Chapter 38: Jishin desu

Japan: an archipelago with no less than 440 volcanoes, 111 of which are active to this day. A tiny piece of land hosting 10% of the world's volcanoes due to its rather inconvenient location at the convergence of four continental plates—the Pacific, the Philippine, the Eurasian, and the North American Plate.

Kuroo often wondered why his ancestors had decided to settle in such a risky place. Still, it probably had to do with humanity's stubborn resilience, this "resilience" being the tendency to settle anywhere, whether it's -30C or 45C, volcanoes or not. Sure, the view wasn't too bad, but still, what a strange idea to settle here, knowing there are plenty of places on the planet that don't experience thousands of earthquakes every year! The worst part might be that neither his ancestors nor his own experience had accustomed him to such occurrences. Forget the videos where his brave compatriots continue shopping as store shelves threaten to fall on their heads or carry on with other activities calmly while their house threatens to collapse on them: no, Tetsurō was not of the nonchalant type.

Even though it had happened to him countless times, even the slightest tremor could throw him into a panic attack. Unfortunately for him, the past few days had been punctuated by small quakes. Although he had only felt a few minor tremors, each one put him in a state of advanced panic. His only consolation was that thanks to his very rich lover/sugar daddy, he was now the proud owner of a kotatsu. Kenma bought it as a gift for him after he complained that he didn't even have a table to hide under in case the quakes were getting bad. Kuroo was now spending more time under the kotatsu than in his own bed.

He had noticed the electricity and gas in his apartment automatically shut off whenever a tremor was felt, which was a good thing for Tetsurō. This meant that in the event of a larger earthquake, he wouldn't end up in an explosion due to an unfortunate gas leak. So yes, maybe every time the power was cut, he couldn't cook or turn on the lights for an hour, but at least he hadn't died in an explosion, and that was already pretty good.

Kuroo might have an overactive amygdala trying most of the time to protect him from nonexistent threats, but perhaps for once, he should rely on it more than usual.

-/-

First Tremor:

After weeks of forced exile, Kuroo was finally back at CATO. His heart soared with joy as he went down the stairs leading to their headquarters, the voices of his friends starting to reach him. He opened the door and took a deep breath, letting the familiar scent wash over him (a scent that was essentially a vast bath of alpha pheromones and dusty basement odor, but he cherished it nonetheless). Everyone greeted him as he arrived, and he responded with a wave. He quickly spotted Oikawa, Sugawara, and Yamaguchi sprawled on a couch and went over to join them. Oikawa and Sugawara straightened up when they saw him approaching, an oddly pitiful smile forming on their faces.

"Hey," Sugawara softly greeted him, as if trying not to startle him.

Kuroo frowned. "Hey."

"How are you?" Oikawa asked, in the same controlled tone.

Oikawa? Minding how his words can affect others? This was starting to get pretty weird!

"Uh, fine..."

Silence stretched between them, only deepening Kuroo's unease.

"How are they?"

It took Tetsurō a few seconds to realize the question was about his boyfriends.

"They're fine..."

His obvious discomfort must have been manifest because Sugawara clarified, "Um... Yamaguchi told us what happened..."

"Kōtarō mentioned it to me," the younger one added.

Oh, yes, his boyfriend's near-death experience! That explained his friends' concern.

"Oh... that... yeah, it's fine, just shaken up, but everyone is fine... I didn't know you knew."

"Sorry, I told them... Kō said I could but I should have checked with you," Yamaguchi admitted.

"No problem, um... but it's fine, don't worry... Yeah, I mean... That was a lot for a first... or like, well... But it's fine."

Oikawa and Sugawara nodded.

"Yeah, looks like you recovered quickly."

Tetsurō looked up and met Yamaguchi's gaze. A mischievous gleam danced in his eyes and he flashed a suggestive smile. Oh boy...

"Max-st..."

Tetsurō threw himself at him to shut him up, pressing his hands over his mouth. This only amused his friend and piqued the curiosity of the other two. He shook his head, silently begging the younger one not to say a word of it. Yamaguchi chuckled again. He raised his hand, closed his fist, and shook it, forming a sign that Kuroo had recently learned to recognize. He felt blood rush to his face, deeply embarrassed. Sugawara and Oikawa obviously noticed and stared at him. Damn, he needed to tell Kōtarō to stop talking about their sex life, especially to that little pest Yamaguchi Tadashi. Sugawara giggled, and Oikawa gave a knowing smile.

