Chapter Text
Tossing his gym bag into the grass, he plopped into the grace with a severe lack of grace. He stared up at the clouds rolling lazily through the grey sky, brown eyes noting the shapes and textures of each one. The grass under his palms was plush and green, twitching in the breeze. He could hear the squeaks and squeals of children clamoring over the metal play structure nearby, the grey metal catching the sun blindingly. He scowled at the offending metal, knowing full-well that it was not actually grey.
The beauty of the day did nothing to suppress the desire to scream in frustration. He violently ruffled his own ginger hair. Falling onto his back in defeat, he scowled up at the clouds as if they were mocking him.
Hinata Shouyou couldn't see the color blue, and it frustrated him to no end.
He wasn't color blind. He wasn’t handicapped. He was actually perfectly normal. Genetic testing said so, anyway. His friends would argue.
The fact that he couldn't see the color blue, and that he tested positive for what everyone called “the soul,” just meant one thing.
His soul mate was naturally born with an appearance identifier that was blue, so Hinata couldn't see the color blue. Probably their eyes, if Hinata had to guess. Simple.
It was a phenomena that had started way before Hinata had been born. A group of scientists who had spent years researching the idea behind a connection between the "soul" and the "brain." In certain individuals, miracles would occur. Upon meeting a new person, incurable ailments would be healed. Blind pairs suddenly were able to see. Deaf adults were able to hear. Pairs unable to smell or hear were suddenly capable upon meeting a new peer. Colorblind students would meet a new classmate and color would flood their vision like a tidal wave.
Their only connection was a small mark that would appear somewhere on their body, always in corresponding areas to the new individual they had just met.
Once those scientists discovered that connection, it took only another matter of years before they were able to identify the gene in the DNA that changed upon these marks appearing. Every person had different signals for their soul mate. Some had colorblindness to the color of their soulmates hair, eyes, or skin color. Some saw the cliche "red string of fate." The occasional individual would react when hearing the voice of their soul mate. Some were fully blind. Some lacked a sense of taste. Others lacked the capability to smell or taste.
It varied person to person, and of course Hinata was unable to see one of the primary colors. He hated it.
Why blue, of all colors? So many things are blue! The sky, that playground, the ocean!
He remembered hearing about how Suga and Daichi met. Both lacked a sense of smell, which Suga lamented was both a blessing and a curse. He didn’t have to smell horrible body odor, garbage, or decay, but he missed out on all the good smells in life. He’d never smelled a flower before, much to his dismay as a child.
The first day of volleyball club, they accidentally slammed into one another as they ran to the gym. In the midst of apologizing, their sense of smell became as apparent as running head-first into a brick wall. Daichi passed out from sensory overload. Suga spiraled into a panic attack for several hours. It was a little messy, from what Hinata had been told. They were disgustingly happy now, at least.
A soft voice behind him and a touch to his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. "Shouyou, open gym is about to start." His eyes landed on Kenma, a friend of his since early middle school. Kenma tucked his bleached hair behind his ear, his bright amber eyes casting a chaste glance towards the cement walls of the gym behind them.
"Oh, coming!" Hinata chirped, springing onto his feet effortlessly. Blades of grass fell from his baggy white t-shirt. The indents of each blade were red against any exposed skin they had pressed into. Hinata hastily wiped any surface of his body he could reach, standing at attention when he deemed himself free of any debris.
"What were you doing?" Kenma asked in monotone, his fingers reaching out to cling to the hem of Hinata's shirt. It was a habit that Kenma had developed shortly after they met; Hinata just didn't have the heart to reprimand it. Kenma was one of his soulmates, after all.
It was uncommon, but sometimes people were born with two soul mates. In some situations it made things complicated and resulted in disputes amongst the soulmates who were dead-set on monogamy. In others, the soulmates formed a polyamorous relationship and lived out their lives happily.
In Hinata and Kenma's case, they had discussed it and decided to friends. Kenma wasn't interested in romance in the slightest, saying he preferred video games over the idea of a lover. Kenma had lamented his fear of finding his soulmate to Hinata shortly after their meeting, being aromantic and asexual. Hinata had found the confession to be somewhat of a relief. He’d held no romantic or sexual inclinations towards Kenma, they had just clicked emotionally. It all worked out surprisingly well for the two of them.
"I was just thinking." Hinata said wistfully, heaving a deep sigh. His shoulders sagged, his arms dangling limply in front of him.
"About Blue, again?" Kenma asked with a tilt of his head. Once Hinata had told Kenma about his colorblindness, Kenma had dubbed his soulmate’s name “Blue,” until they discovered who they actually were. The name had stuck with their friend group, much to Hinata’s dismay.
