the run and hide in the shade with his PSP. Needless to say, he was caught and dragged back out for a second lap.

"Oi, Kenma," Kuroo called as he slipped off his volleyball shoes and threw them in his bag. Kenma barely gave any indication that he was listening, but Kuroo just kept talking. "Shouldn't you head out to your little secret now? I'll meet you at the gates like I did last week."

Kenma glanced up at the third year, then back to his PSP. He was silent for a few moments, before he let out a small sigh. His next words were going to get a reaction out of Kuroo for sure, and he was second guessing his decision just based on that fact.

"Head home without me, Kuroo," Kenma said as he stuffed his PSP into his bag. Hopping off the table he was perched on, the second year boy leaned over to grab both his gym bag and school bag, swinging the latter over his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Kuroo smirked. He rounded on Kenma, who took an uneasy step back away from his friend. "What is this, now? Are you sneaking off to practice alone today?"

Kenma made a face at the thought of practicing by himself, even more so after the extra lap Kuroo made them run, which gave Kuroo the answer he needed as the third year had to stifle a laugh at the pure disgust Kenma showed from just the idea of it. He could never fathom the thought of seriously practicing alone. Outside of their designated practice times, Kuroo would be the one to drag Kenma out of his house for practice. He hated it, but he couldn't help but admit that the practice did help him in the long run.

"I'm really curious, Kenma," Kuroo said as he moved to stand in front of the door. The smirk on his face told Kenma that the black-haired boy was up to no good. "What is making you willingly stay so late nowadays?"

"You won't let me leave unless I tell you, will you?" Kenma asked with a sigh. To be honest, he did feel bad hiding so much from his childhood friend. He didn't like being so sneaky since it felt like he was doing something wrong, but at the same time, he didn't want to give away his time with Chiyuri. Kenma told himself it was just because he didn't want the peaceful silence between Chiyuri and him to be interrupted by the rowdy people he had to call friends.

"You know it," Kuroo replied. "Now, what is going on?" Kenma sighed.

"I'm... just keeping someone company... She doesn't want any attention, so please don't say anything and don't ask who..." Kenma's voice was quiet, as usual, but there was a hint of seriousness in it. Kuroo raised an eyebrow as he stared at Kenma.

"A girl..." Kuroo echoed beneath his breath. A laugh bubbled out of the third year, causing Kenma to look at him warily. The tall male walked to him and clapped him on the back hard before ruffling the pudding boy's hair, to which the latter replied to with a glare. "Alright, I get it. Flirting in the gym. I suppose you have your own charms."

"It's not like that," Kenma said as he swatted Kuroo's hand away from him. Kenma's expression remained as annoyed as ever, which told Kuroo that he wasn't lying about their relationship. However, it didn't mean that Kuroo wasn't going to try to cause some mischief for his friend. "Don't do anything, Kuroo. Things are..." Kenma trailed off, not sure how to describe the situation. She was opening up to him, but he could tell that she was still nervous. If the fact that her behavior in class said anything, it meant that she was still closed off to anyone she didn't know. If Kuroo came bounding into the equation, Kenma was scared that she would run off like a cat.

"I get it, I get it," Kuroo assured with a wave of his hand. "I won't wait for you then. Oh, also, don't be late to practice tomorrow. Coach Nekomata told me we have a practice match for the junior high." Kenma nodded as Kuroo walked away from blocking the door, heading back to his locker to change out of his jersey. Saying a quiet goodbye, Kenma slipped out of the club room and headed back toward the gym.

When he got to the familiar building, he slipped in to find out that Chiyuri had just finished setting up. He couldn't quite understand how she managed to set up the entire court and clean up by herself, but he guessed that she had done it more than he originally thought.

"Kenma," Chiyuri greeted, her shyness making itself known briefly as she gave him a wave and a small smile. He returned the greeting, dropping off his bags at the bench beside her things before sitting down himself. She made her way toward him, gently lowering herself onto the bench next to him as he pulled out his PSP.

"Ne, Kenma," she started, swinging her legs back and forth. "Are we friends?"

