Summary: "The bus pulled away, devoured by the night, carrying him far away. The adrenaline rush subsided, and Kuroo felt like everything was collapsing within him. He sensed an immense wave of disappointment engulfing him.
"Fuck..." he muttered, turning his face to the ground, his heart heavy with regret. His heart skipped a beat when he heard an abrupt braking noise. He looked up. The bus had just stopped at the end of the street."
Chapter 10 : Jiji the black cat
The bus pulled away, devoured by the night, carrying him far away. The adrenaline rush subsided, and Kuroo felt like everything was collapsing within him. He sensed an immense wave of disappointment engulfing him.
"Fuck..." he muttered, turning his face to the ground, his heart heavy with regret. His heart skipped a beat when he heard an abrupt braking noise. He looked up. The bus had just stopped at the end of the street. Hope surged within him again, quickly dispelled when he realized that the vehicle had simply stopped at the traffic light.
The light turned green, and the bus started moving again. Then it braked again, the doors opened, and someone got off. Kuroo instantly recognized him. Kenma had almost stumbled while getting off and was now running in his direction. Kuroo let out a laugh, tears welling up in his eyes. He started running in his direction, legs trembling, his body shaken with joy.
"Oh shit, oh damn it! Fuck! ," he murmured, breathless, still trying to hold back tears of joy.
"Jiji!" Kenma yelled when he was close enough to be heard. And damn it, Kuroo burst into tears but kept running.
They finally met, the collision of their encounter comparable to the meteorite that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs. Kenma clung to him, and Kuroo spun around, burying his face in his neck. They laughed together, carried away by the euphoria of the moment. Never had an embrace been so sweet and moving for Kuroo. He was twelve again, reunited with his best friend. They finally separated, both out of breath, their eyes unable to look away from each other. Kenma was the first to avert his gaze. When their eyes met again, his features had regained the composure that Kuroo knew so well.
In a strangely polite tone, Kenma said, "Oh, Kuroo-san, it's been a while."
Kuroo chuckled, "You're an idiot."
Kenma smiled. "I missed you, Jiji."
The said Jiji couldn't help but release a childish smile, grabbing the blond by the arm to pull him closer. He hugged him so tightly that he lifted him off the ground.
"I missed you like crazy too."
Kuroo let go of the blond to scrutinize him more closely.
"Look at you," he grabbed a strand of Kenma's hair that had escaped his bun, "blond hair, piercings, you're a real punk,!"
"You look like a pigeon with that hairstyle."
Kuroo raised an eyebrow before bursting into laughter.
"Cool, thanks. I preferred Jiji the black cat, but oh well."
"Jiji the black cat with a pigeon hairstyle."
"Okay, okay, I think your bus is waiting, it was cool, see you later," Kuroo said, pretending to turn.
Kenma grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him back.
"I'm kidding."
"I know..."
They looked at each other for a long time, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, like two idiots.
"Well, tell me everything ! What are you doing here? In Tokyo, I mean."
"I live here," Kenma replied, "and you? I didn't expect to see you so far from Shakotan."
"I'm here for my master's at Todai."
"Oh," the blond replied.
"You seem surprised..."
"I just didn't remember you as an intellectual. As far as I remember, all you wanted to do was kick balls around all day."
"Pff, jerk."
Kenma let out a smirk and looked away.
"I just know a few people who also go there."
"Really?"
Kenma nodded.
"Cool, you can introduce me to them someday, but before that..." Kuroo grabbed the blond by the shoulders, "Tell me everything. It's been what ? Nine, ten years since we last saw each other? We have to catch up!"
They talked for a long time, shaken by the euphoria of their reunion. They ended up sitting on a wall behind the bus shelter, letting the night flow with the rhythm of their conversations. The streets became increasingly deserted, the temperature gradually dropping, and the headlights of cars and buses became less frequent. It was only several hours later that Kuroo glanced at his phone for the first time: 11:46 PM. Kenma saw the phone screen and seemed to abruptly return to reality.
"Is it so late already?"
"Yeah, I didn't see the time pass. Are you in a hurry? Is your carriage going to turn into a pumpkin if you don't get home before midnight?"
