"Pregnant?"

The word that left your mouth sounded muffled and distant, unfamiliar and surreal all the same time. You don't believe it, you didn't want to believe it, at least until you got confirmation.

And now you received it, the doctor had taken tests and asked you several questions. She said that you are indeed pregnant and gave you prescriptions.

"Yes, you're about 8 weeks along. Does that ring any bell?" she asked but when you looked at her, no even before when she was asking you questions and taking tests, she noticed your expression. You look more scared than you are happy to hear the news.

"8 weeks," you muttered, trying to recall what occurred around two months ago.

And by doing so your expression worsened because you were reminded of the time when Kenma did that, making you drink that aphrodisiac drug, it was around that time.

The lady had been an obstetrician for a long time and she'd seen expecting mothers who were happy to receive such news. But that doesn't mean she didn't witness a few ones who were not entirely happy about it, and you were clearly the latter.

"Ms. L/n?" she asked and you slightly flinched, looking back at her. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-two," you answered.

"And your parents, do they know about it?"

You shook your head no. "My parents had passed on."

"Then are you leaving with your boyfriend?"

At the mention of that, you averted your gaze from the obstetrician to look at Kenma. He hasn't said anything since the doctor confirmed it and you were starting to get frightened by the lack of expression on his face and his silence, although he's usually like that, there are certain things that are more frightening when they're silent.

"Yes," you answered, looking back at the doctor. "We're living together."

Because you have nowhere else to go, and even if you do, Kenma will dowse any other possibilities of you going anywhere else.

The obstetrician looked at Kenma then back at you.

"You two seem to be very young, I don't know your circumstances and this is just a suggestion. But we do perform medical termination here."

"Medical termination? You mean abort-"

"No,"

For the first time Kenma spoke. You looked back at him to see that he's looking at the obstetrician, glare evident on his eyes. His golden eyes look dangerous and sharp, like a silent warning directed to the doctor.

"We're going to keep it," he said before he stood up. "Let's go Y/n."

You stood up and he took your hand, following him. You spared the obstetrician one last glance before you walked outside the clinic.

You thought you wouldn't be able to feel like this again, to feel like if this is a dream you wish you would just wake up. You felt like this when your parents passed on. But this was a little different than back then.

Because despite feeling like that, at the same time you also feel a certain type of happiness, though the amount of it is not enough to be shown on your expression. But you are happy, who wouldn't?

Although you don't know if Kenma feels the same, if he shares the same sentiment, even just the slightest of it. And you want to ask him, you finally did when you two are back in the apartment unit.

"Kenma," you called out his name. He stopped briefly before he let go of your hand and he turned around to face you.

You always dislike how you couldn't read him, no one else can, and even if they can, they will still have a hard time figuring him out. Even Kuroo, his best friend since childhood, couldn't possibly figure him out. That reminds you, earlier before you felt queasy, Kenma was angry because you had met with Kuroo without his knowledge.

But it was as though Kenma had forgotten all about it. He was thinking of numerous possibilities of what will happen now while he was driving back to the apartment earlier, in fact he had been thinking about it way before then.

"Let's leave," he said all of a sudden.

Those two mere words took you by surprise, slowly processing what he said in your mind as your eyebrows furrowed.

"Let's go somewhere far."

"Go somewhere far?" you asked, muttering the question. "Go where?"

"Somewhere outside the country."

Kenma had been thinking about it, from the board meeting last time, it's not like he is displease with the company, but he can always sell his stocks, that was primarily the reason why he buys them.

"That far?"

You averted your gaze, thinking about what Kenma said.

You really don't have anyone here, albeit there are a few relatives from the province, but you weren't really that close with them and they have completely forgotten all about you once you entered college. They did take care of you for a while, but that was only for a while.

So you really didn't have any lingering attachments here. You didn't really have anyone.

At least until now, when you have this little human being inside your womb, it still felt surreal, weird even, just thinking about it.

"Y/n," Kenma spoke, making you look up at him to see that he's standing much closer to you now. "I'll give you time to think about it while I get everything ready."

Just think about it, it doesn't matter whether you agree or not. Since Kenma said he'll get everything ready, you two will leave regardless of whether you like it or not.

You nodded weakly before averting your gaze.

"I'm a bit tired," you said, excusing yourself to the room.

Once the door shut closed behind you, you found your hands atop your stomach. You've been so preoccupied lately, your mind was overflowing with thoughts that you failed to notice the slightest changes in your own body.

Now that you stopped for a moment to ponder, you can feel the small bump on your stomach, and it's a bit firmer than usual, you also gained a bit of weight and your bosom too. You failed to notice these slightest changes, but now you started to see it little by little.

"So there's really something in here," you said, looking down. "A small, growing, life."

