#nametattoos

        "On it," I stripped off my shirt and shorts. My swimsuit was still wet from the last stray ball, but I was the best swimmer by far, so it only made sense I was in charge of this. I kicked off my shoes on the dock and dove into the lake. The hardest part was grabbing the ball without pushing it away with my waves.

        Once it was in my grasp, I held it to my chest and swam to the dock, holding it like an otter would a rock. Working against the current after bailing out balls all day was draining. "Here," I tossed it to Kenma, who was waiting for me with a towel. He awkwardly caught the ball, but placed the cloth in my hand instead of throwing it.

        "Thanks for getting it again." The blonde piped up, helping tie my shoes as I dried off my hair.

        "It feels nice. Well, not when my thighs rub, but that's not avoidable. This heat is not good for my hair, so a little water does it well." I gave his back a good whack than stretched. "Let's take out the other team." Trying to shake off my nerves, I focused on the game.

        "Yea." He smiled just so slightly, both us walking back to the net. I pulled on my layers again and got in place.

        "One more," Kuroo reminded us, getting our spirits back up.

        "Took you long enough, Little Debbie." I scoffed, trying to let it roll off my back.

        "The only thing I've seen you chase after today is Tadashi's ass." Trying to match his level of salt was hard. But if I didn't shot something back, he'd get the satisfaction of winning.

        "Tsukishima, watch it," Kuroo warned him. He was my hero for that reason.

        "(Y/n), your shirt," Kenma pushed the tag of my shirt in. Patting my back softly. "There, that's better."

        "Thank you, bud." I was thankful for the distraction and his soothing touch. Kenma looked after me, too, just in a different way. Less confrontational in a lot of ways, which was always nice.

        "Here it comes," Akaashi was serving this time, and I knew to stay on my toes. The ball flew over the net; Tsuki jumped to receive and sent it to Kenma, who set it for Kuroo. Kuroo got it over the net, but it was returned by Hinata.

        Jumping to block, Tsuki rammed into my hip, sending me to the ground, scoring the winning point. "Oww," my side landed on a rock, and my wet legs got coated in dust.

        "Ugh, I can't believe we lost." Bokuto pulled his hair, and Hinata started to bounce around. There was so much commotion I just laid still and tried to get my thoughts in order.

        "One more!" Hinata demanded, grabbing the ball and getting in position.

        "Useless." Tuski looked down at me, as the others celebrated. No one else could hear him whisper it, but it froze me to the earth. Digging my fingers into the soil, I laid flat, pushing my other hand through my wet hair.

        "You okay?" Kuroo asked, taking my hand, pulling me to my feet. Kenma got the towel and started to wipe off my legs, eyes focusing on my calf, where a bruise was forming, no doubt.

        "You're bleeding." Kenma pulled the towel back, a steady stream of blood oozing out. More than a bruise than.

        "Some idiot littered," Kuroo carefully picked up the broken bottle piece that was buried in the sand, near where I fell. "Damn it. I'll get the medical kit, just sit tight. Don't put pressure on it until I get back." Kuroo spirted up the hill using his long legs to make fast timing.

        "What's going on?" Akaashi crouched in front of me, resting his hand on my knee. His eyes were drawn to the red that was soaking through the fabric.

        "I landed on some glass." Kenma worked on washing the rest of the dirt off,  using a bottle of water to clean it and see if there was any glass still inside.

        "Lay back and let us hold your leg above your heart, it will slow the bleeding." Akaashi took my ankle, and I did as asked. Kenma shifted to be behind me so I could use his lap as a pillow. "It's already slowing."

        The sun was almost setting, but the rays were at the right angle to hit my eyes. Kenma leaned over me, blocking it without a word. His hair tickling my cheeks. "Better?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

        "Yea, thanks," I relaxed my shoulder, trying to remain unfazed. "I'm sorry for causing a fuss." I looked at the other's as they put away the net and materials. Akaashi leaving me with my leg in the air on a cooler.

