"Ugh, another one?" I lifted the hem of my skirt to see another purple bruise forming on my thigh. Hitoka glanced at it with worried eyes as I poked the tender area, wincing when my finger made contact. "This is what, like the sixth one this week? What are you even doing to yourself, Y/n-chan?"

"Nothing! I swear, it's like they just pop up!" I pointed to all the places where they had appeared; three one my arms, one on my shoulder, and yet another on my lower calf. "It's your soulmate," Another one of my friends, B/f/n, looked up from her lunch with a dreamy smile. I stared back at her with narrowed eyes. "Okay, so my soulmate is secretly injuring me in my sleep or something? No thanks!"

"No, not like that!" She scoffed, slamming her chopsticks down. "There's a story that says all those little bruises and scratches that just seem to pop up are actually little injuries that your soulmate got. That's why you don't remember how they got there."

"These are not little! They're big and painful!" B/f/n just waved her hand at my complaining, still lost in her fantasy. "Maybe they're really into sports or something! I'm telling you, it's your soulmate." A sigh escaped my lips and I decided to fill my mouth with riceball instead of dwelling on my friend's logic.

After finishing my lunch, I wandered out into the halls to grab a drink from the vending machine. I avoided the one outside because the summer heat was already here, despite it still technically being spring , and instead walked the extra distance to the one that was on the second year hallway. When I got there, someone was at the adjacent machine that was filled with snacks instead of drinks.

He was only an inch or so taller than me with dark hair that was spiked up. One lock was dyed blonde and hung down. With his wide brown eyes, it made him look a little on the wild side. I would have probably been intimidated if he wasn't so short.

Not really paying him too much attention, I walked around him and began looking at the drink selection. "Hmm... A cold tea sounds great, especially since it's so hot outside." I paid the machine, but before I could press the button, the boy next to me punched his vending machine, making me flinch, clicking on another drink.

"No! Why didn't it work?!" He threw his hands into his spiky hair as his snack fell down, the slot opening for him to grab it. My drink did the same, but unfortunately, it was the exact opposite of what I wanted. Straight from the hot section of the machine, a can of oshiruko, or red bean soup, fell down for my enjoying pleasure.

Clenching my teeth together, I glared at the boy; it was partially his fault that I ended up with a thick, sweet soup instead of a refreshing and light tea. He must've felt my gaze on him, because he turned to meet my eyes. Tilting his head to the side, a look of confusion came over his face. "Is everything okay?"

A small pout played with my lips as I sulkily mumbled no. He chuckled, the sound making my heart flutter a bit. "What's wrong then? A girl as cute as you shouldn't have to be upset!" His words made blush grow on my face, even though it was a generic flirt. "I, uh, I just accidentally clicked the wrong drink..."

His eyes flittered down to see the hot can of soup. "Really?! But I love this stuff!" He snatched it up, glancing back at me in disbelief. "You can have it, I wasn't going to drink it."

"For real?!" He leaned in close, his eyes almost sparkling which made me giggle. "For real," He threw a fist into the air, jumping up with an astonishing height. "Awesome! Thanks, uh... I never did get your name,"

"L/n Y/n... And you?"

He smiled big, sticking a thumb in his chest. "Nishinoya Yu! Second year! Libero on the Karasuno volleyball team!" I blinked twice, a little shocked by all the extra information that he had thrown at me, but I ended up laughing. "Well, it's nice to officially meet you, Nishinoya-senpai."

"S-Senpai?!" Nishinoya put his hand against his ear with an even wider smile if that was even possible. "Well, I'm only a first year, so-" I tried to explain myself, but he burst out in a bright chuckle. "Say no more, my precious kohai! Your senpai will take care of things now!" He fed the drink machine some money, all the buttons lighting up to let us know that it was ready to dispense a beverage.

Taking a deep breath, Nishinoya balled up his fists and stared at the two rows of cold tea. "Rolling... THUNDER!" He punched both of the buttons at the same time with enough force to send a loud crash down the hallway. "Punch style!" He turned back to me with a grin, his hand now in a thumbs up. "Watch now, as two drinks come out instead of one."

"There's no way-" I paused when I heard a thud from the machine, followed by an echo. Nishinoya opened the door and there they were; two bottles were laying there for us. "How?! How'd you do that?!"

"Practice, Y/n-chan, practice." Nishinoya threw me a bottle with a proud grin and I fumbled to catch it. I stared at the glistening bottle, a little in awe even though the stunt was stupid in it's own way. Cracking open the lip, I took a sip and then smirked at him. "What happened with your snack then, huh?"

He stiffened and quickly grabbed the bag of chips from out of the slot. "Mistakes happen! That's how you get better!" I took another sip, smiling. "Uh, huh~ That's a convenient excuse." Nishinoya crossed his arm with a grin, his chin tilted upward. "I'm being serious! Feast your eyes," Suddenly, he whipped off his gakuran to reveal a bunch of bruises all over his arms. There was a particularly nasty one on his left elbow, the colors a dark mix of purple and blue.

My hand reflexively reached for my own left elbow, the area throbbing in pain. I had a bruise in the exact same spot in the exact same shape. B/f/n's words came back to me as my heart fluttered. But that was just a silly story, right?