Kenma's fingers froze midway to powering on his PSP. Glancing up at the girl, he noticed that there was a hint of anxiety present in her grey orbs. Her eyes flickered to his golden ones for a second before she looked away, focusing on her lap as she waited for his answer.

"I would say yes, we're friends." Kenma's PSP was gripped loosely in his hand as it rested on his lap. His attention was focused on the girl instead as he caught the way that a smile made itself onto her face and she seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief. She nodded, but didn't say anything else as one of the familiar comforting silences settled over them. Kenma turned back to his game as the words 'Special Event' flashed onto the screen after start up. He completely forgot to tell Chiyuri that he would be staying for the entire practice, so he figured he would finish the event first before it disappeared.

Chiyuri sat beside him silently, glancing ever so often toward his PSP. Normally, he found the glances from others annoying, but not for her. Instead, he scooted a little closer to her and held his PSP out far enough for her to get a clear view of the screen.

"Do you play any games, Yuri?" Kenma asked. His fingers continued to click the buttons of the PSP easily as he maintained a light conversation. Chiyuri's eyes were wide with wonder as she watched Kenma's character clear the first part of the event in almost no time at all.

"Ah... not really," Chiyuri replied with almost a sad smile. "I couldn't really find any friends to play with me since the team was more focused on volleyball and playing by myself almost seemed too lonely... You make it look fun though."

"Do you want to learn?" Kenma cleared the second half of the event, the screen flashing a list of all his rewards quickly before Kenma closed the tab without looking at it and held his PSP out to Chiyuri. She looked at him in surprise.

"I don't want to mess up your progress..." Chiyuri said, eyeing the PSP longingly as she really did want to try. She knew how games worked though and didn't want to set Kenma's character back by dying too much or whatnot. She saw briefly that his character's level was around 10 or so, though she didn't know how long it took to reach it.

Kenma shook his head, saving his progress and exiting to the main menu. Chiyuri watched as he quickly created a new save file and the starter character appeared in an open field. Kenma adjusted a few settings before handing the device over to Chiyuri.

"It's fine. I'll teach you."

With that, Kenma began carefully explaining all the controls and the goals of the game. The basis was simple really. Just like any other action game, the character had to level up by completing various tasks of the NPCs or by defeating higher level enemies. Kenma knew all the tips and tricks of the enemies though, and Chiyuri found it quite interesting to hear him explain the best weapon to use to defeat the first level boss. With his help, she managed to clear the entire level, dying only once. She let out a small excited cheer when she managed to take down the boss. Kenma watched her as she smiled over the game, a smile of his own appearing.

"What do you think?" Kenma asked as he received the PSP back from her. He saved her file quickly in the second save slot before switching back to his own game file.

"Ah, it was really interesting!" Chiyuri's eyes sparkled slightly. "I didn't really understand the story behind the character they were trying to say, but the gameplay was fun."

"Mm, that might be because this game is supposed to be played after you play the first one that came out," Kenma explained calmly. He noticed that she sure was a lot more expressive now that she was considerably more comfortable than when they first met. It seemed like there was a huge gap between the her that she showed to Kenma and the one she showed in class. Even for her volleyball team, it seemed that the only one who truly knew the grey-eyed girl was Rika. The rest of them were aware that Chiyuri was kinder than the facade she gave off, but they didn't seem to know how soft and shy the girl actually was.

The two of them settled into another peaceful silence as Chiyuri continued to watch Kenma play. Every so often, the boy would take initiative to explain one of the functions of the game or she would ask him quietly what certain enemies did. It was peaceful to say the least and the two of them found themselves enjoying the game together more than they thought they would.

"Ah, Kenma," Chiyuri suddenly called. "Isn't Kuroo-Senpai waiting for you? It's been almost half an hour..." Chiyuri furrowed her eyebrows in worry that her interest in the game led to Kuroo waiting for over half an hour for Kenma. The said boy glanced over at her.

"Do you want me to leave?" Kenma asked. He didn't mention that he already told Kuroo to go on ahead because he wanted to gauge her reaction. He was slightly worried he was pushing the boundaries and staying past his welcome. Chiyuri quickly waved her hands as if to say no.

