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kenma didn't see kuroo the days that followed that night. from what he heard of his mother, he and his dad had gone back in town to visit both his aunts, since they had left some of their belongings before moving since they didn't have enough place to pack everything. they were supposed to be back in a day or two, maybe three after leaving. which meant whether today or tomorrow. he had heard it again from his mother. during the time being, she had grown a friendship with kuroo's mother. kenma wouldn't be surprised if he witnessed her now in the living room, sipping on a coffee in the late afternoon.
that day again, he had spent it laying in bed and playing games, all whilst listening to the laughter of the children of the neighborhood playing outside, wishing he had been one of them in his childhood. his parents had moved into this town shortly after he was born and at that time, there scarcely were any other couple with a young child living here. the more he grew up though, the more he grew used to seeing more and more children here but since most of them were way younger than him, he never really took the first step to go and see talk to them. on the contrary, kyouka had a lot of her friends in the neighborhood. she merely had to cross the street, and she was already at her best friend's place.
later in the afternoon, he was called out by his mom who stipulated the neighbor across the street, who owned the orchard had asked for help to pluck the ripe peaches off the trees. kenma's dad was the one who usually helped him out but since he had gone to the city-center to go grocery shopping that afternoon, his mom had asked him instead. the middle-aged man had retired from his job a few years ago and now poured heart and soul into his orchard. given that he knew how much kenma loved the sweet fruit, each summer, when his father would help him, he would come back with a basket full of peaches. they were the best peaches the blonde-haired boy had ever eaten. since they were organic, you didn't even have to wait until you washed them to taste them. they were perfectly sweet and not too sugary, everything kenma loved. they smelled exactly as they tasted, sweet and tangy and it was incomparable with the ones you bought at the local supermarket. and its robe. its robe, covered of a thin fuzzy layer. it was softer than any fabric.
he wasn't particularly motivated to go outside by this heat but thinking about his reward gave him the energy he needed. he had headed outside right after hearing his mother's request and walked towards the small rock path on the right-hand side of his house, near the fence which traced the outlines of the house and the small garden behind it. once he reached the end of it, he noticed how the man had already placed the stepladder he owned under one of the trees. he welcomed kenma with a warm smile, happy to see him since he hadn't reared his head outside in a while.
"kenma! i swear you've grown up since the last time you passed by" it was only an impression because kenma hadn't grown an inch taller since last spring. he wished he had though. he would have liked to be a few inches taller. the youngest chuckled at the words and climbed on the ladder right after. the man held it with both hands to make sure it was stable.
kenma delicately detached every fruit that seemed mature enough from a glance, careful not to squish them too hard whilst doing it because he knew how much the fruit was fragile. then he carefully put them in the basket he had been handed and once he was done with the three, he and the man moved the stepladder to another one and they would repeat the same cycle over and over again until they judged they were finally done.
when the blonde-haired boy set a first foot on the ground, he instantly laid down on the grass after having set down the basket next to him because he was already feeling exhausted. his arms were sore since he had kept them up all along to catch the fruits that were on the higher branches. it made the man chuckle. he then thanked him and brought the basket with him, leaving a smaller one with some peaches in it for kenma and his family. since the latter wasn't going to stand up so soon, he told him he could leave whenever he wanted. he just had to make sure to close the fence behind him. the boy thanked the man for the fruits and as soon as he left, he closed his eyelids.
he didn't exactly know how long he had remained like that but he figured he stayed there for at least an hour because he had felt the lukewarm light of the summer sun travel from his face to his neck, then to his chest. from times to times he would feel colder, meaning some clouds had passed in front of the ball of fire. it wasn't as hot as kenma thought and laying under the sun and the peach trees was something he had never done before, but would certainly give a second thought because he had never felt as peaceful in his entire life, except during that one night on kuroo's bicycle.
the only thing that pulled kenma out of his thoughts was the faint mewling of a stray cat. it was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes because the speckled-coated animal had inched closer to him and stood near his arm, his dilated and narrow green pupils staring right through kenma's hazel eyes. he couldn't figure whether the cat was owned by someone living in the neighborhood since it didn't have any distinctive sign that could confirm it. when the blonde-haired boy raised his hand to caress the head of the cat, the animal fled away as fast as it came.
"you're just like me" he had said to himself because the cat had already crossed the opened fence. it made him realize his mother was probably waiting for him to come back therefore, that's what he did after he made sure to think about closing the fence behind him.
as soon as he got home, he placed the fruit basket on the counter of the kitchen and headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower and hop into clean clothes because he felt gross spending the rest of the day in a sweaty shirt. he had then picked up one of the peaches and took a small bite out of it as he didn't want his teeth to hit the seed if he took a much bigger one, careful not to let down any drop of its juice on the floor because it was lousy enough to get all over. they really were the best peaches he had ever tasted. he probably even loved peaches only because of the taste of these. they were so sweet you'd love them to last a lifetime.
all the while finishing the rest of his fruit, kenma climbed upstairs again and he noticed how he hadn't even closed his window before leaving his room earlier. yet, he quickly chased that thought away as soon as he heard the familiar bell of a bicycle passing by the house next doors he hadn't foretold to hear so soon.
