Archive of Our Own

Ennoshita Chikara

Ever since birth, you have a soul mark that you keep until the day you die. The mark is usually a sentence in your destined person's handwriting, the color representing its nature. It was the first sentence your soulmate would ever say to you.

About the different natures: a normal, black mark meant a romantic bond and a light blue mark meant a platonic bond. Some people had multiple soulmates, one or more often being platonic. Aromantic asexual people only had platonic marks. It was also a possibility to have more than one black mark, but it was very rare. It meant that you would have a soulmate that would die or leave you, but would have another or a polyamorous relationship if the marks of all people involved were matching.

Ennoshita only had one mark; a black one. His sentence was a bit... strange. It wasn't as strange as Noya's, of course, which said "Oh my god, please don't kill me, I didn't do anything wrong I swear", since Noya would never hurt someone intentionally if they didn't do something to him (of his family) first.

His was still strange, though. "Only if I can take pictures of you right after."

Ennoshita had always had many questions about his soulmate whenever he looked at his mark. It was obviously a reply to something that he'd said to them and it made Ennoshita a bit anxious sometimes. What if what he said was something super weird, it must be some kind of question? He dearly hoped it wasn't too bad.

He sighed. If only he had a cute or normal soul mark, a bit more like Daichi and Suga. Well, they weren't all too normal either, but at least they were cute. The two were soulmates and had met in their first year of high school. On Suga's wrist stood 'Oh wow, you're so pretty, is that a beauty mark?', to which Suga had replied to Daichi with 'I could say the same about you, handsome.'

It was just so... them.

Well, at least Ennoshita knew his soulmate liked taking pictures and had very neat handwriting. They were probably pretty organized as well, though that was just a guess.

Ennoshita was currently back in Miyagi, visiting his friends and family. He'd gotten into a pretty good university in Tokyo and would be starting there in a few weeks. He'd just gotten settled in his new apartment (with a housemate, because he needed someone to split the bills with) and was back home to properly say goodbye and spend some quality time with his friends.

He'd be starting school in two weeks and would probably be very busy with his (time-consuming) courses and wouldn't have much time to come over. He was a film major and would have to create his own short films ever so often. He knew from experience how long that could take, but he didn't mind. He liked it, he wouldn't want to be a producer if he didn't.

"Chikara? Hey, Chikara!" Tanaka's loud voice said in his ear, shaking him from his thoughts. "What are ya thinking about, man?"

Ennoshita sighed. "Just next year, Tokyo stuff..."

"Do you have any hopes of finding your soulmate in uni?" Suga asked with a smile.

"I don't know," Ennoshita admitted. "It'd be nice, but if it doesn't happen that's okay too. I'll know when it happens."

"I hope your soulmate is a bit more enthusiastic about this stuff than you are," Daichi grumbled, ever the dad of the group.

Noya chuckled. It sounded a bit evil, and Ennoshita was already (still) regretting coming back here over break. "You know, that is," Noya drawled, "if his soulmate would even be charmed by his scandalous proposals!"

"Where did you learn such big words?" Ennoshita scoffed, "and how would you know the thing I'll say is scandalous?"

"It's more fun to imagine," Noya replied, unfazed by Ennoshita's first comment. Tanaka and Noya wore matching grins and Ennoshita was really feeling the regret now (still). Even Daichi and Suga were grinning now.

"You are probably right on that, Noya," Suga said pensively, faking a thoughtful look. "I think we all know Chikara can be rather... scandalous, if he wants to."

"I'm not!" Ennoshita protested, but it was already (still) a lost cause.

"Do you remember when he gave Kageyama and Hinata sex advice?" Daichi added. "He was so calm. You must've been pretty confident in your knowledge."

"Guys," Ennoshita groaned, not giving up just yet. "That doesn't count, you all know exactly how my mom is. She's been drilling it all into my head since I was fourteen, 'for safety'. You can't blame that on me."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Tanaka cackled, "you beast!"

Ennoshita let his head fall in his hands and he groaned softly. "That's it, I'm going home."

"Calling Tokyo home already?" Noya whined. "Quit acting like you won't miss us, Chika!"

"Of course he'll miss us, how can he not," Daichi said while Suga patted Ennoshita's head consolingly. "He's just trying to stay strong for us."

