The Cat and the Crow

Aftermath

Checking his phone for the millionth time in the last four hours, Tetsuro sighed. It was 11:30pm. Kei had called and said they had just reached Saitama, and should be in Nerima in another half hour or so. He'd cleaned the house, made sure the guest room was ready for Akiteru, and started putting together a late night meal for them. During that time, another three screenshots had been sent by Hinata to the group chat.

1/3

{{I had the idea for my experiment as soon as I saw that video playlist thing Tsukishima made for Kuro's birthday. By then, I already knew what I was feeling was jealousy, and I wanted to see how it would affect them. I started taking pictures and posting them; I brought up the old roommates joke that only Kuro knew about. I posted to Twitter about how awesome it was to be spending time with Kuro again... all to make Tsukishima jealous.}}

2/3

{{But I miscalculated on a couple things. I didn't count on them constantly keeping in touch with each other. I also didn't count on believing my own lies to the point that, if I succeeded in breaking up Kuro and Tsukishima, then I could be the one Kuro turned to for love and comfort. I believed that with Tsukishima out of the picture, it could go back to the way it was before.}}

3/3

{{It wasn't until you started asking questions, Hinata, that I realized what I'd done. I don't expect anyone to accept my apologies; I've burned so many bridges that there's no hope to rebuild. I will finish out the year as setter for the volleyball team, but after nationals, I'll 'retire' and let someone else take my place. Someone better suited for the position than I am. If it comes down to it, I'll transfer to another school for my 3rd year. I doubt there's anything I can do to right my wrongs, but for what it's worth: I'm sorry.}}

No one had said anything since the last screenshot was sent. What was there to say? Kenma had explained himself and his actions, and apologized. Tetsuro knew what he should do, but it wasn't that easy to just repudiate someone you've known your whole life. Flopping down on the sofa, he leaned over and braced his arms against his legs. If it had been only him that Kenma took aim at, he could handle it. It's not like he hadn't done it before, dealing with the aftermath of an experiment. And that was only after he'd figured out what had happened, in some cases. But Kei had been targeted, and that was... unacceptable. Unforgivable.

Reaching for his phone, he checked the time. Again. Fifteen minutes left. This had to be the longest half hour in the history of half hours, and it was driving him mad. Just as he was about to put his phone down, a notification pinged, and he tapped it.

[How are you doing?]

[I don't know]

[WHAT DO YOU MEAN? AREN'T YOU HAPPY?]

[Well, yeah. Kei will be here soon, so I'm happy about that]

[And this debacle with Kenma seems to be over as well]

[That's the thing. I don't trust him enough to think it's over]

[DO YOU THINK HE'D TRY AGAIN?]

[Honestly, I don't know what to think. I just don't trust him anymore]

[If there's anything we can do, let us know, okay?]

[Thanks Akaashi. I appreciate it]

Taking a deep breath, he rose from the sofa, unlocked the front door, and then went into the kitchen. The water for the somen was boiling, so he dumped the noodles in the pot, and then filled a large bowl with ice and water. While the noodles cooked, he took the pickled veggies out of the fridge, as well as the tea. With just enough time to spare, he set the table, and then turned back to stir the noodles, and check their doneness.