The side of your lips lifted up and you felt yourself smiling, albeit your vision started to get blurry and a moment later something fell from your eyes. You feel happy, the doubt and fear you felt earlier that had overclouded the happiness had now vanished.

You feel happy about it, after all. As all mothers would feel towards their child, be it a newborn or unborn.

That night, while you were asleep, Kenma was in the living room. In his hand he holds the keychain that Kuroo gifted him.

"Applepi, huh?" he muttered, reading the word inscribed on it. He leaned his head back on the headrest and scoffed.

"It's been a while since I last used that online handle."

Back when he and Kuroo were inseparable, they would play videogames for hours on end, after school and on weekends. It was the time in Kenma's childhood that he would like to think as a happy moment, the time he spent with Kuroo.

"I wonder what he's up to..." Kenma closed his eyes, his arm atop his forehead. "Kuro,"

He wonder if he will make up with Kuroo before you and Kenma leave Japan. That might be the last time Kenma will meet Kuroo, because he has no intention of going back to this country.

---

The very next day, Kuroo is driving across Tokyo. It's almost time for lunch and he just left Ajinomoto National Training Center when his phone started to ring. He put his earbuds and swipe the answer button.

"Yamamoto, what's up?"

He waited for his friend to finish speaking before Kuroo spoke.

"I can't go today, I'm meeting up with an old friend," he said, slowing the car down when Kuroo noticed the coffee shop ahead. "Karasuno's Captain."

Kuroo maneuvered his car to the parking space as Yamamoto continued to speak on the other end. "No, not Enoshita-kun. Not Yamaguchi-kun either. It's Sawamura."

The call ended just in time he parked his car and Kuroo stepped outside. He noticed Daichi is already there, early as always.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Kuroo said when he approached the table and Daichi stood up.

"Ah, no. I just got here as well."

Not only early, he's also polite, Kuroo thought. The two ordered their coffees and headed to the table outside the café.

"I wasn't able to tour you around the Metropolitan when you were assigned in this division."

"Yes, I did lose my way around Tokyo a few times."

It was just coincidence when the two former captains happen to come across each other a week ago and they agreed to catch up on things, now they're here having coffee, talking about the time when they were in high school particularly during the training camp.

But that coincidence, and simply just catching up, led to something more serious when Kuroo asked about Daichi's job.

"So how's your job going?"

"Well, it's pretty tough," Daichi said, his expression changing a bit. "We're handling the case in Shinjuku about a missing guy."

"Well, a lot of people go missing each day."

"Yes, but it's a bit different. The guy was actually part of an illegal syndicate that's selling and manufacturing illegal drugs, mostly aphrodisiacs."

Kuroo nodded, he was going to change the topic since Daichi seem like he's already stressed out just thinking about it.

But Daichi continued.

"Now that I mentioned it, I remember once we went to Kozume-kun's place. My senior officer found an aphrodisiac drug that slipped from Kozume-kun's jacket."

Kuroo suddenly stopped, he was about to take a sip of the coffee when his hand froze visibly and he slowly put the mug down.

"Kenma?"

"Ah! But Kozume-kun made it clear that the drug wasn't his. He said he got it from a guy in Shinjuku who put the drug in his girlfriend's drink."

Kuroo was silent for a while, his thoughts running rampant while his hand that was under the table slowly formed into a fist, his nails digging on his palm.

"The missing guy," Kuroo started, averting his gaze from the table to look at Daichi. "When and where did he go missing?"

"Around two months ago, in Shinjuku."

Two months ago, it was the time Kuroo found you and brought you to his place, it was the time when he witnessed to what extent can Kenma go so far as to show Kuroo just how unhinged his mind is.

And Shinjuku, it was in Shinjuku that Kuroo found you.

All the details add up and he was able to arrive at a conclusion he wish he never did.

"We suspect that he's dead. And even if he wasn't, he'd be put to jail. He was guilty of so many crimes and he'd be put to jail for life anyways."

"I see," Kuroo said, averting his gaze from Daichi. "That'd be a tough job," he continued before he took his mug of coffee, finally taking a sip.

He downed the lukewarm liquid, putting the empty mug down. The bitterness of the coffee left in his mouth and throat is akin to what he is feeling when he realized it.

That perhaps, it wasn't just coincidence that you were running from Kenma that night, that you and Kenma were in Shinjuku that night. Maybe the thing you weren't able to tell Kuroo, perhaps it was what you witnessed that night that Kenma did in front of you.

You said he just beat someone, but you didn't say he beat someone to death. You didn't tell him because you didn't want Kenma to go to jail.

And now Kuroo is almost sure of it.

That it was Kenma who did that to the guy. And the thought alone left a bitter aftertaste in his throat, more bitter than the aftertaste from the black coffee he had just drank.