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Kenma was lost, that was the only thing he was sure of. At this point, getting lost was almost second nature to him, one he had no say in the matter. It always started the same way, his parents tasking him out with something that involved running errands outside. He’d grudgingly accept and make his way outside, gaming device in hand, only to look up in an unfamiliar place.
His first thought was to not panic, because wasn’t that the obvious option? So, he knew not to panic, but panic was slowly creeping up on him.
Breathe in, breathe out, he instructed himself.
So, he wasn’t panicking, but he was still lost. Absently he reached his hands into his pocket, surely, he was a sensible adult and would have brought along his phone, but to no prevail, his pockets were empty, save for gum wrappers. He clutched his device in his hands and sighed. If he had no way to use GPS, he would just need to navigate without. If pioneers sailed the seven seas without GPS, then he could find his way home.
He turned in his tracks, surveying the area, but the neighborhood was barren and empty. There were no street signs or landmarks to identify where he was, nor people he could brace himself to ask for help. He was absolutely and totally alone.
Kenma was only sure of two things at this point. One, he was lost. Two, he was probably still in Japan (probably).
Okay, he thought, be like a pioneer, be like a pioneer.
He began his trek in any direction, not even sure if he was getting further away from home. Kenma glanced up at the sky, the sun was still high in the sky, so it couldn’t have been that late, right? Maybe if he followed the direction of the sun he could find a more populated area. Didn’t the sun set in the West? If he just kept going West he would end up in the Sea of Japan, and at least that was a landmark.
He stopped short in his tracks. But did the sun really set in the West? Did Kenma really know this as a fact or did his mind make up this information in the midst of his panicking? He reminded himself that he wasn’t panicking and that he was keeping a level head amidst this situation. Was he even going West?
Kenma shook his head and glanced back up at the sky. He couldn’t trust whether he was going West or East, but what about North and South? He wracked his brain for information only remembering hearing once that moss grows on the North side of trees. But that was only as reliable as his information on West and East. Maybe if he waits for the sun to set he could follow the North star. Kenma sighed, he could trust the North star more than the other information plaguing him right now.
The sun was high in the sky. That was another thing he knew for certain. It would take hours until it fully sets and who knew what would become of him until then. He couldn’t wait until it got darker, because that would just make things worse. If he wasn’t panicking now, he would as soon as the sun set. He had no direction, only home, but began walking again.
He could feel the sun on his back, slowly getting closer and closer to the time that it would officially set. Is that West? He shook his head, banishing that thought. It didn’t matter if it was West or not. He wasn’t even sure if he lived in what would be considered Western Tokyo.
The neighborhoods just became less and less populated, and he had the feeling that maybe he had passed that same broken down truck two times already. It was likely. Maybe he should have used something to mark the places he’s already been, but he had nothing to fulfill that requirement.
As the sky became darker and darker, Kenma could surely feel the panic settling in. Maybe he should just give up and resign himself to being a homeless person in this shanty town of a residence area. That would definitely have been less tiresome than his aimless wandering. His feet hurt and the air was getting colder and colder by the second.
Just as he was beginning to accept his new aspirations as a homeless person he heard his name being called in a familiar voice, “Kenma!”
He turned around slowly, to gaze at the hallucinations his mind was playing on him from the fatigue.
“Oi, Kenma!” it said again, lanky figure approaching him.
“Kuro,” he mumbled, happy that the last thing he saw before he passed out from exhaustion. Maybe some nice person would come across his knocked-out form and wouldn’t sell his organs.
Then he was being gripped tightly and his eyes shot open wide, previous fatigue forgotten as realization hit him.
“Kuro?!”
“Who else would I be?” he said, pulling the younger male into a tight embrace.
Kenma relaxed into his arms and released a breathy sigh. He has never been more relieved to be wrapped up into Kuroo’s warm arms. “But how did you-”
“Your mom told me that she sent you out to go buy something, but since you haven’t come back yet she figured you were lost.”
“I was,” he said, tears piling up in his eyes. He was lost and by the end of the day, he had completely accepted that as his reality.
“But not anymore,” Kuroo said, holding him at arm’s length to look him in the eye, “come on, let’s go. I’ll treat you to some apple pie.”
Kenma sniffled, but followed Kuroo, holding onto his sleeve as they made their way back home.
Kenma often got lost and he hated it, but then again, as he held on tight to the man beside him, he thought that maybe it wasn’t all bad.