        "Hey, it's not your fault, it could have been any of us," Tadashi assured me, gathering up the snacks. Then putting some drinks back in the cooler under my leg.

        "I'm back." Kuroo skid to a stop kneeling where Akaashi as had been.  Akaashi retook his position, rubbing my ankle. "Great thinking, I forgot about decreasing blood flow that way."

        "It's a good thing we are in a group than." Akaashi kept my leg in place while Tsuki moved the cooler and as Kuroo set up his tools.

        "I'm going to clean it and make sure nothing is left inside. Then I'll wrap it, and we should be able to stay for the rest of the week."

        "Frick," I hissed, the alcohol burning, Kuroo doing it while I was focusing on his voice. Kenma stroked my shoulder, staring directly at me. "It feels like you're cutting me."

        "I'm sorry, kitty, but I have to make sure there's nothing broke off inside." He ran a cotton swab through the two-inch gash than splashed it with more alcohol. "Almost done." He promised, applying antibiotic cream and then waterproof bandages. To top it off, he took a bandanna and tied around to add pressure.

        "You did better than Bokuto would have." Akaashi let my leg down, and I was pushed to my feet.

        "That's not fair," Bokuto whined, grabbing our trash bag.

        "Can you stand?" Kuroo slung my arm over his shoulder, and Kenma got my other arm.

        "I can, it just stings," I admitted, trying to free my arms. "Thank you, but I can manage, I don't think I can pack anything up the hill but the ball. I'm sorry." Useless, the word played back over and over.  

        "We don't have that much to carry. No worries." Hinata hit my shoulder and started back up the hill. "It's smores time now, so use that as motivation to get up the hill." He reasoned though it made me feel more like a snack cake mascot than I already did.

        "Yea, I'll try to hustle," I forced a smile on my lips and began my slow hobble up the hill. Kenma and Kuroo were on my flank, right behind me in case I tumbled. The feeling that I was a pet was becoming more apparent—just a figurehead for the fem friend. Ahh.

        At least Kuroo and Kenma didn't see me like that. They were my guard dogs, well as much as Kenma wanted to be a guard dog, he was more of a support puppy. Always so wrapped up in his YouTube career and games, it was nice to just be able to be with him without the expectation of conversation or formality. While he couldn't be convinced to do much, let alone take care of himself, there were times where he pulled through. I could always depend on Kenma, Kuroo too. And I liked to think they could lean on me too. Though now I'm the one who might need someone to lean against. But that didn't mean I was just a project to them.

        Reaching the plateau, I crashed on the logs left by the campers before us.  Settling into the wood, I just wanted to lean back and relax. There was no cooler tall enough to rest against, and my neck was killing me... I glanced around for my oldest friends. Kuroo was helping start the fire back up, and Kenma was coming over with his game. Perfect.

        Kenma raised his brow when I began to give him the puppy dog eyes. "What is it?" He sat beside me, curling around his switch, his hair falling in front of his face.

        "Can I sit between your legs and use you as a backrest?" I tapped my fingers together, pursing my lips. He took a second to reply so I pushed his hair back to catch his gaze. "Pretty please?"

        "Okay." He sighed, pausing his game. I sat on the ground, and Kenma slid behind me, opening his legs and scooting closer. Using his knees as armrests, I leaned back, and he pulled out his switch again. Relaxing against him, I hummed in contentment, shimming in place till my head was against his chest. Kenma held his game to my eye level and pushed his hair back in front of his face. "What do you think?" It was my room in Animal Crossing he had been designing.

        "Aww, it's so cute." I gushed, sitting up a bit and noticing he went as far as to make a custom bedspread to match the one in my room. He included my favorite colors and had my favorite character's poster on the wall. "I love it. How did you get my favorite character's poster?"

        "Oh, I found them a few days ago. I'm holding him for you until you can play again. But I'm glad you like it." He hummed, resting his arms on my shoulder and showing me the rest of his house.

        "Thank you, Kenma, that's so sweet. I know you've been looking for Marshal, so thank you for thinking about me." The fire popped and jumped a little. Kenma squeezed me tighter, and we both relaxed. "Anyway, how's work going?"