"Oh, I see, you're not too bad then," the diva commented.

"Damn it, Yamaguchi..."

"Sorry," he replied, not looking sorry at all.

As Tetsurō was about to continue, he felt the ground vibrate beneath his feet. He immediately dropped to the floor and placed his hands over his head. No major tremors followed.

"What are you doing?" Oikawa asked.

"I thought there was an earthquake."

Kuroo stayed on the ground.

"I didn't feel anything," Oikawa raised an eyebrow.

"We would have received an alert," Sugawara commented while checking his phone.

"I... I felt the ground vibrate."

"Oh, no, that's the subway construction," Noya said as he walked by.

"Oh..."

Kuroo got up and sat on the edge of the couch. Yamaguchi placed his hands on his shoulders, gently massaging him to help him relax.

"Don't freak out like that; it happens all the time."

"Are you afraid of earthquakes?" Sugawara asked.

"Of course I am!"

"Well, damn, not the best phobia to have over here!" Oikawa exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

They all proceeded to laugh together. Say what you want, but to Kuroo, it didn't seem unreasonable that an event like "Oh my God, the earth is shaking, maybe we'll die, maybe not!" would trigger such a reaction in him.

He crossed his arms and sank onto the couch, completely forgetting that Yamaguchi was still behind him.

"Kuroo, you're squishing me a bit here buddy..."

"Good, it'll train you for when you end up buried under the rubble while I've reacted correctly."

Caught off guard, the youngest laughed.

"That's not nice... you won't come to rescue me if I'm buried under the rubble?"

"No."

"Traitor."

"I would," Suga interjected.

"You'd be buried too!"

"Oh..."

Yamaguchi extended his arms and wrapped them around Kuroo, trying to hug (or restrain) him as best he could despite their respective positions.

"Ok, ok, sorry for upsetting you..."

Kuroo rolled his eyes but tried to reciprocate the hug.

"Max."

Jerk.

-/-

Second tremor:

Kuroo had procrastinated on something he should have prioritize the moment he came back: thanking Konoha-san personally for his help. He had yet to do it, not because he had a good reason, but because he didn't know how. He didn't know Konoha all that well after all, and he didn't know how to express how grateful he was Konoha was there when he needed help. Surely a simple "thank you" wouldn't be enough!

Once again, Kuroo Tetsurō found himself swimming against the tide, beginning to realize that his rudeness knew no bounds. While searching for gift ideas on the internet, he had quickly discovered that he hadn't absorbed the proper etiquette at all. He ended up on tourist websites explaining the gift-giving rules of his own country, and he learned a lot! Since when was he supposed to give gifts in return for receiving them? Should he have been giving thank-you gifts to Kenma for everything he had given him? He hadn't given anything to Oikawa to thank him for taking his classes either... He already knew that he wasn't the most refined person out there, but this was too much!

He decided to head downtown right after class to search for his lost politeness—specifically, a gift that would convey his gratitude to those who had helped him. Finding a gift for Oikawa had been surprisingly easy; it took him only about ten minutes to find a pair of flashy pink heart-shaped sunglasses: diva glasses for his diva, perfect!

For Konoha, however, the task was a bit more challenging. He didn't know Konoha well enough to choose a personalized gift, but he also didn't want to settle for something generic. He decided to use his joker: Kozume Kenma.

"What's up?" his boyfriend said upon answering his phone call.

"Hello to you too light of my life, apple of my eye."

He heard Kenma chuckle.

"Hey, what do you want?"

"I'm looking for a gift for Konoha."

"Ok... cool, and?"

"And I don't know what to choose. Do you have any ideas?"

"Why would I have an idea? I don't know!"

"You know him better than I do!"

"Yeah, no, Keiji would know better."

"He's working."

"I'm working too."

"Kenmaaaaaa, please! Wizard of my heart, please help me!"

"Wizard of my heart? Seriously?"

"You don't have any idea?"

"Hum... I don't know... Oh! If you find stuff to make voodoo dolls."

"What?"

"He likes to make them for people he doesn't like."

Kuroo fell silent. That wasn't quite the kind of information he was expecting... He wasn't sure that providing sorcery materials for torture was a fantastic gift he didn't know enough about vodoo culture to make an enlightened choice, which would be in very bad taste.

