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Ennoshita Chikara takes a deep breath as he enters the gym for the first volleyball practice of his third year in middle school. He’s early, and there’s really on the captain, Hiraoka, a couple of second years, and a boy with sandy brown hair he’s never seen before.
“You can warm up with the second years, and we’ll see how you do,” Hiraoka is saying to the boy.
Chikara sneaks a peak at the guy who gives an almost comedic salute before sprinting off to introduce himself to the two second years.
“Who was that?” Chikara asks.
“New kid who wants to join. Says he played in elementary but his parents made him quit in junior high until he could improve his grades,” Hiraoka laughs. “By the looks of it, his grades aren’t very good, but he’s kinda tall and knows the rules.”
“Cool,” Chikara replies, not knowing what else to say.
Even though he’s made eye contact with Hiraoka before and they know they’re not soulmates, Chikara is stil uneasy about it. He looks around the gym, taking it all in before it becomes crowded with energetic boys.
There’s something about the new guy, though, that keeps drawing Chikara in: is it his energy? His laugh? Chikara pushes it from his thoughts. He avoids looking at the new kid as much as he can.
Before Hiraoka dismisses the team from practice, Chikara clears his throat and asks to make an announcement.
“The floor is yours,” Hiraoka says.
“Thanks,” Chikara says, blushing. “Um, so some of you may know that I’m working on my first movie. The script is done, and I’ve got the camera and everything ready to go. But I need some actors, so if any of you are interested or know people, please contact me. I need two girls, one boy, and four other roles that can be either gender. Thank you for your time!”
He finishes in a rush and bows to his team.
“What’s the movie about?” the sandy haired boy asks.
“Um, it’s a murder mystery,” Ennoshita says. “A woman is found dead in a jewelry store, and the two cops are out to catch the culprit.”
“Is the male lead the culprit?” the sandy haired boy asks with a grin.
“I don’t want to give it away to everyone!” Chikara says. “Here, if you’re interested, email me and we can discuss the details.” Chikara offers a plain white card with his name and email on it to the boy.
“Ennoshita Chikara, so that’s your name,” the boy says. “I’m Kinoshita Hisashi,” and he extends his hand, a broad smile on his face. “I look forward to working with you.”
Their eyes meet.
Chikara isn’t sure if he would describe the sensation of seeing color for the first time as a good thing. No, he thinks it’s more terrifying, and also gives him quite the headache.
From the looks of it, Kinoshita is feeling about the same.
“I feel like I just ran into a door,” he says, rubbing at his eyes with one hand and massaging his temple with the other. “What the hell is this?”
When the pain has receded enough for Chikara to open his eyes, he lets out a screech. “C-color!” he blurts.
The team erupts in excited chatter, jealous cries, and curious “ooh!”s.
“Give them some space,” Hiraoka commands. The team shuffles back, clamoring on each other instead of Chikara and Kinoshita.
“Practice is over,” Hiraoka says. “Everyone but Ennoshita and Kinoshita, clean up. You two can go talk or whatever you need to do.”
“Thanks,” Chikara says a little miserably.
Now that the worst is probably over, Chikara allows himself to look properly at his apparent Soulmate.
Besides his sandy hair that looks soft like rabbit’s fur, he has a strong chin, and large, dark eyes.
“So,” Kinoshita begins. “I guess this is color?”
“Y-yeah,” Chikara replies. “It kinda hurt more than I expected.”
“Yeah, my health teacher last year totally made it sound like some dreamboat experience, but that was pretty intense.”
They stand in awkward silence for a moment.
“Hey, which direction do you live in? Wanna head home and chat on the way?”
“Uh, yeah. I live northeast,” Chikara says.
“Nice, I’m pretty much due north. Let’s talk more about this film of yours,” Kinoshita says.
Chikara thinks that maybe having a Soulmate isn’t so bad after all.
Now that they can see colors, the newly-minted Soulmates have to have a quick vision test. It’s pretty standard, since some people’s vision shifts when the rods and cones change so quickly, so Chikara isn’t too concerned.
“Using the color wheel, match the colors that you see in the picture,” the doctor instructs. Her hair is pulled into a strict bun, so tight that it almost looks like it’s pulling her face taut. She has cat-eye glasses and a white lab coat.
Chikara thinks she would make an excellent villain in one of his movies.
Frowning, he begins the task of matching colors. There’s more than he thought, though, and he’s confused.
