Chapter Text
Tetsuro Kuroo watched from across the gym as his teammate, Kenma Kozume, walked in the door. Late.
Again.
This was starting to become a normal thing for Kenma. The small, two-toned haired setter was late to practice almost every day now, from either one or two minutes to over an hour. Sometimes, he didn't even come.
Kuroo heaved a heavy sigh, looking back towards the rest of the team, who were practicing diligently like every other day. The captain would probably have to talk to Kenma about his lateness. As if he would even bother to listen to what Kuroo had to say.
But he had to try. He couldn't have his teammates late every day.
And yet here he was.
Kenma sat his bags down with the rest of the team's, sitting against the wall and pulling out his PlayStation Portable. The blue console had a single small sticker on the back, one that Kuroo had given him a while back, when the two were just kids. Kenma still remembered Kuroo's words from that day.
"See? It's a Lucky Cat! Because you're basically a cat! Not to mention my favorite lucky charm." Kuroo beamed, giggling as he hugged his best friend tightly. "We'll win every game together! I just know it!"
Kenma smiled to himself. He almost missed it. He wished he were ten again, a time where Kenma and Kuroo played video games in Kenma's room everyday after school, on the weekends, and even through most of summer break. Just last year, the two had seemed to slowly drift apart, though Kenma was trying to hold onto this friendship with all of his might. He knew how to deal with it if Kuroo ever did break off their bond, even if it shattered him.
The only times the two ever really talked was on Wednesdays, when Kenma came over to Kuroo's house to tutor him. Sure, they had practice together almost every day, but Kuroo was always caught up with someone whenever the rare times that Kenma actually felt like practicing popped up.
Whenever those times occurred, Kenma would always look around the gym to see if Kuroo was available. But he never was.
If only he knew that Kuroo would give anything to practice with the smaller setter again.
Kenma often tried to text Kuroo on Sundays, when they had off of practice and didn't see each other. He always responded hours later, if at all, saying that he was with his girlfriend.
Kenma almost felt bad for those girls. There was a new one almost every week, and he couldn't imagine how they felt after Kuroo had dumped them. Kuroo almost always tried to introduce them to Kenma, but he wasn't interested.
The small setter thought for a moment. No, he didn't feel bad for them.. He often wondered how he would feel in their place, getting attention from Kuroo, getting his time and focus.
But it wasn't jealousy. No. Never that. Kenma didn't get jealous. There was nothing to be jealous about.
Right?
Because there was no way Kenma Kozume, if all people, would be jealous of some stupid girl who spent hours on her looks, putting on ten pounds of makeup every day. Sure, he put on eyeliner, but he didn't bet his mom for the newest product the day before it even came out. He wouldn't be jealous of someone who got drunk at parties and did stupid things that they would regret in the morning. He was smarter than that.
Kenma stared at his PSP as it powered off from lack of charge. He set it aside and pulled out his phone, scrolling through Instagram, his eyes scanning over recipes and toxic opinions. With a heavy sigh and nothing better to do, he shoved his electronics in his bag and picked it up, putting it across his shoulder.
Kenma walked over to Kuroo, looking up at him.
"Um.. I'm just gonna head out early.. I'm pretty tired.. I'll practice some tomorrow.."
"Oh." Kuroo's face fell a bit, but ur was ecstatic about Kenma deciding to play. "Alright then.. get some rest, Pudding head."
"Don't call me that, you overgrown rooster. " Kenma narrowed his eyes up at the captain.
"Hah-" Kuroo chuckled. "See you tomorrow."
"Mhm.. bye, Kuro." Kenma gave a halfhearted wave as he turned around and walked away.
Kuroo watched him go. It pained him to see Kenma every day, knowing that one day he would have to leave his setter behind. The end of the school year was nearing, and Kuroo would be going to college across the country, as per his parent's request. It broke his heart to know that he wouldn't be able to see Kenma for a long time, so he'd been trying to distance himself from the smaller boy, who'd been his best friend for so long.
He had to protect him.
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Kuroo's Graduation.
It felt like impending doom to Kenma. The only word that he could use to describe how he felt was dread. He didn't want the day to come when he saw his best friend off at the train station. He knew it would feel as if Kuroo had died, as if he would never see the ravenette again.