"Ah, no. I'd be really happy if you'd stay..." Chiyuri brushed her hair behind her ear. "It's just that, I would feel bad if Kuroo-Senpai was waiting for so long..."

"If it's just that then don't worry. I already told him to go on without me," Kenma said as he stuffed his PSP into his bag. He pulled the zipper of his gym bag open just enough to pull out his volleyball shoes, tossing them gently to the ground as he slipped them on.

"Hm?" Chiyuri sounded, a bit confused at what the pudding-haired boy was doing. Once his shoes were secured, he stood up, offering a hand to the girl who was still sitting on the bench.

"We should start stretching. I'll toss for you."

~~~

To say that he was impressed was an understatement. Despite never having set for the girl before, she hit every ball he tossed to her spot on, the accuracy and strength in her spikes retaining the same power as they did when he first saw her spike a ball during one of her practices. Her grey eyes that were filled with excitement and joy while the two of them were on the bench was now cold and unwavering, giving no opportunity for her opponent to read her. For a second, Kenma was glad that the boys and girls divisions were separated. He had a feeling that any team Chiyuri was on would demolish anyone aside from the top candidates for nationals.

"Here," he said, handing Chiyuri her water bottle as she reached down to pick up the hair band that had unraveled her hair yet again.

"Thanks, Kenma," she said as she received the water bottle. Instead of walking all the way to the bench again, the girl simply sat down on the gym floor with Kenma following her. When she finished drinking her water, she quickly used her fingers to comb back her hair and pull it back into another ponytail. Kenma glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then looked back toward the other side of the court. No doubt, if people weren't so busy slandering her, they'd actually find out that the grey-eyed girl was quite the beauty.

"I thought you didn't really enjoy practicing, Kenma?" Chiyuri asked as she glanced at him. Her grey eyes seemed to focus on him and analyze him, but it didn't give the same discomfort that it did when they first talked. Instead, Kenma had learned that she, very much like him, tended to focus on people not to judge them but rather to find out how they judged her and how they felt so she could act appropriately.

"Kenma?" Chiyuri repeated his name when he didn't reply.

"O-Oh, sorry," Kenma said, a light pink dusting his cheek. "I don't really enjoy the physical exertion, but I don't mind it if it's you or Kuroo."

"Just me and Kuroo-Senpai?" She tilted her head slightly and smiled. "I'm honored."

"I-It's not..." Kenma trailed off as she laughed, the girl hiding her smile behind her palm as her grey eyes locked onto his.

"I'm just joking, Kenma."

"Lev is just hard to set for..." Kenma defended still. He didn't know why he felt the need to defend himself, but he did so anyways, albeit it was a fairly weak defense. Chiyuri nodded, giggling again when Kenma shot her a glare. As her giggles died down, they settled into a small silence as they re-hydrated themselves after a long practice.

"Hey, Yuri, do you have anything after school tomorrow?" Kenma asked as he took a sip of his own water. Chiyuri tilted her head back slightly as she thought about it, then shook her head.

"Rika canceled our practice tomorrow. She said that she wanted us to take a short break since we're going to prepare for our own training camp soon."

"Do you want to come see our practice, then?" Kenma asked. Chiyuri glanced at him and he saw that her grey eyes were glittering.

"Can I?" Kenma nodded. "It's been a while since I'm going to see another game!" While she giggled happily to herself, Kenma coughed lightly to hide his laugh. She was just so different from his first impression of her.

"It's a demonstration for the junior high team, but we'll still be going all out..." Kenma said after second.

"That's okay. I haven't seen you in a match yet. Surprise me tomorrow, yeah?" Kenma nodded in agreement. He'd do his best to show her a good match tomorrow.

"We should clean up," Kenma said as he stood up off the ground, It was pitch black outside now and he hadn't even realized that they had spent hours practicing already. Chiyuri nodded, picking herself up and dusted off her uniform.

The clean up process went a lot quicker with the two of them rather than just Chiyuri. She didn't have to stumble around with the heavy poles that held up the net and she only had to mop half the court since Kenma took care of the other half. On the other hand, Kenma really began to wonder how in the world she managed to do this all by herself before, especially because she was very thin, even compared to the other girls on her team. Not even a half hour later, the gym was cleaned and Chiyuri was locking the doors to the facility.

"Thanks for practicing with me, Kenma," Chiyuri smiled as she removed the hair tie and let her black hair cascade down to her mid back. Kenma hummed slightly in reply to acknowledge her statement.

"Which way are you headed?" He asked. She pointed down the street that he normally walked. "I'll walk you home."

"Eh?!" Her eyes were wide as Kenma stared at her, as if waiting for her to start walking. "It's really okay. I can walk home by myself..."

