AoFuta

AoFuta is the slash ship between Takanobu Aone and Kenji Futakuchi from the Haikyu!! fandom.

Canon
Takanobu Aone is a second-year middle blocker on the Date Tech volleyball team and Kenji Futakuchi is a second-year wing spiker on the Date Tech volleyball team. The two of them make up the core of Date Tech's famous 'Iron Wall'. They are one of the closest, if not the closest, members on the volleyball team. Futakuchi appears to be able to understand Aone's silent communication best. They are often together and are said to be the two trouble children of the team. Even years later they are still shown to be playing volleyball together on the same team and appear to be in close contact.

Anime
Before their first match, Date Tech meets Karasuno in the hallway and Aone points to Asahi and Futakuchi is standing behind him. Moniwa cuts in an apologizes and tries to get Aone to put his arm down, but because he's too strong, he asks Futakuchi for help. Futakuchi cuts in and apologizes for Aone and explains that he has a habit of singling out a team's ace, while also trying to put Aone's arm down, when it works a bit, his arm shakes. He ends with telling Karasuno to get ready to lose again, while having his hand on Aone's back.

During the match against Karasuno, Futakuchi mentions to Aone, that the set to Tsukishima was a normal set, to which Aone nods. Later when Kamasaki and Futakuchi are arguing, Moniwa tells Aone to stop them. Aone forcefully separates them, pushing Kamasaki by the shoulder and Futakuchi on the face, most likely because Kamasaki is older than him.

When Aone fails to block Hinata, Futakuchi says that Hinata is ridiculously fast, but says that Aone was close, with a genuine looking smile on his face, while usually his smiles are more cocky or teasing/provoking. In the preview for the 18th episode, Aone says that it's not like before. Futakuchi asks what he means and Aone answers Karasuno. Futakuchi agrees and talks about the freak duo, but gets interrupted by Aone who talks about Kiyoko's hairstyle. Futakuchi is surprised and asks if he's hung up on that. In the 2nd set, Futakuchi and Aone are standing next to each other in blocking positions and Futakuchi says that out of uniform they're your average snotty delinquents and that during the match they have to be good juniors, earning a nod from Aone. After Aone gets blocked, Futakuchi puts his hand on his shoulder and says: "One more!" and Aone glances at him. During the entire match it is remarked that while Aone is clearly the core of the Iron Wall, Futakuchi is also formidable and the two of them are the strongest blockers.

After the match against Karasuno, Aone yells to Moniwa: "The spring!" and Futakuchi jumps in and says that he's right and that they should take revenge in the spring tournament, to go home and formulate a plan to take down Karasuno if they hit them again in the spring tournament. When Moniwa says the third years won't stick around until then, Futakuchi and Aone are surprised and in sync they move closer while Futakuchi questions Moniwa. When Moniwa again refuses, they look upset. When Moniwa tells them they're tough, they look surprised and Moniwa tells them it's only because of them that they're still a powerhouse. After Moniwa tells them to go to nationals, he asks them if they got it and after being asked a 2nd time, they loudly proclaim they will. In the recap movie, "The Winner and the Loser", an extra scene is added. Futakuchi asks if Aone knows where the third years went and Aone shakes his head. Futakuchi opens a door and the two of them come across the third years, who are frustrated and crying. When Moniwa says that next year's Iron Wall won't break, the two listen with a determined expression.

When Kamasaki drops by again during practice and him and Futakuchi start arguing, Aone forcefully separates them the same way as he did before.

During the match against Jouzenji, Futakuchi and Aone are seen to watch since the beginning of the match. Futakuchi gives commentary, with Aone staying silent. They are later joined by 2 of their teammates. When Futakuchi comments on the fact that the other members of Karasuno are better at the fundamentals than Hinata, Aone glares at him, surprising Futakuchi. Aone speaks, which surprises his teammates including Futakuchi, who's smiling while surprised. When the match is over, the Date Tech players stand up to leave and Aone points at the exit, Futakuchi seems to understand what he means and says that he'll go on ahead and that he shouldn't stay too long.

While Date Tech goes against Aoba Jousai, Futakuchi is shown to be the new captain because the third years quit. After some trouble with Koganegawa, Futakuchi sighs and Aone looks at him so Futakuchi explains. When Koganegawa jumps in to block Oikawa, he bumps into Aone, who bumps into Futakuchi who falls over. After Futakuchi scolds Koganegawa, Aone disagrees and says that it's his fault that he wasn't able to support everyone, surprising Futakuchi and annoying him a bit.

