𝐌𝐘 𝐈𝐍-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 [Kozume Kenma]

25. JEALOUS

~ KENMA ~

Why was I doing this to myself? What made me think it would be fun to burden myself with a literal child for a week? Why did I volunteer myself for this tedious task of taking care of Shiro for seven goddamn days?

"Kenma, I don't want to go," the brown-haired girl whined, tugging at the sleeve of my jacket.

"Well, you don't have much of a choice." I replied, dragging her down the long pathway of Shinzen Secondary High School.

Earlier this morning, we departed from school for the Tokyo Summer Training Camp. I was initially worried, but during the bus ride, Shiro seemed perfectly fine. Sitting beside me, the small girl slept peacefully through the entire trip like a new-born puppy, nestling into the corner of he bus seat. Upon seeing such a precious sight, I was tempted to wrap my arms around her but thankfully I was able to restrain myself. And so, I foolishly believed that the rest of the camp would be a breeze. I really shouldn't have.

As soon as we arrived, Shiro's anxiety kicked in. Not only did she refuse to speak, or even make eye contact, with anyone outside of our team, but for the past two hours, she had not left my side even once. Honestly, I didn't particularly mind, in fact, I might've preferred it that way. It's for her own safety. Nothing else.

But right now, I was having immense difficulty in convincing her to come and meet Karasuno. Specifically, I really wanted her to meet Shoyo. Even though his boundless energy was likely to overwhelm her at first, I had no doubt she would warm up to him before the end of the training camp. Of course, that was if I could convince her to a least take a look at the human tangerine.

"Shiro, you have to talk to someone else besides Kuroo, Yaku and I." I tried to reason, hoping my words could force their way through her thick stubbornness. "Don't tell me you planned on spending the entire week latched onto my arm."

"I... uh... no, of course not," she laughed awkwardly. "What makes you think that? Look, I just need some time to adjust."

"It's been over two hours. Don't you think it's time you made some progress?" I couldn't decide between which was worse, her separation anxiety or her social anxiety. Either way, it was already getting troublesome and would only get worse as the camp progresses. "Alright, I'm giving you two choices: come with me to greet Karasuno, or stay here by yourself."

"What? You can't do that!" She protested, eyes widening at the thought of... I didn't know which appeared scarier to her, meeting new people or staying here alone. "You said you'd never leave me."

"I did. That's precisely why I'm giving you a choice. Now choose." I said in determination, knowing it was for her own good.

But before I could get an answer out of her, another voice cut in. One that I certainly didn't need to hear. "What are we choosing?"