Chapter Text
The signs started coming when he’d hit puberty. That was what it was like for everyone. Everyone got some sort of sign of their soulmate’s existence. The signs were supposedly supposed to help you find your soulmate in your current lifetime. Most people s signs were different, and some soulmates had different signs than each other.
Hinata’s signs were visions of the past.
The visions were usually in his dreams, but sometimes showed up if he saw someone his past self had known. With most of the dreams, he'd wake up either confused, or in a pool of sweat as he endured what his past self had endured. Ever since he was 12, he’d been experiencing pain after pain of his past self. He’d been bullied, picked on, hit even. His past self--Mihashi Ren, he’d found out--hadn’t experienced much happiness in his life. The only good thing Hinata found of the visions was that they were just that--visions. He couldn’t feel anything, and the hits never left bruises that he had to explain away. Hinata couldn’t find it in himself to feel grateful though; the visions were distracting and confusing. They caused him headaches.
His past self had played baseball, not one of Hinata’s favorite sports, as every time he came near a playing field, one of the balls always gravitated towards him. More specifically, his head. He’d had to duck more occasions than one to avoid the occasional deadly missile coming towards him.
But back to the visions. Ren--was he allowed to call his past self by his first name?--had endured much more pain than Hinata had ever had to endure in this new lifetime. It was startling. They’re only visions. That was what he told himself when the visions got really bad. Some of the worst had Hinata shaking in his bed in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep.
But… Then he started playing volleyball. He still had the visions, and he still lost sleep at night thinking about them sometimes, but they were put on the back-burner to his dream to become the new Small Giant. It was hard, sure, without a proper team and all, but Junior High would still be one of the greatest times of his life. He was determined to make the most out of everything, to make up for Mihashi’s falls and stumbles in the confidence department. (Mihashi was a bit of a cry-baby, but Hinata couldn’t blame him. He would too if he’d gone through that in this lifetime.) Hinata had sold himself to the idea that he wouldn’t be like Mihashi. Well, not completely. Mihashi still had some admirable qualities to him. Things like… Well… Hinata couldn’t think of them right now, but they were there.
And now, Hinata was finally going to play. Hinata was super excited for his first actual volleyball game, with teammates and everything! But, he was also extremely nervous, and when Hinata gets nervous, his stomach decides to start a rebellion. Hinata is reminded of this before their first match against Kitagawa Daiichi.
“Hinata, are you okay?” One of his teammates asked. Hinata managed a weak smile before he felt like he was going to throw up. He pointed weakly at the bathroom and stumbled his way there. His teammates stared concernedly after him, but they knew he’d be okay. He was Hinata.
Before Hinata could get to the bathroom, he was intercepted by a member of Daiichi’s team. Kageyama Tobio, his mind supplied, looking up from his hunched position to the towering setter in front of him. King of the Court. He certainly looked kingly. His shoulders were held confidently, and he had a look to him that said if you messed with him, there’d be hell to pay.
Suddenly, a vision spread before his eyes. Dark hair, dark eyes, a small smile, warm hands….. ”We’ll always be together. I promise.”
“You…Have we met before?” Hinata asked hoarsely, looking up at the taller male. Kageyama flinched, as if something struck him.
“No.” His voice was steely calm. “I’ve never seen you before.” He sounded unsure, but also fairly adamant, as if he were trying to convince himself. Hinata stood up straight, his nausea suddenly gone.
“I swear I’ve seen you before.” Hinata stepped closer to him, peering into his face. Kageyama stayed rooted to his spot in front of the vending machine, though his eyes tracked Hinata’s movements. “You’re… very familiar…” Hinata trailed off.
One of Hinata’s teammates ran up to him. “Hey, the match is about to start. Are you good?” He asked, before he noticed the King of the Court standing there. He flinched back and grabbed Hinata’s arm. “Let’s go, let’s go.” He hurried him along, keeping his head ducked low.
During the match, he continuously shot glances at the King. Sometimes, he could just catch him looking away as he turned towards him. The face in his vision floated through his thoughts. I bet he remembers something, Hinata thought to himself the fourth time he’d caught him looking. Then Hinata scrunched his brows in confusion and shook his head. We’ve never met. What would he remember? Think volleyball. His thoughts were like a hurricane.
Even before the middle of the match, Hinata knew they were going to lose. His teammates simply weren’t skilled enough, and neither was he. They were hardly even a team at all. It was just a group of friends he had convinced to play with him. But he had to keep trying.
