Chapter Text
Life is funny, looking back at everything, you wonder if it was fate all along.
At the time, you claimed not to think much of it. "People come and go," you told your quiet friend Kenma. It's ironic how you never truly understood what those words meant when they mattered. It was an English saying. You had heard it on the American TV show your mother watched while folding laundry on the old wood coffee table in the living room. Although the dialogue often sounded like complete gibberish, the little yellow subtitles at the bottom of the chunky TV eventually caught your eye. Buddies... or Friends you think it was called.
Kenma was a year younger than you, so you had always felt it was your duty to educate him about the intricacies of life! Even if he looked back at you uninterested when you did... If not you, then who else? You were just looking out for the kid. Kenma was an only child, so you had no choice but to step up as his honorary elder sister after you saw him in his cute baby blanket for the first time. Your dads were friends from college, so it was only natural the two of you became close. Mr. Kozume even tasked you with the job of getting Kenma out of the house every once and a while after he'd gotten in trouble for staying up so late playing video games.
Thinking back... it all probably began that one night. As the two of you headed back home from the little family mart at the end of the block, you peeked over the traffic mirror at the corner of your street. "Oh look Kenma they took the "for sale" sign down!" Your little hand pointed at the empty house only dimly lit by a nearby streetlight. It was a single-family home made of brick, with a pitched roof and a front yard surrounded by pretty flower bushes. The exterior was painted white, and its glass mosaics were framed by plain wooden moldings. The warm lamps that used to light up the windows, were far gone now and the house's silence was almost tangible, broken only by the occasional chirping of crickets in the yard.
After Mrs. Oba moved to Okinawa, her house stayed vacant for the entirety of your spring break. She was a sweet but fierce old lady who always treated the neighborhood kids to ice cream on those long afternoons of playing in the humid summer heat. When your parents married and moved out of the city, it didn't take long before she became a dear family friend. Her charming personality and genuine kindness made it easy for everyone on the street to know her as "Shaijuku's Grandma." You remember the times you'd sit alongside her, on her small wooden porch, filled with her most delicate flowers from all over the country. The two of you made it a tradition to watch the sunset every weekend with a shared baby watermelon in both your hands. She'd tell stories about her life as a ruthless career woman after the war. Often accompanying them with lessons about perseverance and strength. "Life was a never ending loop of ups and down but that's what makes it beautiful," she'd say. Of course, those words also didn't make much sense to your little seven-year-old brain until you grew up, but they always stuck with you.
As winter melted away, she often joked about how the bustling city life had become too fast-paced for her. With a playful smile, she would say that one day she dreamed of escaping to a quieter place, where time moved a little slower and the air was filled with the peaceful sounds of nature.
I didn't really hit you until later; even though people laughed, they weren't always happy.
On a late afternoon, you walked in on her chatting with your parents at the dining table. A tea still steaming in her hand. Most of the lights in the house were off besides the lamp that hung above the dining table. Faint noises from outside only added to the weird silence you felt that day. Once your eyes landed on her figure, you noticed that the little confidence in her posture was gone. Her mouth moved into a sad smile as she noticed you come in.
"I'm moving to Okinawa next week, about time I moved from this darn city." She chuckled. Like the smiles and laughs before, bitter sweet. "And although I loved it, I think it's time for me to go see the pretty waves of the ocean." The conversation continued with you're parents offering to help her out with the move and telling her how much they would miss her. But you could only stand there in silence. You're tiny little heart broke a little on that cool night.
You met with her the night before she took off on her train, once again finding yourself on her little porch.
Suddenly speaking up you look back at her, "Make sure to send me a card okay?" you said, with small little tears welling up in your big eyes. She nodded, "Just be nice to the new neighbors okay?" Nodding your head firmly, you shook all the tears away as the old lady let out a little chuckle. Ruffling your hair in a tight hug.
🀣 🀥 🀢
Looking out your window it never felt right to see the house so alone, and though you tried playing it off like it didn't bother you, Kenma always saw right through you. Don't get it twisted. Kenma may seem like he's in a different dimension but he was probably the most observant person you knew.
