Chapter Text
Kageyama Tobio had resigned himself to a life of loneliness halfway through his third year of middle school.
He knew, no matter how far he reached out or how fast he ran towards the people around him, there would always be a part of them that simply did not understand him, and he them. By that time, even the feelings of frustration that he had felt as a boy of seven who could not find anyone to play with at school had faded, leaving only a feeling of strange otherness. He was different. Separate. The wall that he had built to block his soulmate bond only served to make the feeling of isolation worse.
It was not as if what had happened in his first year of middle school had done anything to change how he felt. It had just taken this long for his mind to truly understand the fact that even the people who were supposed to want him most- his soulmates- could not understand him, or want him, and had cast him aside without a second glance.
It had started when Kunimi began calling him The King of the Court. Tobio had known, logically, that yelling at his teammates would not improve their abilities or even make them work harder. He knew that taking out his grief on the people he was supposed to confide in would cause nothing but harm. He just hadn’t been able to stop himself. He hadn’t been able to stop, because his grandfather had left him, was gone, and volleyball was all he had left of the person he had loved so dearly. So he pushed.
And pushed and pushed.
And when cracks began to appear, when Kunimi and Kindiachi stopped asking him what was wrong and had started yelling back instead, he had ignored them. Until finally, they walked away and left him alone in the middle of the court. And he realized, that maybe, that had been what he had been headed towards all along.
----
Tobio met Kyoutani Kentarou in the month between what he liked to think of his horrible before and his incredible after.
He had slowly been losing his mind, because it felt like it had been ages since he last played a volleyball game- and what else did he live for, other than to set the ball?- when Miwa had mentioned seeing a friendly open match at the neighborhood center a few streets down. Really, it had been one of the luckiest moments of his life, meeting the boy that seemed to have such a deep understanding of him in the midst of one of the worst spirals he had ever experienced. Tobio had still been reeling from that final match with KitaDai, unable to process and anxious to ever set foot on the court again. And then- as if the universe had suddenly decided he deserved a treat after all these years of suffering- Kyoutani had come barreling in and smashed it all to pieces. It was, Tobio thought, possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him.
It had started off with them snarling at each other during that first match, Tobio still trying to shrug off that fucking king’s cloak and Kyoutani just being an all-around unsociable ass. The other members of their team seemed apprehensive at first, and then shrugged it off when they won their first set together. That had probably been when something started to click for the two of them- when they recognized each other’s hunger for a fulfilling victory and overall improvement.
It had continued like that for maybe a week, a silent respect and understanding between Tobio and Kyoutani and an unspoken agreement that they were alike in more ways than one. They had finally snapped together the day that Tobio had stumbled upon Kyoutani, already bruised, facing off against two other boys on some unknown corner. He had taken one look at the situation, the blond standing in front of a cowering stray cat and glowering at the two boys, and had stepped up beside him, pulling himself up to his full height.
“Two against one, huh?” he had snarled.
Kyoutani had just shot him a feral smile before turning to the now-unsure strangers. “What, cowards, you only like fighting when the odds are in your favor?”
The kids had run off, and Kyoutani had turned to him, “They were throwing rocks at the cat.”
Tobio had just nodded, and that had been that.
They were inseparable for the rest of the month.
Miwa had been surprised the first time Tobio had invited him over, and then just smiled when she realized that Kyoutani’s personality was just a slightly more aggressive version of Tobio’s. One afternoon, Kyoutani had dragged Tobio to his house after one of their matches at the neighborhood center, sat him down on his couch, and showed him V is for Vendetta. When Kageyama had looked over at the boy during the closing credits, all he had said was “it’s my favorite.”
That was how Tobio had learned about Kyoutani’s obsession with western action movies.
The same week, Tobio had invited him over, yanked open the drawers of his desk, and handed him a stack of sketchbooks. Kyoutani had flipped through them, studying each page, before looking up at Kageyama, and saying bluntly but earnestly, “You feel a lot, don’t you?”
That was how Tobio had learned that Kyoutani was, perhaps, the only person in the world who was the same as him.
He decided that afternoon that maybe he didn’t feel as lonely anymore, that maybe the hole in his chest left by the wall blocking his soulmate bond was the tiniest bit smaller.
----
“Tobioooooo.” Miwa’s voice drifted into the living room over the faint sounds of yelling and gunshots coming from the television.
Kageyama, who was leaning against the couch as he drew in his newest sketchbook, Kyoutani’s fingers running through his hair (that had started somewhere between weeks two and three of knowing each other, Kageyama couldn’t remember the exact moment), grunted in response.
“Tobio I was looking at some of your drawings, and thinking about school, you know, one of my marketing classes, and I just had the best idea.” Miwa’s voice grew louder, and she emerged from the kitchen, blue eyes sparkling.
Tobio just raised an eyebrow at her, feeling Kyoutani shift to fixate on his sister, probably equally skeptical. Miwa’s last ‘best’ idea had ended in their mother scolding all three of them over the disastrous state of her kitchen after a long overnight shift at the hospital.
Miwa just huffed at them, rolling her eyes. “Oh, don’t look at me like that you two. It is a good idea. And no baking involved this time!”
A quiet snort sounded from the couch.
“Whatever, Kentarou-kun. You’ll agree with me. Just listen.” her voice took on an excited tone, and Tobio braced himself. “Tobio should start a social media page for his art!”
The second the final word was out of Miwa’s mouth, Tobio was shaking his head.
“Come oooon, Otoutosan. You’re so good! You can even do it under an alias so no one knows it’s you! Plus I bet people will want to commission you. Money, Tobio. You can make money.”
That had Tobio reconsidering. Brow furrowed, he listened to the vague sounds of someone screaming about being shot as he thought about it, Kyoutani’s hand still in his hair. Money meant he could buy more volleyball stuff. He could stop asking his mom for food allowance, and he could buy his own art supplies, so Miwa wouldn’t spend so much on him either.
Miwa’s whine interrupted his thoughts. “Kentarou-kun, I’m right, aren’t I?”
Tobio felt Kyoutani shrug. The gesture said Kageyama should do what he wants.
Kageyama smiled to himself. Ultimately, Kyoutani knew that his art was his private thing, the little something he kept for himself while he shared volleyball with the world, and it was up to him to decide if he wanted to share it. It felt good to know that he knew that.
Surprising even himself, Tobio hesitantly nodded, brows still furrowed. Miwa clapped, but before she could launch into whatever it was she was about to do, Kageyama said “Only with an alias. Like you said. And I will only post what I want.”
Nodding vigorously, Miwa grinned. “Of course, Otoutosan. Whatever you want. I’m telling you, you’re going to have so many followers. Now, shall we start taking pictures?” Behind him, Kyoutani let out a long-suffering sigh. “Good luck,” he grumbled, before grabbing the remote off the coffee table and turning up the volume.
Kyoutani suggested the username Pinpoint_Accuracy. Tobio posted two pictures.
The page had 500 followers by the end of the day.