"I just want to be able to see why so many people make a big deal out of how blue the sky is." Hinata stared up at the sky, a wistful look shining in his brown eyes. “I want to know what people mean when they gush about crystal blue waters in the tropics.”
Kenma watched him thoughtfully, nodding. Out of habit, Kenma fiddled with the golden string tied around his pinky, visible only to himself and Hinata. A fond look crossed Hinata’s eyes and he wrapped the thread around his own pinky in response.
"My soul bonds are complicated. I'm just glad I ended up being bound to you, Kenma." Hinata beamed at his best friend, his eyes crinkling at the sides.
Kenma always admired how wide Shouyou could smile. It was almost blinding; hard to look at directly. Kenma had a theory that their string was probably such a brilliant gold because Hinata was reminiscent of the sun. He was a treasure to everyone, but valuable to Kenma in a way only the two of them could see.
Hinata’s bright grin turned impish in a flash. "I'll race you, Kenma!" Hinata yelled exuberantly, dashing away from Kenma without a word of warning. His body propelled forward, practically throwing himself into the glass doors of the gym. Hinata yelled a quick hello to the receptionists, his antics unsurprising to them after several years of his weekly sprint to the gym.
Knowing Kenma, Hinata knew the boy wouldn't race him. It was a little disappointing, but Hinata suffocated that negative thought before it could grow and fester. Instead, he pushed himself to go faster, his muscles trying to protest. “Open Gym Volleyball Night” was the thing Hinata looked forward to the most during the week, aside from club meetings.
Since Coach Ukai Sr had started showing up to them to watch and offer advice here and there, players from different schools in the surrounding area had started to show up to the weekly event. Their practice matches started to evolve with the variety of skills. The random match-ups every week left everyone on their toes, but no one complained. In fact, everyone buzzed with excitement as they adapted to their new teams, seeing what they could all learn in a matter of a few hours.
Hinata threw open the doors to the gym, his smile so bubbly and toothy it caused a couple of the regulars that were already in the gym to scoff or roll their eyes affectionately. He spotted the Karasuno team, as well as a couple new faces. The adrenaline coursing through his veins had his whole body trembling.
He took a step into the gym, eyes lit with joy. "So, who's gonna toss to me toda-- GWAH!" Something slammed into him, knocking Hinata off-balance and onto the floor. Pain erupted along the nerves of his face. His whole body ached from the fall, but the staggering agony of his nose overwrote it all.
A warm sensation oozed down his hands. Suga’s shrill scream echoed through the gym but it sounded muted, like it was done through a pillow. The thundering of volleyball shoes against wood paneling shook his body uncomfortably, each footfall pounding in his hears. He pulled his hands away briefly, the air conditioning cooling the scarlet liquid that coated his hands.
Hinata clutched his bleeding nose, eyes following the volleyball that bounced past him mockingly. "OW."
An unfamiliar voice spoke from farther in the gym. "Uh, sorry. My serve was a little off." Hinata turned his livid expression to the source of the voice. The pain diluted his already-shitty impulse control until it was practically non-existent.
"Be more careful next time! I’m bleeding you asshole!" Hinata winced, groaning when his eyes caught the sight of red drenching his shirt. “I picked a bad day to wear white…” Hinata turned to glare once more at the new guy, opening his mouth to demand some kind of apology for this that wasn’t lamely half-assed.
But Hinata's voice caught in his throat as his eyes met those of the new guy. Hinata’s breath left his lungs, his eyes widening to such a degree that he felt like an alien in an old shitty Hollywood movie.
The eyes of the boy standing in front of him were a color he had never seen before. They were dark, possessing a depth that threatened to suck Hinata in. They were the definition of midnight, as if the Gods had taken the night sky and put it in this boy’s eyes. The lights from the gym reflected in them like stars.
Hinata was gawking, but he wasn’t the only one. The stranger was also in his own trance, looking into Hinata’s eyes like he was seeing the world for the first time. Neither of them spoke, neither of them were breathing. All sound around them faded, until it was just them.
This is him. Hinata’s brain projected. This is “Blue.”
As if the other boy heard his thoughts, his expression morphed into a glare. His lips turned into an angry scowl. He didn't look the slightest bit pleased, unlike Hinata who’s nose was imitating a waterfall as he smiled like a moron.
"I found you-"
"No. No. No." Blue's voice increased in volume as his face colored. Hinata couldn't tell if he was blushing, or if he needed a breathe. Probably both from the sounds of his unusual sputtering sounds.
"You okay there? You look like you're going to pass out!" Hinata joked, laughter bubbling out of his lips subconsciously. He yipped as the others glare turned frigid.