Kenma didn't respond to the joke and rummaged in his backpack to retrieve his phone. He seemed to have missed several calls, receiving one just as he unlocked his phone. He moved away to answer. He hung up hastily upon seeing a bus approaching in the distance. He hurried back to Kuroo to pick up his backpack.
"Sorry, I have to go, it's the last bus," he hastily informed him, signaling to the driver.
"Uh, okay," the surprised brunet replied.
The bus stopped, and the blond approached to board.
"Kenma, wait!"
"Yes?"
"Uh? Can I have your number or something, to find you again?"
Kenma glanced at the bus, and with eagerness, he asked, "Do you have Insta? What's your name on it?"
"Uh, 'Ji The black cat'.'"
Kenma raised an eyebrow but did not comment. He tapped on his phone and looked up.
"Okay, I sent you a message, I have to go."
The doors closed, and Kuroo watched the bus drive away. His heart tightened as he saw it disappear around the corner of the road.
He took his phone out of his pocket and opened Instagram. He raised an eyebrow upon discovering a message from a certain "Apple pie" in his inbox, but before he could open it, he received a second one. "KodzuKen." He smiled and opened the message.
"Sorry, I messed up the account the first time. I left in a hurry, sorry."
"No worries," Kuroo replied. "It was a pleasure to see you again," he added.
"Same here."
"I missed you."
The three little dots disappeared.
"I hope we can see each other again soon," Kuroo quickly responded.
"Me too."
"Goodnight, Kenma."
"Goodnight, Jiji."
Kuroo let out a smile, his heart overflowing with joy. He put his phone back in his pocket and turned on his heels, finally heading home. The farther he walked, the more he felt reconnected with reality, letting the endorphins dissipate gradually, the memory deeply anchoring within him. He hoped that from now on, they could create hundreds more memories together.
-/-
Tsukishima, though he might seem otherwise, was a rather simple man. He could adapt to any situation and anyone as long as they agreed to respect a few basic rules:
1. Respect his personal space.
2. Must not be a nuisance under any circumstances.
3. Must be a source of intelligible and frivolity-free conversation.
4. No stupidity at his table.
He was forced to admit that over time, he had surrounded himself with more and more individuals who bent or broke these rules. The entire CATO violated these rules. Hell, even his own mate violated these rules. Occasionally, he nostalgically remembered the Yamaguchi of his youth, a gentle, shy, and silent being. Things had changed.
No, Tsukishima was a simple man, and now that he thought about it, he was quite flexible. But everything had its limits, and they had been outrageously crossed!
This needed to be addressed immediately! The situation initially didn't seem hostile: a simple lunch with his mate and Kuroo. Although he didn't show it, Tsukishima appreciated the company of the brunet, who, once you got past his penchant for teasing and his beta-centered attitude, turned out to be an interesting person. What a mistake, what naivety on his part. First, Kuroo arrived with an abominably radiant expression. He spent the first part of the meal giggling stupidly while tapping on his phone. And when be through this was finally over, Yamaguchi had the audacity to tease him about it. That's when Kuroo delivered a disgustingly sentimental story about his reunion with his childhood friend, and Tsukishima couldn't care less. He could have kept that to himself until, and maybe even participated in the conversation if Yamaguchi hadn't also given into sentimentality. He found himself with two chattering magpies. This time it was too much.
He clenched his fists on the table but said nothing, hoping to keep his calm. He finally reconnected with his surroundings when he met Yamaguchi's dumbfounded gaze. Turning his head, he found that Kuroo wore the same expression. The two exchanged a look before finally bursting into laughter, much to the blond's surprise, who hadn't grasped the humorous content of the situation:
"What?"
"Oh, here's the old grump again," mocked Kuroo." We thought we'd lost you."
Tsukishima, incredulous, turned his head back to his mate.
"Dude, you just growled; I think the earth shook all the way to Beijing."
"You should have told us earlier if we were annoying you that much."
At that moment, the blond considered confessing that yes, they were annoying the hell out of him. But seeing the mocking looks, he reconsidered. He adjusted his glasses, more to regain composure than anything else, and in the most solemn tone announced:
" I apologize; I didn't realize."
