Rain on the Windows | Kuroken

Chapter 4

The moon was bright in the sky as Kuroo walked home. Akaashi's house had only been a few blocks away, so Kuroo didn't see the need to bring a car. Besides, Tokyo always looked its best at night.

The suburbs of Tokyo weren't nearly as bright as the city was. Some of the lights could be seen at night, but it was always faint.

The air was crisp on this particular night, but that was expected with autumn right around the corner. The leaves on the trees had already begun to change color, and when met with the moonlight, an aroura of colors could be seen. Kuroo wished there was a way to engrain this view into his brain, to have the ability to revisit it when viewing it in person wasn't possible.

A slight breeze whistled through the trees, sending a chill down Kuroo's spine. He felt his hands start to shake from the sudden cold, and shoved them into his coat pockets. A moment after his hands had regained warmth, his right hand flinched at the sudden vibrations that could be felt from his phone.

That's weird. Who would be calling me this early?

Skeptically, Kuroo pulled the phone out of his pocket to read the name sliding across the screen.

It was Kenma.

"What the-" Kuroo quickly picked up the call and held the phone against his ear. "Kenma? Is everything alri-"

"I'm sorry, Kuroo. I'm so fucking sorry for everything." Kenma sounded like he was in pain, as his apologies came in short gasps.

"Kenma, what the hell are you apologizing for? What happened-" By now, Kuroo had completely stopped in his tracks. It felt as though everything around him had stopped. The moonlight seemed to fade on command, darkening the mood, and at the same time, a slight drizzle began to fall, dampening the tips of Kuroo's spiky hair.

"Don't say anything, just please listen," Kenma's voice continually sounded more strained. Kuroo didn't notice the tears start to fall down his cheeks. They just blended in with the raindrops, that had now grown to regular rainfall. Kuroo's heart sunk into his stomach as the faint sound of sirens grew louder on the other side of the call. "T-thank you, for everything. I wish I had a better way to show it," Kuroo could feel his hands start to shake as Kenma's gasps turned into cries of pain. "I love-"

The call cut out before Kenma had the chance to finish his sentence. Kuroo ripped the phone away from his phone, only to hear it beep once before turning off.

Kuroo began pressing the 'on' button vigorously, until a small icon appeared, indicating his phone had died.

"Shit!" Kuroo's curse came in a yell, and it took Kuroo a moment to register that his legs had already started running. He ran faster than he ever had, the wind whistling past his ears, the rain mixing with the tears spilling down his face. He could hardly see, but his legs appeared to have the way back to his apartment memorized. Only one sentence repeated in his head as he raced back home.

I need to get to Kenma.

These words continued to replay in Kuroo's head as he bolted into the lobby of his apartment building, ignoring the manager at the desk that waved to him as he entered. He raced up the three flights of stairs to his floor, not bothering to wait for an elevator. That just wasted more time.

Fumbling with the key, Kuroo grabbed the car keys from the small table next to the door inside the room. He sprinted back out of the apartment, finally reaching the designated parking spot for his small car. He quickly got it, plugging his phone in almost immediately. He prayed that his phone would still pick up the location of Kenma's and hopefully lead him to where Kenma was. It only took a moment for Kuroo's phone to turn on and allow him to find Kenma's location.

Shikoku's General Hospital was the last known location of Kenma's phone. Kuroo punched in the destination, starting the ten-hour car drive it would take to reach Kenma's destination.

Once the drive started, Kuroo didn't plan to stop.

~~~

Kuroo reached the small island of Shikoku early afternoon on that same Saturday. By the time he had gotten there he was exhausted, hungry, and desperately needed to get out of his car. But none of that mattered. Only him making sure Kenma was okay was important.

Shikoku's General Hospital was located near the middle of the island. It was a relatively small hospital, but Kuroo figured it only felt that way to him because most of the hospitals in and around Tokyo were quite large.

Kuroo quickly found a parking spot near the entrance of the hospital and parked his car. His legs felt wobbly from having sat down for so long as he jogged into the hospital. He quickly found a reception desk and was already out of breath by the time he found it.

"How can I hel-"

"What room is Kenma Kozume in?" Kuroo interrupted the receptionist, his voice cracking in the process. Luckily, the woman behind the desk didn't seem to be taken aback by Kuroo's abruptness. She probably had people like Kuroo rush in every day with the same amount of haste.

"Kenma... Kozume..." Kuroo watched the woman type the name into her computer, trying his best to be patient. The anxiety of what may have happened to Kenma grew inside Kuroo as the seconds passed by, each one feeling like another eternity. Finally, the receptionist gave him an answer. "Ah, floor two, room 105, on the right."

Kuroo said a quick "thank you" as he ran off towards the steps.