Eyyyyyyyy. So it's been forever since I posted a new fic. Sorry to those who have waited on my current ongoing series, I just lost motivation to write those, and this one was screaming in my head to be written so I just had to do it!

Let me know what you think!

Prologue: A Flower by Any Other Name Would Be Just as Painful

Tobio stood in shock as Iwaizumi started yelling at Oikawa, scolding him for nearly hitting a first year. He couldn't believe that Oikawa had wanted to… Had almost…

Does Oikawa-san really hate me that much? He thought, and no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, he felt a burning sensation on his arm so painful that he fell to his knees. He almost didn't register the matching groans.

Tobio held out his right arm and watched in wonder as a design slowly began to form there. The lines snaked along his arm to form a lotus flower with thick roots, roots that looked like they belonged to a tree, and encircling the top and sides of the flower were long elegant wings, like a crane. When the lines finished forming he could see an explosion of color flashing along his skin, flickering with angry reds, happy yellows, and agitated oranges.

He stared in wonder at his newly formed soulmark, and despite the current situation he felt a smile threatening to overtake his face. He looked up and saw that both Iwaizumi and Oikawa had stopped talking and were currently staring at him, their forearms mirroring his. Before he could say anything though, Oikawa rounded on him.

"What the hell is this?!" He screeched, grabbing Tobio by the collar, yanking him to his feet. Iwaizumi shouted a warning but Oikawa paid no mind. "What the hell do you think you're doing invading our bond?"

"But- I can't control-"

"Do I look like I care?!" Oikawa hollered, throwing him to the ground. He looked like he was going to pulverize Tobio but Iwaizumi held him back.

"Kageyama, get out of here now!" Iwaizumi warned, trying to pull the struggling Oikawa back.

"We don't need you Tobio-chan! Me and Iwa-chan don't need a brat like you ruining our relationship!" Oikawa bellowed, his face flushed with rage. Tobio sat on the ground, frozen in fear.

"Kageyama leave!" Iwaizumi shouted through his gritted teeth as he yanked Oikawa back in the direction of the locker rooms. Without a word Tobio shot up and bolted, grabbing his bag along the way. He sprinted out of the gym, nearly tripping over the doorway in his haste.

He ran home as fast as he could, refusing to acknowledge the tears collecting in his eyes. Finally making it to his house he jammed his keyes in the lock and rushed in, slamming the door behind him, startling Kazuyo who was reading at the table.

"Tobio? What happened?" His grandpa asked. Tobio looked at him and the tears started anew, falling faster as his shoulders began to heave with sobs. He practically threw himself at him, burying his face in his grandpa's warm chest, the steady beating of his heart a small comfort for the chaos going on in his head. Kazuyo waited patiently, rubbing his hand up and down on his back gently to help calm him down.

Eventually the sobs subsided, turning into nothing but quiet tears and the occasional sniffle. Kazuyo gently pushed Tobio away enough to look him in the eyes. "What happened Tobio?"

"I…" Tobio stalled, hesitant to tell him what happened. Hell, he was still trying to process everything himself and he was there. He knew his grandpa loved him, but what if this changed that? People who are rejected by their soulmate are often shunned in society, and the fact that Tobio was rejected by not one, but two of them? Would Kazuyo be disappointed? Would he be disgusted with him? Would he walk away and leave him alone like the rest of his family?

Tobio wanted nothing more than to run to his room and wallow, to never speak of his soulmates or what happened ever again, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to unless he told his grandpa the truth. He bowed his head in resignation. "I know who my soulmates are now"

Tobio lifted his head slightly so he could see his reaction, afraid of what he would see. But when he looked into Kazuyo's eyes, only patience and support. It was then remembered that this person, his grandpa, was the one person in his life that would never judge him, the one person that Tobio could count on as a constant in his life.

With that in mind, he held out his right arm and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the newly tattooed soulmark. Kazuyo's eyes widened and he gently held his arm up closer so he could get a better look at it. Tobio couldn't look at him at this point, knowing that the lack of any color filling the intricate design would tell him just how badly the revelation went.

"Tobio.." Kazuyo trailed off, seeming at a loss for words. Tobio felt a sad smile overtake his face.

"You know grandpa, I actually have two soulmates. Remember those two senpais I told you about that I really liked? Turns out, there's a reason I liked them so much but they… Oikawa-san hates me and Iwaizumi-san… Well, I don't know what Iwaizumi-san thinks but it doesn't matter because he already has Oikawa-san. They have each other and they don't need me. They don't want me grandpa." Tobio's voice broke at the end, a sob choking off anything else that he could say.

