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“Ah, so it’s time..” Tsukishima thinks as he picks up the pen neatly lying next to the thin stack of papers in front of him. The event that he kind of dreaded sneaked up on him like the end of summer - expected but ever so disappointing.
In this society, the United Nations decided to hold a fifty year experiment to try and solve many problems in one - by finding a partner for everyone. How do they do that? Well, when a child turns eighteen they have to fill in a certain questionnaire. “Find your Soulmate” is how they brand it. Tsukishima always found it stupid, and as he reads over the first few questions that thought is ever so resonating.
‘What colour is your ideal soulmate’s eyes?’
‘What height is your ideal soulmate?’
He scoffs. Starting out real deep. He ticks the boxes saying ‘Not important’.
Research and statistics did show a global increase in GDP and lower depression rates. The wage gap has been steadily decreasing, as anyone can be set up with anyone. The traditionalist mindset of arranged marriages for status and wealth have long ceased, and people with limited opportunities have been thriving with the help of their partners and government support. Tsukishima does see the overall improvement of humanity, after 47 years the seeds have sprouted and no one can longer doubt this hypothesis. However, forcibly setting up two people is far from humane, Tsukishima bitterly thinks. He has voiced his displeasure of this to his parents before, but obviously it’s not use fighting the system. Tsukishima just thinks how unlucky he is not to have been born just 3 years later, when this experiment would be over and he would be free to live at his own will. Though rumours and many articles have long pointed out their speculation that this regime would continue even after the experiment’s end.
Some more shallow questions on the appearance and a couple personality questions were answered, though the one question Tsukishima was 100% certain on, was the language his Soulmate spoke. Japanese, he did not have the time or will to learn a new language just because he could be compatible with someone.
‘What is your soulmate’s sexual orientation?’
‘Male’ he ticks the box.
‘Would you accept your soulmate to be identifying as transgender/non-binary/other types of gender queer?’
‘Yes’ he ticks. He thinks of the underlying discrimination of this selection process, but to be fair this is the most straightforward way to eliminate disagreements, and those who truly have an open heart will be happy with their partners.
The questions began getting weirder and were making Tsukishima a bit uncomfortable, asking whether he was okay with his soulmate physical and mental conditions, which he honestly ticked that he could put up with some issues like anxiety and whether the soulmate was on any health-related medication. But as for physical or mental disability and depression, he isn’t sure if he has the patience and good nature to deal with that. He wouldn’t want to impose his attitude on someone struggling, knowing that his personality was not sunshine and rainbows. Also what is this, child adoption? He remembered the time where he saw an article on that topic, being very horrified at the checklists that all the potential parents had to consider.
Feeling guilty he flips over the page, sighing with relief when he sees the questions becoming lighter.
‘How do you like spending your free time: working days (please write as many details as possible)’
‘Staying home, reading, listening to music, cooking, watching shows.’ That should be detailed enough. He figures that this questionnaire tries to match all aspects of one’s life to someone else, to make the relationship even plausible.
‘How do you like spending your free time: weekends and holidays (please write as many details as possible)’
‘Staying home, reading, listening to music, cooking, watching shows’ he writes. His interests may be unexciting, but he doesn’t care. Though, after a moment's consideration he adds ‘occasional trip to somewhere quiet, or a visit to the museum or the cinema’ Okay. The cinema does not exactly count as a quiet place, per say, but he does not have to interact with anyone. And that is how he likes it.
He counts the pages left to fill in. Good, a little less than half. The remaining questions ask both about himself, his ideal soulmate and disguised personality test questions thrown in randomly.
As he finishes his last question he throws his pen on the table a little too loudly and powerfully that it slams into the wall in front of him. He winces at the noise, and turns over the papers, just in case he missed something, which he did. He signs with his signature that he created in fourth grade and stands up to leave his booth.
The building he was brought to this morning was specifically used for barely-adults to decide on their futures via a questionnaire. No pressure. Like booths used for presidential elections, the seats here had three walls surrounding the small desk to ensure privacy, many of these desks sitting flush to one another in rows and rows. This morning was supposedly not as busy as usual, only about fifty boys and girls nervously collecting the papers and picking a free booth.
Tsukishima makes his way over to the main desk, handing his answers to the polite woman who smiles at him and says “I hope you find a wonderful soulmate”. Sure, he thinks bitterly, but is relieved he can finally leave this place. Now he just has to find his brother so he can take him to an ice-cream place, as he needs the sugar in his system.
