Chapter 1 | Kenma's Cousin

——————————CHAPTER 1Kenma's Cousin——————————

You checked the time, seeing it was already 4:00 in the morning after binge-reading a BL manga. Your stomach grumbled, and you realized you haven't eaten anything since lunch time. Stretching your arms out, you yawned before dragging yourself off the bed. There was a moment of black out in your vision and the feeling of being light-headed from the postural hypertension that you were already used to, but you still stood up and waited for your senses to adjust.

Grabbing a pair of underwear, a shorts and a hoodie, you went downstairs to the bathroom. Your aunt and uncle were pretty much used to your routine, so you weren't worried about being suspicious. They were laid back towards you and Kenma, and are usually focused at work, so they're quite nonchalant about your and Kenma's lifestyle.

After taking a quick shower, you got dressed with a plain black hoodie and shorts. You went back to your room and grabbed your phone and wallet, then heading back downstairs as you wore a pair of sneakers before exiting the house.

The cold breeze of the early morning blew as you walked, wearing your hood over your headphones while you scrolled through your phone for the perfect music.

"Is that you, Kenma?"

Your favorite fast food was more or less a 15 minute walk, and you'd head there at midnight from time to time to eat, since there aren't any food ready to eat at the house. Today was the time closest to morning that you left the house, since you'd often go there at around 2AM.

"Oi!" A tap on your shoulder startled you, and you instinctively moved away from the presence that appeared behind you. Your heartbeat quickened in surprise and nervousness as you looked at the person with wide eyes.

"Oya? Wrong person?" A tall, fairly-built young man uttered, slightly embarrassed. You took notice of his slightly familiar face, his narrow cat-like hazel eyes and odd spiky black hair. His forehead creased, before his expression turned to that of recognition. "Kenma's cousin!"

"Yeah?" You assumed he was one of your cousin's guests a week ago. Glancing at his outfit, he seemed to be in a jog. 'What an early bird.', you thought.

He relaxed into a warm smile. "What are you doing out here so early?"

'What's it to you?' you inwardly asked, rolling your eyes at him.

"Sorry, do I know you?" You asked, although already recognizing who he was. You didn't like how he acted as if you two were best buddies.

He didn't give you much thought when they first saw you, and he only turned that event into a funny memory about Yamamoto, but now that he saw you up close, he noticed you were actually pretty, and how the shape of your eyes were similar to Kenma's, although you were wearing glasses.

The black-haired male walked backwards until he was past you, blocking your way as he stretched out his hand for a shake. "I'm Tetsurō Kuroo." He introduced, a charming smile playing on his lips.

Staring at his hand, you sighed. Ignoring him would probably only make him annoy you even more. You've read enough books to know how people usually react, though you're not as sharp and observant as your cousin. Accepting his hand, you gave him a lazy shake, avoiding his gaze to show how disinterested you were. "(L/N) (F/N)."

His grip tightened, and you resisted the urge to rudely shake his hand away. You were hungry, and you just wanted to reach (Favorite Fastfood Restaurant) as soon as possible.

"Nice to meet you, Kenma's cousin." He grinned teasingly.

'Then what's the point of telling you my name if you're just gonna call me that?' You thought to yourself, shaking your head as you sighed in annoyance.

"Okay." You replied instead, stuffing your hands in your hoodie's pocket when he finally let go before you continued to walk.

"So? Where are you going?" Kuroo didn't seem to understand that you didn't want to talk to him, or maybe he did, but simply didn't acknowledge that. Either way, you didn't answer and just ignored him, continuing your way to your destination.

"I'm just concerned about a pretty lady walking alone at this hour, you know?"

'What part of me is pretty, playboy?' You thought to yourself again, making it the best decision not to voice out your thoughts.

You didn't intend to acknowledge his presence at all, but when a stray dog suddenly barked and ran towards you, your first action was to shriek as you grabbed his jacket and dragged him in front of you like a human shield. You were afraid of boisterous animals, and anything around you is a shield even if it was a stranger.

The tall male snorted, chuckling as he looked at your contorted face. You looked really un-cute, opposite of how female protagonists in Shoujo animes looked like when afraid. Still, he found your expression amusing.