Deep down, he knew that wasn't what would happen. But Kenma could only think of the worst. What if things went bad, and Kuroo wasn't there to help? Even worse, what if something happened to the spiker himself? Kenma couldn't bring himself to think of what he would do without Kuroo. He was too important.
Kenma laid awake, his mind overwhelmed with all of the thoughts of all the possibilities. He glanced over at the clock. Two AM. He knew he'd better get to sleep. He had a test later. He couldn't say in the morning, because morning was well passed. But sleep didn't come easy to him, and he found himself staring at the ceiling until the comfort of sleep overtook him.
---
Kenma's eyes blinked open slowly as he heard the blaring, rythmic sound of his alarm clock. He blindly searched for the Snooze button, but instead hit the music button, and a surprisingly loud song started up, startling Kenma, who sat up and quickly found the off button. He didn't want to wake his mother, especially on her day off.
Kenma sat in his bed, mumbling to himself as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. His heartbeat slowed, calming down from the earlier shock. He took his phone from under his pillow, mumbling to himself as he checked his messages and comments. You could call it a morning routine of sorts.
Kenma was an intermediately-popular streamer. It was his favorite of his many hobbies, which included gaming, photography, and writing stories. Occasionally, when Kuroo came over, the two would stream together.
Kenma sighed as he rolled out of bed, setting his phone back down. He changed out of his night clothes and into his school uniform. He never really liked the outfit much. It was a tad itchy, and he would much rather just wear a hoodie and sweats.
Kenma felt as if his morning was going slower than usual. The short setter usually got up early, around two AM. He knew that if his mother caught him playing video games late into the night, she would take them away. Therefore, if he woke up earlier, he would have time to play, and be able to talk to his friends from other countries.
But today wasn't the case. He had been so tired from the lack of sleep that he had just kept sleeping. He felt drained, and his memory was fuzzy. Now that he thought about it, he was having trouble falling asleep. Kenma assumed it had started when he realized that he didn't have much time left with Kuroo.
The bleach-blonde boy walked out of the house after grabbing the canvas bag he took to and from school, putting a thick black hoodie over his school jacket. The small boy got cold abnormally easily. His hands were always freezing, and Kuroo would flinch whenever Kenma touched the spiker to get his attention.
On Fridays, he rarely ever ate in the mornings. Kenma's mother usually made breakfast, but on her day off, he never woke her up. Most of the time, even on other days, he told her not to bother. Most of the time, when Kenma ate in the morning, his stomach would hurt by the time he got to school.
As Kenma made his way to Nekoma, he gazed up at the sky, watching the bright pink bleed into the dusky blue, watching as soft yellows and oranges crept into the mix. He stopped when the roads that separated Kuroo and Kenma's neighborhoods met, which was the place that the two had agreed on so that they could walk to school together.
There was rarely ever a time when one didn't show up.
So Kenma was surprised when Kuroo didn't appear. After about fifteen minutes, the setter decided that his friend wasn't coming to school after all. Maybe he was sick or something. Kenma didn't bother to text or call him, since he figured Kuroo would be sleeping if he was sick. He knew that his best friend was the kind to pass out when running a fever.
So Kenma made his way to school, barely keeping his eyes open as he walked along the empty roads, passing by houses and patches of farmland.
After about half an hour, he started to come upon the large school, giving a heavy sigh. He dreaded today, and he knew he was probably going to fall asleep. He would most likely just get notes from his classmates. After all, that's what he'd been doing for quite a bit now. As long as he didn't miss out on studying, keeping perfect A's was almost effortless.
Kenma went through the day, which had seemed to pass by at a quick yet painfully slow pace. He would blink, and next thing he knew he was in the next period. Soon, the day was over, and he heard the bell ring, signifying the end of the school day. He sat at his desk as he watched people rush out the door, wanting to get out of the building as soon as possible.
It was like a stampede of elephants, and he often heard teachers yelling after kids to slow down. After the halls were somewhat clear, he bidded the teacher goodbye and headed out the door. Kenma always tried to avoid the crowds. He knew he would practically get run over by the herds of children. He couldn't stand the noise.
Kenma sighed as he left the school, heading to the club room and changing, then walking slowly to the gym, watching a bird fly by to her nest in a nearby tree.
When Kenma pushed open the door he felt as if acetone were trickling down his back, the cold, dry liquid running quickly down his spine.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
Or, At least, he didn't want to.