Glancing back at the young boy, you try to get his attention. "Who do you think is gonna move in?" He remained curled up on the floor, his eyes were glued to his screen, sat in front of the fan that'd been working overtime since the morning... and yeah that was all you! You had the brilliant idea to place a tupperware full of ice behind it. Even if the water was probably at room temperature now... Tossing aside the boring cheesy romance manga you swore you bought as a joke, you go over to nudge at Kenma's slumped shoulders.
"Hm..Dunno. It could be anyone really. I thought you said you didn't care."
"I- I'm just curious. Okay?" You throw him an annoyed pout before poking him once again.
Poke.. poke
"Oi, Kenma. Pay attention to meee."
He grumbled, tensing his shoulders away from you, he had on that signature stank face he always made.
"Leave me alon-" Suddenly hearing a little hissing sound from outside, you pick yourself up and run to the window. Making a little space between the blinds you look down to see a little white pickup truck parked outside. It was loaded to the brim with bunches of wooden furniture and beige-colored boxes, looking a little closer you see a man get out of the driver's seat. He looked around and looked up at your house. Making you take a step back... "I think someone is moving into Mrs. Oba's house!" You whisper, looking over your shoulders at Kenma, he catches your sparkly eyes and sighs before pausing his game to come up to the window.
Going on his tippytoes, the boy peeked over the blinds. "Whats up with his hair...." He plainly added.
" Lemme see!" He moved aside and went back to the little noise box he'd left resting on the bed. Taking another look you see a boy helping carry small boxes from the truck into the doorway of the house. "What is up with his hair.." You mumble, seeing the bird nest on the boy's head. You didn't even know someone's hair could defy gravity like that. Was it gelled or something? You remember you're hair would do something similar when you emptied a can of hairspray on it. Maybe he was just trendy, people always had a cool fashion sense in Tokyo. Should you do you're hair like that?
"I don't think you have much room to talk." Sassy Kenma, spoke up from you're bed.
"I have amazing hair!" Aggressively brushing through the little knots at the tips, you shot the boy a look. You sigh. Pausing for a moment, you look back at the window and then at Kenma. You take a sudden step snatching his device and ran bursting through the door. "Hey Kenma let's go say hi!"
"Give that back! You ruined my score!" His voice cracked and he immediately hopped off the bed, holding his tiny fist up back at you. Taking his things away like a good older sister was the only way you could get the lazy boy to move, and as you expected he followed right behind you before tackling you to the ground.
"AH DON'T BITE ME??" Pulling your shirt away from his feral mouth, you roll back and crash into the front door. Causing the shoe rack at the entrance of your house to tumble over, scattering slippers, sandals, and sneakers everywhere. Height didn't help you here whatsoever, Kenma's scrawny little limbs still managed to place you in a headlock.
A muffled voice then yelled out from the kitchen, "Name what'd you do now?" Wincing, you hear a faint rustle before you're mom came out of the kitchen with a spatula in her hand and an apron tied around her waist.
Ignoring the slightly scary aura coming from her, you catch your breath, "Mom! Someone moved into Mrs. Oba's house!" Her tense shoulders relaxed, before going over to help you up from the ground. "Give Kozume his game back... I'll finish up the gyoza and we can head over, sound good?" You gave her a firm nod and shoved Kenma his dumb game back.
The two of you waited on the soft living room couch slowly sinking further and further into the soft cushions. Your parents had bought it a couple of months before, and you helped pick it out, since you had such good taste of course. It was a low greyish western-style couch with cool wooden accents on the side. You'd seen something similar in an interior design magazine, your dad kept piles of lying around the kitchen. It looked like something you'd seen in your mom's show, which was enough to have you sold.
Grumble~
The smell of vegetables and sweet juicy meat kept making your stomach act up. This entire time you were just taking turns playing on Kenma's Game Boy after he'd gotten over you running off with it. Hopping off the couch, you run to the kitchen to go steal a bite before you venture out in the ugly summer heat. "You want anything?" You finally call out to the boy, who just responded with a no. Kenma had the smallest appetite for some dumb reason. Who doesn't like food? Sometimes you just had to shove a dumpling in front of the kid's face because he would simply forget to eat. Coming back with a bowl of dorayaki, you got enough for the two of you anyway.
