Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these characters.
Kuroo woke up that morning, slightly confused as to why his alarm was going off on a Saturday until he remembered that he was meeting Kenma in a couple hours. As he stumbled to the bathroom with a yawn, he went through the motions of his morning routine while thinking about the irony that Kenma's new friend had the same name as his old one. Shaking those thoughts out of his head and returning to his room to throw on a black shirt and a pair of loose cargo shorts.
He then grabbed his laptop and placed it in his school bag to take with him for the study session. After double checking that he had everything that he needed, he glanced at the picture by his bed, and then headed to the kitchen for breakfast.
Once he finished eating breakfast, he looked at the time and saw that he needed to head outside and meet Kenma. Quickly washing his dishes and waving goodbye to his parents, he slipped on his shoes and was out the door. Seeing that Kenma was just exiting his home, he wandered over to him.
"So, where do we go?" Kuroo inquired after greeting him.
Kenma turned in the direction that they needed to go, "The shrine is about a 15-minute walk from here."
As the two approached the stairs, Kuroo's steps stuttered to a halt as Kenma began climbing the stairs. Kenma stopped and looked back once he realized that Kuroo was no longer next to him. "Kuroo?"
Kuroo was staring up at the torii gate with his eyes glued to the sign that said, 'Higurashi Shrine.' Hearing Kenma call his name, he snapped is eyes back to his friend to see the questioning look on his face. "Sorry, that's just a lot of stairs." He covered with a small grin.
Kenma nodded, "It shocked me too at first. Come on."
Kuroo took a deep breath and shook his head as he started after Kenma. 'It's just a coincidence…'
Both were slightly out of breath once they reached the top, Kenma more so than Kuroo. Kenma caught his breath and then started leading Kuroo to the back of the shrine grounds where the house was located.
They only got about ten steps away from the stairs when they came across an old man in priest robes. "Good morning, Kenma. Who's your friend?"
"Good morning, Higurashi-san. This is my friend Kuroo, he's here to join mine and Kagome's study session today." Kenma replied with a bow.
"Good morning, Higurashi-san." Kuroo bowed.
The older man grinned in return, "Good morning." He looked closely at Kuroo as if he was searching for something. "You look familiar…"
Kuroo looked at him in confusion, but before he could say anything another voice called out. "Kenma!" The three turned to see a young boy running across the courtyard towards them. Coming to a stop in front of them and bouncing in place, "Kenma, that tip you gave me worked! I was finally able to pass level 45!"
Kenma gave a small smile to the boy, "I'm glad to hear it."
The elder Higurashi chuckled and wandered off saying, "I'll leave you two in Souta's capable hands."
"See you later, Grandpa!" Souta waved and turned back to the two teenagers. "Hey Kenma, is this your friend that Kagome-onee-san said that you were bringing?"
"Ah. Souta this is my best friend Kuroo Tetsurou. Kuroo this is Souta, Kagome's younger brother."
"Hello." Kuroo said with a smile.
"Hi! Wow, you're really tall! Are you in the Volleyball Club with Kenma?" Souta fired off in excitement.
Kuroo laughed, "Yeah, I'm in the Volleyball Club. I'm a middle blocker."
"Cool!" Souta then paused and looked closely at Kuroo's face. "Hey you know you look like the kid in the picture that nee-san has in her room…"
Feeling even more confused and suspicious, Kuroo was once again cut off before he could open his mouth and ask for clarification.
"Souta, did you finish helping Grandpa already?" A voice called out from one of the nearby buildings.
"Hai, nee-san. Kenma and his friend Kuroo are here." He responded.
Seeing a figure exit the building and turn to close the door. Kuroo could see that she had a petite frame encased in a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt and a pair of form hugging tan capris that stopped just below her knees. Her long raven colored hair was tied back in a French braid that ended in the middle of her back. As she turned towards them her head was tilted slightly downward so that her bangs covered her eyes.
"Hey nee-san! Kuroo looks a lot like that kid in the picture that you have in your room!" Souta told her once she was close.
Kuroo watched as she stopped mid-step and when her head turned to him, he swore that everything stopped when his eyes connected with blue. As her eyes widened in shock there was one name that passed her lips that he hadn't heard for nine years, "Tetsu-kun?"