 "I've been screen recording for my channel, I think my subscribers will like the design. They are always excited when I mention you."

        "Of course, you'd find a way to make work into play." I complimented, tensing as he shot a balloon down by the river, the package barley on the land. "That nearly gave me a heart attack."

        "Well, it's almost time for ghost stories, prepare for more scares." Tsuki tossed a stick at me, and I caught it with ease. Kenma sat up for a moment, Tuski recoiled, but huffed and went back to stocking the fire.

        "Thanks." I nodded to the blonde rolling my eyes, leaning away from Kenma and grabbing a few marshmallows from a bag. "Kenma, do you want one?"

        "Please." I put a few on my stick and started the slowly toast them. Having been camping with Kenma and Kuroo, I knew how they liked their marshmallows.

        We all settled in, Kuroo sitting by Kenma, bringing us both a beer. Kuroo tried to coax me to sit in his lap, but he gave up after I burrowed deeper into Kenma. He instead slid next to Kenma and watched over Kenma's shoulder as he tried to fish and drink at the same time. It was dark outside, but the full moon had yet to work its way over the mountaintop. The fire was just enough light, so we could see each other's faces. Plus, the glow of Kenma's screen cast a blue tint against the red of the fire.

        "Who's going to start?" Hinata asked, scarfing down his s'more, mouth white with the gooey sugar. Not to mention his fingers were coated in a sticky layer of tree branch and ash.

        "I got one!" Bokuto bounced in his seat, sipping on his beer, already three bottles deep.

        "Go for it," Kuroo opened a second beer, drinking fast tonight.

        "Okay, so y'all know about this spot, right? Why they never built a road to this site?" Bokuto asked, spreading his arms out. Wiggling the tips of his fingers, he cast a weird shadow behind him. “The government wouldn't fund it," Akaashi smirked, and a course of laughter spread around the fire. Even Tsuki was clutching his sides as Bokuto's face fell. The booze was settling into our bloodstreams, and we all were letting loose.

        "No, that's the cover-up." He whined, regaining our attention. "The real reason is way darker."  

        Though the story hadn't gotten particularly scary, I was glad to be between Kenma's feet. Tucking my legs closer to my chest, I looked into the woods, shadows moving in odd angles without Bo wiggling around. A knot formed in my throat, the marshmallow fighting as it went down my windpipe.  

        "Back in the 90's there was a group of teenagers that hiked up the mountain to explore and have a little hanky pankey." Bokuto nudged Akaashi while wiggling his eyebrows. "They set up camp for a few days, maybe even in this very spot." Bo walked around the circle looking at the terrain, pausing in front of Hinata. "On the first night, they were visited by an old woman. Her soulmate patch was xed out, and her clothes were torn to shreds. The camper's thought she might have been out there to mourn her husband, so they invited her to join them."

        Kuroo nudged me, passing another beer my way, and grinning at my slight bounce. The fire cracked and popped, a shiver going down my spine. Too ground myself, I held Kenma's pant leg.

        "The group cared for the old woman for three days. She never said a word to the group, and would never touch the food they offered her. Everything was going well enough, but one girl was starting to grow restless. After all, they didn't walk up the mountain to care for an old woman. So she took her soulmate and went to the lake for a little late-night skinny dipping." Bokuto shimmed his shoulder before clapping his hands together. Hinata presumptively looked behind himself and played it off as a bug. "Once the sun came up, the couple returned to the campsite." Bo sat back by Akaashi to 'comfort' the unfazed boy. "Only to find a pile of corpses. Their friend's soul marks had been exed out, and all their flesh gnawed off." Akaashi whacked Bokuto in the chest, stopping the story.

        I glanced around, Yamaguchi was tucked in Tsuki's lap, and Hinata was right on top of the couple cuddle pile, his hand clutching to Tsuki's shirt. Kuroo was stiffer than usual, his beer sat at his side and his hand covering where his soul mark would appear. When I glanced at myself, Kenma had slowly encased himself tighter around me, his character frozen in place by the museum, but his eyes locked on the screen in a trance.  