Your mom gave you and Kenma two little baskets of snacks and drinks to carry over to Mrs. Oba's house. She walked in between you and rang the little button on the gate. The house you'd become so well acquainted with now felt foreign as you looked at the family-sized car in the usually empty driveway. Mrs. Oba always took the train. A tall lanky man, probably the size of a tower came walking out of the door, with a polite smile on his face.
"Oh Hey! What can I help you guys with?" You'd seen him get out of the truck but you didn't get a good look at the man before you hurriedly closed your blinds. He had raven hair like the boy you'd seen before, and slightly dark circles under his eyes. To be honest, his appearance was a little off-putting but he seemed like a nice guy. You shot him a smile and raised the basket towards him looking over at Kenma to do the same, to which he only glared at you.
"We live right across, and just wanted to drop in and welcome you guys. These two where excited to meet you." Your mother places her hands behind both your backs, Kenma grumbled. Which in Kenma, meant: "don't rope me into this."
"That's very kind of you, I'm Kuroo Takeshi by the way." The man bowed his head a little before taking the heavy weight from the two of you. "Tetsurou, come help take these to the kitchen," He called out. The weird-headed boy soon came out ready to help his father before slightly stopping at the sight of the two of you, shying behind his father's legs.
The man puts the baskets down, continuing, "This is my boy Tetsurou, he's a little shy. We are all adjusting to the move." Mr. Kuroo lets out a little chuckle before he continues to chat with your mom. Motioning over Kenma, you look up at Mr. Kuroo. "We could help carry these inside if that's alright! They are quite heavy for one person and I'm pretty strong!" He shoots you a friendly nod and Kenma follows you into the gate. Turning to look at the shy boy, you notice his ears are as red as his shirt as he fumbles to grab onto the other baskets. "I'm (Name), and this is Kozume Kenma, here I'll help you out with the other one!" You notice you are slightly taller if you don't count the couple of inches his hair adds.
"Nice to meet you," He mumbles, quickly shooting Kenma a glance, who just awkwardly bows at him. They weren't the most social people but you know they'd warm up to each other. Taking up the steps to the all too familiar entrance, you look down at the wooden porch, now emptied of plants with a new varnish over it, you frown. "So... um how old are you Kuroo-san?" Looking over the boy startles and fumbles his words, "e-eight!"
"Hm... cool! Me too! Kenma is seven, so I guess your still the youngest Kenma!"
"Quiet down (Name)..." Kenma grumbles. Even though you knew the house layout like the palm of your hand, you pretended not to. "Lead the way Kuroo-san," Stopping at the entrance you take your shoes off and follow him to the kitchen. What used to be dark oak vintage cabinets were now this simple white marble. You decided to simply appreciate the new look and hope Mrs. Oba took her cabinets with her. There was no point in sulking now. Right?
A few days later you found yourself dressed to the nines on another big sunny day, a big pink shirt, some baggy basketball shorts, and fluffy socks paired with your favorite sneakers. You held an orange ball at the pit of your arm and rang the little button your mom rang a week ago. There was a new added shiny plate with the Kuroo name at the side of the house now. You heard the door open and glanced back with a smile, trying to mask the butterflies in your stomach. "Hey, Kuroo-san! I know Kenma's not here, but maybe you wanna go play basketball with me? I've been practicing with the older kids, so I hope ya don't mind me showing off my cool new skills. " You watch Kuroo's face closely, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Uhm... sorry I'm helping my grandma cook right now," He looked down at the ground, dragging his shoe onto the concrete sheepishly.
"Oh, I get that! That's alright just let me know when you're free okay?" You didn't take it to heart; you've turned down people countless times! Even when you had no excuse. The only thing is, a couple of days later you came back, with a different outfit, and the same ball, and got shot down again. The second time you even brought Kenma and he seemed to consider it before saying, "My grandpa needs help in the garden." You figured maybe he hated basketball or something because his ears and face would get as red as a tomato's when you asked. Which was fair! You only really started playing it because your older brother and his high school friends taught you, and it made you look pretty cool. Like that slam dunk manga he'd been obsessed with since middle school.