"It's not safe, Yuri. Plus I go that direction anyways." Chiyuri hesitated, then nodded and gave in. As they walked, Kenma habitually pulled out his phone and opened a game on the device. For many others, they would've been offended at Kenma's actions, but Chiyuri only giggled and walked forward, making sure to warn Kenma of any obstacles in his path. He did glance at her every so often to check if she was getting bored with him, but she seemed fine since she had a small smile on her face and would look at Kenma in confusion whenever her eyes met his.

"This is it, Kenma," she said as she led them to a small two story house. It was completely dark, which made Kenma wonder if her parents worked late. The pudding-haired boy walked with her right up to the front door, stuffing his phone into his pocket as his golden eyes scanned the front yard to see that it was surprisingly well maintained. The jangle of keys brought his attention to a small calico cat charm hanging from her keychain as she pulled it out.

"A cat..." Kenma mumbled, not knowing he said it aloud. Chiyuri glanced back at him, then at the cat charm on her keychain before smiling.

"Ne, Kenma, do you like cats?" She asked as she insert her key into the doorway.

"Hm? Oh, yea." She turned to him with a smirk, gesturing for him to wait before turning around and lightly swinging the door open. Kenma couldn't help but glance into the doorway, taking note that the house was lacking the warmth of a family. It reminded him a lot of his own house, the emptiness and the feeling that there really was only one person truly living there.

Kenma was snapped out of his thoughts as a calico kitten was suddenly held in front of him. He blinked in surprise as the golden-eyed feline meowed slightly. From behind, Chiyuri brought the kitten back a bit so that Kenma could see both her and the kitten. She held the feline close like a small baby.

"Kenma, meet Hiro," she said, petting the kitten on his head. The kitten purred, closing his eyes as he rubbed his head against Chiyuri's palm. Kenma's eyes flickered from the kitten's head to Chiyuri and back, causing the girl to giggle a bit. "You can pet him, Kenma. He doesn't bite."

Nodding, Kenma stepped a bit closer and reached out a finger to gently stroke the feline's head. Hiro's golden eyes opened to meet Kenma's before closing again and purring towards him. It seemed like Hiro had taken an instant liking to the pudding-haired boy.

After a few more minutes, the kitten had enough cuddling and attention, so he began to squirm in Chiyuri's arms.

"Ah, Hiro, wait!" Chiyuri quickly squatted down, letting the kitten drop gently onto the porch before the calico feline rushed back into the house. She turned back to Kenma sheepishly. "Uhm. Sorry if you wanted to pet him more. You probably know how cats are..."

Kenma nodded, reassuring the grey-eyed girl that it was okay. Instead, Kenma was more focused on the fact that she seemed to be living alone.

"Uhm, if it's not too personal, are you living with your parents?" Kenma assked. He couldn't really shake the uncomfortable feeling of a high school girl like her living alone, especially since he considered her a friend.

"Ah. My parents are overseas," she replied, seeing how Kenma glanced at her entry way. It was pretty obvious that she lived alone since the only shoes there were hers. "It's just Hiro and me in this house. Sometimes my cousins from Miyagi will call, but that's about it."

Kenma frowned slightly, a bit worried. It was even more concerning that she always practiced late. Chiyuri caught on quickly and she just smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Kenma. I can take care of myself. My parents have been overseas since I started high school."

"I still don't think that's very safe..."

"Ah, I guess that's true... I don't really have any close relatives in Tokyo though..." Chiyuri let out a guilty smile. "Well, anyways, thank you for walking me home today. If you don't live too far, you can always come visit Hiro since he seems to like you."

"Wait, Yuri." Chiyuri hummed as Kenma fished out his phone again. He held it out to the girl, who took it questioningly. "Uhm. Your phone number. I'll text you when exactly the practice match tomorrow starts."

"Oh, right!" Chiyuri quickly saved her number into his phone. She handed it back to him and he sent her a quick text so that she would have his number too.

"... If you need anything, you can text me," Kenma said, pointing to her phone as she pulled it out to save his number. She smiled brightly at him, nodding as she quickly told him to head back before it got too dark. He agreed, waving a quick goodbye before making the short walk to his house only a couple blocks away.

Meanwhile, Chiyuri made her way into her room, not forgetting to feed the hungry kitten who had begun to meow after waiting for Chiyuri and Kenma to stop talking. She clicked onto Kenma's name, smiling as she sent him a quick text.

'Thank you for walking me home. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.'

Not even a second later, a light ding sounded from her phone. She unlocked it and read the message that Kenma had replied. It was simple and nothing out of the ordinary, but it made her smile anyways.

'Kochirakoso, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.'

