孤爪研磨

     “What can I say? Being a single dad has its perks, I suppose.” He finds himself using expressions that he’d never thought he’d hear himself use, but those are the cards that life here handed him, it seems. In a way, the novelty of using such a phrase to refer to himself is somewhat thrilling. Regardless, it’s a quiet household; not that he truly minds it, though. “But, having Ene inside your phone seems pretty handy. Like having a portable mom, or something.” Kuroo lifts a finger, to tap at Kenma’s phone screen – wonders if Ene would appear, if he did that.

     “Anyway… You said her birthday was coming up. Are you going to get her a gift?” He leans forward, clearly curious in figuring out Kenma’s plans, if they exist. (Pondering, he’s more on the side that they don’t exist yet, but Kenma never ceases to surprise him.) “You should get her something nice – something that conveys your feelings, you know,” he adds, in a tone that seems far too knowing, one corner of his lips quirking upwards, in a smile.

He doesn’t mind Ene, but the list goes on about why she’s less convenient and more unnerving.

“You’re lucky your birthday already passed before we came here, Kuroo.” Because as much as high school is way too young to have a kid, not every couple gets one, and Kuroo even lucked out with some police officer, which is also weird. A hesitant look is given his phone as Kuroo taps the screen, but his relief becomes apparent when it doesn’t respond. He can safely focus on Kuroo if it’s like this, words just as comfortable and honest as they always are around him.

 “I don’t like the way you say that.” Because even if his suggestion isn’t off, the way Kuroo’s phrased it makes it sound like something with an ulterior motive. Kenma can’t help but squint a bit, but other than that he can go along with it. “I guess. I haven’t... really thought about it.” 

Though when he considers what he could look at for her, the kinds of things that Honoka likes, the first thing that comes to mind is bread. His displeasure at this conclusion probably shows on his face - furrowed brows and a light grimace - but he doesn’t bother saying anything about it. He has plenty of time in any case; while it’s true that she was born at the height of the quickly approaching summer, the fact of the matter is that it’s still spring. So, Kenma shakes his head.

Out of the many, strange wonders the modern world has to offer, Nakigitsune takes to one in particular – a seemingly innocent phone game about a group of female idols, which, in retrospect, doesn’t seem that exciting. Still, it’s pretty addictive – he notices himself caring more and more about events, cards and full combos; skilled fingers tracing the round, colorful outlines visible on his phone screen. 

At first, it’s kind of hard to keep up – his fox helps him out, sometimes, its paws acting like additional fingers to support Nakigitsune. It lets him achieve ridiculous scores very early on – he builds himself an odd kind of reputation, and that’s how he meets Kenma. The other boy quickly becomes interested in Nakigitsune’s way of playing – but, by the time he asks to play together, Naki is experienced enough to do it without the fox’s help (though it stays watchful, in his lap, just in case something happens) and so, there’s not much to see.

Still, he finds himself enjoying the other boy’s quiet company; there’s some awkwardness, but considering they both seem to be pretty bad at social interactions, it somehow negates itself. Instead, they find comfortable silence, and make playing together some sort of a habit – be it at Kenma’s house or his own.

Normally, it’s pretty relaxed; this time, however, an event that Kenma had his eye on for a while is going on, and the tension is pretty obvious (especially since Nakigitsune holds the first rank pridefully.) Seated on the floor, they play in silence for most of the evening – pausing only when they’re out of LP, and unwilling to waste any more gems on fixing said problem.

“Since it’s going to take a while, how about we head to the kitchen to make some snacks for later? Are you okay, Kozume-sama?” The fox turns to look at Kenma, who seems a little more tense than usual. Nakigitsune merely tilts his head, in question, glancing down at his phone – he’s still first, with Kenma following as close second, but does it really matter that much?

His eyes narrow just a bit as he eyes the ladder, unable to help but feel a bit more frustrated at being so close to his goal, so close to the top for his favourite idol, but unable to pull through. But it can’t be helped when no matter how he watches Nakigitsune’s play style nothing seems to indicate anything strange. He’s just remarkably skilled, with an equally remarkable amount of money he’s willing to spend on love gems. Though in doing so, Kenma can’t help but nearly jump when the fox so suddenly speaks up. The uchigatana’s quiet manners are nice, and pleasant in their own way, but Kenma doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the eager and more importantly, loud voice that speaks on his behalf when it breaks the silence like this.

