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Language:
English
Series:
Part 7 of Stringless
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Published:
2025-10-31
Updated:
2025-11-26
Words:
9,532
Chapters:
4/16
Comments:
7
Kudos:
13
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3
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53

Unbroken Strings

Summary:

[This is a what if story of Stringless, set after the timeskip.]

In another thread of time, Oikawa Tooru leaves for Argentina to chase his dream, while Kahori Shimizu stays in Japan, breaking contact with him. They both convince themselves it’s the right choice — that sometimes love must make room for ambition, for personal growth, for the pursuit of one’s own path. They convince themselves that if they stop hearing from each other, everything will be easier.
But is it possible to cut the strings that bound them so tightly?

Notes:

1. Kahori and Oikawa break up shortly before Oikawa leaves for Argentina. In this “what if” scenario, the two haven't decided on a long-distance relationship, even though that choice isn't without sacrifices. It can be read separately, in the sense that it's not necessary to read the fanfic “Stringless pre-timeskip” (although I'd be very happy if you were interested in doing so). I can tell you, however, for your information, that the fanfic “Stringless pre-timeskip” I wrote remains my favorite fanfic. Since what I am writing is just another way of looking at the relationship between Oikawa and Kahori from a different point of view, which differs from “my canon version” of the story.

2. So you may ask: why did I write this alternative? Because unfortunately, in the post-timeskip, I stayed faithful to the main plot and therefore I have no more ideas or I have reached a point where the plot is fine as it is, there is no point in forcing myself to write more (if you are following the post-timeskip, don't worry, I have more chapters to post, I have just slowed down the posting time). That's when it occurred to me to keep writing about Kahori and Oikawa, but... as if it were a “what if” version of my plot. I looked for a way to come up with alternative ideas because I wanted to write about them, but the “main” plot was already fine as it was.

3.English is not my first language and I have no one who can read and help me correct mistakes or make the text more fluid. Please be patient. Excuse me.

4.The following fanfic is complete, as I made sure to give it an ending before posting it. I reiterate that this is just another alternative (a sort of multiverse?) to the main plot I wrote, which, for me, remains the “official” one (official in a purely fan-made context).

5.Compared to the post-timeskip I wrote, this fanfic is much more linear in terms of timeline. The prologue takes place at the end of Oikawa's third year, which is the end of Kahori's first year of high school. From chapter 1, Kahori is 23 and Oikawa is 25. From a more canon point of view, we are at that point in the plot where Hinata is in the MSBY Black Jackals and Kageyama is in the Schweiden Adlers.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

 

 

The airport was bathed in that cold, unreal light, the walls somewhat sterile, people rushing to catch their flights. Amidst the buzz of passengers and the distant sound of trolleys on the floor, Oikawa stood still in front of the large departures board, his hands in his pockets and his gaze lost among the names of cities that meant nothing to him. He stared with determination and melancholy at the only destination he had decided would be his future home. Argentina. San Juan.

He had stopped checking his phone hours ago. Not because he didn't want to, but because he knew by now that no message would arrive. His relatives and friends had left ten minutes ago.
Kahori hadn't been in touch for days. Neither of them had found the strength to write first. Every sentence he tried to compose seemed like another wound, a confirmation of the distance that neither of them wanted to mention aloud. However, Oikawa had tried to write to her, telling her when he would be leaving and from which airport, but she hadn't replied.

And so, when he left home that morning, he told himself it was better this way. That it was right to let her go, to let themselves go. After all, he had already made his choice — to let her go, and with her, the part of him that belonged to them.

But then he saw her.

She was there, a few steps away, standing next to the window overlooking the runway. She was wearing the dark coat he remembered, the one that fell softly to her knees, and she was clutching a woolen hat in her hands, the one he had given her when they went to a Christmas market together. 

Oikawa froze. For a moment, the noise of the airport disappeared. He didn't know whether to run to her or run away. Kahori only looked at him when he approached her. She wasn't smiling. Her lips were pressed tightly together and her eyes were shiny but steady, as if she were making an enormous effort to maintain control. 

“I thought... you weren't coming,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“I thought so too,” she replied after a long silence. Even though she had deliberately stopped writing to Oikawa, she knew it would be mean not to go and see him. Her rational side had fought with her emotional side, and the result of that battle was this action: one last time, but then no more. Forever.

Oikawa took a step forward, but then stopped. He wanted to tell her that he didn't want to leave her, that he would wait for her, that he would write to her every day—but he knew that lying would be crueler than telling her the truth.    

They had decided together, after too many days of arguing, holding back tears and broken sentences: no messages, no promises, no contact. Just a clean break. Because sometimes, the only way to survive a love was to let it die.

“I’m not sure if I should be here,” she murmured. “But I didn’t want the last thing you remembered to be silence, or my tears.”

Oikawa stared at her, and for the first time in days, he felt the real weight of it all. Not Argentina, not his career, not his dreams—but her. She, who had walked beside him until the very last step, and who would now continue on a path where he couldn't follow her.

“I won't write to you,” she finally said, like a promise that broke his throat.

“I know,” was all Oikawa could say.

A moment of silence. Then Kahori slowly approached him and placed her hand on his face. Her fingers were cold, but the gesture was so familiar that Oikawa felt his breath catch in his throat.    

She smiled slightly. “Let's chase our dreams, okay?”

He nodded, unable to say anything else. He only turned around when the metallic voice announced boarding. They didn't hug. There was no need. Kahori stood watching him walk away, his shoulders straight, his head held high as always.It was only when he vanished behind the glass of the waiting room that the tears she’d been holding back all day finally fell — silent and heavy.

It was at that moment, amid the flow of life around them and the pale sky, that they both realized they would never hear from each other again. And that, despite everything, a part of them would remain trapped there forever—in that airport, in that farewell too painful to forget..