Kenma's chest rose and fell with every struggled breath. His oxygen tank merely a foot away, a long clear tube connected the green tank to his nose, preceding to wrap along the top of his ears. He hated it but he needed it. He despised the attention that it drew. People gawked at him, sympathetic looks were shot from afar. One woman even offered him money on the bus once. He'd been slightly uneasy when this happened. Thankfully, Akashi had been there to tell them that it wasn't needed.
Kenma was unsure about many things, things such as soulmates but one thing that he was sure of was his pure hatred of not blending in. He much preferred to be in the corner playing games than having to socialize with other people. His games were enough company. Blending in was something that he'd grown to master until he got this tank.
Today, Kenma's mother made him take a walk. Not far from his house was a small park lined with beautiful pink cherry blossom trees. His mother required that he spend a small amount of time outside away from games. At first, he'd intended to simply practice setting against the wall but his mother stated that it was a dreadful thing to do. She believed that it was critically unhealthy for his mental health.
Kenma knew that she was right but holding that ball reminded him of what he was, how capable his lungs used to be. It reminded him of a time worth living for. He'd remembered setting for Hinata during training camps. Though he rarely voiced it, he knew he was good. He missed being something, something other than the sick kid.
Even though his friends tried to hide it, they saw him as the sick kid. After the cancer developed, he knew that the others saw him as weak. Akashi offered to stay in and play games, something he'd never done before. Akashi was far from a gamer.
Hinata suddenly dialled down his energy around Kenma. His normal bouncy self was covered up by calm reactions. He stopped asking Kenma to set for him. Seeing Hinata was hard enough as it was being so far away but this seemed further. It was not a distance type of far, it was a far like he'd been distant. Kenma hated that Hinata slacked off around him.
The last time the boys had seen each other, Hinata had asked Lev to join along. At first, Hinata only meant well but it made the afternoon bittersweet. Kenma had little to no patience when it came to Lev. The three boys had gone to the park. They'd attempted to play volleyball but they pitied Kenma too much to continue. He hated being the sick kid. His mind could not comprehend why the universe would do this.
The weather was nice, Kenma hadn't needed a scarf. Though he'd graduated, he still wore his Nekoma Volleyball club jacket with pride. It was one of the only things that reminded him that he used to be something. The heart of the problem was that he never managed to accept that he was sick.
The string on Kenma's singer suddenly started pulsing, heat overwhelmed his hand. The glow of the string grew brighter and brighter with every step. The pulsing caught Kenma's attention. His pace increased as he followed the string. Every step brought him a brighter glow. His breathing increased, each breath a little harder to take. Despite this, he still took longer strides, his legs moving faster till he saw it. The glow of the string led him to his soulmate.
To his surprise, it was a tall boy, his hair was a mess of black locks, his muscles were prominent. His back was an impressive size. Kenma had yet to see the boy's face. It seemed to be one of the most stressful moments of his life. He'd never imagined this moment. What if he didn't like what he saw? What if he was disappointed? What if the tank was a deal-breaker? Kenma knew that no one wanted to be with the sick guy.
As the dark-haired boy finally made his body turn, it felt like an eternity. Kenma had felt like he'd never waited for something for longer.
As Kuroo talked with Bokuto, an odd pulsing started to tickle his pinky. Glancing down at his hand, he saw the pulsing string. His eyes followed the red attachment from his finger to the boy standing but a few yards away.
There he was, his soulmate. The dark-haired boy eyed his soulmate from head to toe, completely overlooking the oxygen tank. The boy's frame was small, his dyed blond hair draped over his face leaving only the roots, a dark brown colour. Kuroo could not believe his eyes, he'd finally seen his soulmate. His eyes glanced down at his hand before looking back up; locking eyes with the blond.
Kenma's face heated as he made eye contact. Socializing was never easy for Kenma. This was one of those things that he wanted to ignore but simply couldn't. The truth was that he was terrified at that moment. Even if he'd wanted to leave, his body wasn't moving. What if his soulmate didn't like him?
Bokuto gave Kuroo a confused look before asking, "Is umm everything okay?" Bokuto eyed the situation, eyes glancing back and forth from Kenma to Kuroo.
"Everything is great, I think I just met my soulmate," the dark-haired boy slowly made his way over to his soulmate after handing Bokuto the volley-ball that he was previously holding. With every step that Kuroo took, both boys felt their emotions bubble. This wasn't just meeting anyone, it was meeting your soulmate, the person you were meant to be with, the person that your soul was attached to. If the stories were true, both boys had met in their previous lives.
Kenma's heart raced as Kuroo made his final step towards him. There they were, face to face. Kenma glanced up, allowing his eyes to lock with Kuroo's. For a moment, they stood there in complete silence, as if Kuroo already knew that conversation didn't come easy to Kenma. Kuroo was quite a bit taller than Kenma.
"So you're my soulmate?" Kuroo asked, with a smile, breaking the silence between them. He rubbed the back of his neck, without removing his eyes from Kenma.
"I guess so… I'm sorry," a confused look came upon the taller boy's face. He wondered why Kenma had been apologizing.
"Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to say sorry for. This is great! I'm Kuroo Tetsurou!" Excitement radiated in his voice. Kenma, on the other hand, felt intimidated.
"I'm um Kenma Kozume," his small voice spoke loud enough for only the two to hear. There was a comfortable silence between the two.
"Do you like Volleyball?" The dark haired boy glanced back at his friend. As Kuroo looked back at Kenma, Kenma gave a small nod. "OH! What position!?" Kuroo's eyes lit up, his smile brightening his entire face.
"Setter…" Kenma's voice was but a whisper. His answer only caused Kuroo to smile wider.
"We really are meant for each other," Kuroo gave a cocky grin, "I'm a spiker," He glanced back at Bokuto. "Wanna play with us? We could use a setter. We've just been passing the ball around," Kuroo knew not how much that meant to Kenma. Kenma felt a certain joy he hadn't felt in a while.
"That sounds nice," Kenma let himself give way to a small smile. He hadn't smiled in a long time. Kuroo didn't look at him and see a kid with a tank, Kuroo saw him as a person; that person being his soulmate.
As the boys progressed in their game, Kenma's energy grew weaker and his breaths harder to control. Breathing quickly became a task. Not wanting to end so soon, Kenma tried to hide his struggles. Despite his current problem, this was one of the first moments he'd felt like his old self, he felt like he mattered. Feeling the ball touch his fingertips, even just for a split second, Kenma felt more alive than he had in years.