Kazuyo pulled Tobio to him and hugged him tightly, not saying a word. What was there to say? Tobio finally met the people that he was destined to be with, the people who shared the same mark that fate designed specifically for them, only to then be immediately rejected. Once again someone that is supposed to love him walks away. He didn't know what hurt more; How his soulmates hated him and wanted nothing to do with him, or his family who just didn't care, barely acknowledging his existence.

They sat like that for who knows how long, with Tobio crying for his loss and Kazuyo providing as much comfort as he could given the situation. Eventually the tears stopped again, leaving Tobio feeling empty and numb. Kazuyo stayed where he was, still hugging him tightly and rubbing his back soothingly.

Tobio eventually sat up, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to save any dignity he had left, though why he would bother at this point he wasn't sure. He finally looked his grandpa in the eyes, feeling like he should say something.

"I'm sorry grandpa." He said, his voice slightly horse. Kazuyo raised his eyebrow in question.

"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?" Kazuyo asked, and honestly Tobio wasn't sure how to answer. He felt so many things right now but for some reason on top of the overwhelming heartbreak, he felt ashamed. He knew it didn't make sense, but he felt that if maybe he was a little smarter, if he was better at volleyball, if he was better with people, then maybe his soulmates would like him back, that maybe people would stop walking away from him.

He didn't voice any of this aloud but Kazuyo knew his grandson too well and could surmise what was going on in his head. Kazuyo placed both hands on Tobio's shoulders heavily, making sure that he had the twelve year-old's undivided attention.

"Tobio, it's not your fault." Tobio was about to protest but Kazuyo stopped him with a squeeze of his shoulders "You can't blame yourself for those people's actions. I can't explain why your parents aren't around much, nor can I explain your sister or even your soulmates, but what I can tell you is that you are not broken. You are more than enough and I love you very much. I know it's hard now, but one day you will find your tribe. The people who will lift you up, the ones who will be there for you and love you like you deserve."

Tobio's nose wrinkled, never really good with praise or sweet words. Kazuyo smiled knowingly. "And when that happens, I will be right there telling you I told you so and making sure to rub it in your face."

Tobio giggled at that, knowing all too well how much his grandpa loved proving himself right and making sure everyone knew it. Kazuyo's smile widened and he gave a final squeeze to his shoulders before letting them go.

"Until then though, you will always have me. I'm not planning on going anywhere and you know just as well as I how stubborn I can be so you're stuck with me." Kazuyo winked before getting up to make another pot of tea. Tobio grinned as he walked away, but it dropped when he felt a sudden heavy weight in his chest. He winced and looked down, and his jaw dropped in shock when he saw that the lines of his soulmark were fading. Once black lines with slight shading were now devoid of all color, now a dormant grey. That could only mean one thing;

Oikawa and Iwaizumi had blocked him from the bond.

He felt light headed, his breath coming shallow and quick, the beginnings of a panic attack settling in before the heavy feeling in his chest quickly became painful, making him yelp in pain. Alarmed, Kazuyo rushed to Tobio's side, trying to talk to him but the words were drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. He suddenly felt the urge to throw up, and seemingly out of nowhere there was a trash bin in front of him. He coughed heavily, tears leaving his eyes at the sheer power of the heaves.

When his body finally began to relax, he lifted his head and gave his grandpa a weak smile to try to reassure him that he was alright but stopped at the look on his face. Kazuyo had gone pale and was looking at the contents of the bin. Tobio looked down and gasped in shock. At the bottom lay not bile, but flower pedals. Specifically, they were carnations, some yellow and some multicolored, and a single fully intact orange lily, all of which were slightly speckled with Tobio's blood. Tobio then remembered the cautionary words of his Biology teacher;

Be sure to treat your soulmate with kindness, no matter how much you don't get along. Above all, never block them out. If you do, they may develop a painful disease called Hanahaki disease, a disease that makes flowers develop in the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe. In some extreme cases, it can even lead to death.

Tobio started shaking in fear. "Grandpa…"

"Tobio get your shoes and coat, we need to go to the hospital right now." Tobio nodded and bolted for the front door where he had thrown his stuff, his hands shaking so much that he could barely tie his shoes.