"Hmm," Yamaguchi muttered, not very convinced.
In any case, it had the merit of ending the conversation, and finally, silence fell, much to the blond's delight.
However, as comfortable as it was, silence eventually became boring. He wasn't used to such a calm atmosphere anymore, and his boredom soon became unbearable. Out of idleness, he looked down at Kuroo, who was messing around on his phone. It seemed to him that Kuroo was randomly browsing his Instagram messages. One of the names the blond read caught his attention. He frowned. Could it be? No... he must have misread. He then saw Kuroo press on the message that had caught his eye earlier. Turning his gaze slightly, he felt that Kuroo was also more or less perplexed. The brunet pressed on the sender's name, and Tsukishima instantly recognized the profile that appeared. In surprise, he spat out the sip of broth.
"The fuck Tsukishima!" protested the brunet, who had just taken a full-face blast of broth.
The blond paid no attention to his complaining and asked:
"How do you know him?"
"Who?"
The blond simply pointed at the profile.
"Uh... well, I just talked about him for half an hour. He's my childhood friend!"
Kuroo fell silent upon seeing the more than alarming expression on the blond's face, who was now pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"What?"
"Kuroo," the blond continued with an oddly calm voice.
"Yes?"
"Can you read the number of followers please."
Kuroo looked at him for a moment, incredulous, with a glass of water in his hand. He took a sip and looked at his phone. The sip of water didn't have the chance to fall into his esophagus and also ended up as a geyser.
"Oh, you guys are disgusting!" complained Yamaguchi.
"1.8 million."
" What!" Yamaguchi grabbed the phone and almost choked on his own saliva.
"Your childhood friend is ApplePie?!"
Kuroo remained silent, first because he couldn't believe what he had just seen, and second, because he didn't know how to process this. He picked up his phone, went back to his messages, recognized Kenma's first message at 11:49 PM on that account, and clicked again on the account, still the same number of followers.
"I presume, yes."
His two friends remained silent, staring at him insistently.
"Uh... I'm supposed to know who that is?"
"He has millions of followers on his channel, he's one of the biggest streamers in the country, and you're telling me you don't know who he is?" Yamaguchi asked calmly.
"Oh, that's a lot... but no, I don't really watch that kind of thing..."
"Just one of the best gamers in the country, or even on the planet!" intervened the blond.
"Don't be overdramatic, Tsukki..."
"Dramatic? Triple winner of the Overlord Land Fantasy tournament, in solo. I'm not dramatic, that's just fact"
"Wow... I knew he was a geek, but I didn't think he made it his job."
"How can you stay so calm?" asked the blond.
"I'm not really, I'm just trying to keep my cool."
"I'm... almost impressed..."
Silence fell. After a few minutes, Kuroo finally came back to himself. His gaze traveled several times between the two alphas in front of him:
"I never realized you guys were geeks..."
His eyes landed on Tsukishima.
"Yeah... I should have figured it out sooner."
"I don't even have the strength to give you a comeback for that."
"Wait, wait!" Yamaguchi resumed euphorically, "if you know him, it means you know what he looks like?"
Kuroo frowned.
"Uh... yes..."
He saw the pupils of his two companions dilate at this simple answer.
"Oh my... one of the greatest secrets of our world finally revealed..."
"But I don't have any pictures of him..."
"What? Ugh... But, doesn't he have a personal Insta?"
"Uh, yes, but he has like, a cat photo."
"Damn."
"You're useless," added the blond.
"Guys, if his identity has stayed secret until now, I'm not going to ruin everything."
Yamaguchi let out a guttural and diabolical laugh:
"Too late! I already know his name is Kenma, and he likes ugly socks; nothing will stop me!"
"Guys, guys... I'm not going to let him slip away now. Who knows, you might meet him one of these days."
"Really?"
No, probably not, but it had the merit of shutting them up and leaving Kuroo in peace. For now.
-/-
"So... Do you often invite people to laundromats?" asked Kenma.
Kuroo gave him a sideways glance: nothing on his face betrayed what he might feel about the place.
