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When Akaashi Keiji turns five years old, he starts finding things.
They are not big things, usually, but he picks up pencils and erasers and sometimes Pokemon cards that seem to materialize for no reason around his desk. He takes them into the lost and found. The office is decorated with little containers that have the names of students who have found miscellaneous items, because after two weeks the items are given back if not claimed.
Soulmates find each other's lost things. It is something that Keiji has known ever since he could speak, so if the missing item belongs to a soulmate, the found item should be given back.
Keiji's found things are never claimed, so almost every day he is called into the office to pick up one lost item or another. He wishes the office ladies would just throw them out, but every time he goes to do so himself he gets a strange feeling in his stomach. So instead he takes them to his room, where he stores them in a little storage tub in the back of his closet.
He finds it such a hassle, he makes sure to never lose things again if he can help it.
When he is ten years old he finds a volleyball and a shoe together outside his front door. He stares at the ball in his hands. He has never actually held a volleyball, or really seen one up close, and the texture is strange, smooth, with stripes crisscrossing the surface, blue and yellow and white. He squeezes it, surprised by the give, but also the firmness underneath.
He studies the shoe, which looks like a normal tennis shoe, except maybe the sole. It is two sizes bigger than his own shoe size. For the first time, he wonders if his soulmate is older than him. He thinks it is a boy by the things he finds, but he does not want to assume something incorrectly.
His mother opens the door, which startles him out of his thoughts. "Oh, Keiji, dear! What are you doing standing outside?"
In answer, Keiji holds up the volleyball and the shoe. His mother furrows her brow for an instant, then she lets out a laugh. "It seems your soulmate loses a lot of things. That means it should be easy to find them, once you meet. Are you going to save them?”
Keiji shrugs. He glances at the volleyball again before following his mother into the house. He has told his mother that he throws the items away now, but in reality he still has those tubs stacked in his closet full of pencils, with a smaller collection of pens, and three of the same owl figurines he found within the span of a month among other, stranger things.
He puts the shoe with the rest of his items, but the ball won't fit in the tubs, so he props it next to his desk. He thinks about the other things he has found, how most of the pencils have little volleyballs on them, or erasers that are shaped like jerseys. One time he found a ticket stub that could have been for a volleyball match.
He tells himself that his soulmate is not the reason he goes to his mother three days later and asks to play volleyball.
Truthfully, he loves volleyball more than he thought he would. He likes the way a team has to work together to keep a ball in the air. He likes the way the team communicates with each other to pull off a successful attack. He finds that he especially loves being the one to orchestrate the play, deciding in a split second which spiker is in the best position to get a point, or if he should fake the other team out.
He thinks it is a normal passion, but when he compares himself to his teammates at Mori Junior High School, he realizes that maybe he loves the sport in a more complex way. He may not love it as much as his soulmate (he has found no less than two smelly practice jerseys, another volleyball, and at least three volleyball keychains through his middle school years), but he still enjoys it and wants to take it seriously when he gets to high school.
The other thing Keiji realizes about himself during middle school is that he is really good at finding everything, not just his soulmate's things. He thinks it is because he is accustom to picking up everything he sees because usually random things belong to him (or, rather, his soulmate). He has developed such a reputation that now, before people check the lost and found, they usually ask Keiji if he has seen the item in question first.
This makes Keiji wary of the soulmate claim. Not that it is entirely wrong, since clearly people find other people's possessions unexpectedly (like the time Keiji found a candy bar shoved into the pocket of his raincoat, even though he had not touched the jacket since taking it off that morning to hang up at school). Most of the time those people even got married or stayed in each other’s lives forever. But he starts to wonder how it worked. Was there a distance someone has to go away from an item before it disappeared? Is it a timer? An intent in their mind?
He asks his school counselors, and then supposed 'soulmate experts' but no one can really give him a straight answer about it. They just applaud Keiji's curiosity, encourage him to continue asking questions and research, then shoo him on his way.
Instead of starting a research thesis, Keiji just continues picking up the things he finds and turns his focus toward volleyball.
By his third year of junior high he has two recommendations. One from Suzumeoka and the other from Fukurodani Academy. Both are good schools in the Tokyo area for academics, but Fukurodani is also a powerhouse school for volleyball. Keiji feels flattered that either school likes his playing enough to offer him a place on their team.
