Monochromatic: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 20: Boy

It is a pretty long ride, nearly two hours, from a train ride from Miyagi to Tokyo. Not that it bothered her, all she needs is her sketchbook, a blunt pencil and a corner to keep her entertained for a long time. She did not make a peep.

Luckily it's not a bumpy ride nor is a crowded one, all the people are dispersed thinly across the seats - only five or so riders. Most of them are old businessmen and women, whose wrinkles are etched deep into their skin and drowsily looking out in the window to see the sunrise. Some looked down on their phones. There's only the low whirring noise of the AC to be heard.

Fukui looks down on her lap, knees bent slightly to tilt the sketchbook to her vision. She presses the eraser tip against her pursed lips, eyeing the roughly sketched carnation with keen, narrowed eyes.

A few good minutes pass, and a defeated sigh escapes her, then she closes the leatherbound book slowly and places it back in her backpack. She looks down on her phone- it is a mere flip phone, silly yes, but it still does the regular shabby job of a smartphone, so she doesn't complain.

It is six in the morning - the girl woke up at three to prepare and get to the train station, the trip lasted two hours. Her eyelids feel heavy.

But then, finally, the train halts to a stop. Fukui looks around and the station outside is starting to accumulate in people. The adults in the same carriage snap awake, while some fixed their tie before getting up to leave.

Fukui grabs the handle in the light travel bag and drags it out along with her. The metal feels cold under her skin, but her hand still somehow remains lightly misted with cool sweat.

She didn't take the time to check her phone yet, not with a cluster of crowds rushing and pushing around with places to be. So she quickly squeezes through, muttering small excuses. She manages to finally get out, and she checks her phone.

"I got here an hour early..." She mutters to herself. "He's probably still at home..."

He's supposed to pick her up once she arrives, however she votes against calling him so early in the morning. She can easily manage to get there by herself anyways.

So she looks around, and as expected, the city of Tokyo is bright with its saturated screens. Buildings towered over, stretching far above the clouds. There's a nearby comic book store, and a local coffee shop. She could use a cup right now.

But that's not what she's there for.

She looks down the cars that pass down the wide road and sees a couple cars painted in bright mustard color and she outstretches her arm. The car stops and the windows rolled down.

"Saito Hotel?" The taxi driver asks.

"Ah no, the Musashino Subdivision," Fukui answers.

"That'll be 1,200 yen," he says.
Fukui nods and opens the door, pushes the handle back and lifts the bag up to fit into the seat. She settles inside and gives the driver the money, frowning slightly at how she remembered how pricey taxis are in the cities. Well, she has to get around somehow.

It isn't long to get there, so after ten minutes she finally reaches her destination. She thanks the driver once more and pulls the luggage out. The taxi leaves.

It's quiet once again. The streets in the suburbs are a bit wider and smoother than the pavement in Miyagi. Even so, it felt just like home. It is seven in the morning, the air is still, and the sunlight is warm on her skin.

She stretches her back and begins the search for his house.

It proved to be harder than she thought, because the driver seems to have dropped her off in a place in which she's rarely ever pass by. It doesn't help either that the houses looks similar, staring and waiting at her. Hesitantly, she looks down on her phone.

"Maybe I should just call -"

"...Do you need help to get around?" A voice asks from behind.

Her shoulders immediately tenses up. At first, Fukui thought the voice belonged to a girl because it is soft and meek, but it's somewhere of a borderline of just high enough to be a mature, calm girl or weak-spirited boy. It is the latter. He has a stack of junk mail on one hand - he might've spotted her as he went to get the mail.

The boy wore his baggy pajamas, a good five inches shorter than her. A first year in highschool, she assumes, and he has his bangs hold up with bobby pins and wore thick-rimmed circular glasses. Fukui is too tired to be amused by his appearance, so she just nods.

"Which house...?" He asks sofly.

"Ah... The Kuroo residence." She says slowly.

The boy bites the inside of his lip, as if he's reluctant but nods wordlessly. He walks down the right road on the crossroads, and Fukui quietly follows.

The whole walk is awkward to say in the least, so Fukui yawns loudly, and breaks the silence.

"Do you... know them? The family, I mean."

His answer is short and straight to the point: "yes."

"Then do you know Kuroo Tetsurou?"

"Yes." The boy says, but then he whispers the next phrase so quietly, Fukui had to lean forward to hear him. It is unsure.

"You're... girlfriend of...?"

Fukui simply smiles sleepily at his assumption, "nah, his cousin."

It is quiet again. Fukui picks the conversation back up.

"Do you guys go to the same school?"

"Yes."

"Same class?"

"Yes."

"Are you his friend?"

There is a pause.

"...No." He answers quietly.

The conversation ended at that. Fukui seems so just get the hint that the boy isn't such a social person, so she just kept her mouth shut as she followed him around. Step by step by step, there's only the tip tapping of shoes against the pavements.

The boy halts to a stop and faces the house to his right. Fukui gives him a thankful nod, and approaches the front door and rings the doorbell. She looks behind her to see that the boy is still waiting along down in the street, fiddling with his thumbs.

The door creaks open and Fukui turns back to the door. An eye peers through the tiny crack, but after recognizing the girl the door opens up wide to show Tetsurou, hair tussled up as always and eyelids dropping down. He shamelessly scratches his stomach and exposes his torso beneath his shirt, yawning. Fukui doesn't seem to care.

Kuroo raises his eyebrows, "I'm supposed to get you here."

"Train came in early," Fukui says, "and someone helped me get here."

She turns around and sees that the boy is no longer there in the street. Kuroo isn't sure where to look or what and who to look for, and skeptically gives her a disbelieving look.

"Are you sure? You're probably just seeing stuff since you're tired. Come in, get some sleep first. Mom will cook us some breakfast if you want."

Fukui rubs her eyes and shakes her head, still staring at the empty road. She swore someone was there... He was there... He was standing right there...

She turns to him, unsurely and slowly, "y...yeah. Thanks for having me, Tetsurou."