you walked along the empty sidewalk, not bothering to acknowledge where your feet were leading you. you had quickly slipped on a coat and running shoes for warmth, along with your bag. your mind was caught up in a small daze, dispirited by the fresh news from your mom.

a child's laughter brought you out of your thoughts, alerting you of your current location. your eyes scanned your surroundings to discover that you've walked to the park, a place where you used to go plenty of times as a kid. it was as if you were struck by nostalgia.

as you grew older, you started becoming more focused on your studies and eventually lost interest. as a result of that, you barely ever got the chance to come here.

you heaved a deep breath,

'It's been a while,'

"mom, lookie!" a little girl came running towards your direction, pointing towards a butterfly that drifted behind you. a woman, who you assumed was her mother, followed her with quick steps.

"slow down, hazuki!"

before you could think or move, her small body crashed into you, causing you to stumble backward, thankfully you didn't fall. the girl, on the other hand, supposedly named 'hazuki', fell roughly on her back. fortunately, her elbow held her up, avoiding hitting her head.

you let out a gasp of surprise, forgetting about your own problems, you rushed over to the child.

"woah, there!" you gently held both of her forearms, helping her up.

"hazuki!" her mother ran up next to her, shooting an apologetic look to you. "i am so sorry."

you shook your head dismissively, "it's fine,"

turning your attention back, you removed your hands, inspecting her for any injuries.

"are you alright? you're not hurt are you?"

hazuki's eyes were on the brink of tearing up.

she motioned to her elbow, which was now scratched up due to the fall. the wound was minor, but it had tiny specs of blood seeping through.

"oh, no." you grimaced at the sight.

you turned to her mother, "um, i'm sorry ma'am, but do you have any water with you?"

"yes, i do. why?" she responded, slight suspicion lacing her voice.

"i have tissues and band-aids that i can use to aid her. is that okay?"

"oh! of course, thank you." she nodded at you, an understanding smile making its way to her face. she handed you an unopened bottle of water.

you shot her a smile as you took hold of the bottle, hazuki's hand in your other as you led her to a nearby bench.

settling your bag on the bench, you brushed away the fallen leaves. you turned to her with an affectionate smile on your face, patting the empty space on the seat.

"come on, let's get your elbow fixed up, yeah?"

hazuki, who's eyes no longer held tears, smiled at you, nodding her head eagerly. she sat on the bench, offering you her arm so that you could mend her injuries.

squatting in front of her to match her height, you looked into your bag, pulling out a pack of tissues and a band-aid. whilst you opened the bottle of water and dampened a few tissues, you turned to the child who sat before you.

"tell me if it hurts, alright?"

"m'kay!" she beamed at you.

a small chuckle escaped your lips,

'for a kid who just got hurt, her emotions recover pretty fast...'

and so you started cleaning her elbow, wiping off any leftover dirt and blood. you stopped momentarily every time she winced, making sure she was okay.

you took the yellow band-aid that laid next to her spot on the bench. as you applied the band-aid, you gently smoothed the wrinkles, clasping your hands together in satisfaction when you finished.

"there, you're good to go now!"

her eyes visibly brightened,

"thank you!" hazuki took a step forward, enveloping her arms around your neck.

"no problem, kid." you pat her back,

she quickly made her way over to her mom, the two of them walking away after her mom gave you a small 'thank you'.

you watched them as they walked away, letting out a sigh once they left your sight.

'i wonder how the kids are doing...'

unbeknownst to you, an oh-so-familiar figure had witnessed the whole thing at a nearby fountain, eyes staring in amusement.

'so she's that kind of person, huh?' he thought,

he thought back at how you kept on smiling at her, the way you held her ever so gently- as if she was the most delicate piece of glass to ever exist, the way you spoke, the look in your face- everything. it was all overwhelmingly loving and full of warmth.

'tch... cute.'

somehow he found himself smiling to himself, which didn't go unnoticed by his blonde-haired underclassman.

"kita-san? oi! are you even listening?" the older miya twin snapped his fingers repeatedly, in an attempt to get his captain's attention.

atsumu followed his gaze, eyes eventually landing on your figure, slumped on the bench with your hands in your pockets. you seemed to be really deep in thought.

the corners of his mouth lifted, smirking at his captain's seemingly new interest.

"oya? you know her?" the question made kita break his gaze from you, turning to stare at the young setter,

he eyed him up and down before briefly explaining, "i met her at the grocery store."

atsumu stared at the older boy before turning away, "i see,"

inarizaki were currently in tokyo to attend a training camp, which had started the same time your one-week break did, and coincidentally, would also end the same time as your break. that meant that by the time you started school again, inarizaki would be all the way back in hyogo. not that kita knew, though.

kita began to ponder,

he and the volleyball team were going home in a few days, should he talk to you before they leave?

the way he acted when he met you at the grocery store was completely out of character for him to do, he hasn't told any of his teammates about it since.

it was as though he couldn't control himself, his body kept moving on its own. like an irresistible urge to act all soft for you.

'she might've felt really uncomfortable, getting that much affection from someone she barely knows... it wpuld only be right for me to apologize.'

he debated whether he should talk to you, before settling on a decision.

he was gonna apologize formally to you and leave.

at least, that's what he planned.

he abruptly stood up, startling the boy next to him.