"Have you decided which high school you want to go to?" his father asks him one night at dinner.
Keiji shrugs. "Not really."
"Maybe the best way to decide would be to go see the teams you will be playing with," his father continues, "if volleyball is a deciding factor."
Keiji does not really know what the deciding factor is at this point. He does not mention that the biggest thing that has stopped him from choosing a school is the fact that his soulmate could attend one of them, could probably be attending any high school in the area. This decision could change Keiji's whole life. He knows it is an irrational thought, but he cannot help but have it.
He has scoured the things he has found in the last year to see if he can glean any clue as to which school his soulmate might attend, but the only things he has are torn up assignments that look like they came out of any standard textbook. Nothing with a teacher name or homeroom number or anything else helpful. Even the lost volleyball things (another practice jersey, two water bottles) offer him nothing.
So he takes his father's advice. He goes to see Suzumeoka first. They look well organized, nothing out of the ordinary but pretty remarkable. He would be content playing on that team.
When he goes to watch Fukurodani, it is another matter entirely. They have the same cohesion as Suzumeoka, but they have a player with the weirdest gray and black spiked hair that just exudes excitement. Keiji is both exhausted and excited watching the way the boy runs back and forth across the court with boundless energy, patting teammates on the back, sulking when he misses a shot.
He seems to breathe volleyball, elegance in every movement on the court. Keiji thinks one day this boy will be one of the best volleyball players on the court.
At the end of the match he has decided. Akaashi Keiji wants to play with someone as excited about volleyball as Bokuto Koutarou is.
That night he informs his parents of his choice to attend Fukurodani. If he secretly hopes that his soulmate is the boy he had just watched play volleyball, he does not share it with anyone, not even himself.
***
He meets Bokuto at volleyball practice during the second week of school. He tells himself that he is not going to straight up beg to play with him.
Through their first practice he tries to figure out a way to talk to Bokuto that would not seem strange. He thinks maybe he should just come out and say that he wants to practice tossing--Bokuto seems the type of person who would eat up any extra time to practice.
Keiji decides that he should wait at least a few practices before bringing it up, so he does not seem too eager. Besides, he got some tossing in today, and most of the players seemed to like his style.
As he is cleaning up the gym that first practice, he notices Bokuto wandering idly around. He does not seem to be causing any trouble, so Keiji continues with his cleaning duty.
"Hey, um, Akashi-kun, right?"
Keiji glances up to see that Bokuto has wandered close enough to speak, and he has his hands pressed behind his back, his head ducked shyly into his shoulder. Keiji assumes that he wants something, as just the minimal interaction they had had today has proven to Keiji that Bokuto is not anywhere close to timid. “Um. It’s actually Akaashi.”
“Oh sorry! Akaashi-kun. Anyway, can you help me practice spikes? Just for a tiny bit longer, promise!”
Keiji watches a few of the other older team members snicker behind their hands. “It’s not going to be just awhile,” a third year Keiji doesn’t remember the name of whispers to him. “Don’t do it.”
But Keiji’s heart is racing in his chest. Sure, it is probably because Bokuto has worn the whole team down from all his extra practices and Keiji is new blood to break in, but Keiji could not bring himself to care about the fact that Bokuto might be playing him.
“Of course, Bokuto-san,” he says and Bokuto’s face glows with excitement. Keiji turns away quickly before he gets even more distracted. “But I need to finish my duties first, Bokuto-san. Maybe you can help me?”
“Yeah! Of course Akaashi!” Keiji smiles to himself as Bokuto jumps in enthusiastically.
Another second year—Konoha, if Keiji remembers correctly—sidles over him. “Man, you’ve know Bokuto for three hours and you already have him doing things no one else can get him to do. Good luck.”
Keiji frowns, but before he can answer, Konoha leaves. Keiji sighs, going back to his work.
The third year is right. Just a little becomes almost two hours. By the time Keiji finally insists he is done, his muscles are sore and he doesn’t think he will be able to lift his arms the next day. When Keiji reaches for his water bottle he sees a folded piece of paper. Curious, he opens it up to find a math assignment half completed with illegible writing and Bokuto’s name at the top. “Hey, Bokuto-san,” Keiji calls. “I think this is yours.”