“You don’t have to call me that. Just Kenma’s fine.” He mumbles this much before the question itself even has time to properly settle in. He’s only a high school student, so besides that being addressed with such excessive respect is weird, it shatters some of the comfort that’s managed to settle in around the other’s presence. Even age-wise, if anybody should be using honorifics it would be Kenma, and he still doesn’t on principle - not unless it’s entirely necessary to do so.

     “Tricking an idol? But Kenma, I’m a kind person. What could you possibly mean?” Exaggerating purposefully, Kuroo matches Kenma’s gaze — blinks back at him just as curiously, He watches as Kenma pushes at his phone screen with his fingertip, navigating to something that he probably wants to show him. When Kenma indicates for Kuroo to look, he leans forward, scrutinizing the image. Easily, he identifies Honoka Kousaka, one of the other idols of u’s, next to his friend, who doesn’t seem to be too particularly annoyed about having his photo taken, surprisingly. With only the picture, though, it doesn’t sink in; not at first — Kuroo shrugs, his expression dulling into something unfazed as he lifts his hands to shrug. “Okay, so you got a selfie with an idol. I don’t really see how that’s something to be that impressed about—“

     But then, Kenma says something… something.

Instead his gaze traces in an arc along the floor, finding nothing in particular that he can pretend to have become interested in, and instead peering back to fiddle with his phone while he replies. A quiet, indifferent seeming agreement is provided for his commentary about Kenma’s waifu, and the expressions of the older go largely ignored by Kenma. Well, it’s weird, but it would be a lie to say something like that hadn’t come to mind already. Its only after the congratulations, (which also feels kind of weird, to be congratulated on who you’re assigned to,) has passed that he brings his wide eyes back up to mull over an answer to give him.

“She... has a lot of energy.” Which is a given, really; Honoka is practically the main protagonist and leader of μ's. That doesn’t make it any less overwhelming at some points to someone as comparatively dull as Kenma. “Her birthday hasn’t passed yet, and I guess I’m still staying with Ene, so it’s just an engagement. She’s nice, though. She wants to do lots of things together.” There’s a short pause as he considers the topic, but he gives a shrug after a moment. “It’s not a big deal, this happens a lot - getting reassigned... Except for you, I guess...”

In her hopes to reassure the other, a voice that claps like a storm rages before her in a roar of laughter and he looks directly towards it. It sounds very amusing and she likes stuff like that but the origin of it is a little frightening in which Honoka blinks trying to take it in all at once. He’s a humble servant of Buhhda, uh-huh, that’s.. that’s really cool, she can deal with this. Sitting on her legs, the female looks up to the other who towers over them, though Kenma is the luckier between the two.

Her mouth formed in an ‘o’ fashion as she watches how he lets go of a worldly item to Kenma, that must be really rare! He should he ecstatic but she thinks she knows best and that he’s probably not crazy about the idea at all or is even thinking about how that may be a one in a million chance for someone of Buddha’s teachings to give him a water bottle! Getting to her feet and thanking the man for his good endeavors, she turns on her heel to face towards Kenma.

She doesn’t see what was so troublesome about what happened between them and the guy who gave such a nice offering. “That’s really nice of him, right? To give you that, some of it looks pretty expensive and other vendors. You’re pretty lucky!” Patting him lightly on the shoulder, she wonders if he thinks it’s a bit hot outside considering he’s putting the bottle to his neck. “Should I buy a fan, do you want me to cool you off? Let’s see.. which one of these stands has a fan on sale.” Looking around, she listens to what the other states and a smile is on her features since she can’t WAIT to see different youkai.

When she notes the heat however, he gives a short shake of his head. “I’m fine. There’s this now, so...” Holding up the bottle, he attempts to dissuade her. That is to say, it’s hot yeah, but this is the lesser of two evils - he’d rather have the cool water to help him survive the heat than have to somehow attempt to keep up with Honoka if she gets it in her head that a fan needs to be acquired right now right away immediately. Speaking of which, undoing the lid he figures a sip now can’t hurt, and may even work to prove his point. (He’s weak. It’ll be gone fast for him, but it’s still the lesser of two evils.) If only the attempt of hers to imitate the merchant’s laugh didn’t nearly cause him to choke on it in shock. Coughing a little he’s about to tell her it sounds more like they’ve both got something caught in their throat, but when his eyes meet hers...