———
So, years may have passed for this experiment to improve its operations but apparently this is not the case. A few months after Tsukishima has filled his sheet of fate, he finds himself on a bullet train to Tokyo. These next matchmaking events usually take place in the capital of the country, for convenience mostly. Two weeks ago his mother knocked on his door with excitement brimming, “Keeei! Your Soulmate Matchmaking event sent your invitation! The first weekend of January, as usual. Aren’t you glad, Kei? You will finally meet your ideal pair!”
Just because his parents were lucky, didn’t mean that he would be too. Well, NOT going was not an option, unless you were willing to go into hiding for the rest of your life. They would arrange partnership with the same ‘outcasts’ that went against the government, and usually that ended up pretty sad.
A robotic voice announces his stop, and Tsukishima leaves the train, along with many, many other young people like himself. Because the trains are usually so overcrowded with 18-19 year olds coming to the matchmaking event, they come in groups spread out by alphabetical order that are also issued by the government. That is one hell of a job, Tsukishima thinks, to calculate the train stops for each person leaving their city to check in the hotel in preparations for the main event. Tsukishima’s letter said to check in the afternoon, and he makes his way through the grand entrance of the hotel to the reception in a flood of people.
What a pain.
Waiting in line, he observes the hotel’s interior. At least, it is less obnoxious than the entrance had been, with antiquity-era style columns and gardens. The walls and furniture all are soft shades of sandy and gray, all tall and sophisticated.
“Next!” He hears a voice and realises his turn has come.
Room 1011, building D. Well, accommodating such a large number of late teenagers requires a lot of rooms, special hotels had to be built with many buildings for that to be possible. Riding up the elevator to the eleventh floor Tsukishima can’t help but snicker to himself. He feels incredibly grateful that he has not run into his classmates, not wanting to engage in more of the ‘soulmate’ talk that this place is buzzing with. He’ll probably hear some names during the ceremony, right? His best friend Yamaguchi is to come tomorrow, so he will not see him until then.
His room has a similar feel to the main building’s interior - soft tones and strict decor. Placing his backpack on a chair, Tsukishima first takes out his clothes for Saturday. He needs to hang them up to avoid wrinkles, as his mother said only three hundred times. Formal attire was the dress code, but he wonders how many people will he see that will try to break it, or at least step close to crossing that line. A simple but nicely tailored navy suit found its place on the hangers, and Tsukishima found himself plopping onto the bed.
He sighs. This was going to be a long few days.
Until Yamaguchi arrives, he decides to spend the remainder of his day in his room, save for meal times where he goes to the cafeteria. It is packed (but what else did he expect) and very very loud, with people chatting and mingling all over. In particular, this annoying kid (who honestly doesn’t look a day over 15) excitedly yelling with a small group at the next table. His bright orange hair matched his loud gestures and aura of excitement. Whoever will get that kid sure will have a lot on their hands, Tsukishima thinks, placing a slice of grilled fish in his mouth.
As he is about to stand up, a piece of meat flies straight at his face, knocking over his glasses. He hears a collective gasp from the said annoying group, and a louder shriek of fear from the annoying kid. He can’t see well, but he makes out the absolutely horrified state this red-head is in. And he better be because Tsukishima is incredibly pissed, glaring at the offender.
“I-I-I I’M SO SORRY!! I didn’t mean to throw it at you, my fork slipped and it was a total accident!!” The high pitched voice wailed and Tsukishima sees, just barely, the boy approaching.
“Stop!” He extends his arm between them, “Just find my glasses, I can’t see and just you wish no one has stepped on them.” His voice sounds more venomous than he intended, but it sure works, he guesses.
“YES! I’m sorry!! They landed somewhere here I think..” and in a few seconds, his glasses are pushed into his hands, more apologies follow. Tsukishima clicks his tongue at the meat juices on the lense, but other than that they seem okay.
“Don’t cause me any more trouble,” he says, cleaning the lense with a tissue. Once he is done, he throws one last glare at the kid, who looks ready to faint, and leaves to the comfort of his hotel room.
———
Finally, Saturday arrives. Yamaguchi came by train the day before, Tsukishima having told him all about the fiasco at lunch, and might have raved about the pillows because he’s slept the best he has in weeks. Now they are standing in a large grande hall, in suits and facing the stage surrounded with many flags of different countries. Yamaguchi is next to him, looking pretty excited. But if Tsukishima knew anything about his best friend, he knows that he is shaking on the inside out of fear too. He looks great, hair combed back, a slight blush on his cheeks, playing with the button on his gunmetal suit. Whoever will be his soulmate, they should be happy.