Bokuto bounds over to Keiji and takes the assignment. “Aw, man, you’re right. Thanks Akaashi. I lose things all the time! Sometimes they’re returned but most of the time they just disappear forever. My soulmate probably hates me.” Bokuto chuckles, but Keiji can tell the words have a negative effect on him.
"I do not know how anyone could hate you, Bokuto-san," Keiji says before he can rethink the compliment. Bokuto's tawny eyes widen. Keiji tries to control the heat he feels creeping across his face. "You are so earnest. I am sure as soon as your soulmate meets you they will like you. Even if you make them find all your things."
Keiji watches Bokuto fold and unfold his paper a few times. "Thanks, Akaashi! Maybe we can keep practicing spikes after practice is over? I'll make sure you get a place on the first string, and you can help me become the best spiker in Tokyo! No, Japan! And someday, the world!"
Keiji laughs at Bokuto's enthusiasm.
***
Eventually, Keiji realizes that he is a little too good at finding Bokuto's lost things. He can write off the volleyball paraphernalia he finds close to his bag or on the bench outside of his gym locker. He has found something for almost everyone on the volleyball team at this point. He can even make up excuses for finding Bokuto's schoolwork in his own backpack or the workbooks he finds with Bokuto's name scrawled on them in his own desk. But when he tries to dig up a logical excuse for why he found a handful of souvenir keychains from Osaka in his jacket pocket that Bokuto was lamenting about the day before, he can't.
He had wondered, since the beginning of the school year, if maybe he really was Bokuto's soulmate. They just...clicked. Keiji loved the extra practice time they spent together. He loved listening to Bokuto's loud voice echo through the gym. He hated when Bokuto did dumb things, but he knew that if Bokuto ever changed he would miss that goofy side of him. More importantly, Keiji knew when Bokuto's moods were changing, and he knew what he needed to do to help him.
Bokuto had been off the whole day because of losing those keychains, spiraling down into one of his moods, so Keiji presents them to Bokuto in the club room before practice starts.
"Oh my goodness, Akaaaashi! You really are the best at finding things! I don't know what I would ever do without you," Bokuto yells, throwing his arms around Keiji. Keiji stiffens. Sure, Bokuto is an affectionate person, but he usually keeps to himself unless he is giving Keiji a high-five or patting him on the back for a job well done. Keiji can't say that he hates the feeling of being enveloped in Bokuto's strong arms, so he allows himself to melt into the embrace, just a little, just long enough so he can remember how it feels when he pulls away.
"It was nothing, Bokuto-san," Keiji lies. "I am just good at finding things."
"We'll practice extra tonight because I'm so stoked!"
The whole team groans and Keiji rolls his eyes, but he does not say no.
***
The rest of the school year flies by. They make it to Nationals, something Keiji had secretly hoped would happen but never actually thought he would be a part of. He even gets to play in most of the games. He doesn't want to say it out loud, but secretly he thinks that he and Bokuto play their best when they are together on the court. Of course Bokuto is a great player who can sync with anyone, and Keiji has his own talents that he utilizes with the whole team, but there is just something that clicks into place when he is standing next to Bokuto on the court, like a missing gear or lost puzzle piece.
He and Bokuto are called to the coach's office the last week in March. "I wonder what it is," Bokuto whispers as they wait for the coach to be ready to meet with them. "Do you think we're in trouble? I'm usually called into the office when I'm in trouble."
Keiji doesn't doubt that Bokuto gets reprimanded every once in awhile, but he thinks this has something more to do with the rumors that have been floating around the team. They need a new captain and vice captain now that the third years have graduated. Bokuto may be a strange choice, but he has natural skills that are above most of the players, and he spends an obscene amount of time outside of scheduled practices to make himself better. His mood swings might be unpredictable, but Keiji has started keeping track of the most common problems Bokuto seems to have and the quickest solution to get him back to normal.
Most of the people on the team look up to Bokuto as a leader, and if not Bokuto, then it's Keiji, because he has become one of Bokuto's closest friends.
