Soul mates. They were the one thing everyone had looked for. They'd search everywhere and make many mistakes before they found that special one, hell sometimes they wouldn't even find 'the one'. That was until scientists found a way for people to find their soul mate without the mistakes and wasted effort. They created a serum that they introduced to society years ago and now, because of the work of the scientist, the whole population can find the soul mate fate decided for them. The day both soul mates are alive a symbol will form somewhere on their body and when they meet their soul mate, who has the identical symbol, their chests will glow.

Fate, as it turns out, likes to be cruel though.

Makoto sat in his hospital office as he looked over the records of different patients, the white walls around him strangely giving him some sense of relaxation. He had just gotten to work but was sure things would speed up soon for him, he had a couple checkup appointments for pregnant, soon to be expecting, women and also a couple appointments for children. He preferred working in the pediatrics section since he loved children, but he also liked helping expecting women because he knew he was making an impact on the soon to be born baby's life. Makoto's job wasn't stress free though, it required him to be ready for anything, he was in charge of lives, and this fact scared him as well as giving him a sense of responsibility.

Makoto at least found solace in his small clean office, it was necessary to keep sane with this job and to have a place to be relaxed, and his organized office gave him that. It felt like home to him now, he spent most of his time at the hospital anyway rather than the house he shared with his two friends, Rin and Sousuke, which was probably for the better sometimes. Those two didn't always get along. Despite the fact he was still young at the age of twenty-four and working towards getting his PH D the hospital kept him busy, he was popular amongst the kids and mothers anyways. Makoto didn't care he spent most of his time at the hospital, he loved it, he loved being able to help people and loved working with kids. The job took a toll on him sometimes, with lack of sleep or not being able to maintain a perfectly healthy diet, but Makoto was happy with his life right now, and he could devote as much time as he wanted to this job, he hadn't found his soul mate yet and didn't have a family to take care of, so there was a minimum amount of distractions.

The olive haired doctor wasn't upset about the fact he hadn't found his soul mate yet, sure it was a bit disappointing but Makoto was being patient. He believed fate would lead him to his special someone when the right time came. He would admit, though, he was always a little jealous when he saw someone meet their soul mate. He wished it could've been him sometimes, just walking down the street and having his chest glow when he walked by the one, or sitting next to them on a train, maybe even meeting them at the hospital when they were having a check-up.

The worst was when his friend Rin Matsuoka met his soul mate in high school. His name is Sousuke Yamazaki. Sousuke had been a new student, and at the time he first came Rin was off on a family trip. Sousuke had started bullying Makoto and his friend group and when Rin came back and found out he took Makoto with him to go confront Sousuke, he chose Makoto to come along of course because of his height, Makoto was a lot more intimidating then their other two friends, Rei and Nagisa. Makoto could remember how angry Rin was, he had commented how he 'couldn't leave them alone', Makoto was just nervous because he hated confrontation. Rin had seen Sousuke and started to yell at him as he stormed over, dragging the unwilling Makoto along with him, and that's when Sousuke turned around and it happened. Makoto had watched as both their chests glowed and he couldn't help but feel a bit angry. Before that Makoto never really had been angry, he was usually a positive person, but he was mad because he wanted to be the one who met his soul mate. Sousuke and Rin became inseparable after that, causing Makoto not only lose his best friend, but also get a good slap in the face realizing he was alone and the only one in his friend group without a soul mate. Rin had Sousuke and Nagisa had Rei, even Rin's little sister, Gou, had a soulmate.

After that event Makoto got stuck in a bit of depression, and to say it didn't last long would be a lie. As he grew older he became able to manage and accept his loneliness, though he did get a bit of an alcohol and cigarette dependence. He was cutting down though since he knew it was an unhealthy habit, but he couldn't completely stop, it kept him relaxed and in his cheery mood. Still, every time someone he knew found their soul mate it hurt a little inside. He even had to watch as his siblings, Ren and Ran, find their soul mates before him. That was a big blow to his self-esteem. The whole topic of soul mates was never brought up around Makoto, and he wasn't upset about it either. Makoto didn't want to think about soul mates because he feared that he may never find his. He was scared he was a 'dead end', someone with no soul mate, or that his busy hospital career would keep him from ever meeting them… But Makoto convinced himself there was hope. He did have a mark on his hip, which meant that he did have a soul mate somewhere out there, but it didn't eliminate the possibility of his soul mate dying and Makoto becoming a dead end. He wanted to have a family one day, and he knew he would never be able to settle down with someone who wasn't his soul mate. Makoto's morals wouldn't allow it. He could understand that some people got sick of waiting or their soul mate died so they started looking for someone new, but Makoto knew he wouldn't be able to, even if they didn't really exist, in Makoto's mind that would be a betrayal.