"No, but at least there's no one here."
He saw the blond let out a smile.
Kenma and Kuroo had met a little earlier. Kuroo initially planned to take his newly found friend to a coffee shop for a peaceful chat. He quickly changed his mind, firstly because he didn't really know where to go: Karasu? Not necessarily keen on running into the gang that would not stop staring at them. He had also thought about Fukuro, but the idea of having Akaashi and Kenma in the same room was strangely disturbing. He had thought he would find a place along the way, but seeing Kenma tense up every time someone brushed against him, he thought he wouldn't mind an empty laundromat.
Kuroo let out a tender smile.
"Still as antisocial as ever, I see..."
The blond raised an eyebrow:
"Just selective."
"Delighted to have been invited to the court of Sir Kozume Kenma."
Kenma rolled his eyes.
"It's His Highness Kozume Kenma."
Kuroo chuckled.
"Your Highness, I see that success hasn't gone to your head."
The blond frowned, surprised.
"... How do you know?" he asked in a half-whisper.
"You sent me a message from your public account."
The blond remained silent for a moment.
"I see. Big fuckup on my end. Since you didn't react, I thought... you hadn't noticed."
"To be honest, it's some friends who pointed it out to me, big fans."
"Hmm."
"Well, maybe the millions of followers would have eventually caught my attention."
"Hmm."
"Now I know what I'm going to do with my evenings: go to your livestream to listen to the sweet sound of your voice. Who knows, I know nothing about it, but maybe I'll discover a gamer vocation."
"Don't count on it."
Kenma had buried his neck in his sweatshirt. Although he showed nothing, Kuroo could discern a touch of red on his cheeks. Damn, he had forgotten how adorable this guy could be.
"Are we going to get kicked out if we stay here doing nothing?" the blond asked, probably to change the subject.
"No, I don't think so. I think I'm their main customer, and Minako-san likes me now, I think..."
Kenma frowned. He checked that the counter been deserted before stating in a low voice:
"It looks a bit like a front..."
"What?"
"You know... for money laundering."
Although Kenma had brought up the hypothesis himself, he did not seem particularly alarmed. Kuroo, on the other hand, took several seconds to recover.
"Oh shit... You're right... that explains the black Mercedes parked in front at night..."
Silence.
"Maybe we should go then, right? " said Kuroo. "My place ?"
"Works for me."
They left the small laundromat and headed to Kuroo's apartment. Goodbye super shady plans, hello shitty apartment. Kuroo came back to himself when the blond's mischievous laughter reached him:
"Why are you laughing?"
"I forgot your ability to get into weird situations all the time."
Kuroo wanted to retort something, but faced with such truth, he didn't know how to.
"I don't care... Anyway, I still have about thirty tokens to use... what? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just picturing you as a Yakuza... Not bad... Plus, you do chemistry, right? You could easily find a good job."
"Pff, you're an idiot, you know that? Like I'll start cooking meth."
"You said it, not me."
"Not to mention, I'm not sure I fit their standards."
"Oh really? Why?"
"Well, I don't know, I imagine the Yakuza as the badass dark handsome guy with an amazing aura, the stereotype of the ultra-dominant alpha, like in the movies. Considering how many times I've been called a clueless beta, not sure I fit."
Kenma raised an eyebrow before lowering his head again. After a few seconds of silence, he said:
"Well, historically speaking, Yakuzas started organizing to stand up to the pack leaders on Kyushu Island, so they're rarely non-betas. As for the aura, I think it fits quite well."
Kuroo stopped walking, turning his eyes to the blond:
"How do you know all of that?"
The blond just smiled mysteriously before starting to tap on his phone.
"Know what? That you have the aura of a badass handsome guy?"
Kuroo felt the blood rush to his head.
"No, the other one, the Yakuzas!"
"Oh, that..."
"Kenma, are you telling me that you're part of a drug cartel?"
"Why do you think I knew the laundromat was a front?"
"Ohhh, it's your boss!"
The blond rolled his eyes:
"Ji, may I remind you that I am 'His Highness Kozume Kenma',who do you think the boss is."