Ennoshita stood up and stepped away from the bench they were sat on. "Bye!" he called out pointedly before walking away. He needed to get going anyway. He'd been here for almost two weeks now and wanted to prepare himself a bit more for his new start. He still had some boxes he needed to unpack, wanted to check out his books for uni before he'd be thrown into the theory headfirst and wanted some more time to get more used to his housemate Yaku Morisuke.

He was one year older than Ennoshita and seemed nice enough, but Ennoshita didn't want their first weeks (or months) of living together to be awkward, so he planned to get to know him a little better before classes started.

***

Despite his denying, Ennoshita found it harder to say goodbye to his friends this time than the last time. Last time, he knew he'd only be away for a few weeks. A month, maybe. This time, he had no idea when he'd have enough time to go back home to visit. Maybe it'd take a few months. Maybe half a year, maybe the entire year. It also didn't really help that they all did go to uni in Miyagi and could easily meet up without him.

Ennoshita had always been a bit insecure. He didn't want his friends to forget about him, and he knew they wouldn't, but the thoughts were still there. (Two days later, that doubt was blown away when Noya called him first to tell him he'd found his soulmate. His name was Azumane Asahi and, if he had to believe Noya, very 'big and hot but sweet like a baby bunny'. When Ennoshita asked what Noya had done to make him react like that, he'd just laughed sheepishly and hung up.)

***

Uni required a lot more work than high school, Ennoshita quickly found out. But, he didn't mind because he was finally doing the things he loved to do instead of things he had to do and he couldn't get enough of it. He was in the top of his class in performances, since the joy and love for filming Ennoshita experienced (at least, that's what all his professors always said) were very visible in his work.

Now, Ennoshita was working on a new short film for a project. He wanted it to be a silent film, which did not make it any easier for him. Of course, he wouldn't have to come up with lines and good dialogues, but he would need to be able to express enough emotions to make it convincing and tell a good story without using any sound. It would most definitely be a challenge. A lot of fun, but still a challenge.

There was only one problem; Ennoshita was currently out of actors. His friends were busy and Yaku, who'd also become a pretty good friend of his, was (no offense, of course) a terrible actor. Ennoshita was desperate. Which was why he was running around the secluded park at six a.m. on a Sunday morning, in a hurry to find someone young and pretty enough to play the lead role.

About half an hour later, he still hadn't found anyone. Which, of course, made sense, since he'd never seen many people in that park and especially not way too early in the morning on a Sunday.  

That did not register in Ennoshita's caffeine-indulged brain, as he was slowly getting even more desperate. Then, at six forty-three he finally saw someone and damn, what a someone that was. 

The guy had short, dark hair, curling at the ends. He had nice hands as well, Ennoshita noticed as the man (boy? They looked to be around the same age) pushed a stray curl behind his ear. Ennoshita was just too far away to see his eye color, but it was bright enough to see it was not just the standard dark brown (like he had).

The man looked tired, but all Ennoshita's brain could think was 'pretty as fuck'. He nearly tripped over his own feet as he tried to catch up with him. Ennoshita thought he'd seen him around campus maybe, but he wasn't too sure. Only then he noticed the big camera hanging around the guy's neck. Ennoshita reached out and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around.

Green. His eyes were dark green. And his skin is like olive.

"Hi!"  Ennoshita blurted out, praying to everything holy that the (beautiful) man would say yes. "Can I use you for my film?"

The man wasn't as shocked as Ennoshita was afraid he'd be. Instead, he fired a response straight back. "Only if I can take pictures of you right after."

A big smile grew on Ennoshita's face. "Oh thank god, anything, of course, anything to repay you for your kindness. I'm Ennoshita Chikara, I- I'm not usually this... stressed, but I'm really in a pinch and you just saved my life."

"I'm Akaashi Keiji," the man (Akaashi) said. He had a nice voice, Ennoshita noticed. Akaashi had a kind of weird look in his eyes at Ennoshita's reaction, but he just brushed it off as nothing. He probably wouldn't see Akaashi Keiji much after this anyway. A shame.

"What can I call you?"

"Oh, call me whatever you feel like," Ennoshita replied absentmindedly, fiddling with his camera, playing around a bit with the settings.

"Is Chikara okay?"

Ennoshita looked up, right into Akaashi's eyes. He quickly looked down again when he felt a blush rise. Shit, why was he flushing like a middle school girl? That was just so uncalled for. It was just a first name, get over it. 

"That's fine," he said, not looking at Akaashi, "if I can call you Keiji."