        "Anyway, the couple could never prove it was the old lady that did it. Some say the old lady was a psych patient, others say she was a Yamamba. However, everyone can agree that what happened on this mountain was a tragedy." Bokuto chomped on his s'more, not even trying to be scary at this point. "What do you guys think it was?"

        "That's a good one, Bokuto." Hinata shivered, fiddling with his short's string. "It had to be a Yokai, for her to disappear without a trace."

        "It was probably a crazy old bat who got dumped," Tsuki stated his theory, holding Tadashi close, the boy almost asleep in his arms.

        "I'm glad it's just a story." Kuroo nudged Kenma, and he went back to his game, still hugging me close. (We looked like a Russian nesting doll at this point.)

        "A story," I whispered, pulling out my phone, the battery almost dead. I kicked my own ass for forgetting my charging block. Opening my favorite dress up game, I ignored the chatter as the group discussed the details of the story. The only thing on my mind was getting as much event currency as possible before the battery died.

        "Hmm, here." Kenma handed me his charging bank, looking at my notification as it flashed low battery.

        "You need it for work." I frowned, pushing it back, my hand still pressing the skill buttons during my battle.

        "I brought plenty." He pushed the cord into my hand and contacted his game to the same box. Finishing my battle, I plugged in my phone and went on to a more relaxing feature of the game.

        "Thank you." I snuggled in his lap, working on my avatar. A new event had just ended yesterday, and I decided to go wild and spend some diamonds on a new pose. Finally, I had a free moment to play with the cute sleeping suit. Kenma put away his game and watched me match up patterns and create fun outfits fully now. He would hum in agreement as I matched up the posed arms to different dresses from other events. The chatter started to die down, and Kenma whispered his suggestions, and I could tell he liked the cute and pure style the most.  

        "I got an idea." Kuroo started to slur his words together, a result of a long day and a little alcohol. He had been in a deep chat with Bo and gulped down two more beers and a fireball shot. "How about we each take turns walking to the lake in pairs." His voice boomed, the group all going still. "What could it hurt?"

        "Hey hey hey, now we are talking." Bokuto jumped out, grabbing Akaashi's hand. "We'll go first."

        "I think we should cast lots to be fair. The two with the shortest sticks go first." Tuski began to break up his marshmallow stick and rolled the pieces up in his hand. "Everyone pick one." He walked around the fire, allowing us to choose. Sticks stuck up in a jagged pattern, and I selected one towards the middle.

        "Now compare." Bokuto held up his stick the rest following suit, and in the dark, I could see the outline, my blood ran cold. Mine was shorter than everyone else.

        "(Y/n) and Kenma, huh, off you go." Hinata pulled Kenma up than me. Which was awkward where I was right under him. But in our drunken state, we tripped over each other and were pushed away from the fire pit.

        "Make sure to bring back a lily from the river, so we know you did it." Bokuto laughed, patting our backs as he shoved a flashlight in our hands.

        "I'm injured tho." I resisted the hands, pulling me forward. "I shouldn't be walking on it."

        "Enough time has passed, you should be fine," Kuroo added in too drunk to really know what he was saying. It was always troubling when Kuroo and Bo got together and mixed with whiskey.

        "If this is like the story, you all will be dead." Kenma retorts pushing his brows together.

        "The quicker you go, the faster you'll be back. It's fun!"  Hinata edged him to go on.

        "Than let's see how it works." Bokuto smacked my ass, handing me a walking stick. "God's speed."

        "Let's just go." Kenma took my hand, pulling me down the slope and through the trees. It was the most initiative he had shown on the entire trip.

        "I don't like this." The moon was almost visible now, the dark being pushed back through the trees. The shadows slowly creeping like an old women crawling.

        "Nothing bad is going to happen." He assured me, taking the flashlight and scanning the ground. "You can sit here with the light, and I'll go get the lily."

        "No way, I'm not letting you go alone."  Checking the tree line, I looked for any sign of an older woman. "You won't leave me, promise?"

