Behind The Cover (Kuroko no Basuke Fan Fiction)

15 | Stray Dog

- Chapter 15 -

Stray Dog

The dissected letters on the placard of the shop were barely readable but Kuroko knew that this was the shop. The tiny bell of the door barely rang when the boy entered the shop and the old man who was sitting behind the counter lifted his head from his book to wave to him, only to get lost in its pages again soon after. Ino couldn't have picked a weirder place.

The bookshop was messy with piles of books barely standing in front of huge libraries, making it seem like a fort was in the progress of making. Kuroko strolled into the shop, his eyes searching every small inch of each book and their yellow pages. It seemed like not a soul would walk in there except from curious passengers and regular customers.

The boy picked a small corner where he could sit and not be afraid of a whole library falling on his head. He settled down and picked the closest book to him to read.

"The Life of a Stupid Man" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, read the male on the inside, opening its thin pages and starting to read its contents. His eyes were following one and each word but his mind was constantly flying back to Ino and their small argument the other day, moreover his suggestion to meet up. He was surprised when she agreed to this since he thought that she wouldn't like meeting up with him after this small incident.

Half an hour passed. Three quarters passed. After a few efforts of trying to concentrate on the book and failing miserably, Kuroko set it aside and decided to focus in his surroundings.

An hour of waiting was completed. Then another half an hour of staring into nothing and thinking until his mind got tired.

"What are you sitting here for so long, boy?"

The old man who was owning the shop was standing besides a pile of books, a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth and his hands remaining crossed behind his back.

"I'm waiting for a friend to come."

The man scoffed, "If they were to come, they would had probably arrived before you did. You've been here for over an hour, ya know."

Kuroko simply hummed, feeling his stomach drop at the thought that Ino wouldn't appear. Was she that mad at him? Had he chosen the wrong time and place to meet up with her? What in the world had he done, eventually?

Kuroko turned to the old man who was simply staring at him, "Do you have any regular customers?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Is a girl coming here often? Short black hair, awkward, weird behavior?"

The old man tapped his foot on the dirty pavement, "Ah, yes, her. She hasn't appeared here for over a month. Why are you asking boy?"

"She's the friend," murmured Kuroko as he stood up, dusting off his pants supposedly. 

Unfortunately for Kuroko, the old man had a very good hearing and heard his answer. However, he decided not to comment on it and let the boy do what he wanted.

Kuroko was standing right out of the shop, "The Life of a Stupid Man" in one hand and the empty street of the peculiar neighborhood waiting for him to walk on it. It seemed like the famous "boulevard of broken dreams" from that one song was fitting in this situation but they weren't his own dreams which were broken. It wasn't his heart which was shallow. It wasn't his shadow which was his only company. 

But he walked the road alone, so very alone.