New challenges

"Hey Tiny Dancer, can I ask you to do me a huge favor, just between us?" Kuroo asks, his voice low and rough, making me tingle as I let go of the fountain button. "What's the favor?" I ask, letting my hair go, looking to see that he was standing right behind me. "Give me head?" He asks, his face curling into a big grin. "What's that?" I ask, standing up straight as I turn to face him, his hand not moving from my hip. "Brain? Slop top?" He asks, his eyebrow raising though I just shake my head. "No clue what any of that is." I admit, making him chuckle as he runs a hand over his face, covering his mouth as he just stared at me for a second. I raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed, dropping his hand to cup my chin instead. "Basically, I take you somewhere private, you let me borrow that pretty little mouth of yours for a guilty pleasure, and I'll owe you big time. Anything you want. We don't talk about it with anyone, I won't do anything else and you can act like it never happened, and I won't say anything about it either." Kuroo says, and I begin to think about it. "Use my mouth? Are we going to kiss?" I ask, looking up at him, my brows furrowed in confusion.

"No, not unless you want to." He chuckles, confusing me even more. "Is it gonna be like what you did before?" I ask, gesturing to the marks on my neck as he chuckles again. "No, not unless you want to do that. Think of it like this, I just want you to suck on something like a popsicle, except it's not cold and you don't bite it. Just put it in your mouth, suck and lick." Kuroo says, making me hum as I cross my arms. "So lemme get this straight, I suck on your fucked up popsicle, just that, we don't talk about it, we act like it didn't happen and you'll owe me anything I want. Just suck, no kisses, no marks, and no biting." I say, raising an eyebrow at him as his grin widens. "Pretty much, yeah. Might be some swallowing involved too, but only if you want." Kuroo says, so I think about it, itching the back of my neck. "Sure, fuck it, why not." I sigh, throwing my hands in the air as Kuroo bites his lip, taking my shirt from my hand. "It's a deal then, I'm gonna use this as a blindfold." Kuroo says, making me furrow my brows again. "Why use my shirt as a blindfold?" I ask, though Kuroo untangles my shirt and prepares it. "If you want I can use the one you're wearing, or mine instead." He says, but I quickly shake my head.

"No! My shirt is fine. Not the one I'm wearing!" I say, Kuroo nodding before he pulls the shirt over my eyes, making sure it was snug and secure, and I couldn't see anything. "There we go. I'm going to carry you to the spot now." Kuroo says, picking me up and putting me over his shoulder before I can protest. "Whoa! Hey, what the heck!" I say, fidgeting as his hand rests on my ass, holding me steady. "Keep your head down, unless you want to hit it on something." He says, so I sigh and drop my head down, waiting as he carries me god knows where. "Am I being kidnapped?" I ask, Kuroo letting out a hearty laugh before he sets me down, shutting and locking a door. "No, I wouldn't do that to you Tiny Dancer. We're still in the gym, just a different place." He says, and I hear his sneakers squeak as he walks over to me, settling right in front of me. "Kneel down and put your hands behind your back, no touching, no peeking, or you'll regret it Tiny Dancer." He says, though I just sigh. "Fine, fine, jeez." I mumble, dropping down to my knees and putting my hands behind my back. "Open your mouth, tilt your head back." Kuroo says as I hear the rustling of fabric.

I huff, tilting my head back to look up at where I assume his face would be, opening my mouth. His hand gently cups my chin, his thumb sliding in my mouth and stroking my tongue. "Mm." He groans softly, so I bite him gently, closing my mouth on his thumb and sucking gently, rolling my tongue over the pad of his thumb. "Okay, not what I was expecting. I need you to lift up a bit." He chuckles, his voice rough and low as he slowly lifts me up by my chin, before he pulls my mouth open. He removes his thumb from my mouth before setting something hot and soft on my bottom lip. "Behold, my fucked up popsicle. No biting, put it in your mouth, take it out, lick, suck- if we want to make me happy, maybe kiss it a little, but you don't gotta. You just do you, and dance on it." Kuroo says in his rough voice, sending a shiver down my spine. I slowly slide my tongue out, hesitantly tasting it, though I hear more rustling before Kuroo's hand works my hair, pulling it all up and out of the way, into a ponytail which he holds steady with his hand. I begin to tingle at the feeling of his hand in my hair, my cheeks heating as I slowly roll my tongue over the tip of the fucked up popsicle.

It was bigger than any popsicle I'd ever eaten, and it didn't exactly taste sweet either- in fact, it tasted slightly salty, though not bad. It was slightly bigger than push pops even, and I had to fully open my mouth to wrap my lips around those. Just how big was this popsicle? I tilted my head to the side, crouching down a bit as I slowly dragged my tongue along the bottom of the popsicle in case it was dripping, but it was dry as long as I went- how long was this thing? It was fucking long, way longer than any popsicle I'd eaten, even the extra long bomb pops- Kuroo suddenly pulled my hair, stopping me from going further and making my skull tingle. I let out a soft moan, the popsicle suddenly twitching, making me pause. "What kind of monster popsicle is this?" I whispered, Kuroo snorting and chuckling lightly. "It's not gonna hurt you, I promise. Just keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great." He mumbles, his voice sounding groggy and hoarse, making my insides tingle. "Whatever you say, Cap'n." I mumble, though Kuroo doesn't respond as I stick my tongue back out, tracing the popsicle back to the tip as I slowly lean in, opening my mouth as I slowly take it in.

I hear a muffled groan, though I ignore it as I examine the popsicle with my tongue. It was weird, the tip was hard but soft at the same time, and in a weird shape, kind of like a fat, plump mushroom. Maybe it was some kind of weird mushroom popsicle? I had never eaten a mushroom before, but the popsicle itself wasn't bad, just kinda salty. I lightly sucked on the tip, stroking my tongue over the weird soft line in the popsicle, though Kuroo's hand shuddered as he gently tried to make me take more in my mouth. "Don't focus on just the tip." Kuroo breathed, his voice muffled, making me snort as I pulled my head off with a pop. "This thing is probably too big to fit in my mouth, but sure, I'll try." I say, flexing my jaw before I take the popsicle back in my mouth, sliding it deeper into my mouth, though the popsicle thinned out a tiny bit, changing texture and feel. I slid more in my mouth, curious as I stroked my tongue along the bottom, the thin layer covering the stiff popsicle slightly shifting with my tongue. I paused as my tongue touched a weird stiff line in the popsicle, rolling my tongue over the bump. It was definitely weird, I mean, the whole thing was weird, but this was different.