He thinks of all the great times they’ve had since becoming friends, all through high school. It’s all going to change soon, he thinks, sorrowfully as he eyes the speaker who makes his way onto the stage. The auditorium grows quiet. To be honest, Tsukishima only half-listens to the speech. The typical and almost tear-jerking promises of ever-lasting love and prosperity do not impress him, neither does the firm belief in the bright future they will bring and yada yada. He finishes and everyone claps and whistles. Tsukishima forces one clap out of himself too before whispers fill the space, in anticipation of the ceremony that will announce the pairings.
Thank god the days where they announced all the people of the year group are over, forty years ago the poor souls sat there for hours. They were all split up by the thousands, about nine to ten halls in Japan. Let’s not even think about large countries like the US-
The procedure begins - a table is rolled onto the stage with a tablet on it. At the same time, a screen retracts from the ceiling and the announcer says the heavy words - “And with that, let us proceed with the fateful Soulmate Matchmaking!” More cheers. Tsukishima swallows nervously. It would be weird if he was not affected at all.
This was going to be a long ceremony, having to read about one thousand names, but Tsukishima stayed tense in case he heard any familiar names being announced. Parallel to the voice, a screen displayed the names in Kanji and Hiragana.
Yamaguchi’s name might be announced before his if they’re going but the alphabet, but then again they might say the partners name before yours, so there is no way to relax until your name is announced.
“Yachi Hitoka and Yamaguchi Tadashi!” The familiar name of his best friend shocks Tsukishima into consciousness. He stares, wide eyes glued to the screen, where the names remain for a good five seconds before the next names are announced. He turns to face his best friend who is already staring at him, a shocked expression as probably his own. No, they do not know a ‘Yachi Hitoka’, but the name uttered with the booming voice just makes everything that much more real.
“Congrats,” Tsukishima whispers, noting how Yamaguchi is too stunned to give a normal response, so he just nods. For the next hour or so, the blonde stands on needles, anxiously awaiting his name to be announced. Finally, his turn comes.
“Tsukishima Kei and Hinata Shouyou!” The echo resonates within the large halls and a breath is forced out of his lungs. He reads his partner's name, re-reading as much as he can before it is replaced with a new pair.
“You too, good luck,” Yamaguchi whispers to him, carefully eyeing him. And good luck he will need, he is sure. As the remaining names are announced, Tsukishima had the time to think back on all his life. Not for sentimental shake, but just.. he feels like he should. Next he will be meeting this person. What will they be like when they’re supposed to be your ideal match?
———
“I cannot believe this.” Tsukishima mutters under his breath when he laid his eyes upon his ‘soulmate’ who was sitting at the appointed booth. He was staring back at him, bewildered and a slightly terrified expression. It was the loud, obnoxious fifteen year-old guy who flicked a piece of steak at his face.
“It’s you…” The red-head spoke, much softer than he ever heard him, “You’re Tsukishima Kei…” The blonde could only stare back, unable to formulate his words just yet. “Wow…” the guy-his soulmate breathed, the glints of fear disappearing from his face and turning into wonder.
After a minute or so of silence and staring, Tsukishima’s cheeks began heating up, not used to the attention. “What a gift, right? I’m sorry you had to be matched up with me, I even screamed at you yesterday..” he was feeling a little guilty, even though it was not entirely his fault.
“W-what? NO! You.. you’re gorgeous!”
Tsukishima spluttered. Now his face was officially beetroot, and he felt incredibly exposed. “You’re just saying it because we matched, you don’t have to force yourself,” Tsukishima says, glancing to the side, unable to meet the red-hair’s eyes.
“It’s not because of the match!” The guy suddenly springs up from his seat, the table cluttering at the sudden jolt. “Even before that.. when I saw you at the cafeteria, I thought you were beautiful!” When Tsukishima finally meets his gaze, he sees that the boy’s eyes are sparkling. Wide blown and glazed over, but his face shows nothing but honesty, maybe a little desperation.
“Are you sur-“
“Yes!” He breathes in exasperation. Then blushes slightly and sits down. “Let’s start this anew, okay? My name is Hinata Shouyou. Nice to meet you, Tsukishima Kei.” A hint of a smile graces his features, and Tsukishima is unable to look away.
“Okay, nice to meet you, Hinata Shouyou.” And sits down.