"Hey, Y/n-chan?" Nishinoya had cocked his head in confusion when I became unresponsive, simply coddling my own elbow. He waved his hand in front of my face and I grabbed it. "Noya-senpai! Tell me!" Without any explanation, I lifted up the hem of my skirt, showing off the bruise on my thigh. Nishinoya's face went red as he greedily watched my lift my skirt, staring at my bare thigh until he noticed the spot I was referring to. "Do you have a bruise like this too?!"

"I..." He simply looked back at in in astonishment, his eyes getting wider. "Do you play volleyball too?!"

"No!" I frantically cried back, glancing at the clock; we still had a bit of time before class started again. My heart was beating out of my chest as I tried to think of how to explain my friend's stupid story. Before I could do anything else, Nishinoya burst out laughing, taking my hand in his. This time, I was the one to turn red as I looked back at the boy. "Nishinoya-senpai?!"

"Yu, call me Yu!" He cried with a wide smile. "I don't want my soulmate to call my by my last name! How weird would that be... I mean, it'll be your last name someday too, you know." I squeaked a little at his words, glancing down at my feet with embarrassment. "So you've heard the story too, huh?"

Nishinoya quirked his head at my words. "Story? What are you talking about? It's not a story, it's science!" I giggled a little at his words, his enthusiasm almost overwhelming. "Besides, Y/n-chan, you're the prettiest girl I've ever met! Even if there wasn't such a thing as soulmates, I'd still want to be with you forever. But, I mean, there is! So basically the universe is saying that we need to go out."

"The universe is huh?" I glanced out the window and at the bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds, each one lazily dragging across the cerulean backdrop. Nishinoya followed my gaze, a small smile coming over his lips. "Yeah, the universe! So, like, you can't tell me no when I ask you out on a date, okay? Cause, you know, the universe brought us together!"

I tapped my lower lip with a smirk, cocking my head a little as I hummer. "I don't know~ I'm not completely convinced yet~" Nishinoya didn't miss a beat; he reached over and poked my right shoulder, touching a spot that happened to have a bruise there too. I yelped in pain, jerking my shoulder back with a glare. "Just as I thought, you have one there too. And let me guess, it showed up about... A week ago?"

My eyes widened as Nishinoya's grin grew. "I'll take that as a yes. So does that mean we can go on a date later?" Flustered, I felt my face heat up as I tried to think of a smooth comeback. Nothing came to mind, unfortunately, so I ended up just standing there like an idiot. "I! Uh!" Finally I gave in, bright blush coating my ears and cheeks. "Yeah, that sounds good..."

"Don't worry, we'll have a great time together, I just know it!" Nishinoya almost shouted, sticking a thumb on his chest. "I'll make sure of it in fact!" Before I could say anything else, the bell rang; five minutes until class started again. I flinched a little at the shrill sound, a little reluctant to leave. "Aw man, time already?!" Nishinoya sighed, tugging on my hand. "Well come on, I don't want you to be late."

"Wait, Nishi- I mean, Yu, isn't your class right here?" I looked back at the second year hallway that we were getting farther from. Nishinoya glanced at me in confusion. "Yeah, but what kinda boyfriend would I be if I let you walk to class by yourself?"

"Boyfriend?!"

Nishinoya burst out laughing at my reaction again, stopping in his tracks to look at me directly. "Yes, Y/n-chan, boyfriend. And I'm not backing down from that title either!" I managed to compose myself, my heart fluttering a little at his confident words. "I wouldn't want you to, Yu..."

Nishinoya faltered a little, his cheeks turning a bit pink at my honesty. Seeing him flustered was a nice change; plus, he looked down right adorable like this. A bit of confidence rushed through me and I leaned over, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Nishinoya went from pink to beet red, his hand rushing up to touch the area where my lips had just been. "That's it, never washing my face ever again," Nishinoya breathed with astonished eyes.

"Eww, Yu, no that's gross! If you don't wash your face, then I'm never kissing you again~"

"I'll be scrubbing it clean tonight!"

We both started laughing, our chemistry growing stronger with every passing second. After we had calmed down a bit, he gazed into my eyes, a lovestuck smile on his lips. "You know, now that I know you're my soulmate, I'll have to be more careful. Even though I'm a libero, I would hate it if I was the reason you were covered in bruises..."

I shyly tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, feeling a little bit bashful. "No, it's okay, I understand-"

"Nope! You'll see, I'll make sure that you're pretty body isn't hurt on my account," Nishinoya gently pushed me against the wall, tugging on my uniform bow until he loosened it quite a bit. "Yu?!" The yelp escaped me, but he quickly put a finger against my lips, his other hand working on pulling my collar down a bit until he found the spot on my collarbone. It was yet another bruise, this one more faded, but still painful. He leaned in, pressing his lips against the injury in a soft kiss before pulling away with a proud smile. He quickly buttoned my shirt back up and retied my bow. "There! That makes one that I've made up for. I'll be sure to do that with all of them, okay?"

My face was so red, it was practically glowing. I tried to speak, but nothing came out; instead, the bell rang again, making both of us jump. "Ah, hurry Y/n-chan! I'll see you after school for our date!" Nishinoya called out with a wide grin, waving and jumping as I nodded back before taking off for my classroom, my heart fluttering at the fact that I had just met my soulmate. Even if I didn't believe in silly stories like the ones B/f/n told, I did believe that the universe was saying something this time.