I slowly traced it with my tongue, taking more of the thing in my mouth as I traced it, Kuroo's breathing becoming rough as his grip tightened on my hair. I moaned softly, but thankfully the popsicle muffled it, though it throbbed once more. I traced the line more, gagging softly- holy fuck how long was this popsicle?- as it hit the back of my throat. "Holy fuck." Kuroo grunted as his other hand suddenly cupped the back of my neck. I pulled back halfway, taking a deep breath through my nose before I held it, moving faster as I slid the popsicle deeper into my mouth, tracing the bump as I went along. The popsicle hit the back of my throat again, but I carefully maneuvered past it, letting it slide into my throat as I traced the bump lower. "Kimiko, don't stop." Kuroo groaned, which I planned to do as long as I still had air. I wanted to figure out how long this popsicle really was, so I moved quicker before Kuroo suddenly yanked me to a stop. My skull tingled, making my body tingle as I let out a moan, though it was muffled by the popsicle. The popsicle twitched, and I whimpered as I felt the uncomfortable tingle for air, pulling back and off with another pop, gasping for air.

"Why'd you stop me! I thought you didn't want me to stop." I whined, pouting up at Kuroo as he let out a low chuckle. "You were about to reach the end, I didn't exactly want to let you do that. You're right though, I don't want you to stop, so please, keep doing that." Kuroo says, so I open my mouth onto an 'o', sticking my tongue back out and flicking it over the popsicle. I take it back in my mouth, feeling more comfortable this time as I slide it deeper in. "If you tilt your head a bit it'll help it go down. If you want, I can guide you." Kuroo mumbles, his voice once again sounding muffled as I nod, tilting my head a little, taking a deep breath and holding it as I carefully slid the popsicle back into my throat. Kuroo took control, pulling me in gently but steady by the neck, the popsicle easily sliding deeper into my throat. He eased up on my neck, instead gently tugging me back by my hair, making my skull tingle again as I whimpered. "Fuck." Kuroo mumbled, his voice muffled as he guided me down again. "Think you can take a bit more than that?" He mumbled, again sounding muffled as I just hummed my approval. He groaned softly, guiding me down until my nose brushed something.

He pulled me back by my hair again, making me shiver as I dragged my tongue over the popsicle, though he pulled me back in again. "Just like that, Kimiko." He groaned, so I decided to move like he showed me, twisting my head a bit as I dragged my tongue along. I pulled back once for fresh air before diving back in, setting myself a pace to bob my head on that popsicle. Kuroo's breath was rough, soon becoming quicker and louder, making more muffled groans, though I was too focused on holding my breath and sucking the popsicle to care. His grip on my hair faltered before he gave up, moving his hands and just cupping the back of my head, gently guiding me to go slightly faster. "Don't stop." He groaned, gasping her for air as one of his hands left the back of my head. His groans were more consistent now, though better muffled, the popsicle twitching more in my mouth. "Remember, you don't have to swallow, you can spit it out after." Kuroo suddenly says, though I vaguely remember Aima mentioning at one time that only quitters spit, and Misaki had agreed with her. I was no fucking quitter, especially when it came to beating Kuroo.

Something sprays from the tip into my throat and I instinctually swallow, Kuroo's fingers curling into my hair. "Holy fucking shit!" He gasped, letting out a low groan as he slowly pulled the popsicle from my mouth, though I whimpered, licking it clean as it popped out. "Fuck. Okay, remember, no peeking or you'll regret it." Kuroo pants so I sit back, careful for my butterfly heels as I lick my lips. Kuroo groans and I hear the rustle of fabric for a moment before he suddenly picks me up again, making me squeak. "Just taking you back to the fountain." Kuroo says, clearing his throat as I lower my head, moving my hands to cling onto his back. "Good job by the way Little Kitten, you really went all out back there. I'm proud of you." Kuroo says, his voice still a tad low and rough. "Little Kitten?" I protest as he chuckles softly. "You're average-" he starts though I just dig my nails into his back, making him shudder. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm average, you're big, that makes me Tiny, little, whatever. You keep calling me Little Kitten, I'll show you what these claws can do, and that's a promise." I say, though he just gives me a light slap on my ass, making me gasp as I buck my hips against his shoulder.

"You've got the wrong idea Little Kitten, I'd love it if you scratched me." Kuroo says, making my cheeks burn as I quickly yanked my hands away from his back. "Bite me!" I hissed at him, and suddenly I felt teeth gently bite onto my hip, heat exploding through my body as I moaned. Kuroo stopped in his stride as I slapped a hand to my mouth, whimpering softly. "Fuck, I want to take you back now." Kuroo groaned, suddenly setting me down and taking a deep breath. "Make sure to rinse your mouth out, I gotta go do something. Remember, if anyone asks, we didn't do anything, you didn't see me." He says and I just nod before I hear the sound of his sneakers fade away. I wait until I can't hear him anymore before taking my shirt off my head, finding my way to a bathroom and rinsing out my mouth, taking a moment to fix my fucked up hair. Damn Kuroo got it all messy, and it took a minute to fix it. I switched my shirts before I finally headed back to the gym. "Girl, where have you been?" Aima asks when I get back, though she was fanning herself since she was sweating. "I got lost trying to find the fountain, this place is huge!" I sigh, running a hand through my hair.