They sat in secluded booths, much like he did when Tsukishima filled out his questionnaire. They order food and drinks and talk about their lives, because, well, what else was there to talk about. To his surprise, he found Hinata incredibly easy to talk to. He learns that he has a younger sister and that his favourite thing in the world is volleyball (a hobby which they both shared). When Hinata says he could fly, Tsukishima’s heart wants to believe, though he hides that feeling under a layer of light insults. If they were to spend the rest of their lives together, Hinata better become acquainted with all of him. Hinata scowls at first, but the frown soon turns into bubbly giggles as he challenges the taller to prove him wrong. And Tsukishima accepts. Tsukishima also learns that Hinata was, indeed, eighteen. Even older than him which is preposterous.
“You can’t be serious, how is strawberry shortcake your favourite food? You can’t call it proper food!” Hinata snorts.
“Um, you eat it, you feel full, end of story.” Tsukishima retorts, “What’s yours then?”
“Hmmm,” he lifts both his arms over his head in consideration, which Tsukishima should not find adorable, “Ahh, it’s no use. I can’t choose between egg over rice and meat buns.”
“Hah, you call my choice not a real food then you go ahead and say meat buns,” Tsukishima raises his eyebrows, more in amusement than salt, “Then while we’re on it we should just discuss our favourite snacks, because dessert is clearly superior to all food groups.”
Hinata fake gasped, “You did not just-”
“Tsukishima Kei and Hinata Shouyou?” A third voice joins them, catching them both completely off guard. The announcer is at the door, along with a few other people. “Please come with us, there is something to discuss.” The tone set off alarm bells in Tsukishima’s mind.
“Is something wrong?” He asks, and the man halts a little before speaking.
“Well, you might not want to hear this here. Let’s head to the secretary office.”
Hinata throws Tsukishima a worried glance. But they can only follow along. The walk to the office feels unbearably long and heavy. So much that Tsukishima remembers his thoughts this morning. How this is all wrong, and that they are just pawns in a grand scheme with no regards to their feelings. These thoughts are still so valid, but Hinata is just so.. interesting? He’s loud and a little annoying, yes. He’s short and has a ridiculously expressive face. He wears his heart on his sleeve. And he’s not afraid to voice his opinions or to defend what he holds dear… oh no, when did dissing the shorter turn into praise?
The announcer opens the door to the office, when did they get here? He leads them to a woman in front of a rather large monitor with many names displayed. In the room stand two other people, who look too young to be working here, perhaps another soulmate pair.
The woman stands up and clears her throat. “Good, now that everyone is here, we can discuss the issue at hand.” She pointedly looks into Tsukishima’s eyes, along with the other three boys. The room suddenly fills with tension. The silence that follows her words is deafening. “I am regretful to admit that we have made a mistake.” She continues. Tsukishima stares at her, frozen in place. He has a bad feeling about this…
“We have matched your Soulmates wrong I’m afraid. As you can see-” she points at the monitor where a list of names are displayed, focusing in one corner, “Your real soulmates switched places with your pair. Because the names follow each other, there must have been a small malfunction in the AI, I see no other possibility for such an unfortunate mixup.” Her voice is cold and sharp, just like the prickles at Tsukishima’s skin.
How can this be happening? He can’t open his mouth or move a limb. Horrified, he can only stare at the screen.
“Tsukishima Kei, your soulmate is Kageyama Tobio. And Tsuchiyu Arata, your soulmate is Hinata Shouyou.”
Tsukishima looks over at the pair, who look just as horrified as he feels. He doesn't know which one of them is ‘Kageyama Tobio’ but frankly, he does not care. How could this be? Tsukishima was just accepting that maybe, maybe he could forgive the whole soulmate scheme because Hinata was growing on him. Yet fate has other plans apparently. No, it’s not fate, it’s the soulmate system. He relaxed his guard and was punched in the gut. He knew he didn’t like this whole thing for a reason! He-
“I can’t accept this!” Tsukishima looks up in surprise to see Hinata. He is short, but his presence is unwavering, just like his words. “I will accept no other soulmate apart from Tsukishima!”
Silence.
The woman looks baffled, but frankly so does everyone in the room.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t-” she attempts but is interrupted yet again.
“Yes I can, and I will.” Hinata's resolve is like a big, tall tree with strong roots.
Tsukishima is blinded, and could not let him stand there alone. Not when the woman is starting to show signs of madness on her face.
“I do not accept this either. You have never stopped to consider our feelings! We are not some lab rats you can move around at will.” Tsukishima is scared. He is scared, but something about standing up to the system of his whole life’s indoctrination feels so right. He likes facing it, with Hinata. Though, what he is doing is really reckless. He turns around sharply to the other pair, sees them wincing at the intensity of his stare. “Are you satisfied with this arrangement?” There it is, the deciding question.
