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In a small, quiet school playground in Tokyo, a boy crouches in the bushes with focused, intense eyes. He’s tall for his age, he’s always been tall, but he knows how sneak and hide, how to make himself seem smaller. He held a black ball against his hip, caked with mud and sand from a hard day’s work, and a lollipop that was far too big for him to finish in his other hand, glistening in the setting sun.
The object of his gaze is sitting in a sandbox, his small shoulders hunching forward, patting something down. He’s alone, the whole park is empty by now, but Kuroo knows that even a full playground wouldn’t make any difference.
He’s seen this kid before, walking to school in the same blue uniform he himself wore, holding his mother’s hand. He always had his head down, hair obscuring his face as he listened to his mother chatting, never offering any reply.
Kuroo smiles inwardly, remember how now he was old enough to walk to school on his own. He had convinced his mom that he was a big boy; he didn’t need to be looked after. It proved that now he was almost an adult, after all he already dressed and went to the bathroom by himself. Kuroo was so mature those first few days he didn’t even notice how lonely it is walking alone, without his mom to keep him company. And he definitely wasn’t scared of Ms. Yui’s bear-like dog, two streets away from the school. He just decided to spy on the only kid close to his age on his block because he thought he might want to go to school without his mom, to become a big kid like Kuroo. It would be fun to have someone to talk to and avoid the dog with, but it would only be for the kid’s benefit, not Kuroo’s. He was just doing it because he’s so nice, not because he wanted a new friend.
With those thoughts in his head, he straightens up before taking off towards the sandbox, his brightest smile in place. He stops short right in front of him, looking down at the little castle he was building. Kuroo thinks it’s quite impressive, with a had moat and towers and a gate and everything. He pauses expectantly, waiting to have his presence acknowledged. But the other boy just kept packing sand to the side of the base, not ever looking up.
“Hey!” Kuroo says, trying to get his attention. The boy jolted, his hands stopping as he raises his head ever so slightly. Kuroo couldn’t see much of his face, just the tip of his nose and as he remains silent, Kuroo realizes that he’d never seen it. It had always been obscured by that long, black hair. He felt the urge to move it out of his face, to look at him properly.
“Hey,” Kuroo tries again, smiling. “That’s a pretty cool castle.”
“Oh..” The boy murmurs bringing his head down once more. He doesn’t say anything else, just looks at the little piles of sand at his knees. “Thank you.” he mumbles before going quiet again.
“Yeah, it’s awesome!” Kuroo says, trying to keep his attention. “How’d you get so good at it?”
“I don’t know.” he replies, grabbing handfuls of sand. “I just put the sand in the bucket.”
“Hm.” Kuroo hums, brow lowering in concentration. “I like it, but I think it needs something, don’t you?”
“Something?”
“Yeah,” Kuroo nods, “Something more, something that will make everyone go ‘Wow!’”
“Ah.” The boy tilts his head. “I…I can see that it might need something.”
Kuroo looks around at the various sticks, rocks, and candy wrappers in the box with them, but nothing says “wow” to him. He wants to make the boy to see that he’s smart and cool, that he’d make a good friend. His eyes scan around one more time, and then the most brilliant idea pops into his head.
“I know,” he says thrusting his lollipop in front of him, its sticky swirls of color perfectly intact. “Use this!”
The boy raises his head and lowers it again, just long enough to get a quick glance at the large rainbow candy.
“But…” he says shyly, “…it’s yours.”
“Ah, yeah, but this would be perfect! You can have it. After all, that’s what friends are for right?”
The boy shifts again, as a slightly awkward silence fell over the two of them.
Kuroo thinks he might have made a mistake; maybe the boy didn’t want to be friends with him. Maybe he would rather be left alone in his sandbox without Kuroo around to bother him. He feels his heart sink, an embarrassed flush across his cheek.
“Friends?” the other boys says, slowly lifting his head up to Kuroo. He reaches to tuck back his hair to reveal his face, small and narrow and pale with the most stunning pair of eyes he had ever seen. Pure gold looks right into him, so deep it was as if he was seeing Kuroo’s very soul. His heart suddenly started to beat faster, and his cheeks grow hot.
“Yeah.” he nods, his own voice coming out softer than he’s ever heard it.
The other boy blinks slowly before shifting to the side of the castle, making room for Kuroo to join him.
Kuroo smiles, warmth blooming in his chest as he walks over the boy’s side. Once seated, he holds out the lollipop to his new friend and watches as he carefully placed it on top of the highest tower.
“Perfect!” Kuroo says, turning to the boy. “Now that’s what I call ‘wow!’”
He nods and turns his head, looking back down at his knees.
“Kozume Kenma.” the boy says.
“Huh?”
“My name is Kozume Kenma.”
“Oh, I see! Kenma!”
Kenma glances at him from the side nods again.
“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou!” he supplies ecstatically, feeling irrationally happy.
“Tetsurou.” Kenma says, making a face.
“Hey, what’s with that face? What’s wrong with my name?” Kuroo asks, a little offended.
Kenma just shrugs.
“Well you can’t call me Kuroo.”
“Why not?” he asked, turning those eyes back on him again.
“Because that’s what strangers do! We’re friends!”
“Kuro then.” Kenma replies, “Like your ball. And your school bag.”
“How do you know that?” Kuroo asks, leaning in, surprised.
Kenma seems to be uncomfortable with Kuroo’s stare and shrinks back. But Kuroo just looks at him expectantly, training sharp eyes on him so he can’t escape.
“We live on the same street.” Kenma says answers quietly. “I see you all the time. You go to school alone now, but before you went with your mom.”
Kuroo can’t help but smile, Kenma had noticed him too! The warmth in his chest spread to his entire body, threatening to overtake him.
“Well then would you like to walk with me then?” he asked, practically bouncing in excitement. “We can go to school together now that we’re friends!”
“Okay.” Kenma says, still not facing him. But Kuroo was delighted to see a small smile creeping slowly on his face. “We can go places together. Because we are friends.”
“Yeah! Friends forever Kenma! Together forever!”
He turns to look at Kuroo, peering at him with eyes that seem to see all the secrets in the world. But instead of feeling scared, Kuroo only felt happy, because that small smile grew as Kenma repeated his last words.
“Together forever.”