Oh no... Ohhhh no... Essentially, when he looks up the best way to describe the feeling he gets is that he’s just unlocked a CG in a dating sim. Everything behind her is in a soft blur, but somehow Honoka’s radiant features only shine brighter and brighter as time slows down. His cheeks are getting hot for some reason and he can feel his heart beating against his chest. It’s lucky when the initial effect passes after a few moments of blinking, rubbing at his eyes from how suddenly the atmosphere had shifted back to almost normal, and it’s a relief.

Unfortunately... the after-effects don’t leave, and when he looks up the fact of the matter is that even though Honoka no longer sparkles even just the soft line of her smile is enough to cause his chest to tighten. He wants to pull his gaze away, keep his eyes glued to the ground just the same way he always does when he gets this troublesome (read: frightening) feeling tugging at him, but this time something won’t let him. His cheeks get redder and redder - though with an attempt at salvaging his previous doubtful expression he does pick up his words from before.

At the end I kind of gave up on this one laughs

Wanted to do one with Kuroo because this 

You know, this Gaen guy has a lot going for himself if he reserved an island for everyone to participate on! It’s really nice but what really gets Honoka’s attention is the so called rumors? Something about a forest filled with all sort of mystical creatures, it’s not like she believes in it because it could be people dressing up to add spice to the celebration but then again.. Wouldn’t it be really, really, REALLY cool if it was like……….. LEGIT?

Who would she want to share this experience with? None other than her special spouse Kenma! Though it is weird that at times his phone does go off with various love songs.. Huh, wonder why it does that! “Did you hear about the rumors, sounds really cool right?” The question is posed at her fiancé where she sounds nothing more than excited over the fact of there being ‘youkai’ living around. “It’ll be really cool if it’s real so we should go look for them?”

Honestly, they’re not that hard to find when they’re almost standing in every stand around them and their appearance is different from the norm. General waves for customers to come their way so they can bask in the fresh and new items they’ve brought in just for this occasion. Could you even believe some of them were also a fan of μ’s as well, some of the creatures asking Honoka to come over for an autograph (sadly she didn’t have a pen on her and to even use one she had to pay up, they trying to rob an idol blind out here in these streets!). Youkai have to live a little sometimes, they don’t want to be bored all their lives!

“I wonder where they are all hiding?” This entire time she’s been holding Kenma’s hand and has finally released him just to look around the area. This is hard. Yep, REALLY hard when you’re surrounded by them in a sense. Get it together Honoka, don’t drop the ball! “Better yet, do you think one of these merchants are what the rumors are talking about.. I heard that they stand on a circle, maybe if I crawl under the stand to see if they’re standing on something then we found them!”

Sounds like a good idea!

For a flat minute, almost, he’s stunned into silence. Is she really doing this? Is she for real? He knows from her game and his personal experience that she’s eccentric but can she please find some chill? Unsure what else to do he crouches down beside her, making to tug on her sleeve just a bit in an attempt to keep her from actually crawling under. It’s enough for Honoka to drag him through the whole city area despite exhaustion remaining from the yacht, but to make him stand by and wait for her as she crawled under every stand on the street is just too much. 

“Honoka,” He mumbles. “Don’t do that. We’ll find one, but...” He closes his eyes, exhaling lightly as he wonders if there’s a better way to put this. Probably not, and he’s never been too talented with his words anyway so he shrugs it off and continues. “It’s weird if you crawl under other people’s stalls like that. And it will take too long if you have to check every merchant.”

He’s tired and these merchants are filling the streets - this place is a tourist trap after all. At least it seems to be something like that with overpriced souvenirs, six dollar drinks in every store and corner, and a place to stay that’s just as luxurious as the yacht though hopefully with less of the destruction and chaos that had been present there. The setter isn’t sure if his words alone will be enough to dissuade the girl however, and is wondering if there are any other points he can make before she actually does start crawling under tables when something interrupts him. A bellowing laugh causes his eyes to shoot up, wide and catlike as the sound spooks him.

