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Kei starts life with three soulmarks. Despite the significance they can have, Kei treats them with the same apathy he treats almost everything. He doesn't dislike them exactly, but they're commonplace and have boring stories so he doesn't put much stock into them.
There's a warm golden smudge on the back of his neck that disappears into his hair where his mother held him first. A smidge of mustard yellow right by his ear from his father. And a springy yellow-green along the insides of his fingers from when he grabbed Akiteru's pointer finger.
(He's heard soulmarks can fade away if one of the people dies. Or if the connection between two people dies. The mark on his fingers never so much as dulled in color. When he was in middle school, he often wished that he wouldn’t have to see his own mark on Akiteru’s finger. He wished it would disappear. But it never faded either.)
The number of soulmarks he had stayed stagnant for long enough that Kei genuinely thought he'd never get anymore. And he doesn’t want anymore. Even though he can see that other people have more, their skin painted with colors and spots of warmth and love, it doesn’t weigh on him. The thought of anymore soulmarks doesn’t cross his mind. Even when Yamaguchi started following him around like a lost puppy (and he, for whatever reason, allowed it) he never thought that they'd leave lasting marks on each other.
So imagine his surprise when one day while playing video games at Yamaguchi's house, he feels a sudden comforting warmth radiating from where Yamaguchi's elbow brushed Kei's upper arm. Yamaguchi doesn't seem to notice as he keeps shifting around like that will help him better control his character on screen. But Kei has put down his controller in favor of staring at the mossy green streak painting his arm.
It's small, fleeting and looks a bit like a paint stroke. It should be insignificant. Just a random mark on his arm that will be hidden by his school uniform or any hoodies he owns. But Kei has never felt another soulmark be left on him, and he kind of can't believe the magic of the moment.
Yamaguchi groans in anguish as his character dies a painfully frustrating death.
"Tsukki! Why did you stop?" Yamaguchi sounds like he might berate Kei for suddenly losing interest and costing them the game (not the first that would have happened) but he stops when he sees what Kei is staring at.
Yamaguchi gasps and quickly begins scanning his arm, contorting it and twisting the skin to see any new soulmark left on him.
"Tsukki!" He cries again, this time in joy, "Where is it? What color is it? Why didn't you say anything?"
Kei swallows down the onslaught of emotions this is threatening to bring up in him.
(Because he's only ever had three soulmarks and that's all he's ever needed. What did this new mark mean? Where will Yamaguchi fit into his life now that they're soulmates? Being a person to hang out with was one thing, but a soulmate? That was uncharted territory for Kei. Did he feel happy? Is that what this light, fluttering feeling in his chest was? Or was it nerves? He didn’t recognize this emotion and it scared him.)
Kei manages to find his voice enough to say "It's on your elbow." But he can't seem to help the tremor in his usual deadpan.
Yamaguchi immediately brings his elbow as close to his face as he can so he can study the soulmark. It's right on the tip of his elbow, curving over onto his forearm just slightly. It's a bright sunflower yellow that stands out against Yamaguchi's tan skin.
"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi cries for the third time, and Kei is horrified to see tears in his friends' (soulmates’) eyes. That fact is enough to snap Kei back into his normal state of mind, at least for now. At least for in front of Yamaguchi.
"What are the waterworks for, you baby? It's just a mark." He tries to sound unmoved by the whole thing. Like soulmarks are a normal, natural part of his life.
(Oh sure, he thinks, getting a sign from the universe that this person got close enough to you to leave a colorful lasting mark is normal. It’s everyday that Tsukishima Kei meets people who will inevitably be important and long-lasting in his life.)
"Just a mark? We're soulmates!" Yamaguchi grabs his shoulders and shakes him a little. Kei just frowns at him, "They happen to people all the time. Come on, I have to go soon and you wanted to beat this level." He picks up his controller again and goes back to the game.
Yamaguchi doesn't take long to restart the level, which Kei is thankful for. Despite his enthusiasm he seems to understand Kei's need to move on like nothing has happened and everything is the same between them.
------
Nothing immediately changes between him and Yamaguchi, and the change that does come is so subtle he hardly even registers it. It’s just a small thing, but he starts wearing short sleeves when he’s with Yamaguchi. That way, when Yamaguchi puts his arm on the back of the couch it’s easier for his yellow elbow to rest against the green spot on Kei’s arm.
It’s warm. It’s nice. And Kei doesn’t think he needs anything else.
