Archive of Our Own

"Shorty's really loud," Konoha mumbled. "I can hear him from here."

"Bokuto's just as bad."

Konoha nosed his way around the group, snickering when Kuroo said that the air smelled like fertilizer. Konoha didn't smell anything, and he could see the desire to mock in Daichi's tight-lipped expression.

Eventually Konoha felt thirsty, and at the sight of a water fountain built into the wall of a line of shops, he stopped to drink. Konoha wiped his mouth with his hand when he was done, and he stood up from bending to the fountain's level. It only took a couple minutes, but when he glanced up, he realized that he lost track of everyone. The streets were crowded enough to obscure people, and Konoha wasn't tall enough to see over crowds.

Konoha grimaced and pressed a hand to his forehead. He had his phone with him, but he forgot to charge it. Konoha rarely used it, so he could never remember to charge it until someone yelled at him to do it. He didn't play games on it or text or call that much.

He took off running, ducking around strangers to weave through the sidewalk. After a while, he realized he was running in the wrong direction, and he braked and span on his feet to turn, nose wrinkled in embarrassment from people watching him switch directions. Konoha bumped into someone in a speed-blind hurry, and he stumbled backward from the shift in his momentum.

"Sorry," he said, his mouth automatically forming an apology around a small smile. He glanced over the person, settling on a face of brief surprise and soft-lidded eyes in front of him.

"It's fine," the stranger said.

Konoha's mouth twitched in an upward flicker before he stepped around him to continue searching.

Konoha caught up to them on the block over. Kuroo snorted at him, and Bokuto laughed under his hand, which didn't even cover his mouth.

"You got lost?" Bokuto asked.

"We were close by," Kuroo said. 

Konoha huffed and turned away from them, his arms swinging with pointed intention as he walked past them to return to Akaashi. Akaashi's arm was shielding his mouth, and Konoha could see that his eyes were too bright to be neutral.

"Fine. Laugh. Haha," Konoha said sarcastically.

They continued walking up the street, Hinata leading them towards a ramen shop to eat. Seats were filling up, predictably at this time on a weekend, but everyone managed to draw empty tables and chairs together to gather in one place to eat.

Konoha ate his food slowly, his nose crinkling at the speed that food passed into Hinata's mouth, Kageyama right behind him in the endeavor. He didn't think Kageyama was good friends with anyone from Nekoma or Fukurodani, but occasionally Kenma and Akaashi exchanged words with him, and Konoha remembered that the three were all setters.

In the middle of sipping on his drink, Konoha saw someone standing in front of the counter. Konoha registered a small familiarity from the hair and posture, and when the stranger turned his head, Konoha realized that it was the same person he crashed into earlier.

Konoha stood up. "I'm going to get some napkins," he announced to no one in particular. Within a couple strides he was at the counter, and he pulled a clump of napkins to himself as he leaned forward curiously.

"Can I help you?" he asked, eyebrow raised with momentary interest. 

"Nothing," Konoha said, his hands raising in a shrug, napkins flapping with the gesture. "I thought I saw you earlier, and I just wanted to make sure I was right."

"I don't know you." 

"I don't know you, either. We have something in common."

The stranger looked calm, with a face that reminded Konoha of Akaashi and Kenma--entertaining to ruffle them up, see how their faces twisted and eyes slanted to focus on him.

"That's not funny," he said. His eyes swept over Konoha again, as if he needed to reevaluate something.

"I wasn't trying to be funny." Konoha tucked the napkins under his arm. "I'm heading back to my table. See ya."

Konoha gave him a flickering smile before leaving. He wasn't rewarded with anything in return, but he didn't care.

Konoha seated himself, inexplicably pleased at the encounter. He dumped the napkins in front of Kenma.

Kenma looked up. "I didn't ask for these."

"It was a proactive decision." Konoha returned to eating, lifting noodles with his chopsticks and slurping with more enthusiasm.

Once everyone was done, the group went back outside, wandering around without any intention of buying anything. Most of them didn't have much money left over from the restaurant, so they browsed and made fun of things on sale in stores, outside of earshot of storeowners.

"This is really cute," Hinata said while pointing to a packet of dog erasers. They were in a stationary store, which was interestingly requested by Akaashi. Hinata fell in love with the erasers, and Kageyama was snickering quietly behind Hinata, especially as Hinata inspected a few erasers with motivational sayings on them.