"Afraid of dogs, are we?" Kuroo crouched down, then patting the stray animal on its head. "Good boy!"

You could only watch in disbelief at how well he got along with it. Although you wanted to keep walking, you were afraid of the dog following you. Things such as the animal biting off your legs from behind would often run through your mind.

"Please hold him off until I get far." You muttered, making the other person break into a laugh.

"Seriously?!" He clamped his mouth as he tried to stop himself from laughing, and you only stared at him with a blank expression.

"I'm serious." You uttered, looking up at him. He was at least 30 centimeters taller than you, and your eye level was by his chest. You can't help but admire how tall he was for his age.

Noticing your facial expression, he stopped himself from laughing, although a playful smile still hovered on his face. He nodded, "Alright, anything for a lady." He winked.

"Gross, but thanks."

True to his words, he kept the dog preoccupied as you walked past, your steps faster than usual as you hurried to be away. You took glances behind to make sure the dog wasn't following you, but you were still paranoid.

Kuroo found himself smiling weirdly when you were completely out of sight, your cute personality — in his terms — replaying on his mind. If he hadn't check his phone for the time, he wouldn't have hurried to get back home to get ready for school.

---

Kuroo left his house dressed in his school uniform. He glanced up at Kenma's bedroom window, wondering if you were back home already. As if on cue, his childhood friend appeared through the front door, giving a small smile to see the black-haired teen standing in front of their house.

As they arrived at Nekoma High, Kuroo resisted the urge to question his friend about you. He didn't want to seem too interested, although he was very curious. Kenma never talked about you at all, aside from when he told him a relative was staying over, but Kuroo never really saw you before.

Classes were over quickly, and it was time for club practices. He didn't really think much about you anymore, and was only reminded when he heard a teammate mention you.

"She was so cute! And her legs, damn!" Yamamoto added, blushing like a high school girl as he pressed his own cheeks. He and Yaku were just talking about you when Inuoka brought up the topic somehow.

"You sound like a pervert."

The captain greeted his team as he entered the club room, placing his bag down. "What were you guys talking about?" He asked, although he already knew. Kenma was there, and it was the perfect chance to ask him about you without seeming suspicious.

"Kenma's cousin, remember her?" The mohawk-haired male cheerfully answered, blushing madly once again. "I want to see her again~"

"I feel like I've seen her before, actually." Yaku stated, catching the attention of the team. He turned to Kenma, a curious expression painted on his face. "Which school does she go to?"

The blonde looked up from his phone with a disinterested face. "She's a third year here at Nekoma, but—"

"Really?!" The boys exclaimed, cutting him off. Yamamoto now had a hopeful expression, wanting to meet you again. "Why did you never tell us you have such a cute cousin?! We could ask her to be our manager!"

"Why are you so obsessed in having a manager?"

"And she's already a third year, it would be impractical to recruit her."

Kuroo's forehead creased in confusion. "Which class?"

Kenma simply shrugged, turning back to his phone. He had no idea which class you were in, as you didn't really talk about it. "She transferred here about a month ago, I think."

"A transfer student... Ah!"

All attention turned to Yaku when he suddenly yelled, and his face just showed that he figured something out.

"There's a transfer student in my class, but she rarely comes to school, so I don't really remember her face." The third year stated. "I think she'd only come once or twice a week at most, attending only a couple of classes, or during quizzes... and would still pass it with a passing score."

"(F/N) hates going out." Your cousin replied. Maybe if he didn't meet Kuroo and didn't join the volleyball club, he'd have the same lifestyle you were living. He was actually a bit envious.

"(F/N)? That's her name?"

"So, she's basically a shut-in? Kind of a turn of..."

"But still cute!"

"Which school did she transfer from?"

Kuroo remained quiet as he listened attentively, extremely confused why he never noticed you before. He was on the same class as Yaku, meaning you were also in the same class as him. Though, he became even more curious on why you didn't go to school much. You, just like him and the other third years of the volleyball club, are in a college preparatory class, so it made no sense why you'd skip.

The captain clapped his hands to get their attention, turning towards the door. "Alright, enough about Kenma's cousin. Time for practice!"

What a hypocrite he was, because he still thought about you. Your cousin was sharp to notice his curiousity, but said nothing about it.

——————————To Be Continued——————————