“Excuse me,” he says after he matches the blue, red, and yellow portions, and a couple others that look similar. “What are all these other colors for?”
“Which other colors?” the doctor asks.
“The ones that say orange, purple, green, and all the ones in this Additional Colors table. Are they meant to be a control?”
The doctor narrows her eyes. “Excuse me for just one moment, please.”
The doctor’s sudden exit, of course, makes Chikara panic. He’s defective, something’s wrong, he and Kinoshita aren’t Soulmates after all…
The doctor returns less than five minutes later, pushing a confused looking Kinoshita in with her.
“How long has it been since you made eye contact?” she asks.
The two exchange a glance. “Two days? At volleyball practice,” Chikara says.
“And you said it happened suddenly? Not slowly?”
“Yeah, it was like a flash bulb went off, and then BAM! Color!” Kinoshita explains, hands mimicking an explosion.
“Look each other in the eye one more time for me,” the doctor instructs, watching each other carefully.
The boys do as they’re told, holding each other’s gaze for what feels like too long. It’s not as uncomfortable as Chikara was fearing, but it’s not easy to maintain, either.
“Can we stop now?” Chikara whispers.
“Yes, fine,” the doctor sighs. “Now look back at the color wheel. Any changes?”
Chikara scrutinizes the diagram, and Kinoshita holds it up to the light. “Nope,” they say in unison.
The doctor scribbles something on her clipboard, and then clicks her pen closed.
“I’m going to go get your parents from the lobby.”
Chikara gulps like he’s in a cartoon, worry knotting thick in his throat.
“What’s going on?” Kinoshita asks. “I only saw, like, three colors, but there were at least fifteen on that sheet.”
“Did you see the red, blue, and yellow too?” Chikara asks quietly.
“Yeah!”
“What if we’re defective?” Chikara asks, panic creeping into his voice.
“Maybe it’ll just take time to work?” Kinoshita tries.
The door opens, and the doctor returns with Chikara’s father and both of Kinoshita’s parents in tow.
“Please, have a seat,” the doctor says.
“Now, first of all, I want to assure you that both of your children are perfectly healthy,” she begins. The parents breathe a collective sigh of relief. Chikara and Kinoshita exchange a glance, but Chikara, at least, doesn’t feel relieved just yet. He waits for the other shoe to drop.
“There are two probable explanations, though even these are rare. The first is that both boys just happen to be partially colorblind. This can be addressed with corrective lenses, and is totally harmless. After all, some people go their entire lives without finding their Soulmate, so they have no color at all, and they’re fine! Since the boys have clearly bonded, the rods are active, but some might not be functional.”
“Is there a way to test that?” Kinoshita’s mother asks.
“Yes. It involves scanning the retina to test for anomalies. But there’s a second explanation, which I am inclined to believe is more likely: Your children are part of a Poly bond.”
“A what?” Chikara’s father asks. “I’ve never even heard of that before.”
“It’s very simple, Ennoshita-san. Simply put, Chikara-kun and Hisashi-kun are also bonded to a third person. ‘Poly’ indicates multiple. When they meet their third, their eyes will adjust to the full spectrum.”
“You mean we have to do that color explosion thing again?” Kinoshita whines.
“It’s very likely.”
The two boys groan.
“If there are any problems or changes, feel free to reach out to me. Otherwise, I think for now, everything is just fine.”
*
At first, their friendship feels slightly forced. Chikara, for one, feels more or less obligated to spend time with Kinoshita. If they’re going to be Soulmates, Chikara wants to know more about him.
Luckily, though asking to hang out is awkward, they find out they have quite a bit in common.
Their senses of humor are similar, their academic abilities complement each other, and Kinoshita makes for a decent actor in Chikara’s movie.
He’s a bit over the top, but he takes his role very seriously, and Chikara enjoys directing him. The other actors work well, too, and soon enough, Chikara has the whole movie filmed.
“So when do I get to see it?” Kinoshita asks one day while they’re studying at Chikara’s. They’re lying on the floor, books and notes spread around them as they work through their history homework.
“Well, I have to edit it still, you know? That takes a lot of work.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Kinoshita asks earnestly.
“Um, maybe?” Chikara hedges. He really wants to do his first movie on his own. “When I get some of it done, you can tell me what you think of it.”
“That sounds great,” Kinoshita says honestly. They smile at each other shyly, until Chikara bites his lip and looks away.
