Is he really there?
Those words plague Kuroo Tetsurou's mind. They were inked on his wrist in messy writing with scratch marks as if his soulmate's hand was never stable. It was such a strange question.
"Stop looking at it, you look like an idio...
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"So how's Yoshioka?" Yaku asks with a disappointed voice as Kuroo enters the gym. "Huh?" "You were staring holes into her today. You hardly even ate your damn lunch," Yamamoto says. "I'm telling you, just ask her out, it's so annoying to watch you. It's like you think any girl would reject you or something." "I wasn't even looking at Yoshioka," he says calmly, pulling his shirt over his head. Every member stared at his back in confusion. "What?" Kenma asks. Kuroo looked over his shoulder. Kenma reacting to something was weird. He looks forward again to put his practice jersey on, slipping a jacket over his shoulders as well. It was still early in the year and it could be chilly outside. He wasn't actually sure where the gym keys were so in case they had to wait for a staff member, he didn't want to freeze. "Her friend wasn't there," he says softly. "It's a little early on in the school year to be missing school, so I got worried." "It's probably 'cause she's crazy," Inuoka says. "I mean, like, I'm not trying to be mean, but apparently, she's super weird. Never writes stuff down, never pays attention, always looking around, fidgeting, twitching. She disappears the last two hours of class, too, I guess. She doesn't clean either." "Kinda just sounds like she's a delinquent. Maybe she's skipping?" Yaku offers. Kuroo shakes his head a little. "She wouldn't," he says in a small tone. "From what I can tell by the way she acts, that's not something she would do." "And where'd you get that from?" Fukunaga asks. "She always has the same type of breakfast in the same container, she's always here at the exact same time each morning, has the same lunch every day. I don't think skipping school is something she would do. I guess I don't really know her, but it just seems weird to me." "So you've been staring at Yoshioka's friend the whole time!" Shibayama says loudly, putting the pieces together. "Not Yoshioka herself." Kuroo gives him a confused look. "I thought you guys were joking about that. Why would I even stare at Yoshioka? She's a bitch." Kuroo didn't curse often and when he did, it was usually in extreme frustration. Him saying it so calmly threw them all off. "Oh, sorry. But it's true, she's not a nice person. We went to middle school together; she never has been. Her sister's pretty sweet, though, I don't know how they were raised together," he explains with a shrug. He pushes the gym door open, letting the group flood into the warmth. He glanced back one more time as if he expected her to show up suddenly after hours. Of course, she didn't.
Kuroo anxiously nibbled on his lip as the bus drove steadily towards Kumamoto. His eyes were fixed on his wrist. Is he really there? The scratchy writing dug itself deep into his brain. If given the choice between Yoshioka's friend and his soulmate, who would he choose? His soulmate was such a gamble, but at the same time, he was literally told by the universe that he would love them. Then again, he knew Yoshioka's unnamed friend was gorgeous. She seemed to be quite nice. She was kind of a gamble, too. Is he really there? "Stop looking at it, you look like an idiot," Kenma says calmly. "You don't get it, Kenma," Kuroo says. The boy shrugs. Wasn't much he could say to that, he really didn't understand. "You should probably pick one now before you have to make the choice in front of the both of them," he says calmly. "What if you meet your soulmate tomorrow? Are you gonna be like, 'no thanks, there's actually this really pretty girl back home?'" "No, of course not," he sighs. "I'd pick my soulmate." "And if you were dating the girl when you met them? What would you say then? Pick your current girlfriend or your destined spouse?" Kuroo froze at the thought. Who would he choose? "Exactly my point. You have no idea. Hurry up and pick."
The city of Kumamoto was nice. The air was decently clean, but it did sort of feel like Tokyo. Their game was tiring as all hell but Kuroo still enjoyed it. Granted, he was a little worried about Yoshioka's unnamed friend, and about how his small crush on her might affect his future relationship with his soulmate, but now was not the time to worry about that. Now was simply the time to score as many points as possible. Kuroo slouched over the table as they sat on comfy pillows. The restaurant smelled amazing. The victory of the practice matches had been great, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired. The boys chatted and he attempted to, but there was a lot on his mind at the moment. Not just Yoshioka's mystery friend; a lot of things. Kuroo waited until the whole team had settled into bed and fallen asleep before wandering outside. He wasn't particularly tired and he had a lot that he wanted to sort through before resting. "Oh, wow! Kuroo, so strange to see you down here." He looks over, forcing himself not to sneer at the girl. Yoshioka had bullied him throughout elementary and middle school, and always made fun of Kenma when he wasn't looking. She even had the audacity to tell him once that he was "strong" because he could stand the comments being thrown in his face. "Strange indeed," he mumbles. His head was tipped back towards the sky with his hands stuffed in his Nekoma jacket's pockets. Despite being more southern, the breeze from the ocean still washed Kumamoto just like it did Tokyo, and it was chilly. "What a coincidence we ran into each other all the way down here," she says with a chuckle, her finger sliding between her lips as if she needed a chew toy. "It's like we're unofficial soulmates, constantly bouncing into each other." "Right," he mutters. "We should make it official, then, shouldn't we?" Kuroo knew exactly what she wanted. She was terrible at hiding it. Still, he shrugged as he feigned ignorance. "You can't change your soulmate." Yoshioka sighs, her finger falling out of her mouth. "I mean, we should go out, Kuroo. Be my boyfriend. I won't let you down." Her voice dipped a bit and she gave him a small wink. He cringed a little, both at her boldness and at her gross wink. He really had hoped she'd give up. "No thanks."