        "I won't." He gripped my hand tight and let out a deep breath.

        "Did you hear that?" I hugged his arm, hearing a loud snap. "It was in the bushes."

        "It's just an animal." Kenma didn't move to shove me off, so I stayed glued to his side. We took small steps, and I put more weight on Kenma than I wanted too, but the phantom noises were hard to ignore.

        A large shadow loomed in the distance then disappeared. My heart was in my throat, blood rushing through my ears. "At least we have each other." I murmured, trying to block out the extra noise. Kenma wouldn't admit it, but he was shaking too. Light tremors moved through his body, but he decided to tense through them.

        "There is no such thing as ghost or Yokai. Bokuto is trying to scare us." Kenma reasoned, stopping front of the dock.  He bent down, picking up a lily pad from the water. The dark, murky water was more terrifying at night than I remembered. I wondered why I had jumped in so carelessly during the day.

        "Why are you holding your breath?" Kenma put the lily in his pocket after drying it off. He rested his cool hand to my cheek.

        "I was just thinking of what's in the lake that I can't see. The idea of something grabbing you is stressing me out." I admitted, tugging him back up the hill. "Let's hurry back." My leg was starting to throb, and I wanted it to be over.

        "Nothing is going to hurt us." I stopped, the moon finally high enough to light up our faces. Kenma made a motion for me to breathe like he did. Taking a deep breath, I tried to ground myself as I held the breath for a few seconds, I let it out and than took another breath in.

        Pain spread over my skin. Something was engraved on my wrist, causing panic to set in. Kenma was also holding his wrist, eyes bulging  out of his head. "Run," I commanded, spirting up the hill. Tripping on branches and sliding down mud puddles, I couldn't get back to the fire pit fast enough. We'd been branded, it was time to die. "Hurry, Kenma!" I looked over my shoulder, and he was right behind me. I screamed, not expecting him to be so close, lunging.

        He pushed me to the ground hovering over me. "Look." He held up his wrist, my name was written on him, with no sign of an x. "See." He pulled my wrist to his sight, and his name was scrolled there. "It's not a yokai. You're safe." His gaze looked at my ankle, the bandage still in place, he relaxed his shoulders.

        "My heart's leaping from my chest. I always thought I'd panic when my mark showed, but now I'm relieved it's here." I sank back in the dirt, not fully thinking through what just happened. "I thought for sure we were about to be killed."

        "(Y/n)." Kenma rolled off of me, and then on his side to look at me. "That's not how the story worked."

        "Oh shit, we're soulmates, what if the old lady is eating our friends?" I jumped up, ready to start sprinting to save them. My body was shaking with adrenaline. "Oh shit, we're soulmates." I tugged at my hair, crouching. Soulmates. Energy surged through my body, do I save my friends, run from the old hag, hug my soulmate, wonder if I'm being rejected. "Fuck, are you gonna reject me?" Shrinking away from him, I clutched my wrist.

        "Sit. I'm not rejecting you." He was quick to his feet, pushing me back down and placing his phone in my hands. There was an interactive puppy on the screen. "We are going to do box breathing." I nodded, having done this with him before. Mindlessly moving the dog on screen and focusing on his voice. There was nothing else in my world other than this dog and Kenma's voice. "Breathe in, one two three four. Hold, one two three four. Out one two three four. Hold one two three four." He repeated the timing for me, rubbing my shoulders and neck.

        What felt like seconds was really minutes. My muscles relaxed, heart calmed down, and my shivering ceased. The sound of crickets and Kenma was working magic on body and mind. "Thank you. I'm sorry." I held my wrist up, tracing the words with a clear mind.

        "It's okay." He sat in front of me, tracing the name on his wrist. "So, what changes now?"

        "What do you mean?" I stared at the ground. He swallowed hard, slumping his shoulder's over. It was my turn to comfort him. A frog sang in the distance, as I mulled over what I was feeling.