You figured if Kuroo-san didn't like something cool like basketball maybe you could simply just hang out! Kenma didn't specifically like any sport but you two still walked around the river and played games together. So there you were once again at his door, with nothing but two pieces of paper between your sweaty palms. "Hey Kuroo-san! My mom got us some coupons to go get ice cream around the corner wanna go?" This time you had hope, since you thought you'd figure out what the problem was, he'd say yes. But just as you thought he was gonna jump up and join you, because everyone liked ice cream, he nervously looked around and said,
"Sorry I cant eat dairy..."
HOW DID YOU NOT THINK OF THAT? You deadpanned and tried saving yourself the embarrassment. "Uhm.. how about we go for a treat anyway?"
"Uh... my dads' not home sorry."
After that, you gave up on asking him to play. You were starting to fear you were bothering the poor boy. Maybe he thought you had cooties? The boys that lived down the street had the dumb habit of running away from you and your little basketball team of girls. Saying you had cooties and girls were yucky. Unlike some of your friends, you never really played into their weird chasing game after your mother told you to never chase after a man. Which left you confused because why would a grown man be running away? Nevertheless, you figured it saved you the energy of running around until you figured it out.
Once school started, seeing Kuroo became even more unusual than it already was, since you went to an all-girls elementary and all. But when you did, you seized the opportunity to get to know him. After all, you wanted to know who it was in dear Mrs. Oba's house. Your parents loved holding little reunions for the whole neighborhood, so it was often you saw the little boy around these functions. When his family had moved, your parents held a barbeque to celebrate and get to know them. He was mostly stuck at his father's leg the entire time, but eventually, he wandered off to the kitchen where you were patiently waiting underneath the island counter. It's not like it was creepy... it was just a skillfully planned interaction! "Hey Kuroo-san! Ya need anything!?" The boy tensed upon seeing you, bashfully looking around.
"I.. just wanted something to drink," he said lowly. "The drinks are over here! My mom even made melon juice!" Opening your arms towards the table full of colorful sodas, jars, and coolers, you shot the boy a grin so bright it made his eyes squint.
"Thanks..." Lowering his head a little he went to fill his cup and before you had the chance to talk to him he ran away. It was okay to be shy but now it just felt like he was avoiding you. It's not like he had to like you but... you can't deny it hurt your eight-year-old ego.
Walking home from school, the day was gloomy and the sky looked as if it threatened to rain. So of course you power walked to the street over. It wasn't your usual route home but you'd heard the high school art students had set up a wide canopy of open colorful umbrellas over the street close to the all-boys elementary. Turning the corner, what was then a boring dull street looked like something straight out of the Mary Poppins movie. The moonlight and streetlights filtered through their plasticky material, creating a bright colored polka dot path on the rough dark concrete of the roads and fences. The worries of getting caught in the rain were far left behind as you stood at the corner admiring the magical sight of what was simply a couple of umbrellas strung up across the metal streetlights. They were all cluttered together in no specific order, some blue, yellow, pink, and orange as their little handles stuck out from beneath them. It was so simple yet pretty, you didn't have many words for it. As your eyes traveled along the sky full of colors you spotted a similar inky truffle of hair. "Kuroo-san!" Your backpack and little key chains bobbed up and down on your back making the boy jolt and look over his shoulder. You shot him back a wave before you noticed he stopped walking, braced himself, and made a run for it. "Where are you going!?" You called out with two hands cupped around your mouth.
"I didn't even say anything yet." You didn't know whether to start calling this guy a jerk or cry. You were just confused. Maybe it was childish of you to care so much. You'd always manage to befriend almost anyone you met. What was different now? Why did he run away?
Coming out of a trance you felt a cold drop of water come down your cheek, the sound of rain pattering against the umbrellas soon got louder, little droplets leaking through the small cracks in the colorful sky.
Weeks later you'd come back from a trip to visit your aunts in Sendai, mindlessly staring out of your window, the small crack let in white noise rendered by crows cawing, cars passing by, and the simple blow of the wind. All the pretty standard sound of your neighborhood. Only now it was disturbed by the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling out, "Come on Kenma!".
