The afternoon sun filtered through the park's trees, casting long shadows across the path. Kenma had just tucked the gaming console back into his bag when the distant sound of loud voices came from the direction of the street.
"Oi! I knew I saw that silver head from across the road!"
It was Tanaka — barreling toward them like he was in a sprint finish. Behind him, Noya was waving, and Yamaguchi trailed along looking mildly concerned about the noise level.
Akira didn't even sit up straighter. "You're… loud."
"And proud," Tanaka replied, striking a pose. "You're Akira, right? The demon-angel guy?"
Hinata beamed. "I told you everyone calls you that now."
Akira sighed. "…Great."
Before the conversation could get any stranger, a familiar teasing drawl came from behind them. "Well, well, look at this little friendship circle. Kenma, what are you doing away from your natural habitat?"
Kuroo stepped into view, hands in pockets, grin already loaded with trouble.
"Lost," Kenma said simply.
Akira nodded like it was obvious. "We found him."
"You kidnapped him?"
"Rescued," Akira corrected.
Before anyone could reply, a tall shadow appeared behind Kuroo. "Oi, Akira! Still walking like a lazy cat even in the middle of the day?"
Oikawa strode into the group like he owned the place, his easy smirk shifting into something more playful when he gave his younger brother a once-over.
"You're in Miyagi and you didn't text me?"
Akira just shrugged. "You'd have shown up anyway."
"True," Oikawa said, and ruffled his hair — an act Akira didn't bother fighting, which earned a double-take from Hinata.
"Wait, you two—"
"Brothers," Oikawa cut in cheerfully, clearly enjoying the reveal. "Which means I'm automatically cooler than him."
"In your dreams," Akira murmured.
"Wow, he even sounds like you," Noya muttered under his breath.
The banter rolled on until the group somehow migrated toward the small row of shops by the station. City boys from Johzenji were already hanging out there, and when they spotted Tanaka, the teasing began immediately.
"Oh-ho, if it isn't Tanaka-san, king of near-misses!" one of them called.
"Hey! I scored yesterday!" Tanaka shot back.
"Yeah, once," the Johzenji wing spiker grinned.
Noya cackled. "And it was a nice one."
While that chaos brewed, Kenma and Akira ended up drifting toward the vending machines with Oikawa trailing.
"You've got that same face you had yesterday," Oikawa said, leaning against the machine. "The one where you're planning something."
Akira cracked the faintest smile. "Maybe I am."
Kenma gave them both a flat look. "This is exhausting already."
"Not as exhausting as chasing pigeons," Akira replied.
"Pigeons?" Oikawa blinked.
"I'll send you the video," Kenma said.
From there, the group split into smaller pockets — Noya and Tanaka joined the Johzenji guys in some impromptu brag contest, Hinata was busy showing Kuroo a weird local snack, and Akira and Kenma ended up sitting on the station steps with Oikawa.
They didn't talk volleyball — not really. Instead, it was half-gaming tips, half-stupid jokes, and a running commentary on people walking by. But every now and then, Kenma's gaze would flick toward Kuroo and Hinata talking, and you could see the wheels turning.
The air was comfortable, lazy. But underneath, there was that barely-there thrum of next time — the unspoken knowledge that today's easy laughter was tomorrow's competition fuel.
When they finally parted ways in the late afternoon, Kenma gave a small nod. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Sure," Akira said. "Just… no pigeons."
"No promises," Hinata yelled from down the street.