"I do not think this is a bad visit," is all Keiji gets to say before Coach Takeyuki walks in.
It is definitely what Keiji was expecting. Bokuto is given the captaincy. Bokuto thanks him profusely. Keiji is surprised when Coach turns his attention to him next.
"Bokuto is not without his...challenges. The team seems to think that you are the best person capable to handle them. Would you be prepared to take on the role of vice captain, Akaashi-kun?"
Keiji's eyes widen. Usually another third year is announced as vice captain. His eyes dart to Bokuto, who is bouncing in his chair as if he wants to stand up and dance. "Say yes!" Bokuto whispers to him, which causes Coach to chuckle.
"I...Yes, sir, if you are sure you want me to..."
"Of course, Keiji. You work really hard and you get along well with the team. You do not hesitate to offer suggestions, and you can keep this one in line. We would be honored to work with you."
Coach excuses himself. Keiji and Bokuto follow him out of the office, then make their way to the club room. A few of the first—soon to be second—years are lingering after cleanup, but they are done quickly.
“Can you believe we're gonna be captain and vice captain?!" Bokuto crows when he and Keiji are alone in the locker room together. Keiji smiles into his locker at the enthusiasm.
"Bokoto-san, I think you may be missing a sock," is the reply Keiji gives him.
Bokuto does a full turn before coming over to inspect the found sock, as if Keiji is in the habit of finding other people's things.
"You're the best, Akaashi! My soulmate never seems to lose anything. Maybe they just make up for all the things l can't seem to keep a hold of. "
Keiji can sense Bokuto's mood shifting, as it does every time Bokuto talks about his soulmate. He almost, almost tells Bokuto his secret, but he chickens out at the last second. Bokuto has started talking about which girls he finds attractive, and Keiji knows Bokuto well enough to know that he would never turn his soulmate away. But at the moment Keiji is slightly heartsore because he seems to have stronger feelings than Bokuto wants for their relationship. It feels...lonely. "I am sure that your soulmate is just fine finding your lost items."
Bokuto shrugs a shoulder with a sigh. "Well, now that you are here, you can catch them before they go too far! "
Oh, if only Bokuto knew. But Keiji still did not know how Bokuto would respond to knowing about Keiji, and the thing the team needed right now was a strong, dependable captain.
"Yeah, Bokuto-san," Keiji replied softly. “I will try to catch everything you lose."
***
Being vice captain is not really any worse or better than before, except now Keiji has authority to tell people what to do, and to tell Bokuto off when he is being ridiculous, which is most days.
Unsurprisingly, game days are the most stressful time for him, but for surprising reasons. Keiji feels like he has to make sure he packs for both him and Bokuto, then make sure the rest of the team has everything. He is constantly checking around his bags, in his locker, around the club room, for anything Bokuto may have thrown aside on accident that may not show up in time for the game.
"Bokuto-san, I made you a checklist," Keiji says one night before training camp. "I want to go over it with you an hour before the bus leaves, okay? To make sure you have everything. And every night before dinner we'll go over our morning checklist to make sure you aren't leaving things around."
Bokuto nods vigorously. Keiji also has a checklist for when they leave, but that is less important, since anything Bokuto leaves there should show up at common places Keiji visits.
Keiji feels like Bokuto's mother the way he henpecks at him for losing things, but he wants Fukurodani (and Bokuto, by extension) to seem organized, and that they are a school to reckon with. At his first camp Keiji ran himself ragged trying to collect everything Bokuto left behind because he had heard stories of Bokuto trying to find things on the last day of camp the previous year, particularly practice jerseys. Keiji doesn't say anything about the fact that he has a small collection of them still in his closet.
His checklist plan works surprisingly well. The only time Keiji finds anything of Bokuto's is during lunch, when his toothbrush appeared with the rest of Keiji's toiletries.
"I think I left it somewhere in the bathroom this morning," Bokuto says. "Thanks, Akaashi!"
Kenma, who had watched the whole interaction, sits next to Keiji as Bokuto flits off with Kuroo to cause who-knew-what mayhem. "Are you ever going to tell him?"
Keiji frowns. "Tell who what?"
"Tell Bokuto that you are his soulmate, obviously."