"Kenma?" You mumbled quirking your brow. Throwing yourself to stand in front of the cold glass, you peer down to see, the shy, messy-haired boy excitingly dragging your friend along with a weird-looking ball in his arm. Only now he wasn't shy, he was the complete opposite of what you'd thought him to be! You felt fooled, played like a fiddle, pranked! But you decided to give the poor boy the benefit of the doubt, so you observed him through your window that entire weekend. Maybe he doesn't hang out with girls? Wrong! You saw the boy run across his house with a group of both girls and boys, laughing as if he hadn't been the quietest kid you'd ever met! Finally, you figured something had broken him out of his comfort zone and you strut over to Kenma's house. Bursting through the door of his room, you ask him about the hallucination you'd seen.
The boy was simply reading over some comic as he looked back up at you indifferently. "You're parents took your games away didn't they..."
"What do you want..."
"I see you've been hanging out with somebody Kenma.." You say ominously.
"Oh Kuroo?" He started, "He was pretty awkward when his dad came over for the first time." He paused, looking down at his comic for a second.
"While you were gone, Dad urged me to hang out with him. For a while, we just stood in silence watching TV, until one day he came knocking at my door asking me to play volleyball with him. Then he turned out to be just as loud as you, (Name)." Kenma spaced off into the wall behind you, grumbling that last part. You simply focused on his face and took everything in.
Despite, wincing and cringing, you rang that stupid bell once more. You hugged the strange ball in your hands and waited for the door to open. And just like the times before, he came out, face red, and lips pursed. "I heard you really liked volleyball. Wanna teach me?" You say softly, examining the boy's face, you couldn't decipher anything from it. His face became a whole tomato red and his lips trembled as if he was holding back a whole story full of words. At this point, you'd expect him to be more upbeat from what Kenma told you, but he was still the same as last time. "I..." He suddenly spoke up, your anticipation only grew higher as he stumbled over his words. "I can't I'm sorry."
Yep.... he hated you.
You had tried pushing the thought aside for a while. You tried to laugh it off. But you had to face it and leave him alone. You were just being annoying.
"Oh. Okay..." You whisper, turning around and heading back home. Kicking your shoes off your feet, you threw the stupid ball across the living room. He had the right not to speak to you, but why was it only you? You'd barely even talked to him! It was like a mystery with no solution! And now you were stuck with a ball you didn't know what to do with! Going back to the long-haired boy's house, you told him the story again, to which he only shrugged. Rolling over his bed you perched your head on both your hands.
"Did he at least say anything about me?" Kenma stiffens up for some weird reason. He was probably cold, he had a bad habit of leaving his window open on cold spring days. "Um... no... he only really talks about volleyball. (Name) don't you think you're taking this too far... I mean it's weird, but.."
It becomes harder to hide the tremble in your voice. It's not like you cared about some stupid boy. You just..."Mrs. Oba said to be nice to him.."
The house that was once an extensión of yourself had been locked away. Guarded by a boy with a little sword and shield.
The spring was now in full effect. Cherry trees blossomed with their pretty blush color and flowers bloomed at the side of the river. Fallen petals rustled in the breeze of your bike as you chimed the little bell your dad replaced years ago. The childish Doremon water bottle you refused to replace since kindergarten tumbled around the metal basket of your bike.
You took the normal loop around the area you used to take with your brother when he was younger. It ran through the narrow suburban streets into the little strip of businesses before circling back at the river bed, where you would cross a road bridge that looked down on the embedded grassland. From below the bridge, the cool air of the river rose to give you a break from the miserable heat.
Pausing, your lungs work to steady your breath. You let your bike rest against the concrete ledge. As hot as it was, the water sparkled with the little highlights of the small sliver that was left of the sun.
"I'm pooped..." Your helmet felt stuffy on your head and the soles of your shoes felt like they could melt with the concrete. You wondered if there was anyone crazy enough to still be out in this weather-
"Come on Kenma you can do it!"
Come on...
There was that jerk's voice again. It always sounded so weird to hear it above a whisper. Looking down you saw a little tattered net, surrounded by a dirt square for a court. The two boys were passing around the ball by hitting it with their forearms back and forth. You expected Kenma to be tired or groaning but there was this sparkle in his eyes you'd only see when he got a new game or beat a really tough boss.
One thing was for sure Kenma never did anything he didn't want to do.