　“KAKAKAKAKA!” Looking down at them is a towering man with a frightening grin. Red accents the corners of his eyes and small tufts of blue hair peek out from under his headdress, but despite the shiver that goes down Kenma’s spine the tone the stranger speaks in is amicable. “What a lively couple! Searching for a youkai, are you? Then this humble servant of Buddha will help you out. Come, have this drink, it will cleanse your spirits and your mind!”

The man holds out a water bottle to him. It’s cold, of course, but it’s just water, and Kenma is a little skeptical of something that comes for free in a place like this. Even so he shrugs and accepts the offering without complaint as the stranger assures that he doesn’t mind a free item being lost now and then, having let go of his worldly desires. (But then, why is he running a merchant’s stall!?) Honestly, being called out for Honoka’s weird behaviour like this is just kind of embarrassing, and his eyes are glued to the ground nearby as he speaks up in an attempt to remove them from this situation, and the man who apparently likes commenting on it. 

     "Ah, you know, the other day…" he starts to speak, multitasking as he copies and pastes the bottom left emoticon into his Love Live display name. "I saw one of the idols… Honoka, I think? At a cat accessory store — don’t ask me why I was there." Pressing the OK button to confirm his choice of emoticon as his name, he tabs to his profile to admire it, also admiring his latest SR card as his main.

"Aah?" It's a small vocalization, but if anybody would catch the interest in it, it would be Kuroo. Aside from that, wide and catlike eyes are very carefully trained on the other as Kenma watches his childhood friend speak and waits to hear the full story of what occurred. Of course, the screen does show exactly what Kuroo lists: one SR Eli, and one UR Honoka. There's a slow blink and he considers the choices he has for his response, (--"You got lot of URs you don't need", "Good job on your new Eli"--) but what he decides on doesn't quite fit the other two.

"You shouldn't trick an idol, Kuroo." His gaze lingers on the Honoka card out of curiosity, but theres a momentary furrow in his brow that seems to disappear after a moment. Well, it's not any of his business, but... "You know," He notes, "I had something interesting happen too." His eyes have already dropped back to his phone by the time he's spoken, and he clicks around in a way that perhaps he had also achieved something on some other phone game. Except what he opens isn't a game, it's his photos application. Sliding down, he selects one in particular.

The younger male decided this was the best time for some good ol’ quality Cookie Run. He wasn’t much of an iPhone app kind of gamer, but damn, this game was addicting. Cookie Run, a game where you run as cookies. In cool costumes with power ups. Feel the adrenaline rush when you beat up your pals and break friendships. They even have pets, almost similar to the buddies back in Aibo! What more can Noboru want! Without any distractions, he finally could use up all the hearts he’s been saving for a while, hoping to seat himself at first place where he can bask in the glory and gain bragging rights that’ll probably only last a couple of hours.

He decides to settle himself on the living room couch. The soft knock goes unheard by the stripe-haired boy, a little too preoccupied by the game. His fingers tap rapidly at the touchscreen buttons as his little cooker runner racks up the points; he couldn’t afford to lose, especially when his pride is on the line.

Once the door creaks however, he pounces out of his seat, accidentally knocking his phone from his hands and onto the floor. “Ah—“ Well, there goes his high score. “…Honokaaa—!”

"Ah," With a slow blink, his tense shoulders relax a just a bit. "You're... Kitkat?" The first name that comes to mind is the nickname that Honoka seems so fond of, but it's fine. He trails off the statement with an inquiring tone for confirmation, but the setter is still pretty confident in his answer. After all, there's no other reason for the kid to be so defensive about someone walking into this apartment right? He takes a few steps away from the tip at this point, his own back almost pressed against the door he's only just closed to give some breathing and maneuvering room, and looking back down he steps on the heels of his shoes to pull them off. There's nothing really for him to worry about now he would hope, considering that he's mostly just here to pick up a forgotten belonging. Were he more familiar with the younger perhaps Kenma would have even commented on the behaviour. As it is, the only judgement he passes is in the form of looking at the boy as though he has three heads every time their eyes meet.

