It wasn't until Interhigh preliminaries rolled around that Niko was sighted near the boys' team again. It was the first day, and they'd just won their only game. Niko was still wearing the girls' volleyball uniform when she came racing up to the boys. She all but tackled Tōru and Hajime when she threw herself at the two of them.
"You guys really should stop standing so close to one another, it makes this so easy." She clung to them, her arms wrapped around their shoulders as she hung between them like a monkey. "I feel so tall!" Swinging her feet, she simply grinned when Hajime turned to glare at her, green eyes clashing with dark brown, while Tōru whined and tried to push her off - unsuccessfully. Her arm was like a vice around his shoulder.
"Heard you guys won your first round! Congrats! We did, too!" She exclaimed, cheering for herself and the boys' team. The high of winning the first of hopefully many matches was unlike anything else. Niko's heart was still racing, adrenaline pumping through her veins. As the boys parroted her congratulations back at her, the girl thanked them quickly. She was on a mission, though, and soon turned her attention to the more responsible members of the team. "Unfortunately for you all, I require the attention of my boys for just a little while. I've got some juicy gossip to share with them. I'll return them to you in one piece, I promise!"
Niko released Tōru and Hajime, dropping to the floor on her feet. Her hands slid into theirs, tugging them forward as she turned. Hajime's brows lifted, curiosity shimmering in his gaze as he looked down at the blonde-haired girl. She met his gaze with a confident grin. Niko wasn't one for actual gossip, and she knew that both of her best friends were aware of this. Even Tōru, for all of his theatrics and complaining the majority of the time, fell silent and followed her willingly as he and Hajime were guided away from the crowds.
The trio wound through the halls until she finally stopped in an empty corridor. After a cursory glance around to make sure they were alone, Niko released their hands and tugged the front of their jerseys to make them bend down so they were at her level. She spoke her next words softly, and the duo strained to hear them. "I think my soulmate is a volleyball player." It took the pair of boys only a moment to react. Hajime's lips curled down into a soft frown, his brows furrowing while Tōru's eyes widened and he grinned widely.
"I could feel it when these new marks formed," Niko pointed out a few dark red spots along her arms, "and I am positive these weren't from my match. My palms have been pretty sensitive, too. I've never been able to feel… all of it. Before, I only saw the bruises after they were already fully formed, and I didn't feel the impact that caused them." Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips as her green orbs slid to observe the redness on her skin. Hajime's hand clamped down on Tōru's shoulder as the setter opened his mouth - a clear indicator not to interrupt.
"You're supposed to be able to feel more the closer you are to your soulmate, right? They hurt. Like I was in another match, receiving them myself. More than anything I've gotten from my soulmate before." The more she spoke, the more Niko's body began to tremble. Both excitement and nerves zipped through her veins as she rambled on, words getting more and more jumbled as she spoke. "And, um, I mean, it would make sense – if they're here too, I'd be more sensitive. So would they, so I wonder if they've noticed? Maybe I could-"
"They're definitely here. But that doesn't mean you should go running off trying to find them right away." Hajime cut in, his hand moving to grip her shoulder gently. Niko was working herself up into a frenzy, he recognized that she needed to take a break. "You're not feeling anything new right now, yeah?" She shook her head, teeth ravaging her lower lip. "Then that means their matches have already finished. They've probably already left by now. Wait until tomorrow. Don't do anything without us."
Where Hajime was being supportive, yet protective, Tōru was a devil in setter's clothing as he stood there grinning at her. "Ohh, what a surprise this is!" His arm snaked around her shoulders as he bent closer to her. "You're betraying us! A soulmate in a rival team - how scandalous, honestly, Chibi-chan. Are we not good enough for you?~ "
Her elbow found a new home in his ribs as she jabbed him in the side, her eyes narrowed as she shifted her darkened gaze to him. He flinched, leaping back with raised hands. Yet Niko knew he was going to continue teasing her about this for quite a while. "No! If you scare them away when we find them, I will kill you, Shittykawa!" He laughed, an innocent smile on his lips. "I don't even know if we'll be able to find them, so do not speak a word of this to anyone. Not even Thing One and Thing Two. Or else."
Her nickname for Matsukawa and Hanamaki made him cover his mouth, covering a snort of laughter with a cough. Nonetheless, he agreed to her demands. Playing with Niko when she was on a mission was like playing with fire. Dangerous. A decade of friendship between them meant she had plenty of blackmail on them - more so Tōru than Hajime.