"That's only fair," Akaashi's - no, Keiji's - (very calming) voice said. "But whatever you want is alright. Now, what do you want me to do, Chikara-kun?"

Ennoshita ignored how nice the syllables of his name sounded when Keiji said them and slipped into his , as his friends called it fondly, 'filmmaker mode', working through the simple shots for the first scene like a true director.

It turned out Keiji was very good at expressing emotions with his (beautiful) eyes. Ennoshita grinned to himself as he quickly scanned through the takes. This was going to be good.

Akaashi Keiji

The sentence on Akaashi's wrist had always freaked him out a bit in middle school (and high school, let's be honest). It was sweet because of the sloppy (obviously male) handwriting, but the message itself was a bit creepy if you thought about it. In high school, the feeling was less strong, but it was still a creepy thing to ask a stranger if they could use you for their (his) film.

His friends teased him a lot with it, but they were also worried for him. "What if they're a total pedophile, 'Kaashi, what do we do then?" Bokuto often said.

Kuroo thought it was more fun to make dirty (bad) jokes about it. "Ooh, what kind of films Akaashi?" he'd say. "They probably want you to strip for them or something," was also something that sounded an awful lot like something he'd say.

Kenma usually ignored them, but if he was in a good mood he was one of the worst. "I hope you're careful, Akaashi," he'd say in the most monotone and dry voice possible. "Wouldn't want your admirers to get their hands on your... your tapes."

Really, Akaashi understood why they were soulmates. Bokuto, Kuroo and Kenma, that is. The three of them were in a (rare) polyamorous bond, but they were still missing a fourth. Akaashi already liked the fourth person. He wouldn't be around forever, and though Kenma was kind of a sensible (and sassy) force in their relationship, there was only so much he could do without speaking loudly (something he despised).

He often got tired and just walked away, leaving Bokuto and Kuroo to do whatever they wanted. It seemed like the fourth person was level-headed (if not a bit too salty) and not afraid to speak their thoughts, which was what they needed.

On Bokuto's wrist stood "could you please shut the fuck up?", on Kuroo's "your hair is even worse than your flirting" and on Kenma's "how the fuck do i get them to stop?". It was all the same handwriting, so they could be certain there was indeed a fourth person for all of them out there, meant to be added into their... thing.

It was all rather cute, unlike his creepy soul mark.

To be honest, Akaashi had actually been a bit scared his soulmate would have sexual meanings with the 'film'. He had certainly not expected for his soulmate to come in the (not creepy at all) form of Ennoshita Chikara. Or well, form... He was more like a flurry. An organized mess.At least, at the moment. Or at least he left Akaashi feeling a flurry of emotions. He was adorable.

Maybe (probably) Akaashi was biased, but he was fairly good-looking and Akaashi could feel his passion for filming in everything he said and did as he directed Akaashi (he called him Keiji) through the first takes. Chikara (Akaashi got to call him Chikara) didn't seem to notice the matching soul lines at all, which only made him more endearing in Akaashi's eyes.

Now that he thought about it, Chikara's soul line was pretty strange as well. He had no idea if Chikara even wanted his soulmate or paid attention to his mark, but if he was a bit like Akaashi he must've had his doubts about it. It was a funny coincidence a film major (at least, that's what Akaashi assumed he was) and a photography major were matched. Plus, Chikara had come at the perfect moment. 

Not only he had been in a pinch, as he himself said it, Akaashi also had a project he really needed to start on; one month with a stranger. He was supposed to walk up to someone he didn't know and become friends and every day take a picture with them in it and portray friendship and that was nearly impossible because even though Akaashi was pretty good with people he could not for the life of him be the one to say something first.

He was very relieved someone had walked up to him. And his soulmate at that! 

Suddenly, Chikara burst out laughing. (It sounded nice)

Oh shit. First of all, his laugh was not just nice, it was very nice. He had the laugh of a person that didn't laugh out loud too often, but when they did it was with one that could cure all diseases in the world. Second; shit. What was he laughing about? Did he say something stupid? He had been spacing out...

Then, Chikara pulled up his sleeve, looking at the familiar words there. Akaashi smiled with Chikara's new bursts of laughter. Ah. He finally realized.

"Everything alright?" Akaashi asked teasingly. He was secretly very relieved with Chikara's reaction. He'd been a bit afraid he wouldn't realize it at all, or (since he didn't notice anything at first) that he didn't want his soulmate and would run when he found out. Instead, Ennoshita Chikara was laughing, looking at Akaashi with happy eyes.