After a moment, Kinoshita speaks again. “I know our friendship got a weird start with the whole Soulmates thing, but I’m glad we met. I think you’re really cool.”
Chikara blushes. “Th-thank you! You’re really cool too!”
They laugh until the awkwardness has dissipated.
“That doesn’t sound like studying, boys!” Chikara’s father calls out.
“Oh shit!” Kinoshita whispers, and they both try to control their giggles and return to memorizing the chronology of the First World War.
*
Over the break before high school begins, Kinoshita visits Chikara’s house almost every day. Chikara’s father works, so they get the house to themselves, away from the annoyance of Kinoshita’s little brothers. Chikara begins writing out a new movie, bouncing ideas off of Kinoshita, giggling when they come up with something ridiculous.
They’re watching a director’s cut of a movie they’ve both seen four times, draped on each other with familiar ease, when Chikara breaks the silence.
“Hisashi?” he asks quietly.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think we’ll meet our third in high school?” he asks. His hand is sweaty and cold in Kinoshita’s, and Kinoshita’s squeezes it to reassure him.
“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “But I know that we’re gonna be fine. You and me, I mean. Just because someone new might… join us. I know we’re gonna be alright.”
He says it as much to convince himself as to comfort Kinoshita.
Truthfully, Chikara is worried about meeting their third. He likes the way they’ve settled in together, an easy, close friendship forged by volleyball, movie nights, and more study sessions than Chikara can count.
Won’t adding a third upset the balance?
They lie in silence for a few minutes, listening to the director describe his thought process for the lighting in a particularly vivid scene.
Chikara isn’t focused on the film anymore though. He’s lost in thought, concerned about their bond, concerned about what it all means. He loves Kinoshita—not that he’s said anything about it to his Soulmate yet—but he’s worried.
What happens when a third person is added to the equation? What if Kinoshita loves them more than he loves Chikara? Does Kinoshita love Chikara?
Suddenly, Chikara is doubting everything. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“You tired?” Kinoshita asks.
“I’m not sleepy!” Chikara says defensively. “That’s just my face.”
“Your eyes are closed, Chikara. It was a valid question.”
He opens his eyes again, and looks at Kinoshita. His voice is quiet and small when it finally comes out. “What if you like our third more than you like me?”
“Is that what you’re worried about?” Kinoshita asks softly. “Chikara, our third isn’t going to erase what we have. We’ll always be Bonded. They’re not gonna take away my love for you.”
“You love me, Hisashi?” Chikara asks, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.
“Of course I do, silly,” he says, pulling Chikara into his chest for a hug. “We’re Soulmates. I basically have to love you.”
He kisses Chikara’s hair, and squeezes his shoulders.
“Wait, you love me too, right?” Kinoshita asks.
“Yes! Of course,” Chikara says, giggling a little at how insecure they both were. “I wish we knew more about this whole… Poly bond thing. It’s been a year, and we’re pretty much just sitting around, waiting.”
“Why don’t we go to the library?” Kinoshita suggests. “We’ll get some answers, we’ll get out of this room for once, and we can get meat buns on the way back.”
“Did you just suggest going to the library? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Chikara laughs.
Kinoshita’s laughter stops. “Boyfriend?”
“Did I say that? I, uh, I meant…” Chikara stalls, hands up defensively.
A slow smile spreads across Kinoshita’s face. “If I’m your boyfriend, does that mean I get to kiss you then?”
Chikara’s eyes grow wide, and a grin that matches Kinoshita’s blooms. “Let’s go to the library tomorrow,” he says, and throws his arms around Kinoshita’s neck.
They bring their faces close, but neither is really sure what to do, so they hover and hesitate.
“Hisashi… this is ridiculous,” Chikara giggles after the third time they pull away without actually touching lips.
“You’re right. That’s it, I’m going in. Brace yourself, Chikara!” he calls, and taking Chikara’s cheeks between his hands, he lurches forward and plants a big, wet, kiss on Chikara’s mouth.
“Ugh, really?” Chikara says, wiping his mouth. “Come here, I’ll show you how to kiss!”
“What would you know, huh?” Kinoshita teases.
“I have observed several films; I think I can do a better job than you. I feel like I just got kissed by my grandma.”
“Your grandma kisses you on the mouth?” Kinoshita mocks.
“Not on purpose!” Chikara defends. “She’s basically blind! She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”
Kinoshita clutches his stomach and laughter takes over him. He rolls off the couch, laughing even as he flops onto the floor.