        "I don't want to ruin it. I'm so happy it's you, but I just don't want to hurt you." He chewed on his lip, putting it in simple words. Being careful and intentional with his tone, he knew that I was hanging off every word he said.

        "That's something we can work out. I mean, if the idea of kissing me is repulsive. We don't have to do that stuff." Pressing my fingers together, I wanted him to be closer.

        "I want to kiss you, I just don't know how." He skidded closer. I took his hand, lacing our fingers. "What do you want?"

        "Well, we are comfortable with each other. I guess we just start slow and try new things? See how it feels." I kissed his knuckles, buzzing against his skin.

        "Can I kiss you?" He moved in closer, lips a short distance from mine—hands hovering over my hair.

        "Yes." Our lips meet in a quick peck then he leaned in for another smooch. Digging his fingers in my mane, he deepened the kiss. "That's so nice." I was dazed, forgetting that I had ever been afraid.

        "You're so beautiful." He took his phone from my pocket and took a picture.

        "Hey, you're not half bad. I've always had the hots for blondes named Kenma." I winked, laughing a little. Flipping the screen, I saw the photo and the time. "Shit, we need to get back to the others."

        "They'll be fine." Kenma hugged me up in his arms, petting my hair.

        "What if they were eaten?" I reasoned, pulling us both to our feet.

         "Serves them right for scaring you." He rested his head on my shoulder, hugging me under the moonlight.

        "Thank you for being there for me." I leaned into his embrace, inhaling the smoke that had set in his clothes.

        "We're going to be there for each other indefinitely." Kenma kissed my throat, working his way up my neck. "We just unlocked an achievement."

        "You are so silly. I love you." I pressed our foreheads together, having said it a 100 but meaning it differently now. "There's no one else I'd rather level up with."

        "I love you more." He gave me a quick squeeze. Happy tears slide past my eyes, I didn't have to worry about being the third wheel, but accepting that I was Kenma's number one. Everything was going to be okay, there was no evil Yokai at the top of the mountain, and no curse on my soul mark. It was just two old friends, two new soulmates, under the moonlight.

Bonus:

        "Oh shit, the yokai got them." I tripped over a log, falling beside Kuroo, who was on top of Bokuto. The rest of the group was missing, the fire reduced to embers. "Kenma, look for the others. Shit. Kuroo, Tetsuro, can you hear me?" I shook his jelly body, before he shot to life and rolled on his side, vomiting.

        "What happened?" Kenma brought him water from the cooler that was toppled over.

        "So much pain." Bokuto came too, rubbing the dirt from his forehead.

        "Where is everyone else? Which way did the witch go?" I gripped Kuroo's shirt, knowing if he was taken out, the other's didn't stand a chance.

        "Boo."

        Screaming, I tucked the three boys behind me and grabbed a stick. Turning on my heel, I got ready to fight off an old hag but was faced with Mr. Vanilla. "Tsuki, I'm so glad you're okay." I relaxed, he seemed healthy enough.

        "We were changing into something warmer to go look for you two. Then these idiots passed out drunk after knocking into each other. Glad to see you're okay." Tsuki was a prick, but he wasn't all bad.

        "We're fine, we're better than fine actually." I held up my wrist and smiled.

        "So, this means everyone's okay." Kenma nodded, giving Bo a sip of water.

        "You two are soulmates?" Kuroo pulled Kenma and me into his lap, squeezing us close. Weeping, Kuroo started to laugh. "My friends are soulmates? I'm so happy." He choked on his spit, rocking us to fall on top of him on the earth. "I love you guys."

        "We love you too." Kenma reached across Kuroo's chest and held my hand.

        "Yes, this doesn't change anything about our friendship." I nodded, feeling at peace.

        "Simp." Tsuki picked up Bo and dragged him towards the tents. "You two handle bed head. I'm pretty sure he landed on his own bile."

        "Oh no." I pouted, trying to get up, but was held firm.

        "Look, the stars are falling." Kuroo looked at a falling star. "I wish that you two would be happy forever."

        "I wish that we all will be happy forever." I got up, "now let's get to bed. We have the rest of the week to be sappy."