Some cards go as far as wishing for other LL cards to appear like the recent V-Day one’s that’s been giving out though the guarantee is gone, people still try. “Keeeenma! Were you going to stay in today?” She doesn’t want to bother his peace if that’s what he enjoys, besides, Honoka always found herself doing something but considering the occasion, she really wants to spend it with him! So with her every step and the jingling of the keychains along with letters hanging around her, she’d become a VDay Christmas Tree if she’d allow them to hang more of the items on her body.

"A lot of people are excited, I don’t have to perform any today either so! It can be a day for you and me, I hope I haven’t been busy recently." She presses the tips of her index fingers together as she shyly looks down with a nervous laugh but that then dies away as she now has a smile on her face as she runs over to bed to jump on top of him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she gives an overly affectionate hug. Honestly, she’s learned from the bessss.

"It's fine." His tone is light and indifferent. He doesn't want to give the impression that it's a nuisance to spend time with Honoka, seeing as he's aware such an impression seems to come from him often enough and it's never been a great enough concern of his to fix. But, well... He doesn't mind. Somehow the charisma of μ's and its members manages to come across well even outside of the game itself - a rare feat. Anybody who'd mind the kind of dedication they have would be an antagonist, for sure. It's in the midst of this thought that she manages to catch him off guard, throwing herself at the setter for a hug.

His reactions are delayed, but it's pretty impressive when they occur at all quite frankly. Setting his hands on her back his return of the hug is somewhat awkward and definitely pretty unfamiliar, (he's used to swatting these sorts of things away,) but he gives it a shot and that should earn him some points even if he's red as a beet. "--Uhh... Sure. Like I said, it's okay." Though, with such an enthusiastic demeanour and such a considerate disposition of her own Kenma can't help but feel a bit of guilt that he really had intended to stay in the room for a good chunk of time. There's some hesitance and reluctance in him even as he speaks, but overall his conscience wins over due to the situation the pair aren't likely to get a chance to repeat.

by ましゅボン

"Hm? Yeah! She’s around somewhere, me and her do a few songs together to make a living. Nozomi.. Maki.. they’re here too which I’ve heard from Nico, I haven’t ran into them yet. But I’d love to see them." She really would, hopefully they could get their group back together sooner or later, she does miss singing with them. "Would you like to meet her or something! I can ask.. that’s only if you want!" She states to him, besides, she’d love for them to meet each other’s friends. It sounds really ideal!

Her eyes follow his hands to see what he’s pointing out, “That’s fantastic! I’d love that one first, let’s gogogogogogo.” Slowing down so that she’s behind him, her hands press onto his back and she pushes him forward so they can get there faster. “I can’t believe we’re starting from back to front, thank you for coming with me! I haven’t had fun like this in a long time— ah, wait! Aren’t I supposed to say something like that when this is all over? I guess I can say it again and show how meaningful I am, huh!” She laughs softly,

Maybe if it were, say, Kotori or Eli it would be an offer to be taken up. Nico is a menace though. A marshtomp emerging from the first UR envelope that Kenma had pulled, and frankly, Kenma's trying to avoid being the starstruck type. Instead he's thankful for having met even Honoka, the shining sun of μ's comparable in her enthusiasm and energy even to a certain person he'd known back home. Maybe the only misfortune of his thus far is being the person to get swept up in her excitement, unable to help the groan elicited as he's forced to speed up as opposed to falling right to the ground when she pushes her palms against his back. His only salvation is the short pause at the ticket line, nodding at her totally unnecessary thanks, and the uneasy comfort of the seats that they settle into. (Front row seats, of course. Those are always the best for roller coasters, and a nice benefit of line-skipping.)

It does catch him somewhat off-guard when she mentions her anxiety at the prospect of the ride. His tone is slightly incredulous, eyes drawn together in something between worry and disbelief as he questions it. "Cry?" He repeats. Don't do that. Really, don't. Isn't likely from such a lively idol, but still. Don't do it Honoka. You're enough of a menace. Anyway, Kenma's got an alternative: after they've been locked into the seats and just as the gates to the ride open, he reaches out a hand. He doesn't have the heart to make eye contact, though he's entirely aware and reminds himself that it's not like this is a weird thing to do, (engaged, right?) a blush still crosses his face as his fingers brush hers, holding her hand with a mumble just as the coaster clicks into motion.