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Kuroo doesn’t believe in coincidences.
Growing up next-door to Kenma, their shared fondness for volleyball, and their eventual foray into Nekoma—none of it was accident or fate. Sure, some of those milestones were shaped by both the choices of people around them and their own, but they were choices all the same. And it’s his own deliberate choice to turn down Kai and Yaku’s invite to hit the arcade after practice ended early today.
This lands him in his current predicament.
While Kuroo is certainly no hermit, he doesn’t go around holding hands and singing kumbayah with everyone he meets either. So when he makes unintentional eye contact with a familiar face at the school gates, he isn’t quite sure what to do about it at first.
Kyrie Ventic, an elusive classmate whose grades are often compared to his, is eyeing him warily as they both exit the school premises. They aren’t exactly close, and though he’s helped her out a few times before, the fact that they’re both walking in the same direction reminds him of just how wary she could be around others. Kuroo decides it’s better not to say anything at all, so he shoves his hands into his jacket and keeps walking to his first stop: the convenience store.
…But it seems that Kyrie has the same plans.
When she realizes that Kuroo is headed there too, she seemingly picks up the pace and darts into the store as though she’s running away from something, which—ouch. Is Kuroo Tetsurou, charming middle blocker of the Nekoma Volleyball Club, really that much of an eyesore to her? Still, it’s none of his business, so he saunters into the poorly air-conditioned store.
Despite sticking to a strict workout schedule, Kuroo has a massive weakness for snacks—specifically Jagarico. As luck has it, the convenience store shelf is down to its very last cup. But just as he prepares to make a beeline for it, a hand reaches out and snatches it first.
He stops in his tracks when he realizes it’s Kyrie again.
It only takes her a moment to piece together his intentions when she spots him at the other end of the aisle. Her bespectacled gaze shifts from Kuroo’s face to the snack in her hand, then back to him.
“…Did you want this?”
Kuroo is quick to wave it off. “Nah. I’ll just get something else.”
Kyrie regards him for a moment, her expression completely unreadable. She’s always been a bit of a mystery to him—Miss Student Council, Miss Top Student, and probably the only person on the planet more introverted than Kenma.
“Okay,” she says simply, turning on her heel toward the beverage aisle.
It’s a brief, totally ordinary interaction. Kuroo doesn’t even think twice about it as he snatches two sticks of Umaibo and saunters over to the register. The cashier rings him up with a monotonous drone, and he drops the exact change onto the counter.
But as he stuffs the food inside his backpack, he catches another glimpse of Kyrie in the corner of his eye. She’s hauling her own purchases for the cashier to scan, and Kuroo notices that she looks more disheveled than usual. Her uniform ribbon was all rumpled, her glasses sitting a little askew on her nose bridge. It was unusual, but not something he would mull over too much on a normal day.
And yet, when he exits the store, he lingers outside.
Kyrie steps out about two minutes later, hefting a paper bag in her arms with a quiet sigh. She startles a bit when she notices Kuroo still ambling by the entrance, looking around like she’s wondering if he’s waiting for someone.
“Hey,” Kuroo greets as he chomps into his Umaibo. “You headed home?”
Her eyes immediately narrow into slits. “Why does it matter to you, Kuroo-san?”
Realizing how suspicious that must’ve sounded, he frantically waves his hands in front of him. “Don’t get the wrong idea, I was just… concerned? You look a little tired.”
The wariness doesn’t completely vanish from her expression, but Kuroo lets out a mental sigh of relief as her shoulders finally drop an inch.
“Y-yes,” she mumbles, clutching the bag tighter. “Today’s council meeting ran a bit late. What about you? Don’t you usually go home with Kozume-san?”
“Kenma didn’t come to school today.”
“I see…”
The silence rings in his ears almost unbearably. Kuroo doesn’t remember the last time he’s had a conversation this awkward. But instead of furtively bidding her farewell…
“Is it okay to walk you home?” he asks.
Even Kuroo himself doesn’t quite process what he just said right away. So when Kyrie’s indifferent expression morphs into panic-laced-confusion, it hits him a little late that asking something like that to someone you barely even know is just outright sketchy.
“I’d rather not,” Kyrie replies briskly, pushing her glasses up with a look of distaste. “I live nearby. That doesn’t really warrant any escorting, does it?”
“Escorting?” he echoes. “You’re making it sound like I’m on your payroll. I’m just making sure a classmate gets home safely when she’s walking home at this hour.”
She frowns. “And why would you want to do that?”
“Because I want to be friends?”
God. He can hear a voice that suspiciously sounds like Kenma hissing what the hell are you doing, Kuro? in his head. He isn’t sure why he’s insisting on this so much, especially towards someone who kind of qualifies as his academic rival. An easily spooked one, at that.
But… there’s just something about seeing someone always so put-together looking out of sorts. Kuroo rarely wants for anything these days, but strange enough, he really wants to walk Kyrie home. And maybe score a bonus of friendship along the way if he’s lucky enough. Although the look on her face makes him brace for rejection.
“…You’re so strange.”
Kuroo blinks. “Huh?”
“You’re strange, Kuroo-san,” she grumbles. “Isn’t your house in the opposite direction?”
“Nope.” (It is.)
“Will you keep insisting if I turn you down?”
“…Maybe?” (He throws in a Cheshire cat grin for insurance.)
Kyrie groans and mumbles something under her breath. She likes doing that—speaking in her mother tongue when she’s exasperated. It’s something he’s always noticed her do in what relatively little time they’ve been classmates, but only really thought about now.
“Fine,” she surrenders with a narrowed look. “But don’t walk too close to me. I don’t want the people at home getting the wrong idea…”
The grin that curls over his face can light up an entire town.
“Well, come on then,” Kuroo chirps happily before scarfing down the rest of his Umaibo, tossing the wrapper in a nearby bin. “Miss Student Council looks like she needs a power nap.”
That earns him a scowl. “W-what did you just call me?”
In lieu of an answer, Kuroo simply laughs it off before heading out of the store awning, where the streetlamps have started to light up one by one. Kyrie hesitates for all of five seconds before awkwardly trailing after her new “friend”.