~~~

Chiyuri slipped into the gym quietly, avoiding the masses of people gathered as she made her way to the back of the bleachers in the familiar Nekoma gym. She scanned over the court, her eyes finding the pudding-haired boy easily. He was wearing a red number 5 jersey with his back facing the bleachers as Coach Nekomata was separating them into two teams. The junior high students stood not too far away, listening intently to the coach's commands. The team then split to two different sides, each taking half the junior high students to their team. Chiyuri stifled a giggle when she saw Kenma inch away from a couple of the taller junior high students.

The first set was solely made of Nekoma team members, Despite it being a practice match, even Chiyuri could tell how serious everyone was about winning, though the grey-eyed girl couldn't tell whether or not their spirit was just so they could show off to the junior high kids.

As expected for the first set, the ball didn't seem to drop as the two teams continued to play. They already knew all of each other's tells and weaknesses, so it was easy to not only target those weaknesses, but also to protect them. Chiyuri found her eyes following Kenma through his practice match. The pudding-headed boy was genuinely one of the best setters she had ever seen. His control over the ball was strong and he could analyze every move of his opponents. She hoped that one day she could play in a practice match both with and against him.

As the rally went on, Coach Nekomata eventually had to call it off with the score reading 10-9, in favor of Kenma's side. The junior high students all clapped in awe at the intensity of the game. Chiyuri couldn't help but clap along too, mostly for Kenma since she didn't know the other boys too well. A small smile was on her face as she enjoyed the match, her gaze still on Kenma's number 5 jersey.

Kenma, feeling her gaze, turned around to find the source only to see her sitting in the bleachers. He blinked, completely forgetting that he had invited the girl to watch their practice match. Chiyuri read his expression perfectly and stifled a giggle as she waved to him. The boy was about to wave back when Yamamoto jumped onto him.

"Woah! A pretty girl! She's wearing a red Nekoma jacket! Do you think she wants to be our manager?!"

Annoyed, Kenma quickly ducked out from under Yamamoto who was using him as an arm rest. His eyes flicked to Chiyuri who had stopped smiling and was now on her phone. Her grey eyes were dulled as she hid her emotions, causing Kenma to let out a small sigh. She really was a completely different person when it was just the two of them, but the pudding-haired found it a bit satisfying to know that she trusted him and was comfortable enough to show him her true self.

Kenma snuck off to the side with an excuse that he was getting water. As he got to his bag, he fished out his phone and searched for Yuri's contact. Quickly shooting her a text, he stuffed the phone back deep into his bag and jogged back onto the court to prepare for the second set.

Chiyuri glanced at her phone when it buzzed to see a text from Kenma lighting up the screen. She grabbed it and unlocked the device, smiling as she read the message it contained.

