Please, call me Kenma || Kenma Kozume x reader (short)

chapter one

Hello! I'll say this quickly so you can get to reading asap :))
The reader is shorter than Kenma, it's not stated by how much, just that you're shorter.
I also gave you a last name (since it makes it easier for me to write when there's a name) and it's Masaki. Okay, I'll stop taking up your time now—I hope you enjoy!

_____

Every Saturday night you would religiously go to the nearby arcade. Messing around with the games, trying to beat your previous high scores, and attempting to resist the claw machines—but ultimately failing with the latter. More often than not you would leave with a plushie or two that you definitely hadn't needed, but you convinced yourself were very important to own before they were replaced with the next set of toys.

You wouldn't be the type to brag about how weirdly good you were at some of the games, but it would be a lie to say that the idea of showing your friends the number one spot you hold in most of them didn't bring a smile to your face whenever you would dream up the scenario. Week after week you made sure to uphold this streak you had going, ensuring that you remained at the top, beating anyone if they managed to get over your score. It was never particularly difficult to do such, save for a few rare occasions, but perhaps you were starting to get a little too confident with your abilities.

"What the hell...?!" You stared wide-eyed at the screen before you.

    1     856,760,000     KODZUKEN

    2     540,970,000     ENIGMA

Not only were you no longer in the number one spot, but you had been practically eviscerated by this "Kodzuken" person's score. But still, even with a daunting number staring right back at you, rolling over in defeat certainly wasn't going to happen. The next few hours were spent pouring every ounce of energy you had left into getting a higher score. Nearly all the tricks you had learned over the years were laced into your play, yet you still couldn't beat them. Not even close. Your score sat at a pitiful 576,320,000.

While playing you hadn't paid any mind to all the passing hours and only realized it was near closing time when one of the workers approached you.

"Hey uh, so we're closing in about five minutes. Think you can pack up your stuff and go soon?"

Perking up at the familiar voice you scrambled out of the seat you'd been basically glued to and rushed over to them with fervor. The sight of your sandy-haired friend made you want to explode with a newfound type of energy as you sought out to seize this opportunity. "Sorry, I didn't realize the time, I'll leave soon. But please—please, my amazing friend who I love oh so much," you put your hands together to mimic that of a prayer, and looked up at them desperately before saying all in one breath, "who the fuck is Kodzuken?"

He glanced to the side, a hand nervously scratching at the back of his neck. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you about that, but I think it would be fine to tell you that I hadn't ever seen them here until today. They came in maybe an hour or so before you normally do, played the game, then left like it was nothing."

You waved your hands around, almost as if you were trying to grasp the words you were struggling to come up with. "You—you're telling me this person came in here, blew through the game like it was the easiest thing in the world, then just bounced?"

"Exactly."

Letting out a slow and gentle breath you attempted to regain your composure before grabbing your bag. Gripping onto the strap tightly you looked up to your friend, saying a very firm, "I'll see you tomorrow," before promptly leaving the building.

Just as you had said, you showed up the next day. It wasn't very often that you'd show up on a day other than Saturday, but you classified finding this Kodzuken person as something important enough to deviate from your normal. Showing up an hour or two before the time you usually would, you sit at a nearby game that put the other one in view, occasionally playing a few rounds of it while waiting for someone to approach the area. A decent chunk of that night was spent being disappointed every time someone who played the game didn't end up being the one you were looking for.