Keiji stares at Kenma, who shrugs. "Come on, Akaashi. You find things of his that even he forgot he lost. Do you think his toothbrush walked all on its own from the bathroom to your bag? Bokuto is the only one who doesn't know you two are soulmates at this point."
Keiji stares at his hands, fiddles with his fingers. "I don't think Bokuto and I see our relationship in the same way, is all."
Kenma shrugs. "I don't think I can help with that, other than say I do think Bokuto is enamored with you. Anyway, I better go before Kuroo makes me do something before practice starts."
Keiji watches Kenma leave. Does everyone really know? Should he just tell Bokuto?
Is he ready for their relationship to change?
Whatever the answer was, Keiji decides training camp is not the time or the place to divulge a secret that life-altering.
***
The school year continues and so do Keiji's secrets. Every time he goes to tell Bokuto that they are soulmates, he finds an excuse to wait until later. He doesn't know why he is so nervous. In every other aspect of his life Keiji is unruffled, sharp, ready to face any problem. So why can't he work up the courage to just say those three little words: We are soulmates?
Maybe because Keiji knows he wants them to lead to three other words: I love you.
So instead of opening himself up to that vulnerability, he decides to push it down instead. And so life continues as normal, until suddenly, it doesn't
Keiji finds a wrapped present under his bed when he is looking for a sweater he could have sworn he had left on his bed that morning. He frowns as he studies it. His birthday is tomorrow, but he is pretty sure his parents are not in the habit of leaving his gifts in strange places for him to randomly find. He also does not think they would let random strangers in to hide things either. So that only leaves Bokuto and his affinity for losing everything.
Keiji's heart pounds at the implications. This is a surefire way to know if Bokuto is his actual soulmate. But maybe Bokuto will forget Keiji's birthday altogether. Maybe he will forget he got Keiji a present.
Keiji shakes his head, scolding his train of thought. Bokuto may be airheaded, but he isn't so dumb to forget about Keiji's birthday.
Keiji has a hard time falling asleep that night, worried about the state of mind Bokuto is going to be in for school tomorrow. He wonders if Bokuto will ask for his help.
Needless to say, Keiji is dragging by the time lunch rolls around. He thinks about hiding in the library, but Bokuto is pacing anxiously by the door of his classroom when he leaves.
"Hi," Keiji says, and Bokuto jumps in surprise. Keiji frowns.
"Happy birthday!" Bokuto blurts out, a little loudly for a crowded hallway. At least six people turn to stare their way.
Keiji bites his lip. "You told me that this morning."
"Yeah, I know! But it's still your birthday!" Bokuto shifts on his feet. "You haven't...uh, I don't know. Found anything today, have you?"
Keiji thinks about the gift in his closet in his room. He shakes his head. Bokuto visibly deflates. "Okay. Um anyway, I think you may have left this sweater in the club room yesterday."
Bokuto holds out the sweater that Keiji had been looking for the night before, when he had found the birthday present. Keiji takes it slowly. This is it. This is really happening.
"Do you want to walk home with me today?" he hears himself asking. "You can stay and eat dinner for my birthday."
"Oh. You don't have any other plans?" Keiji shakes his head. "Aw, if I had known that, I would have thrown you a huge party! Maybe we can do it this weekend!"
Keiji laughs at Bokuto's enthusiasm, but it does not last. Bokuto's mood falls back down. "Okay. Yeah, I guess we can just go to your house after school. See ya."
"Thanks for finding my sweater."
It isn't even ten minutes into their lunch break and Bokuto is already leaving. Keiji feels a pang in his heart, but he doesn't chase after Bokuto. He has a plan and he should stick to it. If he doesn't, he doesn't know if he will go through with it.
***
The walk to Keiji's house is the most uncomfortable time he has ever spent with Bokuto. Usually Bokuto is more open with his problems, and Keiji is quick to solve them. This time, Keiji knows the problem and doesn't do anything about it, and Bokuto doesn't say anything about the problem because he doesn't want Keiji to find out about it.
Keiji hates it. It feels like there is a glass wall between them that neither of them can break.
"Welcome home!" Keiji's mother says when the two of them troop inside. "Dinner will be ready in an hour. Are you going to stay with us, Bokuto?"