Once both boys were sworn to secrecy, Niko let herself relax a little bit. Her skin was flushed, and her heart was beating wildly in her chest but her shoulders sagged with relief. Despite her confident exterior, the girl was incredibly nervous about the possibility of meeting her soulmate. Niko has always wondered about what kind of person they would be. Would they be kind and gentle, or rough around the edges? Excitable and energetic or calm and collected?
Now that she knew that they were a volleyball player as well, and that they were close enough for her to feel the injuries… it was overwhelming. There were so many things to consider, so many things that could go wrong - but also that could go right. Bouncing up and down on her heels in front of them, Niko clasped her hands behind her back and ran the possibilities through her head. Her friends stilled, observing her silently.
If they were on a volleyball team that had to mean they were passionate about it as well. That was a bonus for her already. Which team, though? It couldn't have been Date Tech or Senseki, as she's been to their schools before and never felt anything. Running a list of schools through her head, she tried to pinpoint which ones were most likely. There were so many options, though. So many people. What if it was a first year? If so, they could be from one of the schools that she'd been to before?
"Chibi-chan is gonna make her head explode, thinking so much when she barely has a brain to begin with. We'll try to figure it out tomorrow. Let's go~" Tōru teased her lightly, earning a soft glare from her. Laughing, the setter slapped her on the shoulder and shoved her towards the entrance of the gymnasium. Hajime was quick to clamp his hand down on her other shoulder, guiding her back the way they came.
"Surprisingly, trashykawa is right." Tōru let out an indignant yell at the name, but a glare from his ace silenced him. "We will have some time tomorrow. We need to head back to our teams."
Her lower lip jutted out and she gave them a mournful look. "You guys are so cruel." Her only answer was a smirk and a grin from her two best friends, resulting in laughter bubbling up from her. With the half-baked plan cemented into place, Niko was quick to delve into their respective games of the day.
If anything could distract her, it was talking about volleyball. For the time being, she let herself relax. It was going to be a long night, because Niko was positive she wouldn't be able to sleep very well with what she knew now.
After the first day of Interhigh Preliminaries, Asahi found himself overwhelmed with excitement. Karasuno had successfully won their first two rounds, and would move on tomorrow. It was going to be an uphill battle from here, but the ace couldn't deny the fact that he was utterly thrilled about their wins. Especially against Date Tech. It'd been a huge boost to his confidence, and reaffirmed his love for the sport once again.
Despite the excitement he felt over the matches, there was a thought that had been nagging him all day. Rubbing his arm as they began dispersing from the bus that brought them back home, Asahi fell into step with Sugawara and Daichi. His skin was overly tender - more than it should've been after just two matches. He'd been bothered by his sensitivity since arriving at Interhigh this morning, but had been too focused on the matches to think anything of it. It wasn't until the bus ride home that realization began to dawn on him.
It wasn't a topic that he knew how to broach with his friends. Fortunately for him, though, Sugawara picked up on his discomfort within just a few short moments. "Asahi. Are you alright? You've been nursing your arms a lot today." His captain and vice-captain both turned to him, watching as his hand stilled on his elbow. Asahi's gaze dropped, and he stammered, unsure of how to tell them what he felt. A deep breath in, then he steeled his gaze and nodded resolutely. This was as good of an opportunity as any, he supposed.
"I think my soulmate was there today." Saying it out loud was like someone punched the air from his lungs. His face grew warm, and his heartbeat fluttered against his ribs. His two friends immediately stilled alongside him, forcing him to halt as he awaited their responses. Asahi's heartbeat was deafening in the silence. They stared at him with wide eyes for what seemed like forever before Daichi spoke up.
"You're sure?"
Nodding, Asahi began rubbing at his elbow again – this time more out of nervousness than discomfort. "Yeah, I, uh… I think they play volleyball, too." Shock registered on both Sugawara and Daichi's faces, but they remained silent as he continued to explain. "Obviously we get bruises and stuff from playing every day, and I know I did today. But, ah, there's other ones that I could, um, feel – as, ah, they formed. Usually I don't feel that, I just see them when they're already there…"
He trailed off, brows furrowed as he shifted side to side a bit. His chest felt tight, and butterflies were beating against his stomach. On one hand, he was ecstatic about the discovery, but on the other he was incredibly nervous over the fact that he could possibly meet them soon. Even now, his heart felt like it was about to leap right out of his chest as he thought of them. It took only a moment for Daichi and Sugawara to gather themselves. They clapped him on the shoulder simultaneously, and Asahi stumbled forward with wide eyes.
"That's a good thing, Asahi! If you want, we can try and find them between tomorrow's games. If you felt all of that, it means they did, too – so they'll no doubt be looking for you as well!" Sugawara was ever the voice of reason, calming the taller male's frayed nerves. On his other side, Daichi nodded resolutely.