"Same thing happened to me! I mean fuck dude, why there gotta be so much twists and turns!" Misaki says, throwing her hands in the air as I laughed. "Yes! It drove me insane, I just wanted water." I say, shaking my head though Aima clears her throat. "Misaki did bring us back water bottles, you know, you didn't have to go to the fountain." Aima says, and my jaw drops as I stare at her wide eyed. "You're kidding! I didn't fucking know, Misaki why didn't you tell me!" I groan, falling to my knees as if I was in anguish. "I thought you had finished it! My bad!" Misaki laughs, though I just cover my face. "All that for nothing. You know what, no, that fountain was cool and refreshing as fuck, better than any dinky old water." I say, shaking my head. "It's the same water tho!" Aima says, though I just shush her. "No Aima, it isn't cool and refreshing, therefore, it hits differently." I say, winking at her and clicking my tongue. "I'm gonna hit you differently if you don't quit acting like a fool, now come on and dance!" Aima says, though I start crawling for my things on all fours. "Lemme take these heels off and put on my pants, first." I say, taking off my heels and putting them away before sliding my pants on.

I slid my socks and sneakers back on also before we started running through a few simple songs, not even breaking a sweat. "No more!" Misaki says as she collapses on the ground, Aima sitting down and fanning her shirt to get circulation. "Tell me about it, I'm melting." Aima says, so I decide to sit down as well. "I still gotta do the ribbon dance after practice, that'll be fun. I'm trying not to break a sweat because someone- ahem, Aima- only packed me 3 pairs of underwear, and I don't want to be all nasty and sticky in them." I say, sparing her a glare as she lays back and groans. "The trip is three days! Three pairs of underwear! Damn, this floor is nice and cool." Aima says, rolling onto her stomach and lifting her shirt to cool her chest. "Yeah! And you had me take a bath early today! Let alone I got nothing to wear after practice, since I don't want to be all sweaty and sticky in my underwear." I groan, collapsing onto my back. She was right, the floor was cool and felt nice. "Damn, you're right. My bad, I only packed you one spare pair of underwear, thinking you might miraculously get laid once." Aima says and I roll my eyes, sitting up to glare at her.

"Well where the heck was it? It wasn't in my bag!" I ask, and she just laughs at me. "It's in my bag, I didn't want it to be that easy to find it, but I guess I'll give it up considering the circumstances." She says, and I sigh. "Oh thank you, so kind and generous Aima! But whatever shall I do for the remaining time?" I ask, and she grins at me. "Play the risk game! Go commando, no underwear!" Aima says, and I gasp at her. "Aima! What the hell?" I gasp, covering my mouth as I stare at her with wide eyes. "Oh come on, it feels so good not wearing a bra! Suga gave you some kind of tape too, right? You can use that to keep your nips down." Aima says, winking at me as I take a deep breath. "Okay, but- panties!" I say, my cheeks burning as I blow out a long slow breath- I was gonna have to go without a bra, just tape on my nipples for 2 days and one day I could pick if I wanted to wear actual underwear. What day should I choose? It was only going to be in the afternoons, when we wouldn't be practicing. "Go without! Bare it, if you know what I mean. Just don't wear skirts, and you'll be fine. Unless, I mean, you want to show off." Aima says, and I'm so shocked I actually collapse onto the ground.

"Ow, fuck!" I gasp, cupping the back of my head as I close my eyes. The floor hurt like hell when you hit your head on it- damn, that hurt. "Ugh!" I say, rolling around and kicking my feet as I clutched the back of my head. "Are you alright, Suzuki-chan?" Suga asks as I stop rolling, looking up to see him towering over me. "No, I'm not. I-I keep having these sudden impulse to kill Aima, like, kill her dead. Here it comes again!" I say, and Aima scrambles to her feet as I follow suit, chasing her down as she squeals at the top of her lungs. "Kimiko! I already said I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Aima says, though I suddenly pause, realizing Suga had come to check on me- hadn't he been in the middle of a match? I stop in my tracks, turning to the Karasuno team, watching as Shoyo jumps taller than the net, closing his eyes and smacking the ball. I blink, wondering why he was closing his eyes, what was the point of a quick attack if you didn't have your eyes open? The whistle tweeted, and before I knew it I was walking over, clearing my throat. "Hina-kun, can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask, Shoyo jumping out of his skin as his cheeks turned pink, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Suzuki-chan! You're actually here! Oh, yeah! What's up?" He asks, so I point over to the edge of the court, walking over. He follows over as I lower my voice so the others don't hear. "Hina-kun, do you always close your eyes when you do your quick attack?" I ask, and he furrowed his eyebrows before slowly nodding his head. "Yeah! That's how it works for me and Kageyama." Shoyo says, so I take a deep breath and ruffle my hair. "Shoyo, why do you play volleyball?" I ask, and he itches his neck. "Cause it's fun and I love to play, of course!" He says, looking at me with a smile. "Let me rephrase the question, when you're on the court, what's your ultimate goal besides winning?" I ask, and he looks up at me with a dead serious face. "I want to overcome the wall and see the summit." He says simply, and I put my hands on his shoulders. "How can you overcome a wall you can't see? How can you see the summit with your eyes closed? The battle, Hina-kun, is the second you're in the air, the ball right in front of you. Your opponents will do anything and everything to stop you, and it takes quick thinking and a split second decision to get through them." I say, his eyes widening with realization.

"You understand, don't you Hina-kun? You need your eyes open to see what's on the other side." I say, taking my hands off his shoulders as his jaw goes slack. "But, Kageyama-" he starts, his eyebrows furrowing again. "Kageyama is a setter, he puts the ball in your hands. You, Hina-kun, are a spiker. Your job is to take that ball and get it through your enemies lines. You don't know what it's like to set a ball to get the victory, Kageyama doesn't know what it's like to spike a ball with a wall in the way. Both of you need to evolve to become greater, to rise to the top and show everyone you're the best." I say, putting my hands on my hips. "I know you can do it Hina-kun, I know you can, and will. You just need the right guidance." I say, offering him a smile as his eyes shine. "How do you know all this, Suzuki-chan?" Shoyo asks, and I laugh softly as I point a finger at myself. "Because I play volleyball, silly!" I say, making his jaw drop as he stared at me. "You play volleyball, Suzuki-chan?" Shoyo gasps, and I nod my head, standing proud. "What's your position?" He asks, crouching down in excitement. "Same as you!" I say, putting my hands up as I do a little hop.