"Oh, uh," Bokuto answers, but Keiji interrupts.
"Yes, he is." Keiji has told his parents about Bokuto and how he is fairly sure they are soulmates. Bokuto comes over frequently enough that he is considered part of the family at this point. So Keiji's mother just nods and turns back to her work. Keiji leads Bokuto to his room.
"Let me show you something," Keiji says when Bokuto sits on the floor by his desk and pulls his legs up to his chin, his ultimate woe-is-me pose. "I think it will make you feel better."
Keiji takes a deep breath as he pulls the tubs out from his closet. Bokuto frowns. Keiji puts them side-by-side and takes off the lids one-by-one, needing the organization and repetition, otherwise his heart will beat erratically right out of his chest.
"These are the first things I found," Keiji says, tilting up the left-most box. "Just pencils and Pokemon cards. Sometimes erasers. Then the things got bigger and more specific." Keiji points to a lanyard and the owl figurines. Bokuto slowly unravels from his position next to the desk and scoots closer to Keiji.
"I remember these! My mom was so angry because I kept losing them. I picked Fukurodani because of the owl, did you know that?"
Keiji grinned. "Yeah, Bokuto, you tell me all the time. If only I had known that when I was trying to decide which school to choose. Luckily I saw you playing and knew I wanted to meet you then. Otherwise, how would I ever have met my soulmate?"
Bokuto jerks away from Akaashi. Akaashi holds his breath. Please, he thinks, please want this as much as I want this.
"Soulmates?" Bokuto asks in a strangled voice. "But...I never find anything of yours."
"You found my sweater this morning, didn't you?" Bokuto nods. "It is alright. If you do not want to do anything about this. I just thought maybe I should tell you..."
"No!" Bokuto says. He scrambles up, places his hands on Keiji's shoulders. "I mean, yes. I mean. I can't believe it. Are we really soulmates?"
"Is that all your junk sitting on my floor?"
"Hey! I have good taste!" Keiji laughs. "You're beautiful, you know?"
Keiji freezes. He stares at Bokuto, who glances away. His cheeks are red, but he continues speaking through his embarrassment. "You are! You have such pretty hair, and your eyes are so sharp. I like that your fingers are so long too."
Bokuto presses their hands together. Bokuto's is wide and firm, but Keiji's fingers are longer. Keiji twists his hand slightly so he can entwine their fingers. He likes the contrast of his paler fingers on Bokuto's darker skin. "You always make sure I have everything I need. And now you're my soulmate. And I can't even remember where I put your birthday present. Some soulmate I am."
"Oh hush," Keiji says, but the tone is cringingly endearing. "Look in the last tub."
Bokuto cranes his neck to peer into the box, and when he sees the gold-wrapped present he grins, his previous mood slowly melting away. "I should have known you would find it."
"But seriously, Bokuto-san, we are going to work on putting everything in its proper place," Keiji says as he takes the present out of the box. It is a little hard to open the present one-handed, but he does not want to let go of Bokuto's hand. When he finally gets it open he laughs. "You would give me this as a present."
It is a notebook with two owls on the cover. On the back he sees that Bokuto has placed a sticker of a volleyball. "Hey! I still need help with math, you know, and you keep complaining you are running out of notebook space."
"I love it."
Bokuto squeezes Keiji's hand slightly. "I wrote you a letter. If you would have said something sooner, I could have added I love you."
Keiji's heart clenches. He looks up at Bokuto, and he is sure the same adoration is mirrored in his expression. He leans over, presses his lips to Bokuto's. Bokuto untangles their hands in order to wrap his arms around Keiji.
"You have to call me Koutarou," Bokuto whispers when they break away. "And I'll call you Keiji."
Keiji laughs softly and kisses Bokuto again. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."
"Sorry I ruined your birthday," Bokuto says with a sigh.
"Ruined it? You told me you love me. How could that ruin anything? And besides, you wouldn't be you if I wasn't picking up after you. You're lucky we're soulmates, otherwise I don't know if I would put up with you."
"Ugh, Akaaaashi!"
Keiji grins and kisses Bokuto again. This is, in fact, the best birthday ever.