"Oh my god," he wheezed, "I'm so stupid, I really should stop drinking so much coffee so early in the morning and just take it later, it makes my brain all mushy. Why didn't you say anything? You just stood there, looking pretty, letting me embarrass myself!"

"Ah yes, we match," Akaashi said smiling. "I didn't say anything because I wanted to see if you'd find out on your own."

"That's mean, Keiji. This is soulmates we're talking about, a soul bond! What if I hadn't noticed at all? Then- Keiji, this isn't funny!"

Akaashi let out a chuckle. "Yes, it kind of is funny."

Chikara's eyes widened a bit. "Oh," he them mumbled, "I'm so sorry for your line, it's- you must've thought I was asking you to become a porn star or something. Especially with the way I phrased it - if I could use you."

"Yes, I had my worries. But you didn't get the most fortunate line either."

"That's true, I was a bit afraid it was in return to something stupid I asked for, like... help with a stupid dare. I'm glad it wasn't, I didn't want to completely embarrass myself on our first meeting."

"You didn't," Akaashi said warmly. "Well, a little bit. But it's cute. I'm glad it's you and not some creepy person."

Then, out of the blue, he was wrapped up in a warm hug and found his face in Chikara's black, silky hair. It's really soft, he realized, and buried his nose further in it. He wrapped his arms around Chikara's waist to return the hug.

Chikara was a little shorter than Akaashi, but only by a few centimeters. They fit together seamlessly and Akaashi didn't want to step back. He wanted to stay there with Chikara forever, just hugging him close to his body. But, sadly, it was getting busier.

Of course, Tokyo was always busy, but there were not often many people in the park they were in on the early morning and Akaashi often used that to his advantage, taking those early mornings (he never slept until late anyway) to just sit there and relax a bit with the nature, watching the sun rise and taking pictures. It was his favorite spot for early morning trips or runs. However, after some time, it always got busier (since it was still Tokyo) and Akaashi and Chikara were still stood in the middle of the path, wrapped up in each other.

So, after some more minutes, Akaashi stepped back and slowly took Chikara's hand in his, giving him the chance to pull back, but Chikara only gripped his hand tighter and intertwined their fingers. Akaashi smiled and started to walk.

"Where to?" Chikara asked.

"We'll see," Akaashi replied. "Let's just find a place to eat, then we can maybe get to know each other a little better."

"Okay," Chikara simply said, and that was how they were sat (facing each other) ten minutes later in a small breakfast place close to the park. They had picked a table next to the window, since they both liked to watch people.

They talked for more than two hours about useless things, learning all kinds of small facts about each other. He was positive now; Akaashi really liked Ennoshita Chikara. It was probably a bit fast, especially for his doing, but that's just how it was.

So, when they were out of the little restaurant and back at the apartment building that served as the university's dorms (they only now found out they lived in the same building), Akaashi purposefully hesitated at his door. Chikara also didn't walk away, so Akaashi turned around to face him once more.

"So," he started, searching for words. "What do we do? Do we stay friends or can we... you know, actually date already? Because I really like what I've seen so far."

A light pink blush grew on Chikara's face as he nodded to himself. (Akaashi wished he was able to look inside Chikara's brain)

"Me too," he then simply said, "so let's just get it over with."

Akaashi laughed at his choice of words and stepped forward. They met each other halfway in a sweet, short kiss. Akaashi wanted to leave it at that for now, let it all sink in, so he stepped back again. Chikara seemed to think the same thing as he turned around. 

"You have my number," he called out over his shoulder before walking away, "So don't be afraid to use it!" Then he was gone.

Akaashi stepped inside his small apartment and closed his door, resting his back against it. That went a lot better then he ever could've hoped for.

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed with a notification.

from: chikara

hi boyfriend ;)

Akaashi smiled. Boyfriend. That was right. He had a boyfriend now. Wait until Bokuto, Kuroo and Kenma hear about this, they'd go crazy. Well, maybe Kenma not so much, but still.

Akaashi had never been in a relationship before, since he had wanted to experience all his firsts with his soulmate, whether they were a creep or not. His friends knew that. They'd, no doubt, immediately start demanding all the finest details. It was probably best to not tell them right away.

to: chikara

hi boyfriend

*^*

They'd been dating for three months now, and everything was perfect. They'd said their first (very anticipated) 'i love you's a week ago and their relationship had only gotten better after that.

