𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 || ᵏ.ᵗᵒᵇⁱᵒ

XXII

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ Tobio*:･ﾟ✧*:･

He was going to nationals. They'd beaten Shiratorizawa and not even Tsukishima could wipe the wide smile off Tobio's face—though the tall blonde looked just as happy as the rest of the team, despite his injured fingers.

Tobio ran off the court as soon as he was able, ignoring the exhaustion that crept through his body. Sana had already rushed down from the stands, meeting him in the hall with a bright smile. Tobio bounded up to her, almost tackling her to the ground with the force of his embrace.

"I'm so proud of you," Sana mumbled into his shoulder. He wasn't even slightly conscious of the volleyball players from various teams who stared at them oddly. Tobio didn't reply but he squeezed her tighter, heart beating faster at such a simple sentence.

"Jesus, Sana! You ran away so fast!" Yoko huffed, out of breath as she rounded the corner, arm linked with Sato's so they wouldn't get separated amongst the crowd. Sato seemed content with it, his crush still unrelenting despite the knowledge that Yoko found her soulmate.

"Well done Kageyama!" Sato congratulated him cheerfully, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze once he and Sana had broken apart. Tobio gave him a shy, grateful nod.

"You two are just a couple of prodigies aren't you?" Yoko joked. Both Tobio and Sana blushed at the compliment causing Yoko to laugh again.

"Oi! Where'd you run off to?" Tanaka called, exiting the gym with his team jacket on, a second clutched in his hand. The rest of the team exited behind him, chatting animatedly with each other as the shock washed away and the excitement and glory settled in.

"To kiss his girlfriend obviously." Nishinoya said teasingly, making kissing noises as the team approached the four first years.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ Sana *:･ﾟ✧*:･

Sana didn't miss the way Yoko avoided Tsukishima's gaze like even the slightest eye contact with him would make her burst into flames, nor did she miss the way that Yoko not-so-subtlety unlinked her arm from Sato's in his presence.

She and Tobio looked at each other both having noticed the odd behaviour displayed by either soulmate. They'd definitely be talking about that later. As quiet as he was, Sana had noticed that Tobio was a huge fan of gossip. She'd come home from dance practice or school and tobio would sit and listen intently to the drama that went down that day, often adding in his own thoughts on the matter. It got to the point where he'd sometimes ask if there was any gossip that day.

"You guys were awesome!" Sato said, unfazed by the sudden tension between two individuals he'd grown close to.

"Did you see my spikes? and Tsukishima's block? and Kageyama's sets?" Hinata babbled, full of energy despite the long game.

"We saw it all!" Sato replied, just as happy. sato wandered over to Hinata and Yamaguchi to continue gushing over the game whilst Yoko remained quiet which was very unlike her. Yoko was the most confident and boisterous girl Sana knew as she didn't want her best friend's personality to completely disappear because of a boy.

"Yoko, do you wanna get boba?" Sana asked, opening up the conversation to include her friend. Yoko turned to her with a grateful glint in her eye, happy for the distraction from her estranged soulmate.

"Only if you're paying, I know all about your stash of prize money, you little minx." Yoko joked, gently slapping Sana's arm.

"of course," Sana smiled, glad Yoko was back to her usual, playful self. She turned to tobio and asked him the same question, receiving a nod. he'd taken a liking to the milk tea in their local bubble tea store.

"I'm coming too! Anyone else?" Sato said, looking around the group of volleyball players for
confirmation. Sugawara, Daichi and the remaining first years raised their hands, smiling brightly—with the exception of Tsukishima, who looked awkward and slightly uncomfortable.

Sana gave Yoko a sidelong glance but her friend, to her credit, didn't look deterred at all. "Let's go!" She called instead, flicking her bleach-blonde hair over her shoulder and leading the group out of the building and into the crisp winter cold outside.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ Tobio *:･ﾟ✧*:･

Sana didn't hold his hand on the way into the town square like she normally would and it bothered him more than it should have. Instead, she walked ahead of the volleyball team with Yoko, their arms linked as they engaged in a hushed conversation.

He knew she just wanted to make Yoko feel more supported and comfortable in Tsukishima's presence and he didn't want to be selfish, but he yearned to walk side by side with her, their hands linked and warm.

"You should stop staring at her like that, you look creepy," Tsukishima whispered down to him and Tobio rolled his eyes.

"I won't take criticism on soulmates from someone like you." Tobio bit back, not even sparing his teammate a glance, keeping his eyes on Sana ahead of them. He knew he shouldn't have said it; he knew it would rile Tsukishima up but in that moment, all his frustrations at him spilt over.

But to his surprise, Tsukishima just sighed sadly, as if he regretted everything, every word and action that caused Yoko pain. He didn't say anything else; he didn't spew some witty, condescending comeback or shoot Kageyama one of those glares he'd become so accustomed to receiving.

"She won't even look at me." tsukishima said quietly as if he didn't want anyone around them to hear. Tobio decided to do him a favour and kept his voice down too as he replied.

"You were mean to her over and over again. Did you expect her to just take it? And let you treat her like shit?"

"I know I fucked up, but I didn't mean it and I would take it back if I could." Tsukishima sighed.

"You're lucky she hasn't rejected the soulmate bond. If she wants to talk to you, she will, but for now just leave her alone."