Bokuto picked up a pad of paper with ducks printed all over. "This is for you, Kuroo."

Konoha was about to join in, but he glanced around the corner of the aisle and saw the same person from earlier. Again.

Konoha walked up to him. "I keep bumping into you everywhere today."

"It's just coincidence," he said, gaze fixed to a shelf of pens.

Konoha looked down and saw a shopping basket hanging on the stranger's arm.

Konoha extended a hand. "I'm Konoha Akinori."

He paused and redirected his placid attention to Konoha's hand. "My hands are full."

Konoha removed the paper in the stranger's hands and returned it to the shelf--the wrong shelf. "What's your name?"

His mouth settled to the side until he relented. "Kunimi Akira."

Satisfied, Konoha gestured to Kunimi's basket. "Shopping alone?"

"I wanted to be alone. Shopping goes faster that way."

"That sounds sad," Konoha said, even though he sometimes agreed. Right now they weren't doing real shopping, so none of them cared.

"…This is why I shop alone."

Kunimi turned to walk away.

"Wait." Konoha dropped his hand on Kunimi's arm to stop him. "I'm not a jerk, I swear."

"You swear…"

Konoha reached for the basket. He unhooked it from Kunimi's arm and strung his arm through the handle. "I can carry this for you."

"I'm sure you can. It's really easy."

Konoha's cheek puffed out a bit from a small clipped exhale of air. Kunimi wasn't deflecting his conversation attempts in any rude way, but there was still a passivity to him that drove Konoha to keep talking and trying. Kunimi handled himself well, a perfect foil to someone like Bokuto.

"Then I will keep doing it, since it's so easy that I can do it all day." Konoha shifted it on his arm and turned his nose in the air.

Hinata's head popped out from around the corner. "Konoha, where--oh, hey Kunimi."

A snort strangled itself from Konoha's throat. "You know each other?"

"He goes to Seijou," Hinata said, ignoring Kunimi's mouth open and prepared to speak for himself. "He plays volleyball."

"Small world. So do I," Konoha said. "I'm from Fukurodani."

"Of course you play volleyball." Kunimi scratched at his shoulder. "Kageyama isn't here, is he?"

"Yup! He's in the next aisle," Hinata said.

Kunimi set an eraser down and tugged at Konoha's arm. "I'm done."

Konoha fumbled after him, his feet skidding. "Already?"

"It's getting late."

"The sun's out," Konoha said.

"I'm also hungry."

"I just saw you eat earlier."

"I don't like Kageyama."

Konoha nodded and waved his hand. "See, that's understandable."

Kunimi yanked the shopping basket out from Konoha's arm, eliciting a yelp from him.

"You can go back to your friends now," Kunimi said. "After this, I'm going home."

"Wow. Kageyama must have done something bad," Konoha said, marveling at Kunimi's haste. Aside from that and Kunimi's furrowing eyebrows, nothing else marked a desire to leave. Kunimi held the same composure he had all day.

Konoha stood to the side quietly as Kunimi paid. Kunimi's eyes had a gentle lethargy in their angled slope and eyelids, but the intelligent edge in them made Konoha think that, now, this was someone that wasn't a pushover like he thought. Kenma could be blunt, but he didn't speak enough to warrant caution, and Konoha liked to watch people tease Kenma. Kunimi wasn't any less of a mystery now, though, even when Konoha had the time to study the soft calm in him.

After Kunimi's purchase was done, Konoha motioned for the bag of supplies.

"Let me see that, real quick," Konoha said. "Promise I won't steal anything and run."

Kunimi sighed and shrugged. He opened it for Konoha to peer into. Konoha didn't miss that compromise; Kunimi didn't hand it to him like Konoha asked.

Konoha tore off a piece of paper from a pad and picked up a pencil from the bag. He scribbled a string of numbers and handed the paper strip and pencil back to Kunimi.

Kunimi held it in his fingers. "Is this your number?"

"Something to remember me by," Konoha said. "I get bored talking to Akaashi and Bokuto sometimes."

The blankness told Konoha that Kunimi didn't know who they were, but Kunimi's mouth twitched with a thanks anyway. Kunimi's chest moved as if he wanted to give a small laugh, the humorless nervous kind.

When Kunimi left, Konoha realized that he actually needed to charge his phone now.