oneshots ✰ haikyuu

phantom | kuroken

Kenma had seen ghosts since he was four years old. At first they were gentle whispers that left him shivering in the dead of night, then silhouettes in the mirrors that disappeared after a second glance. It was only until he was eight years old that the fleeting visions turned into white figures, and soon after, the figures started to speak.

The first spirit he was acquainted with was a late grandmother, who sat on his bed and knitted through the night. Another was a young couple, who danced the Austrian waltz whenever he tried to do homework. Every ghost he had met eventually decided they preferred another house to haunt and disappeared—except for one.

His name was Kuroo Tetsurou, and he had been murdered in his sleep.

...

"Kenma?" Kuroo mused, floating beside him as he was finishing another battle in his game.

"What?" Kenma asked absentmindedly.

"Can you give me a kiss?"

"Kuroo, I can't touch you. I think we've learned by now that my hand passes right through you."

Kuroo pouted. "Isn't that kind of unfair? Dying at seventeen is no fun. I never even got to have a boyfriend."

"I'm seventeen and I haven't had one either. You're not special."

"Then," Kuroo said. "We can be each other's boyfriends!"

"Sorry to break it to you, but you're dead." Kenma shut off his phone and placed it on his bedside table, then turned to Kuroo who was now laying under the covers of his bed. "Plus, no one can see you except for me."

"But you're not opposed to the idea!"

"If you were alive, it'd be a different story."

"I can possess one of your classmates. Just choose the hottest guy in your school, I'll possess him, and you'll have two in one! His looks, and my stunning personality!"

Kenma sighed, turning on his back to face the ceiling. "I don't want to hurt others for my own sake, okay? And anyway, I don't want you in some other person's body. I want you in your own."

Kuroo smiled. "Why, thank you, kitten."

"Don't call me that."

"Fine. Can I at least think it?"

"I didn't know you could think."

"Hey! I've had enough of people being mean to me in life, I don't need it in death, too."

Kenma laughed quietly, but the sound was bittersweet. Kuroo was the first person who had ever made him feel comfortable, who had kept him up until midnight talking about anything and everything, who had stayed with him for almost ten years. And he couldn't even hug him. He couldn't wake up next to him, or introduce him to his parents, or tell him that he loved him.

"Look," Kenma said, reaching his hand out to Kuroo's. "It just passes through."

"But at least I can see you."

"Yeah. And I can see you."

Kuroo had his eyes half-closed, a subtle smile on his lips. He was beautiful, full of light even in his spirit form. Death could not subdue him—nothing could dull the brightness that surrounded him. Kenma loved him for his sharp mind, his charming traits, his unshakable ambition. This was his fate, this was his curse. If he had never met him, would he would find happiness in a boy who was alive? No, they were destined to meet. They would greet each other in every universe, in every phase of life. There is something so tragic about intertwined souls, a partnership that can never let go.

"When you die, do you think you'll become a ghost?" Kuroo asked.

"You said the dead only come back as ghosts if they have unfinished business. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

Kuroo nodded. He moved nearer to Kenma in the bed and curled up on his side. What was the point? All Kuroo's presence left Kenma with was freezing pricks on his skin. But he didn't mind anymore; he welcomed the cold if it meant he could feel closer to Kuroo.

"What's your unfinished business, Kuroo?"

"I don't know yet. I have to find the person who killed me, I think."

"What if I help you?"

"But... that means I'll have to leave you."

Kenma felt tears welling up in his eyes. He squeezed them shut, a wave of anger passing over him.

"I'll see you in another realm. Then, we'll be together at last."

"Yeah. Together at last."