'Thanks for coming to see the practice.'

~~~

"You did great, Kenma!" Chiyuri said as she walked up. Kuroo was talking to the junior high students while the rest of the team had gone to change. Kenma was currently hiding in the back with his phone in hand since apparently the setter of the junior high team was very interested in Kenma and had been following him around since the second set. Needless to say, Kenma got a bit overwhelmed and escaped.

"Yuri," Kenma greeted as he put his phone away. "How did you find me?"

"I saw you running from that junior high kid. I just figured I'd search a place where only students attending Nekoma would know existed."

It was true. The corner that Kenma had secluded himself in was a small nook that was only visible if you walked from the right to the left around the back of the building. The junior high students were all at the front, so there was almost no chance that the golden-eyed setter was going to be found here.

"He's very enthusiastic," Kenma said.

"I can see why he's trying to talk to you so much though. Your setting is amazing." Kenma blinked, then looked away.

"It's nothing really. I only look stronger because the rest of the team is strong too."

"I mean, but you're really good on your own too!" Chiyuri smiled as he gave her a questioning look. "I saw you completely trick even your own teammates in the first set. Like the two-attack you did when you dumped the ball over the net. It's impressive to get a point off on a team that has been working together so well."

"I guess you're right..." Kenma couldn't help but smile at Chiyuri's contagious joy. She really was something else once she opened up.

"Kenma!" Kuroo's voice interrupted the familiar comfortable silence between the two. Chiyuri flinched and Kenma watched as all the emotions on her face were masked by a colder, more detached expression. Kuroo rounded the corner, raising an eyebrow as he saw Kenma and Chiyuri next to each other. Before he could even say a word to the girl, she quickly bowed to the third year before slipping away, her grey eyes focused on the ground.

"Oya, did I interrupt something?" Kuroo asked with a smirk. Kenma rolled his eyes and walked past Kuroo, heading toward the club room where everyone else was.

"No. We were just talking."

"That's even more surprising, Kenma."

"Urusai, Kuroo. Let's hurry up and get changed."

~~~

Tuesday and Wednesday passed quickly with Kenma not being able to practice with Chiyuri nor walk her home. After the practice match on Tuesday, Kuroo had insisted that the team go out for dinner, to which Kenma couldn't really refuse. So he sent Chiyuri a text message telling her that he wouldn't be at the gym, to which she simply replied that it was okay and he should enjoy his time with his team. Wednesday practice was canceled to give the team a break after the long practice matches with the junior high team since they seemed to have endless energy. Coach Nekomata could tell that most of them, including Kenma, were still exhausted on Wednesday, so he told them to go rest. Thus Kenma didn't really have an excuse to stay at school for hours to wait for Chiyuri's nightly practices.

When Thursday rolled around, Kenma was oddly eager to meet Chiyuri in the gym. His attention kept drifting from his game to the time in the corner and then back to his character as he waited in the club room. A little 17 in the corner told him that his character level had increased yet again.

Kuroo glanced over at the fidgety boy, slipping off his number 1 jersey and throwing on his normal school uniform. The pudding-haired boy had already changed and was simply waiting for the right time to leave. Kuroo already knew that Kenma would be staying late today.

"Hey, Kenma," Kuroo called as he closed his locker with the Jersey inside. "Was that girl with you on Tuesday the Phantom?"

"The Phantom?" Kenma echoed, frowning slightly. Chiyuri's reaction to the name flashed in his mind. Whenever there was a whisper of the nickname, Kenma noticed that she would tense and her eyes would grow dull. If she was smiling, it would turn into a forced smile, as if she was trying to force herself to ignore it.

"Mhm. That was Tsukishima-San right? Amisaki talks about her a lot, the Phantom that is. Apparently she's a really important team member." Kenma remained silent, then shook his head.

"No, she's not the Phantom." Kenma's golden eyes stared at Kuroo seriously, making the older boy flinch at the intensity of his tone. "Yuri is just another girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question of the Chapter: What volleyball position would you want to play?

Originally Posted: 12/11/2020
Edited Version Posted: 03/31/2021