Akaashi's friends all lived in Tokyo, so it was unavoidable; they somehow found out via Yaku, an old friend of Kuroo and Kenma, since Chikara and Yaku were housemates. After only two weeks, Chikara had been forced by Akaashi's friends themselves to meet them. It was chaos, but they liked him enough. Now Akaashi was mentally preparing himself to meet Chikara's friends and family.

Chikara was from Miyagi and they were visiting in their summer break for a few days. They were currently stood in front of Chikara's childhood home, where his friends and family were all present. At the same time. And Akaashi was only seconds away from meeting them. To say he was just nervous would be a huge understatement. He felt like he was going to puke, but refused to show it.

Chikara knew anyway, Akaashi thought as he felt a reassuring squeeze in his hand and he smiled at Chikara.

"You'll be fine, they'll love you," Chikara softly said.

"I hope so," Akaashi managed to say before the door was roughly pulled open. In the hallway stood two men (boys?) of about the same age as them (the small one looked younger, but Akaashi didn't want to make assumptions).

"I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke," the taller one said loudly. He's almost bald, was the first thing Akaashi thought. And loud.

"And I'm Nishinoya Yuu, call me Noya!" the small one exclaimed, possibly even louder. So this were Chikara's friends? Chikara had said they were loud, but this... They almost were as loud as Bokuto and Kuroo on a bad day (well, good for them, bad for Akaashi's eardrums).

"Shut up!" a strong voice said from behind them.

"Yeah, let them breathe," a softer voice added. "It's a long trip from Tokyo, you can freely assault them later."

Chikara, after all the commotion, just rolled his eyes. "Hi mom, dad."

A yelp sounded and a (pretty?) light-haired man stepped into the hall. "I told you to stop that, Chika! Hi," he said, at the last words turning to Akaashi. "I'm sorry about those loudmouths, I'm Sugawara Koushi. You can just call me Suga if you'd like."

The mom friend, Akaashi noticed. Then the other one must be the dad. Chikara had mentioned all of them shortly so he could prepare himself a bit. 

A hand on his shoulder again alerted him of the presence of the fourth man. Yes, he already looked like the dad friend. 

"I'm Sawamura Daichi, but it's just Daichi. Come in," he said with a warm look in his eyes.

"Yikes, mom and dad strike again," he heard Tanaka whisper not all too subtly, and Nishinoya laughed.

"Okay, that's enough," Chikara cut in (finally). "Christ, give us some breathing space so we can go greet my actual parents."

"It's fine, Chikara," Akaashi chuckled. He was actually pretty amused by Chikara's friends. In some aspects, the group was a lot like his own group of friends. Two loud ones with stupid hair, two to keep them quiet a bit (at least, Akaashi hoped Bokuto's, Kuroo's and Kenma's  soulmate would show up anytime soon so there would actually be two) and one who was always tired of the other's antics.

"Ooh," Tanaka and Nishinoya roared.

"First name basis already? Did you already do the do? Chika, you move fast!" Nishinoya said (yelled) excitedly.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Chikara said sharply, glaring at the two. (They hadn't, but they didn't feel the need to hurry. They had all the time in the world)

"Noya, behave," Suga scolded. "I'm so sorry..."

"Akaashi," he offered. "My name is Akaashi Keiji, and it's fine. Don't worry, it actually reminds me a lot of my own friends."

"From Fukurodani?" Tanaka exclaimed. "The setter with the loud ace?"

Hypocrite, Akaashi thought, but nodded. "I am, but I don't remember ever playing against you. What school were you from?"

"Karasuno," Nishinoya said, "there was a practice match scheduled once, but we couldn't make it."

"Funny coincidence," Daichi said. Chikara nodded and started to walk further, lightly pulling Akaashi along with him. 

"Come on," he said, "let's go meet my parents."

*^*

The days in Miyagi went by quickly as Akaashi got to know Tanaka, Nishinoya, Daichi, Suga and Chikara's parents a little better. They were all very nice and had welcomed Akaashi with open arms. It made him happy to know he'd always be welcome here. He of course liked Tokyo better, but he also loved the quiet and the people here. Everyone was nice to everyone and there were many places to relax in.