"Should we tell Kiyoko? She could help scout the girls' teams while we see if any of the boys' teams know anything." The ace's pulse stuttered for a moment, before he nodded. It would be the smartest thing to do. Asahi trusted his fellow third years, and knew he wouldn't have anything to worry about by involving them. It was the second years that could cause more trouble than necessary. "Good. We'll talk to her in the morning, and go from there. For now, we'll keep it between just the third years."
It was a shaky plan for the time being, but it was the best that they could do, considering the circumstances. As they began walking again, Sugawara and Daichi both noted how Asahi moved a little faster, a smile tugging at his lips. He'd waited for so long to meet his soulmate. Many nights had been spent with him wondering who they would be, and what they would be like. That night, it took ages for him to fall asleep. When he finally did, dreams of volleyball and a faceless soulmate greeted him.
The following day, the third years met up to discuss the plan for the day. Kiyoko was quick to agree to help after Asahi explained everything again, much less nervously than the previous day. As the sun gradually rose higher into the sky, the four of them solidified their shaky plan.
None of them would have a lot of time to search, but they all agreed that a little bit was better than nothing at all. Kiyoko would spend short breaks looking around the girls' teams to try and see if she could find any information, and the boys would try to scout the crowd and other teams as well. It was a long shot, but none of them were willing to back down from the challenge.
"Like Suga said last night, they're probably going to be looking for you. If they play volleyball, their time will be limited to between matches as well. It'll be like find a needle in a haystack," Daichi clapped Asahi on the back as the ace deflated at the mention, "but we will do our best. Don't lose focus on the game, though."
"I won't. We'll win the matches today, and continue to move forward." Everyone nodded resolutely, hopeful smiles on their faces. The trek to the school was filled with conversation about Asahi's soulmate - mostly Sugawara trying to brainstorm about what kind of person they were. At one point, Daichi had laughed and joked that Suga was probably just as excited about it as Asahi was, earning himself a half-hearted glare from the setter.
"It's not every day that one of your best friends has the chance to meet their soulmate. Obviously I'm excited." Suga had said with a roll of his eyes, yet a smile tugged at his lips nonetheless. Despite the teasing, Daichi found himself agreeing.
When they made it to the school yard, the topic changed to more mundane issues, for the sake of Asahi's privacy. No more talk about soulmates was to be had while they were on the bus and making their way to the gymnasium once again.
A good portion of the time before their first match was spent with the third years slipping away in brief spurts. Asahi, Daichi, and Sugawara moved as a unit through the halls, prodding players for information and keeping their ears open for discussion about soulmates. Kiyoko did much of the same in the halls with the girls' volleyball teams. Unfortunately, no one was of any help.
Their prying had led to many odd looks, and more than one scoff and derisive statement, but they brushed it off. When they all convened outside of the gym, it was a disappointing conversation of having no luck with it. Asahi reassured them that it was fine, and that they'd try again later if they could.
The group gathered inside with their team once again, this time to wait for when they could enter the gym. Kiyoko stood with their coach, discussing the upcoming match while the boys all began to stretch. Asahi, Daichi, and Sugawara sat with one another on the outskirts of the group. The latter two didn't miss how Asahi's eyes flickered over the players meandering through the halls.
"Asahi, try not to worry about it for now. We'll look more after the match." Despite the fact that the ace nodded in agreement, his eyes continued to roam the halls. Eventually, his gaze landed on Oikawa Tōru, who stood at the other end of the hallway. Daichi and Sugawara followed his gaze. They all watched as a blonde girl came running up to him and tugged him down to her level, laughing as she whispered something in his ear. As her lips landed on his cheek, they all looked away.
"I didn't know Oikawa had found his… nevermind. It doesn't matter. Sugawara is right, Asahi." Daichi nudged their ace lightly, patting him on the shoulder lightly. "We'll come back to it later, I promise."
"You're right. Sorry." Releasing his breath in a slow exhale, Asahi nodded and shifted so his back was to the crowd. With the match against Aoba Johsai nearing, the third years needed to focus. They each threw their attention into the team as they began to prepare for the match. The search for his soulmate would continue later.
For now, everyone knew that they needed to focus on volleyball. The four of them ended up pushing the thought of soulmates away for the time being. Going into the match distracted would not be helpful for anyone - especially the team as a whole.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed the story! A special thanks to bansheehime for helping me with some editing and being a huge part of my decision to publish this! Thank you to valancia, a guest, and bansheehime who each reviewed the story so far! I appreciate each of you, and your decision to follow this story :)