Kenma had no idea how it happened. One second, he was walking out of Shiratorizawa's gym with the rest of Nekoma after a practice match, the next, he'd stopped to get a limited-edition strawberry milk from a vending machine. By the time he turned back, Kuroo and the others were gone. It wasn't like this was new — Kuroo walked fast and Kenma didn't — but the unfamiliar street and the quiet around him made it clear he'd wandered off the main route. His phone signal flickered uselessly between one bar and nothing.
He scanned the area and saw a park just across the street, bathed in warm late-afternoon sunlight. At least it had benches. Somewhere to wait until Kuroo inevitably came to find him. He headed in, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets, already imagining how many "missing child" jokes Kuroo would throw at him later.
He was halfway to a shaded bench when he heard voices. One was bright and rapid-fire, like someone couldn't contain the energy in their words. The other was slower, easygoing, with the kind of tone that could convince you to nap in the middle of the day.
"—See? I told you this bench is perfect! You can see the whole park and the snack stand."
"It's just a bench, Hinata," the second voice said lazily. "You make it sound like you discovered buried treasure."
"It is treasure!" the first voice — Hinata — insisted.
The owner of the second voice came into view: tall, silver-haired, striking blue eyes, moving with a casualness that made even walking seem like an art form. He sat down beside the orange-haired boy with all the urgency of a cloud drifting.
Kenma slowed his pace, but Hinata spotted him instantly and waved like they were old friends. "Hey! You're from Nekoma, right? I saw your jacket."
"…Yeah," Kenma said.
"Cool! I'm Hinata Shoyo. First year, Karasuno. This is Akira."
Akira tilted his head slightly, eyes half-lidded but warm, and gave a two-finger wave. "Yo."
Kenma gave a short nod.
"You lost?" Hinata asked.
Kenma debated lying, then shrugged. "…Maybe."
"Then sit with us! Akira's got snacks."
"I didn't buy them for you," Akira said mildly, holding up a half-open bag of chips, "but yeah, sure, grab some."
Kenma sat, deciding that even if they were strangers, this beat wandering in circles. He reached into the bag — and that's when the first pigeon landed on the armrest of the bench.
It stared. Then another landed. Then a third.
"Uh… why do they look like they're planning something?" Hinata whispered.
"Because they are planning something," Akira said, shifting the bag away.
The lead pigeon tilted its head, then lunged. In one swift move, it snatched a chip and flapped away triumphantly. The others scattered with a flurry of wings.
"HEY!" Akira laughed in disbelief. "That little thief!"
Kenma calmly took a chip from what was left. "You were too slow."
"You and that pigeon are officially enemies," Akira said, pointing at him like this was now law.
A few minutes later, the pigeons came back. Same three, Kenma was sure of it. This time they didn't just want chips — they went for the bag itself. Hinata flailed wildly, shooing them away, while Akira turned it into a standoff, holding the bag over his head like a basketball player protecting the ball. One pigeon made a leap for it. Akira sidestepped, smirking. "Nice try."
Eventually the birds retreated, probably to plan a better strategy.
Hinata jumped up suddenly. "Okay, enough sitting. Let's race!"
Akira groaned. "It's too hot."
"Scared you'll lose?" Hinata grinned.
"…Fine," Akira said, pushing himself up slowly. "Kenma, you're the judge."
"Why me?" Kenma asked flatly.
"Because you look impartial," Akira said with that lazy smirk.
They lined up on the path. Hinata bounced in place, practically vibrating with energy. Akira stood loose, like he could fall asleep standing up. Kenma gave them a long look, then muttered, "…Go."
Hinata exploded forward immediately. Akira jogged, hands almost in his pockets. Halfway through, though, he suddenly accelerated — smooth, unhurried steps that somehow ate up the distance — and crossed the line just before Hinata.
"What?! No way!" Hinata shouted.
Kenma shrugged. "He won."
"Sometimes pacing yourself works better than burning out early, little guy," Akira said, smirking.
Hinata pouted, then grinned. "Okay, best two out of three!"
They ended up racing twice more. Hinata won the second, Akira the third, and Kenma was now convinced neither of them had an off switch once they started something.
After they collapsed back onto the bench, Kenma pulled out his phone. Hinata peered over. "Hey, what game's that?"
Kenma angled it so they could see. "RPG. Boss raid event."
"I play that!" Hinata's eyes went wide. "I'm stuck on the last boss."
"I've got an account too," Akira said, sitting up with interest. "Haven't lost to a raid yet."
In minutes, they were in a three-player team. Hinata charged in recklessly, got KO'd almost immediately, and groaned loudly while Akira calmly pointed out that maybe — just maybe — you should dodge the giant glowing attack. Kenma gave short, efficient directions, and Akira adapted instantly, watching Kenma's timing and building his own moves around it.
It wasn't easy — they wiped once, came close twice — but the final fight was ridiculous. Hinata had one HP left, Akira used the last revive item at the perfect moment, and Kenma landed the finishing blow. The boss collapsed. The three of them yelled in victory loud enough to make a passing jogger stare.
"Yes! Victory!" Hinata shouted, throwing his hands up.
Akira laughed. "Good work, team."
Kenma just smirked faintly, which was about the same as yelling for him.
They played two more smaller raids just for fun, talking between battles. Akira, in that slow, observant way of his, started making comments about how Kenma moved in-game, how he paused for half a second before choosing an action, how his in-game positioning mirrored the way he'd leaned away from the pigeons earlier — aware of his surroundings without overreacting. Kenma didn't say much back, but he noticed Akira's awareness too.
Hinata eventually sprawled across the grass, staring up at the clouds, and Akira flicked a chip crumb at him. Hinata retaliated with a whole chip, which missed completely and landed next to Kenma's shoe.
They exchanged contacts before they left, Akira naming the chat "Boss Raid Squad" without asking. Hinata suggested "Pigeon Survivors" but was outvoted.
Kuroo finally showed up at the park entrance, scanning around until he spotted Kenma. "There you are! I was about to put up missing posters."
Kenma stood, slipping his phone into his pocket. "I was waiting."
"See you around!" Hinata called.
"Don't get lost next time, Kenma," Akira added with a small smile, blue eyes catching the light.
Kenma followed Kuroo out, and the air felt different — lighter — like this had been more than just killing time in a park.