#background theory

I was thinking about Kuroo and what if, before he moves to Kenma’s neighborhood, he lived in a small town outside of Tokyo. His mother was very ill and died when he was still pretty young. He barely remembers. His dad did his best to take care of him while also working but it was hard. Kuroo was often left in the care of an older neighbor or a teacher willing to stay a little late at the tiny school. 

They lived in a small one bedroom apartment. Technically it was just the upstairs of an elderly mans house that he rented out. It was hot in the summer and a bit drafty in the winter but it was a roof over their head. He slept in the same room as his dad and his dad snored so Kuroo would do the thing with his pillow so he could get some sleep. Sometimes he just slept in the hall but it wasn’t comfortable there.

Then his dad got a job offer from a company in Tokyo. He decided to take it though they didn’t have the money to get a nice place in the city. But Kuroo’s grandparents lived in Nerima and they had a good sized house. When they found out about the job offer, they opened their home to Kuroo and his dad. He still didn’t get his own room yet so he still slept with his pillow covering his ears to block out the noises. By the time he did get his own room, it was just habit. 

The pillow was also good for hiding. Kuroo had never been to the city before and he wasn’t a fan of new places. It was intimidating. Things were pretty different from the tiny town he was used to. None of his friends were there. People acted different. There were so many faces. He didn’t even know his grandparents that well and nothing was familiar. He’d been somewhat lively with his friends in his old home but here, he felt alone and afraid. Sometimes just shoving his face into a pillow to hide it helped. At least no one would see.

But Kuroo’s dad wasn’t oblivious to the change in Kuroo even if he was barely around due to work. He noticed the neighbors had a son that looked close to Kuroo’s age and went over and introduced himself. He asked if he could bring his son over and Kenma’s mom agreed. So Kuroo’s dad took Kuroo to meet the neighbors which eventually included the Kozume’s. They were introduced.