"Middle blocker, decoy." I say, smiling at him as he practically squealed in excitement. "That's so cool! We should play together some time, you can teach me a few things." Shoyo says, bouncing in excitement. "Sure! But I can't teach you to fight with your eyes open." I say, though he quickly shakes his head. "I don't care! I just want to play with you!" He says, making me smile. "Well, you better get back to your game! Sorry to hold you up." I say, waving as I head back to my square. "Oh, yeah! Thank you, Suzuki-chan!" Shoyo says before dashing off the court again though I pause and stop by Kiyoko, clearing my throat. "Um, Shimizu-Senpai, can you help me with that thing again? Just this time, after this you won't have to." I say, though she raises an eyebrow at me. "Are you sure? I'm fine with helping you out more." Kiyoko says though I shake my head. "Uh, just this time is good." I say, my cheeks burning as she smiled up at me. "Did you come to like them or did he say something about it?" Kiyoko asks and I clear my throat nervously. "He… Yeah, after today he doesn't want me to, or else…" I whisper shyly, Kiyoko letting out a small laugh before nodding.

"You go on ahead, I'll grab my things and meet you in the bathroom." She says, and I bow my head, thanking her before running to the bathroom and sitting on the counter. Kiyoko comes and gets to work, though we don't really talk. I hum softly to occupy the time, grateful that Kiyoko would do something so nice to me. "What's taking so long! Are you shitting?" Aima asks as she steps into the bathroom, making me snort as she looks over. "Oh! Okay, practice is over. The boys are almost finished cleaning up, figured I'd come tell you so you can get ready for your ribbon dance." Aima says, Kiyoko pulling away and looking over her work. "I just got done, you should be good to go. Actually, wait a second, hold your hair out of the way." She says, putting her things away before pulling out a little spray bottle and shaking it thoroughly. I lift my hair up and out of the way, and she holds the spray bottle up, covering my eyes with her hand as she sprays the stuff on my neck. "There, it should stay until you wipe it off with a makeup wipe." She says, clicking the cap back onto the spray bottle. "Thanks again, Shimizu-Senpai, I appreciate it!" I say, offering her a big smile and a hug.

"No problem, Suzuki-chan. If you change your mind and want me to cover it again, let me know." She says and I nod, sliding off the counter. "Thanks, I will!" I chirp before dashing out of the bathroom with Aima on my tail. My butt didn't hurt this time since I didn't sit in the counter for too long, which was good. I walk over to the ribbon bag, digging through before pulling out a black shirt. "Ah ha! I knew it was in here." I say happily, quickly sliding it on and taking off my other shirt beneath. "You ready girls?" I ask, clapping my hands excitedly as I begin doing ballet stretches. "Heck yeah! Everyone already left, it's just the Karasuno team and two other guys." Misaki says, though I furrow my eyebrows and turn to her. "Two other guys?" I ask, and she points over to a corner. "Yeah, those two." She says and I look over, seeing that Kuroo and Kozu were leaned up against a wall. Kozu was busy playing a game on his Switch, and Kuroo was staring at me. His face curled into a grin, making my cheeks burn as I looked away. "Nobody else stayed to clean?" I ask, taking breaths to cool down. "It's a penalty for the ones who did the worst." Aima says, making me pause.

"So Karasuno did the worst today?" I ask, and they nod at me as I shake my head. "Those other guys are on another level, but hey, it's all about getting better." I say, stripping off my pants and kicking off my socks and shoes, digging through my bag and pulling out my ankle guards, sliding them on and making sure they were snug. I whistle at Kozu to get his attention, beckoning him to me. He shuffles over, putting his video game away and stopping before me. "alright, so, my first dance will be the test, second for the boys, third and fourth for my brother. No audio, I'll cut it down and make it pretty for him, and add music once I get it sorted." I say, Kozu nodding before I take a deep breath. "Is it weird to be excited and scared at the same time?" I laugh nervously, though his hand darts out to squeeze mine. "Yes, but we're all here for you. No matter what, if you fall, we'll all dash to save you. If you get hurt, we'll get you the care you need. You just focus on dancing, being the beautiful dancing butterfly that you are." Kozu says softly, making me smile as I pull him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Kozu-kun." I whisper, and he hugs me back, giving me a light squeeze.

"Okay! I think I'm ready, are the boys done cleaning?" I ask, pulling away from Kozu and turning towards Aima and Misaki. "Uh, looks like they just got done. Three of them are leaving, the ones that weren't in the competition. One of them is staying, though Kei is talking to him; must be his friend. The coach and advisor already left with the other teachers and supervisor." Misaki says as I grab my phone from my pants pocket, picking out my songs to play. "I should invite Shimizu-Senpai to watch too, since she helped me cover that up. Misaki, do you mind asking her if she wants to watch?" I ask, and she nods before running off to catch Kiyoko before she leaves. I take a deep breath, a knot forming in my stomach as I turn to face the ribbon. My throat constricts as I stare at it, my mind returning back to that day, the day I went to fall, but the ribbon didn't catch and I fell with a sickening thud. Hands suddenly grab mine, bringing me back as I realize I had been choking for air. "Kimi-chan, breath." Kozu says and I gasp for air, blinking as I shake my head. "Sorry, sorry…" I say, panting as I slip one of my hands from his, sliding it to my throat as I hold tightly onto his with the other.

"Kimiko, you don't have to do this! No one is forcing you. We all know… the accident, it scared you, and that's a perfectly normal reaction. But I know you miss it, hanging up there, doing what you do. You were always the one flying for us, you're our dance club's butterfly, you belong in the air and you know it." Aima says, pulling me into a tight hug which I return. "Look at the ribbon, what do you see." Aima says, pulling away from me and pointing at the ribbon. "I see the ribbon." I say, and she nods her head. "A sturdy ribbon, the sturdiest one we have, in a hammock. Look up at the suspender, what do you see?" She asks, so I look up at the beam it's attached to. "I see the suspender, hanging from the beam." I say, and she squeezes my arm gently. "You put it together yourself, you tested it yourself, you know it's not budging, it's not going anywhere. Now look at the ground, what do you see?" She says, and I look down at the mat. "I see the mat." I say, feeling a tiny bit better. "That mat is big enough that even if you fall, you'll be cushioned no matter where you land. And all of us will be around that mat, ready to catch you." She says, and I slowly nod, taking a deep calming breath.