"Any other ideas?"

"Hmm... toys for his dungeon?"

Another piece of information he couldn't verify and didn't want to judge for accuracy. Not that it cared; everyone has their guilty pleasures, but he wasn't certain that a whip or a love swing would make a good gift.

"Kenma!"

"What? I'm just suggesting."

"You're not helping at all…"

He heard the blonde snicker on the other end of the line.

"Okay, okay... Hmm... He likes tea."

"Tea?"

"Yeah."

Well, that wasn't a bad idea...

He decided to go with that option.

The problem now was that he knew very little about tea. Yes, yes, his ancestors were probably giving him stern looks from wherever they were, but what could he do? He had transitioned from hot chocolate to coffee without dabbling in other beverages and, alas, had never shown any interest in it. A quick search on the web led him to a small tea shop nearby.

He walked into the shop, immediately feeling out of place in the very sober, traditionally decorated place, where the walls were entirely composed from floor to ceiling of thousands of different teas, stored in large, dark metal jars. Only the names written on them distinguished one from another. He pretended to look at them with interest, but panic was starting to rise within him. Between "Autumn Breeze" and "Sweet Whisper," which was more appropriate? And then, was there a special language of teas? There surely had to be one, like with everything: flowers, colors, wallpaper patterns! Damn, the symbolism was nice, except when you didn't know the codes. If he wasn't careful, he could end up expressing condolences or declaring a passionate sexual desire to Konoha-san without even realizing it!

"Hello, welcome to our shop."

Kuroo jumped when he heard the voice so close to him. The young woman who had approached pretended not to notice. She greeted him politely, and Kuroo did the same.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Tea."

Kuroo saw the saleswoman concentrating hard not to react to this completely idiotic response since they were both standing in front of a wall filled with tea boxes, in a shop that exclusively sold... tea.

"Is it for a special occasion?"

"A gift..."

"Oh... In that case, I can suggest the 'Nightingale's Song' for a professional occasion, or perhaps the 'Whispering Field' for a more personal one."

"Oh, um..."

"The 'Paradise' is also an excellent choice, maybe more for a birth."

"Um, it's to thank... someone who possibly saved the life of someone dear to me..."

The saleswoman quickly blinked, looked at her wall of tea boxes, and finally turned toward the displays in the center of the shop. She eventually presented him with a complete white porcelain tea set with very sleek shapes, beautifully presented in a black box.

"I can offer you this. These are the last pieces of this model."

Kuroo almost fell over when he saw the price.

"As it's the last set, I can give you a 40% discount."

Even with a discount, it far exceeded his budget. Despite this, he nodded.

If this perfect stranger thought this was what he needed to show his gratitude, then so be it. They headed to the cash register.

"Since these are the last pieces, no refunds or replacements will be possible. Would you like it gift-wrapped?"

Kuroo nodded. The employee chose a furoshiki made of a simple purple cloth bordered with gold. She politely presented him with the final result and told him the price. Kuroo nodded and handed over his bank card, his hands trembling, praying the payment would go through. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the card did not decline the purchase. The saleswoman thanked him politely, and Kuroo returned the greeting before turning away, attempting to reach the door with confidence. However, just as he was about to pass through, his phone, along with those of everyone else inside, started emitting a sound he knew all too well. Startled, he dropped his freshly wrapped package, which made a painful crashing sound as it hit the floor.

"Jishin desu, Jishin desu."

Tetsurō froze, mortified. He turned his eyes to the other customers who had the audacity to continue their shopping as if nothing was happening. Only the saleswoman left her post quickly to head towards the display of teapots near the register. Unfortunately, the tremors began before she could reach them.

Instinctively, Kuroo fell to his knees and closed his eyes, which wasn't necessarily the best reaction to have in this kind of situation: if the ceiling were to fall on his head, he wouldn't even see it coming. He simply heard the clinking of metal boxes shaken by the quake, the heaviness of the wooden shelves lifted by the tremors, hitting the floor with a resounding crash. Then, silence returned. Kuroo slowly opened his eyes. Apart from some minor breakage, the shop seemed relatively okay. Everyone had resumed their activities as if nothing had happened. Some customers looked at him with concern, but no one came to his rescue either. Kuroo stood up, trying his best to breathe normally again. He looked for his package, which was at his feet. Timidly, he picked it up and untied the knot. He let out a heavy sigh, disheartened: the entire set was in pieces. Sheepishly, he returned to the cashier.