Makoto's cellphone started to buzz and rang throughout the room, sparking Makoto out of his thoughts as the annoying ringtone went off. Makoto looked down at the phone only to read Rin's name. 'Speaking of betrayal…' He thought to himself with a sigh as he answered his phone. Makoto didn't hate Rin, but the red head was a prime example of how some soul mates betray the other.

"Hello?" Makoto asked, Rin never really called him at work unless it was an emergency, his friends knew how busy he usually was, and so he wasn't sure what could've been wrong.

"H-Hi." Rin replied, his voice was rushed and laced with panic, causing Makoto to worry and question what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked, sitting up straighter in his black office chair. He could've sworn he heard Sousuke in the background, his angry voice causing Makoto to worry a bit more. 'Did the two get in a fight?'

"It's Aki… S-She's having the baby." Rin says and Makoto freezes in place. All the panic makes sense. About eight months ago Rin and Sousuke had gotten into a large fight, Makoto wasn't too sure what it was about, they had been fighting a lot at the time so the olive haired doctor stopped keeping track. Usual each of their fights would end quickly, and with the two making up in a way that caused Makoto to have a very sleepless night, but that fight was bad. Sousuke had even left for about a week. The two were too stubborn and proud, causing even small problems in their relationship to form into big ones. Rin had been heartbroken the first couple days Rin was gone, Makoto had to help calm him down as he spent most of his day crying in the two's bedroom. After that, Rin got a bit more destructive with his behavior and started to come home drunk. What he did before that Makoto had no clue, just Rin seemed detached. When Sousuke finally came home, Rin broke down crying. He admitted that he was scared Sousuke was never going to come back and that he had cheated. He slept with their former high school classmate, Aki, who Makoto remembered as a real sweet heart. If that didn't piss Sousuke off enough, the two were told of Aki's pregnancy not long after. Somehow despite all of the panic, Rin and Aki decided to keep the baby. Though Makoto was happy there would be a new addition with them all, he felt bad for Sousuke. Sousuke was bitter towards this child and Makoto understood why. The baby would be a constant reminder that Rin had cheated, and Sousuke wanted nothing to do with that.

"Oi Makoto!" Rin's shaky voice rang throughout the phone, bringing the olive haired doctor's attention back to what was happening. It wasn't surprising that despite the panic Rin still had his hot headed personality.

"O-Oh, sorry!" Makoto apologizes, feeling a small pang of guilt for getting lost in his thoughts while Rin was freaking out. He thinks for a moment about the pregnancy and frowns slightly.

"Isn't it early for Aki to be having the baby?" He asks.

"It's a month early…" Rin says quietly, Makoto rubs his face, knowing that could cause some problems. He opened his mouth to speak but Rin's voice cut him off.

"Aki and I want you to deliver it Makoto." He says, causing Makoto to freeze in place.

"R-Rin, I've never…. I-I've never delivered a baby before…" Makoto sputters with a small whine. The thought of actually bringing a life in the world was overwhelming and nerve wracking.

"But you know how, right?" Rin asks.

"W-Well yeah but-" Makoto starts but once again is cut off by the red head.

"Then you can do it! Please… It would make us both more comfortable if it was you…" Rin insists and Makoto lets out a small whine. He was positive that Rin knew he had a weakness towards being guilt tripped; he wanted to make everyone happy and found it hard to say no to people.

"F-fine…" Makoto says with a small sigh. He rubbed his face and decided he would have to cancel or have someone cover some of his appointments today so he had time to help Aki.

"Thank you! We'll be there soon." Rin said and hung up. Makoto noticed Rin sounded a bit more confident after that and felt partially relieved. At least he helped his friend a bit, even if it did stress himself out.

Makoto wouldn't lie, he felt a bit of excitement towards the new life being brought in the world, even with the fact that he was going to be the one helping Aki deliver it. Aki and Rin had told Makoto before that he would be the child's god father; Sousuke had been out of the question since he wanted nothing to do with the child. It had also been decided that Aki and Rin would have equal time with the baby, switching every other week. Because of this Makoto and Rin set up a room in their house for the new arrival. Makoto found himself smiling softly to himself; he hoped he was a good god parent. All he could do was try his best.

