Chapter 4

                                    

                                          
Kurumi was on the way back home along with Kenma and Kuroo. Apparently, they head in the same direction. The three of them were sitting on the seats inside the subway. Thankfully, the subway was empty during this hour.
Kurumi was sitting beside Kuroo as she read her book. While she was focused on her book, Kuroo glanced at her before leaning near her. Kurumi glance at him when she felt a weight being pressed down on her side. Her eyes widened at their closeness. She felt blood rushing to her face that she quickly looked back to her book.
"What are you reading?" Kurumi heard his deep voice right beside her ears.
"Mirror Mirror..." She replied, trying to not focus on their closeness.
"What kind of book is that?"
"It's a Disney's twisted tale about Snow White," she explained.
"Is it good?"
"Well... It's not bad, I guess. Nice enough to spend my time at least."
He continued to lean onto her side and read the book with her until they reached their destination. Kurumi sighed in relief as soon as he leaned away from her. Her heart probably would not be able to handle it any longer.
• • •
When they reached her house, she waved at them. "Bye, see you tomorrow, Kenma, Kuroo-san."
Kenma just nodded his head while Kuroo stopped her. "Can we walk to school together and back home from now on?"
She nodded her head with a smile. "Sure, see you in the morning then."
• • •
When she exited her entrance door, she spotted two silhouettes. "Morning, Kuroo-san, Kenma!"
"Hey, Kitten!" Kuroo waved at her while Kenma nodded his head just like the previous night.
Kurumi had an unnoticeable blush tinted on her cheeks at her nickname. She was still not used to it.
As they were walking to the subway station, Kenma was focused on his game, causing Kuroo to nag. "Kenma! I said not to use your gamepad while walking! It's dangerous!"
Kenma did not even react to his nagging and focused on his game, making Kuroo sigh. Kurumi who watched them from the side, laughed as their relationship reminded her of hers and Akaashi. Kuroo, hearing her laughter, turned towards her. "Oya? What's so funny, Kitten?"
"N-Nothing!" She said as she stopped her laughter. 
Kuroo's eyes twinkled with playfulness as he approached closer to her, making her move away from him in instinct. However, she could not outrun him as he quickly caught up to her and began to tickle her. "You better tell me, Kitten~"
She laughed as she struggled to get away from his tickles. "AHAHAHAHA S- AHAHA STOP! AHAHAHA I'LL TELL AHAHAHA YOU AHAHAH!"
He gave a satisfied smirk before finally letting go of her.
She tried to calm her breathing before speaking. "It just reminded me of me and my childhood friend's relationship. He is just like you."
"Childhood friend?" He asked.
Before she could reply, they heard Kenma mumble. "If we don't hurry, we are going to miss the subway."
Both of their eyes widen and began to run towards the station with Kuroo technically carrying Kenma. Fortunately, they managed to get into the subway, but they could not find a seat since it was fully packed. The three of them were squished by the people around them.
Once the subway reached the next station, the person behind Kurumi lost his balanced and pushed her, making her lose hers as well. However, Kuroo quickly caught her with his arm, saving her from the fall. "Be careful, Kitten."
Some people left the subway and a new amount of people began to enter the transportation. This was the exact reason why Kurumi hated riding the subway during the morning. Kurumi complained internally as she tried to not get pushed around. 
As she was trying to stand still, she felt an arm wrap around her waist, making her surprised. She quickly turned to the person and saw that it was Kuroo. "I'll hold you until we reach our destination."
She blushed at their closeness, so she glanced at the floor to prevent him from seeing it. "H-How about Kenma?"
Kuroo pointed behind him. "He already found a seat for himself, enjoying his game."
She looked at Kenma in shock. How did he even manage to find a seat? While Kurumi was amazed, she heard Kuroo snicker. "Kenma is really observant. That's why he managed to find a seat."
Kurumi nodded her head in understanding.
• • •
Kuroo already knew that Kurumi was light, but it made him realize it once again as he held her by her waist. It makes him wonder if she even eats. He glanced down at her and notice her pink cheeks, making him chuckle quietly. She was really adorable. At the same time, it made him wonder how she was so comfortable around him and trust him to not do anything? He, of course, does not plan to do anything, nor probably may not have the right to say that since he was interested in her in the first place and even calls her Kitten, but he was worried. 
"Kitten, you do realize that we technically just met?" Kuroo asked.
"What about it?" She asked as she looked up at him.
"I was just wondering why you are comfortable with me. You are even fully trusting me that I will really just hold you."
She gave him a confused expression as she tilted her head slightly in a cute manner, making Kuroo want to clench his heart. "I don't know, but I just feel like I could trust you."
He would be lying if he said he was not happy to hear her say that, but she was too defenseless in a way. "That worries me."
Not hearing what he said, Kurumi asked him to repeat it. "What? I couldn't hear you."
Kuroo just shook his head and kept his smirk on. "I was saying that you never know if you can really trust me or not. I may be a bad guy."
"Yeah, I heard from my friends about your rumours," she nodded her head.
"Rumours?" He was now the one who had a confused look. 
"My friends said that there are rumours that you are a playboy, so I have to be careful around you," she explained.
Kuroo was shocked as he didn't even know he had those rumours about him. "Shouldn't you be more cautious around me then?"
"Well, technically yes, but when I saw you during volleyball and around Kenma especially, I don't think those rumours are true," she said. "And if you were just like the rumours, then you probably wouldn't have asked me to be more cautious around you."
When she smiled at him brightly, Kuroo felt his cheeks burning that he faced the other way.