"Um," he said to get the employee's attention.

He didn't provide any further explanation and showed her the extent of the damage. The saleswoman gave a twisted smile, embarrassed but still trying to maintain her professional sweetness.

"Sorry, but no refunds are possible, and since it's the last piece, no exchange either."

"Oh...

Tetsurō looked at his package, disheartened.

"If you'd like, I can offer you this discovery set; it contains about twenty different samples, and the box is sleek and elegant."

Tetsurō looked at the box, then at the saleswoman, then at the box again.

"I can give you a 20% discount on it."

Bargaining out of pity, he didn't know if that made him happier or more depressed. He vaguely nodded and handed her his card once again.

Cursed be this volcanic land.

-/-

By the time Kuroo arrived at the Fukuro, night had fallen. The air was cool, and the early nightfall was disorienting. The door was closed, and Kuroo looked around for his boyfriend before knocking on the door. Keiji, sitting behind the bar, heard the knock and immediately came to meet him. Kuroo had a crappy day, but as soon as he met his lover's gaze, all his troubles faded away. Akaashi smiled at him and opened the door.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Keiji stood on his tiptoes, and Tetsurō met him halfway for a kiss.

"I thought of you when I got the alert."

Kuroo nodded.

"Hmm, it was awful."

His lover's eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Oh, my poor friend."

He took Kuroo's hands in his and brought them to his lips.

"Don't make fun of me..."

"Never."

Tetsurō, not entirely convinced, smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"And here, no problems?"

"Some tea set broke but other than that, everything is fine."

Kuroo nodded and let his boyfriend detach from him to finish his work. As he approached the counter, he stopped upon hearing a familiar voice:

"'Kaashi, I don't know what we're going to do, we'll have to serve with mismatched plates and cups like animals! Even if I order some new set now, it won't arrive before..."

Konoha fell silent upon seeing Kuroo. The brunet felt his heart tighten. Their gazes locked. Kuroo was troubled by the emotional turmoil he fell, and he believed it was mutual. They stood there, facing each other in silence. Finally, Kuroo bowed deeply, conveyingall the gratitude he felt without verbalizing it. He stayed like that for a few seconds and then straightened up, catching Konoha's gaze again. Konoha nodded, then turned his eyes towards Akaashi.

"I...um... I'll take care of that... If you're done counting the register, you can go."

Keiji nodded. He removed his apron, grabbed the bag he had already placed at the foot of the counter, and headed towards Kuroo.

"Thank you, see you tomorrow, Konoha."

"See you tomorrow."

Kuroo caught Konoha's gaze again. Finally, the blonde turned back to resume his work. Tetsurō turned, Akaashi was holding the door for him. Kuroo moved forward, but before he could step through the door, a small detail came back to him.

Damn, the gift!

He spun around:

"Konoha-san!"

He intervened so abruptly that the latter jumped. Kuroo didn't pay attention and rushed towards him. He took out the purple furoshiki-wrapped package from his tote bag and presented it to the blonde with both hands, bowing politely for him to accept the gift. Konoha was so taken aback that he accepted it without a word. Kuroo immediately straightened up, bowed again, and hurried towards the door. Akaashi watched him return to his side, a bit surprised.

"Lll good, we can go."

Akaashi smiled at him. He nodded and started walking, Kuroo following suit. After a moment, Kuroo glanced at his boyfriend. He was looking at the ground, a smile hanging on his lips.

"What's so funny?" Kuroo asked.

Akaashi looked up, trying his best to adopt a neutral expression. His eyes, however, betrayed him.

"Nothing, why?"

Akaashi was a good liar, an excellent one even, so if Kuroo could clearly hear the lie in his voice, it meant that Keiji was obviously making fun of him.

"It was super awkward, wasn't it?" he finally asked.

"No..."

Exaggeration, lie: did this man have no respect for him?

"Keiji!"

His lover chuckled.

"Well, maybe a little..."

"I knew it..."

"It is the thought that counts."

Tetsurō raised an eyebrow.

"And it is adorable."

Kuroo continued to pretend to pout like a child.

"Will you tell me what he said tomorrow?"

"Certainly. Unless he says something horrible... Which unfortunately happens quite often."