When he tried to spike the wayward ball, he felt exhilarated, and the feeling was familiar. He’d felt the feeling in a few of his visions, visions where Mihashi’s team won their games--which wasn't very often, to be honest. In the split second he was in the air, he could see Kageyama’s dumbfounded expression. Where’d you come from? He seemed to be asking. Hinata was fast, and he knew he was fast. He relished the fact that even though he was short, his reflexes were killer, as were his jumps.
The feeling of being weightless vanished when the ball was declared out. He crashed back to the ground and into the barricades, back to reality, and finished out the game. They lost. His teammates appeared sorry they lost, but also like they hadn’t expected anything different. How could they? They hadn’t really played volleyball much. They didn’t care about it like Hinata did. Volleyball was Hinata’s dream. To them, volleyball was just a club, nothing more.
On the way out, he shed some tears, partly because he lost, and the other part of him didn’t even know. Why are you crying? Hinata asked himself. You didn’t think you would actually win did you? Some part of him thought it was somehow Mihashi’s influence. But why would Mihashi be crying? It wasn’t necessarily his loss--
“Oi. Get out of the way.” Kageyama bumped his shoulder. Hinata looked up, and watched him go for a moment. Then he stood up before he could stop himself and--
“Kageyama!” The King whirled around in surprise, his gaze landing on Hinata’s tear-stained face. “Please, try to remember!” Hinata didn’t know what he was doing; it was as if he was possessed. Kageyama seemed more alarmed than anything.
“I don’t know you.” He told him shortly, adjusting his bag and stomping off into the quickly darkening night. Hinata wiped his eyes and sat back down to wait for his mother to get him.
Liar.
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He noticed something different about the visions that night.They seemed to center on another person, rather than his past self. This new person, Abe, was nicer to Mihashi than anyone really had been. He was also well… kind of attractive. He felt his past self’s emotions coursing through him at the moment they met. Surprise, embarrassment, attraction. It was more of a ‘you’re really cute and I kind of just want to be near you’ kind of attraction, since Ren was only 15 when they met. (Hinata had found his birthday was in May, so he was soon going to be sixteen. Was it weird that his soulmate was technically older than him?)
Of course, Ren was too shy and much too lacking in the self-confidence department to do much else than avoid his gaze and flinch when Abe talked to him. Hinata would often snicker at his past-self’s shyness towards his catcher when he dreamed about them. Then he would kick himself because he’d never even got the chance to be shy or anything around anyone, except maybe his mother’s friends when they came over. Girls--or guys for that matter; he’s pretty sure his soulmate is a guy--were never really a concern. He’d always thought that he’d find his soulmate, and if he didn’t, he just didn’t. He’d marry volleyball for all he cared. He didn’t really need a soulmate to make him happy. He just needed volleyball.
Still, the new focus was a bit disorienting. It was especially confusing when on the third night in a row of dreaming of Abe, the guy had suddenly just taken his hand after an encounter with an old abusive teammate. The slight terror and then the soothing calm rushing through him were instantaneous, and he wondered if that’s what it would feel like when he met his soulmate. He could do without the terror--it seemed to follow Mihashi wherever he went--, but the calm… It was unlike any feeling he’d ever felt before. He found himself changing his opinion on finding his soulmate, just slightly. He would at least try to find his soulmate, but only a little; he wanted his soulmate to do some work too.
He threw the visions on the backburner once again on the first day of highschool. Karasuno high school, Hinata mused, peddling his bike quickly up the hill, then let out an exclamation of glee as gravity took him down the hill, speeding him along to his new school. The Small Giant played here! I can’t wait!
The new school and setting was exciting, and he didn’t even mind that he was back at the bottom of the social food chain; he was pretty much always there due to his height anyway. His classes were boring, which was expected, the people were nice, which was slightly unexpected (people in secondary school were rude as ever). He found himself enjoying his day. He was especially excited to get to the gym, because that’s where volleyball practice would be. He would get to play volleyball, in the gym that the Small Giant played in, and he would get to play with a team. To say that Hinata was ecstatic was a severe understatement; he was nearly bursting at the seams with joviality.
Hinata ran to the 2nd gym, his bag slapping against his back as he ran. His grin stretched over his face, his orange curls bouncing out of place. He skidded in front of the entrance to the building and ran towards it, until he noticed the door was open. He made a conscious effort to look cool as he walked inside, then dropped his bag in utter astonishment. There, practicing his serves, was--
“Y-you?!” Hinata pointed at him accusingly, startling Kageyama bad enough to send his serve into the wall to his left. He whirled around, surprise etched in his features, before he realized who it was. His already milky pallor paled, then hardened into a scowl. “You’re not supposed to be here! You’re supposed to be on the other end of the court, not on my team!” Hinata squawked petulantly, his face reddening in shocked anger. Abe decided to make an appearance at that moment, his scowling face flashing in Hinata’s mind before he shook his head and continued to glare at Kageyama.
