𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 | 𝕜.𝕜𝕠𝕫𝕦𝕞𝕖

early

"i don't want to burden you anymore."

sighing, hanako tightened her hold on her bag straps as katsuo talked her ear off. "you know, the point guard they have now doesn't even play that position, he's just filling in."

"does that mean you'll be their starter then?" she asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor as they boarded the train.

her brother hummed, handing her some sanitiser before they held onto the bar. "maybe. hey, there's a seat there." hanako's eyes drifted over to where katsuo was pointing.

feeling the anxiety grow in her stomach, she looked away, small hands clutching the bar tightly. "i'd rather stay with you." she whispered, feeling the guilt wash over her at the concern etched on katsuo's face.

"okay." he cooed softly, putting his arm over her shoulder to keep her closer. by doing this, he was hoping to scare off some of the perverts that lurked on public transport. that was why he wanted her to sit down by the girl who looked a few years younger than them - he thought she'd feel safe sitting by her, but apparently not.

as the train began moving, a golden-eyed boy noticed the twins that were speaking almost inaudibly a few feet away. he and kuroo were sat on an empty row, and he was almost surprised that they didn't notice him. perhaps maybe they did, but just didn't want to talk to him. that was plausible. maybe they just don't like me.

the train jolted, and he grunted slightly as his character's health began to go down. clicking his tongue in annoyance, he was about to start a new game before kuroo interrupted him. "hey, kenma." he started, "aren't they your friends from yesterday?"

eyes flickering up, he looked at the saito twins once again, and the taller one noticed him this time. he lifted his hand in a small wave, drawing hanako's attention. she turned a little, making brief eye contact with kenma and kuroo in turn before casting her gaze towards the floor.

kuroo grinned, waving the two over. taking hanako's hand, katsuo kept her close to him as he pulled his sister over to the two. she felt her brain freeze over, mindlessly trailing after katsuo as she had no where else to go. she very well couldn't stay by the bar alone, but she also felt uncomfortable going over to these two boys.

"hey!" katsuo gestured for hanako to sit down besides kenma as he sat beside her. she felt uncomfortable sitting in between them, as she knew everyone would be talking while she sat silently in the middle. still, she'd rather sit with people she at least knew on either side than have the possibility of a stranger sitting next to her.

kuroo leaned over kenma a little to talk to the boy. "you're getting to school pretty early." he commented. it was true, on any other day, the saito twins would've left at least an hour later, however, katsuo had basketball practice this morning.

"yeah, practice. i'm guessing you guys are here for the same reason?" he asked, engaging in conversation. hanako, knowing she shouldn't even attempt to get involved in sports talk, opened her bag and pulled out the sheet music sakurai had given her yesterday.

unbeknownst to her, golden eyes followed her movements, pausing his game as he watched the brunette erase scribbled on notes and correcting them. when she stopped, his gaze flickered up to her face, only to see her scrunching up her nose as she stared at the sheet. writer's block. or musicians block or something, kenma thought.

sighing, she let her hair fall forwards as she began doodling little treble clefs on the corner of the sheet. the corner of kenma's mouth twitched upwards as he saw the careful precision she used, even clicking her tongue in annoyance when she drew one slightly bigger than the others.

he'd completely zoned out of the other boys' conversation when kuroo said his name. "oi, kenma."

"what?" he responded, his question falling flat, and sounding more like a statement than anything else. raising an eyebrow, kuroo smirked. "we were just saying that katsuo should come watch our practice sometime. we were debating wether volleyball or basketball is the better sport."

humming, kenma loaded a new game, attempting to show he wasn't interested and leave the conversation as quickly as he entered it. "wouldn't that be slightly biased?" he asked, thinking that if he opened up a new conversation topic, they would leave him out of it.

mulling it over, kuroo nodded. "guess we'll have to settle it some over way. say, saito-san, do you like volleyball?" it took hanako a moment to realise that he was referring to her. her hand halted, refraining from drawing anymore.

buying herself time, she cleared her throat, clutching her pencil in her fist as she placed her hand on her thigh. "volleyball's cool." she answered, looking up at kuroo. only the two knew she hadn't met his eyes, but kenma and katsuo were pleasantly surprised at her openness to conversation.

they didn't know she was internally screaming and about to throw up. he was so outgoing, and until she became comfortable with him, she found it intimidating, much like how she was terrified of tanaka for a good few months before they became friends.

triumphantly, kuroo nodded with a smug smile. "she just said it was cool! not that it was better than basketball!" katsuo defended, seemingly annoyed by kuroo thinking he had won. still, a small smile pushed through his fake irritation, showing everyone how the conversation was playful.

if kuroo's demonic laugh hadn't ensued, him and katsuo would've heard the light giggle emerge from hanako. luckily for kenma, his shorter stature allowed the sound to fill his ears. his eyes filled with surprise as he looked down at her.

he wasn't sure why, but something about the way expressed her emotion in such a pure and simple form made him feel slightly warm inside, his stomach suddenly turning fluttery and queasy. shaking off the weird feeling, he turned back to his game, not acknowledging how he'd allowed hanako to interrupt his play twice during this train ride.

strangely, he didn't really mind all that much.

꧁꧂