"No way… Kago-chan?" He took a step closer to her, looking down into her face and seeing the echoes of the young cherubic face that she once possessed. 'She really grew into a beauty, just like I figured she would.'
Kagome was shocked to see her childhood friend in front of her for the first time in years. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but nothing would come out. 'Dang it, Kagome say something!' she shouted at herself as words refused to form on her tongue.
Seeing her frozen and unable to speak, Kuroo decided to give her a nudge. Smirking down at her with his hands on his hips, "Hey Kago-chan, you were always tiny when we were kids, but now you're pocket sized!"
Kagome was stunned as his words penetrated her brain, but it was enough to push her into action. As her face reddened and sparks flew in her eyes, she stomped closer to poke her finger in his chest, "P-pocket sized!? Who are you calling 'pocket sized,' you over grown Rooster Head?!"
She hasn't seen the jerk in nine years and he just had to go after her height. 'Great, since Kenma's friend and Tetsu-kun are one and the same, that means he's over six feet tall. The smug jerk will never let this go!'
"Oi! Leave my hair out of this, Pocket-Kago-chan!" he replied with a twitch of his brow.
"How can I leave that mess out of this when it looks like it could start crowing at any moment? It's called a hairbrush, Rooster Head, you may want to try using one some time!" She retaliated sticking her tongue out at him and then quickly jabbed her hand into his side.
Kuroo's eyes widened in shock and flinched away from her while grabbing the side she just abused. He broke out laughing, it had been years since they've seen each other and they easily fell into old habits. Straightening up from his hunched position a few moments later and he looked at her frowning face and could see the humor dancing in those cerulean blues that he missed dearly. He reaching out to her with a softer smile, he grabbed her arm and tugged her closer. He enfolded her into a tight hug as she let loose a squeak of surprise. Resting his cheek on the top of her head, "I missed you, Kago-chan."
She froze for half a second before melting into his hold with a watery smile and wrapped her arms around his waist and griped the back of his shirt. "I missed you too, Tetsu-kun."
Kenma and Souta stood off to the side and watched the spectacle unfold before them in confusion. "I guess he's the old friend that nee-san talked about." Souta muttered.
"And she's the old friend that Kuroo was looking for…" Kenma responded.
"Huh, small world." Souta said scratching his head. Then his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard Kuroo tell his sister that she was 'pocket sized.' Souta immediately slapped his hands over his mouth to contain the snort of laughter that wanted to escape, and looked up at Kenma to see him bite his lip in humor.
Once he got his laughter under control Souta observed his sister closely, "You know, I've never seen anyone get under her skin and fluster her that easily. She's not even angry just a little irritated, but mostly she's enjoying the banter." Seeing Kenma turn to him in askance he explained, "Nee-san has a temper, but in the past year she gained a lot of patience so it doesn't rear its head much. It's near impossible for people to get under her skin because she just brushed off anything that they said."
"Kuroo is known as an expert in provocation, but I haven't seen many turn it around on him that fast." Kenma smiled a bit as he watched Kagome jab her hand in Kuroo's side.
The two watched the pair before them for another second, "Hey Kenma, I got a new game the other day. Wanna go check it out while they're distracted?" Souta whispered with a grin. The two glanced in caution and turned around and started for the house.
They didn't make it far before they felt an icy aura slowly wrap around them that screamed 'danger,' causing the duo to freeze. "Oi… just where do you two think you are going?" They heard Kagome's monotone voice call out, slowly turning their heads back to the reunited pair. Kuroo had lifted his head from Kagome's and he was looking a bit nervously down at the top of her head. Kagome removed her head from its resting place on his chest and slowly turned to look at both Kenma and Souta over her shoulder.
Souta, seeing that blank deadpanned expression on his sister's face, knew that he needed to act fast or the 'diabolical tyrant' inside her would make an appearance. "We were just going to give you two some space! So, we're going to go start our homework while we waited for you guys to join us?" He managed to squeak out with a nervous laugh. Kenma decided to follow Souta's lead and nod in agreement.
Kagome raised a skeptical brow, "Is that so?" Seeing their emphatic nods, she pulled out of Kuroo's arms and fully turned to the pair. "You lie poorly, Souta-chan." She grinned as she watched her brother pale even further with a flinch as she approached them while holding Kuroo's hand.
"Well lets all go get our work done then, shall we?" She said while leading everyone to the house.