"Tell you what, the first two dances, if you plan to do a fall, call us and Misaki and I will come forward, ready to catch you. The second dances, you'll be in your zone. You know the moves, you know the precautions, just put them into action." Aima says, pulling me into another tight hug as I nod. "Yeah. You're right." I whisper, closing my eyes tight as I take a deep breath and shake myself. "Okay, okay, I think I can do this." I say, pumping my hands before grabbing Aima, pulling her into a tight hug. "Oof! Ribs, bones- dying!" She chokes, making me laugh as I pull away from her. She dramatically falls on the ground, acting faint as she groans. "I'm dying, you keeled me, Kimiko, how could you? You actually did it, is it because I traded your underwear for kinkfits?" She groaned dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead as I laughed at her antics. "Kinkfits?" Kozu says, making me jump as I quickly shook my head. "N-Nothing! Aima, shush!" I say, helping her up though she just winks at me. I stick my tongue out at her before turning to look at the ribbon, feeling a tad bit more relaxed and prepared. Kozu took my hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze I smiled at him.

"I got this. Just watch." I whisper, pulling my hand away and taking a deep breath, bouncing lightly. "You should probably warn the boys though. I'll take full responsibility." Aima chirps, and I turn and glare at her. "Then you tell them!" I say, and she snorts before nodding. "Fine! Okay boys, if you're all done, come gather around for the show." Aima calls, everyone gathering around, Misaki returning with Kiyoko in tow. I step onto the mat as Aima clears her throat, clapping her hands and getting everyone's attention. "Okay, fair warning in advance, this is all on me, but Kimiko is wearing some provocative underwear, and I'm at fault for this. You will more than likely see it, but I remind you, this is my fault, please don't hold it against Kimiko. Secondly, any falling or slipping she does will be intentional. She will say something if otherwise, but please don't panic! Misaki and I will jump into action, so don't go diving to save her in case it causes more injuries than necessary. There will be four dances, first is a test, second is for you boys, third and fourth are for sharing with friends and family through recording." Aima says, the boys nodding along and their cheeks turning pink.

"Heck yeah Aima! Thank you for the view!" Ryu says, pumping his fist as Yu poses like buda. "Thank you for blessing me with the view of the angel in black again." Yu says, though Suga walks over and smacks them both on the back of their heads. "Guys! This must be very uncomfortable for Suzuki-chan, but she still chose to put on a show for us. Be sure to thank her properly and enjoy the show, ignoring her wear." Suga scolds, making me smile. "Thank you Suga-Senpai, I appreciate it." I say, and he offers me a kind smile. "Of course, Suzuki-chan." He says, and I turn to Aima, handing her my phone as I walk up to the ribbon. She arranges everyone around the mat, putting Kuzo front and center so he could record when the time came, Masaki and her on either side of him. I take a deep breath, looking up at the ribbon, my heart pounding in my chest. I clench and unclench my fists, making sure to keep my breath steady. "Fly, butterfly." Aima says before playing the song, and I stretch my arms up, grabbing onto the ribbon tightly. I twist my body, pulling myself off the ground as I spin with the ribbon, bending my knees before I swing my body onto the hammock.

I start moving, dancing to the song, expressing myself. The soft ribbon supporting me, my body suspended in the air, gravity pulling me down. It felt so freeing, like I was flying with my ribbon again. Moving together, maneuvering it with my body, letting it be my wings. One song passed, and another, and I was too busy dancing, in my zone to care what was going on. I didn't speak, just moved, spoke through the dance with my ribbon; but it just wasn't the same. I felt caged, like I couldn't fully fly, and while I was happy to stretch my wings, it couldn't fly like I wanted. Tears gathered in my eyes, feeling frustrated, with myself- with the ribbon, for not being enough to feel free. The last song ended and I cried in frustration, letting go of the ribbon and falling back on the mat. "Kimiko!" Aima gasped, dashing over and crouching beside me as I dug my palms into my eyes. "Next, I'll dance the ribbons for you, Akira. I won't stop until I finish your favorite dance." I choke out, flipping up onto my feet, storming to my bag. I desperately rubbed at my eyes, trying to get the tears to stop, crouching down and taking a shuddering breath. I was just a scared butterfly with the fear of a broken wing.

I had gotten so lucky that fall, having just a big bruise, a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. The real damage I took wasn't the physical though, it was the emotional, wondering where I had gone wrong. Was it me, was it the ribbon? What had gone wrong? My brother had been watching, he had loved it when I danced the ribbons, he watched me fall. The terrified look on his face, the desperate scream as he reached for me. His scream always echoed through my head, terrifying me and breaking my heart at the same time. He had always been a frail, sickly boy- I had become a butterfly so he could watch me fly, so he could see the beauty of life, not watch me fall and feel helpless. He meant everything to me, and as his big sister, I had vowed to always protect him from the world, to show him the best. What kind of big sister would make her brother scream like that, scare him like that? After I had gotten better, he made me promise I wouldn't do it again, that I wouldn't do the ribbons until I was sure I wouldn't fall. I hadn't touched a ribbon till today, and while my body remembered everything, it thrived on the feeling of the air and flight-

I also remembered the pain of failing my brother. He had gotten really sick right after that, the shock of it had sent his system into shut down mode, and that was my fault. He still begged me to fly though, told me that he loved watching me fly, but I-I just couldn't. Sure, he was stable and better now, though bed ridden. But what if the next time I failed, it ticked him over? What if falling killed my brother? I just- I just couldn't. Hot arms wrapped around me, pulling me into their embrace, unwrapping me from my cocoon. They pulled my head onto their shoulder, pulled my limp body onto their lap, ran their fingers through my hair and rocked me gently. A warm set of arms wrapped around my torso, their head laying on my shoulder, their thumb gently stroking my side. "Kimi-chan, it wasn't your fault, remember? They didn't set the ribbon right, and it slipped, which made it so the knot didn't catch." Kozu says softly from behind me, his hair tickling me. "B-but Akira- I-I just…" I sob, clinging to the hot person holding me, squeezing my eyes tight. "I know. I know you're scared to fall again. It wasn't you that failed, Kimi-chan." Kozu says softly, squeezing me a little tighter.