“Get over here,” Chikara scolds, but he slides down next to Kinoshita, placing an arm around his shoulders. This time, Chikara guides Kinoshita’s jaw toward him, and they share a gentle, barely-there peck.
When they pull away, the traces of laughter have faded from Kinoshita’s face, and Chikara feels warm and content.
“That was pretty good,” Kinoshita admits.
Chikara can’t imagine what a third could possibly add to this bond.
Kinoshita Hisashi is more than enough.
*
Kinoshita and Chikara decide that they should stick together in high school, and neither wants to go too far from home. Chikara helps Kinoshita study, and their hard works pays off: both boys are accepted to Karasuno.
They’re not in the same class, but it’s enough that they’ll still be able to see each other every day, and have lunch together.
Chikara still harbors the fear that Kinoshita will find their third and leave him behind; he’s still not really sure how having another person in their bond will work. He’s never seen any movies with more than two people bonded, never read any books or met anyone in such a situation.
Karasuno itself is only slightly intimidating. Chikara and Kinoshita walk as far as the gates with their hands laced tightly together. Kinoshita seems more giddy than anything, and Chikara wonders absently how much time he’s going to have to spend tutoring his not-so-academic boyfriend.
“You ready?” Chikara asks, squeezing Kinoshita’s hand.
“As I’ll ever be,” he says grumpily.
“You’ll pick me up for lunch?”
“Of course.”
They separate their hands, but still walk close enough to brush shoulders, pinkies touching as their gaits align.
Chikara keeps his eyes trained on the teacher or his paper the entire morning. His gaze never casts around, never searches for their mystery third. He doesn’t really want to find them, if he’s honest.
What if Kinoshita finds them? Chikara feels sick to his stomach just thinking about it. There has to be a mistake. Maybe they should’ve gotten tested for color-blindness after all. It could ease all this anxiety he’s been feeling.
Kinoshita doesn’t seem as bothered by it as Chikara, and that only makes him worry more. When they’ve talked about it, Kinoshita is always the one to reassure Chikara that having a third doesn’t void out the first bond.
Chikara isn’t exactly the most extroverted guy, so the idea of having not just one but two people close to him like he is with Kinoshita is daunting.
When the bell rings for lunch, Chikara can hardly stand to be in his classroom any longer. He gathers his belongings and waits for Kinoshita in the hallway.
“Hey!” Kinoshita says, smiling broadly. He’s not alone, and Chikara’s stomach drops. “I met some other volleyball players in class. This is Nishinoya Yuu, and Tanaka Ryuunosuke. Guys, this is Ennoshita Chikara, my boyfriend.”
Chikara balks a bit at how brazenly Kinoshita introduces him, but tries to put on a brave face.
“N-nice to meet you!” Chikara stutters, bowing a little further than he needs to hide his blush. No one is bonding with anyone. They’re just new friends. This is fine.
“Hi! I’m Tanaka!” the taller of the two says bluntly. “How’d you end up dating this kid, Kinoshita? He’s a total Brainiac from the college prep classes!”
“Shut up, Tanaka,” Kinoshita laughs. “I told you, we met in volleyball.”
“Nice to meet you! You can call me Noya, if you want. Kinoshita says you’re a wing spiker, too?” Noya asks.
“Yeah, but I’m not that great.”
“Don’t be modest, Chikara!” Kinoshita chides. “He was the best spiker on our middle school team. We didn’t win any big tournaments or anything, but he was still good!”
Chikara blushes harder, if that’s even possible. He can feel his pulse in his skin and he’s sure the others have noticed his embarrassment.
Nishinoya doesn’t reply, just purses his lips and narrows his eyes a bit. Chikara feels like he’s being watched.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, Ennoshita-kun. Ryuu and I are off to lunch!” Nishinoya says, shoving at Tanaka’s shoulder.
“Wait, you’re not gonna eat with us?” Kinoshita asks, confused.
Nishinoya’s eyes flick to Ennoshita’s again. “Nah, not today. I woke up too late for a bento, so I have to go buy something down the street. Next time.”
Chikara sighs in relief when the duo is out of sight.
“They’re cool, right?” Kinoshita asks. Then he seems to notice Chikara’s distress. The blood is draining from his cheeks and neck, but he still feels like his skin is on fire. He waves a hand distractedly to fan himself.
“Chikara? Hey, what’s wrong?” Kinoshita asks, putting a gentle arm around Chikara, and the heat from his skin only makes Chikara feel worse.