Aki, Rin, and Sousuke came into the hospital not much later; Makoto was quick to bring them into a private room and help make sure Aki was comfortable. He knew that was an important part to this. He could tell Rin and Sousuke had a bit of tension between them right now, though they decided to move past the whole cheating thing, Makoto could tell it would take a while for Sousuke to really forgive and trust Rin again.

Aki on the other hand, was full of smiles, despite any pain she felt. Makoto could sense the excitement radiating from her and couldn't help but feel a bit calmer by it. If she was calm right now, then Makoto felt he could be calm as well. Sadly enough, the peace didn't last for long. Once Aki was all settled down, she let out a small gasp and held onto the bedside tightly with a contraction. Rin at this point lost any sense of calmness as he started to panic, seeming unsure how to handle the contraction. Makoto noticed that this only stressed Aki out more and chewed his lip.

"Rin, why don't you and Sousuke get some food, we might be here for a while so you guys or Aki could get hungry." Makoto says, he knew that no more stress should be added to Aki and the baby right now, so he was relieved when Rin nods.

"Food, yeah, okay, I'll be right back." Rin says a bit rushed and runs off, dragging Sousuke along with him. Makoto wasn't sure if he was thankful to get out of the room right now. He now turned to Aki, who had gotten over her contraction and had a look of relief on her face.

"Thank you… " She said softly, Makoto chuckled and gave her a small reassuring smile.

"It was no problem. I don't want you to be too stressed at a time like this." Makoto says and Aki makes a small nod.

"I know Rin means well but… He's freaking me out…" Aki says softly and Makoto chuckles.

"Rin does get over emotional; I guess he's just nervous to be a dad." He says. Makoto took out his clip board and looked to Aki.

"How far apart are your contractions?" He asks.

"I don't know… About twenty minutes I guess…" Aki says and Makoto nods, writing down some notes on the matter. He knew Aki was trying to be helpful so was being patient with her.

"Alright, you have some time before you have to start pushing. Just let me know if there are any changes in the intensity of pain." Makoto informs her, Aki gives a small nod and rubs her stomach lightly.

"Do you think I'm a bad person… Since I slept with Rin despite him having a soulmate…?" Aki asks quietly to Makoto's surprise.

"No… I don't… I understand that waiting can be-" Makoto starts but Aki cuts him off, her look apologetic as she does so.

"I… I wasn't waiting Makoto… I'm a dead end; I have no soul mate… I have no symbol…" Aki says quietly and Makoto frowns deeply. Aki had grown up her whole life with no symbol, meaning she knew she would never have a soul mate. Makoto couldn't imagine how that felt. His mind wanders back to his own symbol on his hip; it was of a whale and dolphin. He had seen it so many times, but now it felt like it was becoming a mark of a curse, a curse of expecting to find the one only to get his hopes up.

"I-I didn't know…" He says quietly, he felt bad for Aki hearing that someone as sweet as her had no one to wait for. Part of him felt even more scared now knowing that it happened to someone he knew, he was afraid about his own soul mate. Aki looked down at her stomach with sad eyes.

"I know… Rin didn't at first either… I just… I never should've done anything with him… I knew he had a soul mate but I-I… part of me actually loved him… I-I wanted him to love me back… But he just went back to Sousuke after…" Aki says shakily and wipes her eyes. Makoto was unable to watch her upset like this and grabbed her hand, he knew how empty it felt without a soul mate and couldn't imagine how it felt to be trying so hard to find love and only be rejected. Makoto had no words to say, he knew he couldn't make it better for her, Rin was going to stay with his soul mate, which wasn't exactly bad, but he was unintentionally hurting Aki by it. Makoto couldn't understand why the universe would do this to someone as nice as Aki, poor innocent people are given the worst in life and it wasn't fair at all. It was downright cruel.

"Do you think I-I gave my child bad luck? S-Since Rin and I weren't soul mates… I-I don't know how it'll affect my child… if it'll have a soul mate or not… I-if the universe will be cruel to it like it was to me…" Aki says quietly and Makoto frowns more. He squeezes Aki's hand reassuringly.

"I'm sure it'll have a soul mate, even if you and Rin weren't soul mates, it doesn't mean that this wasn't fate. It was bound to happen, so your child will most likely have a soul mate… regardless of you and Rin's relationship." Makoto said, just hoping it was all true. In all honesty he had no clue if the fact Rin and Aki weren't soul mates will weigh on their child's love life. It very well could, since the two were never supposed to be together, but Makoto couldn't say that to Aki. He just had to hope everything would be okay for her and her child. Aki didn't deserve more pain.