What crawled up this guys ass and died?To Hinata this was worth celebrating, not looking like someone had peed in his cheerios.
Oh god, what if he’s just bad at expressing himself? What if he’s like Tsukishima and is just super moody?! Hinata inwardly groaned. Just his luck be tethered to another person who is bad at expressing themselves. Unlike Kenma, however this guy just seemed to be a massive dick. At least he had practice handling this type of person.
Blue stared at Hinata, fixing him with an icy stare. "...Tch." Blue looked disgruntled, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "You’ve got to be kidding me." He let out a frustrated noise, raking a hand through his hair in obvious distress.
Hinata bounced onto his feet, droplets of blood splattering on the floor. Blue made an odd gagging sound, staring at Hinata in revulsion. "I'm your soul mate. You can see brown now, right?" Hinata tilted his head. "I can see blue now, I think. At least what I assume blue is. Whatever your eye color is! I’ve never seen it before though, so you're my soul mate!" Hinata grinned widely, wiping his hand under his still-gushing nose. “I’m not sure where our soul marks are, but we can figure that out later-”
"No." Blue said sternly, puffing out his chest as he glowered at Hinata furiously. The gym was silent, everyone watching their exchange with rapt attention. Hinata got a bad feeling about this.
"Um... What?" Hinata stared dumbly. Fear gripped his heart in an icy vice-grip.
"No." In an act of finality, the red faced guy turned on his heels and marched back into the gym. He walked up to a couple of guys that Hinata recognized as Oikawa and Iwaizumi, from Aoba Josai. Both of them gaped at him, stunned.
Glancing around, Hinata could see the shock etched on everyone’s faces. Hinata was almost one hundred percent sure he wore a matching look, blood and all.
Hinata blinked slowly as his mind tried to play catch up. Had he just been... Rejected? By his soulmate?
"Hey!” Hinata shook himself of his stupefied mental state, rage replacing his shock. Suga reached out to stop him, but he broke free of his upperclassmen’s grip. “What the hell was that?!" Hinata screamed, dashing into the gym after Blue, leaving a trail of glimmering red splotches in his wake. He would have to apologize to the staff of the building after he beat some sense into his infuriating soulmate.
Hinata tore into the gym, a force to be reckoned with. His narrowed gaze locked onto the figure of Blue, ready to throw down if necessary. He was determined to find out what the bastards problem was so they could sort through it and just be happy together. Hinata refused to settle with a rejection of this magnitude.
That was his intention, an unfamiliar sight caught his eyes and stopped him dead in his tracks. Immediately, Hinata was enthralled.
Hinata stared out the windows that lined the top of the walls in the gym. Sunlight was streaming into the gym, but that wasn’t what held his gaze. The sky that had been grey for his entire life, now held a different pigment. Hinata fell to his knees. He took in the light color, tears prickling his eyes. Breathing felt ragged, a secondary priority.
The way the white clouds contrasted the soft blue of the sky was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Tears threatened to spill. This was a sight he had longed to see for so long. The musings of every person who he’d talked into explaining the sky to him rang true. Nothing could compare to this. He had that bastard to thank for letting him see such a beautiful sight.
Hinata Shouyo, second year, had finally seen the blue of the sky. It was all he had imagined, while also being more than he could have ever dreamed of.
"Um, Shouyou?" Kenma's voice snapped him from his daze. "You’re still bleeding. You should probably go to the first aid room."
Hinata tore his gaze from the sky - the blue sky - down to his red-streaked shirt and bloodied hands. He laughed awkwardly, casting an apologetic glance at everyone who was still gaping at him.
“Sorry, I forgot.” Hinata stood, wiping his hands on his shorts firmly. Kenma crinkled his nose in distaste, his eyes narrowing to slits.
“Okay guys, let’s get this mess cleaned up!” Ukai Sr. called from the bench, jarring everyone back to awareness. “Hinata, go to the nurse! You’re going to pass out at this rate!”
“Oh!” A wide smile stretched the corners of Hinata’s lips almost painfully. Kenma really didn’t understand how Shouyou could switch from one emotion to the next so rapidly. It seemed exhausting.
"I found him, Kenma!" Hinata announced, finger pointing right at Blue's back. "That guy is my soulmate!"
Kenma quirked a brow. Blue refused to turn around.
“Tobio-chan! You just told me he was lying!” Oikawa pouted, throwing a volleyball at Blue’s head. “What the heck! Don’t joke with me!”
“I’m not joking Oikawa-san.” Blue’s words were like ice, chilling the blood in Hinata’s veins. “I will never accept him as my soulmate.” The severity of the words caused Hinata’s head to spin.
Oh. It’s just the blood loss. Hinata thought distantly as his world went black.