Tomorrow they'd be going back to Tokyo, but today the six of them were going to visit the Karasuno volleyball team. They now had a training week, in which they'd basically be training extra to prepare for their first Interhigh. Apparently Daichi and Chikara had both been captain in their third year, Daichi a year earlier.

As they stepped into the gym, a small boy with loud, orange-y hair. He was very muscular for a boy his height, and then Akaashi realized who he was; Hinata Shouyou. The boy with the amazing jumps. He'd read some things about him. That also explained his muscles; he was one of the best high school aces in Japan, much like Bokuto had been in high school.

"Captain! And the other captain!" he exclaimed and Akaashi almost groaned. Really, Miyagi itself was quiet but why did so many spikers of Karasuno have to be so loud and ruin it? Was the entire team this loud? (He was probably supposed to be saying Chikara was the only sane one, but he wasn't, really.)

"'Dashi, come here! Then we can make the holy trinity complete!"

Two (kind of tall) dark-haired boys came closer, and Akaashi immediately recognized one of them as Kageyama Tobio. He assumed the other must be the current captain, Dashi-something.

"Don't be so loud, dumbass. Tadashi, don't listen to him," Kageyama gritted out.

"Tobio, don't be so mean!" Hinata whined. "Why are you always nice to Tadashi and Hitoka but not me?"

"Because you're too loud and they're nice, calm people," was Kageyama's excuse. Whoever this Hitoka was, were they good friends or in a bond? It seemed like they all called each other by their first names. That didn't necessarily have to mean anything, though. Chikara's friends all called himself by their first names too, and they were just that. Friends.

"Yamaguchi," a new voice spoke up, "you're slacking off, the captain can't look lazy for the first years."

A very tall, blond boy stepped into view. His expression was teasing, but his voice monotone. Damn, Akaashi thought. He might even be taller than Kuroo. He was pretty as well, objectively speaking. He wasn't Akaashi's type at all, but he had to admit the tall blond was good-looking.

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi laughed, "we're just catching up, it's not like you were never lazy!"

Daichi looked surprised at Yamaguchi's answer, but Chikara just smiled. He leaned a bit closer to Akaashi, softly explaining Daichi's reaction. "Yamaguchi never stood up or talked back to Tsukishima in public in his first year, but he gained a lot more confidence in his second year. Daichi wasn't around then to see that happen, though."

Akaashi nodded. "That's nice."

The rest of the team came over and introductions went back and forth. The second and third years looked very excited to know Chikara found his soulmate, and that really relieved Akaashi for some reason. Chikara was no longer part of the team, but they (especially the now third years) were all very close. Karasuno was like one big family, and without realizing it before, Akaashi had been nervous, afraid of disapproval from the team. They seemed to like him though.

Half an hour later, Hinata had managed to rope all of them into a six on six practice match, splitting the uni students and making them join a few Karasuno team members. At one point, Tsukishima jumped to block a ball Akaashi had meant to dump, when he saw it. 

When he (and the ball) landed back onto the floor, all Akaashi could do was stare numbly at Tsukishima's right under arm. He had three soul lines, and one particular line had stood out to him. Without bothering to give Tsukishima a warning, he grabbed Tsukishima's arm.

The boy was too shocked to react at first, giving Akaashi some time to examine the different handwritings. The first one... He knew that handwriting.

"Chikara," he said, sounding very out of breath. A few seconds later, Chikara was at his side.

"What?" Tsukishima snapped, roughly pulling his arm back. "Yes, I have three soulmates, got a problem with that?"

Akaashi noticed  the way the other third years all took on a defensive stance. The tiny blonde manager who'd introduced herself as "Y-y-yachi H-hitoka" suddenly looked very anxious. Ah, Akaashi thought. So it was a polyamorous bond.

"I don't have any problems with that," Akaashi calmly said, "I have taken notice of another poly bond in here and I'm not hating on them, am I? Plus, my three best friends are in a polyamorous bond. I was just very surprised to recognize the handwriting on one of your lines."

First, Tsukishima's (and those of the other third years) face visibly relaxed. Then he immediately tensed up again. "What?" he softly said.

Akaashi took his arm again, and this time Tsukishima let him (albeit hesitantly). Yes, the first one was most definitely Bokuto. In big, loopy handwriting it said "Hey hey hey, can I please see your soul lines?"

"Look," Akaashi said to Chikara. "If this is not Bokuto's, I'll eat my socks."