“Can we go somewhere else?” Chikara asks, gesturing to the busy hallway around them.
They walk outside to the courtyard. It’s still a bit chilly for April, but compared to the hot blush, it feels nice. Chikara doesn’t even bother closing up his jacket.
“I’m really nervous,” Chikara admits when they’re settled. “About… finding our third. I know it’s irrational, I know it makes no sense, but I’m scared of what it’s going to do to us. How it’ll change us. I like what we have, Hisashi,” he chokes out.
“Did you think I had found our third when I brought the guys to meet you?” Kinoshita asks in almost a whisper, his voice breaking with nerves.
“Yes,” Chikara admits lowly. “Just for a second, but god, I was so scared. We’ve barely gotten used to this ourselves. I don’t want another person to complicate this.”
Kinoshita runs his hand through Chikara’s thick hair, brushing his bangs to the side where they’ve fallen across his forehead.
“Chikara,” he says seriously, “listen to me. If and when it happens, we’ll figure it out, alright? I promise that no matter who it is, they will not change the way I feel about you. And I’m sure they’ll respect your shyness, and we’ll work it out. I’ll be there.
“And if there are any problems, I think Tanaka can probably help me beat someone up for you.”
Chikara laughs, and rubs at his face. “You’re right. But please, let’s not get into fist-fights like you did in middle school. You are not the schoolyard brawl type.”
“I can hold my own!” Kinoshita says indignantly.
“Yeah, your own aching stomach from getting kicked in the gut too many times.”
“Chikara!” Kinoshita wails.
Things feel okay for now. He feel safe.
Chikara should have known it wouldn’t last.
*
When the final bell rings, Chikara dashes out of his class to meet Kinoshita at their shoe lockers.
“We’re doing volleyball again, right?” Kinoshita asks.
“Did your parents say you could?” Chikara asks, only half-jokingly. “You know they want you to go to college.”
“Yeah, but I have the world’s smartest and best boyfriend to help me! I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Ugh, you schmoozer.”
“Yup. I am also a good smoocher, so I hear.”
Chikara groans. “That was awful.”
“Yet you wouldn’t have me any other way,” Kinoshita grins. “Now come on, let’s get to the gym.”
They fill out their club forms and get warmed up. There’s three second years and a whole lot of third years. Chikara feels tiny.
“What position do you play?” one of the second years asks. He’s got dark hair and broad shoulders, surprisingly filled out for a sixteen year old.
“Wing spiker,” he says. Kinoshita tells him he's a middle blocker, and like that, they’re split up.
To get to know each other, the captain wants to play a scrimmage. Kinoshita and Chikara end up on opposite teams.
The game starts off fine, and Chikara makes a nice receive, but his spike gets blocked. Kinoshita serves, and it’s a floater that’s too easy to receive. He doesn’t have a fancy jump serve like those competitive guys who went to nationals in middle school, but Chikara thinks it’s nice that Kinoshita just enjoys playing the sport.
They rotate through, and Chikara comes back up to the front row. He tries to spike again, but Kinoshita blocks it.
“Nice job, Kinoshita!” one of his teammates, a boy with a buzz cut and a goofy smile, enthuses. He puts a hand on Kinoshita’s shoulder and they high five.
Chikara narrows his eyes, observing the interaction. He needs to develop a thicker skin, if a hand on the shoulder and a high five is enough to stir up this much jealousy.
“Get it together, Chikara,” he whispers to himself.
“Ennoshita-san?” the second year setter—Sugawara, Chikara vaguely remembers—asks.
“I’m fine,” he mutters.
“Ok, well, let someone know if you need a break,” Sugawara says. It’s earnest and sincere, not patronizing at all, which is nice. Chikara thinks Sugawara seems like a good guy.
“Hey, Ennoshita-san? I think we’re in class together!” Buzz cut boy says.
Chikara is staring fixedly at a small scratch on his chin, refusing to meet his eyes. “I don’t remember,” he says honestly. He hadn’t been looking around earlier, and he doesn’t want to look now.
“Narita Kazuhito,” he says easily. “I’m pretty sure I was sitting right behind you in homeroom.”
Chikara only manages a weak smile that is probably not convincing anyone.
“We good to play?” a third year asks.
“Yes! Sorry for the delay!” Chikara says quickly. The last thing he wants is to draw attention to himself, and yet that’s exactly what he’s doing.