And that was most physical activity but this was different he seemed to enjoy it. If you looked close enough you could even see a little smile on the little grump. Maybe this Kuroo boy wasn't so bad, he had worked wonders after all. Maybe half an hour passed and you just stood by the bridge watching them play. For some reason, it was so hypnotizing. Although the ball would quickly go sideways after a couple of hits, they seemed to get the hang of it. Back and forth, back and forth. Your mind went blank, you never knew something could be so mesmerizing. The best parts were when the ball would sprawl in another direction and both the boys would somehow manage to scramble and get it back on its course.
🀣 🀥 🀢
As the days went by, from your window you'd see Kuroo taking his volleyball over to Kenma's house after school every afternoon. It was so conflicting, on one hand you felt sour because he had managed to avoid you ever since, but you were grateful. That little jerk might not like you but you could tell his friendship with Kenma was important. He'd gotten lazy Kenma to like going outside. So much so that Your long-haired friend would tell you all about the sport and Kuroo. Which from the stories wasn't a jerk after all. Which only made you feel worse about the whole situation.
You often found yourself taking bike rides in the afternoons when they would play. Looking back at the basket behind your bike stood the weird ball. Maybe that little jerk was onto something...
Volleyball huh?
Seemed easy enough, right?
Pedaling back home as fast as you could, you stood there on your street contemplating. Who should I ask...? Marina wasn't very athletic, and Omari wasn't even home...
Fura!
You looked over the yellow house at the very corner of the street and gave it a firm nod. Knocking on the door of one of your classmate's house, her mother came to the door.
"Hi Mrs. Furadate! Can Ima come play volleyball with me?" She politely nodded her head and called the girl over. "I'll play!" she yelled out. As the two of you walked down the street, Ima inspected the ball closely. "Hey (name) do you even know how to play?"
"Oh- I forgot about that." You scratch your chin,
"Oh.. how are we going to play then.."
"eh, I got the basics down in my head!" "It's like basket ball in a way!" And so the two of you walked down to the riverbed, walked up to the net, and, "here goes nothin!" Dropping the ball in front of you you punch it with both your hands like you'd seen Kuroo and Kenma do. The only thing is, apparently bringing a baller doesn't translate into this weird sport. It was harder than it looked. The ball landed right in Fura's face, making the two of you burst out in laughter. It took maybe a week for the two of you to get the hang of passing each other the ball but you ended up dragging your parents into getting you a bunch of CDs of volleyball games and on the weekends you and Fura would binge-watch them with sparkly eyes.
Upon knocking on the little girl's door, she bursts through the gate and flails a piece of paper in her hand. "(Name)! Look, look!"
"huh?", "The high school is holding an open gym for elementary schoolers! They even have coaches there!"
"really!??" "Yeah!"
Standing in front of the gym door You clutched your backpack straps as Ima clutched the same now wrinkled paper in her hand. Upon taking a peek through the little window to the side your jaw drops watching some of the high schoolers play. They were huge! And they shot down the ball like a bullet! "Welcome in kids!" your two peeking heads caught the attention of one of the attendants working there. "You guys here for volleyball?" You nod furiously and slowly begin to approach the right side of the gym. There was a line of a bunch of kids taking turns passing the ball one by one, and in the little crowd, you find the same truffle of hair bouncing up and down to the back of the line. Him again... Looking over you see Kenma off to the side as well. They soon split the girls and boys into two groups and while you and Fura had fun you couldn't help but look over at the the two boys.
Only looking at them felt more like observing from the sidelines. Before Kuroo, you walked with kenma to school. You'd typically split ways halfway through since you went to an all-girls school. But after he came around their parents just let them walk together since they were going to the same destination. You didn't have to get up earlier anymore and wait for Kenma to come out. You'd leave minutes before just to be able to see them far down the street side by side. Turns out elementary school was enough for them to get even closer. You still hung out with Kenma but decided to ignore the subject matter of kuroo. You felt like a distant cousin to him now. You still loved him like a brother. But people grow up. He had made his own life.
On occasion, you would bump into Kuroo, and you'd learn to ignore him just like he did you. Middle School came around and they both joined a volleyball team. Now kuroo was the one dragging Kenma outside. Lecturing him on his bad eating habits... late nights.
You were grateful for what he'd done for Kenma. But..