"..Do you know the baby's gender?" Makoto asks after a moment of silence, he just wanted to change the subject so Aki wasn't so upset.

"We don't know… We wanted to wait until it was born." Aki says. Makoto smiles softly at her.

"I'm sure it'll be a great kid." He says, and Aki gives a small smile. Makoto was glad that he could calm her down a bit.

Rin and Sousuke entered the room with a bit of food, bringing Makoto and Aki's conversation to a halt. Makoto let go of Aki's hand and let Rin sit by her, Sousuke just stayed by the corner of the room, he held onto the food and other bags. Makoto was surprised he still stayed here, considering his hatred towards this baby.

Makoto took the time to get some experienced nurses to help him with this procedure. Aki surprisingly wanted to go without an epidural. Makoto had to give her props for that. It took hours before the contractions were hitting a couple minutes apart, the whole excruciating process exhausting them all. Makoto was having second thoughts about saying yes to helping with this. When it had gotten farther into the contractions Sousuke had to pull Rin aside so he wouldn't worry Aki too much, much to everyone's relief since Rin had been causing more trouble than anything. Everyone tried to be patient with him but he had been getting in the way and causing more anxiety than relief. Makoto flinched uncomfortable with each whine Aki made when a contraction hit, he felt bad he couldn't do anything to help. Makoto had a feeling this would be the only time he ever helps deliver a baby, this whole process was terrifying and he was questioning why women even gave birth.

"Aki, you're going to have to start pushing now…" Makoto says when she was ten centimeters dilated. He felt a bit embarrassed seeing Aki like this, but he was assured it was okay. He had some nurses by his side reassuring him with all of this. Makoto was glad for their presence, without the nurses he probably would've panicked already.

"O-Okay…" Aki says through gritted teeth. Another contraction hit her and she let out a scream, Makoto chewed his lip slightly.

"Keep pushing Aki you're doing great..." He said, hoping to help her with the process. Aki breathed shallowly, worrying Makoto a bit, he couldn't imagine how much pain she was in right now. Makoto took a quick glance at Rin who was shaking and holding onto Sousuke.

"Rin, hold her hand please…" Makoto said, knowing that it might help Aki a bit. Rin makes a small nod and goes over by Aki, grabbing her hand. Makoto brought his attention back to the baby and makes a tiny gasp.

"Aki you're doing wonderful, I see the head!" He says with a small smile. He looked to the other nurses to make sure they were ready with a towel.

"Okay, so just focusing on breathing now… We want a slow birth so you and the baby aren't hurt." Makoto said, he saw Aki make a small nod of acknowledgement. She breathed a bit rapidly now and Rin rubbed her shoulder, quietly assuring her she was doing well. Makoto helped support the baby as it came out, it didn't cry, which surprised Makoto and he went to cut the umbilical cord.

"Congratulations, it's a boy-" Makoto starts but is stopped as he looks at the baby. He noticed the baby had bright blue eyes and pale skin. The only word Makoto could think to describe it was 'perfect'. The second thing Makoto noticed was Rin gasping. He looked at Rin and raised a brow when he saw the red head staring at him and the baby… Actually everyone in the room was staring at him and the baby. Makoto looked back to it and noticed a very bright light, at first he wasn't sure where it was coming from, it was blinding. There was a strange warmth traveling through Makoto's chest, he wasn't sure why his chest was glowing at first or what this feeling was, but when he realized that the same type of glow was coming from the baby's chest his eyes widened.

'No.'

Makoto held the baby out at arm's length and saw a mark on his hip. It was of a dolphin and whale. Makoto was quick to hand the baby to the closest nurse and check his own mark. The same mark as the baby's. This only meant one thing, and Makoto felt the urge to both laugh and cry at how cruel the universe was to him, to give him a soul mate that was just a baby.

"No…oh my god no…" Makoto mumbled quietly running a hand through his hair as he shook like a leaf. His chest still glowed brightly.

"Makoto, I'm going to have to kill you now." Rin says, his eyes turned into such a cold glare that it sent a shiver down Makoto's spine. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair. Makoto had waited patiently and kept his hopes up for this? A baby! His friend's child..! There was a twenty four year difference between them…! Makoto couldn't believe how fucked up the world could be. All he could do was back up and walk off, away from the baby, away from Aki, away from Rin, away from everyone. He needed some comfort, he needed to find peace again somewhere, he just couldn't do this right now.

This was the first time that Makoto completely, one hundred percent, despised the idea of soul mates.