Offline Connection (Kenma x Reader)

Chapter 1

Agawa Y/N was, by all accounts, the mother hen of Nekoma High. At just 17, she was the embodiment of warmth and care, much like her own mother, who had raised her with her older brother Ito, now studying at Tokyo University. Y/N was the type of person who could effortlessly make everyone feel like they were wrapped in a cozy blanket of kindness. She was hardworking, considerate, and always looking out for others, to the point where people affectionately joked that she had "mom vibes."

"Y/N-chan, you're too much sometimes," her friends would tease whenever she took class cleaning duty seriously, reminding everyone to do their part but in such a gentle, encouraging way that no one could ever get annoyed.

Like today, for instance. Y/N was busy ensuring the classroom sparkled as if her life depended on it, walking between desks with a damp cloth in one hand and a broom in the other, keeping an eye on her classmates.

"Keiko, don't forget to wipe under the desks too! Dust loves to hide there!" she reminded her friend with a smile.

Keiko groaned playfully, "Y/N, who even looks under the desks?"

"The germs do," Y/N replied with a wink, making everyone laugh. She wasn't bossy, just genuinely caring, and somehow, it worked. The room buzzed with laughter and conversation as everyone chipped in, motivated by her presence.

Little did Y/N know, the day wasn't over yet-and something far more peculiar awaited her.

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After her Home Economics club finished that afternoon, Y/N was walking past the gym, humming softly to herself, when she noticed something unusual by the row of outdoor sinks near the gym entrance. A boy, hunched over, was scrubbing furiously at his clothes with a frustrated frown. The more she looked, the more it became clear that the poor guy had no idea what he was doing.

"Is he... trying to erase a stain? Or performing a ritual?" Y/N mused to herself, unable to hold back a chuckle. The boy, none other than Kenma Kozume, was clearly struggling.

Being the maternal soul she was, she decided to help. After all, she couldn't just leave someone battling a stain like it was their worst enemy.

As she approached, she asked softly, "Hey, are you okay? Need any help?"

Kenma, who was very much in his own world of panic over the stain, jolted upright, his heart practically leaping out of his chest. "Huh?!"

"I didn't mean to startle you," she said with an apologetic smile. "But, uh, I think you're about to wear a hole in your shirt."

Kenma glanced down at his hoodie, where the stain-what appeared to be juice-still remained despite his scrubbing. He grimaced. "Yeah... it won't come out. I don't really know how to do this," he admitted in a small voice.

Y/N tilted her head, bemused. "Wait, you're telling me you've never had to wash out a stain before?"

Kenma shook his head. "Not like this. I usually just... uh... let it stay?"

Y/N blinked. "You... let it stay?"

Kenma shrugged, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "Yeah. Stains don't bother me. I just wear black most of the time."

She couldn't help it. She laughed, but not in a mean way-just in a genuinely amused way. "Oh, wow. You're really hopeless, aren't you?"

Kenma's face flushed a little. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Y/N had already set her bag down. "Here, let me show you how it's done."

And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Y/N dug into her bag and pulled out... a bottle of detergent.

Kenma blinked several times, staring at the detergent bottle like it was some sort of mystical artifact. "Why... do you have detergent with you?"

Y/N just smiled innocently. "Oh, I always carry some with me. You never know when someone might need it!"

Kenma gave her a deadpan look, but internally, he was just stunned. Who carries detergent in their school bag?!

She didn't give him time to question it further, though. She went right to work, showing him how to dampen the fabric, rub the detergent into the stain, and then rinse it properly. All while giving a cheerful mini-lesson on stain removal.

"See? It's easy once you know how. And if you ever spill something on yourself again, you won't have to declare your hoodie a lost cause," she said, handing the now-clean hoodie back to him.

Kenma took it, still mildly bewildered. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"No problem!" Y/N smiled brightly, wiping her hands on a tissue she pulled from her pocket. "By the way, you're Kenma Kozume, right? From the volleyball team?"

Kenma nearly dropped the hoodie again. "How do you know that?"

"Everyone knows that," she replied casually. "You're kind of famous, you know?"

Kenma blinked, his social anxiety spiking for a moment. "Uh... j-just call me Kenma," he muttered, hoping to avoid the attention. Why I'm famous? Ew!

"Okay, Kenma!" Y/N cheerfully replied, standing up and adjusting her skirt before grabbing her bag. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Good luck with volleyball!"

And just like that, she gave him a little wave and walked off, leaving Kenma standing there, still processing what had just happened.

As he turned back to the gym doors, hoodie in hand, he was greeted by the sight of his teammates, all of them staring at him with grins that made it clear they had seen everything.

Lev, always the loudest, broke the silence. "Kenma-san! You know Y/N-san?"

Kenma sighed, knowing where this was going. "She was just helping me with a stain," he said simply.

"Helping you with a stain?!" Yamamoto practically howled with laughter. "Kenma, how do you not know how to clean a stain?"

Kuroo chimed in with a wicked grin. "You needed a girl to save you from a juice stain, Kenma?"

Kenma's deadpan stare made no impact on them. "I didn't ask for help," he muttered.

"You should be thanking your lucky stars she helped you!" Yamamoto added. "Do you even know who Y/N is? She's practically the school's mom! She helped me once when I couldn't even talk to a girl!"

Lev nodded excitedly. "And she said I had a good height!"

Kenma just blinked at them, unimpressed. "I didn't even know her until just now."

"Dude, the whole school knows her," Kuroo said, still teasing. "You're probably the only one who didn't."

Kenma shrugged, trying to dismiss the situation. "Well, now I do."

But as he walked into the gym, pulling his hoodie over his head, he couldn't help but glance down at his now stain-free hoodie and think, That was... kind of nice.

And despite himself, Kenma found that his mind kept drifting back to the girl with the detergent in her bag and the brightest smile he'd ever seen.