"Hmm... Well, lie to me then."

"Noted."

"No! I was joking! I'll never know if it's true or not!"

"That is too bad then."

As they continued to banter like this, Kuroo noticed that his boyfriend was desperately trying to fit his umbrella into his bag, which clearly wasn't going to work. Kuroo, still maintaining his playful antics, handed him the tote bag he was carrying on his shoulder. Akaashi took it. Realizing that his umbrella would only fit properly by reorganizing the inside of the bag, he pulled out the box inside.

"After all, I am used to it, that's also why I..."

Akaashi fell silent as he discovered what the black box contained.

"Tetsurō, why do you have a shattered tea set in your bag?"

-/-

Third tremor:

"Do you want me to fix it for you?"

Tetsurō turned to Kōtarō, who was carefully examining the broken pieces of his shattered tea set spread out on his kotatsu. They were both at Tetsurō's apartment, having decided to have an impromptu "pajama party."

"Really?"

"Hmm... The pieces are pretty big, it shouldn't be too difficult... I have a kintsugi set my grandma gave me, guess I can try to work with this."

"Your grandmother gave you a kit to repair broken bowls?"

"Artistically! It's a whole philosophy, you know! Transformation, embracing imperfection, all that stuff."

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

On the list of things he had planned to do with Kōtarō for the evening, he'd thought about eating junk food, watching silly movies, and maybe more if they felt like it. He had not anticipated a conversation about the philosophy of broken things. Kōtarō was always full of surprises, after all, and that was part of his charm.

"Can I take it with me?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Kōtarō nodded, gathered all the porcelain pieces back into the original box, and carefully placed it in his backpack. Carefully! Kōtarō Bokuto handling something delicately? Wonders never cease! He didn't have much time to dwell on it because his phone buzzed on the table, interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh, that must be the food..."

"I'll get it!" exclaimed Kōtarō, who jumped up and rushed to the door.

Tetsurō chuckled as he heard his boyfriend rush down the stairs with the grace of an elephant. He returned a few moments later, proudly holding up big paper bag.

"The food!" he declared solemnly.

He chuckled and placed the bag on the table, eagerly unpacking its contents.

"Here, this one's yours, I think."

He set a cardboard box in front of Kuroo, who felt his stomach rumble with anticipation upon seeing the dish he had ordered: katsudon, his katsudon... He had discovered this restaurant a few weeks ago and had been ordering from there non-stop ever since, never getting tired of the amazing flavor of their dish. Naturally, he jumped at the chance to have his new favorite food when Kōtarō suggested the pajama party.

"You're right, they look delicious, babe!" his boyfriend.

"See?"

He grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks. As he tried to separate them, they didn't split correctly, and one of them ended up shorter than the other.

"Crap!" complained the brunet.

His boyfriend giggled:

"Ah! You know what that means! Bad luck in your love life!"

Kuroo looked up at his boyfriend.

"What?"

"Yes, it means your love will remain unrequited."

Let's clarify things again: his boyfriend said this while giggling, his boyfriend.

"You don't love me anymore?"

"No."

Kuroo pretended to sulk.

"You stink."

Kōtarō chuckled and finally gave him a genuine smile.

"Or it could mean that you'll have ugly babies."

Tetsurō burst out laughing, caught off guard by the remark.

"I don't care, even if my children are ugly, I'll still love them, and I know they'll go far in life!"

"Aww, so sweet."

"Look, I'm dating you and your owl face, doesn't stop me from thinking you're valuable and that you'll go far in life."

Kōtarō looked outraged.

"Take that back right now!"

Tetsurō giggled childishly.

"Nope."

His boyfriend walked around the table and grabbed his arms.

"Take it back!"

"But I'm not lying."

He tipped him backwards until he was on the floor, holding him down.

"Take it back!"

"But it's okay to have an owl face."

"Say I'm the most handsome! Say, 'The most handsome boyfriend is Bokuto Kōtarō.'"

"The most handsome boyfriend is..."

"Bokuto Kōtarō."

"Akaashi Keiji."

"No!"

Kuroo burst into laughter. Kōtarō finally let go, and the brunet took advantage of it to wrap his arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

"I never said I didn't like your dumb owl face!"

"You're dumb."

"No, I'm not."

They met for another kiss.

"But my mom always told me that breaking chopsticks is bad luck..."