The brunet stopped, playing the drama to the end. His friend continued, without looking up from his phone. He finally stopped a few meters away to wait for him:
" Your the one that knows the way," he pointed out.
"Yeah... are you writing to your henchmen to come and kidnap me in the middle of the night, is that it?"
"Of course, our chemist got caught during a raid, I was just looking for someone..."
"... Kenma, you terrify me."
"Good. Now move."
Kuroo let out a smile and caught up with Kenma. It was only a few meters from his place that he began to feel a slight sense of panic taking over. He had finally realized that he was heading towards his apartment. His ugly, tiny, and shabby apartment... He couldn't even remember if he had left his dirty underwear in the middle of the room, his socks on the bedside lamp, or dishes in the sink... Damn, what was he going to offer him to drink? Water?!
Oh! He had some herbal tea... at this hour? Wait, maybe he still had some black tea bags he stole from the university cafeteria! Did he even have two cups? Hmm, but he had a small vase... yes, that would do just fine... But he wouldn't drink from a vase, right?
He didn't have time to spiral into the question because they had finally arrived at their destination. Kuroo opened the door, and with exaggerated gallantry—subterfuge to hide his discomfort—he invited Kenma inside. They climbed the narrow stairs to reach the top floor.
" Welcome to my humble home," announced the brunet as he opened the door to his apartment.
He let the blond enter and closed the door behind him. Kenma surveyed the small room for a moment:
"Yeah, I know, it's not amazing, but well, the rent isn't that expensive. Exorbitant for anywhere else on the planet, but affordable for Tokyo."
"No, it's... cozy."
As he was about to continue, Kuroo saw Kenma sniff the air before frowning.
"Damn, sorry, does it still smell like rotten crab? I kept putting scented candles, but I must have gotten used to it. Damn, do my clothes smell like that too?"
He lift his T-shirt to bring it to his nose.
"No, it's just that..."
Kenma stopped mid-sentence, seemingly lost in thought.
"Kenma?"
The blond came back to himself.
"No, nothing. And no, you don't smell like rotten crab; I wouldn't have followed you here otherwise."
"Charming, and what would you have done to me?"
"I would have put you in one of the washing machines at the laundromat."
"Pff. And you would have kept me prisoner in the drum until I agreed to work for your gang?"
"Hmm, good idea, if you want, we can go back."
" No thanks, I'll pass."
They fell silent. Their eyes met, and they smiled.
Kuroo interrupted the exchange by clearing his throat before turning to his kitchen cabinet. He was delighted to find that he still had about ten tea bags.
"Can I get you something? Is tea okay ?"
Kenma nodded and Kuroo complied. Once the task was done, he served the two cups (well, a mug and a Coca-Cola glass) and turned to sit next to the blond who had settled on the floor.
"Sorry, I only have one cup."
Kenma shrugged in response. He rolled up his sleeves to his fingers and grabbed the cup with both hands, blowing on the tea to cool it. Kuroo couldn't help but let out a smile. It was strange to have him there, in front of him. Kenma was deeply anchored to his childhood memory; now, he was here. Kenma had always had a peculiar aura; it seemed to have grown over time, becoming voluptuous, electrifying, yet so tender. Seeing him like this, sitting on the floor of his tiny apartment, inhabiting space without even realizing it, Kuroo couldn't help but feel his heart swell, moved by a strange feeling that didn't have a name yet.
He was quickly pulled out of his contemplation when Kenma met his gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh, nothing! I just remembered when they used to pour hot water into the non-heat-resistant glass at the school cafeteria. Your glass exploded once, right? " Kuroo said.
"I almost died that day. You think it's funny?"
"Pff, die, come on, what a drama queen."
"No, I was deeply injured that day..."
"You got nothing!"
" Not physically maybe."
"What, psychologically? Is that why you became a gang leader?"
"Exactly."
"Lamest backstory I've ever heard."
"You won't say the same thing when I've put you in the washing machine drum."
"Pff, idiot," Kuroo exclaimed before bursting into laughter.
They smiled at each other again. The occurrence was becoming more and more frequent, and Kuroo didn't mind, even though his stomach tied itself into knots every time.