When the captain calls for a water break at the end of the set, Chikara couldn’t be happier.
He sits in the corner, waiting for Kinoshita to join him. When he doesn’t come over, Chikara looks around to find him.
Instead, he finds Narita staring at him, or at least, staring very, very close to him. Chikara has never been more grateful for all that practice at not making eye contact.
“Who are you looking for?” Narita asks. His tone is innocent, but there’s something itching at Chikara—something not quite right.
“Kinoshita,” Chikara replies quietly. He pulls his knees up to his chest and drinks from his water bottle to give him something to do.
“You looked pretty good out there,” Narita says casually.
What is with this guy? Chikara wonders. Can’t he take a hint?
“I just wanted to tell you. You’re a solid player.”
“Thanks,” Chikara says a bit dryly. Now will you go?
Narita rubs the back of his neck, waves, and turns back toward the court.
As Narita turns, though, he’s clearly not paying any attention as Chikara watches him run straight into Kinoshita.
“My bad!” Narita exclaims. “I wasn’t looking where I …” he stops talking.
Kinoshita is staring open mouthed right back at him.
Making eye contact.
Then Kinoshita and Narita both groan, squeezing their eyes shut.
Chikara stares at them in horror.
“Gah, this hurts even worse than last time!” Kinoshita whimpers.
Worse than last time… is his new bond to Narita that much stronger? All those promises of always being there, of not leaving Chikara behind seem distant and weak now.
Chikara hates to see Kinoshita in pain, but he’s so conflicted.
“Chikara,” Kinoshita grits out. His eyes are still closed, but he doesn’t look like he’s hurting as much. “Chikara, come here. Please.”
Slowly, Chikara walks toward him, and gingerly puts a hand on his shoulder.
Kinoshita opens his eyes, squinting like he’s looking into the sun, but he looks at Chikara and holds his gaze.
“Hey, I can hear that big brain of yours whirring from all the way over here. It’s okay. We’re okay. I’m still here,” he assures.
Half the gym is staring at them, Ennoshita realizes. Murmurs about a bond taking place, whispers about dating, float in the air around them.
“Um,” Narita coughs.
Chikara flinches and presses Kinoshita. “The colors?” he asks.
“There’s more now. Just like that doctor said. It was … well it hurt more, but it’s over a lot sooner. Remember how we had a migraine for like two days?”
Chikara laughs.
Kinoshita hugs him, stroking his back. “We’re okay,” he says. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Wait,” Tanaka butts in. “Which of you just bonded? I thought it was Narita, but now you’re hugging Ennoshita?”
And here it was: the freak show commences.
“I… We’ll explain later. Narita, come with us, please,” Kinoshita directs. “Tanaka, would you tell the senpai that we need to leave early?”
This was usually Chikara’s job: directing, leading, being the level-headed one. But right now, he can’t help but feel a bit useless.
Kinoshita takes both Chikara and Narita by the hand, dragging them out of the gym and out to the little bench by the equipment shed.
Chikara picks at his cuticles, a nervous habit that he promises he’s working on, so he has an excuse to not look at Narita. Kinoshita’s take-charge attitude has mostly dissipated now that they’re alone.
“So can someone tell me what’s going on?” Narita says.
Chikara takes a deep breath. “Kinoshita and I Bonded a year ago.”
“But then…”
“It’s a Poly Bond,” Kinoshita jumps in. “The two of us, we’re only part of the Bond. We knew—well, we figured—there would be a third. And I guess, here you are.”
“A Poly Bond? Like, polynomials? Or polygons?” Narita asks.
“I guess the root is the same, yeah,” Chikara replies. Everyone’s handling this remarkably well, he thinks, though his chest is still sizzling with jealousy.
“Anyway, when Chikara and I bonded, we only got some colors—about three. And now I think I’ve got all of them. Or at least, most of them,” Kinoshita adds. “You probably have some but not all?”
“Some stuff is still grey, yeah.”
“I think you and I have to make eye-contact to finish it,” Chikara says quietly.
“Not gonna lie, I feel like a third wheel,” Narita says, trying to make a joke. None of them laugh. “Well, I mean… I dunno. You two know each other so well and I’m a total outsider.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Kinoshita assures. “First, I think you two should finish the Bond, and then maybe we can go to a café and get tea and talk?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Narita agrees.
Ennoshita doesn’t want to finish the bond. He wants to take Kinoshita away, maybe stick his tongue out at Narita as they leave him on that little bench.