He was used to having three soulmarks, and now he’s used to four. The thought of more people leaving soulmarks on him isn’t even a major concern for him once he starts high school. The thought flashes briefly when he sees the rest of the Karasuno volleyball team. So many people, covered in color like they're paint palettes. It fills his chest with this weird feeling… he dares call it longing but he stomps it down quickly and harshly. He’s got four soulmark, he wishes he had three, and that’s that.
------
Kei’s never been happier to have three-mile long legs than when the team is required to run laps around the gym as a warmup. It means he has to do the bare minimum to get around the room and he gets done so much faster than everyone else. At first he slowed down to stay by Yamaguchi, but he told Kei not to wait up for him. And if Yamaguchi says not to wait up for him, he takes Yamaguchi’s word and goes ahead on his own.
He’s on his last lap when from the corner of his eye he can see a shock of orange bobbing up behind him. He fights the eye roll and moves to the side slightly so as not to be mowed down by the shrimp.
Hinata is absolutely gunning around the room, obviously trying to get done so they can practice as soon as possible. As Hinata gets closer, Kei feels his annoyance building. Hinata is so oblivious that he can’t tell how damn close he’s getting to Kei. Kei normally can’t even see Hinata, since he’s so microscopic, but he can tell when he’s making a nuisance of himself.
Hinata is getting dangerously close to legitimately running directly into Kei, so he opens his mouth to shoo this annoying gnat of a middle blocker away, when he feels his feet stop moving while his body flies forward. From the annoying squawk he hears he can tell Hinata has come down with him.
Kei crashes to the ground and lets himself take a second to curse his life and curse Hinata’s stupid short legs and tireless dedication before he sits up. He’s fully ready to make Hinata regret coming to practice today when his gaze locks on his and Hinata’s legs all tangled together.
He can't believe it. There, blooming across his ankle is a mark so garishly orange and sunshiney it almost hurts Kei's eyes to look at it.
And it's on his skin forever probably.
And Hinata has a bright yellow splotch to match.
Hinata breaks the silence first, "I thought your soulmark would be black like your soul." He snickers. Kei stares at him unimpressed, "And I should've known your soulmark would hurt my eyes to look at, carrot top." Hinata sputters at that and stands up, defending his soulmark color as "pretty" and "mood brightening" but Kei just waves him off and starts jogging again. "I'd start running those laps if you wanna actually practice today. Although with your short legs we'll be here awhile."
He's impressed by his own ability to cover for the tremble in his arms at the thought of another soulmate. He thought he'd have three forever, now he has five?
He shakes his head. Unbelievable.
------
After Hinata's soulmark he was sure that would be it. No more soulmarks for him. But of course that was not the case. The only problem is, he has no idea when he got this new one, or who it’s from.
Some random Tuesday in class he’s dutifully taking notes when he notices a dark blue line along his wrist. He stops and stares at it in astonishment. His immediate reaction is to wipe it off, must be a pen mark or something. But it doesn’t go away, it moves with his skin, imprinted on him like a tattoo. He hears the teacher say something, not directly at him but it’s enough to bring his attention back to his notes.
Kei pushes the discovery out of his head for the whole day. He stubbornly refuses to see the plain truth that this is another soulmark. Because he has no earthly idea who it could be from, and since another person is the main component needed for a soulmark, it can’t possibly be a soulmark.
By the time he gets to practice, he’s convinced himself that it’s from a marker. It must be a permanent marker, because it’s been a week since he discovered it and it still hasn’t washed off. However, he doesn’t see anyone with a matching yellow mark, so that must be what it is.
But a month is too long to truly be a marker, so he keeps an eye out. For nothing but securities sake, he tells himself. He just doesn’t like not knowing who’s got his soulmark on them, that’s all. That’s the only reason.
It pays off when a month and half after his discovery while he’s passing a ball to Kageyama he spots it. A thin yellow line brushing the outside of Kageyama’s wrist. It’s short and right where Kageyama would bend his wrist, perfectly hiding any soulmarks that might’ve been left there. He wonders if Kageyama’s even noticed there’s a mark there at all or if he’s too oblivious.
“What are you staring at?” Kageyama asks, reaching his hands out for the ball. Kei shakes off the astonishment of finally finding his missing soulmark and hands off the ball. “Nothing.”