Before the practice match against Karasuno, Aone goes to point at Karasuno's ace, but Futakuchi slaps his hand away and says: "No locking on.". This is much different than when Aone first did this to Asahi, when Futakuchi just stood there until their captain told him to help. After they shut out Hinata with a successful serve (Futakuchi) and block (Aone), Aone and Futakuchi chest bump, but it ends up hurting Futakuchi and he falls to the ground while clutching his chest but holding up his hand to reassure Aone, who's hovering a bit. When Aone jumps in to block, he accidentally hurts Futakuchi again, which he doesn't notice at first. When he does notice, he quickly goes to him to see if he's alright and Futakuchi holds his hand up again, while clutching his side. The two of them also notice when Asahi does a delayed spike. During the match they often block together and work together the best. While talking about Moniwa, Sugawara comments on how he's the one who keeps those intense second years (Aone and Futakuchi) on a lease.

Manga
During Karasuno's matches at nationals, Date Tech are shown to be watching. While watching their first match after Hinata scores his first minus tempo quick attack, Futakuchi says: "Looking at it from a bird's eye view on the video screen... Your body's ability to sense it and react to it is completely different from getting hit directly by it from the other side of the net." to which Aone nods in agreement. While Karasuno plays the third set against Inarizaki, Aone and Futakuchi walk in to watch. When Asahi pulls off a delayed spike, the two of them immediately pick up on it. They remember when they completely defeated Asahi. Futakuchi says that that pisses him off and Koganegawa is confused. Aone and Futakuchi proceed to explain what Asahi did and that he did it during their practice match.

When Karasuno's match against Kamomedai begins, Date Tech also watches. Futakuchi walks in and asks if they're going to watch Karasuno's match again. The Date Tech members claim it's more for Kamomedai because they have one of the highest blocking rates in the country and Futakuchi joins them. After Hinata gets the first point, Aone and Futakuchi note that even when it's their first time seeing the quick attack all 3 blockers reacted. The two of them watch in silence as Hirugami is introduced. Aone nods in agreement when Futakuchi points out that Kamomedai's #1 intentionally made a gap in the block. After Asahi softly pushes the ball when it appeared he was going to blast it, Futakuchi is angry and Aone is shown to suddenly sit straight. When Hinata scores a point with the minus tempo quick, Aone is standing after trying to keep sitting and Futakuchi asks if he's just going to keep standing after all. After Tanaka scores due to Hirugami being distracted by Hinata, Aone accidentally let's a stool fall. It scares Futakuchi and afterwards Futakuchi yells at him to not scare him like that, to which Aone is a bit sheepish. After another point is scored due to Hinata being a decoy, Aone and Futakuchi's faces darken. Obara notes that while they're kind of cheering for Karasuno, the mood is a bit heavy due to the blockers. They continue to watch the match until it's over.

Post time-skip, it is revealed that Date Tech defeated Karasuno went to nationals the following interhigh and made it to the top 16, when Futakuchi and Aone are third years. The panel shows Aone, Futakuchi, Koganegawa and Sakunami after they defeated Karasuno (most likely). On the foreground, Aone and Futakuchi are hugging each other while crying, with Futakuchi smiling and Aone's face scrunched up. During the Schweiden Adlers vs MSBY Black Jackals, Futakuchi and Aone are shown to be there together. It's also revealed that the two of them are still playing volleyball on the same team, VC Date, a municipal team in Miyagi with Futakuchi as outside hitter and Aone as middle blocker. Futakuchi works at an energy company and Aone as a construction worker. When the MSBY Black Jackals score a point largely due to Hinata's decoy skills, Futakuchi comments that it's 'fishing tandem from hell', to which Aone nods in agreement. Aone's post time-skip concern says: "Futakuchi always arrives at the last minute."

Fanon
Due to Date Tech not being very popular compared to other teams like Aoba Jousai, Inarizaki, Nekoma and Fukurōdani, AoFuta also lacks the popularity of other ships like KageHina, IwaOi, KuroKen and BokuAka. This means there is also limited fics and fanart made. Despite this, AoFuta is often shipped together and is the most popular ship of either character. It easily passes 200 fics on AO3. AoHina is the ship's only real rival. AoFuta is more casually shipped and is very rarely someone's favourite ship. It doesn't have a lot of fics that focuses on them and is often put as a background relationship. It's often shipped when they are thought about but doesn't get much hype. AoFuta is also often paired together when it comes to official art. If Date Tech is featured in official art or merchandise, they are the 2 characters most likely to show up. Because Haikyu!! often pairs characters together when it comes to official art and merch, there's certainly no lack of art or merch of the two of them.

Fandom
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