A Light On A Bridge

A/N: This takes place in Miyagi in place of Kenma and Hinata's canon meeting basically.

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Kenma stared down at the water rushing below. The lights from the street lamps played on the surface creating quite a show but he didn't care about that. He barely saw it. He barely saw any of it.

A light gust of wind chilled the tears on his cheeks and blew his hair into his eyes. It was a cold night. Kenma wasn't dressed for it in his shorts and hoodie.

If the fall or drowning doesn't kill me, the cold will.

That's what he hoped, not that any of those options sounded like a pleasant way to go. It would probably be slow and excruciating. There was a risk he'd fight for his life in the last minutes and survive. There was a risk it could take more than an hour for him to die.

Unless he died from the fall, this could be excruciating. But, even if it took hours, once those passed, everything would be over. It'd be the last thing he'd have to endure. And, if he was lucky, there wouldn't be much of him left for his family to deal with. His parents or Kuroo wouldn't find his body till it was unrecognizable. Maybe never. They could just go on and forget if they even cared he was gone.

They'll be better off this way. I'm dragging them down. It's better for them if I don't exist.

Kenma gripped the rail of the bridge with his hands till his knuckles turned white. This was the right move. This was for the best and he knew it. It had taken him over an hour to get here and he'd stood on the bridge for another two. The whole time, his brain went over everything, calculating every possibility. This was the best one. This is what he wanted. It was what he had to do. It was the only way to be free and to free the ones he loved.

Besides, if anyone really wanted him here, wouldn't they have contacted him by now? His phone hadn't made a single noise since he left home.

He closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. A few more tears fell from his eyes as he lifted his leg about to place it on the rail so he could hop over.

"What are you doing?" A sudden voice, seemingly out of nowhere, stopped him.

Kenma dropped his leg and ducked his head to hide his tears behind his hair. The blood in his body felt like ice and his stomach churned as he struggled to come up with a good lie to get the stranger to go away.

"Looking at the water," Kenma finally mumbled.

There was a pause and footsteps coming closer, but Kenma didn't dare look up.

"You were going to jump." The voice was solemn and blunt and a statement. There wasn't even a bit of questioning in the tone.

Still, Kenma tried to deny it. He needed this guy? to go away. "No. I-"

"I was too."

"Huh?" Surprised and confused, Kenma raised his head and turned it towards the stranger. He couldn't make out a lot in the low light except bright orange hair and the build of someone a bit smaller, but probably close in age to himself. He was leaning on the rail and staring at the water making it impossible to read his facial expression. Was the stranger messing with Kenma?

"Someone once told me that's the only reason people at night come here... It's good for jumping." The stranger lifted his head with a small sad smile.

"I was just looking at the water," he insisted again.

"I don't really believe you." The sad smile turned to a serious frown. This guy wasn't falling for it.