"Jishin desu, Jishin desu."

Tetsurō froze instantly, panic flooding through him. Kōtarō's expression changed immediately. The tremors arrived a few seconds later, the floor, walls, ceiling, and everything around them began to shake violently. They split up, and without waiting a second longer, Kuroo took refuge under the kotatsu. He closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his ears like a panicked child. He felt Kōtarō's hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, babe, it's going to be okay," he murmured. "It will be over soon. Breathe."

Kuroo remembered to take a breath.

"It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay."

He heard something shatter nearby, the tiles of his small window vibrating, the wooden floor trembling and creaking as if it was going to split.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the tremors ceased. Kuroo opened his eyes again and came out from under the table, breathless. His boyfriend immediately embraced him to soothe him. The brunet scanned the room: there were no major damages to report, except for a glass that had shattered on the floor. He looked at the table; their entire meal was scattered across it.

"Oh damn it, my katsudon... I really shouldn't have broken those chopsticks."

Kōtarō chuckled, relieved to see that his lover was well enough to joke.

Kuroo smiled despite himself. He looked up: the bulb hanging above them was still on.

He frowned.

The light was still on...

"Kō, did the light go out?"

The latter followed his gaze.

"Uh, I don't think so."

That meant the electricity hadn't been cut off, and the gas likely hadn't either.

"We need to get out," he urged.

"What?"

"I might be overreacting, but we need to get out. This isn't normal."

Detecting his concern, Bokuto nodded. They grabbed their backpacks and quickly left the apartment. They encountered other residents going down as well and finally found themselves outside. About ten people were waiting on the sidewalk across the street from the building, and they crossed over to join them. Apparently, he hadn't been the only one worried that nothing had been cut off during the earthquake. Once outside, Kuroo glanced around: there didn't seem to be any major damage. The earthquake hadn't been that violent after all...

"Well, I guess that's it," he finally declared.

Kōtarō nodded.

"Better be safe than sor…"

Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded behind them. Instinctively, they ducked and covered their faces.

Kuroo was unharmed, and so was Kōtarō. He straightened up and gasped in shock as he turned his gaze back to his building: the apartment just below his had caught on fire, the windows had blown out in the explosion, and flames were already stretching inside. He heard someone next to him calling the firefighters. Kuroo stood in front of the disaster, unable to react. He felt Kōtarō take his hand. Helpless, Tetsurō watched the flames spread. Soon, they spread to the upper floor.

His phone vibrated, and he finally looked away: it was Kenma calling.

He answered, his voice sounding weirdly calm.

"Are you okay? Are you both okay?" panicked the blond.

Kuroo didn't respond, staring ahead with empty eyes.

"Ji, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah... We're okay."

"Good, that's a relief, I..."

"But my apartment is on fire."

"What?! Did you manage to get out?!"

"Oh yes, we're in front of..."

"...Alright, okay, I'm coming to get you."

Kōtarō, who must have heard the response, took the phone from his hands:

"No, Kenma! Don't take the car! If there's an aftershock... and he hung up, fuck."

By the time the firefighters arrived, three floors were ablaze.

By the time Kenma arrived, his apartment had finished burning.

"I swear, I'll never break chopsticks again."

Black cats bring bad luck. Kuroo Tetsurō didn't earn the nickname "Jiji the black cat" for nothing.

But they were okay. Kōtarō was okay.

So once again, Tetsurō Kuroo lost his entire wardrobe... and much more this time.

But they were okay.

The sound of the explosion echoed in his ears for days afterwards.

-end of the chapter-

Next Chapter: Mugi Urushi

Oikawa Tōru had two passions in life: astrobiology and fashion. As a child, he dreamed of becoming the first intergalactic fashion designer.

Over time, he realized he would never reconcile his two passions, but that didn't mean he had completely given up either! He chose biology, yes, but at least he was the most stylish nerd of all, and that alone, was very precious to him.

"Look at that one," he thought, having noticed someone entering the lecture hall wearing a hideous two-tone shirt in purple and candy pink with fluorescent yellow stripes. Hideous. The abomination of a shirt was paired with canary yellow pants, Oikawa swore he'd never seen something that horrendous before.

He squinted. The strange bird was getting closer and closer; it was clear he was coming straight towards him now: the audacity! He certainly didn't want this individual to sit near him, no way he… Oh…

"Kuroo?"