How We Began

Part One

"Tetsuro! Tetsuro, come over here!"

Kuroo's eyes reluctantly left the brilliantly colored lights of the neighborhood carnival at night, and quickly found his aunt, who was waving enthusiastically at him from her quilting club's booth. He smiled and waved back, heading over to see what she wanted.

"Hey, Aunt Yui!" He bent to kiss her cheek, and then smiled brightly at her friends, who never failed to flutter and giggle like school girls around him. Amused, he turned back to his favorite aunt. His only aunt. Eh, semantics.

"I was about to get something to eat. Want me to bring you back a snack, or something to drink?"
"Oh, no dear, but thank you," she replied brightly. "But you can buy a raffle ticket from me!"
"A raffle ticket? But why?" he asked even as he pulled out his wallet.
"Oh, we really haven't had too many people buying tickets this time," she told him, pulling a sad face. He knew it was just an act, she had a talent for dramatics, but he played along anyway.
"Oh, alright. Fine," he groused playfully. "What do I get if I win?"
"I can't tell you, dear," she smiled slyly. "It's a surprise!"

'Surprise, huh?' he thought as he handed her the money, and she gave him his ticket. He looked beyond her, deeper into the booth, and thought the 1st place prize was the beautiful, multi-colored quilt a few of the ladies were putting the finishing touches on. It was this year's design for the carnival. It looked cozy, too.

"Come back in an hour, dear," she told him, patting his arm and giving him a little shove. "Go get your food and enjoy the rest of the carnival!"
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"Of course I'm not!" she protested happily. "Go on. Go ride some rides, or something."
"Pushy, aren't ya?" He bent to kiss her cheek again, and left.

A little less than an hour later, Kuroo made his way back to his aunt's booth. He was pleasantly full from eating a variety of food, and he even won a few prizes at other booths. Oddly, there was a crowd of people surrounding his aunt's club's booth for the raffle; more people than he was led to believe. Maybe more tickets were sold after he'd left, or his aunt fibbed, which really wouldn't be too unusual. Either way, the drawing was about to begin, so he pulled his ticket out of his pocket.

"Good evening! Thank you for supporting our little club!" His auntie announced into the megaphone. It grated on his ears, but he laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Because we know how excited you are, we'll go ahead and start our drawing! Our third place prize is... four tickets to Tokyo Summerland!" She announced a number, the winner came forward, and the crowd went wild.

Impressed, Kuroo began to wonder if he'd guessed wrong about the 1st place prize. Although the quilt was beautiful, it paled in comparison to Summerland.

"For our second place prize... two tickets for Sky Restaurant 634!"

The crowd oohh'd and aahhh'd accordingly. Another number was called, and another winner went up to claim their prize.

Kuroo whistled lowly. He was definitely impressed by this year's prizes. The club usually didn't give out such elaborate prizes, though, so he grew even more curious.

"And now for our 1st place prize!" His auntie was so excited, he had to laugh. "When I call your number, please come forward!"

She slowly called each number of the winning ticket. Glancing down, Kuroo realized he won. With a wry grin, he ambled through the crowd, up to where she stood in front of her booth, on top of a wooden milk crate. First, she handed him the quilt, folded up neatly, and lying on top was a red envelope with the kanji for 'good luck' written in gold.

"You've won our club's carnival quilt for this year, plus an all-expenses paid trip to Kyoto!"

Kuroo was speechless. Speechless, and also a little suspicious. There had to be more to it. Subplot. Auntie was up to something, if he recognized that little glint in her eye. Prizes like this weren't just for single people. He squinted at her. There had to be a catch.

Not too long later, once the crowd had dispersed, his aunt grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the booth. When she faced him, she looked determined, and rather proud of herself. Kuroo lifted an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Auntie?"
"Yes, there's more. But no one else needed to know."
"Tell me."
"The trip is for two; you and the other winner."
"Other winner? Auntie, what are you... "
"Tsukishima Kei." She overrode him with what he presumed was the other winner's name.

He tilted his head. "That name sounds familiar."

"He's the owner of the little bookshop that opened a few months ago!" She replied excitedly, launching into her story. "The one that most just pass right by; it's so plain-looking! But, he added tiny prisms and stained glass accents to his windows. Anyway, I had gone in just to look around and... I miiiight have mentioned our little raffle. I'm still not sure if he bought a ticket just to get rid of me or not, but he made me promise that if he won anything, I wouldn't mention his name."

Suspicion mounted. "Auntie? Please tell me this isn't..."
"An elaborate set-up for a date? Not at all!" she retorted sarcastically.
"But Auntie!"
"No buts, Tetsu! It's for your own good. And his, too," she said sternly. "Now, I want you to go tell him he won. Hurry, before he closes for the night."
He checked his watch; it was after 9pm. "Isn't it already too late?"
"No. I checked his daily hours sign on the door. Go, Tetsuro! Hurry!"

Left with little choice - one did not refute auntie's orders, no matter how suspect they were - Kuroo put the quilt and envelope in a large bag and made his way to the bookshop. It didn't take long, and he made it just in time. He didn't tell his aunt, but he knew exactly where to go. The little shop had caught his eye after it opened for business, but he hadn't yet had the time to check it out properly. Entering the shop, he heard the tinkling of tiny bells, which were hung just over the door.

"Hello?" he called out.

The shop was so tiny, but it was cozy, and there were books everywhere. The soft, warm light from the antique lamps added to the ambiance. Along one wall, there were a few comfy looking chairs, with a side table next to each one, loaded with books. There were a few rows of shelves lining the opposite wall, and he eased around a table between the door and a counter with an antique cash register. Distracted by the charm of the shop, he didn't see the owner of the shop enter from the back.

"Can I help you?"

Startled, Kuroo nearly dropped the bag he was carrying. He smiled brightly as he turned to face the speaker, and froze.

Was this the Tsukishima his auntie told him about? The man was certainly not at all what he was expecting. Tall, buff (but not overly so), blonde hair like moonlight, golden brown eyes, lightly tanned skin. He was wearing no-rimmed glasses, a v-necked cashmere sweater, and dark blue jeans. There was a glint off a couple obsidian earrings in his left ear. Oddly, he also wore a beat-up pair of scarlet high top sneakers. Kuroo was intrigued.