"Anyway, it will never be worse than..."
"The death porridge, " they finished in unison.
They laughed.
Death porridge was the name they had given to an infamous concoction served to them every morning. The concoction in question was supposed to be a rice porridge but had the nauseating consistency of vomit and the smell of mold and sun-rotted fish liver.
"It was awful! I can't even count the number of houseplants I've killed by pouring my glass into them," Kuroo said.
"I still remember when you got caught by Imari-sensei."
"Oh, I thought she was going to hang me by my feet; she was so terrifying..."
"Hmm."
"And do you remember when..."
They talked for a long time like this, delving into their shared memories, pulling out forgotten events from the depths of their memory. Everything surfaced, and retrieving these old memories had something profoundly euphoric about it.
"You know, I continued when I arrived here," Kenma confessed after a while.
Kuroo seemed deeply shocked by this revelation.
"No kidding? You continued volleyball?"
Kenma nodded.
"Is it that surprising?"
"A bit, yeah. I remember that I had to drag you by the skin of your ass every time to get you to practice! "
The blond let out a smile and shrugged.
"Well, it wasn't so bad... And I made good friends because of it."
"Do you still play? I stopped when I went to uni, it's stupid, but well."
"No, I stopped at the end of my second year of high school."
"Oh... Why? Were you already too busy dominating the gaming world?"
"Hmm, yes, and then... my team no longer existed, so well, I didn't see the point anymore."
Kuroo frowned:
"Like, they decided to disband the team, just like that?"
"Yeah."
"That's stupid."
"Yeah"
Kuroo nodded several times, remaining stuck in his thoughts for a long moment, before continuing:
"It reminds me that when I arrived here, I met a guy who used to be a volleyball team coach; now he makes ramen."
"Interesting career change."
"Yeah… Apparently, his team had to be disbanded too, T.O.P stuff, it pissed him off, so he left."
Kenma seemed deeply surprised by what he just said.
"What?" Kuroo asked.
"Nothing... I didn't think you knew about that."
"About what?"
"T.O.P."
"Oh... Well, to be honest, I didn't know what it was before coming here, but well, I gathered that it's a load of crap."
"Yeah."
"Yeah..."
Silence fell. Kenma started drawing circles on the carpet. He stayed silent for a while. Finally, while still staring at the carpet, he spoke again :
"That's why I had to stop too."
Kuroo sat up. He turned his gaze to Kenma. His face was completely neutral, but the way he fidgeted with the carpet betrayed his nervousness. The brunet didn't immediately grasp what it was about.
"Why? Like, they didn't even have... Oh..."
Team of betas. That's what he was going to say. An old reflex, a bad one.
He fell silent.
He felt his heart tighten, and his back hunch under the weight of the atmosphere that had begun to grow heavy. Kenma still said nothing, his eyes fixed on the carpet. Kuroo approached him.
"Kenma..." he asked in a low voice.
The concerned one nodded.
Hundreds of small details came to his mind, looks, words he had heard when he was younger, just before Kenma suddenly disappeared from his life. The question burned on his lips; he was afraid of having understood. Or, on the contrary, of being completely off the mark.
"Is that why you had to leave?"
The blond froze. He remained silent; eyes downcast. He finally nodded. Kuroo felt his heart skip a beat before racing at a frantic pace, his body boiling with a mix of past and present feelings.
"Remember when... I got sick? Just before we left." Kenma eventually said.
"Yes," Kuroo replied in a low voice.
One, two, three breaths.
Kenma raised his eyes, Kuroo found himself captivated by his gaze. The blond's face revealed nothing of his turmoil, but Kuroo could feel the tension intensify all around them.
"I wasn't really sick."
Kuroo didn't break eye contact, and he didn't need to verbalize his question for Kenma to understand it. Kenma looked away.
"I had just entered my first estrus cycle."
Silence.
"Does that mean..."
Kenma nodded. He inhaled before continuing, still not dropping his mask.
"I'm an omega."
Oh.
"Oh..."
"Is it a problem for you?"
"What? No, of course not, Kenma... I feel relieved actually."