Chikara chuckled and took a peek at the sentences. "The 'hey hey hey' really gives him away," he laughed. "And the others?"

Of course. Kuroo and Kenma! Akaashi turned back to Tsukishima to take a closer look at the other lines. The second was very familiar too, but Kenma and Kuroo had very similar handwriting. The line was a very... Kuroo thing to say though. 

"Now now, sweetheart, you're too pretty to be so mean," it said. 

The third line was so random in comparison to the first two, but Akaashi could already hear Kenma say it in that monotone voice of his (it was stronger when he was tired or bored). In lazy, but smaller (and a bit more neat) handwriting than Kuroo's, Tsukishima's third line said "Kiss them. Works every time for me."

Akaashi felt his eyes grow damp, but he quickly blinked the (happy) tears back. He was not a very emotional, but knowing the fourth soulmate Bokuto, Kuroo and (even) Kenma had been looking and searching so hard for for years was standing right in front of him made him feel extremely giddy. He was really happy for his friends, and ultimately for Tsukishima as well.

All his friends (at least, Akaashi assumed the third years were friends) were in one, big (presumably happy) relationship, and Tsukishima hadn't even found one of his soulmates. Then a thought struck Akaashi. But what if...

"You do want them, right? Have you been looking?"

"Of course I want them," Tsukishima grumpily replied without missing a beat. "It's pretty... weird, to have three, and I haven't had the chance to really look for them yet, but I do want them. Why is this even so important right now? Why is this even important to you at all, it's got nothing to do with you."

Akaashi took a deep breath, ignoring all the weird looks he and Tsukishima were getting. "It's of importance to me because the three friends of mine I said were in a polyamorous relationship... I'm pretty positive they're your soulmates," he said, looking the tall boy right in the eyes.

Earlier, before the match had started, Akaashi had been observing Karasuno for a bit, making mental notes of the teammates'characters. It was a force of habit, from his years with Bokuto, but Tsukishima had been not very hard to read. Well, most pf the time Akaashi had no idea what he was thinking, but his personality wasn't hard to read at all.

Tsukishima Kei had striked Akaashi as an aloof person, a bit quiet with strangers. He seemed mean on the outside, but Akaashi could see in his comments and banter that he actually did love his friends a ot He didn't want to let anyone know too much about him, that's why Akaashi was surprised by how open and unguarded Tsukishima's expression was when he heard Akaashi knew his soulmates.

The shock, going to fear becoming excitement (but still a bit scared, like how you feel on your first time on a rollercoaster) were clear in his eyes (face) for everyone to see.

"What?"

 he heard, barely audible. "My soulmates?"

"Yes," Akaashi said, smiling a friendly smile at Tsukishima. It wasn't just anything he'd told him, he could very well understand Tsukishima's shock.

"They lie in Tokyo, together. All four of us go to the same university. They've been looking for you for quite some time, like... eight years? Seven? Looks like I beat them to it. They're a bit of a  mess, but they're really good people."

Tsukishima's expression went neutral again, forced into that same scowl from before, but Akaashi could feel his hands shaking lightly as he stepped back.

"I can give you their contact info, or info on the university later if you want. I can understand if you don't believe me, feel free to come see for yourself," Akaashi offered, and he saw Tsukishima didn't miss the challenge hidden in his words. 

"We'll see," he said harshly.

The match resumed, though neither Akaashi or Tsukishima were very focused from that point.

*^*

When they walked back to Chikara's house,they talked a bit about random things before the topic landed on the foursome

"So," Chikara said, "are you really 100 % sure Tsukishima is the fourth?"

Akaashi nodded. "I';ve known them almost my whole life, especially Bokuto. I could recognize their attitudes and handwriting literally anywhere. It's them."

"Did you give him info?"

Akaashi smiled at the ground. "I gave him a small brochure of the university I found in my bag, and I wrote Bokuto's, Kuroo's, Kenma's and my phone number in it with names. He can figure out himself what he does with it."

Chikara shot him a wide eyed look, before laughing softly. He then squeezed Akaashi's hand in his a bit harder and pecked his cheek.

"You're such a meddler... No, a manipulator. You know exactly what you want him to do with that information!"

Akaashi's soft smile turned into something akin a smirk. "I guess I do, but it's for a good cause."

Laughing for a bit longer, they resumed on their walk. Akaashi wasn't worried at all, about what Tsukishima would do. The four of them would be just fine in not too long, he was sure of it.