“Would you excuse us for a moment, Narita-kun?” Chikara asks gently, putting emphasis on the honorific to help him seem less of a jerk.
“Um, sure,” Narita says, and he wanders down the path to give Chikara and Kinoshita some privacy. Chikara knows he must be feeling incredibly awkward, but right now he’s more worried about Kinoshita and himself. He knows it’s selfish, but he can’t bring himself to squash it down.
“Hisashi, I can’t do this.”
“You can’t, or you don’t want to?” Kinoshita asks. He sounds irritated, and that only makes Chikara worry more. He must see the fear on Chikara’s face, because he sighs and tries a different approach. “Hey, think back to last year. The first time we met. Remember what that was like?”
“I was trying to find actors for my movie,” Chikara says. “You volunteered.”
“Yeah, I did. Neither of us knew that we would become what we are now, what we mean to each other now. There was no way to know that. We made it for ourselves, you and me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. And now it’s a year later. We just met a new teammate. His name is Narita, and he seems pretty cool.”
“Okay…”
“So who’s to say what we’ll become with him?”
“But—“
“So how silly are you going to feel in a year when you realize how stubborn you’re being right now?” Kinoshita asks. “Look how far you and I have come in a year! We’re amazing together, Chikara. And you’re going to deny yourself the chance to be amazing with Narita? For him to be amazing with you?”
“I don’t need him to be amazing. You just said that you and I are amazing. Why do we need someone else?” Even Chikara knows how petty he’s being.
“Whether you like it or not, Narita and I are Bonded now,” Kinoshita says sternly. He pops a hip to the side and crosses his arms like a disappointed parent. “I really think that if you two look at each other, you’ll see that the world isn’t going to break apart. I told you we’d figure this out. But right now you’re like a little kid plugging his ears and yelling ‘la la la I can’t hear you!’”
“Hisashi… I’m sorry. I know this is… I’m blowing this out of proportion. I don’t know.”
“Yeah. Remember, even though our Bond was sudden, it didn’t make us automatic best friends. It didn’t mean we instantly fell in love with each other. It took time and work. It’ll be like that with Narita, too.”
“Okay,” Chikara says, finally. “Okay.”
“Hey Narita? Come on back,” Kinoshita calls. When he’s close, Kinoshita adds, “Thanks for that. This is all just really new, y’know? Even having read about it, there’s not a whole lot out there. Every Poly Bond is different.”
“So, I’m Bonded to Kinoshita, who’s Bonded to Ennoshita,” Narita summarizes.
“Yeah, but I think you and Ennoshita are supposed to Bond, too. We should be a triangle, not a line,” Kinoshita says.
“Well, I’m up for it. Today can’t get any weirder,” Narita muses.
“It’s not weird,” Kinoshita defends. “Just because it’s not what everybody else has, doesn’t mean it’s weird.”
“I think that’s kind of the definition of weird, buddy. Outside the norm? Relax, it wasn’t a negative thing,” Narita assures.
“Chikara?” Kinoshita prompts.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Chikara says. He swallows hard, and lifts his gaze to find Narita’s eyes.
The walk to the café is nearly silent. Narita and Chikara are nursing their color-induced headaches, so Kinoshita walks between them, holding their hands, so they can keep their eyes mostly closed.
By the time they get there, Chikara notes that the headache is already subsiding.
“Matcha tea is green?” he asks, alarmed.
“How did you know it was called that?” Narita asks, bewildered.
“Because I read about color theory,” he explains. “It’s blue and yellow mixed together. Like, I can see the hints of both colors—it’s in between them on the wheel. My brain couldn’t really make sense of it before, but I know that it’s green.”
“Fair warning, Narita: Chikara’s a huge nerd,” Kinoshita jokes.
“Fair warning, Narita: Kinoshita requires a lot of tutoring,” Ennoshita deadpans back.
“Did you forget that Ennoshita and I are in the same class?” Narita says with a laugh.
“Oh no, I’m Bound to two brainiacs!” Kinoshita complains.
It was awfully soon for Chikara to feel the same level of affection for Narita as he did for Kinoshita. Nevertheless, he felt a warmth in his chest for Narita, perhaps a spark of friendship or something else. In any case, Chikara knew that Kinoshita had been right. Having Narita there didn’t erase what they had. Just like their color vision had been augmented by Narita’s arrival, Chikara could tell that the three of them were going to be something amazing.