"Akira-kun loves watching you fly, remember? He can't fly like you can, so you gotta fly for him until he's better." Kozu says, and I just sniff, burying my head deep into the hot chest. "I'm sorry, Akira, I'm so sorry…" I whimper, my heart aching as I think of my brother in the hospital, sitting on a bed with monitors and needles all over. How he would still give me a big smile every time I visited. Sitting snug against his side was a big ratty teddy bear I had won at a carnival before the fall- one of his happiest and healthiest days. He was even cleared to eat cotton candy and a greasy burger, and he loved every minute of it. "He's a strong boy, Kimi-chan. He's made it this far, he isn't going anywhere. He just needs time to put his feet down, so just fly for him once more. When he sees you flying, he chases you to get better." Kozu says, and I slowly nod my head, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. They hold me like that for a minute while I breathe, the tears slowly stopping and the pain fading. I finally opened my eyes and looked at the ribbon, letting out a shuddered breath. "I will fly, I will fly for Akira." I whisper, whipping the trails of tears from my face.

"Now who the heck have I been crying on?" I ask, leaning back and seeing it was Kuroo, who gave me a sweet smile. "Yours truly. Are you feeling better?" He asks, and I clap my hands over my mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I- I didn't mean to cry all over you." I say, groaning in embarrassment as my cheeks start to burn. "It's fine, you can always cry on my shoulder Tiny Dancer." He says, gently ruffling my hair and making me smile lightly. "Thank you guys." I whisper, Kozu pulling away so I can stand up and pat myself off. I offer Kuroo a hand and anxiously glance around the gym, seeing everyone else has disappeared. "Where'd everyone else go?" I ask, and Kuroo just shrugged, standing up on his own. "Aima ushered them out, she figured you'd want some alone time to cool down." Kozu says, so I nod my head, grateful that she had saved me from that embarrassment. "Oh yeah, I promised to practice with you guys!" I gasp, though Kuroo shakes his head. "We don't have to if you don't feel like it." Kuroo says, though I shake my head. "I'm fine, I mean, it'll help take my mind off things so… I want to. I just need to take the ribbon down first." I say, pointing up to the ribbon.

"Take it down? Why? How?" Kuroo says, as I walk over and move the mat out of the way. "Cause I need to adjust it and I don't want anyone sneaking in and fucking with it. I'm gonna take it down by climbing the wall and monkey swinging my way to it." I say, walking to grab the ladder as Kozu just snorts at my joke. "That'd be pretty cool to watch." Kuroo says, though I just smile back at him as I grab the ladder, hauling it over under the ribbon. "Hey! I could've grabbed that for you." Kuroo says, holding the ladder still for me as I climb up, carefully detaching the suspender and wrapping the ribbon around my waist before clinging back down. "You can put it back for me if you'd like. I was going to ask you to help me move the mat though, it's too big for me." I say and he hums, closing the ladder and walking it back over to the wall and I untangle myself from the ribbon, stashing it back in the ribbon bag. When I turn back, Kuroo is already hauling the mat single handedly to the place I had got it from. "Hey! Why- you!" I say, dashing over and helping him haul it over to the wall. "I had it." Kuroo chuckles, but I just stick my tongue out at him, walking back over to my bag.

I slide off my ankle guards, putting them away and pulling out my knee guards. I put them on before sliding my socks and sneakers back on, deciding to leave my pants off since it'd be easier to move around without them. I grab a hair tie, pulling my hair up in a ponytail before heading to the court Kozu and Kenma had set up. "So just us three? How's it going to work?" I ask, though Kuroo just shakes his head at me. "I just wanted to practice my receives with that serve you do, but you invited Kenma so… you tell me what you have in mind." Kuroo says, so I hum softly and itch my cheek. "How about 3 vs 3? I can invite Hina-Kun and Yama-Kun, they didn't get much practice in since they're late. Those two need to work on getting through blocks too, and you guys can work on your receives." I say, Kuroo clicking his tongue in disappointment. "We can invite Lev, he needs a lot of work as well." Kozu says, Kuroo letting out a deep sigh. "But then that makes two middle blockers and one setter." Kuroo says, and I laugh softly. "Then we'll have the same set up! I'll act as the captain and receiver, as well as the server." I say, pulling my phone out and texting the boys to join us.

Not long after I hear enthusiastic yelling as they dash in the gym, running over to us. "You texted?" Yama pants, leaning on his knees as he smiles up at me. "Yeah! You guys down to play some 3 vs 3 with us?" I ask, and the boys nod enthusiastically. "Okay, you guys get Lev here while I discuss with my team." I say to Kozu and Kuroo, gesturing for the boys to huddle up. "So this is how it's going to work, I'm going to be the server, captain and receiver. I won't be communicating through words though, I have a special thing I do. I'm going to be communicated through movements. One tap of my foot, set to me. Two taps, set to Hina-kun, three taps you decide. I'll flip my hair to the left if I want Hina to advance, to the right if I'm going to advance. If I blink after flipping my hair, go to the right. If I don't, go left. Got it?" I ask, and they both blink at me dumbfounded. I explain to them separately so they know which cues to take, going over it twice just in case. A tall boy with ash blonde hair says, and I gasp as I look over at him. "Holy cow! You're so tall!" I say, the boy smiling at me as he walks onto the court. "And you're a good dancer." He says, making my cheeks burn.