As much as Tsukishima does not want to part with Hinata, it is a fifty-fifty chance the other two will speak up against them. It is a risky step, but one Tsukishima takes. He sees the taller of the two, black hair and furrowed brows take a step forward.
“Me neither, I will not accept the original matchup.”
Tsukishima’s eyes wander to the other boy who gasps barely audibly, followed by a barely noticeable smile. His heart jumps in relief.
They won. Now all they need is to convince the woman. As expected, it is not an easy task. She, just like Hinata, is stubborn. The more everyone (yes everyone, the last kid speaks up as well. They all form an iron wall of justice.) opposes, the angrier the woman becomes. At some points she begins lashing out on them, almost throwing fists but two men in suits catch her and lead her out of the room.
The announcer sighs, having witnessed the entire scene, and walks to stand in front of the four.
“Now, this is a complicated situation, only happened twice in all of forty seven years of this project..”
Tsukishima holds his breath, and he feels that the rest do as well.
“..if all parties are one hundred percent satisfied with the new matches, I will allow this issue to be dropped.”
He has never turned his head around so fast to meet Hinata’s eyes. They are still full of determination, yet he could feel a trace of doubt. Next, completely out of character for Tsukishima, he lightly grabs his hand and smiles. Hinata beams at him, eyes returning to the state they were when they reunited at the booth together as soulmates. In unison, they declare a firm “YES”. Tsukishima feels the pair behind them follow, and his eyes close.
Victory.
———
Hinata and Tsukishima were sitting outside of the building, still trying to process what just happened. Realisation and embarrassment was creeping onto Tsukishima, and he tries containing it.
“Wow, that was…” Hinata spoke up first, “I’m sorry, I completely denied the woman without asking you first! I didn’t stop to consider your feelings, it’s just.. when I saw you first at the cafeteria, I almost crashed my tray because you were so enchanting. When I accidentally threw the meat at you and you had that look in your eyes I was so upset that I left such a bad impression. Then, when you entered the booth, I was speechless. I thought it was destiny, I was so happy to see you there-”
“Hey, hey. Stop, breathe for a moment,” Tsukishima interrupts the red-hair’s rambling, who looks like he is about to hyperventilate, “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world to talk.” Hinata smiles, and wipes at his eyes where condensation may have formed.
“Sorry, it’s just.. when I heard that they made a mistake, when they said I have to part with you… I thought it was destiny, and yet…” Hinata slumps. He was leaning against a garden fence, low and decorative and could totally double as a bench. The blonde’s heart squeezes painfully.
“You know, I actually hate the idea of soulmates,” he says, and sees Hinata jerking his head in surprise to look at him. “Isn’t it ironic, that souls are tied by the government which only imposes rules and order?” Hinata looks to his right, as if considering something, then turns his gaze back to Tsukishima. “And to be honest, I found you pretty annoying at the start. You were loud and obnoxious, and when I saw you at the booth, all I could think of was ‘is this guy’s supposed to be my ideal match?’”
Hinata frowns a little, but remains quiet.
“But then I got to know you better,” Tsukishima does not remember how, but he finds himself right in front of the red-head, “I saw your other sides. I now know that you’re kind and caring, that you are a fighter, a really brave and really cool fighter.” His voice drops almost to a whisper. “And what could be cooler than to choose your own fate? To fight for it? The way you stood up for yourself, I found you amazing..” his voice trails off. Hinata looks like he was gazing at someone who gave him the moon and the stars.
“But you’re amazing too,” Hinata says, just as quietly and carefully reaches for the blonde’s hand. “You stood up for yourself too, and backed me. You’re my hero Tsukishima.” Tsukishima couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Seriously? You’re saying that when you were the first to take action?” He took his hand out of Hinata’s to interlace their fingers together instead.
“Are we really fighting on who’s cooler here?” Hinata shakes his head and clasps their fingers tighter. “Because we could be here all day.”
“Funny you say, but I don’t plan to lose. Either way, your small ass won’t last here without your stomach going feral,” Tsukishima retorts, nodding in the direction of Hinata’s body just as it gave out an angry growl.
“Wow, stress sucked out all my energy and my appetite, I could eat a hundred meat buns!” He laughs and Tsukishima fights an insult, which is not all that difficult really.
“Well then, Hinata Shouyou, I’ll treat you for being so brave today.”
“Really?” Ah, there is that sparkle again, “Alright! Let’s go celebrate our fateful love that defies even the government!” More bubbly laughter escapes and the blond simply snorts.
“You’ve known me for a few hours, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
But something tells Tsukishima that soon, that may indeed be the case.