Kageyama frowns, but takes the ball, and then stops. Kei follows his line of sight and sees that Kageyama has come to the same realization as him. “Uh…” Kageyama says, eloquently. Kei scoffs, “Don’t worry about, your majesty. I’ve got one from Hinata too, so it’s not like it means much.” Kei is trying to be dismissive, but Kageyama looks up at him suddenly. “You’ve got one from Hinata too?” It’s Kei’s turn to frown, but he nods and holds out his leg so Kageyama can see the obnoxious orange staining his ankle. Kageyama is obviously thinking very hard about all of this, for some reason. Kei can see several emotions flit about in his eyes, but before Kei can drive him away Kageyama nods resolutely. Kei thinks that’s the end of it, but quick as a flash Kageyama brushes his wrist right against Kei’s and he feels warmth and the feeling of safety blossom from their contact.
“Since we didn’t notice the first time.” Kageyama explains before taking the ball and turning back to practice. Kei can only watch in shock and revel in the fading comfort spreading from his wrist
------
Not even a week later and suddenly there are four lapis blue fingerprints on his upper arm (almost mirroring his mark from Yamaguchi) from where Yachi touches him gently to get his attention and ask him something. The question is quickly forgotten as she stares at the yellow painting her finger tips. "Oh! Well... look at that!" She laughs awkwardly, obviously unsure about how to deal with this. Kei's unsure if it's because she doesn't get a lot of soulmarks (he finds that hard to believe given how genuinely nice Yachi is) or if it's because it's Kei's soulmark (the hesitation is probably due to that given... everything about Kei.)
"Indeed. Did you need something, Yachi?" He skips over any awkwardness and gets right back to normal life. No need to dwell, these things happen all the time. Kei is surprised to find just how often he's found himself gaining a splash of color on his body.
He also doesn’t mention it when he notices Yachi touching his arm a little more often, even when she doesn’t necessarily need his attention.
------
People on his team leaving soulmarks on him? Fine, whatever, it was probably gonna happen given the nature of sports teams so Kei could let it go and live with it. But some third year he was only interacting with because of a stupid joint training camp? The universe needed to recheck its credentials for what constituted a "soulmate."
And yet, when he looks in the mirror just right he can see the maroon shape of a hand on his back, just at the base of his neck where the neckline of his jersey stopped.
He remembers clearly how he'd flinched when Kuroo clapped his hand down on Kei's back, only to feel sudden warmth spreading from it. At first he thought maybe he was just.... opening up? Becoming comfortable with touch? Something gross and touchy feely like that?
But then he turned and saw Kuroo staring at his palm and he thought ah, so yes something gross and touchy feely, but not his fault.
Kuroo turned his hand around and showed off the brightly colored fingers while beaming. "Well how do you like that, soulmate?"
Kei had glowered at him. How did he like that? He didn’t. It was stupid and honestly probably a fluke on the universes part.
And yet, several weeks later, at his first successful block of Ushijima’s spike, he feels warmth spread a spot on the back of his neck, radiating out through his whole body, all his soulmarks practically burning in joy. He conceded then, solely to himself, that maybe the universe was onto something.
-----
He’s sitting in the nurse's office, letting his hand rest for a minute before he’s allowed to go back out. The high from earlier is there, but it’s waning, and he finds himself wanting to hold onto it. He can’t lose momentum or he’ll just be deadweight on the court when he goes back. And he is going back. He blocked one spike, he needs more. He needs a couple blocks.
The warmth from his soulmarks are still there too, but they’re much dimmer. The spots on his neck from his parents and Kuroo, on either arm from Yamaguchi and Yachi, his wrist from Kageyama, his ankle from Hinata; they all pulse with motivation and warmth, but it’s fading and he finds himself craving it. That fullest feeling of that warmth and comfort and, dare he say it, love that he’s found himself familiar with.
Slowly, he turns his head and finds Akiteru sitting beside him. He hasn’t left his side this whole time, and he was annoyed to find him here at the beginning of the game, but now he’s quietly glad to have him here. Kei studies his brother, who is silently scrolling through his phone. When they were younger, in quiet moments, he could usually find Akiteru’s hand outstretched slightly, inviting Kei to wrap his hand around Akiteru’s pointer finger and match up their soulmarks.
Now it sits on Akiteru's leg, resigned that Kei had stopped reaching for it a long time ago. Without saying anything, without even really thinking, Kei grabs Akiteru’s finger and lines up the bright yellow with the green painting his own fingers.
Akiteru startles slightly, staring at their hands, but Kei says nothing, and just lets the warmth spread and reinvigorate him. Just like soulmarks are supposed to.