The blond frowned.
"Well, that means you're not a yakuza !"
Kenma chuckled.
Kuroo smiled. Kenma had finally let go of his mask, and his face had come back to life. Even though he hadn't been around him for years, Kuroo hadn't taken long to sync back into his frequency: the static noise had dissipated, and the reception of all his signals had become clear again. So yes, he knew that opening up like this hadn't been easy. Acknowledging this flooded his heart with a heavy tumult of emotions, woven with deep tenderness and empathy.
"Kenma?"
"Hm?"
"Can I hug you? I know you're not overly into physical touch, but..."
The blond looked him in the eyes for a second before looking away:
"If it's you."
"If it's me?"
Kenma rolled his eyes and opened his arms. Kuroo smiled and hugged him. He closed his eyes feeling the blond's hands joining behind his back. He tightened his grip around him to convey his support. Their breaths harmonized in unison.
"Thank you..." Kenma murmured after a while.
"Why?"
"Just... Thank you."
"I missed you, you know, " Kuroo replied.
Silence. One, two, three seconds.
"I missed you too..."
They split up; their heads dizzy with tenderness. Silence settled between them, gentle and serene. Kuroo lay down on the floor. Kenma followed suit. A train passed through Nishi-nippori station; the sound echoed around them before fading into the city's rumble.
"Kenma?"
"Hmm?"
The brunet turned onto his side, resting his head on his arm:
"I still don't understand why you had to leave... I mean, it's not a big deal, right?"
Kenma sighed.
"It was a real catastrophe for my parents..."
Kuroo frowned:
"They never really explained to me why, but... with time, I think they must have thought that... well, we were in the middle of nowhere, I would have been the only one around. Plus, everything didn't go... very well. They probably thought it would be better for me...in a bigger city."
"You seem... I don't know, to resent them a little, right?"
"Oh, I deeply resented them... I still do, but for different reasons now. For that... I understand now."
"Hmm..."
Kuroo moved closer to Kenma and rubbed his forehead against his shoulder to convey his support. The blond tilted his head in return as if reciprocating the action. Kuroo resumed his initial position.
"But your parents... well, they're betas, right? How come..."
Kenma gave a slightly teasing smirk:
"Aren't you supposed to know how genetics work?"
Kuroo made a childish grimace.
"No, but like, come on, you get it. You know when you have non-betas in your genealogy!"
"Not them... They didn't know, but they are both descendants of an extinct Sô-kita clan. There hadn't been a non-beta in their family for generations... but here I am."
Kuroo sat up slightly:
"Sô-kita? Like the omegaarchies?"
Kenma blinked several times, genuinely surprised:
"What?"
"No, nothing..."
"What?"
"I'm just surprised you know anything about that kind of thing."
Kuroo wanted to reply with all sorts of teasing remarks but just said the truth:
"As I said, I didn't know much before... I started educating myself when I got here."
"I see... Yes, like the omegaarchies."
Kuroo nodded. His knowledge about the subject ended roughly there, but he didn't necessarily need to know more for the moment.
Twilight rays were now filtering through the room, reflecting on the glass of the small window and decomposing into small patches of light all around them.
"I don't know if your parents did the right thing... but anyway, when I see what you've become, it reassures me. I'm not too worried."
"What I've become? I spend my time hiding my identity because I work in one of the fields where there's the most discrimination against omegas!"
"And you're crushing it!"
"If you say so..."
"A true punk !"
They smiled.
The night would fall soon, but it could do nothing to undo the weaving of the bonds that had reformed between them and would start to grow even more.
-end of the chapter-
Kenma is finally here! We have all our protagonists, let the roller coaster begin!
Next chapter: "Triple homicide on a sorry heart"
"1, 2, 3... and now his heart was racing again. Ah... No matter how hard he tried to push it away, he knew well the reason for his insomnia... The reasons, actually... He couldn't lie to himself anymore, not after this week, not after these three little events that had messed up his mind. Kuroo was usually quite open with his feelings, but this time he had allowed himself to ignore them for far too long, and now everything was crumbling down on him.
Triple homicide on his poor, sorry heart..."