Both of them hurried to the car, Tobio barely having time to buckle his seatbelt before Kazuyo slammed his foot on the gas, zooming down the highway towards the hospital. Tobio's whole body was shaking now. How was this happening? And why did he have to get it? According to his teacher the disease was pretty rare, so why of all people did he have to not only be rejected by his soulmates, but suffer the consequences of their actions? Tobio felt like crying again from the unfairness of it all but held it back, knowing that crying now wouldn't help, and so he tried to take deep calming breaths. If the flowers made it hard to breathe then there was no sense in making it harder on himself by hyperventilating. Despite knowing this, he couldn't get his hands to stop their shaking so instead he tried to focus on the road. The light headedness was back and he could see a few black spots floating in his field of vision.

They made it to the hospital in record time and Kazuyo had to help Tobio out of the car, his body just felt so weak now it was hard to move around. Carefully Kazuyo guided him into the emergency room, yelling at the nurse behind the desk. What he was yelling though was not really clear, his voice sounded far away. Tobio wobbled on his feet, his vision fading.

Then everything went dark.

~*(&)*~

Tobio woke up, groaning at the bright light above him. He felt a hand grab his and squeeze. He turned to see who it was and it took a few blinks to clear his eyes enough to see that it was his grandpa.

"Good morning Kageyama-kun." another voice said. Tobio shot up to see who it was. He immediately regretted it when his head began to spin and he fell back on the bed. "Careful, you're gonna be a little out of it for a while."

"What happened to me?" Tobio asked, afraid that he already knew the answer. By the sympathetic look the doctor was now giving him, he knew his assumption was correct.

"It appears you have Hanahaki disease, an advanced case at that."

"What do you mean?" Kazuyo asked, the grip on Tobio's hand tightening. Tobio squeezed back, feeling the fear creep back up on him.

"Normally with this disease it first develops in a slight cough, maybe a petal here or there at most. In this case it developed so quickly that he's showing symptoms people normally don't show until months, sometimes even years after their first diagnosis." The doctor explained, "I suspect that the reason why Kageyama-kun's case is so severe is that the soulmark had just been made and since he had more than one soulmate putting up a block at once it was too much for the freshly made bond to handle, thus putting an extra strain on his body."

"Doctor Matsubara, what does this mean for Tobio?" Kazuyo asked, his face going pale. Doctor Matsubara gave them a reassuring smile.

"For now, I don't see any signs that this is life threatening for him," both Tobio and Kazuyo sighed in relief "However, if you're not careful it can get worse. The best thing for him right now is to keep his distance from his soulmates. The closer the proximity to them, the harder on his body it's going to be."

"What if I put up a block, wouldn't that stop this from happening?" Tobio asked desperately. No matter how much his soulmates had hurt him, he didn't want to have to be separated from them. Every fiber of his being was screaming in protest of the order. The doctor shook his head.

"You should never under any circumstances put up a block against them Kageyama-kun. If you do, it could sever the connection, which will heavily affect all sides, especially you. Worst case, it could kill you." Tobio shuddered in fear, clinging to his grandpa's side. Kazuyo wrapped an arm around him protectively.

"Is there no cure?" The doctor shook his head.

"Unfortunately not, but I can give him a prescription that will alleviate the symptoms so that he can go about his life. He'll still need to come to the hospital regularly to help purge the flowers out of his body. If he continues to throw them up like he has, it could permanently damage his esophagus, so I would recommend coming in once a month for now and we will see how that goes. We have a Hanahaki specialist here who will be taking over the case and helping you through the sessions. I will make sure the nurse relays her information to you along with his release forms once we get everything in order."

Tobio heard his grandpa continue talking to the doctor but he tuned them out, the new information and everything that went down last night. Everything was happening so fast that he didn't even get a moment to process everything. His thoughts were spinning and he felt his eyes watering as a response. He nearly jumped when he felt a finger wiping the tears away. He looked around and realized that the doctor had already left.

"Tobio." Tobio turned back to Kazuyo, his grandpa taking both of his hands in his. "Tobio I know this is so much to take on all at once, but it's going to be okay, we'll work it out like we always do, you and me, okay?"

Tobio nodded. He was honestly scared out of his mind but he knew that so long as his grandpa was here with him, he was fine. He had someone who loved him and that was all that mattered. So long as he had his grandpa, he could get through this.

But it wasn't meant to be.

A few months into his second year of middle school, Kazuyo's health started declining, and near the end of the school year, he was gone.

Tobio was alone once more.