"Oh, thank you!" I say, bowing to him as he settled in his position on the court. "But are you good at volleyball too?" He asks, making me giggle. "Guess we'll see!" I say, though Kuroo tosses me the ball. "Whenever you're ready, Tiny Dancer. Ladies first." Kuroo says, everyone getting in position as I glare at him. "I already told you, don't call me that!" I say, and he just grins at me. "Yeah, you're average size-" Kuroo says though I let out a frustrated groan. "I know I know! But you're big so that makes me tiny. Whatever! Let's go!" I say, tossing the ball into the air, running forward, jumping high, stretching my body like a butterfly. My hand slams into the volleyball, my whole body curling with the force I put into it, sending it slicing through the air with a crack. It smacks against Kuroo's arm and falls off, scoring us a point, seeming to surprise him as it all happened in a second. "Wow, you're fast." Kuroo whistled, getting the ball as I got in a receive position. "You didn't even try to receive it, even though I aimed for you." I sigh, knowing if I wanted to I could easily reach anywhere in the court. "I'll be sure to share the same courtesy then." Kuroo says, getting ready to serve as I tap my foot twice.

"Get ready!" Kuroo says, tossing the ball in the air and running forward, jumping up and smacking the ball at my arms. It hit hard, making me gasp though I quickly reacted, crouching lower to help relieve the force, rolling it up and out of my arms to Kageyama, who was waiting. I flick my head to the left, blinking before flicking my hair to the right, dashing forward and across the court, jumping up high and raising my arm as if ready to spike. Lev and Kuroo both jump up to block me, though the ball thuds on their court as I smirk at them both. Shoyo cheers as l perfectly land, raising two hands as he high fives me. "We won! Wow Suzuki-chan, you're really good!" He says, high fiving Tobio. "Thank you Hina-kun!" I chirp, though I notice the other team doing penalty dives so I beckon them in. "Okay, next round, I want you to focus not on blocking, but receiving. It's going to be quick and hit hard, but just make sure to get it to Yama-Kun, okay? Hina-kun, you take the left, I'll take the right. When the ball is set to Yama-Kun, you dash forward and to the right, I'll dash to the left net. Yama-Kun, you dump the ball. Don't say anything, just nod if you understand." I whisper, both boys nodding.

"Come on Kuroo-Senpai, don't keep me waiting!" I groan, making him chuckle as he does his penalty dive. "You're so impatient, Tiny Dancer." He says, smoothly getting back up as I just click my tongue. "You wanted to train with me, why don't we make this interesting? If you win the next set, I'll owe you. If I win, you owe me." I chirp, Kuroo seeming to light up, grinning at me. "Deal." He chuckles, tossing me the ball so I can serve. I toss the ball up just as Aima comes bursting in the room, squealing at the top of her lungs. "Sorry Kimiko! I came back as quick as I could- t-the boys just… woo, they just didn't want to leave you alone!" She pants, bending over to get air. "Holy cow, it was so hard to push Daichi, I had to get Asahi to help me." She says, fanning herself as she looks over, seeing us playing volleyball. "Oh, you're okay? Wait, what are you two doing back here? And didn't you promise to get him out? And who the heck are you!" Aima asks, pointing her fingers around like crazy. "Everything is alright, Aima, and that's Lev-kun. We're playing volleyball, would you like to watch? You can make sure we don't touch the net or go out of bounds." I say and she just collapses on the ground.

"Misaki?" I ask, and she just waves her hand. "Her and Shimizu-chan are working to calm the boys down and keep them contained. God, this floor." She says, rolling over and lifting her shirt to cool her chest. "Oh, well okay. We're going to keep playing now, watch out for the ball." I say, and she just nods, slowly dragging herself out of the way. I grabbed the ball that had rolled away, getting back in position "Hey Kimiko, have you ever thought about getting a boyfriend?" She says, making me stumble as I look over at her surprised. "Aima, is now really a good time to have this conversation?" I ask, and she just looks up at me. "I mean, I know your last-" Aima begins, but I quickly clear my throat and she pauses. "Not now, Aima. Please. I'm… I'm not ready." I say, my voice strained as she bolts to her feet and dashes over to me. "Shit, shit, I'm sorry! When you're ready, okay! I'll be here for you no matter what, you know that." She whispers, wrapping her arms around me and holding me tight. "Why do you ask?" I ask and she pulls away, itching the back of her neck. "Well, Misaki and I have been talking, and your mom brought it up..." She says, dropping her hands to her side.

"We'll have a girl talk tomorrow. You just… you surprised me is all, I wasn't expecting..." I whisper, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "It's okay. It wasn't you, Kimiko. It was never you. He was a complete asshole, and he has no ties to you anymore, right?" Aima says, and I slowly nod my head. "I… I know. Now please Aima, we're playing volleyball. No sudden questions that will throw me off." I say, and she nods before leaning into my shoulder. "But that Lev guy is cute! If you can, can you get me his number?" She says, giving me a big smile as I just laugh at her antics. "How about you worry about icing your hip before you try to get more action?" I ask teasingly, and her eyes widen. "Genius, Kimiko, Genius! I'm going to do that! No bringing boys back to the room, I'll be half naked. Or, I mean, if you're into that- no no no, nevermind. I mean, unless?" She says, flicking her eyes over to Lev and grinning. "Aima, you need the ice to cool off too girl." I laugh, and she just rolls her eyes before dashing off. "Sorry about that, guys, she's something else. I'm ready when you are." I say, bowing my head before getting back into position.

I calculate the trajectory before I toss the ball high in the air, stepping back before I dash forward, bracing myself before I jump as high as I could, adding a little twist to my jump to give me more momentum. I use all the force I could to swing my arm forward like a whip, hitting the ball square on, my hand tingling with the smack of the ball. It smacks perfectly into Kuroo's arms, and this time he receives it properly, sending it flying to Kozu. I get into a proper receiving position, keeping my eyes wide open and prepared for their next move. Kozu sets the ball to Lev as he jumps up, swinging his hand forward like I whip. I keep my eye on the ball, diving forward and receiving it, hissing at the impact. "Hurts!" I gasp, wincing as I still send it off to Tobio, dashing forward and to the right. Hina dashes forward and to the left, both of us jumping as Kuroo dashes up to block me, Lev dashing to block Hina. The ball thumps in their court again as I fall to the ground perfectly, looking at my arms. "Frick! Gosh, ow! That stung!" I say, seeing my arms were red from the impact of the ball. "Are you okay?" Kuroo asks, gently taking my arms and looking them over.