"i'll be back." he walked off, not once sparing a glance at atsumu.

"eh? o-oi, kita-san!"

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

you hadn't left your spot on the bench, and it had been quite a while since you came. although much time had passed, the sun was still out, gracefully kissing the surface of your skin.

you heard footsteps coming your way, making you aware of your current surroundings. your head faced the ground, hair hiding your face from whoever was approaching you.

as the footsteps grew closer, you began to panic.

'damn it, i should've just gone to akinori's house.'

the footsteps stopped in front of you, the person stood across from where you sat.

"can i help you?"

a long silence washed over, further increasing your fear. your hands began to get clammy, feeling a shiver down your spine. you could almost feel your heart beating out of your chest, you were scared shitless.

'this is it. i'm gonna die without a goodbye hug from kotarou.'

after what felt like hours, he finally spoke.

"hello," the low voice spoke, it sounded like someone who hadn't drunk water in weeks. it was far from friendly, to begin with.

upon cranking your head upwards you were met with a malicious smile, paired with a menacing set of almond-colored eyes. under the person's hood, you could spot a tuft of raven hair.

"what's a pretty girl like you doing all alone in the park?"

'is he an idiot for doing this in broad daylight or-'

you were speechless, how were you supposed to respond to that?

"i'm, uh, waiting for someone."

the person, seemingly a boy your age, smiled even wider, seeing that you visibly grew more nervous. fortunately, a voice stopped before he could attempt anything else.

"miya-chan! sorry i'm late,"

a figure came jogging towards you, you squinted your eyes at the person to identify whoever it was. your eye widened once your gaze landed on a familiar head of light hair. you quickly got the message and began to play along.

"hey!" you quickly slapped a fake smile onto your face, ignoring the creep in front of you.

the boy sat next to you, protectively wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you close.

"sorry," he managed to whisper in your ear, his head leaned towards the side of your face, faking a kiss to your cheek. his actions succeeded to make your face a raging pink, making the act more convincing.

finally, he turned to face the raven-haired boy.

"who are you? what business do you have with my girlfriend?"

although he didn't mean it, you still felt your heart skip a beat.

you could easily see the boy's attitude falter, his eyes widening in fear of your said 'boyfriend'.

"oh, uh, nothing- i was just... about to go! yeah, that!"

and with that the boy left, leaving you with the solemnly known, 'grocery store boy'.

once he was no longer in sight, the light-haired boy heaved out a deep sigh, releasing his hold on your waist and giving some distance between the two of you. his hands rested politely on his lap, 

"sorry about that,"

"it's alright, i don't know what i'd do if you hadn't stepped in." you waved off his apology, an awkward smile painting your lips in attempt to reassure him. by the way his shoulders appeared less tensed, you were assuming that your words had worked.

you felt nervous, your hands began to get clammy. you felt the apples of your cheeks burning up, your stomach churned in the most pleasant way possible, but why? you had never felt this way towards akinori or the volleyball team for sure, not even tooru.

 "we haven't introduced ourselves, have we?"

"well, not quite..." you reply, thinking back on your last encounter with him.

you gulped,

"well then," he adjusts his posture, handing out a hand in your way, "kita shinsuke,"

you accepted his handshake, shooting a toothy grin, "l/n y/n,"

his lips morphed into a small grin, but it disappeared shortly after he remembered why he wanted to talk with you in the first place.

"about what i did last time, i apologize if i made you uncomfortable." he turned to face you, bowing in your direction. "i don't know what was going through my mind, it was rude of me to touch you without your permission."

"no, no, no! it's fine, really," you reassured him, arms frantically flinging around. your hands awkwardly placed themselves on his shoulders, urging him to stop. "it's not that serious- to me, at least. you don't have to apologize, kita-san. please, um, get up."

the boy obliged, slowly retreating back into a seated position.

"so, kita-san, what are you doing here?" you attempted to anitiate a new conversation, not that you were good at it, but efforts had to be made. you realized that the wording of your question might have come off as rude, you were quick to elaborate. "not that it's a bad thing or anything! i thought you'd be the type to stay at home more."

"what am i doing here?" he recited your question,

"mhm,"

"the purpose of my visit?"

"yep,"

kita pondered in silence for a brief moment, pursing his lips in thought before answering, slightly tapping his fist against the palm of his hand.

"babysitting,"

riinngggg!!

loud ringing arised from kita's phone before you had the chance to process his answer. he sent an apologetic look in your way before answering the phone.

"what is it, aran?"

you weren't able to hear much of the person on the other line, however, you managed to make out a few words.

"the twins... ice cream... no cash..."

kita's eyebrows furrowed in return, a light sigh escaping his lips.

"okay, i'll be there soon." he hung up shortly after, standing up from his spot on the bench. "it was nice meeting you, but it seems that i have to go now, my friends are expecting me."

"alrighty, i'll see you next time?" you followed his actions, leaping to your feet as well.

"...sure, see you, l/n-san." he bowed to you once more, waving at you before walking away.

like you did with hazuki and her mother, you watched him walk away until he was out of your sight. you were... entertained to say the least. kita was more of an emotionless person than you had assumed. nevertheless, you were happy now that you knew his name.

'babysitter, huh?'

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

...

what is this monstrosity

- yuzazazaazaza