“Too bad. I’m here, and I’m not leaving. Now, leave me alone so I can practice my serves.” Kageyama turned back to the net and made to serve again, but Hinata wouldn’t let him. He stormed up to him and took the ball from his hands.
“We were partners! Don’t you remember?” Hinata peered into his shocked and angry face.
“We’ve never met before!” Kageyama snapped, then snatched the ball back. Hinata staggered back, shock written over his boyish features.
“Fine.” He said after a moment. “But you’re gonna toss to me.” Hinata told him, pointing at him accusingly.
“Pfft. No I’m not. I don’t toss to anyone unless they’re valuable to winning.” Kageyama spit at him before going back to his serve again. Hinata blinked at him, then angrily stormed back over to him.
“We’re on the same team now! You can’t just… Ignore me!”
“Watch me.”
They continued to bicker back and forth, even as more people came into the gym. The team captain greeted them, making them stop long enough to bow respectfully and greet him back before continuing their arguing. Daichi sighed as the two went at it.
Suga approached him, feeling his exasperation through their bond. He laid a comforting hand on Daichi’s shoulder and gave him a smile.
“They’ll get through it. It’s just a good old fashioned rivalry.” Suga told him, lacing their fingers together. Daichi sighed again.
“They shouldn’t fight so much. It’s not good for the team.” Daichi told him. Suga simply smiled again, then turned as the door opened again to reveal the dean. He flinched a bit, then the smile returned as he went to greet him. Daichi followed, a strained smile on his face as he tried to keep the dean’s attention on him, not the bickering behind him.
Suddenly, there was a loud thump, and Daichi turned in time to duck, letting the volleyball coming towards him fly over his head…. And right into the dean. The dean got hit square in the face, his toupee flying off his head and right onto Daichi’s head.
And Daichi was pissed. They were lucky they got off on such a light sentence. If the dean wasn’t so embarrassed, they probably would’ve gotten banned from club activities, like Nishinoya.
As it was, Daichi still shoved them out the door, telling them that if they couldn’t work together, they weren’t allowed in the gym. They squawked indignantly and tried to defend themselves, but the door was slammed shut in their faces.
“This is all your fault! If you would’ve just tossed to me, we could’ve been practicing still!” Hinata pointed accusingly at Kageyama.
“My fault?” Kageyama snarled angrily. Their fight continued until another team member came to the gym.
“Who the hell are you?” The guy sneered. His shaved head and intimidating expression startled them both into an immediate answer. A vision unfolded, revealing a short flash of a face from his past. Hanai. He seems… different.
“Hinata Shouyou!” Hinata bowed deeply as Kageyama did the same.
“Kageyama Tobio!”
“Ah. Must be new players. You’re first years, right? I’m Tanaka.” Tanaka told them. “Why’re you sitting out here, anyways? Practice is in the gym, dumbasses.” He told them, walking towards the gym doors. Very different.
“We um… We got kicked out.” Hinata said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Tanaka stared at them for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“How did you manage to piss Daichi off so fast? I thought only Nishinoya and I could do that!” He exclaimed, still laughing. His laughter cut off when a pretty girl walked by, her long black hair flowing in the wind. Tanaka’s jaw dropped, then closed again, his back straightening as he waltzed to the door and held it open for her.
“Good morning, Kiyoko-san! Still as beautiful as always!” Tanaka told her, smiling widely. She nodded at him and continued on. After a moment, Tanaka shivered and clutched his arms. “It turns me on when she ignores me!” He said with a dopey grin. And he’s not a sexist pig anymore. Coach Momoe would be so proud.
“Anyways, you’re on your own. Daichi’s not one to cross when he’s already mad. Sorry guys!” Tanaka said as Suga came by and shut the door with a sweet smile.
Hinata and Kageyama stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Kageyama moved first, picking up a nearby volleyball and tossing it up. Hinata watched for a moment before moving. He picked up another volleyball and went to the wall to do what he used to do when he didn’t have a partner: use the wall as his partner.
He spiked ball after ball before he realized Kageyama had left, his bag gone and water bottle nowhere in sight. He sighed. Why is he so familiar? And why does Abe’s face keep reappearing? Abe had made more than one appearance that day. And it usually happened when...he looked at… Kageyama?
Hinata dropped the ball he was holding.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He was pretty positive--he could be wrong, but he had a sinking feeling he wasn’t, for once--that Kageyama Tobio, King of The Court, used to be Abe-kun. And that meant Kageyama was his soulmate.
Hinata grabbed his bag and walked to the bike racks dazedly.
There goes any chance of getting sleep.