"Yeah, it just stung quite a bit." I sigh, though he leans down and gently kisses the red mark, making my cheeks burn. "Hey!" I squeak, pulling my arms away from him. "Okay, as captain, I'm stopping this match. Lev doesn't know how to restrain his hit, and I don't want your arms to get hurt." He says firmly, making me pout. "What! I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." I say, though Kuroo shakes his head. "You're going to do a ribbon dance tomorrow, you need your arms to do that. Besides, I'm not saying let's stop in general, you and I will practice serving and receiving over there, and these four can do their own thing here." Kuroo says and I take a deep breath, looking over at the others. I was a big girl, I could take a hit or two, no matter how much it hurt. But Kuroo was right, I wanted to do a ribbon dance, and I'd be hurting if I kept receiving blows like that. Hurt meant I'd be distracted, and distracted meant I might fall or make a mistake, and I couldn't do that. "Fine! Just because I have the ribbon dance tomorrow." I grumble, crossing my arms as he smiles. "Aw! I was having fun playing with Suzuki-chan, she's so smart!" Shoyo says, Tobio nodding in agreement.

"It's okay guys, we can play more another time, I promise!" I say, offering them a smile as they reluctantly nod. Kuroo and I split off to another court, the boys continuing to play as Kuroo and I went back and forth practicing our serves and receives. I feel annoyed since I know he's holding back, but at the same time grateful since if he didn't my arms would probably be hurt. "You're only doing the one serve?" Kuroo asks after he tosses the ball, making me pause. "Yeah, just the butterfly effect. Do you want me to use my others?" I ask, though he seems confused. "The butterfly effect? Others? How many serves do you have?" He asks, making me giggle as I lift three fingers. "Three! The first is called the butterfly effect, the second is called fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and the third is the butterfly and the dog. Would you like to see me do them?" I ask, and he slowly nods as I get ready. "Okay! This is the butterfly effect, it's my most accurate and easiest serve, but also the weakest." I say, performing it and getting the ball back from Kuroo. "This one is fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee." I say, performing it as Kuroo falters a bit when he receives it.

"It takes some calculating to be accurate and a bit harder to do, but it's also more powerful!" I laugh, jogging over and grabbing the ball before whistling to Kozu, getting all the boys to stop and pay attention. "Watch this, it's a rare sight!" I call, getting in position as I begin spinning the ball on my finger. I toss it as high as I could in the air before dashing back a few steps, taking a deep breath. I run forward, doing gymnastic moves before crouching below the ball, using the energy to spring my body into the air with all my might. I stretch like a butterfly before hitting the ball with all my force, swinging my body forward to give it more momentum and sending it flying across the court in a second. I focus on my landing as the ball hits the ground with a sickening smack, the first years making noises of excitement. "Woah, that's crazy." Kuroo whistles as I land, stumbling lightly though I catch myself. "Yeah, I never really use it though. It's hard to control! It's the most powerful serve I have, but also the least accurate. In fact, I have no clue where it'll land! It's just something I do for fun." I laugh as he grabs the ball. "It's pretty." Kuroo says as I lift the hair from my neck so it gets some air. 

"Yeah, it's really just for show." I sigh, fanning myself as Kuroo smiles over at me. "Do you want to call it a day?" He asks, and I nod my head as he chuckles softly. "We'll stop here then. Come on guys, let's clean up!" Kuroo calls, all of us working together to clean up. "Hey, do you want to play games in my room?" Kozu asks as I start gathering my things together. "Sure! Sounds like fun, just let me take a shower first, if that's okay?" I ask, and he simply just nods as Aima bursts in again, panting as she walks over with papers in her hands. "Oh thank God you're still here! I almost forgot, Kozume-kun! Here, the paperwork! I made you a copy, like you asked! Gosh, so much running today. My hip hurts." Aima says, trudging over as she forks the papers over to Kozu. He takes them, slowly flipping over them before nodding. "Thank you, I'll look over them now." Kozu says, beginning to take pictures and read the pages though I raise a brow at them. "What kind of business do you have going on?" I ask, though Aima just begins to panic. "Nothing!" She squeaks, though Kozu finally flips to the last page- he was a quick reader- which has signatures- which looked very familiar.

"The competition." Kozu says as he gives Aima half of the stack of papers, though Aima quickly shushes him. I groan in embarrassment, my cheeks burning as I cover my face. "Aima- Kozu-kun, I-I! I'm going to take a shower!" I sigh, grabbing the tape from on top of my bag and dashing to take a cold shower. Kozu ran through his own stack of papers once again- it was amateur really, there were so many loopholes and just in general you could tell it was thrown together at the last second. There was no way it could hurt him in any way, and he had already taken an STD test, having planned to get in the competition somehow. He had felt a primal urge to protect Kimiko, and when she told him about the competition he felt strangely possessive, though he knew she would follow through and wouldn't get in her way. He wanted to make sure she was safe, that no one stepped out of line and that she was really comfortable with doing this. He wouldn't admit it, but he also really wanted to kiss Kimiko. Looking over the signatures once again, he didn't see the names of anyone he didn't know, just the boys from Karasuno. So her other friend wasn't involved, huh? Did he know about it?

"What are you guys doing?" Kuroo asks nonchalantly, coming to stand before him and Aima. "Kimiko would kill me if I told you. I want to!" Aima chirps, though Kuroo just takes the paperwork from Aima, Kozu looking up to see his friend's reaction as Kuroo flipped to the first page. "I'll be damned…" Kuroo whispers, looking over the headline again and beginning to read the whole page. "It's my project! Kimiko only agreed because I convinced her, she really didn't want to! In fact, she demanded the paperwork, and I had to promise to buy her food for the rest of the year! She made me promise not to invite anyone else to join!" Aima quickly explains, though Kuroo shakes his head slowly. "I know she's not like that, but… to even think she's going through with it… Pudding head, did you know about this?" Kuroo asks, and Kozu nods, taking the paperwork from him and signing it. "Well fuck, he gets to join. I'm joining too!" Kuroo says, taking the pen and paper and signing it. Aima blinked between the two, covering her mouth as she squealed. "I didn't invite you, okay! T-that's the only way this needs to work- the STD tests! I need them asap." Aima says, giddily taking the paper.